Inspirations from the Funny Farm

Colossians 3:1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

I Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven,with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

Have you ever been separated for a long period of time from someone you love due to work or other obligations? If so, do you remember that moment when you were finally reunited? Oh the joy of those reunions!
When Jeff and I first married, he was working overseas with an oil company, 28 days on, 28 days off. With travel, he would be gone for 32 LONG days, and home for 26. The 32 days that he was gone seemed to take years to go by. I missed him so much. But when he flew home, I would meet him at the airport with open arms and grinning so hard my face would hurt the next day! I remember all those return home trips with great fondness. People told me that when he was home all the time, we would get sick of each other. Those people were wrong. We are celebrating our anniversary today and we are still honeymooning.

For just a moment, think about the return of our Lord and Savior. Jesus ascended to heaven to prepare a place for us. He left with us the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, while he is getting our forever home ready. He is going to return and gather us up and bring us home with Him to spend eternity in glory. Now, y’all know I love my husband, and I remember how excited I was to see him after our long absences. I can’t even imagine how excited I’m going to be on the day that Jesus returns. Can you just see it? Jesus descending from the clouds. An archangel shouting. Trumpets sounding. The glory of Jesus Christ in our actual, visual presence!! It makes me think of that song, “I Can Only Imagine.” Will I dance? Will I be still in His presence in awe? Will I stand? Will I fall to my knees? Will I sing hallelujah? Will I be able to speak at all? I’m here to tell you, I can not even imagine how I will respond. The Bride will be united with the bridegroom, and we get to honeymoon in heaven for eternity!

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that we are separated from Christ now. If we’ve accepted Him as our Savior, He is with us. But I’m overwhelmed with the excitement of being with Christ physically, in His presence, in heaven! I long for that day, and oh what a day that will be!

Give me a word, Lord: THE LITTLE THINGS

Luke 16:10 Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.

Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.

Matthew 13:31-32 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

Do you take time to notice the little things in life? In this busy, chaotic life in which we are moving full speed ahead, sometimes we forget to slow down and smell the roses. We take notice of the big things that occur around us, but too often we neglect those little things that mean so much more.

I’m going to embarrass my husband for just a moment. That man does at least 1001 little things a day for me. I’m serious y’all, and not just for me but for others as well. He’s retired from the oilfield now, but by no means did that man retire. He works harder now than ever. He works our farm, his dad’s farm, works as operator for our water company, takes care of a friend’s property, and oh so much more. He has a true servant’s heart. He doesn’t do anything for attention or praise. He does it out of the goodness of his heart.

On the days I work the clinic, he cooks sausage for me to eat on the run, makes a Yeti cup full of coffee, and a large glass of ice water, and sometimes he even packs my lunch. Most days he takes all of this to the car before I even finish dressing. He prepares delicious meals, helps with the mundane chores around the house, and takes pride in our home. He’s spent a good part of the last week bleaching our roof and house and cleaning out gutters and debris. I don’t ask him to do these things. He just does them out of the goodness of his heart. I try to repay his thousand little things by doing as many little things in return. Every now and then, when I’m off work, and he is hard at work on the farm, a surprise picnic is in order. We lunch together under a big old pine tree. Nothing fancy. Just a nice little spontaneous picnic for the one I love who loves me with little things all day long. All those little things mean so much!

God notices all the little things too. Luke 16:10 says those that can be trusted with little can be trusted with much. When we are faithful in the little things it shows the condition of our hearts. The little things that Jeff does daily shows me the condition of his heart and shows me that he loves me and cares about me. When we are faithful in the little things for Christ, we reveal our character. We show Christ that we love Him and that we want to serve Him. We must have a commitment to excellence in everything we do, not just the things that people will notice. We must be faithful and honest in all things, striving for excellence, even when no one is looking.

Some days are harder than others. Our jobs can feel mundane and monotonous at times, but we have to strive to work hard as if everything we are doing is for the Lord and not our human masters or bosses or even our spouses. We are working for the Lord, and He’ll show up and use all of those little things to work for our good and His glory. If you start looking for Him in the little things and not just the big things, you will see Him in everything.

Jesus asked for a small lunch from a boy and fed thousands. Samson slew a whole army with a jawbone. David killed a giant with a single stone. And you could plant the tiniest seed, a mustard seed, and grow a plant that could become a tree. In your daily actions, you are planting seeds for Christ. You have to be faithful in the little things. Work as you are working for the Father, and plant seeds of faith along the way.

God will work all of those million little things together, and those little things will make a big difference in the lives of those around us and in this crazy world. Keep doing the little things!

Isaiah 61:1-2 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Romans 10:14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

I joined Facebook about 12 years ago on the urging of my sister and because I found it was an easier way to find people while we were planning our 25 year class reunion. I see a lot of stuff on social media that I don’t like, but I love being able to connect with friends and family that I don’t get to see on a regular basis. I also love the memories part of Facebook. Each day, you can review what you posted on that day over the past years. I love seeing the memories, but I also am able to see spiritual growth through my posts. I’ve seen stuff I shared several years ago, and think, “man I shouldn’t have shared that.”

I’ve grown in my walk with Christ. I’m not the girl I want to be, but thank God I’m not the girl I used to be! I’m a work in progress. I’m sure God is up there shaking His head while He watches over me most days. I can be a bit of a challenge. But you know what? God apparently loves a good challenge because He has shown so much more love, grace, and mercy to this old gal over the years than I deserve! One thing that I know to be true, without a shadow of a doubt, is that God will meet you right where you are and take you to where you need to be. You only need to be willing to go and walk with Him!

On my Facebook memories today, I saw a picture that I shared of Bro. Billy Smith. He and his interpreter where sharing the gospel, having all out church, in the middle of a pile of garbage in a village called Las Brisas in Peru. That was during our mission trip on this day in 2016. Fourteen people gave their lives to Christ that day. It was NOT within the four walls of a beautifully adorned, perfectly decorated, nicely air conditioned church building. It was in the middle of a pile a garbage! People were sitting in plastic chairs or standing, as there was standing room only, with sweat pouring off of their bodies because it was HOT! Oh so HOT! It was NOT comfortable. It did NOT smell pretty. It did NOT look nice. But you know what? Those people showed up to hear from God, and He met them right where they were on a pile of garbage, and He saved 14 souls that day!! Over 50 gave their lives to Christ that week, and my heart was set on fire for missions.

I didn’t set out to be a Christian author. I already have a great job as a nurse practitioner. But God! Oh but God! He put a burning desire in my heart that week to tell people about Him, and I haven’t been able to put that fire out ever since. God met me right where I was that week too, and He is taking me where He needs me to be. He’s taken me to Peru, to the Dominican Republic, and to several mission out reaches in our state. He takes me to work as a nurse practitioner, and He gives me a new mission field each day. You don’t have to leave the country to share the gospel, you only have to leave your comfort zone. It’s really hard at first and kind of scary, but the Holy Spirit has never failed me. If my body is willing, the boldness and words always come at just the right time and in just the right way.

This world is ever changing, Peeps. I’m sure y’all are growing weary of my daily devotionals, but I just have so much to say and I can’t help but say it. There are still so many who are lost, and they can’t find their way. How can they believe if they haven’t heard. And how can they hear if someone doesn’t tell them? God will meet you right where you are and take you where you need to be too. If you are lost, you’re not too lost to be saved by our Father. He’ll meet you right where you are. If you’re saved, share the gospel. Don’t be scared. He’ll meet you right where you are. And oh the places you will go….you just have to be willing to go…

Luke 12:15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

Matthew 16:26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

Our society thrives on the idea of getting rich. How do we make more money so that we can get more stuff? Well, I’m going to tell you a secret. There are two ways to become rich. Are you ready? 1. You have a lot or 2. You want little.
The problem is, society makes us think that we need more. We need a newer bigger house, we need a newer, nicer car, we need this, and we need that. Commercials and advertisements make us crave more than we have, and lead us to believe that what we have isn’t enough. The problem is that this line of thinking takes our eyes off of the provider and convinces us that if we just had more stuff, everything would be okay.

I work hard, and I make a good living, but without Christ I am nothing. I have nothing. But with Christ, I have it ALL! He provides all that we need, and many times, He gives us a lot of what we want. We need to adjust our way of thinking. Forget what society teaches us. We need to adjust our wants to our needs. If you’re wanting what you need, and you know Christ is going to provide for your needs, then your wants will be covered.

E. Stanley Jones tells about a poor man who had an overnight guest, and as he showed him to his humble bedroom in the hayloft, he said, “If there is anything you want, let us know, and we’ll come and show you how to get along without it.” I thought that was humorous, but there is so much wisdom in that statement. If we can get along without it, we probably don’t need it.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21. Where is your heart today? These earthly things that we collect are here today and gone tomorrow. In 10 years, that new car may be a bucket of rust. Earthly treasures will not last, but oh those heavenly riches, those will endure for ever.

We can spend our time chasing the dollar, or we can invest our time in everlasting wealth. Chase after our heavenly home and the riches we are promised. The poorest man on earth may be the richest man in heaven, whereas the richest man on earth may be bound for hell.
The most important asset we need is a relationship with Jesus Christ. He died on that cross to give us everything! He suffered so that we may have eternity in heaven. If we’ve accepted Him as our Lord and Savior, we automatically become children of the King, heirs to the throne of God. I don’t think we can get any richer than that!

Work hard, pay your bills, and take care of your family. That’s what we are supposed to do. But if we strive to put Christ first, all that other stuff will come so much easier! I am so richly blessed by my heavenly Father! Don’t you want to get rich too?

Ephesians 3:14-16 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being.

Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

Isaiah 25:9 Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

When I turned my phone on this morning, I received a group text email from some of my sisters in Christ. I want to tell you something. If you don’t have a few good Christian friends, you better get you some! These ladies are my joy! We share our faith, our hearts, our joys, and our heartaches, and we offer encouragement, love, and godly wisdom. I truly love these ladies.

The message was about the tough things of the previous week. We are all experiencing tougher times than usual: sickness, death, unemployment, trying new job responsibilities, family issues, and the list goes on and on. It seems that our troubles are never ending. It seems that we will be overwhelmed and succumb to the troubles at hand, but then there’s God. But God! Just when we think we’re going to sink, He teaches us to swim. When we think we can’t handle one more difficult event, He wraps His loving arms around us and carries us through.

Psalm 118:24 reads, “This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.” Oh my, with all the terrible stuff we’re going through, we are supposed to rejoice? How in the world can we rejoice? We’re not just having a bad day, we’re having a bad week, a bad month, a bad year! Oh, but God! He created this day. He gave us one more day to walk His beautiful earth. One more day to share the good news. One more day to rejoice and praise Him.

I’m not going to lie to you and tell you I wake up oozing with joy every morning. I wake up looking something akin to Medusa with my crazy curly hair sticking out in every direction. There’s no joy in my mirror first thing in the morning. I have to have a cup of coffee and get a little spiritual nourishment first. But once I open the Word of God, He reminds me through His Word that my joy and strength come from Him. Then, I can’t help but be joyful. When I pass through the waters, He will be with me; and when I pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over me. When I walk through the fire, I will not be burned; the flames will not set me ablaze. And John 10:28 assures us that nothing can snatch us out of the hands of our Father.

When your feeling the flood waters overcoming you, or you feel that you are in the fire, don’t give up. Don’t fret. Cry out to the Father. He’s always just one breath away. He’s waiting and watching. He never leaves our side.
So in reality, we can’t have a bad day. Bad things happen, and they’ll keep happening. But there is good in every day because God is there. He made today just for me and just for you, let us rejoice and be glad in it! It’s going to be a good day!

Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

We all have our own personal habits. A habit is a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up. We get into the habit of doing things a certain way, and soon we fall into a routine. Some habits are really good, but some are not so good. So just how do we develop a habit? A study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology concluded that patterns, or habits, form as people “perform a behavior over and over again.” The researchers confirmed that the brain uses “stored behavioral routines that are triggered by an event and then ‘run’ automatically.” When a new habit is learned, “nerve cell responses in the brain are reorganized.” Therefore new habits can be learned, and old habits can be “unlearned”.

One habit that I have “learned” over the past few months is sitting down with my Bible, reading, researching, and writing a daily devotional each morning. I started out just sharing scripture, but God put it on my heart to expand a bit and share some encouragement as well. I was only going to do it for a few weeks, and then I settled on a goal of 90 days of devotionals. However, my dear husband and my sister, Chandra, insisted that I write a devotional a day for a year. Well, here I am more than a year later still writing, and I will continue as long as God gives me the words.

You see, I’ve developed a habit of spiritual discipline, and it’s hands down, the very best habit that I have. But you don’t have to write a devotional to have a habit of spiritual discipline, you can develop a habit of reading your Bible daily, journaling, gathering for worship, gathering for small group Bible studies, and setting aside prayer time to really strengthen and deepen your relationship with God. Pick out a good spot. I either sit at the kitchen table or out on the back deck to do my morning studies. Make that your spot for your time with God. Add some structure. Pick out a time that works best for you. At first, it’ll seem hard to carve out the time, but soon you’ll find it easy to make the time. I find first thing in the morning works best for me, but you may be an evening person. Find what works for you. And most importantly, pray. Seek God’s guidance and ask Him to help you develop this new habit of intentional spiritual discipline. But be careful what you ask for. If you ask for a habit of spiritual discipline, I’m pretty sure you are going to get it! I crave time with God each day, and by spending time with Him on a regular basis, all my bad habits are much easier to break as new habits of spiritual discipline take their place!

I Kings 17:13-14 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”

You’re probably thinking, “that’s a strange verse to start a devotional with.” After the chaos of my past week, you can’t put anything past me. I’ll probably be reciting some Revelation to you soon! Lol. It’s been one crazy, chaotic week. I’m pooped. I feel like I poured everything I had into doing the best I could do, but I probably didn’t do enough. The day is filled with figuring out the priorities, disposable scrub jackets, gowns, masks, face shields and gloves. Rushing about with utmost caution. Listening, laughing, crying, loving, and learning. I love my job. I truly do. I love that God blessed me with a job that I actually love. Lately, it’s been a little tough. That old saying holds true for me though, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.” I go to the Lord because I know that He is my strength.

In the scripture above, God had brought a drought on the land. Elijah the prophet asked this lady to bring him some bread. In verse 12, she told him, “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, ‘I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.'” She was out of food. There was no more food to be found, no grocery store to run to, no garden in the back yard, nothing but just enough flour and oil to make one more meal. She planned to make this last meal for her son and herself and then just die of starvation. But Elijah told her to make a small loaf for him and a loaf for them, and that the jar of flour and jug of oil would never run out. She did as he said, and guess what? Everytime she went to that kitchen, there was flour and oil for every single meal. She had plenty, and it lasted through the whole drought.

This woman put this man of God first. She trusted God. Her situation was much more grave than the struggles of my week. She and her son were about to die, yet she put her faith in God. She put Elijah first trusting that God would fulfill his promise to her.

When we are in the midst of a storm, rather than trying to control the wind and the rain, we need to turn over the reins to the One who reigns. Take some time each day to put God first. Carve out a few minutes in your busy schedule to read scripture, pray, and enjoy a little quiet time with Christ. The only way to find calm in the chaos of this crazy world is by trusting in Christ. Put Him first, and then everything else will gradually fall into place. There is no better calming force that Christ our Lord!

I Corinthians 9:24-27 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

James 1:12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

Have you ever trained for something: daily workouts, pushing yourself as hard as possible, trying to be the best that you can be? I’m no athlete. I’m the queen of klutz for goodness sake, but I did set out to run a 5K. Trained hard, ran hard, and nearly died, but I brought home the trophy for first place in my category. It was a short lived victory. I decided I didn’t like running that much, and the trophy is gathering dust on a shelf at home. I checked off an item on my bucket list of things to accomplish, but that trophy really didnt bring lasting satisfaction.

I’m still in training mode however, but this time I’m going after an everlasting victory. I’m training for heaven. Wait, what?? We don’t need to train for heaven do we? Well, yes, as a matter of fact we do. When we arrive in heaven, the saved in Christ will appear before the judgment seat of Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:10). At this judgment, Christ will review our lives as we walked on earth, and He will be giving rewards in the form of crowns for certain actions: the crown of righteousness (for every person that loves the appearing of Christ), the incorruptible crown (for those who had self control), the crown of life (for those who patiently endured trials), the crown of glory (for those who feed the flock), and the crown of rejoicing (for the saints, the saved in Christ). Now, I don’t know about you, but I think receiving a crown from Jesus Christ himself would be the ultimate trophy, even better than my trophy buck I recently hung on my wall at home. But guess what the Bible says we are going to do with those beautiful crowns? We will lay them at the feet of Jesus and offer praise to Him. Now, I don’t know about you, but I sure don’t want to show up at a praise meeting for Jesus Christ our King and be short on offerings. I don’t want to arrive in heaven with the smell of smoke on my robe just barely escaping the flames of hell. No, I want to be able to offer as many gifts to Christ as I possibly can. I don’t want to stand in the back with my head hung low because I don’t have more than one crown to offer. I want to shower my King with praise and gifts.
So you see, there is training to be done in the here and now. Don’t be mistaken. We won’t get to heaven on our own merit or good behavior or acts of kindness. We must choose and accept the gift of salvation. That’s the only way to get there. If we’re saved, entry to heaven is a given. The question is, how are you going to show up for the greatest party ever? Are you going to arrive, barely sneaking in with the smell of smoke on your new threads or are you going to be rejoicing, front and center, with so many crowns that you can barely contain the joy and excitement while waiting to lay your gifts at the feet of our Savior? It’s not a job. It’s a way of life. Live life to the fullest for Christ each day!

I Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Psalm 66:16 Come and hear, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me.

I don’t think thankful hearts grow on trees. I think they are grown, slowly, meticulously over time. When we plant our garden every year, we are in such a big hurry to reap the harvest of our efforts, but before the harvest there is a lot of planning and hard work. The soil has to be prepared. We have to plant the seeds in good soil if we want a good crop. After the seeds are planted, we have to make sure they are getting enough water and sunshine and fertilizer. We have to hoe occasionally, and we have to remove all of the weeds. Eventually, we see the growth of fruit or vegetables that quickly go from the garden to the table to the tummy, and we finally get to reap the benefits. We cultivated the land, and we brought food to our table.

Our pastor preached a series out of the book of Colossians, and he explained to us a life of “thanksliving”. Without Christ, we can’t have a thankful heart, but with Him we can’t help but be thankful. He doesn’t want us to just simply be thankful, but rather He wants us to live out that thankfulness.

I was talking to Jeff last night over dinner, and I told him that I had no idea how many times I stopped during my crazy chaotic day yesterday and said, “Thank you, Jesus!” I lost count. I thanked Him all day long. This COVID pandemic ain’t no joke y’all! It gets a little crazy in the clinic, and at times I feel like I can’t keep up. I hate for people to have to wait on me. I don’t like to get behind. So I pray. I pray a lot. I know that I can accomplish anything the good Lord wants me to accomplish, and no matter how crazy things look on the outside, He always gets me through! I say, “Thank you, Jesus,” all day long because I know that without Him, I could accomplish nothing!

It is when we recognize this that we have cultivated a thankful heart! Just like cultivating the garden takes time and preparation, cultivating a thankful heart takes time and effort on our part. We have to recognize how much God loves us and how much He has given us. Salvation is the greatest gift of all time, and for this gift, we should be eternally thankful. We can thank God all day long for this great gift, but it’s so much better to live it out. We can live out our thankfulness for salvation by sharing this gift with others. Cultivate a life of thankfulness in Christ! Although times are hard, and it looks like this old world is falling apart, we don’t have to live in fear. We can live in thankfulness knowing without a shadow of a doubt that God’s got this! He’s got you. He’s got me. He’s got this! Let’s be thankful and live out our thankfulness by sharing our hope and faith with someone today.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

Psalm 107:19 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses.

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

Yesterday, I talked about the meaning of names. One of the meanings of the name of Jesus is rescuer. The Bible speaks volumes on this. As children of God, we are not promised that life will be easy. Yes, we would all love a life full of roses, but the truth is, we can’t have roses without the thorns. The great thing about a relationship with Jesus is that we know that we can face whatever comes our way because we don’t have to face it alone.

I read a devotional by Billy Graham once in which he told how a girl shared how she handled things. She said when the devil comes knocking at her door, she doesn’t answer the door. She sends Jesus to answer it.
Oh, if we could only be so wise. We try all to often to rescue ourselves, and we come up short. But Jesus has already rescued us. We only have to accept the fact that He did, and reap the benefits of having been rescued.
I know that society tells us that we are in control of our bodies and our minds, and that we don’t need anyone to rescue us. But actually we do! We can not make it through this crazy thing called life on our own accord. We just can’t.

I do not know how anyone can get through even one single day without Jesus. I can’t even imagine a life without Christ! Jesus is our refuge. He is a mighty warrior for us in our time of need, and He is a reassuring friend when we feel down. He lifts us up, and He holds us in His hands. He comforts us when we grieve. He rejoices with us when we are joyful. He’s a loving Father who gently cares for His children. He is our strength when we are weak. He is our rescuer! Recline in that today.