Inspirations from the Funny Farm

Romans 4:18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

Psalm 27:14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

James 5:7-8 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.

And we wait…. It seems like we are always waiting on something or someone. Waiting is hard for me. I’m a “gotta get it done and gotta get it done right now” kind of person. I don’t like to to sit idly and wait. BUT Christ has shown me through the years that He accomplishes all things in His time and not mine. And when we wait on His timing, great lessons are learned and great blessings are received while we wait. Abraham was 100 years old, and Sarah was 90 or 91 when Isaac was born. Talk about a long wait!! And those Israelites, oh those Israelites, their deliverance from Egypt took 420 years. They had to wait 40 more years before God allowed them to enter the promised land. Apparently, they had a LOT to learn!! God’s people waited generation after generation for the Messiah, and now we are awaiting His return! Yes, we wait.

My husband has frequently told me, “Good things come to those who wait.” We wait for so many things in this life. We are now awaiting the arrival of another grandchild this October. We await with excited anticipation. Some are awaiting test results. Some people are waiting for a healing. Some people are waiting for a loved one to return home from the military. We are all waiting for that lost loved one to come to Christ. This too takes time…and much waiting! Even though the weight of the wait is so very heavy, the wait is always worth it.

So, what are we to do while we wait? We can let God strengthen our faith while we are waiting. Use this time to get to know God better. Get in His word. Read your Bible while you wait. And pray, pray, pray! Talk to our heavenly Father. Bend His ear. He truly wants to hear from His kids just as we long to talk to and hear from our own parents, kids, friends, & family. Use this time to get to know God better. Ask yourself, how am I growing while I’m waiting? We’ve all grown immensely over the past year. Think about the wisdom you have gained. God has given each of us responsibilities in certain areas, but we do not have sovereignty in any area. We must remember that we are being carried on the shoulders of our Savior! Wait on Him!

Psalm 23:6 Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Ephesians 2:4-7 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

Surely goodness and mercy shall fo-o-ollow me, all the days, all the days of my li-i-ife. I love that song. I giggle when I remember this story that I once heard. Timmy was a little five year old boy whom his Mom loved very much, and being the worrier that she was, she was concerned about him walking to school all by himself when he started kindergarten. She walked him to school the first few days, but one day he came home and asked if he could walk by himself. He wanted to be like the “big boys.” Not wanting to disappoint him, she decided to allow him to walk without her via plan B (which consisted of recruiting a neighbor, Mrs. Goodnest, to repetitiously follow him to school, at a distance far enough behind him that he would not likely notice he was being followed, but close enough to keep a watch on him). Mrs. Goodnest was agreeable, since she was up early with her own toddler anyway, and it would be a good way for them to get some exercise. So, the very next school day Mrs. Goodnest and her little girl, Marcy, set out to follow behind Timmy as he walked to school. Timmy was accompanied by another neighbor boy he knew. As the boys walked to school each day, chatting, and kicking stones and twigs, the little friend of Timmy;s began to notice that a lady seemed to be following them every day. “Have you noticed that lady following us all week? Do you know her?” he asked Timmy. “Yea, I know who she is,” Timmy replied “Well who is she?” “That’s just Shirley Goodnest,” Timmy said. “Shirley Goodnest? Who is she? Why is she following us?” “Well,” Timmy explained, “Every night Mom makes me say the 23rd Psalm in my prayers ‘cuz she worries about me so much. And in it the Psalm says, ‘Shirley Goodnest and Marcy shall follow me all the days of my life,’ so I guess I’ll just have to get used to it.”

Well, that little Timmy was right. As a Christian, surely goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our life. We can count on it. We know what goodness is, but what is mercy? Mercy isn’t just compassion or forgiveness toward someone who wronged us. Mercy is not giving someone what they deserve even though we have the power to punish them. That thought always brings me to my knees. You see, God could choose to punish every single sin, every single mess up, every single thing I’ve done wrong in my life, but He doesn’t. Don’t get me wrong. God is still full of wrath, and wrath will come when punishment is needed. But God is so rich in mercy that He sent His son to make a way for us to have an eternal relationship with Him. He sent the Holy Spirit to reside within us to “walk us to school safely every day”. He gave us the Holy Spirit as a comforter, but also to help keep us on the straight path. When we mess up, we recognize that we did so, and we realize the need to repent. We feel regret for sinning against our Father, and instead of Him laying out punishment which we surely deserve, He forgives us with His tender love and mercy. Wow! That’s truly amazing!

We have never sinned so much that God won’t forgive us if we come to Him in true repentance. We can never do anything to make God love us more, and we can never do anything to make God love us less! He loves us. He is so merciful! If you don’t have surely goodness and mercy following you around each day, call out to the Father! It’s comforting to know the Comforter is walking right there with me each step that I make!

Luke 19 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.

Grace is the unmerited favor of God. Unmerited means not deserved. Therefore, grace is the undeserved favor of God. If you grew up in church, I know you remember singing, “Zacchaeus was a wee little man and a wee little man was he. He climbed up in a sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see.” Y’all remember him. He was the little bitty tax collector dude that heard Jesus was coming to town, and He wanted to see who Jesus was. He was too short to see over the crowd so he climbed up a tree. Sounds to me like he might’ve been from around these parts. Jesus saw Zacchaeus in that tree, and told him to come down because He was going to his house that very day.

That little dude wasn’t just a tax collector. He was the chief tax collector. Tax collectors in that time period were scoundrels. They were lower than low. They stole from people and cheated people, and they were considered to be sinners. Zacchaeus was the chief sinner! Yet Jesus, full of love and grace, called him down and said, “Come on little fellow. I want to spend some time with you today.” Jesus could’ve ignored this scoundrel. He could’ve kept on walking. But He didn’t. He met Zacchaeus right where he was and showed him undeserved favor. He showed him grace.

As I look back and remember all the times in my life that I sinned, I realize how many times my good, good Father met me right where I was and gave me grace. All I can do is praise Him! I don’t deserve the blessings God has bestowed upon me. I’ve done nothing to deserve His grace. But He chose me, and He chose you. He found favor in us despite ourselves and our sins. That is grace. We can’t do anything to earn it, but He bestows it upon us because He loves us!

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

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.

1 Corinthians 12:5-6 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work,

Yesterday was an extremely busy day in the clinic. I worked hard all day, and after the last patient left for the day, I still had tons of work remaining. My dear husband sensed that I had been stretched too thin, and he showed up at my clinic to share a meal with me. He not only shared a meal, he stayed with me while I worked until after 9:00 pm trying to catch my tail that I had been chasing all day long. That act of love meant more to me that ten dozen roses or 5 lbs of Reese’s candy! After days like yesterday, I can’t help but wonder why I do what I do. Today, this post appeared on my memories. God knows that this knucklehead girl needs a reminder every now and then that He gave me the talents to do what I do, and He reminds me that I am working for Him and not for man. So today, I want to share this timely reminder. God gives every single one of us talents. We need to appreciate those gifts and always continue to use those talents for His glory!

A precious 91 year young lady came to see me in the clinic. As always, she came bearing a gift. With a beautiful bright smile on her face (that could be detected even behind a mask), she presented me with a fresh pint of mayhaw jelly. She informed me that she had just made this jelly the day before and that she called ahead to make sure I was working. I was tickled that she thought of me, and she was very pleased to see that she had made me happy. She never shows up empty handed. Here is a lady, 91 years of age, still using her God given talents to bless others. She is still taking care of her grandchildren and great grandchildren, still driving herself to and from appointments, and still making homemade jelly. She is as sharp as a tack, and she is always like a breath of fresh air. I so want to be her when I grow up!

Our visit got me to thinking about gifts and talents. What talents has God gifted you with? Are you using them for His glory? There are talents that I wish God had blessed me with such as a beautiful singing voice. I guess He would rather hear me make a happy racket instead of a joyful noise because He sure gave that gift to someone other than me. I could sit here and make a list a mile long of talents I wish I had been gifted with and pout about it, or I could sit here and think about the talents that God picked out especially for me. Any old body can sing, well anybody but me, but not everyone could manage a crazy critter farm or write down and record those crazy critter antics to share with whoever chooses to read my ramblings. God sure does have a sense of humor! He also blessed me with a brain and the ability to study and learn and work in the field of medicine. He gave me hands, that although are knotted up from arthritis, are strong and not afraid of hard work. And best of all, He gave me a heart the size of Texas: a heart for people and a heart for Christ. Because He gave me these simple gifts of a brain, and strength, and love, I must use these gifts for His glory.

If that little 91 year old had presented her jelly to me and I had turned my nose up, she would not have been very pleased with me. But because I thanked her profusely and bragged about her gift, she left after our visit feeling pleased. Think about this for a moment. God gave you gifts and talents also. He designed some specifically with you in mind, and He gave us each those gifts because He wants us to use them for His glory. When we recognize that the talents we have are gifts straight from God, we begin using those talents to bring glory & honor to Him. This pleases Him. Not using those gifts and talents for God’s glory would be very displeasing to Him. I’m saved by faith. I know that I am guaranteed eternity in heaven. I know that I am going to walk through those pearly gates one day, but I don’t ever want to show up empty handed. I want to show up knowing that I have worked hard, used my talents for God’s glory, and hear those words, “well done, my good and faithful servant.” Hey, I may even show up with a jar of our homemade mayhaw jelly in hand!

Philippians 3:8-9 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.

Romans 10:9-10 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.

A couple of years ago, I received a phone call out of the blue offering me a part time position as an in home assessment nurse practitioner. I wasn’t interested in another job. I already had (have) a full time clinic job that keeps me hopping all day long, and I have reached a point in life that I’d rather be home with family than out chasing the dollar. Yet the call nagged at me for a while, and I prayed about it and talked to my husband who suggested that I at least hear them out. I know that God knows just what I need in life, and when something falls in my lap that I wasn’t looking for, I have to question whether or not this was something from God that He knew I needed. I ended up accepting the position, and I truly love it. We had a hiatus from in home visits last year due to COVID, but I am back to seeing patients in their homes once a week and am loving it. I actually get to minister to patients from all walks of life, and it has been a blessing to me.

Two years ago, I entered the home of a heroin addict. I don’t think I have ever knowingly been in the home of a heroin addict prior to this or since. As I completed his health assessment, I’m pretty sure that a drug deal went down while I was there. I was well outside of my comfort zone. Oh yes, I was praying, and I also had the comfort of knowing that my husband was right outside in the vehicle waiting for me. This guy was scary. He was tattooed and scarred, but his scars were not merely on the outside of his body. His scars were deep inside the very core of his being. He talked very candidly and openly with me. He shared his heart. He didn’t hold anything back. He had stored away a whole lot of evil and hatred in his heart, and as I listened to the words, it was almost frightening. He was hurting badly. He didn’t want to be on drugs, but he didn’t know the way out. He had tried and failed rehab more than once, but he couldn’t find his way out of the darkness. He couldn’t see the light.

I listened to him intently, and after he had finished sharing his story, I asked permission to share my heart with him. I told him that I recognized that he was in a very dark place, and that I wanted him to come out of that darkness and see the Light. I tried to show him that the Light can be found in even the darkest of places. I shared my faith with him. I told him that I truly believe with 100% of my being that any addiction, any problem, and circumstance could be overcome if we only give Jesus full control. He told me that I was wrong. He informed me that his grandfather had told him that he could never become a Christian because he had hate in his heart. Oh y’all, he really had some hate in his heart…so much hate. He truly believed that he was lost forever because of the sins of his past and the hatred that he was holding on to.

As believers in Christ, we really need to make sure that the message that we are sharing with this lost and dying world is a message of truth. This man’s grandfather was wrong. If he were right, we would all be lost. Scripture is clear. If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. We only need to openly declare that Jesus is Lord of our heart and believe that He was resurrected to be saved. This makes us right with God. Jesus was the propitiation for our sins. He paid the price so that we don’t have to. I don’t think I was able to change this man’s mind, but I know that I at least planted a seed that day. I pray that someone waters that seed.

I don’t know where your heart is today. You may feel you have strayed too far from Christ. You may feel that your sin is too big to be forgiven. You may feel that you aren’t worthy. The fact is NO ONE is worthy of salvation. No one is worthy of God’s grace and mercy, but God took care of our unworthiness when He sent His Son to be the sacrificial Lamb. Jesus made us righteous. We only need to accept that tremendously amazing gift that keeps on giving. No matter how many steps or even miles you’ve traveled away from Christ, it only takes one step to get back to Him! Don’t turn away from God’s grace and mercy. We are not good enough, but HE IS!

I Chronicles 16:34 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

Psalm 145:9 The Lord is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his creation.

James 1:17 Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.

I was considering a word to share today, when Big Daddy Weave’s song, I Know That You Are Good, came on the radio. Several topics have been on my heart, but when I heard that song, it simply tied everything together and put a big bow right on top of my thoughts. Let me share the first verse and chorus with you: You don’t answer all my questions, but You hear me when I speak. You don’t keep my heart from breakin’, but when it does, You weep with me. You’re so close that I can feel You when I’ve lost the words to pray. And though my eyes have never seen You, I’ve seen enough to say: I know that You are good. I know that You are kind. I know that You are so much more than what I leave behind. I know that I am loved. I know that I am safe. ‘Cause even in the fire, to live is Christ, to die is gain. I know that You are good.

I know that God is good. I see evidence every single day. He has placed good people in my life, good people in my path, and His good undying love surrounds me day in and day out. One of my oldest friends is still battling COVID 19 in an intensive care unit on a ventilator. My friends and my church family have been praying for her daily. I was able to speak with her daughter yesterday, and I talked with her about how God is so good and that He is still working. She answered me saying, “He’s been working in mysterious ways.” I am quite sure that her response was dead on. Our God does work in mysterious ways. His ways are greater than ours. With this challenging illness, two of my other friends and I have drawn even closer together. We have been strengthening and encouraging one another through prayer, phone calls, and words of encouragement. Our good God placed those ladies in my life when we young children, and our friendship has continued to grow stronger through the years. As our faith in God grows, our relationships are strengthened. It is amazing to consider that God is so good that He knows exactly what people we need in our lives, and He provides those people when we are just little children! God hand picked my closest adult friends when I was just a kid! That blows my mind, Peeps!

As Big Daddy Weave sang this morning, I nodded in agreement with is words. God doesn’t always answer all of my questions, but I know that He hears me when I come to Him in prayer. God doesn’t always keep our hearts from breaking, but when our hearts do break, He weeps with us. And on those days that I don’t even have the words to speak in prayer, I feel His presence. I can quietly lean into Him because I know that He is there. I’ve never seen Him but I know Him! I know that He is good and kind, and He is so much better than everything I have left behind. I know that He loves me, and I know that I am safe in His arms. And I know that even though we may feel like we are in the fire, with Christ, even if we die, we gain everything.

Yes, my friends, we serve a very good God. I pray that if you are going through a struggle today, no matter what the situation may be, I pray that you place faith in the hands of our good, good God. Look around for those loving people that He has placed in your life to strengthen you and encourage you. Call out to the Father. Seek His presence. I pray that you know that He is good. Even in our darkest hour, even when the world is upside down, our good God is still at work doing mysterious things for our good and His glory. I know that He is good!

Philippians 4:4-9 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.  And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.  Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

Rejoice in the Lord always. Rejoicing is easy when everything is going well, but what about those times when things aren’t going our way? What about the days that we are struggling? Well, according to Paul, we are supposed to rejoice on those days too. Paul wrote these words while he was in prison. He wasn’t sitting at his nice cozy kitchen table or out on the back deck listening to the creek trickle by. No, he was sitting in a prison cell writing to the Philippian church. Yet, he was still rejoicing. How could he be rejoicing from prison? He could rejoice because he found his joy in Christ and not in himself or his situation. If we look to Christ, no matter what difficulties arise through the day, we can still rejoice.

I laughed out loud last night while driving back from the cow field to our home. Jeff called me to see if I was busy and said he needed a hand at the barn. He was trying to separate some cows that he needed to sell today. I was in my bright teal t-shirt, capris, and sandals, and didn’t even consider that I needed to change before heading over to help him. I just jumped in my car and drove over. There was one steer that he was still trying to get into the barn, but there were about 9 or 10 other calves in the holding area that we needed to move back into the field. Me and my sandals chased calves up and down that holding area at dusk. I couldn’t see the ground well because it was almost dark, and I ran through a few piles of what I was praying was fresh mud although I knew it probably wasn’t. I got the calves down to the gate several times, but before we could get them through, they would turn around and run back to the other end of the holding area. I then ran behind them….all the way to the end of the lot….and chased them back to the gate again and again and again. There are several lessons to be learned here. First of all, don’t wear a bright teal shirt and sandals to pin cows. They don’t like bright colors, and my feet don’t like stepping in stuff that squishes between my toes! Secondly, you can’t pin cows at dark. They don’t do well when they can’t see. You can chase them, and they will run, but they won’t go where you want them to go.

I got into my car smelling like barnyard with cow poop on my capris, in between my toes, and all over my sandals. I was hot and sweaty and aggravated, but I laughed out loud, and I prayed, “I’m going to keep rejoicing in you Lord. I’m struggling, but I’m rejoicing.” I washed my feet with the water hose before entering the house and threw my sandals in the washer and myself in the shower, and I thought about this scripture. Those cows aggravated me tonight. I could have let that ruin my mood for the night or even for the whole week, but instead, I remembered that the little aggravating details of my day do not define me or my mood. My joy comes from Christ, and I will rejoice in Him no matter what comes my way. Now, I realize that wrestling a herd of cows is nothing compared to the struggle Paul endured while in prison. I realize that nothing I endure on a daily basis can even come close to the suffering that our Lord and Savior endured on the cross for my sins. But I also realize that because my Savior loves me that much, because He was the ultimate sacrificial lamb for my sins, because of His grace and His mercy, I can rejoice no matter what situation comes my way!

We can rejoice because the King is still on His throne! Death did not defeat Him. He is still our King. We can rejoice because we do not have to fight to gain victory! No, my friends, the victory has already been won by our Savior. We can rejoice knowing what our good God has done all of this for us and rejoice in who He is! I’m not going to say we won’t have aggravations today. It’s Monday. There is a full moon in the sky. Things may get a bit crazy, but even when the world gets crazy, we don’t have to let it get us down. Nope! We can rejoice in the Lord always. Turn that frown upside down and rejoice in the Lord today!

Mark 1:16-20  One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him. A little farther up the shore Jesus saw Zebedee’s sons, James and John, in a boat repairing their nets. He called them at once, and they also followed him, leaving their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired men.

If you know me, you know that I love to fish. Our favorite place to fish is Old River WMA. We take the boat out early in the morning, stop along the way and catch crawfish for bait, and then unload the boat in the river. It’s always a treat to bring home an ice chest full of catfish. We may have to work a little hard, but at the same time we have loads of fun, and if the fish are biting, we get rewarded with supper! That’s always pretty cool! We have usually made several trips to the river by this time of the year each spring, but due to the massive amounts of rain we’ve had, the water levels have remained too high for fishing.

My favorite fishing trip memory involves a vacation to the country I love second to North America: Costa Rica, with the man I love second only to the good Lord! We booked a deep sea fishing excursion. At first it was absolutely BORING! We were on the water a good four hours before that first fish took the line. Jeff said, “This one is yours.” I began reeling that fish in, and then reeling, and reeling, and reeling. It was humongous! I had never caught a fish like this one in my entire life. My heart was racing. I was sweating. My arms were burning. I kept reeling. I asked Jeff if he wanted to take over, and he said, “No. This one is yours.” After 20 minutes, which seemed like 2 hours, I finally saw the fish at the edge of the boat. Our first mate landed the fish for me, bringing him into the boat. It was a 180 pound sailfish! I have never in my life caught a fish even one tenth of that size! After that fish, my husband caught a huge sailfish, and later we each caught one more sailfish. It was exhilarating and definitely a trip to be remembered for years to come!

On our last trip to Costa Rica, we booked an inshore fishing trip. It was exhilarating but not in a good way. The weather wasn’t good for fishing. The water was rough. The boat was rocking up and down and sideways. We actually thought it was going to flip over a time or too. My husband and I held on for dear life, and if a fish had taken the bait, we couldn’t have turned loose of the boat to reel it in even if we wanted to. It was a rough, rocky ride, and when we made it back to shore we were ready to kiss the ground. I think we actually died a little out there on those rough seas that day…or at least we thought we did! We didn’t even get one bite on that entire, crazy, nerve wracking, scary fishing trip!

In Mark, Chapter 1, Jesus is calling his first disciples. Here we see men who had made their living fishing. This was likely a family business and a good source of income in Galilee at the time. Fishing was the life these men knew. Jesus called them to follow Him and explained that He would make them fishers of people. He related their new calling to something that they could easily relate to. I always loved this scripture because as an old country girl, I can relate too. I love that Jesus calls us to be fishers of people. He doesn’t call us to leave our current jobs or vocation though. He wants us to fish right where we are all day long.

Fishing for people is a lot like fishing for fish. Sometimes, you may go days without ever getting a bite. Some days, going fishing may feel scary. The waters may be rough. We may get a little anxious or overwhelmed. But then there are days that you are reeling, and reeling, and reeling. Our hearts race with excitement, but we do not grow weary. We know that we are called to tell others about Christ, and we know that Christ is right there in the boat with us every time we set out to go fishing for men. We aren’t fishing alone. As fisher’s of men, we merely need to share the Good News. The Holy Spirit will take care of landing the fish. When was the last time you went fishing? Now, more than ever, people need to hear about Christ. Let’s go fishing today!

Revelation 22:17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

John 7:37-39 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

John 4:10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

Have you ever been so thirsty that your mouth felt like it was full of cotton? Perhaps you had been out working in the sweltering Mississippi heat. Maybe you were running a race, or perhaps you were just hot! No matter the cause of your thirst, nothing quenches it like a good old, cold glass of water. I used to hate drinking water. That was back in the days of my coke addiction…coke meaning Coca Cola and then later on a Diet Coke addiction. Praise be to God and my husband’s urging, I defeated those addictions. Now I drink lots of water, way too much coffee, and a little bit of tea.

Let’s consider a different kind of thirst. We sometimes get a thirst that just can’t be quenched. We thirst for things of this world, but when we obtain those things, we still feel empty. It feels like there is a void inside of us, an emptiness, that no matter how hard we try we just can’t satisfy that thirst. Well my friends, it’s my opinion that God put that little void inside our hearts, that little empty feeling, because He knew that we needed One thing and One thing only to quench that thirst. Through salvation and acceptance of Christ our Savior, we are given a truly amazing gift: the Holy Spirit. He completely, unequivocally fills that void.

I’m here to tell you that nothing in this world can fill you up like the saving grace of Jesus. You can search the world over, buy everything your heart desires, feed all of the physical cravings with the things of the world, but at the end of the day there will still be a little empty spot thirsting away. Why not take a sip of the living water today? I bet you can’t just take one sip! Once you feel that wonderful quenching of our Savior, you won’t thirst in that way anymore. But you will soon feel a new kind of thirst: one for a relationship with the One that fills your heart completely! Are you thirsty? Why not go drink from the living well this morning?

Read Ezra 10:1-14 (Focus verses 13b-14) But there are many people here and it is the rainy season; so we cannot stand outside. Besides, this matter cannot be taken care of in a day or two, because we have sinned greatly in this thing. Let our officials act for the whole assembly.

That was a long Old Testament read, huh? If you asked me where my morning devotions come from, the simple answer would be “God”. The long answer is I pray for a word or idea, something pops in my head, then I dig out my Bible and research it. Today’s word was actually rain. I thought we’d talk about Noah and the great flood. You know the story. The world was full of sin. People had turned from God. He decided the earth needed a big old bubble bath to clean it up so flooded the earth and cleaned it up. But as I dove into my quiet time with God, I came across this Old Testament scripture, and I read, “But there are many people here and it is the rainy season; so we cannot stand outside,” and I thought, that sounds kind of like our situation right now. Lol. But I dove a little deeper and read it in context, and then it really started sounding familiar. Not the part about marrying foreign women, but definitely the part about sinning against God. Ezra, the priest, was literally on the ground, crying, confessing, and praying because the people had turned from God. There was sin in the land, and the people had to confess and turn from the sin so that they could be right with God.

We are in a totally different situation currently, and Old Testament readings sometimes seem hard to understand and outdated to us. In reality, there is still important wisdom in Old Testament books. We can learn about what is right and wrong in the eyes of God. God doesn’t like it when we sin. He especially doesn’t like it when we turn away from Him. Our nation has turned so far from Him that it’s time for us to get on our knees, weep, and pray and acknowledge that we’ve sinned and run back to the loving arms of Christ. God desires an up close and personal relationship with each of us. I think He is trying to get our attention right now! Let’s get on our knees!