Reflection

I love Saturday mornings! Nothing to do, sleeping in, and spending as much time as my spirit desires with my God.  I picked up an old journal that I had not finished writing in earlier this week and read back a couple pages.  What I read brought so much trust and joy into my heart.

This time last year I was frantically trying to finish my master's degree at Auburn University and nail down an internship to become a dietitian.  There were a couple programs that had just started that I had applied to.  This journal entry was written after I heard that I did not get in either program. One of the programs even said that my application was late so they didn't consider me.  My entry was this,
 " 'Don't lose hope, daughter!'  These are the words You've spoken to me this season and in the  time.  I'm trying hard not to lose hope and to ignore the lie of I'm not good enough. I wonder if I had gotten my application in on time??? But, now that it's behind me, I won't dwell on it."

Little did I know what He had in store for me.  Looking back on this entry and being able to see with 20/20 vision gives me such great hope in who our God is and His promises to us.  That He does have a greater plan (Jeremiah 29:11), that His thoughts are higher than ours (Isaiah 55: 8 and on) and that He delights to give us the desires of our hearts if we'll surrender those desires to Him. 

Today I am writing to you from my two bedroom apartment in Charleston, SC in the very beginning stages of my dietetic internship at the Medical University of South Carolina:)!!!!! In less than a year I will be a registered dietitian. Praise Him!!

I still cannot believe that He has places me here for such a time as this.  I encourage you today to place your trust in whatever situation you may be going through into His CAPABLE hands.  It's hard going through a rough season.  It took me four years to get where I am but what I learned along the way and what I was able to do in that "in between time" was worth it's weight in gold.  I would not be the person I am today without that time. 

Your sister,
Amanda

Divine Mentor-Our God Is In Control

Jeremiah 33-34; Psalm 74; I John 5

Scripture: Jeremiah 33:3 " Call unto me, and I will answer you and will tell you great and unsearchable things which you do not know."

Observation: In the midst of the destruction of the Promised Land, which God orchestrated and allowed because of the rebellion of His chosen people, God speaks through Jeremiah about the future.

Application: This verse is as true today as it was 500 years before Jesus came. God wants to be involved in every area of my life, and He promises me that He knows my future and is in total control of it.

Prayer: O God, I miss out on so much when I try to run my own life. Today I am calling on You- answer me, and tell me great things which I do not know!

Divine Mentor: Highly influential Christians

“Christians are the most influential people on planet Earth. Imagine what God would do through us if we’d simply obey.” Highly influential Christians are people who are (or people of)… Holy (separate from sin, pray, read the Bible, fellowship with other Christians) Intentional (deliberate about what we do and why we do it) Focused (committed, self-disciplined, prioritize, and “niche” oriented in ministry) Generous (with time, money, and love) Passionate (positive about the things of God and the people of God) Servants (submissive to the needs of those around us) Courageous (overcome fear) Character (people of sound morals, ethics, and biblical principles) Communicative (we listen, we share our ideas, we speak–it’s called ministry) Relational (we have diverse and multi-faceted relationships; no lone-rangers, we are others-oriented) Teachable (we appreciate the wisdom of others and allow ourselves to be taught, shaped and molded by what is right) Leaders (we are visionaries, with our eyes fixed on heaven, leading others to find that sweet manna bread) Humble (we maintain a correct and honest assessment of ourselves) Criticized (because we long for a home made without hands, we tend to be at odds with worldly people) Imitated (others are able to see how we live and replicate what is good; we are mentors to those who need help) Transparent (we are not hypocrites; we don’t hide behind masks; what you see is what you get) Competitive (we want our God and Savior to be victorious in our lives; finishing last is non-optional behavior for us) Expansive (we live outside of the comfort zone, because that’s where the amazing things happen, such as change) Discerning (we don’t bend with every wind of doctrine, but compare everything to Scripture) Motivational (we can be a spark to light other people’s fire as we bear one another’s burdens) Learners (we never come to a place where we’ve arrived; there is always more to glean) Taken from CharlesSpecht.com

john 21:11 153 fishes Mon. 19th Barbara Hutchinson

Our LORD is so precise when HE is talking to us and I always wondered at the odd number of 153. In the past I ask the LORD to help me to find an explanation and in time when I had forgotten I ask the wisdom HE gave me an answer that the hebrew alphabet of each letter having a numerical value was a key.  It is considered that this means 153 sorts of fish, i.e. all kinds of men enclosed in the Gospel net. If these fishes are a symbol of the saved, this confirms of our LORD'S words, recorded in John 6:39  KJV "of all that HE (the FATHER) hath given ME I should lose nothing"  and John 17:12 "those that THOU gavest ME I have kept, and none of them is lost.  This to fulfill scripture.
This is a promise & a promise broken becomes a lie, GOD cannot lie & we cannot lie when we speak HIS promises in faith, trust & belief, expect them to come to pass and thank HIM before we see the results.
The expression in hebrew of BENI HA-ELOHIM) means "SONS OF GOD" and the numerical value adds up to 153.

John 21:9 As soon then as they wereome to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.  verse 10 JESUS saith unto them, bring of the fish which ye have now caught.
Obviously the cooking fish were not of what they caught.    and the next verse says the net was not broken therefore none were lost.
Peter & the others remembering JESUS' promise to make them fishers of men in Matthew 4:19 would probably have made this connection & understood this was JESUS  preparing them for their ministry of witnessing with out fear in the dark days ahead of them in their lifetimes.
We lose so much between the lines & the depth of these precise numbers & examples of how JESUS taught HIS disciples face to face, and that is why we are to study to be found worthy as we seek HIS face in our christian walk remembering christianity cannot stand alone it stems straight out of the roots of JUDAISM.

But this is to cement in our minds that HE will not lose one of us even in the midst of this gross darkness that we are to be NOT AFRAID BUT STRONG & COURAGEOUS.  Courage in hebrew means clear headed, clear minded, sharp, alert, established & confirmed in our MINDS OF CHRIST.  That is hope eternal to hear that trump & be called home soon & very soon.  IN JESUS NAME    AMEN!

Divine Mentor - Because she Lingered - by Laila Wahba

Because she lingered

John 20.10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.

20.11-15 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking..

Peter and John did “what they had to do”: they saw the situation, believed and went back home. They did not do anything wrong; but Mary lingered. Being a woman  made her linger, being emotional, made her linger; being a woman with a past whom Jesus had free, made her linger and this very lingering blessed her: she saw angels, and she saw… Jesus.

I am a to do, goal oriented woman, God spoke to me this morning that Peter and John checked their “to Do” list, and no one could blame them, but Laila, checking the to do list sometimes makes you miss so may blessings. Take your time Laila, and linger a little bit longer: tell me about your feelings, your struggles, your fears. This is not wasted time: lingering gives me time to appear to you in ways that you would never experience if you stick to your check list; or if you stick to the proper way to do things, or if you hurry through your time with ME. Linger, wait, “waste” time and you will see things that no one else experienced, just like Mary Magdalene.

Lord, today I will linger a little bit longer, like a woman madly in love with her Savior, wanting to spend one more second with You, Jesus, the lover of my soul. I do not want to leave you Lord, let me linger to see YOUR lovely face, and hear you say “Laila, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking”? and my answer will be, “I seek you Jesus”. Amen

Divine Mentor: Which Kingdom do you Serve? by Debbie McGrath

As I was reading John 19, it was so obvious that Pilate made all the wrong decisions that day. Just like Pilate, we have many decisions to make. Our choices we make, tell which kingdom we serve.  The scriptures in John 19 reveal that Pilate chose to serve the Kingdom of Earth - he went for popularity, power, security of his job and  short-term comfort.  He tried to seek a middle way, a scheme in which he could serve both or neither without having to chose, but there is none.  

Just like Pilate we choose who we will serve!
Which kingdom do you serve?

Kingdom of the Earth           OR        Kingdom of Heaven

* Public Popularity                           Personal Integrity
*Way of the World                           God's Way
*Works                                          Faith/Trust
*Pride                                            Grace
*Power                                          Truth
*Riches on Earth                             Treasures in Heaven
*Short-term comfort                        Eternal Rewards
*Earthly Success                             Spiritual Purity 
*Tangible Rewards                          Intangible and delayed rewards

Each day, we must choose which kingdom we will serve.  

Divine Mentor- How Do I Love?

Today's Reading: Jeremiah 13-15; John 15

Scripture: John 15: 13 "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends."

Observation: Jesus is the perfect picture of the greatest love. Every disciple, including Paul, gave up the life he had known and even his physical life so that others could know Jesus. Believers throughout the centuries that followed gave up their homes and families, many eventually their lives, to take Jesus to others. Even today, believers are placing their lives in danger for the sake of the Gospel, and many are tortured and killed.

Application: I am ashamed to think about how little, if anything, I lay aside for my friends (let alone people I don't know). Sacrifice!! What sacrifices do I make? Maybe occasionally my calendar, my time, my money and possessions? Not really. What about my choice of TV programs and books? A good night's sleep? Would my life really be any different from what it is right now if I were not a believer committed to follow Jesus in obedience?

Prayer: Jesus, I can do nothing without You, but I want to be willing to give up everything so that others may know You. Show me today how to lay down my life of comfort in ways I may not have known. Show me how to love.