Monday, May 2, 2016

I have a question kitty...


 

Do you have your own little paw raised, filled with questions about your life? I’d say that accounts for most, if not all, of us. There are so many questions. Uncertainty abounds. Perhaps you’re at a crossroads. Perhaps you’re recently reeling from a major mistake. Or maybe you’re just simply confused. Are you asking questions? Are you asking God questions?

When we’re children, we’re notorious for constantly asking why about the world around us. Why is the sky blue? Why is the grass green? Why do I have to eat my vegetables? As we mature, however, the why questions don’t go away. They just become more challenging. And so, often, we stop asking, discouraged. We can become cynical, broken adults, feeling shipwrecked about the state of our lives. Been there yet?

Fortunately, God never berates us for our why questions. He encourages us repeatedly to “ask.”

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:”

Matthew 7:7

Ask. A simple little word, but it contains so much power. For, when we turn our why questions to God, they have a way of turning into prayer, don’t they?

“And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”

Matthew 21:22

That’s a double shot of power! No, it doesn’t mean that everything will be instantly fixed at that second. Often, we may not know the answer. But ask and keep on asking!

“Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you.”

Matthew 7:7

Classic persistence! What are you asking? What’s your question? Have you turned it to God? Have you asked it in the Name of Jesus?

 “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.”

John 16:24

Don’t be afraid of your questions; God knows them long before you do. And, in all of your asking, don’t forget to ask for wisdom.

 “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”

James 1:5

It may not be your desired, instantaneous answer to prayer you’re seeking, but wisdom will be there to bless and protect you in profound ways.

Keep going, keep asking. Think of how far you’ve already come in your life. Think of all of the questions you’ve asked which have led you to this point. That, in itself, is such an incredible miracle! God has not forgotten you. He’s listening for your question. Will you ask it?
 
Copyright © 2016 by Sheryle Cruse

 
 


God: TY...


Sunday, May 1, 2016

...Part of God's Plan


Give yourself permission...


Go ahead, admire your reflection!



“O my dove…let me see your form…for your form is lovely.”
Song of Solomon 2:14

A Diamond is...


May Day!



“...‘Lord, help me.’”

Matthew 15:25

This first day of the month reminds me of the importance of “May Day!” Most of us are familiar with the declaration, usually screamed as a plan goes down. We’ve seen many depictions of that scenario through movie and cartoon scenes. It is the ultimate distress call.

“May Day!”

“Help!”

So, with that in mind, let’s just take a brief refresher course in obtaining help for our lives.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

Psalms 46:1

Where is my help?

“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.”

Psalms 42:5

 “Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.”

Psalms 124:8

But we should remember the power of our cry for this help...

“...‘Lord, help me.’”

Matthew 15:25

It seems like we make it more complicated than it need be.

We attach strings, performance criteria and punishment when it comes to our “May Day” cries. It’s not predicated on our understanding. We don’t need to possess a perfect faith, just an honest, in that moment, kind of one. And that speaks to the real component of our heart. And everything, cries for help included, are, indeed, heart issues.

 “...‘Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.’”

Mark 9:24

No, there aren’t those stipulations.

If that were the case, each of us would fall woefully short...

“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”

1 Corinthians 13:12

God reassures us He is faithful to hear us and respond...

“So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him, and he heareth the cry of the afflicted.”

Job 34:28

Are you afflicted? Most of us can answer “yes” to that question.

We, therefore, need to remember the open invitation, always present...

“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, ‘If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.’”

John 7:37

“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

Hebrews 4:16

The invitation has its foundation on God’s love and grace...

“Since you were precious in my sight… I have loved you…”

Isaiah 43:4

“I have chosen you and have not cast you away.”

Isaiah 41:9

“The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, ‘Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.’”

Jeremiah 31:3

 “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.”

2 Corinthians 9:8

This last scripture, again, reinforces the individual, personal, one-on-one reality of this help, found in two little words, “toward you.”

So, let’s, each one of us, take that invitation, on this first day of May to examine our need, cry for and reliance upon real help. It is here. It exists. It’s bankable.

It is the Most High.

Happy “May Day” to us all!

Copyright © 2016 by Sheryle Cruse