The Eyes of the Lord

"The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good." Proverbs 15:3

I really know this is true, because of God's omniscience (He knows all), He must see and hear everything, too. It is not just the bottom line that He sees, such as in the intentions of our hearts or our motivations. He sees and hears details. He sees and hears what is intentionally left unsaid, and the facial expression that accompanies that. He knows when we try, and it goes unknown and unseen. He hears our quiet dry tears about the heartaches over awkward and strained miscommunications, and missed golden opportunities. His eyes are everywhere; He sees when we fake it, and when we barely get through, and when we make something out of nothing. He sees us unconsciously litter and leave messes behind. He also sees us pick up after others and clean up messes that aren't ours. He sees our compassion and our arrogance. He knows when we are trying to help and when we are really just trying to cover our own tracks. He sees and hears it all. None of it alarms Him or surprises Him. He knows, and cares, and watches because He wants to be glorified by the good, and protect us from the evil. He is our loving Father God, and The Judge. He is the Maker and Sustainer of all things. Everything is subject to Him.

Rich or Poor

"Rich and poor have this in common, the Lord is maker of them all" Proverbs 22:2

I recently was invited to an event in a rather wealthy gated neighborhood. Dawn needed to go to another family event so I represented us. Since Dawn drove our better car, I drove my father-in-law's work van since my other car is unreliable. After an inordinate and overly scrutinizing gatekeeper interview, I then wove my way back through some rather prestigious homes until I finally found my destination. I was significantly early so decided to park up the street to return some texts and calls. Since the event was being held on a cul-de-sac, I parked half a block away so as not to take up too much parking with my oversized vehicle. As I turned my wheels into the curb I spotted the cutest white poodle with pink ribbons, positioned in the picture window of the house I was parked in front of.

Marvelous Deeds

"Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. Praise be to His glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen." Psalm 72:18-19

Today, I am in a double Amen mood! Today, I am indeed praising God for His marvelous deeds. I am praying right now that everyone will be as filled full of hope and joy as I am. All because I am seeing progress and momentum building in the Grace Harbor family and facility.

You Better Check Yourself before you Wreck Yourself

"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test?" II Corinthians 13:5

I recently attended several days of meetings in Florida to represent my company at a convention with thousands of people. During this time, I would meet several high management level business associates for my work. My boss rarely sends me on such business trips, so I felt it was important to make a good first impression on behalf of my company. Due to the 3 hour time change between California and Florida, it was a little hard the first night to go to sleep at a reasonable time, so because of that, I found myself oversleeping on the next morning, suddenly jumping out of bed and having to rush around my hotel room getting ready for the breakfast gathering of the executives. I hurriedly dug through my suitcase, threw on my business attire, then had to frantically search for all my additional preparatory items, and amazingly got ready in 10 minutes… All the while, I had the opportunity to pass by a large full length mirror in my bathroom and glance to see if everything was looking “presentable”, but time ran short, and now in retrospect I realize that I failed to make one last pass by that mirror…. (Some of you can already imagine what I am about to tell you, right?)

The Vine and the Branch

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5-6

I use to work for a cellular phone company and it was an amazing experience. It was the most intense, stressful but most rewarding job that I have ever had outside of my ministry.

Tomorrow

"Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth." Proverbs 27:1

Today is always the day. The moment is always now. We should be careful about our “great big plans” for the future. I do not even know what today will bring. Twenty-four hours from now everything could be totally different. These kinds of sayings should be on our lips often to remind us of how little control we have over what can happen so fast in our lives.

A Final Opportunity

This devotional written by Greg Laurie from Harvest Ministries:

"And Jesus said to him, 'Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.'" Luke 23:43

Talk about being in the right place at the right time. The thief on the cross got in under the wire, so to speak.

Weighed And Found Wanting

"Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found." Daniel 5:27

Nebuchadnezzar's son, Belshazzar was not the same kind of man as his father. Although he did not finish well, for a season Nebuchadnezzar had basked in the favor of God's blessing and then succumbed to his own pride and arrogance. Belshazzar was never humble, even though he knew his own father's plight. He worshiped gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood and stone. He drank wine with his concubines poured into the temple goblets.

The Legacy of Stan Spaulding - A Shining Example of a Real Christian Man

Last Saturday, we remembered and celebrated the long (98 years) rich life of our most Senior Elder and Brother in Christ, Stan Spaulding. I have no doubt that the very first thing Stan heard after he was transformed "in the twinkling of an eye" was his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ saying "Well done, my Good and Faithful Servant!" Now enter into your glorious eternal reward I prepared for you before the beginning of the world” (followed by being reunited with his beloved Fran and the applause of Heaven).

Year End Closing Thoughts: Reflections on 2011

Our Daily Devotional today comes to us from Heather Gent:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight" Proverbs 3:5

With 2012 rapidly approaching, I find myself torn between somewhat dreamy reflections over the year that is now ending and expectant contemplations regarding the year that is to come. I've heard a number of people express immeasurable gratitude over the current year's end, but I'm not so sure I'm among the many ecstatic future goers. I'm happy to be starting a new year and chapter in life, but I'm not in some zealous hurry to jump across the line into 2012. I guess 2011 just hasn't been so bad that I'm in a mad dash to leave it all behind. On the other hand, it has had moments that were so painful I didn't think I could cope unless God Himself would come down and scoop me up - in person. I may even have asked Him once if I could light a bush on fire and pretend it was Him. My pain and inner pyromaniac aside, however, 2011 was actually a blessed year, one that contained more good than bad, greater love than pain, and increased hope and trust in God. I'm okay that it's coming to a close, but I guess I'm thankful for what it brought, so these are my closing thoughts...

God The Builder

"Unless God builds the house, its builders labor in vain." Psalm 127:1

It is God alone who is the primary builder of everything in the universe. He created everything out of nothing, and continues to sustain everything. Nothing that was made was made without Him.

Our Heavenly Father's Unconditional Love

This devotion is from Dr. Charles Stanley of InTouch Ministries:

"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation." Romans 5:6-11

Scripture tells us that love is the very essence of who God is (1 John 4:7). So if you don't believe that He loves you unconditionally, you'll never really know Him or have genuine peace about your relationship with Him.

God Hates Sin, but loves the Sinner?

"God Hates Sin, but loves the Sinner" by Gabby Botts is the second in a series of devotionals by the 2012 Grace Harbor Colombia Mission Team. I encourage you find a quiet place to read these words and then share the truth with a friend.

"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." 2 Timothy 4:3-4

Hello everyone! It’s Gabby :) I don’t know if you know, but I have a blog that I post on regularly, and I follow other bloggers. One thing that keeps popping up all over is the catchy phrase, "God hates the sin, but not the sinner." It never really bothered me until I recently reread today’s verses from 2nd Timothy. It opened up my eyes, and made me really question a lot, including this phrase!

Truth and Death

"I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps My Word, he will never see death" John 8:51

There is absolutely nobody better than Jesus at telling the truth. After all, He is The Way, The Truth and The Life, right? Right!!!

The Fruit of Wisdom

"But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere." James 3:17

The fruit of wisdom should be good fruit. Fruit that is not rotten on the inside or bitter, not over-ripe or immature.

Falling Sky

Grace Harbor is proud to present a series of devotions from the 2012 Colombia Mission Team members. In preparation for their summer trip to Colombia the team is studying, training and worshipping together frequently. One of their assignments is to submit a devotional for publication on the Grace Harbor website. Please join us in supporting each of them in prayer as God prepares their hearts to serve Him in Colombia.

Falling Sky by Heather Gent is the first in a series of devotionals by the 2012 Grace Harbor Colombia Mission Team. I encourage you to find a quiet place and watch this story unfold as Heather shares how God called her to become a member of the team.

"Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and destitute." Psalm 82:3

Several months ago I sat in church one Sunday morning and listened to our church's mission team coordinator talk about her trip to Medellin and Bogota in Columbia just weeks before. She talked about many things, both good and bad, but of them all I can only recall the story of heroin addiction and other abuse among children as young as six years old.

Stand Firm

"You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.'" II Chronicles 20:17

Every day is a new day, a new battle. For some of us, we may battle addiction or loneliness. We may battle the pressure of our peers to do what we know is wrong but we desire to be accepted and loved so we compromise our Christian values. We may have physical limitations that we battle daily as we try to live a normal productive life or we may battle the temptation of entering into a dating relationship that we know is not pleasing to God. The list could go on and on.

Why I Love

"We love Him because He first loved us." I John 4:19

This was the scriptural sentiment printed on the inside cover of the most recent birthday card I received from everybody's, Grandma Shirley. Of course, she is more of a Mom to me than a Grandma, and only my own Mom used the word love as many times in the card she sent me this year. My Mom and Grandma Shirley have a few things in common, not the least of which is that they both really love me very much. I believe this, know this and feel this.
I recognize sincere love because it is so similar to the love that Jesus loves me with. Of course the love of Jesus is the ultimate and truest love. Even though this is so, I can honestly say that my Mom and Grandma Shirley both love, with a precious love.

Submit for the Lord’s sake

Our Friday Devotion comes to us from Council Member, Alan Severin:

"Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right." 1 Peter 2:13-14

Let me give you a very short version of a much longer story about myself and the terrible boss I suffered under for over 6 years.

Judgement!

"This is what the LORD says: "For three sins of Israel, even for four, I will not turn back {my wrath}. They sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals. They trample on the heads of the poor as upon the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed. Father and son use the same girl and so profane my holy name. They lie down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge. In the house of their god they drink wine taken as fines." Amos 2:6-8

From time to time I need to read about God's wrath, his judgements and punishments.

How To Get Unity

"May the God who gives you endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus." Romans 15:5

I have always believed that the questions we have about The Word can be answered by The Word.