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Lord,

Help me to guard my heart against the intrusion of the world. 

Guard my mind to keep it focused on You. 

Help me remember and act upon the fact that everything – everything – will fall into place as long as I recognize You as Lord and center of my life.

Protect me from the clutter of materialism, the rubbish of anxiety, the frenzy of busyness, the weight of bitterness, and the vanity of perceived control.

I commend this day and all the days of my life to You.

Jude 1:²⁴ Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, ²⁵ To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

Photo – Hungry Horse Dam, Beth Mims

The coffee is hot!
It’s ready – I’m not –
to face the day that’s ahead.
Many chores to be done
before setting sun,
but my feet keep turning toward bed.

I cannot go out
with a victory shout
when my body is struggling to rise.
My hair is askew –
these wrinkles are new! –
affirming I’m nobody’s prize.

On day like these
I fall to my knees
and call to my Father’s heart.
I need His great love
and His strength from above
to keep me from falling apart.

Lamentations 3:²¹ This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. ²² It is of  the Lord‘s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. ²³ They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

Psalm 27:The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength…

The substance of joy does not rest in this world.

Joy lives in the hope born of the resurrection.  It inhabits the incorruptible inheritance prepared for and kept for me. It is sustained by the power of God.

Trial and temptation may come against me, and circumstances may flip me like a burger on a hot grill, but I am secure in the joy unspeakable that is Jesus the Christ.

The temporary cannot thwart the eternal, nor can the uncertainties of this life overcome the sureness of Heaven.

Settled firmly in the character of our trustworthy God and His work on the cross, I am redeemed. Chosen by His grace, purchased with His blood, kept by His honor, I rejoice in His hope.

I Peter 1:³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a

Covid-19 – to give its proper name – has closed down the world. In fact, some of the commentary around us suggests that our lives will never be the same again – we may even lose some things we’d taken for granted as everyday. The other phrase that is kicked around the media airwaves is “the new normal”. What our society will look like on the other side of this pandemic is still – in some senses – a blank canvas.

I was thinking about those two things and thought “good.” There are some things that might benefit our society if they’re never seen again. But this strange time we live in is revealing some things I’d like to keep.

Starting with this…

The growing imbalance over the past decade or three was something I grew to despise. Huge sums of money were being paid to people who danced in…

God does not fit into our rules and procedures and committee meetings. We can’t wrap Him up neatly, reach consensus, and place Him in a box.

God is about love, and love is messy.

Love places the receiver before the giver. It reaches to the unlovely and ungrateful and continues in the face of hatred. It goes beyond the expected and sacrifices itself for the good of another.

Love doesn’t make sense.

You know what Jesus was thinking about the night before He went to the cross?

You, and me, and all of the people who did and would follow Him.

How do I know that?

He prayed for us.

It is right there in the middle of the seventeenth chapter of John.

John 17:20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word.

I don’t know what you are facing today or what you are going through, but take heart – the Savior prayed for you. You are on His mind.

Then. Now. Always.

Read His prayer for yourself.  John 17

The photo is a picture of my Crown of Thorns flower.  It has remained in bloom throughout the winter, reminding me of His unfailing love.  B. Mims