What do you do when you encounter “dry seasons” in your walk with Christ? You can’t seem to get anything out of the Word… Reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating lose their delight and almost become mundane… You need direction for a crucial decision and can’t find it… You lack the strength you need to face the obstacles along the path… You feel empty and dry and struggle with joy…

Persevere through these seasons! Reject your feelings and keep seeking Christ – -the encouragement will eventually follow, and you will once again be rejoicing. The Lord recently reminded me of the promise in Isaiah 41:17-18:

“When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.”

So, press on. He is sufficient for all of your needs, and He will refresh your heart! “…[B]elieve that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Heb. 11:6

Recently struggling with some similar thoughts, the Lord brought me Isaiah 61 to get my focus right again. I would highly encourage you to take some a moment next time you are feeling weak and empty to ponder this beautiful passage. The Lord reminded me that part of my purpose in life is service – to both Him and others. But if that is truly part of why I am alive, why is it so hard sometimes?

God has a way of putting us all through these “servant-hood tests” to see where our hearts really are. In His mercy He reminds us that He has laid up the rewards of joy, peace, strength, and contentment for those who are faithful and daily give Him their all.

So today… trust God’s sovereignty in asking you to go another mile with Him, rejoice in His presence as you journey, and rest in His promise of strength as the road becomes rocky and difficult.

Press on – for one more mile!

“Take me,” cried the gold one, “I’m shiny and bright.
I’m of great value and I do things just right.
My beauty and luster will outshine the rest,
And for someone like you, Master, gold would be best.”

The Master passed on with no word at all,
And looked at a silver urn, narrow and tall.
”I’ll serve you, dear Master, I’ll pour out your wine
I’ll be on your table whenever you you dine.
My lines are so graceful, my carving so true,
And silver will always complement You.”

Unheeding, the Master passed on to the brass,
Wide-mouthed and shallow and polished like glass.
”Here! Here!” cried the vessel, “I know I will do,
Place me on your table for all men to view.”

“Look at me,” cried the goblet of crystal so clear,
”My transparency shows my contents so dear.
Though fragile, am I, I will serve you with pride,
And I’m sure I’ll be happy in your house to abide.”

The Master came next to a vessel of wood,
Polished and carved, it solidly stood.
”You may use me, dear Master,” the wooden bowl said,
”But I’d rather you used me for fruit, not for bread.”

Then the Master looked down and saw a vessel of clay,
Empty and broken it helplessly lay.
No hope had the vessel, that the Master might choose
To cleanse, and make whole, to fill, and to use.

“Ah! This is the vessel I’ve been hoping to find.
I’ll mend it and use it and make it all mine.
I need not the vessel with pride of itself,
Nor one that is narrow to sit on the shelf,
Nor one that displays its contents so proud
Nor the one that thinks he can do all things just right,
But this plain, earthen vessel, filled with power and might.”

Then gently He lifted the vessel of clay,
Mended and cleansed it, and filled it that day.
Spoke to it kindly — “There’s work you must do!
Just pour out to others, as I pour into you.”

–B.V. Cornwall

Every day we face trials. Some are bigger than others, but all tend to stretch our faith, cause some pain, and test whether or not we really believe that the Lord governs each little area of our lives!

I was flipping through one of my old journals this evening and “stumbled” across some excellent notes from a message from Mr. Scott Brown we listened to on one of our trips last summer. I hope these are a blessing to you seek to trust the Lord as He sends each struggle into your life today. Remember that each one is a specially-designed tool for conforming you into His image!

“Trials are God’s gateway to far better things for your life.”

“Suffering is often the only way to victory.”

“Mighty trials, responded to in a righteous manner, will make you into a mighty individual for Christ.”

“The Lord often disguises blessings as disasters.”

“Your trials will either make you, or break you.”

“The kind providences of God often arise out of our worst failures and disasters.”

“Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.” Ecclesiastes 7:3

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

While we know that it was God’s sovereign plan for Jesus to die for our sins, and that some will be saved while others reject Christ, we also have to recognize that we are responsible for our decisions. Although God planned every detail of the world, Judas wasn’t forced to choose to betray Christ, and his story should be a fearful warning to those who think they can live in their own strength.

A chosen few were picked by God

To walk beside His Son on Earth,

But one man of the honored twelve,

Refused to see the Savior’s worth.

What went through the schemer’s mind

When silver clanked into his hands?

How strongly Satan’s greed took hold

And tightened its enslaving bands!

The stage was set, the night was dark,

To veil the traitor’s treach’rous deed.

God withheld His mighty pow’r,

To let Satan’s plan succeed.

What searing guilt the apostate felt

When his murderous act was done!

His screaming conscience took his life;

For he’d betrayed God’s perfect Son.

He stood for three years at the brink

Of Grace’s free, o’erflowing Well;

But he who kissed the Door of Heaven

Spends eternity in Hell.

Still the Tempter lives today

Within the hearts of wicked men

Who will not turn to Christ for help,

And lack the strength to fight their sin.

It was for all that Jesus died -

He bore our punishment in full

That we might have eternal life,

Beloved by God, forgiven, whole.

We’re just as faithless as the man

Who his Lord and Friend betrayed,

If we turn from Jesus and ignore

The redemption price He paid.

The power of the Evil One

Was crushed when Jesus gave His life;

He broke the curse of sin and death –

Our vict’ry through His sacrifice!

You’re given opportunity,

And although some will still rebel,

Do not kiss the Door of Heaven,

Yet spend eternity in Hell.

Dad read this to us this morning at breakfast:

“When ye will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving unto the Lord, offer it at your own will.” Leviticus 22:29

One day, while paying my electric bill, I decided to thank the company for the service they were providing me. “Thanks for my electricity,” I said, “It’s really quite a bargain for all the benefits I receive.” “What!” said the lady behind the counter, in amazement, “That’s the first time anyone has ever thanked us. All I ever heard around here are complaints.”

It’s a challenge to grow up with a thankful heart. From an early age we are exposed to a culture of complainers, gripers, grumblers, and critics. We complain about the weather, traffic, food, work, neighbors, bills, the government, church, and life in general. Worst of all, we are ungrateful toward God. It would be hard to count the number of complaints and criticisms that are daily spoken before Him and against Him. How can we, who have received so much, be thankful for so little?

One of the great indicators of true spirituality is not measured by how many times we go to church, how big our Bibles are, or how long we pray, but it is measured by the level of gratitude that is in our hearts. When we are ungrateful, the heart of God is saddened, the Holy Spirit is grieved, and the joy of the Lord is quenched within us.

Being thankful sweetens you, grumbling sours you; being thankful brings sunshine to your countenance, being ungrateful casts a shadow; being thankful brings a melody to your words, criticism makes you sound like a clanging cymbal; being thankful keeps your feet on the pathway of celebration, complaint takes you down the road of despair.

When our hearts are filled with gratefulness, we may feel like our thanksgiving is always appropriate. It will gladden the heart of God to hear your heartfelt thanks being freely offered to Him today.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Neely Team!!

I surrender everything.

Take my life, my heart, my all,

And on thee I’ll always call.

Hear me, Lord, and use me now

And before thee in heaven I’ll ever bow.

Send me always where you will

And I’ll forever follow still.

Deliver me from mine enemy swift,

And in Thine loving arms me lift.

Always, Gentle Shepherd, keep

Me ever from those waters deep.

All to Thee, my Savior, Friend,

Keep me always to the end.

And when I take my final breath,

Lead me through the vale of death.

I know the gentle life you gave

Has kept me from a wretched grave.

When hanging on that cross you died,

Your love for me was testified.

Rose of Sharon, blooming flow’r

Saved me with His matchless pow’r.

I pause, in awe, to ponder what the Creator is to me.

He’s Joy and Hope at each new morn; He’s Mercy when I fall;

The Giver of sweet rest at night; the Hearer of my call.

The Craftsmen of the flow’rs that bud; the Divider of the sea;

He calls the stars by name above, yet holds me tenderly.

Giver of grace in my deep need; and much more than can be told!

But, more than these, He is to me – the Keeper of my soul.

What is He to YOU?

Christ the Lord is risen today; Alleluia!

Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!

Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!

Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply, Alleluia!

Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!

Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!

Once He died, our souls to save, Alleluia!

Where’s thy victory, O grave? Alleluia!

Love’s redeeming work is done, Alleluia!

Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!

Death in vain forbids Him rise, Alleluia!

Christ hath opened paradise, Alleluia!

Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia!

Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!

Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!

Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

1Co 15:54, 55, 57 – “So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? … But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

ALLELUIA!!!! Praise the Lord!!!

Psalm 81:10b says, “…open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.” That seems to be very commonplace language, but the more I meditated on it, the more I found. (God’s Word is like that: perfectly inexhaustible, just like He is!! I Corinthians 2:7-10; Psalm 90:2) In the context, the Lord is speaking to the children of Israel, recalling the signs and wonders that He had done for them since the beginning of their nation. He reminded them of the ways that He had miraculously preserved them as a people, protecting and helping them, and delivering them from bondage in Egypt. Then He pauses His narrative to deliver a singular plea and promise, “… open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.”

When I first read this, it reminded me of Matthew 7:7 – “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” God promises that “…[He] shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus”, and that “…no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” But we must “ask,” “seek,” and “knock.” As I pondered this, I immediately thought of the example of baby birds. When they are first hatched, they are tiny, defenseless, and totally dependent on their parents for their warmth, shelter, and food. Anyone who has cared for, watched, or studied birds knows that the chicks seem to be hungry all the time. Often, looking into a nest, one can see several little mouths gaping, waiting for their parents to come fill them with the life-sustaining food. However, what if one day, the babies decided that they could live without their parents’ help? What if, when feeding time came, their mouths remained stubbornly shut, refusing to take the nourishment absolutely necessary for survival? Of course, we know that they would soon die of starvation.

As God continues His story in Psalm 81, He sadly tells of Israel’s response to His promise in the next verse: “But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels.” Our Father is more than willing, yea, He longs, to bless us, but we must prepare the fields of our hearts to receive His showers of blessing! In verses 13-16, we see God lamenting over what He wanted to give to His children, and which they stubbornly refused: “Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries. The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever. He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.” What a sad commentary on the perverseness of the human heart!! And yet what a beautiful elaboration of the mercy and love of the Lord and His desire to bless His children!!!!

In a way, we are much like baby birds, dependent on our heavenly Father to care for us. We cannot possibly make it on our own; He is the One Who created us(Isaiah 64:8), and He is the only One Who can keep us alive, both physically and spiritually! However, as the story of the children of Israel sadly illustrates, we must be willing to receive His blessing. If we shut up our hearts, pursuing temporal allurements and insisting on our own way, we will soon perish in our sin, starved of the life-giving support from the Word of God and His Holy Spirit’s work in our lives (Jeremiah 5:25). God will not force Himself upon us (Genesis 6:3); He has given us a free will, and though He calls us to leave the world’s shallow pleasures and follow His loving path for us, He ultimately leaves the choice to us, for He wants us to choose to love Him! (Isaiah 57:15-16; Revelation 3:20) We must forsake the idols of self, possessions, position, or aspiration, and seek His will for our lives, living only to give Him glory. (Mark 8:34-37; Mark 10:21) Then, when we have given up the idea of finding contentment and peace outside of Him, and have turned our whole heart over to His control, He can pour out His matchless grace upon us (Jeremiah 6:16)! He wants to bless us; He holds out His gifts and offers them to us (I Corinthians 2:9; Isaiah 64:4); all we have to do is “open our mouths wide, and He will fill them” with the goodness and blessings that only He can give!

Psalm 31:19 – “Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!”