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This is true for older women as well, and middle aged folk, and well . . . all who seek God in their lives.   Picture life as an open road. It stretches endlessly ahead and you cannot see exactly where it is leading, you just know it lies ahead off into the horizon.  On either side of the path are vast fields. It would be so easy to veer off the path into these fields.

Perhaps there are shady fruit trees in one, each with luscious apples dangling from their limbs.  The other may have what looks like a river babbling through it off in the distance. But neither field belongs to us. There are fences to keep us out. To enter would be trespassing. Besides, there may be an angry bull we cannot see, or snakes in the grass, or holes that are camouflaged by tall grass. The row of fences on either side keeps us from veering off into unknown territory. We are hemmed in for our own good. The fences are God’s word.

The more Scripture I know, the more fence I have alongside my life’s path. It keeps me moving in the direction God wants me to journey. Even if I feel hungry or parched, I can trust God will provide, just as He did for the Hebrews wandering in the desert, and for Paul on his journeys, and for countless millions over the last two millenniums.

Yes, it is tempting to climb over or under a row of fences and dash off freely. But in my heart of hearts, I know that would not be wise. Why? Because God’s Word tells me so and because there have been times I did it anyway.

The Psalmist goes on to say in verse 11, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” and in verse 15 “ I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.”

We learn in another Psalm that God’s word is a light unto our path. And what is God’s Word? John tells us it is Jesus, the Word made flesh. Jesus who came to earth for our sakes and left His Holy Spirit as our guide to teach and help interpret the mysteries of Scripture.  He showed us through His own example in the desert how Scripture can send the devil fleeing and dissolve temptation’s lure.

Life has too many choices. I know I need a fence to keep me on the path – I need God’s Word in my mind, heart and on my lips. We all do. And He provides. Safe journey.

Question: How do you see the road ahead for you?  Do you see it as restrictive, or protective?

About the Author Julie Cosgrove

God knows…God Cares…God loves You…There is hope. Someone is waiting to talk with you now.

Just look at the gifts he has given you: He has sent his angels to care for you, his Holy Spirit to dwell in you, his church to encourage you, and his word to guide you. You have privileges only a fiancée could have. Anytime you speak, he listens; make a request and he responds. He will never let you be tempted too much or stumble too far. Let a tear appear on your cheek, and he is there to wipe it. Let a love sonnet appear on your lips, and he is there to hear it. As much as you want to see him, he wants to see you more.

He is building a house for you. And with every swing of the hammer and cut of the saw, he’s dreaming of the day he carries you over the threshold. “There are many rooms in my Father’s house; I would not tell you this if it were not true. I am going there to prepare a place for you. After I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you may be where I am” (John 14:2–3).

You have been chosen by Christ. You are released from your old life in your old house, and he has claimed you as his beloved. “Then where is he?” you might ask. “Why hasn’t he come?”

There is only one answer. His bride is not ready. She is still being prepared.

Engaged people are obsessed with preparation. The right dress. The right weight. The right hair and the right tux. They want everything to be right. Why? So their fiancée will marry them? No. Just the opposite. They want to look their best because their fiancée is marrying them.

The same is true for us. We want to look our best for Christ. We want our hearts to be pure and our thoughts to be clean. We want our faces to shine with grace and our eyes to sparkle with love. We want to be prepared.

Why? In hopes that he will love us? No. Just the opposite. Because he already does.

You are spoken for. You are engaged, set apart, called out, a holy bride. Forbidden waters hold nothing for you. You have been chosen for his castle. Don’t settle for one-night stands in the arms of a stranger.

Be obsessed with your wedding date. Guard against forgetfulness. Be intolerant of memory lapses. Write yourself notes. Memorize verses. Do whatever you need to do to remember. “Aim at what is in heaven . . . Think only about the things in heaven” (Col. 3:1–2). You are engaged to royalty, and your Prince is coming to take you home.

From When Christ Comes
Copyright 1999, Max Lucado
Used by permission

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Questions: Are you obsessed with thoughts of being with your heavenly Father in heaven? Do you think about it? How are you preparing for that day?

About the Author Max Lucado

Have you been hurt? Take this study to learn how to deal with pain so that bitterness doesn’t take root.

“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).

Step 5:  Be willing to plant stakes in the ground

When we recognize there has been hurt in our church, we must be willing to take a stand to say what will be different from this day forward. So often we experience hurt within the church walls and we retreat for awhile, only to return to find a new vision or a new program. A “forgetting what is behind” attitude can spring up without ever acknowledging why we got to the hurtful point we did.

If there is one thing we have learned throughout history it is that history repeats itself. The struggles with pride and accountability, tending the seeds of our heart, and not recognizing our enemy, are all day-to-day struggles. We will not mature and move ahead in our journey with God as a church unless we recognize where we have been in hurting times and plant some stakes to serve as markers to check us when we begin to spiral into the same patterns. Ask yourself:

“Am I willing to acknowledge my part and take steps to prevent a repeat?”

When conflict threatens your heart and your church, as it will, seek first to be intentional about raising the prayer banner. This invites the Spirit of God to be at work in the lives of those involved and minimizes our tendency to lean on our own understanding. It moves us toward recognizing afresh our utter dependence on God. God alone is the hope of the hurting church.

If you are part of a church that is experiencing hurt and conflict, confusion and disorder, God gives a measuring stick to determine what value system is at work.

Two kinds of wisdom…

James 3:13-17 talks about the two kinds of wisdom. One that does not come from heaven and one that does. The one not based on heavenly values is centered on earthly, unspiritual values with envy and selfish ambition at the core. Not hard to spot.  The trademark of love will be missing as well.

The wisdom based on heavenly values will be pure, peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

This higher value system can be reached by applying these five steps (see this devotional and the previous parts in the series) based on the foundation of love. It’s love that comes from the heart of our Father God to our own individual hearts. Then the world will see our trademark and glorify God in Heaven.

Tend your heart wisely!  The state of your soul, the health of your church, and a watching world needing Jesus depends on it.

Father God, I thank you for my church. I pray that You will work in me and through me to display Your love and Your wisdom within my church. Help me to do my part to keep my heart pure, peace loving and considerate so that You will be honored in this community by our trademark of love. In Jesus’ powerful name I pray, amen.

Questions: When someone has hurt you, what is your initial response? Where do you first go for comfort?

About the Author Gail Rodgers

Join us for our Daily Devotional Chat today in our Women’s Chatroom at 10:30 am EDT.

Our technological world is one of instant answers with the push of a button. Life also affords us the opportunity to choose our internal “button pushing” responses. Whatever circumstance you find yourself in today will allow you a choice of what button to push. Your choice will affect the outcome. Can you identify with each of these buttons in life?

1. Panic Button
I am sure you have experienced being in a parking lot when someone has accidentally hit the panic button of their vehicle. It is a head turner. If you are like me, I have found myself hitting the panic button of life’s situation more times that I care to recall. It is those panic-mode situations that cause stress and make our thought process look like something in a blender. In the Bible, Jacob fled because he stole his brother’s birthright; Peter denied he knew Jesus and left, and Adam and Eve hid when they disobeyed God. During times of panic, we sometimes have difficulty processing what is Truth and that is when problems begin. Timothy wrote, ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.’ (2 Timothy 1:7, KJV) When panic strikes, we then need to take our hands off the panic button and breathe! Let God take that situation from you. Ask Him for His wisdom, His comfort, and His next step. Then, hit the….

2. Reset Button
Take a step back. Reset your life. Take stock in what just happened and begin your journey again with God as the driver.

“…but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to Him” (Romans 12:2b, CEV). Hitting this button will place things into perspective. It is not the time to hit the escape button, but face life head on. This is the moment to make a definite effort to start again. Reset and remember ‘Whose’ you are. The Apostle Paul had his reset button pushed through various circumstances and look at what God allowed him to accomplish. So, hit this button then get ready to push the….

3. Default Button
Make the default button in your life, God! Let Him be the one who controls your thought pattern.

“Finally, my friends, keep your minds on whatever is true, pure, right, holy, friendly, and proper. Don’t ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise” (Philippians 4:8, CEV).

Without a doubt, we will face situations where panic is inevitable. That is life. For some, it may mean hitting the default button numerous times a day or week. Fill your mind with God’s Word. Let those verses of promise and comfort fill your mind so that when panic does strike, you can claim His promises. I have repeated those verses to myself many times and it gives me great comfort. God is still on the Throne…how amazing!

Pushing buttons is a part of our lives just like breathing. I encourage you to take your finger off the panic button, reset it, and let God be your default button today. Rejoice in the fact that God is your answer; He is the one who help you get your life back on track. What button will you choose to hit today?

Father God, I praise You for being my Default Button. You are so patient. When situations cross my path, I pray that I will have the courage, from You, to hit the Default Button and claim Your help. For this, I truly thank You. In Your Power, Amen.

Questions: Are you prone to press the panic button as a reaction to your circumstances? What do you need to “reset” today and “default” to God?

About the Author Linda Goodhand Rodgers

Rosemary is a fragrant perennial shrub, and we can use its spicy leaves dried or fresh to flavor chicken, turkey, veal, or lamb.  I add this member of the mint family to the chicken and beef stews I make.  Its light blue flowers bloom in the spring.

In old-fashioned folk language, “rosemary” means remembrance.  Remembrance!  If we remember the right things, what blessing such remembrances can bring!

* “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Philippians 4:4).  How can we do that when we’re feeling low, depressed, troubled?  Philippians 4:6-8 gives us the answers, and these answers have never failed me.   It’s hard to rejoice in the Lord when trouble hits, and sometimes I’ve had to force myself to do it.  But as I sing and praise the Lord, God delivers!

* “Do not be anxious about anything” (Philippians 4:6) says, “but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”  As we thank our Lord for past mercies and deliverance, our faith is restored, which is the greatest need we have in times of trouble.  After thanking and praising the Lord, I take whatever is troubling my heart and hold that person or thing up in my cupped hand to God.  “Take this, Lord,” I say, yielding it to Him, with all the care it (or he/she) has caused.  And He takes it–really!  And when He does, He actually changes my outlook and attitudes.  Trusting Him, I experience relief.  So can you.

* “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).  Whenever I remember some of the many times Philippians 4:6 and 7 have worked for me and lifted me up, I can’t help but praise the Lord!  And if they have done that for me, I know they can do that for you, too!

* “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things” (Philippians 4:8).  Every way of thinking on this list is worth remembering!  Our natural tendency is to dwell on negative things contrary to God’s Word.  Ephesians 4:30 tells us not to grieve the Holy Spirit, who gives us peace and joy.  Verse 31 cautions, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.”  These attitudes and actions make us ill.  Remember this: God’s remedies heal!

Thank you Father God for reminding me today of Your ways. Help me to rejoice in You, to thank You and to give you all that troubles me today. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Questions: What are you anxious about today? Cup your hands and lift it to the Lord right now. What can you thank Him for right now?

About the Author Muriel Larson

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, Gardening with a Two-Year Old, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog

“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things”  (Philippians 4:8).

“Speed Kills.” Or so says the billboard to encourage drivers to slow down. Thousand are killed every year on the nation’s highways due to excessive speed. But as I drove along and thought about the billboard message, I thought how speed can kill the body, but slowness can kill the soul.

Perhaps there is no more dangerous time for our spiritual life than when our brain is coasting, idling or in neutral. It is like going to sleep at night with the door unlocked. There is no telling what will sneak in and harm us.

Our most vulnerable moments are the unguarded ones, not the ones where we are focused on a mission and going ninety miles an hour with gusts to a hundred and twenty. What I think about in my unguarded moments reflects what my mind dwells upon and ultimately decides what kind of person I become.

I need to discipline and exercise my mind just as I do my body. If I fill my body with garbage then it turns to garbage. My mind is no different. What I dwell on in those neutral moments is a good gauge of what is in my heart. I need to be cautious and what I allow in my mind. The best way to exercise and guard my mind is to contemplate those things that are pure, lovely and of good repute.

I should not allow the world to fill my mind with ungodly thinking and focusing on the “things” of this world. The best way to keep the evil one and his devices from entering my mind is to guard its door with scripture and prayer and by focusing on that which is true, noble, just, pure, lovely and good.

The things I allow my mind to focus on will determine the way I live and if I focus on the evils and temptations of this world, I take down my guard and can be led into sin like a sheep to slaughter. If I fill my mind with the things of Christ, then I will become Christ like and if I fill my mind with the evils of this world then I become like the rest of the world.

Beware of neutral…. It’s a killer!

Lord, I know that whatever I fill my mind with is a matter of choice, my choice.  Please help me to be aware of those times when I am vulnerable and help me to guard my mind. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Questions: What do you think about in your unguarded moments? How can you guard your mind and keep it alert and ready for action?

About the Author John Grant

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, The Danger of Being in Neutral, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog