IN THE GARDEN DEVOTIONS

“Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” Proverbs 27:6 "The Emperor's New Clothes" is a short tale by Hans Christian Andersen. The Plot: A vain Emperor, who cares about nothing except wearing and displaying fabulous clothes, hires two swindlers who promise him the finest, best suit of clothes from a fabric invisible to anyone who is unfit for his position or "hopelessly stupid". The Emperor's ministers cannot see the clothing themselves

"And do not give the devil an opportunity [to lead you into sin by holding a grudge, or nurturing anger, or harboring resentment, or cultivating bitterness]." Ephesians 4:27

“And taking the five loaves and two fish, He looked up to heaven and, praising God, gave thanks and broke the loaves and kept on giving them to the disciples to set before the people; and He [also] divided the two fish among [them] all. And they all ate and were satisfied.” (Amp) Mark 6:41-42 While giving thanks at our Thanksgiving Day celebration, I heard the Spirit whisper a profound truth: "Even the very least thing you have is still great in God." Mark 6:41-42 describes t

Using your gifts should never be done to bring you the glory But to Glorify God and so that others who see your gifts will give the glory to God! “A man's gift maketh room for HIM, and bringeth HIM before great men.” Proverbs 18:16

Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.” Acts 8:21 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9 So “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalms 51:10 “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” Proverbs 4:23

You are who God says you are! You were created in His image! Genesis 1:26 Jesus died to redeem and restore you! Ephesians 1:7 And you are fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalms 139:14 Don't look at yourself through your own eyes, See yourself through the eyes of the Father! Zechariah 2:8

"........Selah" Psalms 3:1-4 When we pray God sends a Word to heal and deliver. Psalms 107:20 When God sends His Word we must sometimes stop for a moment and Selah. With so much going on in this world we must meditate on what God is saying. We must take in a deep breath of the Spirit that He might discern within ourselves that place of Peace, Hope, Love, Joy, Truth, and Power. Ephesians 1:19 A little dab just won't do you in times like these. So, what is Selah and what is t

"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Matthew 6:21

“After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” Genesis 15:1 God told Abram that He was his exceeding great (boundless, endless, abundantly above all that he could ask, think or imagine) reward. He did not give him a reward of mere money or things but gave Abram Himself. God said, "I AM the Reward". Abram received access to the King of Glory, the Possessor of heaven and earth, the

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:28 What your title is, What your resume says, Who your parents were, If you grew up in the church, None of those matters! We all are equal at the foot of the Cross!

"Am I now [a]trying to win the favor and approval of men, or of God? Or am I seeking to please someone? If I were still trying to be popular with men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ." Galatians 1:10

"And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the king of Israel. Therefore they compassed about him to fight: but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him; and God moved them to depart from him." 2 Chronicles 18:31 Today God says there is not a mistake that when you call on Him for help, that He won't get you out of. As a Christian I've made many mistakes over the years, and no one could be harder on me than me. I would

In Loving Memory Message: "An Expected End - Part II" My unexpected end was losing my husband of 37 years to a brief illness that took his life within six weeks. He died February 4, 2012. I depended on him for everything. I was 16 going on 17 when I met him, and 19 when we married. I felt like I couldn't live without Allan and often said that I would prefer to die before him because I knew I would not be able to handle it. God showed me a few things from the death of Allan. G

“And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” Luke 6:46 esus teaches that being around Him or calling Him Lord is not the same as obeying and surrendering to Him. “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.” Matthew 5:8 People can be near Jesus in words, church attendance, or religious activity while their hearts remain unsurrendered. “From that time many of his disciples went

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." Jeremiah 29:11 (I tried to make this shorter, but this may not be for everyone. I guess that's it, I tried but God spoke.) (smile) A few years ago, my daughter-in-law's father suddenly died. My son called and said Moma please pray, her dad just died. As I attempted to console him, I did not realize that “just died” meant a few moments ago. For y

“…and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one in his watch, and every one to be over against his house.” Nehemiah 7:3 "Neighborhood Watch - Battle Night!" I remember several years ago attending church and as I drove up, we would watch the drug dealers openly selling their drugs. Our church sat on the corner. So, on one side of the corner was God's people (army) and the other side was Satan's (army). At times it seemed there were more attendees to their side

“ ...I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” Genesis 3:10 I once received an email that was rather unnervingly funny. A man decided to give his girlfriend a surprise dinner party. He blindfolded her and led her into the dining room where she sat down at the table. Suddenly she began to have flatulence episodes, polite way of saying, she began to pass gas. Knowing her boyfriend was out of the room she let it out. She said “Ooh

"But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy" 1 Peter 1:15-16 While in the midst of praising God at Sunday Worship Service, tears begin to stream down my face. Thoughts of being hurt by someone I loved someone I looked up to, and respected more than anyone else, began to overwhelm me. I cried to the Lord with questions of how could that person have done that to me? Then, while I thought

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene "Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her. “Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don't know where they have put him.” She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but sh

When You Fear God, You Lose All Fear of People! Man Should Never Be Whom You Fear the Most! "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Matthew 10:28 KJV