“Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord”

“Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord” Psalm 31:25

________________________________________________

I don't know about you, but sometimes when I feel weak in body, mind, and spirit, overwhelmed by the challenges in this life, I often turn to prayer and Scripture for help. Though written some 2000 years ago, reading the Holy Bible just seems to airlift me to higher ground, to a place where I experience almost immediate peace, rejuvenation, comfort, healing, and discernment of God's will for me in any situation. In ministry, talking with friends, and even on days like today when I go to the Medical Center for treatment, I find myself with Bible in tow and turning it often, and feel lost without it...'Guess that explains why I generally carry my Bible with me in my 'rolling office!"

 So why is the Bible so important? Well, for starters, it is the inspired,timeless living Word of God for all times~ a beacon, a lighthouse to those who believe in Jesus Christ. It teaches us how to try to live a blessed -good life by following Jesus Christ, and it is the unparallelled bridge between Christianity and Judaism. Here are some of my favorite Scriptures to reflect on and to share: 

 

“This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:25

“Give thanks to the Lord, who is good, whose love endures forever.”  Psalm 118:1

“The joy of the Lord is your strength.”  Nehemiah 8:10

^”Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”  Psalm 37:3-4

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.”  Psalm 28:7

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him…”  Romans 8:28

“Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord” Psalm 31:25

^“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”  Galatians 5:22-24

Blessings,

Adele

"Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal..."

"Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal..."                                                                       Philippians 3:13-14

Clearly, it's all about forging ahead in anticipation of God's grace. Grace cannot be earned, rather it is unwarranted merit freely given by our loving God. We must simply be press in and press on, even and ecspecially in times of adversity,  be open to receive all of God's wondrous blessings each day, and give gratitude where gratitude is due.

For me, rather than worrying about things, I try my level best to place situations, and people in my life, in the hands of the Almighty... and not take them back and place them on my worry list. I have learned to pray confidently for myself and others with great anticipation that the Lord will show up and act to make things the way they are meant to be. In that way, there are no coincidences in my world, and I am able to look for silver linings great and small along the way that provide evidence for me that the Lord is present and involved.

Yes, sometimes it is a challenge to keep moving forward when feeling bogged down by the past or when not feeling well. Yet, somehow, we must muster all the self control we can to avoid living in the past and start living in hopeful anticipation of what God will do next in our lives. 

If I can focus more on Jesus than on myself, and the fact that I have waited 30+ years for a full healing, it is a declaration of faith and hope in Jesus. 

I often have to remind myself that yesterday is over. Today is what matters most in the eyes of God. And when we are able to embrace that, the Lord can do His finest work in our lives! 

                                                      Adele M. Gill   2013   Copyright

Embracing the Healing That Awaits You

Psalm 40:9-11 /   New International Version (NIV)

⁹ I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, Lord, as you know. ¹⁰ I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help.I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness from the great assembly. ¹¹ Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord; may your love and faithfulness always protect me."

Day after day I read my Bible looking for the right Scripture to share here on this blog on any given day. Some days I am looking for comfort to share with hurting souls, or even myself; other days, I am compelled to write about gratitude and blessings. Sometimes I can go for several days or a week without posting a single devotional blog post, just waiting for that one timely Bible passage that resonates in my soul; that Scripture that will glorify God in the most beneficial way possible. And today was no different, as this Scripture beckoned me to embrace and share its meaning with my readers.

Recently, I announced here that I am believing that God is giving me a healing miracle. Despite the obvious fact that right now I am once again out of remission and in the midst of another exacerbation, my belief in receiving a miraculous healing has not changed. I truly believe that this is simply a miracle in progress... I am on the installment plan!

The Lord has been so gentle, kind, merciful and ever-present with me in my life, how can I do anything but feel gratitude to Him and exult Him on high in print??? Even as I write this now, my speech today is extremely garbled and difficult to understand from this disease, yet God has instilled in me a heart of gratitude for blessings. In sickness and in health, I can see the Lord's workings in my life, as He has always provided for my every need! Now that's healing! 

I am grateful for the bipap machine that keeps me out of the hospital, and for the walker that helps me keep rolling. I am grateful for the IVIG treatments that I receive every 3 months, and the fact that I have insurance to cover the $30,000 per round of treatments. I am grateful for the family and friends who pull close around me when I am not well, to help when things get tough, especially my loving husband; and for the fact that I even have remissions at all. I am grateful, too for your prayers that are so uplifting for me, as I am certain that prayer changes things...Ultimately, in my mind, God has provided it all, and for that, I am eternally grateful! / Adele M. Gill

Your Choice...

"I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I have set my heart on Your laws."  Psalm 119:30

As this Bible passage indicates, faithfulness to God, through Jesus Christ, really is a choice with the most amazing, life-giving benefits...Actually it is the greatest choice anyone can make in this life...

When you choose faithfulness to God above all else, you are free, and commissioned to love both the unloved and the unlovable with great fervor. You are free to let go of your heart ache and tend to someone else's broken heart as you stand up for, and with the unborn, the poor, the sick, the elderly, the down trodden, and the oppressed. What privilege!

For believing Christians, the term "Pro-choice" is simply a sound byte, a political moniker; an oppressive, unfortunate misnomer. Faithful Christians are called to choose God's greatest gift, human life, in all its forms, from the cradle to the grave, even over circumstance or convenience. The world will tell you this is not so; however, biblical truth stands with those who do everything in their power to support human life, particularly the defenseless unborn, as evidenced in the Sermon on the Mount/The Beatitudes.

When you make the decision to choose faithfulness to Almighty God, there is so much He can and will do for you as He is The Great Healer, The Gentle Comforter and Precious Consoler, the Omnipotent Protector, the Magnificent Counselor. He will bless you profoundly with His unconditional love and grace, and lead you to higher ground in any and every circumstance. He will send the Holy Spirit to guide you and guard you as only He can all the days of your life.

Yes, faithfulness really is a choice. If today you hear His voice, harden not your heart!/Adele M. Gill

"I Will Instruct You and Show You the Way..."

                                  "I will instruct you and show you the way you should walk, 
                                         give you counsel and watch over you." Psalm 32:8
 *******************************************************************************

When I pray for God's discernment, the Lord instills in me his clear instructions in a way I can understand, and He will do the same for you and for all who revere Him, if you simply quiet yourself in prayer.

The Lord's leading is ever trustworthy, and always for the good of His people. Never intrusive, His leading is unmistakable, as it renders you closer and closer to the accomplishment of His holiness, His divine plan for y-o-u.

"I have great plans for you," says the Lord. "Plans to prosper, not for woe!" > Jeremiah 29:11-13

Call it a feeling in your gut, intuition, a knowing...The Lord instills his guidance in us all if we simply quiet ourselves in prayer. Many believing Christians find that reading Holy Scripture, the Word of God, swiftly and effectively brings them to the answers they seek. For the Word of God does not return void, but rather bears much fruit.

The Road to Discernment
Take a few minutes today and close the door to your room for a quick prayer. Breathe deeply and praise Jesus for all His mighty blessings. Pray, "Jesus I trust in You!" Thank Him for your family, friends, co-workers, even those you do not love as you would like to. Imagine yourself breathing in God's blessings. Now wait and see what transpires. Do you feel peaceful? Great! That amazing, peaceful feeling is a sign that the Holy Spirit is with you. Still feel turbulent or anxious inside? Breathe deeply and continue to praise the Lord.

Praise is the key that unlocks the feeling of God's love, and the outpouring of the blessed discernment that follows.  Soon contentment and peace will wash over you from head to toe, as you place your trust in the Lord. As you continue on, ask Jesus, through confident prayer, for whatever you need, fully knowing that He will provide you with all the abundant supply, discernment, counsel and direction you need.

May Our Dear Lord provide you with all that you need this day!

Blessings,
Adele

I called to you for help, and you healed me."

"LORD my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me." Psalms 30:2 (NIV)

 It is vitally important to thank God for his kindness and mercy everyday, no matter what transpires. In His perfect way, only He knows the day or the hour that you will be healed. As a Christian, I am fully confident that I will receive a full healing one day, and in the meanwhile, I trust His extraordinary timing. Though again, I pray it is today, I squarely place my life in Jesus' hands with great joy and anticipation.


When you ask the Lord for healing in earnest prayer, Jesus, the Great Healer, the Awesome Comforter will alleviate your pain, suffering, and infirmity in His own special way and time. Like no one else, He is there for you, standing in wait to work all things out for you and the good of many.

In my own case, I am extremely encouraged by this truth, as I have waited for 30+ years for a full healing in body, mind and spirit. I have had wonderful times of great healing that have allowed me to do much for the Lord, the center of my hearts desire. However, it is, and has been, an ongoing miracle in progress.

Day after day, I have asked for a full healing, and been in awe of Jesus' merciful plan for my life that now seems to be unfolding. And now I notice that remission has been extended by 5weeks, and my hope soars, as it has been 4 1/2 months since my last IVIG hospital treatment. By the grace of God, for the glory of God, will you join me in prayer saying, Hallellujah?

Unlike most blog days, I am asking you now for prayer. Will you join me in prayer for this evolving miracle?

May Our Dear Lord Bless you and yours profoundly this day!

Blessings,
Adele