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Inspirational Gems for Each Day --
VOLUME 11, Part 2.

              Written by Marilee Miller

Copyright (c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller.

PLEASE READ THIS!

Copies may be given privately to about six friends, providing that text is not changed, and
that this full notice accompanies each document or part thereof.
One GEM or parts of two, per Volume, allowed for a public review or article, under the fair use clause.
No other public circulation, no mass copying or commercial or for-profit use without consent
of the author -- e-mail to: kingfisher crossing at gmail com (close up the spaces, etc.).

See the complete archive of 365 thoughtful Christian devotionals -- Gems -- at:
www.wordforlife.com/kingfisher/gems-complete/gems-menu

Scripture texts are from the King James Version.

16. MY ROOTS, IN GOD

Wandering around with
              beauty under my boots,
Treading gently on
        Nature-earth's tender shoots,
Gives motive enough
        to thank God for my roots.

            "For he [who trusts God] shall
be as a tree planted by the waters,
       and that spreadeth out her roots by
       the river, and shall not see when
       heat cometh, but her leaf shall be
       green; and shall not be careful in
       the year of drought, neither shall
       cease from yielding fruit."
          (Jer. 17:8)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

17. PAUSE

Thousands of buttercup leaves in vibrant
green...
One brave bright lone yellow buttercup
defying the November scene...
Time to pause, listen to God, who makes
my life new and clean.

            "For as the rain cometh down,
and the snow from heaven, and
       returneth not thither, but watereth
       the earth, and maketh it bring forth
and bud, that it may give seed to
the sower and bread to the eater:
            "So shall my [the Lord's] word
       be that goeth forth out of my
       mouth: it shall not return unto me
       void, but shall accomplish that
       which I please, and it shall
       prosper in the thing whereto I
       sent it.
          "For ye shall go out with joy,
       and be led forth with peace; the
       mountains and the hills shall break
       forth before you into singing, and
       all the trees of the field shall clap
heir hands.
            "Instead of the thorn shall come
up the fir tree, and instead of the
brier shall come up the myrtle tree:
and it shall be to the Lord for a name,
for an everlasting sign that shall not be
cut off." (Isa. 55:10-13)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

18. I MEET YOU, SAYS THE LORD

I meet you in the night winds,
                 says the Lord.
In the sigh of day breezes through the
leathery leaves of the old myrtle,
      I am calling.
In the noisy caw-caw of the blackheart
crows, I may yet speak to you, "Peace."
I set my sparrow flock twittering in the
brambles, to turn your eye toward me.
Friendship, says the Lord, that is what I
   am asking of you. For I crave your
     "noticing" of me, as you hear my
   name echoing through the Nature-call of
          all life.
Come to me. I will meet you,
               says the Lord.
For I am yours. And you belong
              only to me!

               "Now I know that the Lord is
greater than all gods..."   (Ex. 18:11a)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

19. WALLS, AND VICTORY

Oh Lord, tear down the walls that hinge us
about,
That we may serve thee with a mighty
shout,
And go on, on to victory,
Knowing what victory is all about,
Because we belong to a living Lord.

            "...Thanks be to God, which
       giveth us the victory through our
       Lord Jesus Christ." (I Cor. 15:57)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

20. ALIVE

The air is alive with tiny wings,
With flowing strands of
               spider-web strings;
Autumn gold floods gnarly cherry tree,
While I contemplate the richness
          of being "me":
In touch with my Maker, whose Life brings
A gladness, until my heart-thrill sings.

            "Thou hast put gladness in my
       heart..." (Ps.4:7a)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

21. GRACE

Pale ghost of half-moon in patch of blue
           opened in winter morn's sky,
Centered above white-gray long fog bank
      soon to be dissipated by sun's eye.
Rest, my soul, in your Maker!
                   No longer ask why
Other parts of the world are grave places
            where folks must cry;
But take hope from beauty:
      God's grace is never a lie!

            "...Be clothed with humility: for
God...giveth grace to the humble."
(I Pet. 5:5b sel.)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

22. LIGHTS

     The neighbor's plum tree is bare,
except for an occasional stray burgundy
leaf. But the November sunshine reveals
that spiders have strung the tree with
hundreds of silken threads. There is just
a hint of a breeze. The spider-strings
jiggle and twist. Sun, glinting on the
strands, creates a thousand flashing
mini-lights. The tree looks as if it had
been decorated -- as indeed, it has. The
spiders have done this.

     In the barren days of my life, may
God's Sonshine glint along my heart
strings, to put a smile on my face, to
encourage me to "shine for Jesus." May I
attract others to him as they see, not
myself, but the God who lives within me.

            "...Lord, lift thou up the light of
thy countenance upon us." (Ps. 4:6b)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

23. WHERE ARE YOUR PEOPLE, LORD?

Who will go to the Lord's forgotten people?
There are those whom few people want to be
around.
There are those in the "highways and
byways."
There are the hurting, the suffering, the
ignoble, the proud,
Those who don't fit in any "pigeonhole".
Who will show his kindness, share his
love?
Where are your people, oh God?
(The ones who call themselves by your
Name!)
Have they grown so comfortable with their
own group,
        they've forgotten everybody else?
Or are they struggling so hard themselves,
    there's no energy left over for
service or prayer?
Awaken and equip your people, oh God.
For there's a hurting, needy world out
there.
Let your people rise up, and pray, and
show care!

            "And the Lord spake unto Moses,
Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him,
Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go,
that they may serve me."   (Ex. 8:1)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

24. THANKSGIVING

     Let us show our gratitude to God. How
much we have to be thankful for! For this
modern technology which so affects the
lives of many today. For food for the table.
For shelter; a place to lay our heads. For
his blessings to us, the "riches of heaven"
which he gives us: our very breath, our life,
our hope.

     Let us not forget to pray for others,
who may not have as much as we do. (Or
who may "have everything" materially, but
no inner peace.) Let us keep the needs of
many close to our hearts. Let us ask for
God's protection and love and abundance
and help for everyone. Let us help people
in every way we possibly can: through our
prayers, our gifts, our love, our
compassionate helping, our service. Then
truly, we may enjoy the blessings that we
have. And we shall give our praises to
God with genuine thanksgiving.

            "...To begin to offer the thanks-
giving in prayer..."   (Neh. 11:17a sel.)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

25. OUR VIEW OF LIFE

     To some, life is gloomy. Sometimes
it seems like a prison. But what a
limited perspective! May we see even the
difficult circumstance, not as a place of
confinement, but as a fortress and strong
tower where the Lord has hidden us away
from harm. As we rest in the security of
his strong arms, let us realize he has
placed us where our inward soul is safe
from life's alarm. Even with turmoil
around us, may we be content to be within
his walls. Let us make up our minds to
choose to see God's blessings all around.

            "I will love thee, O Lord, my
strength.
            "The Lord is my rock, and my
       fortress, and my deliverer; my God,
       my strength, in whom I will trust;
       ...the horn of my salvation, and my
       high tower."   (Ps. 18:1-2)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

26. AUTUMN LEAF

Little red-gold leaf,
        you are past your prime,
Your autumn colors remain, yet curled
      leaftips are no longer sublime;
Yes, you have served your faithful time,
               as part
Of a God's-glory-tree calling me to be
         moved in heart;
And now, you've fallen from the tree,
              to start
Your fading and your falling
               out of remembered time.

I sometimes feel like withering leaf
                with tired grime;
But I can still be "autumn beauty heart"
            for God who is prime:
May he guard my red-gold colors and
fragile leaftips on life's upclimb.

            "And let the beauty of the
       Lord our God be upon us: and
       establish thou the work of our
       hands upon us..."   (Ps. 90:17)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

27-29. WORDS ON THE TONGUE

     A familiar adage asks -- "If you were
arrested for being a Christian, would
there be enough evidence to convict you?"
Let's apply that idea to the words we
speak. What do our tongues tell others
about our walk with the Lord? The Bible
warns that we will be held accountable
even for "idle words spoken in jest."
After speaking of the tongue as a brush
fire, an "unruly member" which must be
tamed, the Scripture plainly calls gossip
and backbiting "sins". It says that
whoever calls someone "a fool", is in
danger of hell fire. It says, "whatsoever is
pure...honest...of good report, think on
these things."

     When we go the bakery for coffee with
a group of Christians, do others hear a
"good report" from our words? When people
bump into us on the street (and it's their
fault!), do our tongues give evidence of
Christ's love? When a neighbor "slips"
morally, but is sorry afterwards, do our
tongues reveal our willingness to forgive?
When a local radio station hosts a psychic
to "tell all" to people who call in, or when
our local high school shows that more
than 50 percent of the students have had
illicit sex and have a serious problem with
drugs or alcohol, do our voices convict
us of being Christians? Are we willing to
say, "some things are wrong and need
correcting"? How often do our tongues
speak with deep compassion to heal
another's broken heart?

     Perhaps we shall never be arrested
just for being Christians. But our words
will be "noticed" by many! By our
tongues, we are daily tried and convicted.
Can we plead "guilty" to the charge of
standing for God's work, of "being armored
with all Christlike graces"? Our lives may
be the only Bibles that some persons will
ever read. They may judge whether they
want to become Christians, by our
behavior. So let us resolve to speak with
wisdom and kindness and purity of heart --
to put aside all thoughts and words which
would not be a credit to the Lord by whose
name we are called. Let us resolve to
follow him only, all the days of our
lives.

            "So what if I have the ability to
speak eloquently, either in the languages
of men or the tongues of angels! Un-
less my words come from a heart filled
with Christ-exampled love, I am as
clattery as a noisy gong or a tinkling pair
of cymbals for which no musical score has
been written.
         "God's type of love is patient, and
willing to suffer wrongs without making a
fuss. God's love is 'true kindness.' God's
love shining from within me isn't jealous
of others, it doesn't boast and brag about
itself, it isn't puffed up with human pride.
            "God's love, being fulfilled in me,
helps me not to behave in a way which
would discredit the Lord. It doesn't give
in to selfish behaviors. His love in me is
not easily provoked to rash actions.
       Nor does it try to 'look for evil' where
none really exists.
            "The love of God within me never
is glad over wrongdoing. However,
seeing the truth is a cause for rejoicing.
            "Because of Him working in me,
       this Christ-example of love is able to
bear up under hard circumstances, ever
believing in the promises and goodness
of God, showing forth to all an en-
durance that never gives up or quits short
       of the final goal."
          (I Cor. 13:1, 4-7 MM paraphrase)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

30. from the Scriptures.

"Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my rock;
be not silent to me...
"Hear the voice of my supplications
[prayers], when I cry unto thee, when I lift
up my hands...
     "Blessed be the Lord, because he hath
heard the voice of my supplications.
     "The Lord is my strength and my
shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am
helped; therefore my heart greatly
rejoiceth; and with my song shall I praise
him."   (Ps. 28:1a, 2, 6-7)
=

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