gem1

Kingfisher home next -- GEMS Vol. 1, part 2 GEMS Menu

Inspirational gems for each day     -- VOLUME 1.

             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.

1. PRAYER

Lord, my life doesn't seem like very much,
But you have hallowed it with yourself;
Oh, may I be empowered by you --
And thank you very, very much!

It's not how I see myself that counts. It's learning
to know WHO GOD IS. Accepting His grace.
Power. Love. Mercy. Strength. He's the one
who puts the value on my life, Saying I'm perfect,
entire, and forgiven -- If I abide in Him.
May I remember always to give thanks to my
powerful Lord for gently (and slowly) shaping
me to be who He has called me to become!

            "And I give unto thee eternal
       life; and they shall never perish,
       neither shall any man pluck them
       out of my hand."   (Jn. 10:28)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

2. QUIET PLACE

There's a quiet place I go
To be alone with God.
It's not a "where," it's an
          attitude of mind.
At riverside, or on the road,
Or in the noisy marketplace,
I draw within myself,
Ready to seek and speak
And "center down" on my Friend, God.
I know that he is waiting there
To greet me, the moment I seek him out.
What a blessed help,
To have this quiet place
                where he proclaims:
"My peace I leave with you."

            "In quietness and in confidence
      shall be your strength." Isa. 30:15c)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

3. HELP ME, LORD

You are my stay...
Shelter in the time of storm...
You preserve, keep me from falling,
       present me blameless before you...
Your holiness infuses me
   with a new "dose" of you inside me.

            "For thou hast been a strength....to
       the needy in his distress, a refuge from
the storm..."    (Isa. 25:4)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

4. WITHOUT HIM

Without him
I would
        fail
        fall
        be shipwrecked,
        go down to defeat.

I need his
           love
           mercy
           peace
           forgiveness
           overflowingness
           bounty
           hope.

He will come to lift me up when I
                flounder
                fall
                call
                can't see the way.

There is hope for me. Jesus Christ
          is Lord!

            "But thou, O Lord, art a
       shield for me, my glory, and the
       lifter of my head."   (Ps. 3:3)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

5. HOME

What do I think about,
    when I ponder the word "home"?

Home is where the heart is,
                (as the saying goes).
            But is my heart my home?
I don't know. Lord help me -- yes, help!
          God, please give me a heart
   of understanding, and the gift of
           knowing you are my home.

"Home is the hunter,
              home from the hills."
    (Another saying pops into my mind.)
What am I hunting?
    God? Me? Identity? Purpose?
       All of those, I think. But again,
If I am hunting a home,
I must look to God, and not inside myself,
     or in some building labeled "home".

Home: a place of belonging:
My house
Independence
Help in need -- in desperate need.
   But what if I feel "not-at-home"?
     I want a home,
     I crave belonging,
     With God to come home to when I've
been away, and come back home.

Home:
The home and the hearth,
With cozy fire burning.
Yes, oh yes! I want it so!
A hearty heart-hearth-home
      with the fireside music
         of "God-in-me".
Home is where I am when I am
who I most want to be:
Content to accept God as God,
              and me as me.

            "For it is a good thing that the
       heart be established with grace..."
                  (Heb. 13:9b)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

6. HE WILL GUIDE

I grope along the narrow way
That leads to everlasting life.
The way seems hard and overlong,
And stones keep cluttering my path.
But I'll just trust The One, "The Way,"
Who holds my hand and calls my name.
I've never walked this way before;
But he will guide my steps aright.

            "The steps of a good man are
       ordered by the Lord; and he de-
       lighteth in his way." (Ps. 37:23)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

7. ESCAPE

He hides my soul in the cleft
                of the rock.
There's no other way but him.

He's:
    safety in the midst of my storms.
    my escape hatch.
    my escape clause.
    So do I become an escape artist,
      escaping the fury of the storms,
      not by outrunning them, but
      by trusting him to help
      in all things, in all ways.

Instead of this circumstance of life
    proving to be some terrible escapade,
because of him
     I walk right through the storm,
       in the midst of his splendid love.

            "In returning and rest shall ye
       be saved."   (Isa. 30:15b)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

8. ENDLESS

His love is endless.
God is a circle without end.

In his time, you are going
   to shout out the good news:
         "World without end, Amen, Amen!"
If you follow him, your days
            shall have no end,
    while with your voice
        you shall proclaim his joy.

            "Ye shall not be ashamed nor
       confounded world without end."
          (Isa. 54:17b)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

9. TURN

Something special comes out of you
   When your quest for self you end,
And turn to living God and guide,
    To make him close-knit friend.

            "Ascribe to the Lord the
       glory of his name." (Ps. 96:8)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

10. INHERITANCE

     The Lord wants us! He actually wants
us. We are his inheritance, his people,
his chosen ones. He will not abandon or
reject us. Let us accept his "wanting"
us. We don't have to wait for heaven to
be his inheritance, or to receive the
inheritance he has for us. We are his,
right now. Let us draw close, closer,
closest to him.

     Lord, teach us to have a "right
relationship" with you now. Help us to
enter in to a deeper closeness of
relationship with you today.

            "For the Lord will not cast off
       his people, neither shall he forsake
       his inheritance."   (Ps. 94:14)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

11. WHAT WOULD HAPPEN?

     I like the idea of thinking that God
smiles on me, on you. Then his grace
gives me the strength and desire to smile,
in my turn, on others.

     What could happen in this toilsome
world -- if only we smiled at people we
met on the street? If we smiled, in our
hearts, at thought of a friend? If we
bestowed on an enemy, or someone we
thought we could never love, a God-smile
in the form of being willing to bless and
pray for such a one, and open our hearts
to trust God to smile on each one?

            "I will even betroth thee unto me
       in faithfulness: and thou shalt know
       the Lord." (Hos. 2:20)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

12. GOD'S BLESSING

     God smiles on his children who are
willing to come to him and ask for clean
hearts. We, his children, shall smile on
the rest of God's children and bring them
hope. Then all those who love him shall
be blessed day by day, and "along their
way" with him.

            "God is faithful, by whom ye were
       called unto the fellowship of his Son
       Jesus Christ our Lord."   (I Cor. 1:9)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

13. GOD SALUTES A FAITHFUL WITNESS

     Hail child of grace! I, the Lord,
salute you. You are my fair queen (or
king), a daughter (or son) to me. On you
the sun of righteousness is risen with
healing in his wings. You shall be
rescued and helped. Take heart, my
daughter (or son). Circumstances may send
you, figuratively, to stand before the
councils in Rome or be shipwrecked off
Crete. However, do not doubt that I have
called you to be a witness of the faith,
to be used mightily. For I am great, and
I make you great in my sight -- for you
are my fair one.

     I see your hurts. I can't promise
you a rose garden of comforts. Yet I need
your witness. I shall equip you strongly.
Speak for me, love for me -- and it shall
be well with your soul, heart, body, and
mind-peace. My child, you are mine. I
have called you, thus says the Lord of
hosts, the captain of the Army of God, in
whose name you labor much, and shall be
rewarded as you serve.

     Holiness belongs to the Lord, but it
is imputed to the Lord's people as I help
them remain steadfast. Carry on. You are
as one under orders. My blazing glory I
send, and trumpets of glory. Wholth to
you! (that is, healing- wholeness).
Steady on.

            "The grace of our Lord Jesus
       Christ be with you all. Amen."
         (Rom. 16:24)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

14. MY AFFIRMATION

     I am the blessed of the Lord. I
receive living, healing waters -- and
wholeness-perfection from his fountain-
head. Most blessed am I. I am the
redeemed of the Lord. "Let the redeemed
of the Lord say so." I am the healed of
the Lord. "By his stripes I was healed."

     I am delivered from all trouble.
"Many are the afflictions of the
righteous, but the Lord delivers them out
of all." I am rich in him. Best of all
I'm saved in him. Such plentiful reasons
for me to rejoice. All glory to his holy
name.

            "Blessed be the God and Father
       of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath
       blessed us with all spiritual blessings
       in heavenly places."   (Eph. 1:3)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller
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Kingfisher home next -- GEMS Vol. 1, part 2 GEMS Menu