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Inspirational Gems for Each Day --
VOLUME 3, 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. GOD KNOWS THE WAY

    I have to remind myself frequently that
I give myself permission for my secret
yearnings to often fail or go unfulfilled.
(Not because I choose this route, but
circumstances "happen" that way.) Yet
let me still be able to feel good about the
overall direction of my life, trusting that
God knows the way for me.

            "...O Lord God of Israel, there
is no God like thee in the heaven,
nor in the earth; which keepest
covenant, and shewest mercy unto
thy servants, that walk before thee
with all their hearts."   (II Chron. 6:14)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

17. PURPOSE

What is my purpose?
to be sweet when I do not wish to be?
To secretly feel a sense of attainment
Though others put me down
And just won't let me be "me"?
I know not of this.
But I know it is right to ask
            the Lord's help.

What is my purpose?
To turn to God in all things,
Trusting his tender love;
To hold to that God-confidence
Even when the world's advantages
Seem to crash-out all around me.
Only in seeking God, will I ever
                 be fulfilled.

            "Let us search and try our
        ways, and turn again unto the
        Lord."   (Lam. 3:40)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

18. THE PROGRESS OF SPRING

     Along the Oregon coast, spring doesn't
"spring", it progesses. Tiny, sweet wonder-
blossoms of yellow jasmine by the hundreds
sparkle in January. A beautyland of
ornamental plum blooms explode exuberantly
in February. Early March sends forth
thousands of pink delight puffs on a
tulip-magnolia tree. Then comes the Fuji
cherry tree dripping fairy tales. Now, in
mid-March, the regular cherry and apple trees
are just starting to lift white delicacies toward
the sky. The first-flowerings of early
rhododendrons and whitened droplets of
native Oregon salal add to the progress of
spring.

     Our life in God is a lot like the
progress of spring. So many beauty spots,
so many ways he has to inspire us, joy
creeping up on us, his "mercies new every
morning." How we thank him for the
promises of spring in our lives.

            "Let the field be joyful, and all
that is therein; then shall all the trees of
the wood rejoice before the Lord... "
   (Ps. 96:12-13a)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

19. SOMETHING GIVEN BACK

     If we give what we can do to God,
even though it doesn't seem like much, yet
we "do it as unto the Lord", he will keep
coming back to us with something more.
(Or, something good will keep flowing from
God back to us.)

            "Whatever you do, do all to the
glory of God." (I Cor. 10:31)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

20. ABRAHAM

     It must have been hard for Abraham to
leave his known world, and set out to
follow God. "You're going to WHAT?" his
neighbors and family must have asked.
"Have you lost your mind? Go off in the
desert by yourself, take your family out
where there's danger and dry sand and
nothingness? Fool!"

     But Abraham went. He was called by
faith. He didn't always act like he had
faith. Some of his actions showed his
insecurities, and misunderstanding of the
way in which God had called him to walk.
But he didn't give up. He kept going. He
kept trying to "get it right," to let God
do the leading while he did the following.
And for this, God "counted his faith as
righteousness."

     May we keep trying to "get it right,"
also, to let God do the leading and us do
the following. May God count what we do,
and who we are, as "righteousness."

           "For what saith the scripture?
       Abraham believed God, and it was
       counted unto him for righteousness."
   (Rom. 4:3)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

21. GOD'S PLANS.

     God has established certain plans for
us. He has given us hopes and dreams.
They aren't "just our imagination," they
actually are from him. They are are much
a part of our structure as our genes are
part of our heredity, or our personality a
part of ourself. If we are willing to belong
to him, he is willing to bring to pass those
dreams we have which came from him.
He will birth them in us.

            "For I know what plans I have
       for you, declares the Lord; plans
       to prosper and bless you, and not
       to harm you; plans to give hope
       and a future."   (Jer. 29:11 NIV)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

22. YOUR LIGHT

Are you willing to lift
                   your flickering light
Before the Lord Most-Nigh?
Though your "little faith"
              seems dreadfully weak,
Will you lift your lantern high?
Do you have a willingness in your heart
To be God's beaming light?
Then lay yourself in His capable hands,
And simply trust his might.

            "Let your light so shine before
men, that they may see your good
works, and glorify your Father
which is in heaven." (Matt. 5:16)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

23. RECEIVING

May the Lord give you comfort today.
May you receive friendship from others
    who will genuinely care what you say.
May you experience God's love
                in a personal way.

             "...The Lord shall yet
       comfort..."   (Zech. 1:17b)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

24. GOD'S LOVE

     God loves his children with an
everlasting love. He has promised to meet
every need. He will fill us up with him,
to overflowing.

     God has not left us defenseless.
Times may be very hard. Life may be a
difficult struggle. But God is there to
hold the hand of each one of us. Ie has
promised to never leave us or abandon us.
In his name, may we rise up and go forth
to face life cheerfully. Because we know
that there is One who loves us with an
everlasting love.

            " ...For he hath said, I will
      never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
        (Heb. 13:5c)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

25. GOD IS ABLE

     God would not want you to keep your
eyes on the darkness of the world around
you. In the Old Testament, Caleb knew of
the giants in the land, but he refused to
see them as unconquerable. Had not the
Lord promised to give the children of
Israel the land? Caleb kept his faith in
God's ability, even when others were
afraid. And so, God helped him to be an
overcomer.

     God is able to overcome the
depression and heaviness that hangs over
some areas of the world, or some
individual lives. If we are willing to
come to him, he will minister through us
to glorify his Son Jesus.

            "...Surely as the Lord liveth,
thou hast been upright, and thy
going out and thy coming in with
me in the host is good in my sight..."
(I Sam.30:6a)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

26. RICHNESS

     God says there's a richness of spirit
that he would have us partake of. He
wants us to come to him. He will supply
all our needs. We just come. The Lord
will bring us into a place of rest.

     In Old Testament days, the people
worked, believed, then fell back. They
couldn't keep their eyes on the Lord's
way. So let us seek him always. And rest
in the promises that God has given to his
children. For this is an hour when God
will give, and give again abundantly.

            "I have compassion on the
       multitude... " (Mark 8:2a)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

27. LIFELINE

     Are we letting God be our lifeline?
Do we hold on to him in time of trouble?
He will never let go of the rope. He has
promised to "keep us from falling". Let
us make him our lifeline today.

            " ...Lo, I am with you alway,
       even unto the end of the world.
       Amen."   (Matt. 24:20b)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

28. WITH OTHERS

     "No man is an island...". This
thought has been quoted again and again.
We never stand alone, whether we
frequently associate with other people, or
feel we've been isolated from the whole
world. We are a part of all humanity.
And, as believers, we take part in the
great chorus of saints of all ages and
generations, in the great church of Jesus
Christ worldwide today. We are, together,
the body of Christ.

     The Bible says that when some of the
Lord's members are sick or suffering, the
whole body suffers; when some are happy,
the whole body benefits. So let us ask
the Lord to show us how to defend others
as our brothers, have compassion on them
as our friends. For whether we like the
idea, or even recognize it, we are caught
up in the bundle of living and dying for,
and identifying with, others. And we
hope, of course, that all persons
everywhere -- ourselves included -- might
come to live full lives in Christ.

            "Yet a man is risen to pursue
       thee, and to seek thy soul: but the
       soul of my lord [David] shall be
       bound in the bundle of life with
       the Lord thy God..."
          (I Sam. 25:29)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

29.   GOD IS BIGGER

     There is a great tumult in the world
today. Living in these difficult times
can put fear or confusion in our minds.
But God is bigger than the world. Bigger
than the tumult. Bigger than our
insecurities. He is still working "to do
and to will his good pleasure." He will
help us when we cry to him. We aren't
strong enough to face the fears and
tumults and doubts on our own. But with
him, "all things are possible to them that
believe."

            " ...And none shall make them
       afraid, for the mouth of the Lord
       hath spoken it."   (Mic. 4:4b)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

30. THE DIFFERENCE

One week ago today I tried to speak to her;
She was wearing a "keep away" sign so clear.
What price to pay: such timidity
That she dared not even meet my eye.
She held back all thought of smile.
Locked away was she
      within her prison walls of fear;
(Anxious over what others
              might think of her?),
She turned the key within,
On private distresses
           which could not be shared.

I wrote this woman a caring letter
               telling her
I'd been thinking of her,
                  praying for any need.
I shared some simple words of comfort;
I invited her to call me
        if she became discouraged --
And then reminded her
                that I "really cared."

I thought her timidity would prove too much,
But it all vanished in one big rush;
She who had never spoken
            two words before to me,
Tonight on the phone was voluble with me.
She wants to see me, talk with, she says;
And she asked if I'd say a little prayer;
What a difference in a lonely life
                 can appear
When God allows another of his children
                   to show "care."

            "And whether one member
       suffer, all the members suffer with
       it; or one member be honored, all
       the members rejoice with it. Now
       ye are the body of Christ..."
          (I Cor. 12:26-27a)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

31. from PROVERBS

     "Commit thy works unto the Lord, and
thy thoughts shall be established.
     "When a man's ways please the Lord,
he maketh even his enemies to be at peace
with him.
     "How much better is it to get wisdom
than gold! and to get understanding rather
than to be chosen than silver!
     "Better it is to be of an humble
spirit with the lowly, than to divide the
spoil with the proud.
    "He that handleth a matter wisely
shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the
Lord, happy is he.
     "The wise in heart shall be called
prudent: and the sweetness of the lips
increaseth learning.
     "Understanding is a wellspring of
life unto him that hath it...
     "Pleasant words are as an honeycomb,
sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
     "He that is slow to anger is better
than the mighty; and he that ruleth his
spirit than he that taketh a city."
    (Prov. 16: 3, 7, 16, 19 -22a, 24, 32)

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