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Inspirational Gems for Each Day -- VOLUME 8.

              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. GLORY FALLS

Glory falls
When God calls;
May he call you
And imbue you
With Holy Ghost delight.
Come Lord, with your might,
And do right --
And then that blessed glory falls!

       "For I [the Lord] know their
       works and their thoughts: it shall
       come, that I will gather all
       nations and tongues; and they
       shall see my glory." (Isa. 66:18)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

2. THE SONG GOD TAUGHT

Just in case you wondered,
I just saw a hundred
Red-winged blackbirds in the poplar tree,
Singing, oh so merrily.
"Tweedle-dee-dee,"
Sounding like a symphony.

Just in case you wondered,
Those merry little hundred
Sang the song God taught,
Just the way they ought,
"Tweedle-dee-dee" --
And they sang it straight to me.

Just in case you wondered,
I'm not "a hundred,"
I'm only who I am -- ME.
But let me sing so merrily
The song God taught,
Just the way I ought,
"Thank you God for your love for me.
Thank you, O Lord, for your mercy."

       "And therefore will the Lord
wait, that he may be gracious unto
      you, and therefore will he be exalted,
that he may have mercy upon you:
for...blessed are all they that wait
for him."   (Isa. 30:18)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

3. IN GOD'S HANDS

     All of our yesterdays -- our griefs and
mistakes, our joys and privileges, our
loving and living, our thoughts and actions
(good or bad) -- become, in God's hands,
the grist for the mill of our experience,
our service to others and the Lord, in
our "todays". Nothing is wasted.
Nothing holy or lovely is lost.

     All is transformed and changed,
purified and cleaned, made clear to us, or
soaked up or blotted out or wiped away or
re-energized. Our strengths are enhanced.
Our weaknesses are made perfect in his
strength. As we humble ourselves before
him, as we ask to be shown his ways and
his will, God's loving mercy begins to
re-make and re-dedicate us. What a great
hope we have for our "todays." And for
our tomorrows, as well.

     He has a "hope and a future" for us.
He says so. And his word is absolutely
true.

       "Now therefore I pray thee, if I
have found grace in thy [the Lord's]
sight, shew me now the way, that I
might know thee, and that I may
find grace in thy sight..." (Ex. 33:13)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

4. MORE

     May the Lord be glorified in my life,
my days, my service, my thoughts, my
moods, my hopes. I just want more, more
of him in every way.

       "The Lord thy God in the midst
of thee is mighty; he will save, he
will rejoice over thee with joy; he
will rest in his love, he will joy over
thee with singing.
            "I will gather them that are
       sorrowful...to whom the reproach
       ...was a burden.
       "Behold, at that time I will
undo all that afflict thee: and I
       will save her that halteth, and
       gather her that was driven out; and
       I will get them praise and fame in
       every land where they have been put
       to shame."   (Zeph. 3:17-19)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

5. UNDESERVED FAVOR

     Oh Lord, be with us today. Your
Scripture says you give us a "full measure
of grace." So thank you for pouring out
on us your whole undeserved, unmerited
favor. And thank you for empowering us to
"make it" in Jesus Christ. " 'Tis grace
that brought us safe thus far, and grace
will lead us home." *
--
* fm the hymn, "Amazing Grace".

            "At that time will I bring you
       again, even in a time that I gather
       you: for I will make you a name and
       a praise among all people of the
       earth, when I turn back your
       captivity before your eyes, saith
       the Lord."   (Zeph. 3:20)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

6. MYSTERIES

(On seeing a warty knob, with center hole,
on a young oak tree:)

Strange-shaped bump, what are you?
Did you grow when something hurt you?
Do my callouses (not a few)
Let people see tender side anew?

Little hole, you intrigue me:
For you are a mystery.
Do I attract others unto me,
Hinting at God-secrets, true beauty?

        "...For as the days of a tree are
the days of my people, and mine
       elect shall long enjoy the work of
       their hands."   (Isa. 65:22b)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

7. GOD IS BIGGER

God is bigger than the minds of men
Make him out to be;
He's grander than our thoughts when
We limit his mystery.
He is kinder than our feelings
Toward him or fellow man.
Let us see in all our dealings,
The wide scope of his great plan!

           "The God and Father of our Lord
       Jesus Christ, which is blessed for
       evermore..."   (II Cor. 11:31)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

8. NOT WASTED

     Some people think they've messed up
their lives so badly that they are worthless
to the Lord's kingdom. Too many failures,
too many tasks undone, too much "self"
along the way.

     But God doesn't waste lives. The
humblest circumstances, the roughest
background, all can be made a "service" to
God, when hearts are willing to come and
humbly stand. The Lord can take our past,
and make it into that which "lasts."

And he that sat upon the throne
said, Behold I make all things
new..."   (Rev. 21:5a)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

9. THE LORD KNOWS YOUR FRAME

The Lord knows your frame, constitution,
           inner and outer make-up,
         how much you can stand.
You are God's workmanship.

He understands your heart's cry, needs,
           hopes and precious dreams,
         the seed of working for him.
You are a "gift of God
                that he delights in."

The Lord knew who you would be
            before he made you,
      how your life would be shaped
          in mercy by him.
He will sustain you.
He will bless you and keep you.
For you belong to the Lord.

            "In the Lord put I my
       trust..."   (Ps. 11:1a)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

10. PRAYER FOR BETTER HEALTH

     Health, and body, hear the word of
the Lord! Things that aren't of God, I
declare you unmade, destroyed, vanished,
kaput, gone, out over and done with. May
this body be raised up in health, and
every need met. May all burdens be lift-
ed. And Christ be made the center of hope.
Let the fruitful seed which has been sown,
come back multiplied many times over.

     Oh, God, pour out your special
anointing oil, that this body, with all its
needs, may be saved. (Salvation means
provision for anything we have need of:
health, financial or spiritual blessings,
anything that we lack, and must have for
life and livelihood.) In this sense of
the word, I proclaim this body to be fully
saved. Saved from the tricks of the
enemy. Safe in the arms of God. Deliv-
ered from all evil. Set on high, lifted
to heavenly places with Christ Jesus.

            "...And I cried by reason of
       mine affliction unto the Lord..."
         (Jonah 2:2a)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

11. BE GRACIOUS, LORD

Oh, be gracious, Lord, and full of mercy.
Pour out your lovingkindngess over our
heads, so we may bathe in it;
bathe us in mercy and warmth and love.
Let your love be as a soothing balm,
as a melting fire of love pouring over us,
washing and healing us from head to toe.
Enfold us in your love.
            (And let us know it!)
Oh, Halleluliah, Jesus, show us how to
    know you fully,
      as fully as it is possible for
humans to know you.
Dear precious Saviour who brings grace,
      pour our yourself upon us.
We thank you, Lord, for being with us.
Oh Lord, please be gracious.

           "...Thus saith the Lord God; In
       that day when my people of Israel
       dwelleth safely, shalt thou know
       it?" (Ezek.38:14b)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

12. NOTHING WITHOUT A REASON

     To the Christian willing to turn to
God fully, nothing happens without a
reason, or else the Lord makes reason out
of nothing. He is still Lord. Is anything
too difficult for him? The things which
happen in life, all become part of the
Christian's reason for living, giving, and
forgiving. They are the fuel which brightens
the flame of love for the Maker.

            "So the house of Israel shall
       know that I am the Lord their God
       from that day and forward."
         (Ezek. 39:22)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

13. HALLELULIAH

     Halleluliah, Lord -- when troubled
times come our way, show us how to pro-
claim that you are protecting and making
provision for us. Show us how to believe
that you care.   Show us how to go on
praising you in the midst of difficulties.
For you said to rejoice then, for our
"redemption draws nigh." (see Lk. 21:28)

     Halleluliah, Lord -- send forth your
Resurrection power to cover us today.
Send your strength to encompass us. Send
us your power, wholeness, mercy,
tenderness. Pour out special empowerment
for us to "make it" over rocky places and
through deep waters.

     Halleluliah, Lord -- pour out on us
your deep love and compassion, every
aspect and trait of your own dear self.
Be to us the Very God of Very God, and
yet as reachable, as accessible, as when you
walked the shores of Galilee so many years
ago. Bless us today. Set us free in
every way. In the name of the worthy-
as-gold Father, the shining-like-silver
Son, and the richness-as-pearls Holy
Spirit. Amen.

            "But when he [Jesus] saw the
       multitude, he was moved with
       compassion on them, because they
       fainted, and were scattered abroad,
as sheep having no shepherd."
(Mt. 9:36)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

14. EATEN

(On seeing a cone from a spruce tree,
eaten by squirrels and weather, until only
a queer, curious lacework core fiber is
left:)

Sometimes I feel eaten:
Gnawed at, and eaten
Because heavy cares run rife!
When I am beaten
And think I am eaten
By trompled feelings, or inner strife --
Then let emotions stand aside:
For God is with me, whatever betide!

Sometimes I feel eaten,
Weighed down, beaten
By the things that gnaw upon my life;
But my inner fiber is tough
And strength will surely be enough
To outlast my wailings about this strife!
For I've chosen Jesus, my Life!
When outer self-husk is stripped aside,
There is inner beauty in my life.

            "...If any man will come after
me, let him deny himself, and take
       up his cross daily, and follow me.
            "For whosoever will save his
       life shall lose it: but whosoever
       will lose his life for my sake, the
same shall save it." (Luke 9:23-24)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

15. SHADOWS

     So many times, shadows fall across
lives. Pains, sufferings. Hurts, heart-
aches. Failures or mistakes; seeming-
wastedness; troubles. Poor judgment. Not
being able to measure up to the ideal.
Sometimes we can't overcome the shadows.
We can't stop hardships from happening.
But we are still growing in God, there in
the dark. We are still lit from within,
there hidden within our cocoons. He is
still with us, no matter what. Let us
celebrate, and give thanks to him.

            "For the Lord will have mercy
       on Jacob, and will yet choose
       Israel, and set them in their own
       land..."   (Isa. 14:1a)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller
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