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Inspirational Gems for Each Day --
VOLUME 9, 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. A GOOD LISTENER

     I read, once, that the greatest need in
America today is for "somebody to listen."
What does it take to be a good listener?
As the saying goes, "God gave us two ears
and only one mouth, so we ought to listen
twice as much as we talk."

     Let me care more about "listening" to
others than about talking about my own
life. I must care about other people and
their needs. And invite them to share
their lives with me -- without trying to
"top" their stories, look down on them,
give advice which may not be welcome, or
try to "fix" what's wrong. But only to be
a sympathetic and concerned person:
someone others can trust. I must not run
around telling others what these persons
share with me in confidence. With God's
help, may I become a better listener.

            1. What the Lord asks of me:
            "Thus speaketh the Lord of
       Hosts, Execute true judgment, and
       shew mercy and compassion every
       man to his brother... " (Zech 7:9)

            2. What, with God's help, I
will not do:
            "But they refused to hearken [to God],
       and pulled away the shoulder, and
       stopped their ears, that they
       should not hear."     (Zech. 7:11)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

17. PRAYER FOR MERCY

     Oh Lord there is trouble everywhere.
But we ask you to have mercy on us. Lead
us into your "paths of righteousness." We
neglect you, spending little time seeking for
God. Yet you keep loving us unconditionally.
We want to run away and hide. But you do
not hide! Thank you for treating us, not as
we deserve, but as you desire to give,
lavishly and abundantly.

     Have mercy upon us, God. Bring us to
the end of ourselves, so we come to
realize we must have you as head of our
lives. We don't want to live apart from
your loving mercy, and so we turn to you
with all our hearts. Thank you for who
you are. Amen.

"...As I live, saith the Lord God,
I have no pleasure in the death of the
wicked; but that the wicked turn
from his way and live: turn ye, turn
ye from your evil ways; for why
will ye die, O house of Israel?"
(Ezek. 33:11)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

18. ARISE

     We live in dark times. But the Bible
gives us assurance of God's might and his
power to work in our lives. As we keep
our eyes focused on him, rather than on
the world or our situation, may he "shine"
for us.

            "Arise, shine, for thy light is
come, and the glory of the Lord is
risen upon thee.
             "For, behold, the darkness
       shall cover the earth, and gross
       darkness the people: but the Lord
       shall arise upon thee, and his
       glory shall be seen upon thee."
          (Isa. 60:1-2)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

19. HOLINESS

     Holiness. Old-fashioned word. Not
much used any more. That's a shame. In
the midst of this "do anything, try anything"
generation, God still is calling us to "right
living" in his sight. In the midst of this
"just do it", "look out for number one"
lifestyle of so many persons, God still
calls us to wait before him (be entwined
with him), letting him show us the right
way to go.

     Holiness. Right living. Doing what
is right in the sight of God. Putting his
ways first. God's ways are never
out-dated, or out of style. Let us take
him into our inner being. Let him be
fully Lord of our lives. Then he will
"write his laws on our hearts."

            "And it shall come to pass,
       that every one...shall worship the
       King, the Lord of hosts, and to
       keep the feast of tabernacles.
            "In that day shall there be
       upon the bells of the horses,
       HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD..."
          (Zech. 14:16 sel., 20a)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

20. JOY

Joy.
Exuberance winging,
My heart singing,
At good news God's bringing.
(To him I'm clinging.)
Joy.
God's surprise
To open my eyes
To his authority wise:
His love to apprise.

            "And all the people...
       rejoiced with great joy..."
          (I Kgs. 1:40 sel.)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

21. STRETCHING

Dare I believe God is bigger, so grand
I can not really his being comprehend?
Oh, God, teach me what I need to
understand!
How can I grasp that God loves me
"utterly"?
Yes, he promises to "do" for me
"exceedingly".
He sends his help to me, "speedily."
And holds forth his arms "mightily."
Can I stretch my heart, and open my hand,
His love for me to apprehend?
Oh, God, teach me what you want me to
understand!

            "Wherefore he [Christ] is able to
save them to the uttermost that come
unto God by him, seeing he ever
liveth to make intercession for them
[believers]." (Heb. 7:25)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

22. A BIG GOD

God is a "large" God. He is limitless.
He can do anything. I need a "big" God to
help me in my struggling walk in life.
How do I get to know this bigness? How do
I keep my eyes focused, not on my
problems, or on dark circumstances, but on
the incredible heights and scopes of his
love, his power, his willingness to help?

Only you, God, can help me to see you as
you really are. Only your faith is big
enough for my walk. Only your love is big
enough for my caring. Only your wisdom is
big enough to guide my faltering steps.
Help me, Lord! I want to expand my hor-
izons and see you as a big and mighty God.

              "...Fear not,...I [the Lord] am
thy shield, and thy exceeding great
reward."   (Gen. 15:1b)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

23. MIGHTY GOD

Mighty God.
What does the word "mighty" mean?
We still have our problems.
We still hurt.
The world's still getting
            too many cracks in it.
Mighty God --
Where are you?
Can you heal our situations?
Can you rescue us from despair?
Where I am in this earth's time,
    I seem to see no security.
Do you have a "better"world,
            one which offers a welcome?

     "I am here for you, my child. It is
said that the world cannot dream what can
be accomplished through one completely
yielded person who allows God to fill up
everything and make it new. Why not try
me, and see?"

            "O taste and see that the Lord
       is good: blessed is the man that
       trusteth in him." (Ps. 34:8)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

24. SET MY FEET

Lord, set my feet upon the way
Of peace, that I may know you deeply;
Teach me to reach out to those who hurt,
To bring to fullness of inner liberty.
And grant, my God, for me to know
You in all truth, and intimately.

            "And if ye be Christ's, then
       are ye...heirs according to the
       promise."   (Gal. 3:29)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

25. GIFT FROM THE LORD

Such a great gift we have from the Lord!
He promises to hold our todays
            and tomorrows
    in his mighty, all-powerful hand.
He pulls us out of the traps
         and depressions
    that plague and pester us no end!
He says that he will keep us strong
    till the end of time.
We are holy and blameless, not because we
    are strong in our own right,
    but because he vows to keep
              setting us free!

            "I [the Lord] have broken the
       bands of your yoke, and made you
       go upright." (Lev. 26:13b)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

26. "PARK HERE"

     I live in a very small town with a rural
flavor. Down the street, a low apartment
complex has a back yard hillside that
slopes down to the the flatlands of a river
valley. On a little leveled place about
halfway up the hillside, the owner has
installed a couple of park benches. They
offer a perfect overlook of the new highway
dike area, and a grassy back-arm of the
valley, and a scenic, distant range of low
hills. Though I don't live at that complex,
the managers have graciously invited me
to "park here" on one of the benches,
during my daily walk around the
neighborhood.

     God, too, places park benches for us,
on level spots as we negotiate the slopes
of life. "Park here," he says. "Enjoy the
scenic view of wonders and blessings I
have provided for you. Rest a while with
me."
            "Is not the Lord your God with
       you? and hath he not given you rest
       on every side?"   (I Chron. 22:18a)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

27-28. CHIPS

     Wood chips, strewn over the ground.
Just the garden variety sort of chips,
nothing special, nothing novel. Just the
sort of ground cover that people use to
make a garden look more tidy, to cut down
on the growth of weeds. Wood chips, waste
wood that has finally found a use!

     Yet when one looks closely, wood
chips can be beautiful. These that I'm
looking at today are very thin, tiny sawn
pieces with more or less squared corners.
They're not very big. Taken individually,
they are nothing but scrap. No beauty,
only utility. However, each waste scrap
has its own texture, pattern, color, grain.
Sun glints on wood in attractive patterns.
Whether viewed as individual works of
art made by the Creator God (and helped
into being by man), or as a whole ground
cover design, chips can be quite lovely.

     Perhaps our lives may seem as
ordinary and common as waste wood chips.
But God sees us as beautiful. He has
placed different textures and colors and
patterns and grains within each of us.
When his Son shines on us, we are enabled
by him to become quite lovely, as
individuals, and together as the "Christian
community." We are not waste products!
God has a use -- and a hope! -- for each
of us. As individuals, and in community,
we are beautiful to him.

    If I can see the "art quality" and beauty
of something so common place, can not
my Maker see something extraordinary
and worth "saving" (and thinking about,
continuously) in each, and all, his "kids"?

            "But the voice answered me
       again from heaven, What God hath
       cleansed, that call not common."
         (Acts 11:9)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

29. ALL OF YOU, LORD

     Lord, may I never settle for the status
quo. Let me not look to what others are
producing for you. But may I know that
nothing will ever be "enough" until I
know it is EVERYTHING and ALL that
you have for me. May I never be content
with who I am, except as I am fulfilled
completely in you. May I never rest in
any other rest but the "entering in to God's
rest" that you have prepared for me.
May I never settle for anything less than
your perfect truth, anything less than who
you really are, anything less than what
you want to come forth from me. Let me
not merely seek to live, but to show your
LIFE lived out fully in (and through) me.

            "I [Christ] am come that they
might have life, and that they
       might have it more abundantly."
       (Jn. 10:10b)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

30. from the Scriptures

     "Finally, my brethren, be strong in
the Lord, and in the power of his might.
     "Put on the whole armour of God, that
ye may be able to stand against the wiles
of the devil.
     "For we wrestle not against flesh and
blood, but against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness
of this world, against spiritual
wickedness in high places.
     "Wherefore take unto you the whole
armour of God, that ye may be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done
all, to stand.
     "Stand therefore, having your loins
girt about with truth, and having on the
breastplate of righteousness;
     "And your feet shod with the
preparation of the gospel of peace;
     "Above all, taking the shield of
faith, wherewith ye shall be able to
quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
     "And take the helmet of salvation,
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the
word of God."   (Eph. 6:10-17)
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