life

More Amy Carmichael Wisdom

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“Let us end on a very simple note: Let us listen to simple words; our Lord speak simply: ‘Trust Me, My child,’ He says. ‘Trust Me with a humbler heart and a fuller abandon to My will than ever thou didst before. Trust Me to pour My love through thee, as minute succeeds minute. And if thou shouldst be conscious of anything hindering that flow, do not hurt My love by going away from Me in discouragement, for nothing can hurt so much as that. Draw all the closer to Me; come, flee unto Me to hide thee, even from thyself. Tell Me about the trouble. Trust Me to turn My hand upon thee and thoroughly to remove the boulder that has choked they river-bed, and take away all the sand that has silted up the channel. I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. I will perfect that which concerneth thee. Fear thou not, O child of My love; fear not.’

And now…to gather all in one page:

Beloved, let us love.

Lord, what is love?

‘Love is that which inspired My life, and led Me to My Cross, and held Me on My Cross. Love is that which will make it thy joy to lay down thy life for thy brethren.’

Lord, evermore give me this love.

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after love, for they shall be filled” (Amy Carmichael).

All I can say after that is that you need to go right away and find as many Amy Carmichael books as you can, as well as any biographies (especially the one by Elisabeth Elliot). Or better yet, read good books by missionaries who have invested lifetimes in the field for the Lord. Those are just about always worth it.

Go to the Last Place

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“I sought him, but I did not find him” (Song of Solomon 3:1. NKJV).

It always annoyed me whenever I would lose something and couldn’t find it. Even more annoying was when one or both of my parents would inevitably tell me to go to the last place I had it before I lost it. I’d be all like, “Well duh. If I knew the last place I had it, I wouldn’t be looking for it, now would I?”

That also seems to be the case in our spiritual lives as well. I think Mr. Spurgeon hits the proverbial nail on the head with this one. Often, when we lose sight of Christ, it’s because we have left Him behind in our pursuit of achieving God’s will in our lives by our own effort or in an attempt to “help” Him out:

“Tell me where you lost the company of Christ, and I will tell you the most likely place to find Him. Have you lost Christ in the closet by restraining prayer? Then it is there you must seek and find Him. Did you lose Christ by sin? You will find Christ in no other way but by the giving up of the sin, and seeking by the Holy Spirit to mortify the member in which the lust dwells. Did you lose Christ by neglecting the Scriptures? You must find Christ in the Scriptures. It is a true proverb, ‘Look for a thing where you dropped it—it is there.’ So look for Christ where you lost Him, for He has not gone away.

But it is hard work to go back for Christ. Bunyan tells us that the pilgrim found the piece of the road back to the Arbor of Ease, where he lost his roll, the hardest he had ever traveled. Twenty miles onward is easier than to go one mile back for the lost evidence. Take care, then, when you find your Master, to cling close to Him.

But how is it you have lost Him? One would have thought you would never have parted with such a precious friend, whose presence is so sweet, whose words are so comforting, and whose company is so dear to you! How is it that you did not watch Him every moment for fear of losing sight of Him? Yet, since you have let Him go, what a mercy that you are seeking Him, even though you mournfully groan, ‘O that I knew where I might find Him!’

Go on seeking, for it is dangerous to be without your Lord. Without Christ you are like a sheep without its shepherd, like a tree without water at its roots, like a withered leaf in the storm—not bound to the tree of life. With your whole heart seek Him, and He will be found by you. Only give yourself thoroughly up to the search, and truly you shall yet discover Him to your joy and gladness” (Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening).

Blessed Are the Single-Hearted

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“Blessed are the single-hearted, for they shall enjoy much peace. If you refuse to be hurried and pressed, if you stay your soul on God, nothing can keep you from that clearness of spirit which is life and peace. In that stillness you will know what His will is” (Amy Carmichael).

“Purity of heart is to will one thing” (Søren Kierkegaard).

If we could only learn to keep our eyes on Jesus and not on our circumstances, we’d have more peace. As it is, we’re too often like Peter, who started off staring at Jesus as he walked out to Him on the waves but was too easily distracted by the storm. We’re too easily swayed by everything around us and the anxiety within us to look at Jesus for very long.

But He’s where the joy is, as I’ve heard a lot lately. Jesus is where the peace is. To be still and calm while the world is chaotic and raging around you can only be a gift of the Holy Spirit in you. That’s clarity in stillness.

I read recently that if you take a container full of muddy water and shake it, you won’t be able to see anything, but only when it is still does it become settled does it become clear. I think as we can remain calm and still before the Lord, so everything becomes clear for us as well as we can hear God’s voice without all the distractions from within and without.

Speak, Lord, for Your servants are listening. Help us to be still and know that You are God over our circumstances. Only You can speak peace to the storms within and without. Only You can still the fear inside Your children. Grant us rest and peace, O Lord. Amen.

Jesus, Take the Wheel

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“The most terrifying detail about Noah’s Ark isn’t the size of the flood. It is the design of the boat.

If you look closely at the blueprints God gave Noah in Genesis 6, He was extremely specific.

He gave the exact length, width, and height. He specified the type of wood and the pitch to seal it.

In my little years, I have never thought of this, but God intentionally left out one crucial component. There was no steering wheel, no sail, and worse still, there was no engine.

Think about how scary that is.

Noah was building a massive vessel to survive a global storm, but he had zero control over it, or over where it went. He couldn’t steer it away from rocks. He couldn’t turn it into the waves. He couldn’t aim for dry land. He was completely at the mercy of the water.

The Ark was not designed for navigation; just for floating.

Noah’s job was to be the Passenger, not the Captain.

God was the Captain.

This is a picture of your life right now.

You are trying to put a steering wheel in a boat that God can control, if you let Him…” (@elizabethltboyd on X).

I know just about everybody reading this has probably heard of the song made famous by Carrie Underwood called “Jesus, Take the Wheel.”

It has become something of a saying that has little to do with actually giving control to Jesus. I think it means “y’all are crazy over there” or something.

Whatever it means, it’s telling that there was no steering wheel on the ark. Noah was supposed to trust God completely to guide him to where he was supposed to go. And how easy is it for us to want to try to take over from God when life gets complicated or stressful, right?

But letting God lead means that God is not my co-pilot with helpful suggestions. He is the pilot. He tells me where to go. He takes me where I need to go. And when I’m smart enough, I trust Him because He has never steered me wrong once. Not once.

Another Year, Another Devotional

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I’ve had this one a while. If memory serves, I picked it up outside the old library at Union University back in the day. If I had to hazard a guess, it would probably be somewhere around 1994 to 1995. So yeah, it’s been a little while.

But I always like to read through a good devotional along with reading through the Bible. This year felt like it needed some Charles H. Spurgeon. It’s an oldie but a goodie complete with King James-style English thrown in for good measure.

But it’s a book with a promise from God for every single day. Sometimes, you and I need that. We need to be reminded of God’s promises over and over again. We need to pray them every chance we get, not because God might have forgotten but because we have. And probably will again at some point.

Reading these old promises of God reminds me that the same God who made and fulfilled all His promises to His people way back when will keep every one toward us. We can rest on His every word and stand assured on the promises of God, as the old hymn says.

I for one am thankful that God is not like me when it comes to keeping those promises. I’d like to say that every time I said I’d pray for someone I kept that promise. Or whenever I said I’d keep in touch that I followed through. I wish.

But God is not like me. That gives me great comfort. What gives me greater comfort is that one day I will be like Him.

Thank You, Lord, that every single one of your Promises to Your people is YES and AMEN in Christ Jesus. That in itself is a promise as sure as the God who made it. Amen.

Memories About Ghosts

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Do you ever see a photograph and wish you could go back in time and be a fly on the wall for the moment that the picture was taken? You’d see the people alive again, their faces animated and their voices long silenced speaking again.

I know it would probably mess up the space-time continuum thingy big time, but I’d love to go back and capture some of those moments with a really high-end camera (or at least my cell phone). I love seeing the old Polaroids, but sometimes it gets harder to make out the faces or really see the expressions on people’s faces. Sometimes, I forget what the people I loved look like and it would be really nice to remember again.

But then I remember that a Great Reunion is coming. That’s what Revelation talks about when it says that Jesus will come back and take us to a place with no more crying or pain, where He personally will wipe away every tear from our eyes. I imagine at that point it will be tears of joy over seeing loved ones alive and whole.

I don’t know what people will look like in heaven. I’ve heard that we will all be in the prime of life. Perhaps we will all be what we looked like when we were 33 because that’s the age when Jesus made His ultimate sacrifice for us. Maybe we will look young but with eyes that reflect a lifetime of wisdom. All I know is that Jesus will be there, and because of what He did, we will know each other and we will above all know Him whom we have only seen up to that point through eyes of faith.

Until then, I have grainy Polaroids and a Bible and a fait that believes without seeing. But then one day, my faith will be made sight.

On the Fourth Day of Christmas

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I have to say I’m really digging the concept of 12 days of Christmas. It’s helping me to get through all my Christmas records and movies. Plus, I love still seeing all the Christmas decorations that haven’t been taken down and stored away for 2026.

My hot take of the day is that I prefer colored lights over white. I’ll never judge anyone else for white lights on a Christmas tree, but colored lights make me feel nostalgic and childlike, especially when they’re the big old-fashion outside lights.

I’m still having my mind blown over something I read in one of my Advent books. Basically, God orchestrated the census of the Roman world, putting it into the mind of Caesar Augustus for the sole purpose of moving two people 70 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem. God also put a special celestial event in the sky to draw some foreigners to bring gifts to and worship the child Jesus.

All this to say that God will sometimes move heaven and earth for His children to accomplish His purposes for them. The saying goes that when you say impossible, you’re really saying “I’m possible.” Better yet, you can say, with God all things are possible.

This is a word to those who are waiting on God for a desire or a promise that they have not yet received. I’m speaking in faith to you tonight not to give up but to hold on to every single one of God’s promises to you that are Yes and Amen in Christ Jesus. Don’t let despair overtake you when you’re closer than you know to the hopes and desires of your heart.

Above all, remember that God is near. God is still Emmanuel and still with us. He had not left us and He never will. That’s also a promise you can count on.

On the Second Day of Christmas

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For some of us, we’re already counting down the days until Christmas 2026. it’s 364 days, FYI.

But for a select few, we’re prepping for those two turtle doves because it’s the second day of Christmas, culminating on the epic finale on January 6, also known as Day of the Epiphany. Also, it’s socially acceptable these days to leave your Christmas decorations up through the month of January.

But for me, my plan is to continue to listen to Christmas records and watch Christmas movies for as long as the spirit allows. I will probably run out of records before the movie stash runs out, so then I may switch over to ye olden CD player for a bit.

I love the idea of stretching Christmas out over 12 days. Back then, people opened one present a day and made the feasting last for almost two weeks. I’m not sure my waistline could handle all that, but I’m willing to try if anyone else is.

Above all, celebrating the arrival of Emmanuel should be delegated to one 24-hour period. It should be a year round event (so I’m really not going to be upset if you leave your outside Christmas lights up all year). That one single event changed the course of human history forever.

Now we have a hope. Now we have a future. Now whoever believes in Jesus doesn’t have to be lost forever but can have everlasting eternal life. And it all began when God so loved the world that He gave.

One day, I’d love to have a house where I have a room dedicated solely to Christmas 24/7/365. I’d push the Christmas tree into my Christmas room with all the other decorations. Whenever I needed a little Christmas fix, I could just go into that room. Or I’d even be happy with a Christmas closet.

But in the meantime, I can rejoice and celebrate that because of Jesus, we can be forgiven and set free. We can know the One who made us and loves us and died for us. We can have the full and abundant life not just in the heavenly hereafter but here and now. Jesus is here.

If I Win the Lottery . . .

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If I win the lottery, I won’t go around posting it all over social media. But there would be signs. Just perhaps a modest little cabin in the woods, right?

Truthfully, I do fantasize about owning a home like this. Even though the chances of me living here are about the same as me winning the lottery (or me getting struck by lightning), it’s still fun to picture myself in my red plaid robe walking down those front steps (that are hopefully not iced over like in the picture).

But then I remember Jesus said that in His Father’s house are many rooms, although I prefer the old King Jimmy version that calls them mansions. Whatever I can conjure up in my mind as being over the top ornate and opulent, heaven will be better. It will be a thousand times more incredible than any episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous with all its champagne wishes and caviar dreams.

But the best part of all won’t be the streets of gold or all the gates with precious stones. It will be seeing Jesus there. The joy of every longing heart will be made sight and the hope of the world will wipe away every tear from our eyes in a place where there is no more need for grieving.

That’s what I look forward to more than anything else. I long for no more bad news. I long for no more reports of murder and bloodshed and war and hatred and unrest. I long for when the lion can lie down with the lamb in peace and safety.

But if it’s God’s will for me to live in the cabin pictured above, I’d do my best to suffer through it for the Lord and put on my best face in the attempt. One can dream, can’t one?

Cheekwood 2025

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Apparently when I was little I had an obsession with lights. As in one of the first words I ever spoke was “light.” According to local sources, i.e. my mom, I used to go into peoples’ homes uninvited and turn on all their lights. I was a bit odd as a kid.

So you’d understand why I love my annual trek to Cheekwood Estate & Gardens earlier today. It had all the festive lights I could ever hope for. It was festive. You might even say that it was joyful AND triumphant.

I have a few Christmas traditions centered around lights. For some reason, I’m drawn to lights still. Maybe it’s because that the moment a light switches on, the darkness vanishes. Instantly. Darkness cannot abide where light is present.

Jesus called Himself the light of the world. That’s because with Jesus, suddenly you see where you’re going. You’re not wandering around in confusion and darkness anymore. He has come to be the beacon of hope and to show us the way home.

Christmas is all about how the light came into the world and the world didn’t understand or receive it. They rejected it because they preferred the dark because their deeds were evil. But to those who understood, who “got it,” He made them sons and daughters of the living God. No more hopelessly lost in the dark with no way out, we have a lamp for our feet and a light for our path.

I’m thankful every single day that Jesus helps me understand God, the world, others, and myself better. Every day, I’m growing and learning more about who God made me to be and how to fulfill His purposes for me. One day, I and all those who are sons and daughters of God through faith in Christ will be complete and mature.

In the meantime, we have that same light that first entered the world on Christmas morning. It’s our job to let that light shine through us so that others can find their way to God through the same Christ who is God made flesh.

Lord, help each and every one of Your children always be ready to give an answer for the hope and light that we have because of You. May we be disciples who make disciples, and may our legacy be those who will be in heaven because we shared the gift of Your light with others. Amen.