Christian inspiration – Page 3

Psalm 138 In My Own Words

December 10, 2020by Laurel Luehmann2 Comments

With all that I am, God, I will praise You. In the face of all that seeks to turn my eyes from You, I will sing Your praises loud.

I worship You, Lord – because of Your tender affection. Because of Your truth. Because You have magnified Your word above all Your name.

When I cried out, You answered me; You filled my soul with strength and made me fearless.

When the rulers of the world hear Your words, my God, they will cry out in praise of You.

Yes… they will sing of Your ways, for great is Your glory, my King!

Though You are exalted above all, my Lord, You still take interest in the lowly. With the proud, however, You do not have intimate fellowship.

Even though I’m walking in hardship right now, You will revive me – with Your hand You will ward of the wrath of my enemies – You will save me with Your right hand.

Lord, You will bring to perfect completion all that weighs on my mind. Your mercy endures forever, my God – do not forsake those You have created.

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What an Apple-Murderer Taught Me About God

November 19, 2020by Laurel Luehmann3 Comments

Sometime this past summer, my youngest sister brought me an apple she had pulled from one of our trees. A tiny, misshapen, worm-eaten thing. She held it like a treasure.

“Can you get me some water so I can put this in it, so it can grow?”

Oh, girl.

In trying to help the apple, the well-meaning squirt had killed it. She didn’t realize that removing it from the tree would destroy all its hopes of further growth. Now it was destined to be nothing more than what it was – a less-than-appetizing apple.

This made me think…

Am I tearing myself from my source of life?

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” – John 15:5

I look in the mirror and see a mess. And I’m not talking about the chronically crazy hair or the breakouts on my face. It’s a mess that’s deep inside, rooted, and complicated. I look in the mirror and see a weary, misshapen, sin-eaten soul.

But God sees me as a treasure.

If I abide in Him, He will give me the grace to keep growing in Him. If I stay close to Him, He will nourish me, develop me, make me more like Him, and give me the ability to bear fruit for Him.

But that won’t happen unless I’m connected to Him.

Unlike my sister’s poor little victim, I can choose to stay connected to my source of life… but it won’t be easy. The world is against me, trying to pull me away from Christ, because it knows that my life and strength come only through Him.

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” – Ephesians 6:10

We can fight – and win – this battle against sin only if we abide in Christ.

Are we doing that?

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

life, Personal

Singin’ in the Rain

October 22, 2020by Laurel Luehmann4 Comments

Happy Thursday, friends!

I have to admit… this morning didn’t feel so happy.

In case you don’t know, I get to feed the cows on my family’s farm. Sometimes I just show up and plow through the feeding routine as planned… but today there was a little hiccup.

The tractor I use for feeding had a flat tire.

I didn’t have to change it – my awesome brothers took care of that – but that incident set the feeding schedule back a bit.

Oh, and it was raining.

And cold.

And I was getting soggy and chilled and frustrated and “oh, poor me”ish.

Wimp.

As I roared around in the skid loader and a dampened mood, I asked meself – whoa, okay, fingers, I guess we’re going with an accent today, – really, what do I have to complain about? Sure, the morning didn’t go as planned, but what do I have to smile about?

Umm… basically everything.

I’ve got an amazing job… even if it is a bit damp and dirty at times. The damp and dirty days make me appreciate the nice days all the more!

I have warm clothes that help ward off the cold and the rain.

I have a lot of thinking time while I’m feeding.:)

See, the way we look at our lives makes all the difference. If we’re hunting down things to be angry/frustrated/sad about, trust me, we’ll find them.

But if we’re hunting down things to be joyful/contented/happy about, trust me, we’ll find them.

“In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:18

God has so richly blessed us… on our best days, and on our worst days. He always, always, always gives us something for which we can thank Him.

What’s that “something” for you today?