WHERE ARE YOU LORD?

by Cindy Bice

Aloha!

I was seeking the Lord with what the next message would be and found myself asking, “Where are you Lord?”

I’ve been working on some big projects and it seems the whole time I was working, I was constantly getting ideas, thoughts, and songs for the weekly Devotional.  What to share seemed endless.

Yet, now I find myself faced with silence.

What do you do when you can’t see or hear the Lord?

You seek Him with all your heart. You knock and keep on knocking.  Sometimes you just need to be still and know that He’s God and remind yourself that He is faithful and true.

I sought the Lord, waited, and listened.

If we’re used to hearing Him one way, it doesn’t mean He’s going to talk to us that way all the time.  We need to be flexible in our listening.  God can’t be put in a box.

Stay tuned in!  Stay connected!  God is there all the time. God wants us to trust Him even when we can’t hear or see Him.  We walk by faith and we know He’s with us!

I remember when one of my children was a baby and was crying so hard his eyes were squeezed shut even though I was holding him.  It wasn’t until I gently blew into his face that he caught his breath, opened his eyes, and quit crying.

Sometimes we try so hard to hear or see God, we miss Him altogether.  Don’t strive with God.  It’s not complicated!  Simply hope in Him.  Know that He’s with you and He’ll speak to your heart and minister to you in your time of need.

1 Kings 19:11,12 (KJV) “And he said, go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind:  and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:  And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire:  and after the fire a still small voice.”

Matthew 28:20 (KJV) “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:  and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen”

Hebrews 11:1 (KJV) “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

PICTURE: Waimea Canyon Waterfall, Kauai

SONG: Good Good Father [Lyrics] – Chris Tomlin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_m5ZWchiZo

Mahalo,

Cindy Bice

“TIMES OF REFRESHING” Garden Bible Study in Hawaii

Please contact me via my Facebook for more information:

www.facebook.com/cindy.b.bice

DRY BONES COME ALIVE!

by Cindy Bice

Aloha!

As I look at our once blessed Nation who trusted in God, it now looks like a bunch of dry bones that desperately needs to come alive!

Lauren Daigle sings the song, “Come Alive (Dry Bones),” with the same conviction that I feel to the depths of my soul. She reminds me of how we were on fire for Jesus in the early 70’s “Jesus People, days.”  

Many are cynical whose hearts have become cold.  Don’t become disheartened at the state of our country or discouraged when so much of the world has crept into our churches.

Repentance! Restoration! Revival!

Revival begins with you!  Repent and be restored.  Revival will follow.

Put Jesus back on the throne of your hearts and lives in every area.  Who is Lord of your life?  Who do you serve?  Do you live your life merely going through the motions of religiously going to church because you’re supposed to?  Or are you passionately seeking the Lord and following after Him with your whole heart?  We should be so on fire for God that our lives directly affect the church and our community.  It’s imperative for us to have a right relationship with the Lord!

I’ve known the Lord since I was 14 and the passion in my heart for Him burns just as brightly today as it did when I was newly born again and filled with the Holy Spirit. 

To the church I say, “Wake up!”  To the dry bones I say, “Come alive!” 

Ezekiel 37:4 (NIV) “Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!  This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones:  I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.  I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life.  Then you will know that I am the Lord.”’  Read the whole chapter.

Revelation 3:3 (NIV) “To the angel of the church in Sardis write:  These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.  I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.  Wake up!  Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God.  Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent.  But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.” Read the whole chapter.

Joshua 24:15 (NIV) “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods of your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living.  But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

PICTURE: Waimea Canyon Waterfall, Kauai

SONG: Lauren Daigle- Come Alive (Dry Bones)- Live https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jLj8QMkNsI

Mahalo,

Cindy Bice

“TIMES OF REFRESHING” Garden Bible Study in Hawaii

Please contact me via my Facebook for more information:

www.facebook.com/cindy.b.bice

READY OR NOT HERE I COME

by Cindy Bice

Aloha!

Jesus is coming back!  Are you ready?  Is your lamp full of oil and shining brightly?

When we read the parable of the ten virgins, we find that five were ready and five were not.

Jesus tells us to be ready because we don’t know when he’s coming. 

Live like Jesus is coming back at any time!    

Matthew 25:1-13 (NIV) “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish and five were wise.  The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.  The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.  The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.  At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom!  Come out to meet him!’  Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.  The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’  “’No,” they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you.  Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’  “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived.  The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet.  And the door was shut.  “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’  “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’  “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”

PICTURE: Kauai

SONG: The More I Seek You – Gateway Worship, Kari Jobe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qPyZt5VSJo

Mahalo,

Cindy Bice

“TIMES OF REFRESHING” Garden Bible Study in Hawaii

Please contact me via my Facebook for more information:

www.facebook.com/cindy.b.bice

JOY COMES

By Cindy Bice

Aloha!

I’m aware of so many precious people who are hurting from broken hearts, devastation, and loss.   My heart aches for you in your pain and suffering.  You may not be able see it now, but know that eventually joy comes.

Real life is not always wonderful and fun.  It can be devastating and the answers you seek may be tragic and bleak.  What do you do when there’s no hope in sight and the hurt and pain won’t go away?

Turn to Jesus.  He understands more than you know and He is with you through the storms of life.  It may be more than you can bare right now.  The Lord will help you to put one foot in front of the other as you go through the grief process.  God loves you and is with you every step of the way.

If you find yourself in the eye of the storm that’s raging in your life today, hold fast to the anchor of your soul, Jesus Christ.  He knows every tear you’ve cried and is close to those who are brokenhearted.  Let the Lord comfort you with the Holy Spirit.

Tomorrow will come and it will be a new day.  God’s never ending mercy and grace are right there waiting to see you through another day.

Eventually, you will feel the joy of the Lord in your heart.  His joy will be your strength.  Yes, you will grieve the loss of your loved ones.  You will miss them because they were a part of you.

Know that joy comes even in the midst of your pain.

How do you live through such pain and suffering?  One day at a time. One step at a time. Allow yourself time to grieve.  Draw near to the Lord.  Eventually, “Joy Comes.”

Good Grief: 50^th Anniversary Edition by Granger E. Westberg  https://www.amazon.com/Good-Grief-Anniversary-Granger-Westberg/dp/0800697812

Psalm 30:5 (NKJV) “For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.”

Psalm 56:8 (NKJV) “You number my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle; are they not in Your book?”

Psalm 34:18 (NIV) “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

Isaiah 53:3 (NLT) “He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.”

Psalm 139:10 (NKJV) “Even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.”

PICTURE: Kauai Coffee Plantation

SONG: Ryan Stevenson – Eye of the Storm (Feat. GabeReal) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYy1f6VjDHU

Mahalo,

Cindy Bice

“TIMES OF REFRESHING” Garden Bible Study in Hawaii

Please contact me via my Facebook for more information:

www.facebook.com/cindy.b.bice