"Faithful To Walk With You"

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." Psalm 23:4

 

Because of the passing of my mother I am walking through a place I have never walked through before. It is a place of mixed emotions, grief, sorrow, pain, hurt, separation, reality, joy, and all the feelings that come with losing someone you love. But I want to testify this morning to the faithfulness of my loving Heavenly Father who is walking with me through every step of this journey.

 

Walking through this life takes us down many paths-- some are joyful, some are painful, some are difficult, some are easy, some are exhausting and some are peaceful. Death is one of those paths -- it is part of life. When my mother met her appointment with death, she did not walk through it alone-- the Lord was with her. The Lord promises to be our guide even in death, and to walk with us as we go through the valley of the shadow of death. He was faithful to walk with her.

 

He was faithful to walk with the children of Israel when they left Egypt. He was faithful to walk Joseph through each and every new place he encountered from the pit to the palace. He was faithful to walk in the fire with the three Hebrews. He was faithful to walk with Daniel in the lion's den. He was faithful to walk with Joshua as he took the Israelites into the promised land. 

 

He hasn't changed, He still faithfully walks with His children through this life. Where you are walking this morning may not be the same place I am walking but rest assured He is walking with you too. You may be walking through a wilderness, a sickness, a job loss, a broken relationship, heartache, an addiction, or any one of the many numerous places we can find ourselves in. But remember this-- you are not walking alone. The Lord Jesus is walking with you. He is even carrying you through most of it-- like the poem "Footprints" reminds us. So take heart, He is faithful, He is not going to leave you to walk through this by yourself. When you feel that you are walking it alone, remind yourself-- "Thou art with me".

 

Have a great day. The Lord is faithful to walk with us through the many paths of life we find ourselves on.

 

For further reading:

Psalm 23; 48:14

Lamentations 3:23

 

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Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell

and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from

About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.

Please feel free to

call (601) 833-5278 or
Email:mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net

Visit us on the web: www.mastersbusiness.org

You are welcomed to make copies and distribute them free of charge.

You may also forward them via e-mail or post them to your website - leaving the whole message in tact unless permission is granted to do otherwise. Please remember to give credit to About the Master's Business Ministry

"'If' Is Not The Question"

"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31

 

"If God is for us". At first glance one might think that the word "if" implies that there is a chance that God may not be for us. It may come across that this is a question that ask if God is for us. That is not the case here. The question here is actually-- "who can be against us?" Who can be against us "if" God is for us. It is more of a condition. If/when God is for us, who can be against us. 

 

Take the "if" out of your vocabulary this morning in the sense that you are wondering "if" He is for you. Are you His child? Have you been bought with the blood of His Son Jesus? Have you accepted Him as Savior and surrendered to Him as Lord? Are you following Him? Are you living your life for Him? Then there is no question about it. He is for you. He is on your side. He is with you. He is fighting your battles. He is interceding for you. He is working all things together for your good. 

 

Don't let the "things" of this life make you question or doubt that He is for you. Don't let fear make you doubt. Don't let pain make you doubt. Don't let the sickness you are suffering cause you to doubt. Don't let the trial you are going through make you doubt. Don't listen to the accuser of the brethren and allow his words to make you doubt. Don't let the persecution that you are facing make you doubt. Don't let the hard times, the difficulties, the problems or the storm make you doubt. Don't let anything make you doubt that He is for you. 

 

Have a great day. When you are facing difficulties it is easy to doubt that God is for you, but don't doubt it. "If" He is for you is the wrong question... He is for you. 

 

For further reading:

Psalm 118:6

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Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell

and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from

About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.

Please feel free to

call (601) 833-5278 or
Email:mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net

Visit us on the web: www.mastersbusiness.org

You are welcomed to make copies and distribute them free of charge.

You may also forward them via e-mail or post them to your website - leaving the whole message in tact unless permission is granted to do otherwise. Please remember to give credit to About the Master's Business Ministry

Thank You

Dear All,

 

I am touched and overwhelmed (in a good way) by the emails, cards, gifts, visits and response that I have received from you sending your condolences, thoughts and prayers. They have truly ministered to me and given me strength and encouragement. I would love to sit down and write each one of you personally. Please accept my apology for not doing so and accept my thank you now. Also thank you for letting me be offline for a while and closing the shop. I am still blessed to have my daddy and have needed to be with him and my family. 

 

It has been a trying time. Just getting past the shock of her sudden passing has been the biggest hurdler. It still doesn't seem real. It is a time of mixed emotions. My heart is sad, my spirit is rejoicing. I am thankful she went peacefully like she did, but I still miss her. 

 

There are two things I want to share with you out of this experience. 

 

1. Don't take another breath without making sure that it is well with your soul. We aren't guaranteed we will have the chance to give our lives to the Lord at a later date. We could just go to sleep one night, like my mother did, and not wake up. We all have an appointment with death-- we just don't have the luxury of knowing when that appointment time is. Don't put it off. One millisecond after you die it will be too late. Today is the day of salvation. Now is the accepted time. Life is short-- eternity is forever. Prepare for it while you still have the chance.

 

2. Love those the Lord has given you while you still have them. Don't take the people God has placed in your life for granted. They may not always be there. I am thankful to have been able to spend time with my mother the last two evenings of her life. You may not get that chance. I had a wonderful mother. I couldn't have picked out a better one than God picked out for me. I don't care if your mother is the "wicked witch of the west", try to reconcile the relationship and enjoy her now. Don't procrastinate loving on the people in your life--whoever they are. None of us are going to live forever on this earth. Don't let things come before people. People are the priority-- at least that is what Jesus taught us. Make them yours if they are not.

 

Again, thank you, all. I am so thankful for the family, friends and body of Christ that has stood with me through this time. I feel your love and God's love through you.

 

Love and blessings, Lorraine

Dear All,

 

When I sent out the last Coffee Break devotional, "Borrowed Time", I had no idea that I would experience it in a way that touches me personally. On March 29 (Saturday), the Lord decided to "call in" my mother's "loan". Her loan on time was up. During the early hours of the morning, while the rest of us were sound asleep, the Lord was awake and stepped through the portals of glory and ushered my mother home, and has taken her to that place He has prepared for those who love Him.

 

It was a shock to us all. She had not been ill. The Lord in His grace orchestrated it so that I could see her one last time the evening before. She looked great. She was very upbeat. She did not complain of feeling bad. She even cooked dinner for me so that I would not have to do it after a long day at the shop. None of us had a clue that this would be the last time anyone had an opportunity to see her and talk with her. But the Lord did. The Bible says that it is appointed unto man once to die. We all have an appointment time that awaits us-- only we don't have the luxury of knowing when that time will be. Therefore, we must always be ready. Making peace with God and securing our eternal soul through faith in the finished work that Jesus did for us at the cross, should be our life's number one priority. My mother had no idea that she would see her last sunset on this side of eternity when she went to sleep. She went to bed with thoughts of her next day's appointments. She had already made physical preparation for the events of the following day. But that day, those appointments, the plans that she would fulfill never came.

 

My mother passed from this life peacefully. She simply went to sleep here on earth and woke up in heaven. Though it was a shock and though we already miss her dearly, and even though our hearts are breaking, we are so thankful that she did not suffer and she was not in pain. We know that she is with Jesus, and that when she left this earth she did not leave it alone, He was her guide unto death, He was walking with her through the valley of the shadow of death, she was not fearing what she was going through, the sting of death and victory of the grave could not touch her. We rejoice in the blessed hope and promise that we have to be reunited again with her in Christ's eternal kingdom.

 

We always say that life is short and no one is promised tomorrow. We don't know when our time one earth is up so we must be ready. My mother's home going gives testimony to this fact. Therefore, I want to take advantage of this opportunity and urge you to make sure that it is well with your soul. Don't put off securing your eternal soul while you have time. Today is the day of salvation, now is the acceptable time, because you may not have another time to do it. 

 

Having said all this, there will be no CB devotionals the rest of the week so that I can be with my family and tend to business that has to be done. Our pain is real, it does hurt but our sorrow is not as those who have no hope. The Lord has truly been the "glory and the lifter of our heads", and has been faithful to His promise to be near to those who are of a broken heart. Your 

prayers will be deeply appreciated.

 

Love and blessings,

Lorraine Ezell

"Borrowed Time"

"Redeeming the time, because the days are evil." Ephesians 5:6

 

Have you ever heard the term "borrowed time"? It is said of someone who has lived passed their life expectancy. The truth is, we are all living on "borrowed time". Every person on the face of the earth is living on borrowed time-- the young, the old, the sick, the healthy. What do I mean? 

 

The Bible says that the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. Time, like everything else, belongs to God. If it belongs to Him, not us, then He is "lending" it to us-- we are borrowing it from Him. 

 

When something is borrowed, it doesn't belong to you. It belongs to the lender. To borrow something is a temporary arrangement, not a permanent one. At some point it has to be either given back or paid back. The time that we are borrowing here on earth is not a permanent gift either. One day we will have to "give it up" and give it back. That time comes when death knocks on our door and our lives are taken from earth. That being the case, what kind of plans are you making for that time? What will happen to you when you step out of "time" and into eternity? Have you made arrangements for then? 

 

Also what are you doing with the time that you are borrowing? Are you wasting it? Are you making the best use of it? Are you using it up on self-- selfish desires, selfish ambitions, self-centered wants? Are you using it wisely and carefully? Are you using it for the One who is lending it to you? 

 

Jesus told a story of a man who went on a journey, but before he left he gave money to his servants to invest for him. One day he returned and they had to give an account of what they did with what they were given. One day the "loan period" of time we were given will be up. We will then have to stand before God and give an account of how we used the time we were given. What will you be able to answer? Did you make the best use of it by doing all you could to glorify the One who loaned it to you? Did you use the time that you were given to make preparation for the day when your time on earth is over?

 

Have a great day. We are all living on "borrowed time". What are you doing with it? 

 

For further reading:

Matthew 25:14-30

Psalm 24:1

 

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell

and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from

About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.

Please feel free to

call (601) 833-5278 or
Email:mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net

Visit us on the web: www.mastersbusiness.org

You are welcomed to make copies and distribute them free of charge.

You may also forward them via e-mail or post them to your website - leaving the whole message in tact unless permission is granted to do otherwise. Please remember to give credit to About the Master's Business Ministry