A HEART STEEPED IN THE WATER OF THE WORD

A HEART STEEPED IN THE WATER OF THE WORD
…so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word
Ephesians 5:26 (NASB).

The unfamiliar sound of the tea kettle whistled into the early morning stillness, and I made my way to the kitchen and lifted the kettle from the stove and the stillness returned as I poured boiling water into my mug, the steam swirling upward into the chill December dawn. This time of day usually finds me enjoying coffee with toffee nut creamer, but not today. A cold has settled in, so with my head feeling as though it is stuffed with cotton, I placed a tea bag in the water and carried my mug of comfort in one hand, a box of tissue in the other and shuffled to my place at the Well.

I curled up in my favorite chair at the Well, snuggling deep under a throw given to me by my Aunt Linda, and picked up a devotional called ‘I Come Quietly To Meet You’, which is a compilation of writings by one of my favorite heroes of the faith, Amy Carmichael. I opened it and read the words Amy had penned so long ago. And then these words caused me to stop as they entered and stirred my heart.

“Oh, what a book the Bible is! If only we would steep our souls in its mighty comfort…”

“Hmmmm…souls steeped in the Bible,” I whispered as I pondered what Amy had written.

I picked up the mug, gently lifted the tea bag from its steeping place, set it on the saucer and then took a sip of the tea. The steeping had done its work and the herbal tea soothed my throat and seemed to fill me on the inside with warming comfort.

I studied the tea bag and thought back to when I removed it from its packaging. It was dry and simply lay there. But when the tea bag was immersed in hot water and began to steep, something wonderful began to take place. The water softened it, and permeated it, filling it completely, drawing out the aroma, the flavor, the healing properties contained in herbal tea. My imagination stirred to wakefulness and the word picture of my heart steeping in the Word of God filled my thoughts.

A conversation came to mind that my friend Catherine Martin and I had recently about the power of the Word of God and how we are washed in the water of the word, …so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, Ephesians 5:26 (NASB).

The Lord brought to mind Psalm 119 which is all about the Word of God. I turned there in my Bible and as I began to read the Lord arrived and dipped my heart in the water of His Word and I settled in and began to steep in it. Why don’t you join me?

The psalmist often spoke of several responses he had toward God and His Word: “delight” (Ps. 119:16, 24, 35, 47, 70, 77, 92, 143, 174), “love” (vv. 47-48, 97, 113, 119, 127, 132, 159, 163, 165, 167), “obey” (vv. 8, 17, 34, 44, 56-57, 60, 67, 88, 100-101, 129, 134, 145, 158, 167-168; cf. “obeyed” in vv. 4, 136 and “obeying” in v. 5), “meditate” (vv. 15, 23, 27, 48, 78, 97, 99, 148), and “rejoice” (vv. 14, 74, 162). He also wrote that he wanted God and His Word to “renew” him (vv. 25, 37, 40, 107, 149, 154, 156; cf. vv. 50, 93) and “preserve” him (vv. 88, 159). Twelve times the psalmist referred to himself as God’s servant (vv. 17, 23, 38, 49, 65, 76, 84, 124-125, 135, 140, 176).
—Bible Knowledge Commentary

As my heart soaked in the words of Psalm 119, I found myself wanting to dwell there in the water of His word all day. I thought I knew what the Psalmist meant when he wrote, “Your word is very pure, therefore Your servant loves it.” Psalm 119:40

Lord, thank You for Your Word. Like a tea bag, let my heart be immersed in the truth of Your living and active word. Fill me. Soften me. Permeate me. Heal me. Comfort me. Strengthen me. Correct me. Encourage me. Refresh me. Renew me. Love me. Teach me. Use me. Lord, as you fill me through the day with the truth of Your Word let it flow out of me into the lives of those you send my way today. Give me the courage to take them by the hand and lead them into the life giving water of your Word. To introduce them to Jesus, who is the Word made flesh, the living Word. I love you, Lord. Amen.

I was reminded of one of my favorite songs by MercyMe. I sat at the Well and listened to the words and they came over me with fresh meaning. You can listen too, if you like.

"Word Of God Speak"
Mercy Me
I'm finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it's okay
The last thing I need is to be heard
But to hear what You would say

[CHORUS]
Word of God speak
Would You pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see
Your majesty
To be still and know
That You're in this place
Please let me stay and rest
In Your holiness
Word of God speak

I'm finding myself in the midst of You
Beyond the music, beyond the noise
All that I need is to be with You
And in the quiet hear Your voice

[REPEAT CHORUS 2x]

I'm finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it's okay
The world clock announced that it was time for me to get ready for work and begin a new day. As I left the Well I no longer shuffled, and though my head was still congested and felt filled with cotton, inside I was renewed and refreshed. Not because of anything I had done. No, it was all the Lord’s doing, for His word tells us in John 15:5 that apart from Him we can do nothing. I opened the door and stepped out into a world thirsty for the life that only He can give, and I was overwhelmed with thankfulness for the work He had done in my heart – a heart captured by grace and steeped in the water of His transforming, living Word.


An Original Conversations at the Well
© Copyright by Diana Morgan December 16, 2011

PATHS MADE STRAIGHT

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NASB77)

I read the words again, my brow crinkling in the center as it has a habit of doing when something isn’t making sense to me.

I had read these words many times as I sat at the Well of His Presence, and often tucked them into my heart, carrying them into the day with me to be both savored and shared. But today they seemed jumbled up, like puzzle pieces that didn’t quite fit.

Just where are the straight paths? I thought to myself as I looked behind at yesterday. The path appeared anything but straight. It was winding wildly about, turning this way and that way. I hesitantly peered around the corner of tomorrow, my eyes following the path as it wound its way up a steep incline and then disappeared from view in a mist of uncertainty that hung in the air like an early morning fog.

I sat quietly thinking about what it meant to trust in the Lord with all my heart, and to acknowledge Him in all my ways. Hmmm….these thoughts about trusting God and acknowledging Him reminded me of Daniel. I had been reading all about Daniel in a women’s bible study I was attending at church. We were in Daniel chapter six this week and I quickly turned there.

Now we don’t know what took place in the lions’ den. We only know that Daniel was thrown there, a great stone placed over the entrance and sealed with the signet rings of the king and his nobles. But the morning finds Daniel unharmed as he tells the king that an Angel of God closed the mouths of the lions.

I have a vivid imagination and I just can’t help wondering what that must have been like. I thought about Daniel at the age of 80 being thrown in with the lions. These were not tame lions. I had learned that a healthy adult male lion could be as much as 9-feet in length and weigh between 413 to 466 pounds. That is BIG!

My palms began to sweat as I read the words in verse 16, “…and they brought Daniel.

I sat quietly and was certain I heard the echo of footsteps on an ancient path in Babylon; a path that took Daniel from his knees before God to the lions’ den.


I closed my eyes just as Daniel hit the ground with a thud. He lay there for a moment looking around him as the men above moved a boulder over the entrance to the den so there was no way out.

He lay still, his eyes staring into the darkness as movement captured his attention and he turned his gaze to the left as a figure stalked out of the shadows and moved toward him, slowly, quietly and yet with great power in each step.

A roar shook the very ground that lay beneath him, the air reverberated as other lions answered in kind. One by one, they walked from the shadowed darkness, coming ever nearer. Two of the males approached, circling around him, their breath hot on his skin. Their paws were twice the size of Daniel’s hands, and he knew with one swipe of just one of those powerful paws with razor like claws, his life on this earth would be over. It was then Daniel made his way slowly to his knees. He had resolved long ago to live a life loyal to the One True God, and a den of lions at the end of a dusty path in Babylon did nothing to change that. If this was the end of his earthly life, then he would end it the way he had lived it, on his knees praying to the Living God.

Daniel prayed, the lions paced, but their great roars were silenced, their powerful jaws shut tight by an unseen hand. While they paced and snorted and came so near to him at times that their fur brushed against him, they did not place a single paw on him. Daniel continued talking to God through the night in the midst of lions.

The morning found Daniel unharmed. And the jubilant King punished the evil doers and issued a decree to the entire kingdom that everyone should worship the God of Daniel.

I sat in the predawn stillness, pondering the path Daniel had walked, which appeared to be anything but straight. If God didn’t make someone like Daniel’s paths straight, what hope was there for someone like me? It was hard to understand.

“Don’t lean”, His voice filled the dawn and my heart looked up as He whom my heart loves drew near. I wanted to stay with Daniel a while longer, but instead He took me back to the verses in Proverbs.

“Don’t lean,” He repeated.

I asked Him to read the Words from His Book to me. Somehow it’s different when He reads them.

“Diana,” His voice echoed through my heart, “Trust in Me with all your heart, do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Me and I will make your paths straight.”

“But Lord,” I began as I set off to explain how my paths were so difficult. “…and what about tomorrow’s path? It is shrouded in mists of uncertainty,” I finished.

“Don’t worry about tomorrow for today has enough trouble of its own,” He said.

Well that is true enough, I thought to myself as I nodded in agreement with His words from Matthew 6:34 and sat down at His feet where I decided to quiet my noisy heart and be still and listen to the Lord. I leaned in close so I wouldn’t miss anything. Here, have seat next to me. There’s plenty of room at the feet of Jesus and we can lean in and listen together.

“I never promised the path would be easy, convenient, free from pain, danger, benefit reductions, difficult goodbyes of friends, lions’ dens or even death. I promised I would make your paths straight, and so I have and will,” He finished.

“You have made my paths straight?” I asked a bit tentatively as I looked at the squiggly paths behind me and wondered if perhaps He was looking at someone else’s path other than mine.

Following my train of thought (there are no secrets from God, you know), He took my path-worn heart to Romans 8:28 and He asked me to read it out loud. Why don’t you read it too?

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28 (NIV)

He turned right around and headed back to Proverbs. My heart arrived there breathless as His voice thundered, shaking my soul awake,

“Do NOT lean on your own understanding. From your human eyes the paths appear crooked and out of control, but from my perspective, they are perfectly straight according to My sovereign will. Do NOT lean,” He repeated.

I thought about that. I hadn’t realized that I had been walking with a really bad lean lately.

I decided to turn His words into a prayer. Feel free to borrow it if you would like to.

“Father, I confess that I have been leaning on my own understanding. I have not been trusting in You with my whole heart, or acknowledging You in all my ways. I forgot that I was called according to YOUR purpose and I am not my own. You bought me with a price, the precious blood of Your only Son, Jesus. Thank you for Your great and glorious promises tucked into the words you shared with me today. You will make my paths straight and you will use it all for my good and Your glory. Like Daniel, help me to resolve to bow only to you – even if the path leads me to a den of lions. I love You! In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

What about you, my dear and precious friend? Do you feel caught up in a maze of twisty paths? Do you feel like Daniel, thrown to the lions and they are circling ever closer? Dear one, nothing can come to you that has not first past through the perfect loving will of your Heavenly Father. How are you doing in these things?

Are you Trusting in the Lord with all your heart?
Are you acknowledging Him in all your ways?
Are you leaning on your understanding or on His sovereignty?

Daniel was saved because He trusted in His God and the result was an entire kingdom turned to the Lord. Who is watching you and the way you are living as you walk the paths of your life today? So, dear one, trust Him, acknowledge Him and Do NOT lean on your own understanding.

An Original Conversation at the Well
By Diana Morgan
© Copyright October 26, 2011

ELOHIM

14 Then God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth"; and it was so. 16 And God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also. 17 And God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:14-18 (NASB77)

I love You Elohim. Creator of all I see, and don’t see, for the universe is vast and who can see its farthest corner but You, O glorious King. You stroll the pathway lit by stars, by Your hand they stay on course. Your very word caused the moon to glow and the sun to burst forth in bold light.

Your eyes see the ocean depths places yet unseen by human eyes. Nothing is hid from You. You speak and the ocean roars, its foam rising up in endless praise to the One Who gave it life.

O who am I that You who created the great expanse of the universe, would think of me before I took a breath. You wove me together in secret, and before anyone else was aware of me, You knew my name. The hands that formed the Milky Way, formed me. You saw all my days, and wrote them in Your book. You knew all my wanderings and even so, You called me and drew me back into Your glorious Presence. You chose me. You called me. You saved me. You restored me. You grow me. You provide for me. You love me.

There is something to be said about the glory of God and the heavens are busy declaring it. Shhhh…O heart, do you hear it? The day speaks wordless declarations of the One who gave its light. The King. Elohim. The night softly shares what it knows of mighty God as the world slumbers in its shadows. O soul, do you hear it? Even in dreams the stars and the moon are covering you with words about grace. Be still. Be still. Lean in and hear. Creation is speaking. It cannot be silent, yet not a word does it utter, and yet it continuously speaks of Him. Declaring God’s glory. God’s truth. God’s righteousness. God’s love.

O fall to your knees. Heart bow down and worship. His name is Elohim!

O how wonderful. How majestic are You my King. Creator. Elohim.

An original Conversation at the Well
© Copyright by Diana Morgan 8-5-11

THE BOSS'S CHAIR

God is seated on His holy throne. (Psalm 47:8 NIV)

I set my things down on my desk, and looked at the door leading into the next office. It was closed, the room behind it dark. There was no thumping of computer keys by sure fingers fashioning the outline notes for the weekend service. No “whish” of his golf club swinging as he pondered the week’s message or wrestled with current issues. No office banter. No sound of pages turning. No shout of “Good morning.” No funny puns. No request to go hunting for funny eyeballs to use as a visual aid in his lesson. No tales from Murdo or recollections from his days in Omaha. No talk of plans for the future. No meetings to schedule. No seeing him bent over his Bible and commentaries deep in study. No calendar to update. No request to call the help desk to solve the latest computer glitch. No familiar laugh. No sound at all; only deafening silence, reminding me that things were different. There was an unfamiliar emptiness and it caused my heart to ache.

I opened the door and stood surveying the room. The walls that once held family pictures now held empty nails. The place on the desk where his coffee cup always sat was empty. There were no doughnut holes waiting to be enjoyed as he began the day. I sat down in the “fancy” chair, as Pastor Bob called it, across from the desk where he had so diligently and faithfully worked for seven years.

My eyes settled on the empty desk chair and my heart cried out.

“Who is going to sit in that chair?”

“I AM.”

Startled, my heart looked up to find the One who is the same yesterday, today and forever, sitting in the chair.

“I didn’t want him to go,” I whispered, my heart breaking.

My heart studied His eyes as He gently said, “My disciples didn’t want me to go either when I had to go away. But if I hadn’t gone away from them, the Comforter could not come.”

I thought about that a moment and wondered what those men had felt and thought as their beloved friend and Teacher was about to leave them, disappearing from their sight in a cloud. I was quite certain had I been there I would have said, “Lord, I don’t want the Comforter. I want You.” Of course, on this side, it is clear that God’s plan was best. What would we do without the Holy Spirit dwelling in us?

Pastor Bob hadn’t been taken in a cloud, I had stood at the office window and watched as he disappeared from view in his little brown pickup, but it felt like a cloud. A cloud of uncertainty of what was next; not only for me and the church, but for him and Ruthie.

“I AM.”

His voice thundered through my soul, clearing the doubt clouds, and reminding me that He is on the throne. His plan cannot be thwarted. When He speaks, so it is. I could rest in Him. The same I AM that went with Moses was with Pastor Bob and Ruthie, and with me, and His church.

Turning my attention back to the chair, uncertainty washed over me once again. “Lord,” I said softly. “Everything feels so unsettled. I mean, before it was clear who I worked for. Pastor Bob sat in the very chair You are sitting in. And now…now, well, it’s empty.”

He took me to Colossians 3:23-24. I asked Him to read it to me. It’s always better when He speaks.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know, that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

His Words covered my heart like soothing balm. My boss was the Lord, and had been all along. That had not changed. I still missed my earthly boss and friend, but knowing the Lord was in charge eased my mind and comforted my hurting heart.

“Talk to Me,” He said. I bowed my head and talked to Him who knows all and holds everything together. I talked to Him about Bob and Ruthie, the Church as a whole, Southwest Community Church, the Leadership Team. And then, though it hurt a bit, I talked to Him about “next”. It’s not easy when your heart is breaking over the “now”. I prayed for the man who was out there being prepared to come here. I wondered if he had any idea that his world was about to be shaken up. I prayed about the “next” for Bob and Ruthie, and I chuckled a bit as I wondered if the people God was sending them to had any idea how they were about to be blessed. When I was done, I felt strangely helped. Talking to Him does that, you know. It wasn’t about me. It wasn’t even about Southwest Community Church. It was all about Him and His plan that He was working out. And it’s a plan too big for human hearts to fully grasp. But He has it all in hand, and that feels good to know.

I stood to return to my desk and begin the work day. I turned to thank Him for talking with me, but He had gone. I stood looking at the chair and a smile touched the corner of my lips as I realized He wasn’t gone, the Lord was head of the Church, and I could go about my tasks with confidence as to whom I was doing them for, knowing that the Lord is firmly seated in the Boss’s chair.

An Original Conversations at the Well
© Copyright by Diana Morgan July 20, 2011

THE LIGHT IS ON

THE LIGHT IS ON
You have placed our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence.
(Psalm 90:8 NASB)

Have you ever been trying to fall asleep but find yourself unable to do so as you realize someone has left a light on? I can relate.

It was late when I finally climbed into bed looking forward to a good night’s sleep. The minutes ticked by and still my eyes were open. I plumped my pillow, changed positions and lay back down. Nope. Still awake. It was then I realized the problem. Someone had left a light on.

But it wasn’t the hall light, or the bathroom light, or even the patio light that was keeping me awake. No, this was a different kind of light; an inside light. I recognized it and pulled the sheet over my head in an effort to hide, but it was no use. I could not hide as the third person of the Trinity shed the light of God’s Truth in my heart, revealing the ugly thing lurking there. Uggggh. I got up and headed down the hall, the Truth Light seeming to shine brighter as I made my way through the darkness.

I arrived at the big overstuffed chair in the living room which I referred to as the “Well” and sat down. I looked around at the familiar surroundings of my favorite meeting place with the Lord. I didn’t see Him, so decided to take a look at the thing that earlier in the day had seemed so small, and yet was causing a ruckus of the soul.

“Sin does that,” a familiar voice said.

Startled, my heart found itself standing in the light of His Presence. I was suddenly very aware of His holiness and my sin. Oh, I knew He had paid the penalty for my sin on the cross. All of them – even those I hadn’t committed yet. This was not a salvation issue. No, this was a relationship issue. Our normal fellowship was interrupted, sin was in the way. I knew what I needed to do.

“Tell Me,” He whispered softly in the stillness of night.

My heart broke at the sound of His voice. He always pursued me first. As I marveled at that reality, I knelt at His feet and told Him all about the words I had spoken earlier that day. Words I should not have said, but did. I knew the moment they left my lips that they were wrong, but I couldn’t take them back. They were out there. I had walked away from the three people I was talking to knowing I should correct what had just happened, but instead I buried the sin that had sprouted in my heart, trying to ignore it. But the Lord never ignores sin – EVER.

There on my knees, my heart dragged the sin out into the Light and I confessed it to Him. Then, true to His Word, He cleansed me.

My soul breathed in the sweet air of forgiveness as we sat together with nothing hindering our conversation. I sat quietly reveling in His presence when a thought entered my head, causing me to open my eyes and jerk to attention. My heart became restless under His steady gaze and I knew He had placed the thought there.

“Oh Lord. Please don’t ask me to do that,” I cried.

But it was no use. He was asking me to confess to the three I had said the words to and ask their forgiveness. Yikes!

He was not impressed with my many reasons for not revealing my sin to the three people. I finally fell silent and in the quiet words He had told James to write down came to mind, “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” (James 4:17)

Oh bother! I shuffled down the hall to bed where I tossed and turned until dawn.

I went running, but there was no running away from what God wanted me to do. As I ran past the lake Jonah came to mind, and I quickly glanced at the water half expecting a big fish to jump out and swallow me.

Returning home from my exercise routine, I carried my cell phone to the living room and sat down and called my husband. I was hoping he would tell me I was nuts and of course I didn’t need to tell the people involved. But he didn’t say that at all. Instead, he said out loud what the Lord had impressed on my heart to do. There was no getting around it now. To ignore it was to disobey God. Actually, I knew I had already disobeyed Him in my attempts to squirm out of doing what He clearly had said to do.

I knew I had run out of excuses. “Okay, Lord,” I said. “Help me to do this. Amen.”

I sat a moment, wanting to give God time to tell me He just wanted me to be willing and that I didn’t have to do it after all. But He didn’t.

I opened my cell phone and texted all three people and asked if they could meet me before the workday got started. One by one the replies came back that they would meet me. A short time later I headed off to work with sweaty palms. As I drove, I consoled myself with knowing that at least all three would be there at once so I could get it over with quickly.

The first person arrived, and we waited a few moments, but no one else came. Awkward! I took a deep breath, and confessed and asked forgiveness. Then the second person arrived. Are you kidding me?! Again, we waited but the third person did not come, and so I plowed ahead and for a second time, lay my sin out there, confessed it and asked forgiveness. No sooner had they left then the third person arrived. No way!! For a third time, I revealed my sin and confessed it and asked forgiveness. I am happy to say that all three graciously forgave me.

After they left, I leaned back in my chair and pondered what had just taken place. Three times!!!! Why was my heart so slow to obey? In that moment I thought of Peter denying Jesus three times, and then later, Jesus had restored Peter, asking him three times, “Peter, do you love Me?” It struck me full force then that in trying to minimize, rationalize, hide and ignore my sin, and then to hesitate in obeying Him, I was denying Him.

He took my broken heart to His Word then and we read together.

5 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
1 John 1:5-10 (NASB)

I heard my Savior’s voice in the stillness ask, “Diana, do you love Me?” Tears came as I said, “Lord, I love you.” I thought about the Light that had stirred me to wakefulness, and I was filled with thanks as I added, “And Lord?”

“Hmmm?” He replied.

“Thank You for keeping the Light on.”


My friend how is your relationship with the Lord? Have you felt there is something in the way? Does He feel distant? Has the Holy Spirit turned on the floodlight of Truth and you are losing sleep? Is there a ruckus of the soul going on in you? Is there something you need to deal with? Some sin you have buried in a corner of your heart. Are you telling yourself that it’s so small that it doesn’t matter? Is the Light keeping you awake? Don’t wait another moment. Drag it out. Take it to Him. Confess it. If you know Him, it’s not a salvation issue, but it is a relationship issue. He is faithful and will cleanse you from all unrighteousness.

Then ask the Lord to show you if there is someone you need to go to and confess your sin to and ask their forgiveness? Don’t pull a “Diana”. Go and take care of it. The Lord will go with you. He will give you the strength and the courage and the words to do what is right.

An Original Conversations at the Well
Copyright by Diana Morgan
June 18, 2011

Let’s end our time by reading the wonderful words found in the hymn Come Thou Fount.

1 Come, thou Fount of every blessing,
tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
mount of thy redeeming love.

2. Here I raise mine Ebenezer;
hither by thy help I'm come;
and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;
he, to rescue me from danger,
interposed his precious blood.

3. O to grace how great a debtor
daily I'm constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here's my heart, O take and seal it,
seal it for thy courts above.

BIRDS NESTS AND TREASURE

…search for it as for hidden treasure… (Proverbs 2:4 NIV)

Your Word I have treasured in my heart… (Psalm 119:11 NASB)

I hurried to the Well, my heart soaring, my earth feet barely touching the ground. I was breathless when I arrived. I spotted Him watching Lesser Gold Finches. They were hanging from the sides of the birdfeeders enjoying their breakfast. Spotting me, they darted into a nearby mesquite tree, adorning its branches like tiny flecks of lights.

“Lord,” I said excitedly, the words overflowing as if someone had left a faucet on someplace deep inside me. I laughed and cried all at once as I shared the news with the One my soul loves. “Lord, my Elizabeth is engaged. Mike asked her to be his very own. And wait till you hear how he proposed to my precious daughter!” I barely took a breath as I told Him the story.

“Mike and Elizabeth were in Big Sur hiking. Mike, knowing Elizabeth’s great affection for all things feathered, hid a bird’s nest in a bush. He called her back to where he stood next to the bush as he excitedly told her that he had found a nest. Elizabeth peered into the shrubbery, spied the nest, but believing it to be a fake; turned to continue on her way up the trail. But Mike urged her to stop and take a closer look. Elizabeth leaned in and carefully lifted the nest from its hiding place, and looking closely, caught her breath. She had found treasure!

“She looked at Mike, trying to take in what her eyes saw. She returned her gaze to the nest, and gently lifted the ring from its home of twigs. In that moment, Mike knelt down and asked her to be forever his. And she said yes! I think it is the best proposal ever; even better than Mr. Darcy’s proposal in Pride and Prejudice.” I fell silent as He whom my heart loves invited me to join Him in a corner of the garden.

I sat down at His feet, and we were quiet for a time as a brilliant yellow butterfly danced on flower petals nearby. My thoughts drifted back to Mike and Elizabeth’s engagement and how she had been so intent on the hike that she had nearly missed the treasure. My heart looked up into the eyes of the One who laid down His life for me, and I caught my breath as I realized how once I too had been hiking up life’s trail. I was lost, but then He found me and invited me to be His forever. In His Presence, I discovered treasure: Forgiveness of sin, eternal life, a relationship with God through Jesus.

Knowing my thoughts, He led me gently to His word and I asked Him to tell me what it said—that’s the best way to study His word. His voice sounded like rushing water as He spoke, “For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 NASB)

“Lord, I take it back,” I whispered. “What?” He asked. “Yours is the best proposal I have ever heard. Help me to share it with everyone. Help me to be like Mike, and call others to come and look into Your word, and as they do, may they too discover the treasure of knowing You—of belonging to You.”

We sat in the morning stillness for a time and then I said, “Lord, teach me to slow down and take time with You in Your word. It is so easy to get busy out there on life’s trails that I inhale bits of Scripture as if from a spiritual canteen, never even breaking stride. Help me to stop and even at times lay down in the very streams of life giving water, emerged in it, drenched through. Then help me carry it out to a thirsty world.”

“I will,” He said. “I will.”

Then I walked into the day carrying in my heart, treasure.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves… (2 Corinthians 4:7 NASB)

An Original Conversations at the Well
© Copyright by Diana Morgan, May 20, 2011

THE RESURRECTION

THE RESURRECTION


“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood behind them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen!’” (Luke 24:1-6)
When I was little, my mom would read this account of the resurrection and I recall wondering how many angels it took to move that big boulder enough to let Jesus out. I now know that Jesus was not "let" out. I envision Jesus dead, lying in the tomb and then at just the right moment He sat up. He had risen. In that moment, as death was defeated, I imagine the sound that erupted from the tomb was deafening as the very power of God was unleashed and that which was immovable, the boulder, rolled away from the entrance. If death could not defeat the LORD then a mere boulder could not keep Him in the tomb. GLORY!!
My marriage was once dead. It lay in a tomb and a large boulder had been placed over it. People even told me that I was lost; I'd never survive what I had done. My husband and I stand today as living testaments to the power of our RISEN LORD. When Jesus met me that evening of December 18, 1999, He walked into the tomb where my marriage lay and He breathed life into that which was dead then He spoke and the power of God was unleashed and that which was dead sat up and the boulder could not help but roll away. My husband and I walked out of the tomb together; our marriage, our very lives, restored through Jesus Christ.
There have been times when I have struggled with the memory of what I had done and I hurry to visit the tomb where my dead marriage once lay. I arrive at the tomb breathless and as I bend down and peer inside the Lord asks me, "Why do you look for the living among the dead?" The tomb is empty. Hallelujah!!
As we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord I challenge you to look at your own life. Go and visit the tomb where your old self used to lay bound in burial cloths. As you peer into the tomb where your old self used to lie, be still. Do you hear Him? His voice thunders across your soul as He asks, "Why do you look for the living among the dead?"
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ Jesus he is a new creation. Behold, the old is gone, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

An Original Conversation at the Well
© Copyright By Diana Morgan 8-31-2009

DAWN

DAWN “So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.” (2 Peter 1:19 NASB) Driving through the desert night No hint of light I see. Yet even darkness tells my heart Of God’s great love for me. Majestic Arizona mountains Stretching to the sky, Morning star lights the way Whispers to a still dark world Dawn is on its way. In the east an unseen hand Paints shades of purple, pink and blue. Another way He whispers Of His love for me and you. Saguaro’s in shadowed stillness stand Arms stretched outward as they wait. Quiet giants of desert land Stand guard at a new day’s gate. Morning star sits above desert peaks Rising from the desert floor Darkness surrounding, their red hues hide, Still through shadows His thundering voice speaks Of a new day, on dawns wings shall ride. Then what joy fills my heart In the east my earth eyes see Out of darkness the sun does rise A new day awakes in glory. The light runs down the desert peaks, Night’s shadows quickly gone. Just as He has promised All things made new in the glorious light of dawn. My heart takes flight in joyous song Pen to paper all my thoughts to write For the bright and Morning Star Lord Jesus, will soon cast away the night. He’ll come with shout of victory Amidst the trumpet song Those whose hearts belong to Him, Will rejoice with the coming of Heaven’s Dawn. An Original Conversations at the Well Poem © Copyright by Diana Morgan, April 10, 2011

THE FRAGRANT KINGDOM

THE FRAGRANT KINGDOM “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him ( 2 Corinthians 2:14).” Mary was the third of eight children, and from the time she could remember she was in the kitchen with her mother learning how to cook. Her mother would tell her Bible stories as they worked; the kitchen became a special place in Mary’s life. She had a true servant’s heart and was known for taking homemade soup to give comfort to a sick neighbor, or add joy to someone’s day with a plate of freshly baked cookies. Mary’s mother also instilled in her the love of sitting quietly at the Lord’s feet every day. One of her dearest memories was of one early morning before daylight had crept into the sky, when she had tiptoed downstairs intending to make her mother a cup of her favorite tea and take it to her in bed. But when she got downstairs she saw the soft glow of a light coming from under the door of the study, and when she peered in she saw her mother with her Bible opened, writing in a notebook. As she watched, she saw her mother close her eyes, and it seemed to Mary she sat there an awfully long time, and so her impatient child’s heart decided it had been long enough and she walked up to her mother and inserted herself onto her lap, and took her face into her hands and asked, “Mama, what are you doing?” She would never forget that conversation. Her mother wrapped her arms around Mary and whispered into her ear, “Dear heart, I am having a conversation with God.” Mary was astonished as she replied, “But Mama, your lips weren’t even moving!” Her mother laughed, and then explained that her lips didn’t need to move because God saw her heart and knew her thoughts. Mary thought a moment and then asked, “Does God talk to you?” Her mother turned Mary’s face toward her and she looked straight into her eyes as she whispered, “Oh, yes Mary. Yes, God talks to me.” Mary looked very serious as she declared, “Mama, I want to talk to God, too.” So there in the soft lamp light, her mother told her about the greatest gift ever given and how Mary could accept that gift into her own heart. When she had finished, she asked Mary if she would like to accept the gift of Jesus, and without hesitation she said, “Yes, mama, yes I want Jesus in my heart.” As the sky began to wake from her slumber, and with the bright morning star peering in through the window, mother and daughter knelt in the stillness and a child asked for forgiveness of her sins and invited Jesus to come into her heart. They sat on the floor together, faces turned toward the window as they watched the sky changing colors moment by moment, as though uncertain what shade to wear that day; and in the stillness Mary’s little girl voice whispered, “Good morning, God. I’m listening.” Those words sank into Mary’s being, and she spoke them to her Lord every morning after that. That very afternoon, Mary returned from school to find a beautifully wrapped box on her bed with a note from her mother. She quickly tore open the wrapping and squealed with delight as she discovered a new Bible, a journal, a sketch pad and a large box of crayons of her very own. As she sat surveying her new treasures, the fragrant aroma of fresh baked bread drifted under the door of Mary’s room, and tearing out an 11x17 sheet of paper she set about drawing a picture that portrayed a dream that was tucked into a corner of her heart. A dream placed there by the Master-weaver Himself. You see, Mary had embarked on a new journey; by far the most rewarding, the most treasured – the life-long journey of knowing God with every fiber of her being. As she drew, she had no idea the threads that were being woven together that would bind her heart and touch the lives of so many. As she grew so did her love for the Lord. Her gift for cooking grew as well, and she never tired of trying new recipes and filling the house with fragrant spices. Her dream was to open a bakery after graduation. She even knew what she would call it: The Daily Bread. So many nights she sat up writing out the plans in her journal to make her dream a reality; and then she would pray over them; pray for the bakery that didn’t yet exist, and give it all to the Lord. All the while the Master Weaver continued unseen, weaving the threads in Mary’s heart. When she was in her last semester of school, her older brother Stan who was in his last year of medical school brought his best friend Benjamin home for the Christmas holiday. Benjamin was older and already in his last year of residency. The smell of rising cinnamon rolls drew the young men straight to the kitchen when they arrived. After the introductions, Benjamin sat on a kitchen stool near Mary and never left. They were married the following autumn. They bought a home in a wonderfully picturesque town. It was a lovely old two-story colonial nestled on the edge of a wooded area. Mary loved their home, and her favorite room was the huge kitchen. But of course she would not be able to spend as much time there once her bakery opened. A few months later, The Daily Bread opened for business. The sign read, “The Daily Bread – food for body and soul.” Mary’s bakery was unique; in addition to offering a wide array of baked goods, gourmet coffees and teas, she also offered homemade soups and comfortable chairs, surrounded by book-lined shelves displaying books by many of her favorite Christian authors. It did not take long for word to get out and soon the bakery was packed every day with hungry patrons. Three years after the bakery opened, on a particularly cold November afternoon, Mary stood watching the customers. Some were reading, others were in deep conversation, but it seemed to her that something wasn’t quite right. It was nothing she could put her finger on; just a nagging sense that something important was missing. It was just then that there was a bit of commotion over by the side entrance and she went to see what was happening. A dirty and ragged man, whose age it was impossible to tell, had apparently sought refuge from the cold wind in a booth located at the back corner of the bakery, and four male customers were attempting to make him leave. Mary was stunned as she heard one of them telling this poor man in no uncertain terms that he was not welcome here, and there was no room for his kind in this establishment; it was for decent people; and they finished by telling him he should get a bath and a job. “Please, God, help me know what to do,” Mary prayed quietly. Suddenly she heard His voice as clear as day, “Mary, what you do for the least of these brothers of mine, you do for me.” As Jesus’ words poured through her heart, clarity washed over her mind and she sprang into action. Mary stepped up to where the man was cowering in the corner and with a smile she said, “Sir, I have a table right over here for you.” He looked bewildered and scared, as the men stood not believing what she was doing. “Well, if he’s staying, we are leaving,” the three men all nodded in agreement with their friend. Mary did not give their remark the honor of a reply. Instead she extended her hand to this cold and hungry soul, and he reached out and took it; and she led him not to the corner booth, but to one of the best tables next to the fireplace. She got him settled in, headed to the kitchen, and a few moments later returned to find Benjamin having a chat with him. She smiled at her husband, and he winked at her as she set a steaming bowl of vegetable soup, fresh baked sourdough bread, a glass of milk, and a cup of her best coffee on the table and headed back to the kitchen to bring food to her husband as well. When she returned with the food she sat down next to her husband, surprised to find them talking, and on a first-name basis. Benjamin was amazing. He was the most humble and unassuming man she had ever met, and she watched amazed as he drew this man, Andy, into conversation. It wasn’t long before they knew Andy’s entire story, and then Benjamin turned that conversation toward God. As she listened it became apparent that Andy’s hunger was more than a physical hunger; it was deep…soul deep. Mary listened as Benjamin told him about Jesus, and before the end of the meal the two men were on their knees, and Andy prayed and surrendered his life to God. It was 1:45AM as the three of them stood at the door of the bakery; Mary’s curiosity got the better of her, and as Andy was leaving she asked how he had come to be at the bakery that day. He smiled, unaware of the bomb he was about to drop in the middle of Mary’s well-ordered life as he said, “Oh, we can smell the food from this bakery three blocks away at the abandoned warehouse where we stay. There’s not a single person there the smell of your food has not touched, so today I just had to come and see for myself.” Benjamin and Mary’s eyes locked, both thinking the same thing at once, and they made a beeline for home. Mary went to the kitchen to make coffee, while Benjamin went to the bedroom to find Mary’s picture. They had intended to hang the picture, but busyness had interfered and so they had put it on the shelf in the bedroom closet. He turned on the closet light and carefully took the picture off the shelf that his beloved Mary had drawn at the age of seven, and headed to the kitchen. Benjamin walked into the kitchen where Mary sat at the table, eyes closed and head bowed as was her habit, and he heard her as she quietly whispered, “Good morning, God; I’m listening.” He waited until she opened her eyes, and then set the wrapped picture on the table in front of her. He poured two coffees and set them down, and took a seat next to her. She picked up the cup of hot coffee in one hand, the aroma of cinnamon and vanilla adding warmth to the chill of the morning air, and with the other she gently unfolded the gold tissue paper faded with years, revealing a framed 11x17 picture drawn with crayon on brown sketch paper, the edges beginning to yellow with time. Benjamin reached over and took hold of her hand as they studied the scene together. Across the top of the page, a strip of crystal blue sky; and below it stood a castle on a field of green, with flowers scattered about in every color. Standing in front of the castle was a king, and by his side a lovely queen; above them written in royal blue crayon on the side of the castle were the words “Daily Bread”. In the queen’s arms was a basket filled with bread and rolls, which were still hot from the oven as ribbons of steam rose from the basket. And across the bottom in red crayon was written… “The aroma of the food caught a ride on the steam ribbons and swirled, twirled, and danced across the grassy countryside until every person in the kingdom was touched by the fragrant aroma.” Thoughtful silence filled the room and finally Benjamin took Mary’s hand, and they knelt in the middle of the kitchen and together they talked with God about all that had happened, and asked Him for guidance and to make clear if He wanted them to do something more, and to especially keep their hearts tender toward Him: fully devoted to be poured out for His purpose, whatever it might be and wherever it might lead them. They went to bed then, feeling as though they were standing in the middle between a world of dreams and a world of radical faith, and the two were about to collide. A few hours later Mary pulled into her parking spot at the Bakery, got out and walked around to the front, but what she saw stopped her in her tracks. There was Andy standing at the door and with him about 70 homeless friends. “Okay, God, I see,” she said taking out her cell phone to call Benjamin. But just as she began to dial his number, he pulled up to the curb and leapt from his truck. “Mary!” he cried, but then seeing the crowd huddled around the entrance to the bakery, he stopped and began laughing. “Looks like God has spoken pretty clearly, don’t you think?” Mary asked her still laughing husband. “Wait till you see what He just showed me, Mary.” Benjamin went over and explained to Andy where he was taking Mary, and that they would be back in a few minutes. Benjamin put a blindfold over Mary’s eyes, and then drove just three blocks over and stopped the truck and helped Mary out, and then removed the blindfold. Mary stood there, unable to speak as tears filled her eyes. She stood on a field and before her was the abandoned warehouse… or as she knew it best, the castle. Several months later on a clear spring day, the little bakery on the quiet street is full of hungry customers; and as they stand at the counter ordering, they are welcomed by the manager: a smiling, middle-aged man named Andy. And just three blocks away, where once stood an abandoned warehouse filled with abandoned people, there stands a castle and on its side is written in large blue letters, “The Daily Bread, Food for Body and Soul”. It is a place for those who are cast aside by the world as unwanted and unloved, to find a future and a hope. They learn that they are valued, and are taught how to care for themselves. They learn how to work in the garden and in the bakery, and when they are ready, get on-the-job training at the Daily Bread downtown. But most importantly they learn about God and His love, and about His Son Jesus, and how He makes the old new and the broken whole. Inside the walls are beds and showers, a dining hall, a medical clinic, and a chapel. There is also a library with comfortable places to sit, and shelves of books by Mary’s favorite authors, and a big fireplace-- and over the mantle in an 11x17 frame, hangs a crayon drawing of a dream once tucked quietly in the corner of a young girl’s heart; a heart devoted to God, Who with unseen hands wove her life into a beautiful tapestry, binding it with His love, and all through it run the threads of His glory. And in the Castle’s kitchen you will find Mary, talking about God and His Son Jesus as she teaches men, women and children how to cook. And oh, the fragrance of that place; the aroma of Jesus Christ at work in human hearts rises up and swirls, twirls and dances across the grassy countryside, until every person in the kingdom is touched by the fragrant aroma. Dear one, has God placed a dream in your heart? He has gifted you for a specific purpose. Ephesians 2:10 says this: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Why don’t you have a conversation with the Lord about your dream? AN ORIGINAL CONVERSATIONS AT THE WELL BY DIANA MORGAN COPYRIGHT AUGUST 2009

HOSPITALITY ON THE GO

PART THREE

HOSPITALITY ON THE GO

Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. (1 Peter 4:9 NIV)

Have you ever known someone with the gift of hospitality? They are the first to invite the new neighbors for dinner. They are always hosting showers or luncheons or small group gatherings.

When I hear the word hospitality, I think of my sister Linda. Her home is warm and inviting. There is something about the very atmosphere that smoothes away the cares of the day and soothes weary bones and harried hearts. I always thought her gift and her home were inseparable – until James.

Linda knelt next to James. She spoke soothing words to him. I studied my sister’s eyes. They were filled with deep compassion as she continued speaking to James. It was as if I peered into my sister’s heart and the doors opened wide to welcome James.

It was there, along the road, under a vast canopy of stars, I realized that the gift of hospitality God had so richly blessed my sister with was not bound by walls or contained under a roof. Nor was it reserved for the clean, the eloquent of speech or the well dressed – it was for anyone God placed in her path. The gift was skillfully woven into the very fabric of her heart by God Himself, and it went wherever she did.

Let’s stop at Roman’s 12:6-8. What gift has God given you? How has God used your gift to minister to someone else? Your gift is not meant to be hidden on a shelf at home. It is meant to go wherever you go, always ready to be poured out for the benefit of others and God’s glory. It is a gift on the go.

An original Conversations at the Well

Copyright by Diana Morgan March 29, 2011

IN NEED'S SHADOW

WEEK TWO
IN NEEDS SHADOW
As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
Matthew 14:15-16 (NIV)

We learned the injured man’s name was James. He had a number of wounds on his face, arms and hands, and was bleeding. He was unable to tell us what had happened or how he had come to be lying in the road. My hands were empty, I had nothing to offer; I couldn’t “fix” him. I suddenly felt very small standing in the shadow of James’ need.

The disciples must have felt so inadequate as they stood in the shadow of need cast by five thousand hungry people. The disciples thought it would be best to send the crowd to the nearby villages to buy food. But Jesus had told them to feed them. The disciples stood looking down at the little they had: five loaves of bread and two fish. What good could so little do against such great need?

They placed the little they had into Jesus’ hands. The little turned into more than enough to meet the hunger of five thousand people, with twelve baskets left over.

“I’m thirsty,” James said softly. I hurried to the car and found a bottle of water tucked in the front seat. “It’s not much,” I muttered under my breath as I made my way back to James. Suddenly, I was aware of His sweet Presence going with me, and decided to place the little I had into His hands – you know the ones with dark scars in the center. As I knelt next to James and watched him drink the water, I saw a little give relief to a great thirst.

My friend, don’t let needs shadow paralyze you. Instead, take the little you have, place it in His hands, and leave the results to Him. Glory!

An Original Conversations at the Well
Copyright by Diana Morgan March 21, 2011

DWELLING PLACE

DWELLING PLACE

I love the Word of God. When the Lord and I sit down together to spend time in His Word, the words seem to dance off the pages and into my heart, and weave themselves into the fabric of my very life like golden Word threads.

This morning I sat at the Well, my head bent over Psalm 27. The Lord sat so very near me as we read His Book together. His breath stirred the page, causing the words to rise up and enter into my heart. The words were these: "One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD and to meditate in His temple” (Psalm 27:4 NASB).

Hmmm...“That I may dwell in the house of the Lord...” I closed my eyes and could picture myself walking, suitcase in hand, visiting houses. Occasionally, I would see a house that looked inviting. I carried my suitcase through the front door and stayed for a time, but didn't unpack.

But one day I met the Lord and He invited me in to relationship with Him. I entered in with wide-eyed wonder. He welcomed me with open arms. I carried my suitcase inside, you know, the heavy one with all the things the world says I need to make it through; so many different things to put on in order to make me acceptable; to fit in. He invites me to allow Him to take the heavy load I am carrying, and come and rest awhile. I place the suitcase in His hands, noting the scars.

He leads me along. There is so much to see; so much to take in. A house tells so much about the Master of it: their interests; what matters to them. We come into a room that is both spacious and yet so very intimate. I catch my breath at the beauty – there’s something about the light. A stream runs right through the room; the water seeming to dance joyfully as the light touches it. He invites me to sit awhile.

I notice a book; it turns out He is the author. He smiles and brings with Him a cup filled with water from the stream and places it in my hands as He opens the book – His book and sits down next to me. I sip the water as He speaks His Words to me; I am strangely refreshed. The water and His Word seem to pour into my very heart, and then I realize that His Presence has surrounded me; His Words giving me life and I find myself kicking off my shoes, and nestling into His Presence; to dwell there—I am home.

My friend, are you lugging a heavy suitcase around with you? The one filled with all the ways you have to make sense of life? There is only One who can do that; and He is the Author of life. Do you want to know Him? You can right now, right where you are.

Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16

God is inviting you into a relationship with Him, through His Son, Jesus. You can talk to Him right now. Lord Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross to pay for my sins. Please forgive my sins and come into my heart. I give you my life. Amen.

Could it be that you know Jesus, but you are still running place to place, lugging that heavy suitcase filled with “religious” ideas and “how to” that you can’t even begin to live out. Have you lost sight that knowing Him is all about relationship with Him?

Look at Jesus' words to believers in Revelation 3:20.
20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends (Rev 3:20 NLT).

Your heart looks up at the sound of a familiar voice. You realize it has been a long time since you were still enough to really listen to Him. You walk the path to His door. You needn’t have worried about finding Him, He’s right there waiting – as if He has been expecting you.

He welcomes you and offers to take the heavy load off your hands. You surrender all you have been carrying into His hands as He leads you to a place of great beauty, where streams of living water flow freely. His Book is nearby; you blow the dust off the cover, the pages make that wonderful sound as you open wide His Truth.

He hands you a cup of water, as He sits next to you. His breath stirs the pages and His Presence surrounds you, covers you and His Word and Living Water fill you and refresh you. You look up into the eyes of the One who gave all for you and you realize you are dwelling in His Presence – you are home.

An Original Conversations at the Well
©Diana Morgan March 19, 2011

DETOURS OF COMPASSION

WEEK ONE
DETOURS OF COMPASSION

But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was and when he saw him, he took pity on him. Luke 10:33 (NIV)

Have you ever been so tired you couldn’t even see straight? All you want is to get home, climb into your comfy bed, snuggle down deep into the covers, close your eyes and drift into an undisturbed sleep. One minute you are headed toward the land of dreams, the next you are caught off guard by a detour sign. You have a choice to make: ignore the sign and keep going, or obey it, and go where you are being sent.

I yawned as my sister Linda maneuvered the car down the winding road. We had spent the day at a conference where we had heard wonderful speakers talk about God’s grace. We were literally minutes away from Linda’s house. I couldn’t wait to fall into bed and ponder all the things I’d learned that day as I drifted off to sleep. I sat quietly making my “end of the day plans” when it happened. We rounded a sharp curve and there they were: two men in the road.

The headlights pierced the darkness, revealing the scene to our now alert eyes. One man lay on his back; the other man knelt at the fallen man’s side. My sister swerved to the right while slamming on the brakes, the car screeched to a halt at the side of the road. Linda hurried to the scene to find out what had happened while I looked for a flashlight. She was back in a moment, cell phone in hand, trying to get a signal to call 911.

My heart ran breathless to talk to the Lord about it – He is never out of range. He was there waiting for me. I had just begun telling him about the men in the road when a car came flying down the hill. The driver appeared not to see the men as he sped toward them, but at the last moment, the car swerved to the left, narrowly missing the two men as the driver sped on his way without so much as a tap of his brakes.

My dear friend, travel with me to Luke 10:33 where we meet the Good Samaritan. Notice he wasn’t sitting at the side of the road waiting for the injured man to show up. He didn’t have it penciled into his day. He was traveling, going about his business when he came upon the man in the road. Others had come by and had simply gone around, but this man was filled with compassion and stopped.

What about you? How will you respond to the “detours of compassion” the Lord places in your day? Will you stop and follow Him or will you speed past without so much as a tap to the brake of your daily routine.

This would be a great time to stop and talk with the Lord about it.

IN THE SHADOW OF THE SHELTERING ROCK

“Let me dwell in thy most secret place, under thy shadow.”
The Valley of Vision – A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions

Have you ever been afraid? Have you faced something you didn’t want to face and felt you were facing it alone? Did you want to run and hide? I understand.

“Mrs. Morgan,” the woman said as she glanced at the chart in her hand and then looked my direction with a smile. I stood, looking pleadingly at my husband to somehow rescue me. He looked sympathetically into my eyes as he said, “I’ll be right here waiting for you.” He smiled, trying to look reassuring. I knew he would be here waiting, but he couldn’t go through it for me, or even with me. There was nothing to be done about it; I had to go through it. I followed the woman through the door and it closed behind us with a decided click, and I suddenly felt so very alone.

Moments later found me lying in a rather awkward position, the oral surgeon giving me the first of several injections as he went over the details of the surgery one more time. He checked my heart rate and blood pressure for the third time since he’d given the last of the injections, and then the surgery began.

My right hand was gripping the wrist of my left hand so tightly that my fingers began to go numb and my heart beat wildly. The surgeon had been hard at work for over an hour when he asked for yet another picture to be taken of the area. Was that seven or eight pictures, I had lost count. “Let’s get a biopsy of that tissue right there,” the surgeon said. My thoughts quickly picked up the surgeon’s words and began running wildly about. Not wanting to miss an opportunity, my imagination grabbed the thoughts until fear grew within me.

“Let’s remove that area of bone, right there,” the surgeon said. It felt to me as if a crew armed with jackhammers had set to work in my mouth. My heart collapsed in a helpless heap, allowing imagination and fear to take over.

Suddenly, a song rose up in the midst of my clamoring thoughts.

“I AM your hiding place. I will fill your heart with songs of deliverance whenever you are afraid; put your trust in Me.”

The song became louder. My heart listened, daring to peer out from the corner where fear thoughts had driven it. The song rose, strength in every note until my heart sat up, looking around for the source of the song. That’s when I saw it; a towering Rock, and a Shadow coming from it.

Movement caught my heart’s eye as imagination with fear in tow came rushing toward me to knock my heart to the dust. Without hesitation, my heart ran to the Rock and dove beneath it, straight into the Shadow. Immediately, the Shadow surrounded me. I realized then that I wasn’t alone at all. Jesus, the Rock was ever-present there in the midst of what I was going through. What’s more, I couldn’t hear imagination’s fear thoughts from the Rock’s Shadow, only the song which had grown sweeter and my heart joined in and sang and sang there in the Sheltering Shadow of the Rock.

Later, after I got home, I sat quietly at the Well, holding an icepack over my jaw. Him whom my heart loves was there sitting quietly with me. We sat together studying online about a woman’s walk in His grace with some friends of His and mine. It was a sweet time sharing about His grace.

The online study came to a close and I thought about His grace. It was His grace that allowed my heart to rest in His sheltering shadow. I was never alone. Never. My heart moved in closer to Him, and my soul sat in the Rock’s sheltering Shadow and then He took me to some places in His Word that He had marked with His heavenly hi-lighter. Places just right for a weary child of His to sit awhile with Him.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
(Psalm 91:1 NASB)

For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God…
(Psalm 18:31 NASB)

My heart began to sing, though my lips and my jaw were too swollen to join in.

“You are my hiding place. You always fill my heart with songs of deliverance, whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.”

My body was weary from the surgery, my eyes grew heavy, and my heart nestled down and I slept there in the Shadow of the Sheltering Rock.

You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance (Psalm 32:7 NASB).

Beloved, what are you facing? Is it a hard thing; a thing no one can go through for you? If you know Jesus, then you are not alone. Don’t allow Satan to deceive your heart. Run to the Rock. There, your heart will find shelter, and a song. A song of deliverance, sung over you by the Deliverer Himself. Almighty God.

Glory!

An Original Conversations at the Well
© by Diana Morgan March 6, 2011

GOOD GIFTS

GOOD GIFTS
Have you ever looked forward to giving a loved one a gift? It begins with a thought, and then you go shopping. You may not know what the gift will be but you know it when you spot it. There it is, tucked among all the other items, the perfect gift. You know this person inside and out. There is no doubt in your mind that this is just the gift for them.

You buy it and hurry home with your treasure. You take your time wrapping it, all the while thinking of the one your heart loves, the one the gift is meant for.

You call them up and invite them to meet you. The time arrives, and with gift in hand you head out, your heart filled with anticipation. You arrive at the place you chose to meet. Your eyes scan the room, and then a smile touches your lips as you find them sitting at a corner table, sipping their favorite coffee. You head to the table filled with joy. There is something quite delicious in knowing a secret; of bearing a gift that is about to delight someone near and dear to your heart.

The moment arrives. You can hardly stand it as you take the gift from its hiding place, and set it before them. For a brief moment there is silence as their eyes take in the beautifully wrapped package sitting in front of them. They lift their gaze to yours, question marks in their eyes, but the love dancing in your eyes quickly assures them that the gift is for them.

They reach out and begin to unwrap it. They catch their breath as what was unknown to them becomes known. There is no need to ask if they like it as tears of joy spill down their cheeks and they fly into your waiting embrace. In that moment, your heart rejoices in the giving of a good gift.

Do you know that God rejoices in giving those who love Him good gifts? It’s true! My friend, wipe the Monday morning sleep from your eyes, pour your favorite coffee or tea, and kick off your shoes right there at your desk and nestle into the Lord’s presence. Oh, and don’t forget to have His Book nearby as we will be taking a walk with Him in His Word.

A soft breeze stirred the brush nearby as I took a seat on a large boulder and looked out at the mountains as they stretched high before me. It was a clear January morning, and a wintery crispness was in the air. I had looked forward to this hike in the foothills for days, and now here I was at last.

Life had been so busy and it seemed ages since I had been off on my own. I looked around, not a soul in sight. I was alone. I looked out at the valley below on one side and then over at the towering peaks on the other. It was glorious. There is something about solitude that revives my spirit, and nourishes my soul. I was reminded of Jesus’ invitation to His weary disciples, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest awhile.” (Mark 6:31 NASB)

I opened my backpack and took out my Bible, journal and pen. There in the stillness, my soul made its way down a familiar dusty path, to the well and sat down with Him who is my heart’s longing.

“Hello,” He said.

“Hello,” I replied.

“I see you got My invitation,” He said, peering over my shoulder at the place I was reading in Mark 6:31.

I moved in closer to Him as I whispered, “Thank You for asking me to come away with You.” I breathed deeply as my eyes took in the rugged beauty that surrounded me. “Lord, I’m so glad you chose this place for us to meet in today. This is lovely.” I drew near to Him then, and just as He promised, He drew near to me.

Then He took my heart with Him into His Word and we stopped and lingered awhile. Why don’t you join us?

41 I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul. Jeremiah 32:41 (NIV)

How great is Your goodness, which You have stored up for those who fear You.
(Psalm 31:19 NASB)

I sat quietly thinking about His goodness. “Lord, it says here that you store up Your goodness for those who fear you.” I looked up at the great mountains and then at the sky colored a deep blue and thought about His goodness and wondered what kind of storage unit could possibly contain it. That’s when I heard it.

Clip clop. Clip clip clop. Clop. Clop. Clop.

It sounded as if someone was trekking about the mountainside in high heels. My gaze followed the sound. Then movement caught my eye and I caught my breath. A Big Horn sheep stood on the mountainside. His great horns curled around. He lifted his gaze and looked in my direction, his head raised majestically. Then more movement as a female sheep leapt gracefully over a boulder and headed ever higher. More movement as the mountainside came alive. One, two, three, four, five, six, SEVEN. “Lord,” I cried. “I have lived in the desert 33 years and I have never seen Big Horn sheep in the wild. Thank You! Thank You!”

We sat in companionable silence watching power and grace in motion. My heart turned toward Him who gave all for me, and it occurred to me that He had planned this moment, this gift for me. He knew those things that refreshed me, gave me joy, inspired and refreshed this heart within me – His daughter. He had knit me together after all.

It occurred to me that He had gone through a lot of trouble for me. He sent me the invitation in Mark 6:31. He had arranged the meeting place, here at the feet of His glorious snow-covered mountains, and He had brought a gift, which He tucked into the mountainside for me to unwrap at just the right moment; a gift from His heavenly storehouse. David’s words flooded my thoughts, “How great is Your goodness…” My heart looked up into His eyes and there I saw rejoicing

My sweet friend, He delights in you. Not because of anything you do or strive to be. In fact, in Psalm 46:10 He says, “Cease your striving and know that I am God.” Before you loved Him, He loved you. He thought of you before the foundation of the world. He has issued an invitation for you to get away and spend some time alone with Him (Mark 6:31). Will you accept His invitation? Will you go?

Take some time now to walk with the Lord through His Word.

Psalm 31:19
Jeremiah 32:41
Matthew 7:11
1 Corinthians 2:9
James 1:17

Dear one, what’s going on in your life right now? Even amidst great sorrow, trial or pain, or the regular Monday morning workday, God’s goodness is there (Romans 8:28), and His gifts of tenderness come. Are you watching for them? They may be as simple as a loved one’s embrace; or Big Horn sheep on a mountainside. Whatever, and however the gift comes, you can be sure He chose it. In fact, He has been storing it for just the right moment; it is just right for you, and it is good. As you hold the gift, be still, do you hear it? It is the sound of your heavenly Father rejoicing.

Glory!



An Original Conversations at the Well
© By Diana Morgan February 28, 2011

MY FATHER'S VOICE

MY FATHER’S VOICE

…the Lord called Samuel; and he said, “Here I am.” (1 Samuel 3:4 NASB)

Then the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.” (1Samuel 3:10 NASB)

The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh and there He revealed Himself to Samuel through His Word. (1 Samuel 3:21 NIV)

The day was mild, the February sun warm on my face. A late afternoon breeze rustled the trees, their leaves waving a glad greeting as we walked beneath the stately boughs. Children ran and played, their laughter filling the air as Elizabeth and I walked through the park. We chatted about life and hopes and dreams, as mothers and daughters are known to do, when a scene up ahead caught my attention.

A man stood on the grass as he called several names. “Come,” he called. I followed his gaze; watching to see who belonged to him. The father called the names again. I watched as two boys on bicycles looked his way and then proceeded to ride in the opposite direction as fast as their legs would pedal. A younger boy of about 7 stood on the grass nearby, feeding ducks as his father called his name. “I want to feed the ducks!” he replied without so much as a glance in his father’s direction.

While two sons pedaled away, pretending they hadn’t heard their father’s voice, and another stubbornly continued feeding ducks, a fourth son, the youngest, who appeared to be no more than four years of age, had come and was quietly waiting at his father’s feet.

The father looked down as he softly said the small boy’s name. The boy’s face lit up at the sound of his father’s voice. I watched as the father bent down, speaking quietly, words meant for the one who responded to his call. The little boy leaned in until his forehead rested against his father’s face; all the while the father continued speaking. Then he wrapped the boy in his arms and gently lifted him off the ground and began walking along the edge of the water in deep conversation with his son.

A short while later as Elizabeth and I turned to head home, I spotted the father. He was sitting on a large boulder at the water’s edge, his young son nestled in against him. The father pointed at something out on the water as the little boy listened to his every word. My eyes scanned the area, looking for any sign of the wayward sons, but they were nowhere to be seen; they were too busy; too distracted to come when their father called. And oh what they were missing. The scene captivated me, and I tucked the picture into a corner of my heart to ponder later.

That night something stirred me to wakefulness and I sat up, tilting my head to one side as I listened. I was about to lay back down when I heard it; that still small voice whispering to my heart, “Come,” He said. In that moment the little boy who had responded to his father’s voice came to mind, and I so wanted to be like him. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I left the warmth of my bed, grabbed my Bible and headed off to the Well.

I arrived to find Him whom my soul loves waiting for me. I told Him all about the father who had called his sons. He listened as I spoke of the two who had pretended not to hear their father’s voice and rode away; then there was the third son who had stubbornly stayed where he was feeding ducks. At last my favorite part came and my heart was breathless as I told him about the youngest boy who had stood in quiet expectation at his father’s feet.

His eyes shone with memories of eternity past as He carried my heart to His Word. We stopped in 1 Samuel 3 where He told me about a boy named Samuel. He had called Samuel’s name, and once Samuel knew Who it was that was calling him, he said, “Here I am.” We read on until He stopped me again at verse 21. I read it over and over again.

The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh and there He revealed Himself to Samuel through His Word. (1 Samuel 3:21 NIV)

“Lord,” I whispered. “Yes,” He replied. “Lord, thank you for revealing yourself to me through your Word. Thank you for calling my name. Help me to be like Samuel and be listening for your voice and to have a heart that is quick to say, ‘Here I am.’”

We lingered there for a while as His words of truth wove themselves into the fabric of my heart.
Then, in the stillness, He who loves me called my name. He bent down until I could feel His very breath, and my heart leaned in until it rested in His presence. Joy!

My dear friend, what is your response when the Father calls your name? Do you pretend not to hear and ride off to the next task as fast as your legs will go? Do you say, “Wait, Lord, I’m feeding these ministry ducks and I’ll meet with you as soon as I’m finished.” Or do you have a heart like Samuel’s that is quick to say “Here I am.” Oh the wonder that awaits in the quietness of His presence.

An Original Conversations at the Well
By Diana Morgan
© February 11, 2011

LIFE IS HERE

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
(John 11:25-26 NASB)

I sat quietly at the Well. The darkness before dawn settled around me as I waited for Him whom my soul loves to come with His glory light and chase all the shadows away.

I shivered in winter’s chill and wrapped a soft throw around me, but it did nothing to melt away the circumstances that seemed to have piled up overnight like snowdrifts in a winter storm. It seemed life had come to a halt, as winter has a way of doing. My writing was especially being impacted. I would try to get going, but I couldn’t seem to get any traction, like trying to drive up a snow covered, icy mountain road without snow tires or chains – I was spinning my wheels and getting nowhere in a hurry.

I hoped people wouldn’t notice me in my “nowhere-ness”, but they did. People who cared about me began asking questions. I thought of a friend who had stopped by my office and commented about the lack of writing he had seen from me recently. I made excuses, but inside I cried out, “I’m stuck. I’m in this snowdrift and can’t get myself out.”

I began justifying my inactivity with “when” thoughts. “When the economy improves, then I’ll get moving. When the pain from this tooth infection is resolved then life can resume. When I have more time then I’ll write again.” When… there is no shortage of “when thoughts” in winter-ness of the soul. Life is up ahead somewhere, on the other side of the snowdrifts of circumstances.

It was then that I remembered a phrase from an advertisement for a housing development that I had noticed on a billboard just before Christmas. I remembered it had caught me by surprise and I had written it down in my journal to ponder. I turned to the page in my journal and read the words again.

Your New Life Is Waiting For You Just 15 Miles Ahead

“I am the resurrection and the life.” My heart looked up startled at the sound of His voice as He whom my soul loves drew near. Without even saying good morning, I blurted out, “Lord, I’m stuck!”

“Walk with Me,” He said. I knew He meant a walk together in His Word, and my heart quickened as He led me in all my “stuck-ness” to John 11. I love to read about the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Countless times the Lord and I walked together through this very place in His Word, and I would find myself standing just behind Mary and Martha, breathless as Jesus uttered the command, “Lazarus, come forth!” I waited quietly for the story to unfold before me.

“Lord?” I whispered. “It’s very dark. I can’t see anything.” There were muffled voices as though spoken from behind a barrier. I tried to focus in the darkness, and noticed the slightest hint of light several feet away, but something was blocking it. I squinted in the darkness toward the light. “Lord, it’s as if there’s something blocking that light over there. It’s like there’s a…that is to say, um, Lord, it’s like there’s a big rock in the way.”

The words seemed to hang suspended in the darkness as my thoughts raced. The Lord had shown me the story of Lazarus from many different perspectives. I had sat in the house broken and grieving with Mary. I had run to meet Jesus with all my “if only” thoughts with Martha. I had stood filled with questions in the crowd of onlookers. But never had I seen it from behind the stone of winter – in the darkness of the tomb with Lazarus.

My eyes began to adjust to the darkness, and I took in the walls of stone. I caught my breath as I spotted Lazarus wrapped in burial cloths. I put a hand over my nose as I recalled what Martha had said in response to Jesus’ command to roll away the stone, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench…” His voice interrupted my thoughts as He asked, “When did Lazarus come to life?” I sat very still thinking about the question. I’d always been on the outside watching for Lazarus to come struggling out, wrapped tightly in grave cloths. I had always thought of Lazarus as being alive when he came out of the tomb. “When did life come?” He asked again.

I was not at all sure of where His question was taking me. Suddenly loud scraping sounds filled the air as men pushed the heavy stone away from the opening, and light mixed with dust filled the tomb. Through the dust Jesus’ voice thundered, “Lazarus, come forth.” His words reverberated inside the tomb of stone. Then I saw it, the gentle, but unmistakable rise and fall of Lazarus’ chest beneath the strips of cloth. He was breathing. He was alive! “He came to life when You called His name, and told him to come out,” I whispered.

Everything came to a stop then, as though frozen in that moment. That’s the amazing thing about walking through God’s Word with Jesus; He stops at incredible places. Places just right for heart-to-heart conversations with Him—like now.

“Do you think Lazarus was having ‘when’ thoughts?” I could feel my eyebrows crinkle in the center as I looked at Him with question marks in my eyes. He directed my attention back to Lazarus as He asked, “Do you suppose that Lazarus thought to himself: when I get outside then I’ll start breathing? Did he lay there waiting to be unwrapped before he got moving?” His questions came steadily and I wrestled with the words He spoke.

Then, as though an unseen hand had hit the play button, the scene came to life again. Lazarus sat up and struggled to his feet. He began to move toward the entrance of the tomb. The way was difficult. He could only take tiny steps and moved his body side to side. The scene stopped again. “Tell Me, is he any less alive bound and struggling? Is his life waiting outside in the sun or once the grave cloths are pulled away?” The Lord asked. In response, my puzzled heart looked into the Teacher’s eyes as I said, “Lord, you could have caused the grave cloths to fall away the moment You called Lazarus to come out. He could have walked or even run from the tomb then.”

We sat quietly, and then the One who gave all for me said, “In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” I sat very still pondering His words from His Word as the scene came to life once more. I watched as Lazarus struggled outside into the sun. He was still struggling when Jesus directed the people to unbind him and let him go. The scene came to a stop as something about it caught my attention. Ever since Jesus had commanded Lazarus to come out, he had been struggling, inching his way in obedience to Jesus’ word to him. Lazarus didn’t say, “Well, Lord, when you unbind me I’ll come out.” No, Lazarus, in obedience, struggled and inched his way out until he finally stood face-to-face with Jesus.

“What a joyful moment that must have been,” I mused. My heart looked into eyes that held memories of eternity past as I said, “Lord, Lazarus was your dear friend.” I felt His hand upon my heart then as He whispered, “You are My friend if you do what I command you.” I recognized His words from John 15:14, and they pierced my heart as I realized I was not doing what He had commanded me to do. I was all wrapped up in life’s circumstances. I was in effect saying, “Lord, I’ll get back to the work you gave me to do when you unbind me and let me go; when you take Your heavenly snowplow and clear out these snowdrifts of circumstances, I’ll write again.”

I suddenly felt very small as I recalled Jesus’ circumstances as He labored, barely able to stand, under the cross. He had struggled on the road, under the weight of the cross, under the weight of my sin. Sometimes He fell, but He struggled to His feet and inched His way, step by labored step, in obedience to the Father, on toward Calvary, where He poured out His life for me. “Oh,” was all I could say there in His Presence.

Then the One who named the stars looked deep inside my heart as He said, “I am the resurrection and the life.” In His glory light the shadows disappeared and I could see what He was revealing to me. My heart looked up as I said, “My life in you is not dependent on circumstances. Help me to keep going even when things get difficult, and I feel stuck. Give me strength to keep pressing on in obedience, inch by inch, step by step, until the day I stand before You face-to-face and the circumstances of this world fall away in Your Presence.”

Back at the Well, we sat in sweet companionship in the quiet mist of dawn, and He shared words with me that He gave another friend of His named Paul to write down. 2 Corinthians 4:17. He personalized them just for me the way only He can, “Diana, do not lose heart, but though your outer person is decaying, your inner person is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for you an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while you look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

Then He whispered, “Write.” I opened my laptop, the cursor flashed as though mocking me. I began to feel panicked, but then my heart nestled down at His feet and I worshiped Him. My fingers began tapping the keys, haltingly at first. Then letter by letter I began to write about the Word walk the Lord and I went on together, and those things whispered from His heart to mine. When I’d finished, I placed what I’d written in His hands, you know, the ones with deep dark places in the centers. “Well done,” He said and my heart smiled.

Then He touched the tops of the mountain peaks with soft hues of mauve and pink as the day began to wake up. I headed out the door, strips of circumstances still wrapped about me, but under all those circumstances was LIFE, glorious LIFE.


My dear friend, what circumstances have you “stuck” today? Take them to the Lord. Go with Him on a walk through His Word. He’ll stop you at all the right places, and give you what you need to press on. Sometimes you’ll run and sometimes the way will be hard. The circumstances wrapped around you so tight that you can barely move. He will strengthen you to keep walking in obedience to Him, step by step, until one day you step across heaven’s threshold and stand face-to-face with Jesus. The circumstances of this life will fall away, as Jesus wraps you in His embrace and whispers, “Well done. Oh, well done, my friend.” Joy!

An Original Conversation at the Well
By Diana Morgan
© Copyright February 2, 2011