Exodus 2:1-3

Good afternoon, everyone! :)

---

Exodus 2:1-3

And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi. So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months. But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river's bank.

 

I have often wondered just what Jochebed (Moses' mother) was hoping to accomplish by placing her infant son in the river in a basket. This little action really seems to have no rhyme or reason. I may never know (until I get to heaven) why she placed Moses in the river; but I wonder if it was sort of symbolic. She was placing her baby wholly in the hands of an unseen, unpredictable God; she had no idea what God's plan for her baby's life was or how He was going to work it out, just as she had no idea where the river would take him. She simply placed him there in faith, and walked away, trusting her baby--so dear and precious to her heart--wholly and completely to God in a very real way.

 

Father, help me to trust You completely, as Jochebed did, with even the things I hold most dear! To place them in Your hands and leave them there for You to do whatever You want.

 

May the Lord richly bless you as you choose to trust Him!

 

Dancing in the rain,
Haley "SunShine" Miller
"Exhort one another daily while it is called 'Today'" (Hebrews 3:13)
Mornin' SunShine Website
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If this e-mail was forwarded to you and you would like to receive the Mornin' SunShine e-mails on a regular basis yourself, you can e-mail me at mornin_sunshine@psalm686.com with "subscribe" in the subject line. If you would like to unsubscribe, just e-mail me at the address above with "unsubscribe" in the subject line and I will take you off the list.

Isaiah 58:4-9a

Happy Friday, everyone! :)

---

Isaiah 58:4-9a

Indeed you fast for strife and debate, and to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as you do this day, to make your voice heard on high. Is it a fast that I have chosen, a day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, and to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD? Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.'

 

In the first kind of fast described here, the people were focused on outward things; trying to look like they were fasting, look like they were spiritual. They also went into this fast with their own idea of what should happen, and then when God didn't do what they thought He should, they got upset with Him. This kind of fast is useless, a waste of time and completely lacking in power.

But look at the fast that God has chosen!! In this fast there is great power--the power to break the chains of sin and slavery, the power to lift heavy burdens, the power to set others free, the power of healing and the power of a ready audience with God. In fact, this fast that God has chosen is not about an outward appearance at all; it's all about the releasing of God's power in a situation by obeying Him even when we don't understand why, or how He's going to work. It's all about simply being willing and available to be a vessel of His power to a world in desperate need of God! It is a glorious mystery beyond our comprehension, why and how God uses His people as conduits for His amazing works. But the fact is He does, and He is longing for a people who will choose the fast that He has chosen that He might pour out His power through them. Will we be that people?I

 

Father, I want to be one through whom Your power flows!!! I give myself to You; help me to choose You in every choice I make, big and small; to live my life yielded completely to You for You to use as You see fit. I will choose to live this fast that You have chosen--even when I don't understand what all that means!

 

May the Lord richly bless you as you yield yourself to be used by Him!

 

Dancing in the rain,
Haley "SunShine" Miller
"Exhort one another daily while it is called 'Today'" (Hebrews 3:13)
Mornin' SunShine Website

Genesis 1:24-25

Hey, y'all!

Well, I noticed the other day that the e-mail I tried to send back in December explaining that we were in the middle of moving and it would be after the first of the year before I got back to Mornin' SunShine got cut off. I'm sorry about that! We had no internet so I was trying to do it from my phone, and apparently it didn't work too well. The good news, though, is that we are pretty much settled here in San Angelo, and I'm back! :)

---

Genesis 1:24-25

Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind"; and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

 

Everything on the earth "brings forth according to its kind". It started here in Genesis 1, and continues to this day. Dogs have dogs, cats have cats, apples produce apples and peaches produce peaches, etc., etc., you get the picture. So what's the point? Simply this: since everything reproduces after its own kind, shouldn't we strive to be the difference we want to "bring forth" in the world? If we want to go out into the world and make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20) who are passionate for God and who obey His word, wouldn't it follow that we must be passionate, and we must obey His word?! If we want to see Christ-like results in our lives and ministry to others, shouldn't we be pressing on toward being Christ-like??

 

Father, I want to make a difference, but first I must be willing to be that difference. Help me to press on toward being more like You, trusting that as I become more like You, the fruit of my life will be Godly fruit.

 

May the Lord richly bless you as you strive to be like Him and "bring forth" a Godly difference in our world!

 

Dancing in the rain,
Haley "SunShine" Miller
"Exhort one another daily while it is called 'Today'" (Hebrews 3:13)
Mornin' SunShine Website

Psalm 119:136

Hey, y'all--happy Thursday! :)

---

Psalm 119:136

Rivers of water run down from my eyes, because men do not keep Your law.

 

When I think back over the things that typically make me cry, I don't know that "because men do not keep Your law" would be a common one. Yet, I can't help but think that God's heart weeps over the rebellion of His creation, and the heart of a true worshipper is broken by the same things that break God's heart. So when I look around and see a world that is rejecting God's word at every turn, shouldn't it break my heart?? Shouldn't it cause me to weep and cry out for revival??

 

Father, soften my heart and make it sensitive to Yours. May the things that break Your heart break mine; may the things that bring tears to Your eyes cause me to cry, also. I want to weep and yearn over a fallen world the way You do!

 

May the Lord richly bless you allow your heart to be broken by what breaks His heart!

 

Dancing in the rain,
Haley "SunShine" Miller
"Exhort one another daily while it is called 'Today'" (Hebrews 3:13)
Mornin' SunShine Website

John 10:9-10

Hey, everyone! :)

---

John 10:9-10

I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

 

There are four things offered to the person who "enters by Me [Jesus]", that is, comes to the Father through faith in Jesus Christ and lives by this faith: 1. salvation--"he will be saved"; 2. liberty--"he will...go in and out"; 3. peace and provision--"he will...find pasture"

On the other hand, the world and the counterfeits it offers only bring death, deceit and destruction; the comparison seems pretty easy to me! I'll go for that "life...more abundantly" deal! :)

 

Father, as if just being Yours wasn't blessing enough, You heap blessings upon blessings on those who trust in You! Thank You!! Help me to live fully in the abundant life You have given to me.

 

May the Lord richly bless you as you walk with Him!

 

Dancing in the rain,
Haley "SunShine" Miller
"Exhort one another daily while it is called 'Today'" (Hebrews 3:13)
Mornin' SunShine Website

Judges 20:21-28

Hey, y'all! :)

---

Judges 20:21-28

Then the children of Benjamin came out of Gibeah, and on that day cut down to the ground twenty-two thousand men of the Israelites. And the people, that is, the men of Israel, encourage themselves and again formed the battle line at the place where they had put themselves in array on the first day. Then the children of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until evening, and asked counsel of the LORD, saying, "Shall I again draw near for battle against the children of my brother Benjamin?" And the LORD said, "Go up against him."

So the children of Israel approached the children of Benjamin on the second day. And Benjamin went out against them from Gibeah on the second day, and cut down to the ground eighteen thousand more of the children of Israel; all these drew the sword.

Then the children of Israel, that is, all the people, went up and came to the house of God and wept. They sat there before the LORD and fasted that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. So the children of Israel inquired of the LORD (the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days), saying, "Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of my brother Benjamin, or shall I cease?" And the LORD said, "Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand."

 

We are not guaranteed instant victory. The Lord had clearly sent the men of Israel to fight against the men of Benjamin in order to bring about justice and a renewed purity after the awful things they had done (see chapter 19). But before they gained the victory, they were thoroughly beaten twice, causing them to cry out to the Lord and weep before Him. So often, we seem to think that we should be able to go out and quickly claim a victory in our life somehow--but that is not always how it works. We have to be committed to and prepared for a long battle, as well as willing to get on our face before the Lord and cry out to Him.

 

Father, I am willing to fight for as long as it takes...help me to seek Your will and Your strength, and to press on in the face of defeat!

 

May the Lord bless you richly with all that He is!

 

Dancing in the rain,
Haley "SunShine" Miller
"Exhort one another daily while it is called 'Today'" (Hebrews 3:13)
Mornin' SunShine Website

Psalm 11:3

Hey, y'all!

---

Psalm 11:3

If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?

 

Foundations are critical. If a foundation is weak, the house or building standing on it will not last. In life, there is only one foundation that is strong enough to stand on for a lifetime, and that is God Himself; His word, and our relationship with Him, is what forms the sure foundation. But it takes care and attention to keep that foundation strong. If we neglect it, it will be destroyed, and then we are crippled in every area of our lives.

 

Father, help me to keep my "foundation"--my relationship with You--in good repair!

 

May the Lord bless you richly as you seek to keep your life firmly founded on His word and your relationship with Him!

 

Dancing in the rain,
Haley "SunShine" Miller
"Exhort one another daily while it is called 'Today'" (Hebrews 3:13)
Mornin' SunShine Website