Listen carefully to wisdom;
set your mind on understanding.
Cry out for wisdom,
and beg for understanding.
Search for it like silver,
and hunt for it like hidden treasure.
Then you will understand respect for the Lord,
and you will find that you know God.

Proverbs 2:3-5 (NCV

Does God guide? Yes, I believe that he does. Most times, I believe, he guides in subtle ways, by feeding ideas into our minds, speaking through a nagging sensation of dissatisfaction, inspiring us to choose better than we would have done, bringing to the surface hidden dangers of temptation, and perhaps by rearranging certain circumstances. ... God's guidance will supply real help, but in ways that will not overwhelm my freedom.

Philip Yancey

Daily Meditations by Pat Nordman ©

June 13

"But realize this, that in the last days...men will be...ungrateful..." (2 Timothy 3:1,2). Gratitude threads through the exquisite psalms of David. He knew personally the forgiveness of God. He had sinned awfully and, like Mary, he too knew the joy of being forgiven much.

We are all sinners who have come short of God's goals as well as our own. We know the delight of having our sinful hearts cleansed and the encouragement that comes with knowing that we can now begin again. Some bornagain souls think this is a corny expression, but consider it: born again to start a new life in Him.
Thank You, Father!

Pat Nordman ©

Excerpts from today's Spurgeon's Devotions
Spurgeon's Morning for June 13	Spurgeon's Evening for June 13
"Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." - Revelation 22:17	"Remove far from me vanity and lies." - Proverbs 30:8
He wants no payment or preparation. He seeks no recommendation from our virtuous emotions. If you have no good feelings, if you be but willing, you are invited; therefore come! You have no belief and no repentance,--come to him, and he will give them to you. Come just as you are, and take "Freely," without money and without price.	I do not blame ungodly men for rushing to their pleasures. Why should I? Let them have their fill. That is all they have to enjoy. A converted wife who despaired of her husband was always very kind to him, for she said, "I fear that this is the only world in which he will be happy, and therefore I have made up my mind to make him as happy as I can in it."

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June 13 2Ch 10:1 - 13:22

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Which prophet was told to dig a hole in a wall to see Judah's idolatry?

Judah (Ezekiel 8:7-9)

Today's Devotion

...and by his light I walked through darkness! JOB 29:3 NIV

Pruning

by Pat Nordman

". . .Every branch that does bear fruit he [trims clean] so that it will be even more fruitful"

John 15:2

It seems unfair that those who are already bearing fruit will be pruned but only God knows what needs to be removed at what season of our lives so we may bear more fruit for Him. Even the most saintly sin and come short of God's glory. He can see the beautiful and yet unnecessary blossoms developing that will hinder the growth of the fruit of the Spirit. The Vine-dresser uses the pruning-knife of trial and affliction that the branch may bear even more excellent fruit.

"Why should I start at the plough of my Lord, that maketh deep furrows on my soul? I know He is no idle husbandman, He purposeth a crop." S. Rutherford, Daily Strength for Daily Needs, page 49. God desires a yield from each of us or He would not have created us.

Job's friends were positive that his afflictions came from unconfessed sins, but here in John 15:2 we have the suggestion that it is the very branch that is bearing already that feels the knife. Lest we become disheartened to the point of wanting to give up, it is because God sees something worth pruning. It is the unfruitful branch that is cut off. Jesus was a tender shoot who was cut off at the prime of life. Many times it is the sensitive and the gentle who bear the brunt of the moral and emotional shocks of unexpected situations that seem to bear down on those who least deserve it. Yet the beauty lies in turning these experiences into God's glory and a beneficial use for others. God prunes us to get rid of our unproductive and ornate growth so that our dormant worth may flourish for His glory. If we remember this, we can accept the pruning more serenely and confidently.

Good people are sometimes confused at the reasons and the means by which God cultivates his vineyard, his people, but it helps to remember that God knows what he is doing, even if we don't

Send a note to © Pat Nordman , the writer of this devotion.

God prunes us to get rid of our unproductive and ornate growth so that our dormant worth may flourish for His glory. If we remember this, we can accept the pruning more serenely and confidently.

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