July 2, 2026 – Currents
I think the first line of Jesus Calling today should be a refrigerator magnet or it should be written on a sticky note and put on the bathroom mirror as a reminder of how to start, and how to go through, each day with more peace and confidence than we would if we hurried on without taking time with God.
JC – “Let Me show you My way for you this day. I guide you continually, so you can relax and enjoy My presence in the present. Living well is both a discipline and an art. Concentrate on staying close to Me, the divine Artist. Discipline your thoughts to trust Me as I work My ways in your life. Pray about everything; then leave outcomes up to Me.” See Psalm 5:2-3 and Deuteronomy 33:27.
Ezekiel 12:23 – “Tell the people, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘I will put an end to this proverb, and you will soon stop quoting it.’ Now give them this new proverb to replace the old one: ‘The time has come for every prophecy to be fulfill!'” Larson gives us reason and motivation to lean into God’s guidance each day, all day, as she tells about taking her teenage sons “to a place where two rivers collided and formed on raging river.” As they “threw sticks into the water and watched them disappear in a matter of seconds”, she and her husband told the boys how much they love them and how they are doing their best to train them “in the ways of the Lord. We can’t watch you every minute, and only God knows your hearts. But we believe we’re entering a day of acceleration when destructive choices will take us where we don’t want to go, faster than we ever imagined. Just as the strong current pulled those sticks downriver, we believe our sinful choices will do the same. It matters deeply that you guard your heart and walk in the fear of God…. A day is coming when God will deal with sin, wickedness, apathy, and the decadence in our culture. He’s been patient because He wants none to perish.” Remember, He did let Jerusalem fall, twice.”
Power – Psalm 34:1 – “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Joyce reminds us about being thankful, “Some people are very thankful for every little thing that is done for them, while others are never satisfied, no matter how much is done on their behalf. Choose to be a grateful person – one filled with gratitude not only toward God, but also toward people…. I believe thankful people are happy people….” Joy flows like the currents in rivers depending on the source.
Days – “And hath raised us up together” (Eph. ii. 6). Simpson explains, “Ascension is more than resurrection. Much is said of it in the New Testament. Chris riseth above all things. [That is partly how we are able to live with Joy despite our circumstances.] We see Him in the very act of ascending as we do not in the actual resurrection, as, with hands and lips engaged in blessing, He gently parts from their side, so simply, so unostentatiously, with so little imposing ceremony as to make heaven so near to our common life that we can just whisper through. [I had to read that a few times to fully grasp the beauty of what he was telling us about how God has offered Himself to us.] And we, too, must ascend, even here. ‘If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things that are above.’ We must learn to live on the heaven side and look at things from above. How it overcomes sin, defies Satan, dissolves perplexities, lifts us above trials, separates us from the world and conquers the fear of death to contemplate all things as God sees them, as Christ beholds them, as we shall one day look back upon them from His glory, and as if we were now really ‘Seated with Him,’ as indeed we are, ‘in the heavenly places’….”
Streams – Proverbs 4:12 – “When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble.” Cowman adds her thoughts about living and trusting God each day, with each step we take: “The Lord only builds a bridge of faith directly under the feet of a faithful traveler. He never builds the bridge a few steps ahead, for then it would not be one of faith. ‘We live by faith, not by sight’ (2 Cor. 5:7).”
Streams is a little long today; so, because that piece of Cowman’s contribution was sufficient for today’s message, I was going to stop there and move on to the next devotion. However, the visual she offers is impactful enough to warrant another paragraph; “Years ago automatic gates were sometimes used on country roads. They would securely block the road as a vehicle approached, and if the traveler stopped before coming to the gate, it would not open. But if the traveler drove straight toward it, the weight of the vehicle would compress the springs below the roadway, and the gate would swing back to let him pass. The vehicle had to keep moving forward, or the gate would remain closed. This illustrates the way to pass through every barrier that blocks the road of service for God.”
Cowman adds these encourageing thoughts – first from Henry Clay Trumbull, “Is some great barrier blocking your path of service right now? Then head straight for it, in the name of the Lord, and it will no longer be there…. And as Samuel Rutherford, the great Scottish minister, once stated so simply, ‘Whatever happens, the worst will only be a weary traveler receiving a joyful and heavenly welcome home.'”
Utmost – Luke 14:26, see also 27, 33 – “If any man come to Me, and hate not…, he cannot be My disciple.” Chambers points out, “If the closest relationships of life clash with the claims of Jesus Christ, He says it must be instant obedience to Himself. Discipleship means personal, passionate devotion to a Person, Our Lord Jesus Christ. There is a difference between devotion to a Person and devotion to principles or to a cause. Our Lord never proclaimed a cause; He proclaimed personal devotion to Himself…. Whenever the Holy Ghost sees a chance of glorifying Jesus, he will take your heart, your nerves, your whole personality, and simply make you blaze and glow with devotion to Jesus Christ…. Men pour themselves into creeds, and God has to blast them out of their prejudices before they can become devoted to Jesus Christ.”
Max offers a great example, and perspective, on this: “I know a woman who has a pet peeve about facial hair…. When I grew a beard, she expressed her displeasure. More than once… Each time I wondered, Is my beard worth this frustration? Joy is such a precious commodity. Why squander it on a quibble? The phrases we use regarding our pet peeves reveal the person who actually suffers. He ‘gets under my skin’ or ‘gets on my nerves’ or she is such a ‘pain in my neck.’ Whose skin, nerves, and neck? Ours! …Every pet peeve writes a check on our joy account…. As we bear with one another, we preserve our joy and discover new reasons to smile. Easy to do? No. But essential? Absolutely. Life is too precious and brief to be spent in a huff.”
JL – “Glorious Savior, I’m grateful that You are in my midst and You are mighty…. I delight in pondering what it means to have so much Power dwelling within me [flowing through me like electrical currents]…. I don’t need to worry about my lack of strength…. Your Power is completed and shows itself most effectively in my weakness. In Your mighty Name, Jesus, Amen.” See Zephaniah 3:17, Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 3:20, and 2 Corinthians 12:9.
