"So how do I recognize the Mysterious Stranger? I don't always. I suspect the Stranger has whispered 23,431 times in my life when I haven't gotten the message.

When I do hear, however, it's like a pager going off or the alarm pulling me out of deep sleep. It's like a voice that says, "Ah, ha" and I feel a jab in my stomach. The internal witness says, "This is an ordinary human being, but God has just used her to tell you what you need to hear right now."

As I pray, I ask God to keep me open to divine appearances in the form of the Mysterious Stranger. I want to hear God speak through a child's smile, a grandmother's embrace, the words of a hymn, or even someone who doesn't like me.

The Mysterious Stranger is around, and I've committed myself to develop a listening ear.

"Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?" [said one of the men on the road to Emmaus]. --LUKE 24:32, NIV" Cecil Murphey, Invading the Privacy of God

Hmmm... I actually have more to say about an earlier comment he made in this devotional about how he hadn't "shoved" something back into his past and heard God telling him to forget it via Phil 3:13. I believe that Christians should really take an honest look at and deal with things in the past. We shouldn't be able to reflect on any part of our lives and see defeats. Through Jesus' sacrifice (which Satan thought was his awesome defeat of God, but was actually His Greatest Victory), everything can become a victory for the Kingdom. When I think about sins I've committed before I became a Christian, I'm not proud of them, but I do not feel lingering guilt. I have repented and God has forgiven and washed me clean. What I do still have issues with are sins I've committed or stupid things I've done while a committed believer. AND occasionally things other people have said/done to me. We do have power through the Holy Spirit to address those things, bring them back to the present (they are there already anyway, every time I dredge them back up to relive the awful memory), submit them to God, deal with them fully, and then trust the Lord to bring victory. We are not meant to live with nagging memories!

1) Confess all known, previously unconfessed sin. Perhaps feelings of guilt are appropriate, because confession is needed. Many times, we feel guilty because we are guilty! See David’s description of guilt and its solution in Psalm 32:3-5.

2) Ask the Lord to reveal any other sin that may need confessing. Have the courage to be completely open and honest before the Lord. “Search me, O God, and know my heart: / Try me, and know my thoughts: / And see if there be any wicked way in me” (Psalm 139:23-24a).

3) Trust the promise of God that He will forgive sin and remove guilt, based on the blood of Christ (1 John 1:9; Psalm 85:2; 86:5; Romans 8:1).

4) On occasions when guilty feelings arise over sins already confessed and forsaken, reject such feelings as false guilt. The Lord has been true to His promise to forgive. Read and meditate on Psalm 103:8-12.

5) Ask the Lord to rebuke Satan, your accuser, and ask the Lord to restore the joy that comes with freedom from guilt." Got Questions?

But Paul is obviously talking about something true when he said those words in Philippians! But we do take him out of context, don't we? I think Paul was talking about the fact that he can forget the things he did that have been forgiven, and to not be satisfied with past victories, but to keep on living totally crucified to personal gain. We are not tallying victories for US - for OUR scoreboards! We are simply not letting Satan have any true accusations against us, dealing with what God puts in our path by allowing Him to make all things work to the good of those who love Him, and then unleashing ourselves from the past so that nothing hinders an unfettered, lively, passionate, and forward-moving Walk with our Lord! If something still keeps floating to the surface with the accompanying emotion (guilt, embarrassment, anger, hurt, etc) after I feel I have dealt with it, I either HAVEN'T, or I'm not believing God that He's taken care of it. But in any case, my action is not to shove it back in again. My action is always to present it to the Lord and ask Him what to do with it!

So, Father, assuming You agree with me and I'm not speaking lies there (right?), what keeps surfacing in my mind? Have I told You lately that You're AWESOME?!? I just wake up to the reality of You and I can't believe how perfect You are!!! How sweet You were to bring my hubby home safely with lots to talk about, how beautifully You painted the sunrise in my bedroom window, how wonderfully the weekend worked out with You bringing everything together and helping me through it even though I was "on my own" for much of it! Those little things that keep haunting me are so trivial compared to Your majesty! But Lord, help me continue to work them through with You, giving them up to You to carry when I need to, and doing the hard work of reconciliation in and through me. You have been so merciful and full of grace in my life. Allow me to show that and be a vessel You use to extend it to others.

I present my day to You now, Father, and submit it to Your will. The doctor appointment for Michael, the dentist for Edward, the phone call with mom about weekend plans, interaction with the kids, dinner plans, and evening work and play. You know what I am about to face, so I trust You that You have something to teach me about and ways to bless me. I release whatever control I feel I have over my environment and ask You to make me soft and pliable to the people and situations that confront me today. I so love You. I lay my life in Your hands. You are such a Mighty Daddy :).