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Throughout the Bible, God’s message is crystal clear: “Come.”
He so years for us to come to Him, that He repeats this invitation in a
variety of ways:

“All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever
comes to me I will never drive away” (John 6:37 NIV).

The most important way we can come is for salvation. Have you
come to God for this most important gift you’ll ever receive?

“ ’Come now, let us reason together,’ says the LORD: ‘though your
sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are
red like crimson, they shall become like wool’ ” (Isaiah 1:18 ESV).

We can truly REJOICE in the fact that when God forgives our sins,
He completely cleanses us inside. As the above Scripture declares,
we become transformed from dirty sinners to cleansed children of
God.

“Come to me and I will give you rest”
Matthew 11:28 LB).

The above verse reflects our Father’s great care. He knows how easy
it is for us to become beaten down by the daily grind. He knows our
hearts are fragile. When we’re burdened, weary or confused, the best
thing we can do is go to God and allow Him to breathe comfort,
strength and renewal into our souls.

Ask the Holy Spirit to draw you to the Father not only on a daily basis
. . . but several times throughout your day! You’ll be amazed at the
difference this will make.

Thoughts?

I appreciate your prayers as I speak in Waxahachie, TX this
weekend.

It’s still not too late to sign up for the Susie Shellenberger Ministries
cruise to Alaska June 1-8. This will be an incredible way to come
away for the spiritual retreat and adventure you’re yearning for.

Contact my friend and travel agent, Carla Pryor, who can accept
passengers through mid-March: carlaray@aol.com

The book of Exodus highlights amazing highs
and devastating lows for God’s people, the Israelites.

In a nutshell:

They quit listening to God and were held in bondage
as Pharaoh’s slaves for 430 years.

They turned back to God, and He rescued them from
slavery and led them to the Promised Land.

One of their lowest times was when Pharaoh forced them to
make bricks—and then he stopped providing the straw needed
to make them. This forced the Israelites to get their own straw,
but they had to continue making the same amount of bricks each day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How do you even make a brick with straw?

Here’s the recipe:

Mix soil and water into a thick mud.
Add some sand, then mix in the straw.
Next, pour the mixture into your molds.
Bake bricks in sunshine for at least five days.

That’s a lot of work. Hard work.
Especially in the hot sun.
With limited water and breaks.
And being beaten with whips by the Egyptians.

But the good news is that God RESCUED His people
from the brickyard!
And guess what—
He still rescues us from the brickyard.
But many of us are still hanging back . . .
baking bricks . . .
because that’s what we’ve become accustomed to doing.
We’re comfortable with the routine.
And though changing what we’re doing would bring freedom,
change is hard—
even good change can be difficult.

What’s the bottom line?
No one is destined for the brickyards.

Thoughts?

Please pray for me this weekend as I speak in Fortville, Ind.

On November 20, I shared about the wall that God instructed
Nehemiah to build around Jerusalem. Let’s peek at a few more
insights.

When Nehemiah received word that the wall around his hometown of
Jerusalem had been torn down, he made the journey home to repair
it.

It was an actual physical wall that surrounded Jerusalem.
This protected the residents from enemies and bad influences.
Jerusalem’s enemies were angry the wall was being rebuilt, so they
began attacking Nehemiah and his workers. We’re told when the wall
was half-finished, the attacks were so bad that the work force had to
be cut so that only half actually built while the others stood guard
girded with weapons to protect the workers.
(See Nehemiah 4:16-18).

We can expect the same, can’t we?
When we live in radical obedience to the LORDSHIP of Jesus Christ, it
angers satan, and we will be attacked. Here’s the proof:

“Anyone who wants to live all out for Christ is in for a lot of
trouble; there’s no getting around it. Unscrupulous con men will
continue to exploit the faith” (2 Timothy 3:12 The Message).

Let’s look at the same Scripture from The Living Bible:
“Those who decide to please Christ Jesus by living godly lives
will suffer at the hands of those who hate him.”

Nehemiah didn’t let it stop him, and neither should we.
When God directs us to do something, He always equips us.

Thoughts?

Want an incredible spiritual adventure?
How about joining me on the Susie Shellenberger Ministries cruise to
Alaska June 1-8, 2019 on Holland America cruise lines? This would
be an amazing Christmas gift to yourself and to someone you love!

We’ll have our own special services at which I’ll be speaking—but
you’ll also get to enjoy all the ship’s entertainment and off-shore
excursions that are simply amazing.

There are some GREAT rates on rooms aboard the ship right now.
Please contact my friend Carla Pryor who has put all the detail
together for me, and ask her about getting on board!
carlaray@aol.com 251-633-3772

Right now there’s still availability, but you’ll need to act quickly.
I sure hope you’ll join me for this spiritual retreat and truly fun
adventure!

Ever eaten a salt potato?
Syracuse salt potatoes are boiled with so much salt,
they come out covered in white crust.

By adding a really really really large amount of salt (two cups of salt
for every eight cups of water) cooks in central NY create a white-
crusted creamy potato.

It’s easy to take salt for granted.
But during Roman times, salt was so valuable soldiers were paid with
salt. It was extremely valued.
In fact, that’s where the saying, “Are you worth your salt?” came from.

Having salt was considered a sign of wealth.
We get the word salary from salt.

Jesus knew the importance of salt, and He referred to it in His
sermon on the mount:

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness,
how can it be made salty again?” (Matthew 5:13 NIV) 

Let’s look at this same Scripture from The Message paraphrase:
“Let me tell you why you are here.

You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors
of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste
godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the
garbage.

“Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing
out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept.
We’re going public with this.” (Matthew 5:13-16 The Message)

Our heavenly Father wants to use US to bring out His God-flavors
and His God-colors!

Wouldn’t it be great—if like the potatoes boiled in so much salt that
they come out white-crusted—WE would be so saturated with the
Holy Spirit that we are God-crusted each day?

In other words, we abandon ourselves in such a way to Him,
that after spending time with Jesus,
we come out drenched in Him . . .
ooozing His Spirit . . .
saturated in God-colors . . .
acting and reacting in God-flavors to those around us!

Thoughts?

I just finished speaking at a non-denominational ladies conference in
Cannon Beach, Ore., and God truly blessed our services. Thank you
so much for your prayers. He is so faithful!

Back story: Before Elijah defeated the 450 false prophets of the
false god of Baal, he told wicked King Ahab that God would withhold
rain from the land. God made good on His Word, and the result was a
severe famine.

King Ahab summoned Obadiah (who was in charge of his
palace (and also a devout believer in Jehovah God).

Ahab had said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the
springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grass to keep the
horses and mules alive so we will not have to kill any of our animals”
(1 Kings 18:5 NIV).

They split up, and King Ahab went one way while Obadiah
headed the other direction. Meanwhile, evil Queen Jezebel was busy
killing God’s prophets.

Elijah is thinking he’s the only Jehovah-follower left. The Queen
had already killed so many godly people. The country was in horrible
shape due to the famine, and Elijah knew he’d have to face King
Ahab and take on the 450 prophets of Baal.

But as Obadiah was searching for grass to feed the king’s
animals, Elijah crossed paths with him. Imagine Elijah’s surprise to
discover that while Jezebel was killing off God’s prophets, Obadiah
had taken 100 godly prophets and hidden them in two caves—50 in
each cave. Obadiah had kept them safe and provided them with food
and water in the middle of the famine!

When things looked like they couldn’t get any worse, God was
working quietly behind the scenes.

You may remember the godly priest Eli of Israel. He was the
one who mentored Samuel. Eli had two wicked sons: Hophni and
Phinehas. These two men were serving as temple priests but they
didn’t have a relationship with God. They took advantage of the
people who brought sacrifices, became sexually involved with women
around the temple, and were extremely dishonest.

People wondered why God didn’t do something to stop this
horrific situation. But what they didn’t know was that God was quietly
working behind the scenes. He was allowing the Philistine army to
gain strength. Pushing the fast-forward button, we see that a few
years later, the Philistines defeated the Israelites—and killed
Phinehas and Hophni.

What does this mean for us?
We can know that our God never stops working.
He never sleeps, goes on vacation or puts us on hold.

When our situation seems horrific and we wonder why He
hasn’t moved, it may be that He’s working quietly behind the scenes.
Sometimes we see Him explosively arrive in full detail. Other
times He simply works quietly behind the scenes.

So we can rest in God’s peace. And what kind of peace does
He give? “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart! And
the peace I give isn’t fragile like the peace the world gives. So don’t
be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27 LB).

If you’re facing a wall and wondering why God isn’t moving on
your behalf . . . it could be that He IS, but He’s simply working quietly
behind the scenes right now.
In His perfect timing, He will reveal Himself.
He always does.

Thoughts?