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God Himself Will…for You
Do you sometimes wish you were stronger in your convictions and more consistent in your walk with Christ? Do you ever wonder how God could love and forgive you? The answer to our questions is summed up in one word: GRACE. First Peter 5:10 explains: “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.” The God of All Grace, who gave His Son to die for our sins, the God of All Grace who ransomed us, the God of All Grace who transferred us from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of His beloved Son, that same God of All Grace will perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish us. Praise HIM, He hasn’t saved and forgotten us. “God Himself will perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.” Personalize that grace filled promise and say it out loud:
God Himself will perfect me, confirm me, strengthen me, and establish me. The God of all grace has forgiven my sin by the sacrificial death of Jesus.
Now glory in this truth. Celebrate Christ’s resurrection – proof that God, who called us to His eternal glory in Christ, will by grace, complete what He began in us. Praise the God of ALL grace.
GOD of all GRACE, I love and praise you. Thank You for calling me to eternal glory in Christ. Jesus, thank You for sacrificing Your life so I can live eternally in Your glorious presence. Thank You, God of all grace, for perfecting, confirming, strengthening, and establishing me in Christ Jesus. I love You!
You Are Mistaken If You Think God is the God of the Dead
Jesus is the one talking. He has just told those who were asking Him questions that they were mistaken about some things. Imagine that! That humans might ever be mistaken about the things of God. Then Jesus used the Old Testament to correct their thinking. To those who consider the Old Testament irrelevant, please consider its importance. Jesus often quoted from it as the authority of His teachings. As a matter of fact, scholars have recorded examples of Jesus’s many Old Testament references, citing that “in the four Gospels, 180 of the 1,800 verses that report His discourses are either Old Testament quotes or Old Testament allusions.” What did Jesus quote in Matthew 22:31-32 when asked about marriage relationships after death? GOD IS NOT THE GOD OF THE DEAD, BUT OF THE LIVING. Do you have a loved one who is no longer with you on earth? If so, be assured on the basis of Jesus’s words – your loved one is fully alive and you will see them again. Can I get a hallelujah?
GOD of the LIVING, we praise You for receiving our loved ones into Your presence. Thank You that we too will be alive in Your presence one day.
“…regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB”? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” Matthew 22:31-32
If You Need Some Order in Your Life
Have you ever thought about how God is a God of “order”? If not, consider how God’s order is pointed out in Jeremiah 31:35. “‘Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed ORDER of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; The Lord of hosts is His name.’” God is a God of order. He created order in the universe. He created order for our days, nights, and seasons. He created order in protons, neutrons, and electrons making up atoms. And of protons and neutrons being made of three quarks each. If you’re struggling to have order in your days, weeks, and years or order in your family, business, or ministry, call on God. Ask Him for wisdom for how to better order your life, family, days, and weeks. Begin each day with a prayer to the God of Order then walk in His counsel.
Heavenly Father, You are a GOD OF ORDER. Please order our days so we live faithful, full lives that bring You honor.
Could You Use Some Gentleness to Pass to Others?
When you think of Jesus, do you think of Him as gentle? In Matthew 11:29, it’s one of the ways He describes Himself. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” What does Christ mean when He says He is gentle or meek? It is often defined as “power under control.” Although I don’t fully understand this great combination of attributes, I see them in my husband. Keith has great strength of character, yet he stoops down to pick a tiny flower amidst a field of grass in order to gently hand it to me on our walks. Christ, while holding infinite power, offers us His gentle heart and in Him we find rest for our souls. Jesus calls to us and tells us to walk closely with Him and learn from Him. Who in your family or home needs Christ’s gentleness expressed to them through you? To the degree we are walking close to Christ we’ll be able to walk in gentleness with others.
Lord Jesus, You are both strong yet GENTLE. In these days of stress, help us pray and yield to Your gentle Spirit so we bless others as You bless us.
Could You Use Some Gentleness?
When you think of Jesus, do you think of Him as gentle? In Matthew 11:29, it’s one of the ways He describes Himself. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” What does Christ mean when He says He is gentle or meek? It is often defined as “power under control.” Although I don’t fully understand this great combination of attributes, I see them in my husband. Keith has great strength of character, yet he stoops down to pick a tiny flower amidst a field of grass in order to gently hand it to me on our walks. Christ, while holding infinite power, offers us His gentle heart and in Him we find rest for our souls. Jesus calls to us and tells us to walk closely with Him and learn from Him. Who in your family or home needs Christ’s gentleness expressed to them through you? To the degree we are walking close to Christ we’ll be able to walk in gentleness with others.
Lord Jesus, You are both strong yet GENTLE. In these days of stress, help us pray and yield to Your gentle Spirit so we bless others as You bless us.
What’s Your Fragrance these Days
Do you enjoy pleasant fragrances? Did you know that God does, too? Did you know you can be a sweet fragrance to God? He can get a whiff of you and think, “You smell good!” How fun is that – to smell good to our Heavenly Father? How in the world can we smell good to God? Ephesians 5:2 answers that question. It tells us to “…walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a FRAGRANT AROMA.” Christ’s sacrificial love and life were a fragrant aroma to God. And, we’re to imitate Christ. When we do, we’re a sweet aroma to our Heavenly Father. What if we haven’t been walking in sacrificial love, but rather been selfish or unloving? We need to acknowledge our sin to our Heavenly Father, repent, and ask Jesus to forgive us. We need to ask us to fill us with Christ’s Spirit. How does that affect our spiritual “aroma”? When writing Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion, I used my daughter’s puppy, Bailey, as an example that we smell like whatever we hold close to our heart. Bailey had a distinct puppy odor and after holding her, her odor remained on me. It wasn’t pleasant so I showered and changed clothes. Just like a dog has an odor, so sin has an odor. If we’re clinging to a “pet” sin, God and others get a whiff of it. What can we do to rid ourselves of the stench of sin? Put the sin aside and bathe in God’s forgiveness and grace. Then, as Christ was, we’ll be a fragrant aroma to God.
Christ Jesus, we praise You for walking in love and giving Yourself as an offering and sacrifice to God; a FRAGRANT AROMA. Help us follow Your example.
***Be a fragrance of Christ to God and others. Share 365 Days of Praise to others by forwarding it as an email or use the social media buttons below to share them on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Pinterest. AND, if you like the example of I gave above from Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion, you’ll enjoy plenty more in the online study we’re preparing that can be delivered to your inbox. Stay tuned. 🙂
Dead…but God
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Have you been with someone when they died? I was with my mother, father, and mother-in-law when they died. Webster defines death as “the irreversible cessation of all vital functions especially as indicated by the permanent stoppage of the heart, respiration, and brain activity.” That is what happened to Jesus as a result of the horrific scourging and crucifixion He suffered. The Roman soldiers who oversaw His death were skilled in their profession. They pronounced Jesus dead. But, as we know and Romans 4:17 explains, God “GIVES LIFE to the DEAD and calls into being that which does not exist.” Death seems final, but God. Yes, but God who gives life to the dead, gave life to Jesus, had given life to our loved ones who have gone before us, and will give life to us after our bodies cease functioning. How does it make you feel to know that God will give life to you after you die, just like He did to Jesus?
Heavenly Father who GIVES LIFE TO THE DEAD, we praise You and exalt Your name! Thank You for Jesus’s sacrificial death and resurrection. Thank You for raising our loved ones to eternal life. Thank You for the resurrection life we will one day experience. We love You and praise Your name!
If You Can’t Catch Your Breath
Do you ever feel like you can’t breathe because you have so much weighing on you? Or maybe you’re running so fast, it’s hard to catch your breath. Or, at times we may feel like we’ve had the breath knocked out of us because of financial, physical, emotional, or relational blows. When that happens, we can turn to our Heavenly Father. Isaiah 42:5-6 says, “Thus says God the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and its offspring, Who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it, I am the LORD, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, and I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations.” What comforting words! God gives us His breath and spirit to walk through our day. Our BREATH GIVER reminds us that He holds us by the hand and watches over us. Our BREATH GIVER has appointed us as a light to the nations. Our identity, our comfort, and our purpose are God-breathed. In trying days, hold your Bible close to you and breath deeply.
LORD, thank You for giving us Your BREATH and SPIRIT. May we in turn, live for You as a light to our nation.
So What’s Jesus Up to?
DEAR FRIENDS, OUR WEBSITE HAS BEEN GOING THROUGH SOME UPDATES & COMPLICATIONS. I APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE & PRAYERS FOR IT TO BE UP AND WORKING SMOOTHLY AGAIN.
Around Easter, Christians focus on the weeks prior to Jesus’s crucifixion. Resurrection morning, we celebrate that death couldn’t keep Jesus in the grave. But, where is Jesus now and what is He doing? Hebrews 6:20 tells us where Jesus is. “Jesus has entered as a forerunner (in heaven) for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” Jesus is in heaven and He’s praying for us. How do we know He’s in heaven? He told His disciples before His crucifixion that He had come down from heaven to earth and He was returning to heaven. People saw Jesus rise from the earth and ascend through the clouds into heaven. Angels assured those watching Jesus rise in the air that what they thought they saw, they truly saw. Yes, it’s true. An airplane defies gravity and ascends beyond our sight into the clouds. An airplane’s power is minuscule compared to Christ’s power. All is well, friends. Christ, our forerunner, has gone ahead of us to heaven. He made it safely there. We will, too, where we’ll be united with loved ones and the Lord forever.
Lord Jesus, forerunner of all who put their trust in You, thank You for safely seeing us through the travail of death and bringing us to heaven’s glory.
A Sippy Cup Won’t Do
When we come to God for a new life in Christ, we don’t come to a sippy cup of refreshing life. We come to an overflowing fountain of life. “Come to Me and drink!” Jesus invites us. (John 7:37) And don’t stop drinking. God’s fountain flows in the “innermost being” of the one who believes in Jesus. From where does the living water originate? Psalm 36:9 tells us. “For with You is the FOUNTAIN of LIFE…” God is a FOUNTAIN of LIFE. During trying days, we can use our time to dive into the deep waters of Bible study. Why? We’ll refresh our soul that has been drained by the day’s trials and worries. There’s no better time than now to read or re-read “The Plan A Woman in a Plan B World.” Or if you prefer, listen to the FREE audio. Rather than let life drain you, drink in all God is and has for you.
Lord, You are the FOUNTAIN of LIFE! Thank You for Your Word, Spirit, and presence that fills us and flows in and through us when we drink richly of You.
The Plan A Woman in a Plan B World: Introduction