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Kidz Time 1 – K
Hi Moms,
I’m super excited you’re here – feeding your child’s soul with Biblical truth they will carry through life!
Here is “K” from Kidz Time 1.
Have fun! Love, Debbie
The Gift of A Comforter
One blanket. Two blankets. Three blankets. Four. Keith and I sat in front of the fire trying to get warm. The winter storm had brought a temperature of 3 degrees that felt like minus 11. If only we had power and water. We had neither.
The winter storm continued, and our driveway was too icy to get down. If you’ve lived in an area affected by winter storms, you know how devastating the cold can be, especially if you run out of wood, which happened to us. We couldn’t complain, though. We had a comforter. A comforter that we had once taken for granted, we now deeply appreciated.
So, too, our spiritual Comforter, who 2 Corinthians 1:3 describes as the God of All Comfort, is a blessing when we are experiencing life’s storms. Yes, when a person’s crisp tongue chills us to the core or the howling wind of despair blows through our heart, the God of all Comfort comforts us like none other. Why?
The Greek word for comfort means “to call to one’s side, speak to in the way of exhortation, console, teach.” God gives believers the gift of His presence through the Holy Spirit. Our Comforter is an abiding presence who will never wear out, never become threadbare, and never leave us. The more we blanket our lives with His teachings, the more we’ll know the warmth of His abiding presence. 1
Heavenly Father, You are the GOD of ALL COMFORT. Please comfort those who are suffering. Give them Your wisdom. Strengthen them as only You can.
1 Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion, page 67. Copyright Howard Publishing 2006, Debbie Taylor Williams, Monroe, LA
Kidz Time 1 – J
Hi Moms,
I’m super excited you’re here – feeding your child’s soul with Biblical truth they will carry through life!
Here is “J” from Kidz Time 1.
Have fun! Love, Debbie
Start the New Year Strong with 2020 Vision
Friends, my monthly Faith Nugget is back! You signed up to get this monthly nugget of encouragement. I pray it blesses you. Let me know, and if it does, please share it.
“I can see better. Colors are brighter. Whites more white. I have 20/20 vision!” Can you relate to those comments? You can if you have a new eyeglass prescription or had cataract surgery. Seeing clearly is a welcomed blessing. It affects our outlook and quality of life. The same is true for spiritual vision. What is spiritual vision? How can we achieve 20/20 spiritual vision in the new year?
Enlighten the Eyes of Your Heart
Did you know your heart has eyes, a metaphor for the eye of our mind, the faculty of knowing? It does, and in Ephesians 1:18-19, Paul prays that the eyes of our heart be enlightened. The implication is there is more to see than we realize. More to see of “the hope of Christ’s calling; more to see of the surpassing greatness of Christ’s power.” How did Paul know? He’d been “caught up to the third heaven” where he heard things inexpressible. (2 Corinthians 12:2-4) The man once blinded by Christ’s light now clearly sees Christ’s glory and power.
The Eyes of Our Heart and Mind Communicate
In case you’re not aware, our heart functions as more than a blood pumping muscle. Dr. Caroline Leaf, a cognitive neuroscientist, along with others including the National Library of Medicine and National Institute of Health write on, “Cellular Communications in the Heart,” “cell cross talk” and “intercellular communication.” If cells communicate, affecting our physical heart condition, why would we doubt communication with God affects our spiritual heart condition?
Verses throughout the Bible address the power of our heart to influence our thinking and therefore, lives. “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it,” Proverbs 4:23. “As a man thinks in his heart so is he,” Proverbs 23:7. As we think in our heart? Our heart thinks? Apparently, yes. Psalm 119:11 speaks of the power of our heart on our behavior. “I have hidden Your Words in my heart so that I would not sin against Thee.” Yes, God created our heart as a spiritual receptor that communicates with our mind and influences our emotions and behavior. Did not Christ say that rivers of living water would flow from our innermost being, referring to the Holy Spirit’s influence on us? (John 7:38)
How Are the Eyes of Our Heart Enlightened?
People seek higher education at universities because learning is enlightening and empowering. Wise believers seek an even Higher education – the mind of Christ – so they’ll be enlightened and empowered to live for Christ. The more Bible knowledge we apply to our heart through prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit, the better our spiritual vision.
Join me! John 10 week Bible Study. Also available online.
Heavenly Father, thank You for enlightening the eyes of our heart as we read and apply Your truths to our hearts through prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit.
When Fear Overtakes You
Have you seen the look in a child’s eyes when they were afraid because they couldn’t find their parent? Have you watched that child locate their parent and run to him? Have you heard a child cry for their parent? If so, consider Romans 8:15, which says believers have “received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba Father.’”
Abba Father can be translated from the Greek as “daddy.” So what does Romans 8:15 tell us? It tells us that our relationship with God is like that of a loving father with his child, tender and close. Our Heavenly Father chose to adopt us. Jesus chose to get into human skin so we can see and smell Him. We can watch and learn from Him. We can run to Him. We can feel His embrace.
Our Heavenly Father and Jesus deeply care for us. In a world that sometimes seems indifferent and uncaring, it’s reassuring to know that we have a Heavenly Father. Although we may be afraid at times due to the events in our life, nation, or world, we can look to our Father and be assured that He’s watching out for us and watching over us.
Heavenly Father, ABBA FATHER, thank You for adopting us as Your child. Help us walk confidently through our day assured that You are an ever-present help.
Friends, I’d love to have you join me beginning Wednesday, January 10th at 10 am for our weekly Bible Study of John Part 2 or on Thursday, January 11th at 6:30 pm. Click here for more info.
Live outside of the Texas Hill Country? No problem! My weekly teachings and Listening Guides will be added HERE each week so you can follow along or use it for a group study.
Kidz Time 1 – I
Hi Moms,
I’m super excited you’re here – feeding your child’s soul with Biblical truth they will carry through life!
Here is “I” from Kidz Time 1.
Have fun! Love, Debbie
Good Year? Bad Year?
FRIENDS, IF YOU RECEIVE DUPLICATES OF THIS DEVOTIONAL, PLEASE ACCEPT MY DEEPEST APOLOGIES. WE ARE WORKING TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE. HANG IN HERE WITH US & PRAY IT CAN BE QUICKLY RESOLVED. THANK YOU!
As you look at the past year, are your thoughts, “It’s been great!” Or are your thoughts more along the lines of, “It’s been a rough year”? Perhaps the “rough” is related to health issues, finances, work, marriage, children, parents, and friendships. It may be related to your frustration with yourself, that you continue to struggle with the same issues. Whatever the case, God wants us to be mindful of the fact that just as He was there for us in the past, He’ll be there for us in the new year. That’s something for which to be grateful!
Why not be intentional about developing a more grateful attitude in the new year? Why develop a more grateful attitude? Consider – who would you rather be around? A negative person or a grateful person; someone who takes advantage of your kindness or someone who expresses their appreciation? Psalm 63:4 says,
I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.
Are you daily blessing the Lord by recalling what He does for you each day? I’m not referring to generalities such as, “Thank you, God, for this food and our home and family,” although we should express our appreciation to God for those things. Rather, I’m referring to blessing the Lord by gratefully celebrating how He has worked in your day and in the lives of those for whom you have prayed. I hope you have a copy of Prayers of My Heart journal so you can begin the new year daily lifting your hands in praise, lifting your pen to paper, and journaling God’s character traits and what He has done each day. It is not too late to order. Make this next year distinct by making it the year you daily bless God with your thanks.
Here’s a good place to start: Our Heavenly Father is
just and justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Romans 3:26
We bless you, Lord, for being both just and for being our justifier. We are so grateful!
This is Excellent!
It’s easy to get down about things, right? Even if you’re an optimist, you can’t help but be sad when reports of a school shooting occur or a loved one is given a bad diagnosis. When your surroundings aren’t uplifting, it is time to do some lifting. What kind of lifting? Lifting up your voice in praise to our excellent Lord who has done excellent things.
Praise the LORD!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty expanse.
Praise Him for His mighty deeds;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.
Psalm 150:1-2
Praise the LORD in song, for He has done excellent things;
Let this be known throughout the earth.
Isaiah 12:5
Perhaps there are not many days you would describe as excellent, but you can always describe your Heavenly Father and Lord Jesus Christ as excellent. Will you? Today, take time to journal ways you know God to be excellent. Journal excellent things the Lord has done in your life.
LORD, You are excellent in greatness and You do excellent things. I love and adore You.
Are We Tolerating What Jesus is Against
Jesus is the Son of Man who knows what it is to live in human skin. However, what is inside of Him is different from us. His innermost being is holy glowing purity. Revelation 2:18-20a describes the ascended Christ as having “eyes like a flame of fire and feet like burnished bronze.” Revelation 1:16 describes His face as “the sun shining in its strength.”
Imagine that visual for a minute. Jesus’s face was like the sun shining in its strength. Following these magnificent otherworldly descriptions of Jesus, we’re told that Jesus, the Son of God, says this,
I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first,, but I have this against you that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality.
Yes, Jesus is the Good Shepherd and He is slow to anger, but we must never forget that He is also the Son of God reigning in glory. He sees our deeds and what we tolerate that is against Him. Is there anything we need to repent of before we ask Him for His continued blessings?
Lord Jesus, SON of GOD, forgive us for tolerating what You hate.
God of Joy and Love
It’s a new day, but let me ask you something. Are you short on joy today? It can happen. We race toward special days or live expectantly of something and then it comes and goes. Or, things don’t go as we expected or wanted. What do we do when that happens? We have a choice. We can get down and discouraged. We can dwell on the negative. Or, we can go into God’s presence and talk things over with Him. We can be mindful of Jesus’s love for us and how He longs to fill us and be our companion. I encourage you to choose to see life today through His eyes and every day as a gift. Use today to express gratefulness to Him for every single blessing before you: a place to live, family, work, the blessing of a ministry, friends, and your health. Thank God for the freedom to live in a country where you can worship with other believers…if that is the case. I know some of you who receive this worship under oppressive circumstances. Thank God for those partnering with you and the protection God has given you to continue the work you do. In whatever circumstance you find yourself, ask God to fill you with His Spirit and joy. Yield to His divine direction throughout the day. Be a Christian who is known by your love and joy. Meditate on and live by the following:
You (God) will make known to me the path of life;
*In Your presence is fullness of joy*; In Your right hand there are
pleasures forever. Psalm 61:11By this all people will know that you are My disciples: if you have love for one another. John 13:35
Prayers of My Heart journal can help. I speak from experience. The habit, the discipline of beginning every day focusing my mind on what I’m grateful for that God did the day before is a powerful mind and thought shaper. It begins my day thinking on the positive and God’s powerful sway in my day and life. Writing is a proven brain changer. There is no reason to go into the next year with the same old negative thought patterns when God tells us what to not do – be anxious and what to do – be thankful and to think on whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good report, excellent, and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:8
Lord God, thank You for the blessings in our lives. Turn our hearts and thoughts toward You today. Help us to see life through Your eyes and fill us with Your Spirit and joy.