Beyond Ourselves Podcast
Whoo Hoo!
Thank you to all who prayed that 365 Days of Praise would get up and running after our website update. Your continued prayers for my ministry and the opportunities God has placed before us is much appreciated! Remember to pray for the women at the Lockhart Faith Dorm who are studying my book, Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion. What an exciting opportunity for these 50 women’s lives to be transformed before their release and return to their families.
“…is God the God of the Jews only? Is He not the God of the Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also.” Romans 3:29.
Whoo Hoo! And I don’t say that lightly. A thunderous applause should erupt upon hearing that God is not only the God of the Jews. He is also the God of those who are not born a Jew but who have placed their faith in the Savior Jesus Christ. Gentiles, friends who are not born a Jew, if you are a Christian you have been grafted into the promises God made to Abraham. Have you given hearty praise to God for including you in His plan of eternal salvation? You are not going down in the flame. You are going up to the glorious presence of the Lord God Almighty and Son Jesus Christ.
GOD of the GENTILES, we praise You for including us in the blessings and inheritance of the Jews.
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!
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.
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
Tornado Alley
In a tornado, a storm shelter is the “go-to” place. It must be near. It must be stocked. Knowing we have a storm shelter gives us hope when we’re surrounded by deadly tornadoes. God is mindful that we live in stormy times on enemy ground. The apostle Peter writes that the devil prowls the earth looking for someone to devour. New Testament writers address the evil in the world. The question is, are we mindful that God is our FORTRESS? He’s our “go-to” person in the midst of life’s storms and temptations? Perhaps you, like me, haven’t always thought of God as your fortress. If that’s the case, we can increase our mindfulness that He is and join the psalmist David’s resolve, “I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust.'” (Psalm 91:2) We can live the coming days with confidence in God, our FORTRESS. Are you in?
Lord God, You are our FORTRESS. Thank You that we can turn to You any time, day or night.
BORN from the DEAD
Some time ago I went to a funeral. We celebrated the life of a dear woman who went to be with the Lord. She follows Christ, who Colossians 1:18 describes as “the beginning, the firstborn from the dead so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.”
“Born from the dead.” Have you ever thought about what that means? Christians have a “new birth.” Before our salvation, we are “dead in our trespasses and sins.” However, after we repent of our sins and confess Jesus as Lord, we receive the Holy Spirit and are “born” and made alive in Christ. What we experience internally at salvation will be fully realized eternally at our bodily resurrection. Witnesses saw the resurrected Christ lead the way as the firstborn from the dead. As He rose, we will rise to be with Him forever in heaven. Share the good news!
Lord Jesus, we praise You, the FIRSTBORN FROM THE DEAD!
Is Your View of God Accurate
Some people have a wrong view of God. They may accuse Him of not being tolerant. However, our faith is based on the tolerance* or forbearance of God. Romans 3:25b-26 says, “…in the FORBEARANCE of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” To clarify, God is not tolerant of sin. Rather, sin is so “intolerable” to God that He sent Jesus to die for our sins so we could be made new. God “passed over” or “paid for” sins that had been committed and would be committed. Our forbearing Lord is just. Our forbearing Lord is the justifier (just as if I’d never sinned) of the one who places their faith in Jesus. There is no better time than now for us to share this message with others. People are dying. Many may never have heard the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. Please pray God will stir the hearts of believers to share the good news with others and that the unsaved will hear, be convicted, repent, and be saved.
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your forbearance, for bearing with us and justifying us so we can stand before You as if we’d never sinned. Amazing!
*”Forbearance,” http://www.blueletterbible.org
Clear. Perfectly Clear.
Sometimes spiritual concepts are difficult. Not so with God’s announcement about Himself. God’s words are simple, direct, and clear. We don’t have to analyze or ponder God’s statement in Isaiah 44:6 in order to understand it. We simply need to respond in faith. “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me.”
Heavenly Father, You make it clear that although there are false gods, there is no God besides You. You are the beginning and the end, the FIRST and the LAST! We worship You.