Beyond Ourselves Podcast
Disheartened or Confident?
Have you been thinking lately that there are few people you can trust? When we’re told one thing and then find out the person never intended to follow through on their promises, it’s disheartening. That’s why we appreciate words like we find in Psalm 18:30 that says,
As for God, His way is BLAMELESS;…
Once again the Bible reiterates what we need and long to hear – that we can look to and fully trust our Lord. He is BLAMELESS which in Hebrew means “whole, entire, sound, complete, wholesome, unimpaired, having integrity, entirely in accord with truth and fact.” Wow! Reread the definition then celebrate and praise the Lord for who He is. Confidently voice your faith in Jesus Christ. Let the light of the Blameless Lord shine through you.
Lord, we celebrate YOU, the BLAMELESS One!
Jaw Dropping Love
Have you noticed that hate between people seems to be in the news more than love? That’s what makes God the Father and Jesus’s love for us so jaw dropping. Think about it for a minute. Jesus, at age 12, described the temple as the house of His Heavenly Father and in doing so claimed familial intimacy with God. At Jesus’s baptism, His Heavenly Father claimed intimacy with Him, saying,
This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased,” Matthew 3:17.
“Beloved Son” is a term that means esteemed, dear, favorite Son. Yes, we are sons and daughters of God. Yet when we ponder the magnitude of our Heavenly Father’s sacrifice when He sent His favorite Son to die for our sins (John 3:16), and when we think of the magnitude of Jesus’s sacrifice when He left His Heavenly Father to come to earth to die for us, we can’t help but have profound gratitude and wonder at their love for us.
Heavenly Father and Beloved Son, we praise You for Your magnanimous love, grace, and sacrifice so we can live with You in eternal glory. Thank You! Thank You! We love You.
In Need of Something BEAUTIFUL?
Do you have enemies? Are you fearful? Do you have any problems? David, the psalmist, can relate. What did he do? What can we learn from him? He kept his eye on the ball. That is, he kept his eye on God. Specifically, he kept his eye on God’s past and present faithfulness. He knew God to be the beauty in the ashes, the righteousness that overcomes evil. David chose – like we can – to gaze and meditate on God’s beauty and His eternal temple to which we’re headed. In the midst of the agony, defeat, discouragement, and doubt, we can join David and say,
One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord And to meditate in His temple. Psalm 27:4
Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth, Colossians 3:2 tells us. Will we?
BEAUTIFUL LORD, we praise You. Thank You for being the beauty in our day and the One on whom we can gaze.
Prayers of My Heart character trait of God to journal: Beautiful.
Empowered
Are you a Christian? In other words, have you repented of your sins and asked the Heavenly Father to forgive you? If so, you’ve been cleansed of them. But are you living empowered? You see, John the Baptist baptized people in water for the forgiveness of their sin, but in John 1:33 he explained that Jesus baptizes us in the Holy Spirit, who seals us for heaven and empowers us for daily living.
He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.
In Acts 1:8 Jesus said we receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us. God’s provision for believers is Holy Spirit anointed power! If we’re trudging through life and living in our own strength, it’s time to check the pulse of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Learn more about the Holy Spirit in the Listen UP DVD or How to Live by the Divine Nature Bible study…2 resources to help you live an empowered life.
Thank You, JESUS, that when we come to You in repentance, confessing You as Lord and Savior, You BAPTIZE us with the HOLY SPIRIT. Help us be mindful of the gift of Your Spirit and live by Your empowerment.
This is 1 of the 365 facets of our wonderful Lord. To get this free devotional in your inbox, click HERE.
Why AWESOME is an Important Word
A few years ago, the word “awesome” became a catchphrase for any and everything. “Can you go Monday night? Awesome!” “This meal is awesome!” “I read an awesome book!” If you’re like many, we began to tire of hearing the overused word. However, rather than throw out the word, the Bible points us in the right direction for when to use it. In Genesis 28:17, awesome is used in relation to heaven,
How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”
Exodus 15:11 uses it in relation to God and His works,
Who is like You among the gods, O LORD? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders?
Yes, we might want to scale down on our use of “awesome” in relation to mundane earthly things, but let’s use it often in relation to God.
We praise You, great and AWESOME GOD, and thank You for Your AWESOME works.
Since We Know, Are We Telling Others to Prepare
February 2021 a winter freeze took this Texas girl by surprise. Yes, I’d seen the warnings of a winter storm. In my mind that tabulated to cold weather and snow. I did think twice about the ice warning, but then went on with my life. Then it got cold. And colder. And colder. I wasn’t prepared and by the time the snow, cold, iced over roads, power outage, no water, and firewood had run out, it was too late to do anything. The days for preparing had passed. I lived in the consequences of my lackadaisical unpreparedness. As the water we had collected in bowls froze inside our home, I thought of what I would do to be better prepared should we have another winter storm. I also thought of how terrifying it is going to be for people who have a lackadaisical attitude toward Biblical warnings of judgement and hell. Yes, many people are going on with their lives and not doing anything to prepare for the salvation of their soul. Thinking of the unsaved sitting in hell with no way to get out is a horrifying thought. Equally horrifying is to neglect Christ’s call to believers to go and tell the unsaved how to be saved. If I felt stuck in the cold of my house, how will they feel stuck in the fire of hell? Friends, Jesus tells us with “all authority” in Matthew 28:18-20 that we are to be sounding the warning that a day is coming when everyone will stand before Jesus to give an account for their lives. Jesus commands us with all authority to,
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…”
Are we warning others to prepare to meet Jesus? Are we telling them how to prepare while they still have time?
Jesus, Son of God, You have all AUTHORITY in heaven and on earth. Open our eyes to the unsaved and our mouths to tell them the good news of salvation in You.
Help Others Prepare. Learn how to share your faith HERE.
A Tip for Everyday Living
Do you like tips on money management, tips on gardening, tips on home organizing, or on some other topic. We do well to pay attention to proven tips. They help us do things smarter and in a more meaningful way. Hebrews 3:1 gives us a spiritual tip.
Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.
What kind of a tip is that? The word consider in this verse means to “fix your thoughts.” In other words, as partakers of a heavenly calling, we’re to fix our thoughts on Jesus when we wake in the morning. We’re to fix our thoughts on Jesus when we get bad news. We’re to fix our thoughts on Jesus when we face a difficult decision. We’re to fix our thoughts on Jesus… all the time. Why? When we look at Jesus and consider Him, we are more likely to act like partakers of a heavenly calling than if we look at our situation from an earthly perspective and feel overwhelmed, panic, worry, or perhaps even gloat or feel prideful. If you’re not convinced this is a good tip, I encourage you to try it. You’ll discover that considering Jesus, fixing your thoughts on Him, ushers into your life increased hope, assurance, and purpose.
Jesus, Apostle and High Priest of our confession, help us remember that our confession of You as Lord and Savior makes us partakers of a heavenly calling. Help us walk out our calling well by considering (fixing our thoughts on) You.
Do We Have Enough Holy Reverence
“Hey, Buddy.” We’re often quite chummy with people, even if while social distancing or on the phone. Some parents even call their children, “buddy.” We love to quote Matthew 11:19 that Jesus was a “friend of sinners.” But let’s not forget that the “friend of sinners” is gloriously exalted and seated at the right hand of God. Prayerfully visualize Daniel 7:9-10.
I kept looking
Until thrones were set up,
And the Ancient of Days took His seat;
His vesture was like white snow
And the hair of His head like pure wool.
His throne was ablaze with flames,
Its wheels were a burning fire.
A river of fire was flowing
And coming out from before Him;
Thousands upon thousands were attending Him,
And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him;
The court sat,
And the books were opened.
And were presented before Him.”
The Son of Man may be our friend and God our Abba Father, but based on Scripture, a casual “buddy” reverence isn’t how I visualize our relationship with God. Our Lord is the all powerful, holy, Ancient of Days. Are we daily worshipping Him? Are we sharing Him with others? Are we ready for His return?
ANCIENT of DAYS, glorious One, forgive us when we don’t show You holy reverence. Help us live more for You and less for ourselves. Use us to witness to others about Your saving grace.
Prayers of My Heart character trait to record: Ancient of Days.
When Waves of Hopelessness Pound Your Heart
You need hope. I need hope. Our loved ones need hope. Where do we find it? Do we practice “self-talk” and tell ourselves we are “happy and fine” when we aren’t? Or do we kneel, look up in praise, and cry out to the One who has gone before us to heaven and intercedes for us? Hebrews 6:19 describes our relationship with Jesus in this way,
This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered…”
Our hope in Jesus is an anchor for our soul. Personalize that truth. My hope in Jesus is an anchor for my soul. Think about that. It’s amazing! We don’t have to emotionally drift into an ocean of despair. Yes, waves of hopelessness may at times pound our hearts and seem like they will overwhelm us. But when you feel that way, sweet friend, place your hope in your loving Savior. You are not going to drift beyond His sight or hold. He’s got you. Our hope in Christ is an anchor for our soul.
Jesus, sweet Savior, thank You for being the anchor of my soul. Thank You that I will never drift from your grasp.
Let’s Be Amazed
Throughout the Bible, the word “amazed” is used to describe people’s reactions to God. Mark 1:22 records that people “were amazed at His (Jesus) teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” The New Testament word “amazed” means astonished, thrown into wonderment. Jesus’ teachings astonished people. Matthew 12:23 records that when Jesus healed a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute so that he could see and talk, “All the crowds were amazed and were saying, ‘This man cannot be the Son of David, can He?'” When Jesus rose from the dead, they were “thrown into wonderment.” Oh, that we be amazed, astonished, and thrown into wonderment at our Lord. Keep your eyes open, friend, for how Jesus is working in your life and in the lives of others. You may find that you’re amazed.
Lord Jesus, we praise You, our AMAZING Lord.
*Amazing” is 1 of 365 ways God is described. Learn the other ways He is described by signing up to get this daily devotional. HERE.