Beyond Ourselves
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 on 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.
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
Whoo Hoo!
JOIN DEBBIE FOR A 4 WEEK STUDY OF THE BOOK OF JONAH. BEGINS APRIL 6. TBC KERRVILLE. LEARN MORE OR CALL 830.895.0100.
Whoo Hoo! And I don’t say that lightly. 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.
“…is God the God of the Jews only? Is He not the God of the Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also.” Romans 3:29.
GOD of the GENTILES, we praise You for including us in the blessings and inheritance of the Jews.
God Himself Will…for You
Join me for a 4 Week Bible Study of JONAH this month! Learn more by clicking HERE.
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!
Think Bigger
JOIN DEBBIE FOR A 4 WEEK STUDY OF THE BOOK OF JONAH. BEGINS APRIL 6. TBC KERRVILLE. LEARN MORE OR CALL 830.895.0100.
Some time ago my son sent me a video, “How big is the Milky Way?” Watching it was an incredible reminder that I often make God too little. He’s Christ for believers. He’s the Jew’s long-awaited Messiah. But Isaiah 54:5, explains that it’s important to think bigger about who Christ is. “For your husband is your Maker, whose name is the Lord of hosts; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, who is called the God of all the earth.” God of ALL the EARTH. “For God so loved the WORLD, He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life,” John 3:16. As we celebrate the Risen One’s sacrifice and what it means for our life, would you join me in prayerful consideration of how faithful we are in spreading His message to our world? One way you can do that is by sharing this 365 Days of Praise on Facebook, Instagram, or by emailing it. We never know who may see, read, and believe.
Heavenly Father and Lord Jesus, forgive us when we think too small and only of our family and friends. Quicken our hearts to take seriously Your words to make disciples of all the nations. Quicken us with ways to do our part.
What to Do in the Silence
Join me for a 4 Week Bible Study of JONAH this month! Learn more by clicking HERE.
Can you imagine the deafening silence that those who loved Jesus experienced after His marred holy body was placed in a tomb? What can be said in desperate hours and days of silence? How do followers fill their hollow hearts when it is weighed with loss or burdened by sin? Nehemiah 9 shows us. It’s a chapter that recounts people who are in sackcloth and fasting. It’s a chapter about people who, in desperation, read the Scriptures, confess, and worship. We’re privy to their prayer. Nehemiah 9:5-8a,
Arise, bless the LORD your God forever and ever! O may Your glorious name be blessed and exalted above all the blessing and praise! You alone are the Lord. You have made the heavens, the heaven of heavens with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to all of them and the heavenly host bows down before you. You are Lord God, Who chose Abram and brought him out from Ur of the Chaldees and gave him the name Abraham. You found his heart faithful before You, and made a covenant with him…
What do we do in times of desperation and when God is silent? We bless God’s glorious name and recount His goodness.
“‘O may Your GLORIOUS name be blessed and exalted above all blessing and praise!’” Nehemiah 9:5
Dead…but God
Join Debbie for a 4 week study of the book of Jonah. Begins April 6. TBC Kerrville. Learn more or call 830.895.0100.
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, has 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
Join me for a 4 Week Bible Study of JONAH in April! Learn more by clicking HERE.
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 breathe deeply.
LORD, thank You for giving us Your BREATH and SPIRIT. May we, in turn, live for You as a light to our nation.
Unwrap It!
Gifts! Who doesn’t like to receive a gift? Presents wrapped with brightly colored paper and bows. A gift tag with OUR name on it. And most importantly, someone holding the gift and offering, “Take it! I bought it for you!” Beaming, our Lord God waits for us to take the gift described in Romans 6:23. That in spite of our sin, He offers the “free gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Our Heavenly Father gives us a gift that cost His Son’s life. Forgiveness is the first thing we see in the gift. Then the gifts of His Holy Spirit, heaven, friendship, eternity, and so much more! With each day, we realize there’s more of God’s love to unwrap. The Gift Giver smiles as our eyes light up in joyful praise.
Lord God, thank You for GIVING us the GIFT of eternal life in Christ Jesus and for all that is encompassed in the gift of His life! We praise 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.