Beyond Ourselves
Let’s Get This Right
Have you ever considered that because Christ paid for your sins you are worthy of heaven? Say that a few times to yourself and let it sink in. “I am worthy of heaven.” Believers are found worthy of heaven ONLY because Christ is worthy and exchanged His righteousness for our sin. He gave us His righteousness. Colossians 1:10 reminds us of the implication – “so that YOU will walk in a manner WORTHY of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;” In other words, we’re to walk in a manner worthy of or “suitably” for our Lord. We may have a hazy understanding of what it means to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, but we know what it means to be suitable. A child who puts on dirty clothes for school is told to put on something suitable, something clean for school. In the same manner, we are to walk worthily (suitably) of the Lord. Let’s get this right this year.
JOURNALING TIP: I wrote in the Meditations section of my journal, “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord,” Colossians 1:10. It’s a verse I want to put to memory. Writing and reviewing it helps keep me focused on this important calling.
Lord, thank You for making us worthy of Your presence and of heaven. Help us walk worthily of You!
Excerpt from If God is In Control, Why Am I a Basket Case?
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Are You Ready for a New Year
Last year, innocent people were killed. Illness struck suddenly. You made it through one storm and another hit. Are you ready for a new year? If so, may I recommend how Psalm 61:3 describes God. “You have been a refuge for me, a tower of strength against the enemy.” A tower is a high place where we can look at life from God’s perspective, where we pray, pour out our heart to God, intercede for others, and quietly listen for His counsel. If we want to experience God’s best next year, we can. Our Father is a tower of strength and refuge to whom we can go. Start the New Year Strong. Learn more. Register Today. Also be sure to JOIN my new Prayers of My Heart Facebook Gathering. I’ll be there to personally chat with you.
Jesus, tower of strength and refuge, we praise You. When we don’t know how we can get through the next minute, You help us get through the next year. You are our strength and help. Thank You for all the ways You guarded and guided us this past year. We look to next year with joy and hope because of You.
Good Year? Bad Year?
As you look at your year, are your thoughts, “It’s been great!” Or, are your thoughts more along the lines of, “It’s been a rough or bad year”? Perhaps the “rough” or “bad” is related to finances, work, your marriage, children, parents, friendships. It may be related to your frustration with yourself, that you continue to struggle with the same sin. Whatever the case, something God wants us to be mindful of is that He was there for us in the past and He’s not going anywhere. He’s staying by our side. As Romans 3:26 reminds us, He is “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” Developing a grateful heart for who God is and His presence in our lives is a gift to ourselves and to others. Who would you rather be around? A negative, cup is always half empty, or a grateful person, mindful of their blessings in Christ? Psalm 63:4 says, “I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.” I hope you have Prayers of My Heart journal so you can daily lift your hands in praise of God and record a trait/name of Him each day. It is not too late to order. Journaling God’s traits and praying in relation to His character increases our mindfulness of God’s blessings and how we’re to be being transformed into His likeness. JOIN the POMH Gathering on Facebook for encouragement. We’re going to have so much fun sharing how we’re journaling and God’s blessings.
We praise you, Lord, for being both just and our justifier. We are so grateful!
God Isn’t a Cavity
Not Just Any Man
Jesus came to earth as a baby so He might grow into a man; but not just any man. He came from heaven as our MESSIAH. Andrew heard John the Baptist announce that Jesus was the Lamb of God who had come to take away the sins of the world. Andrew followed Jesus and after spending time with Him, went and told his brother, Simon Peter, “We have found the MESSIAH,” John 1:41. Andrew was intentional about his search for the Messiah and after finding Him, was intentional about telling others. What ways can we be more intentional about sharing Christ with others? We can begin by praying for our unsaved friends and for our nation to turn to Christ. I label the last column in the Week at a Glance section of Prayers of My Heart: “Unsaved” so I remember to daily pray for unsaved friends and family. I hope you’re joining me at Starting Strong with 2020 Vision. I’ll be sharing additional ways we can strengthen our prayer life in 2020. Click to register: Starting Strong with 2020 Vision.
How about inviting a neighbor to join you?
Jesus Christ, MESSIAH, You are all good things: love, forgiveness, hope, peace, and joy! Help us be as Andrew; intentional about following You and about telling others about You.
While He’s Away
Jesus told a parable in Luke 19:11-22 portraying Himself as a nobleman who went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for Himself and then return. Before He departed, the nobleman gave talents to His servants so they could carry on His business while He was away. Two of the servants took seriously what He entrusted them to do. When the nobleman returned, he honored them and entrusted more to them. But he called the servant who didn’t do anything with the talent he had given him, “worthless.” (Luke 19:11-22) Let’s break this down. Jesus is the nobleman. At salvation, He entrusts a spiritual gift to every believer so we can do His work on earth while He is in heaven. We are either faithfully doing the good works He’s prepared for us to do (Ephesians 2:10), or, we’re lazy like the unfaithful slave. What a joy for us to get to serve Christ.
Jesus Christ, heaven’s nobleman, stir our hearts to faithfully serve You with the gifts You’ve entrusted to us.
“While they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. So He said, ‘A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return;“
How Old Were You
How old were you when you first heard John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life”? It’s a pivotal verse, a powerful statement, and a call for the world to respond.
- God so loves the world that He took action to save us.
- God sacrificed His Only Begotten Son on our behalf.
- God invites everyone to believe and be saved.
- God promises the gift of eternal life to those who believe in Jesus.
God has chosen to draw close to us. Now, He wants us to draw close to Him and has provided a way through prayer. On January 8, women throughout the Texas Hill Country are gathering for a 1 hour session I’m leading called, “Starting Strong with 2020 Vision.” Click HERE for more information and to learn how you can join us.
Heavenly Father, thank You for Jesus Christ. As You chose to draw us to Yourself for eternity, stir us to draw closer to You in 2020 through prayer.
The Greatest Gift
The greatest gift from the Father above
Isn’t money, but rather His love.
It isn’t a gift tied with ribbon and bows
But rather His Son who took our sin’s blows.
The greatest gift is yet to be seen
When heaven bound angels carry us on wings
To the Father of Light to the Father of All
And we bow in the presence of Christ, our All.
Christmas Blessings
Love, Debbie
We Can’t Wait!
“He’s coming soon with a sleigh led by some reindeer.” That’s what some parents tell their children about Santa, and oh, the kids get so excited in anticipation of his arrival. But, hey, believers! The real deal, the gift giver from above is flying into our universe and He ain’t got a few reindeer leading the way. Our Christ is leading a heavenly host from heaven into our realm, into our universe! Revelation 19:16 says that “on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, ‘KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.'” This is no fairy tale. This is fact. It’s incredible to think about. It’s beyond exciting and each of us who calls on the name of Christ for salvation should be looking toward the sky jubilant that He is coming. As Old Testament believers looked for the day when their Messiah would come, believers today look forward to a day when Jesus will return in all His glory. How magnificent that will be! Are you ready?
You, Christ Jesus, are LORD OF LORDS. We bow in worship. We rise in praise. We. Can’t. Wait!
Born a Warrior King
As the celebration of the birth of Christ nears each year, we focus on the babe in the manger. But, that babe was born a Prince with a kingdom to defend. That babe was born with an angelic army at His beacon call. That babe was born a “WARRIOR” King as Isaiah 42:13 foretold, “The Lord will go forth like a WARRIOR, He will arouse His zeal like a man of war. He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry. He will prevail against His enemies.” The babe stormed hell and overcame death. The babe is victor over the devil and his demonic army. Christ will one day return to earth but not as a babe. He’ll return as the Warrior King that He is. With whom will we share the good news?
Lord, we praise You, WARRIOR King from on high.