Christian Living

“I’m so busy.” “There never seem to be enough hours in the day.” 

Can you relate? Do you know who else can? Jesus. During His earthly ministry, Jesus traveled to different regions sharing the good news, ministering to crowds, shepherding His disciples, and healing the sick. However, regardless of how full His day, He was intentional about His prayer time with God. “In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there” (Mark 1:35). 

Not only did Jesus spend time with God in prayer, but did you notice it said He went to a secluded place? In other words, in addition to praying with people, Jesus also prioritized time alone with God. Jesus teaches His followers to spend time alone in prayer. “…when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:6a). 

Prioritizing prayer like Jesus did—in the early morning, alone with God, to tell Him your needs and to listen to Him are important.

Jesus knew that prayer was necessary. It is the way we stay connected to our Heavenly Father, abide in Him, and do His will. It is the key to bearing His fruit through our lives (John 15:1-8). 

How faithfully do you prioritize praying first thing in the morning? How faithfully do you meet alone with your Heavenly Father?

Jesus, thank you for showing me what it means to be PRAYERFUL. Help me prioritize spending time alone with You and the Father in prayer. 

Learn to seek God in prayer through Debbie’s book, Pray With Purpose, Live With Passion. Purchase your copy HERE.

When you’re grocery shopping, do you smell fruit, such as cantaloupe or peaches, to determine if they’re ripe? I remember the first time I saw someone hold a cantaloupe close to her nose. After she placed it in her basket, I decided to try the smell test.

The first cantaloupe I held close to my nose had zero fragrance. I returned it and reached for another one, wondering if the smell test was bogus. But as I held the second one close to my nose, I was pleasantly surprised. It had a sweet aroma. That evening, when I took a bite, I wasn’t disappointed. Its taste matched its smell.

Second Corinthians 2:15 says that Christians are a fragrance of Christ to God and to others. In other words, as we move about and connect with people, they get a whiff of us.

I wonder: Do they smell the sweet presence of Jesus, or do they get a whiff of our anxiousness, impatience, or sin? To find out how you can become a sweet aroma of Christ, please click HERE.

“Are you a fisherman?” someone asked after I’d shared that my husband and I’d fished on our vacation.

“Yes! I love to fish.”

“So do you fly fish?” my friend questioned.

“I do,” I replied, noticing by his “hymph” that he was a little surprised. Then I decided I needed to clarify. “Well, I like to cast, and I like to catch fish, but I really don’t take the fish off the hook. And I need someone to tell me what bait to use.”

The more I thought about it, I wondered if I should even say I’m a fisherman. That caused me to realize that sometimes in the United States, we use the word “Christian” rather loosely, like I rather loosely said I’m a fisherman.

What does it mean to be a Christian? Well, certainly not just showing up at a church building a couple of times a year. Christ defined His followers as those who actually followed His teachings. If you’d like to know more about what it means to be a Christian, please click HERE.

Which are you? Tight-lipped or open-lipped? In other words, are you reluctant to speak and don’t reveal much about what’s going on inside of you? Or, are you more open-lipped and let what you’re thinking and feeling readily come forth?

James 1:19 tells us to be quick to listen and slow to speak when we’re angry. But what about in relation to praising God? In this case, we are to be like the psalmist, who prayed in Psalm 51:15. “O LORD, open my lips, that my mouth may declare Your praise.”

Are we grateful? Are our hearts flooded with God’s goodness? I hope so. Even when there seems to be nothing for which we can praise Him, we can open our lips and praise Him for His presence with us, His provision for us, and His purposes He will bring forth.

Develop a mindset of gratefulness. Fill your heart with praise. Open your mouth and let your praise flow to God. Pray, “LORD, open my lips, that my mouth may declare Your praise.”

Lord who OPENS OUR LIPS, thank You for who You are and for all the incredible ways You have worked in my life, are working, and will work. You are worthy day and night of my praise. Open my lips so that I may declare Your praise. 

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Me. Me. Me. 

We probably wouldn’t want to admit it, but in our innermost being, we may be more self-centered than Christ-centered. Our day may not begin with, “Heavenly Father, how can I serve You?” Rather, our first thought may be what we want to get out of the day. 

Have you ever considered doing a 180: a turnaround based on Ephesians 5:2?  “Walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”

In other words, followers of Christ are told to follow His example. 

We’re to walk in love and offer our lives to God to serve His purposes. What happens when we do? We have the opportunity to be a fragrance of Christ to God and others.

Christ Jesus, You are the ultimate example of being an OFFERING and sacrifice to God. Help me follow Your example so my life is a fragrant offering to You. 

If you enjoyed this content and want to watch video teachings by Debbie, consider subscribing to her YouTube channel. Go HERE and click the subscribe button to be notified of new teachings.

Quick question: Have you ever been ungrateful? Have you ever needed a loan? Have you ever been wrongly judged? Have you ever crossed the line or done something really bad? 

That was more than one question, wasn’t it? But they all point to topics that Jesus addressed prior to His statement in Luke 6:36, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” 

That’s something to think about, isn’t it? 

Our Heavenly Father is merciful to us. 

Now He says that we’re to show mercy to others. That’s a good reminder for me. Is it for you? Why not record a list of ways God has shown mercy to you? Then thank Him for each one and consider how you might show mercy to someone.

Heavenly Father, thank You for being MERCIFUL to me each and every day. Fill me with Your Spirit of mercy towards others.

Would you like an organized way to record you prayers and praises? Grab a copy of the Prayers of My Heart prayer journal.

Would you like to experience magnificence? If you said “yes,” you are in alignment with God’s will for you. He never intended our lives to be filled with anxiety and the consequences of sin. Rather, He created Adam and Eve in His image and placed them in the Garden of Eden to share life with Him and experience His magnificent glory. But now? We live in a sin-sick world. However, as believers, our hope is not lost. Rather, our hope is firm in Christ Jesus. We can once again experience God’s magnificence as 2 Peter 1:4 tells us—“[God] has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”

God has granted to you His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become a partaker of the divine nature. Are you experiencing Christ through the divine nature He has given you?

Rather than allowing the world’s despair, anxiety, and hopelessness to infiltrate your soul, begin each day welcoming your Heavenly Father and Spirit’s presence, praying, “Heavenly Father, fill me with Your Holy divine nature and Spirit. Help me walk in Your magnificent divine promises.”

The Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and Bible are all magnificent. Immerse your mind in the Father’s ways. Walk by His magnificent divine nature/Spirit.

Lord, You and Your promises are MAGNIFICENT. Thank You for salvation by which I am a partaker of Your divine nature. Help me walk by Your promises so others see and believe in You. 

Learn more about becoming a partaker of Christ’s divine nature through Debbie’s 2 Peter Bible study, Living by the Divine Nature Instead of Our Fallen Nature. The study includes free accompanying videos and podcasts, which can be found HERE.

If you’re a parent or teacher, have you ever “laid down the law” to a child and said, “Look left and right before you cross the street”? Why do we say that? Because we don’t want them to get run over by cars. In like manner, our Heavenly Father lays down moral and ethical laws so we don’t get run over by the devil and our fleshly carnal nature. 

If we don’t obey Christ and His teachings, we hurt ourselves and those close to us. Flattened by sin, face in the gravel, groaning in pain (physical or emotional), our eyes are opened to the “why” of God’s commands that we perhaps ignored. Isaiah 33:22 explains why as citizens of God’s kingdom we are to live by His laws. “For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; He will save us.”

Our Heavenly King gives us laws to save us from pain, guilt, untimely death, loss, regret, and so much more. In what way might you be running in the streets of sin chasing a ball of self- indulgence, pride, money, resentment, or an unhealthy friendship about which God has warned you to stop? 

God is our spiritual, physical, mental, financial, emotional, and relational lawgiver. We’re saved from pain and blessed beyond measure when we listen to Him and obey His commands. Are we?

Heavenly Father, I praise You as the LAWGIVER. I praise You for Your commands and teachings that protect me from getting run over by sin. 

God is not only our Lawgiver, He is also our Judge. In a world that often resists truth, are you prepared to stand before Him? Debbie’s Contend Earnestly for the Faith Jude Bible Study will equip you to recognize deception, stand firm in your faith, and be ready for the day of judgment. Click HERE to get your copy.

So what do you think of the Speaker of the House? Oh, I’m not talking about the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. I’m referring to the Speaker of God’s House, the Speaker of Righteousness, as Isaiah 45:19 describes the LORD.

“I have not spoken in secret, in some dark land…I, the Lord, speak righteousness, declaring things that are upright” (Isaiah 45:19).

How wonderful that we have a Speaker of the House who is a Speaker of Righteousness. While reading the Bible, we hear His righteous voice. As citizens of His Kingdom, we can ponder and practice the ways our Speaker of Righteousness tells us to live. 

The LORD is not a silent God. He speaks through His Word. He speaks into our hearts and minds through His Spirit. 

Are we listening to the Speaker of our House?

Are we sharing the Speaker of Righteousness’ words with others?

Thank You, Lord, SPEAKER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. May I listen to and follow Your voice above all others. May I faithfully share You with others in my sphere of influence. 

One of the ways Hill Country Ministries shares what God has spoken is through our ministry pages on Facebook and Instagram. They are “microphones” we use to “go out into the world” as Jesus tells us to do. When you “Like” our Facebook page or follow us on Instagram, it increases Christ’s, our Speaker’s, reach.