Debbie Taylor Williams
Lost and Found
Have you ever been lost? Perhaps you took a wrong turn in the road and didn’t know how to get to your desired destination. As bad as that is, what’s worse is to be spiritually lost, which is how Jesus describes us prior to our salvation. We were so lost that there was no one who could help us except Jesus. In Luke 19:10, Jesus describes Himself as the Son of Man who came to seek and to save the lost – us. In other words, Jesus left heaven’s glory to come for us. Jesus did what no one else could do. Through the virgin birth of Mary by the Holy Spirit, Jesus was born, the Son of Man, to seek and to save our lost souls so we could be reunited to our Heavenly Father. What good news. Is there someone we need to go looking for, someone with whom we could share the good news and invite them to church with us?
All praise to You, Lord Jesus, Son of God, SON of MAN, for seeking and saving us when we were lost. We love and adore You.
“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10
Just You Wait and See
Things aren’t always as they appear. Just you wait and see. For instance, Jesus had no earthly possessions, wasn’t married, and when arrested, His friends abandoned Him. He was lied about, mocked, and beaten almost to death. Mark 14:61 records the high priest questioning Him prior to crucifying Him, “‘Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?’” How incongruous. Blessed? Yet, Jesus was and is the Son of the Blessed One. So, when we think about our lives or circumstances, they may not seem to add up to our being the “blessed child of God.” But that is who we are. Things aren’t always as they seem. Just you wait and see.
Heavenly Father, we praise You for Christ, SON of the BLESSED ONE, and for the blessings You’ve promised us.
Have You Ever Wished You Had Someone to..
Have you ever wished you had someone to watch your back? Or, better, to watch over your soul – your mind, emotions, and will? The fact is, believers have just that person in Jesus. First Peter 2:25 tells us “…you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.” When doing research for my book, Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion about God being the guardian of our soul, I discovered that the word “guardian” is translated from the Greek word episkopos and means an “overseer, a man charged with the duty of seeing that things done by another are done rightly.” (page 98) What a blessing for us to have God as the Guardian of our souls! LORD, thank You for being the GUARDIAN of my soul!
TIP
God assumes responsibility for being the Guardian of our soul, but it is our responsibility to tune into Him and follow what He tells us to do both in the Bible and when the Holy Spirit prompts us during the day. Begin each day prayerfully greeting God and lifting up your soul to Him. Invite Him to fill your soul, then pay attention to His prompts throughout the day. You know how I value opening my prayer journal every morning and recording His attribute that I share with you. Being still in God’s presence with pen in hand and journal open is an invitation for God to speak; to prompt me how to pray and what He wants me to do each day. Try it. I think you’ll like it. Prayers of My Heart Journal; Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion
When You’re Devastated by the Separation, Take His Hand
Have you ever been separated from someone you desperately wanted to be? Whether the separation occurs due to death, divorce, disease, distance, or destruction, the pain of not being able to reach a loved one is indescribable. “Indescribable.” That’s a word victims and survivors often use when explaining their loss, suffering, and sadness. Jesus understands such depth of emotion. He loves us and created us to live in union with Him. Indescribable love drove Him to leave heaven’s glory and come to earth to seek and to save us. Jesus, separated from sinners, crossed the chasm that separated heaven’s glory and earth’s despair to offer us His holy hand of redemption. Will we take His hand?
Lord, we praise You, who are SEPARATED from SINNERS, yet humbled Yourself to come to earth to save us.
“it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;” Hebrews 7:26.
Prayers of My Heart Journal – Record God’s character traits each day as you praise Him for His great love.
When You’re Concerned About Shifting Views
Are you concerned about shifting views about the Bible and Jesus Christ? If so, take comfort. Jesus is who He says He is – the solid Rock, truth, and Savior. We can build our lives on Him and His Word. As a matter of fact, in Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus says we’re wise if we do. Listen to His counsel. “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.” Yes, friend, we are wise to build our lives on Jesus and His teachings.
“O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord, Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.” Psalm 95:1
We Want Proof and We Have It
Last year the world was sickened and shocked by the horrifying confirmation that Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi had been confirmed dead after being tortured in a Saudi consulate. Can you, would you, expect to see him walking around and eating with family and friends after confirmation of his death? No, of course not. Does that help better grasp why people didn’t believe Jesus was alive after they had seen His torturous scourging and crucifixion? Matthew 28:6 gives the shocking angelic announcement of Jesus’s resurrection to Mary as she stood outside Jesus’s empty tomb. “He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.” In addition to Mary and the disciples seeing the resurrected Christ, more than 500 eye witnesses saw Jesus after His resurrection from the dead. The grave couldn’t hold Jesus because He is life. He breathes His eternal life into everyone who acknowledges they are a sinner and asks forgiveness in His, the RISEN ONE’s name. With whom might we share this good news?
RISEN LORD, we celebrate Your victory over death and worship You.
Does Your Battery Need Charging
Do you think God expects you to be superman or super woman? Here’s some good news. God doesn’t expect us to keep going and going and going without rest. God doesn’t expect us to be like an energizer bunny. He knows that we will become depleted and that we need restoration. Psalm 23:3 says, “He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” Sure, Red bull drinks and other caffeinated drinks may give a temporary kick or a burst of energy. But, it’s the daily refreshment in God’s presence that provides ongoing restoration to our souls. When your battery is running low, find your Bible. You’ll experience the restoration for which you long in God’s presence.
Lord, we praise You, the RESTORER of our soul!
“He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake,” Psalm 23:3.
When You Can’t Seem to Please Anyone
Do you ever feel like you can’t please anyone? Or, at least you can’t please someone you want to please? Maybe it’s a co-worker, spouse, parent, child, or friend. You do your best, but it seems they’re never satisfied. Trying to please people who are never pleased can cause us to feel defeated and drained. Unless we keep in mind that we can’t please everybody, and we focus on pleasing the most important person – our Heavenly Father. Jesus models doing that, even when others were disappointed in Him. For instance, the disciples were no doubt shockingly disappointed when Jesus didn’t resist being crucified. Martha and Mary were disappointed when Jesus delayed coming to their sick brother’s side. John 8:29 explains Jesus’s position. ”He (the Father) who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” No, we can’t always please others. But we can follow Christ’s example of pleasing our Heavenly Father.
Following are some of the ways Jesus pleased the Father. Which are you already doing? Which do you want to begin doing?
- Jesus used Scripture to stand against Satan’s temptations. We can do that.
- Jesus shared His Father’s kingdom principles, how to be forgiven, and how to be saved. We can do that.
- Jesus was sensitive to others and reached out to them. We can do that.
- Jesus looked up in prayer and thanked His Father for hearing Him. We can do that.
- Jesus prayed before He made decisions. We can do that.
- Jesus followed His Father’s leading rather than doing things on His own initiative. We can do that.
Heavenly Father, as Jesus was well-pleasing to You, help us please You.
When Things Are Bearing Down On You
Do you ever feel like the world, your flesh, or the devil are bearing down on you and you need a rallying point where you can find victory over your fallen nature and temptation? Moses discovered that the Lord was his rallying point. When he held high the BANNER OF THE LORD, the Israelites were victorious over their enemies. They fought in God’s name and strength, not their own. The same holds true for us. The LORD IS OUR BANNER. When we lift His name high in prayer and look to Him for strength, we find victory over our sin nature and the enemy. The next time temptation or your old nature is getting the best of you, look to the heavens. Lift high the LORD’s name: Victorious Warrior, Prince of Peace. Faithful. Provider. Wisdom. Build an altar of praise to the Lord as Moses did. “Moses built an altar and named it The Lord is My Banner.” (Exodus 17:15) Return to the altar of praise daily to meet your needs.
LORD, we praise You and lift high the BANNER of YOUR NAME over our flesh and the devil.
Rethinking Who and What We Praise
As we’ve studied, there are times when God announces, “This is who I am. This is my name.” Such is the case in Isaiah 42:8, when God announced, “I am the LORD, that is My name;” In the same breath, He continues; explaining what it means that His name is LORD. It means He will not give His glory to another. It means that our praise is to be given to Him alone. His pronouncement should cause us to rethink our lives, “Are we giving our praise to anything or anyone besides Him; making them the priority of our lives?” If so, we must bow before the LORD in repentance and profess Him LORD of our lives and give Him praise.
God, You alone are LORD. Forgive us for putting anything or anyone before You. We bow in humble reverence and praise.