Debbie Taylor Williams
Broken Promises? Not This Time
Has anyone ever broken a promise to you? More than likely, you answered yes. Promises are broken every day, but there is One, God, whose promises you can count on today and for eternity.
Beginning in Genesis, God promised to never destroy the earth again with a flood. God kept His Noahic Covenant, another word for promise.
God promised Abraham that He would make a great nation out of his descendants. The nation of Israel is the fulfillment of God’s covenant.
God made a covenant with King David that he would have a descendant on the throne forever. That covenant/promise is fulfilled in Jesus.
God promised a new covenant fulfilled by Jesus. “And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins’” (Matthew 26:27-28).
Yes, Jesus made a covenant, a promise, sealed with His blood that anyone who repents of sin and believes in Him for the forgiveness of their sins will be saved and given the Holy Spirit.
Other people may have broken their promises to you, but the Lord, the covenant maker, can be trusted today and for eternity.
Lord Jesus, COVENANT MAKER, thank You for the peace and eternal life You give us through Your blood sacrifice. We worship and praise You.
Happy Veteran’s Day to all our veterans. Thank you for your courage, service, and sacrifice. May God bless, strengthen, and protect you.
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This is Excellent!
It’s easy to get down about things, right? Even if you’re an optimist, you can’t help but be sad when reports of a school shooting occur or a loved one is given a bad diagnosis. When your surroundings aren’t uplifting, it is time to do some lifting. What kind of lifting? Lifting up your voice in praise to our excellent Lord who has done excellent things.
Praise the LORD!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty expanse.
Praise Him for His mighty deeds;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.
Psalm 150:1-2
Praise the LORD in song, for He has done excellent things;
Let this be known throughout the earth.
Isaiah 12:5
Perhaps there are not many days you would describe as excellent, but you can always describe your Heavenly Father and Lord Jesus Christ as excellent. Will you? Today, take time to journal ways you know God to be excellent. Journal excellent things the Lord has done in your life.
LORD, You are excellent in greatness and You do excellent things. I love and adore You.
I Get to Go Home
In the month of December, we anticipate the celebration of the birth of Jesus. He is a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger. Fast forward 33 years. Can you imagine His anticipation when, after pouring His teachings into people, and completing His mission to conquer death and sin, it was finally time for Him to get to go home – to return to His glory and heaven? He must have been giddy…about to explode in joyous anticipation. Hebrews 7:26 zeros in on the great divide between Jesus and us. “For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens…” High. Priest. Holy. Innocent. Undefiled. Birthed into a mess of sinners. What must His child’s holy heart have felt? What teenage temptations did Satan pile on Him? What spiritual battles did He fight alone, with no one in whom He could confide? We will never know the extent Christ suffered for us even before His scourging death. Then, He awoke from the grave. Alive. But still here. Until finally, Acts 1:9. It was time to go home! Can you imagine what the disciples experienced when Jesus was lifted up while they were looking on and a cloud received Him out of their sight? I can’t imagine it. I’ve tried. Put yourself in the scene. There you are. Jesus is telling you that you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be His witness. Mind-boggling. The Holy Spirit who was upon the “greats” like Moses and Elijah, is going to come upon you! Before you can get your mind around that, Jesus starts ascending, lifted up before your eyes. You’re in shock. His feet are literally off the ground. Your head is titled back. You look up and watch until you can no longer see Jesus who is gone…exalted above the heavens…home.
Heavenly Father, we can’t get our minds around Your majesty, throne, and what heaven is like. But, we’re so glad Jesus is with You, exalted above the heavens. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for all You have done for us – incredible!
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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!
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 prompt us how to pray and also what He wants us to do. If you haven’t yet tried journaling, this time in our lives is a perfect time. Prayers of My Heart Journal
LORD, thank You for being the GUARDIAN of our souls. Help us be ever sensitive to Your Word and will.
Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion
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Live outside of the Texas Hill Country? No problem! My weekly teachings and Listening Guides will be added HERE each week so you can follow along or use it for a group study.
Are You Sort of Scared
Does the news ever shock or alarm you? It increasingly shocks me. “I can’t believe this is happening in our nation,” I’ve said to Keith increasingly through the years. The disregard for other’s lives, blatant deception, and what sometimes seems irrational decisions is concerning. What can we do in the midst of rising tensions? We must do our part to cover relationships in prayer. We must take the high road of Christ’s example. We must pray for our leaders and pray for our enemies rather than speak or plan evil against them. We must believe that God’s is sovereign. So, no, I’m not going to live in fear or anger. I’m going to take my cues from a great example – Daniel. We find his story in Daniel 2. King Nebuchadnezzar had a troubling dream and demanded that it be interpreted or he would kill all the wise men. Daniel’s name was on the list of those to be executed. However when Daniel learned of the situation, he didn’t go into hiding. Rather, he gathered his friends and prayed. Daniel 2:18 says they requested, “compassion from the God of heavens” concerning the interpretation of the King’s dream. That night, God revealed the interpretation to Daniel. In Daniel 2:20, he praises the LORD. “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, For wisdom and power belong to Him.” He continues in verse 23, “To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, For You have given me wisdom and power; Even now You have made known to me what we requested of You.” Do you believe God is powerful and that He can give you wisdom and power to know what to do in these troubling days? He can.
Heavenly Father, thank You for making Yourself available to us. Thank You that Your eyes are on our nation. Thank You that in the midst of evil days, You are holy and exalted and always there for us. We look to You for wisdom and power. Guide our thoughts and steps so we are instruments of peace.
Better than Bootstraps
Do you feel hopeless? Perhaps the last bit of hope to which you’ve clung just went out the window. Your future may appear bleak. Dark clouds may seem to hover over you no matter where you go or how hard you try. But the good news is, if you’re a Christian, you have every reason to ditch any thought of hopelessness. You have the GOD OF HOPE! Whoo Hoo! He is not only with you. He’s IN you. Romans 15:13 “Now may the GOD OF HOPE fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
It’s not a question of if you have hope. You do. The question is, are you allowing the GOD OF HOPE to fill you with His joy and peace?
News Flash: You can experience hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s a matter of not trying to pull yourself up by your bootstraps to believing God is on the throne, He sees you, and loves you. He has your best interest at heart. In faith, pray, “GOD OF HOPE, fill me with joy and peace through the Holy Spirit.”
GOD OF HOPE, thank You for giving us the Holy Spirit so we can abound in hope by His power. We love and adore You!
Hard Work, No Joy
Have you ever worked hard for what you thought was for Christ but you experienced little joy? As a matter of fact, you felt agitated as you worked? If and when that happens, it helps to step back and consider if what we’re doing is a mission Christ assigned to us and we’re relying on His wisdom and power, or if it’s an activity we decided was a good idea and we’re pushing through in our own strength. Why is this important? Colossians 1:18 explains that Christ is “head of the body, the church…so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” In other words, if it is not Christ’s idea then it’s not a good idea and will not be empowered by Him. Why? As a body is lifeless without its head, so we the church are lifeless apart from Christ. We may do what we consider to be important, but if it is done apart from Christ’s calling and Spirit it is merely human effort. Therefore, it is important for us to continually seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) so that both our individual and corporate actions flow from Christ’s mind and are done in His power. When we do the work Christ assigns us it may be challenging and difficult, but we will also experience Christ’s joy. Matthew 25:23
Lord Jesus, we praise You, HEAD OF THE CHURCH and life of the body of believers. May our words and actions be an extension of Your heart, strength, and power.
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 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!
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 overwhelm your soul with His Spirit. Then, pay attention to the Spirit’s prompts and follow them throughout the day. You know how I much value recording each of God’s attributes in my journal every morning…such as “Guardian of My Soul” today. In addition, I stay in God’s presence with pen in hand and write in my journal how God prompts me to pray and make notes of what He stirs my heart to do that day. If you haven’t yet tried journaling or tried it in the past and stopped, give it a try again. It can change your life because you will experience the Guardian of Your Soul watching over you and guiding you as never before. Prayers of My Heart Journal
Quick Start Video 7 Benefits of Journaling Slideshow Why We Love It
LORD, thank You for being the GUARDIAN of our souls. Help us be ever sensitive to Your Word and will.
If You’re Wondering What to Do About Something
Are you at your wit’s end? Do you need someone to talk to who can help you sort out your concerns, problems, and worries? God understands. Our Heavenly Father is the original COUNSELOR. Isaiah 9:6 says that not only is He our Counselor, He is a “Wonderful Counselor.” Our Heavenly Father and Jesus are wonderful counselors because they are excellent listeners and know us inside and out. We can talk to them and know that they hear us. When we are quiet in their presence, we position ourselves to receive what they place on our heart. Talk to your Wonderful Counselor, then follow His counsel. I record what God prompts me to do in my journal, Prayers of My Heart. It helps me follow through because I can reread what I’ve recorded that He put on my heart. What do God’s prompts sound like? His prompt might be, “Open your Bible and read a Psalm.” It might be, “Stop procrastinating and tackle the task I’ve placed before you.” His prompt might be, “Instead of wondering how someone is doing, call them.” Or, “Do _____ today.” A wise Christian will talk to their Wonderful Counsel then follow up on how He prompted them. Are we wise?
LORD, You are the WONDERFUL COUNSELOR. Increase our sensitivity to Your Voice. Help us take seriously Your counsel and follow through on what You lead us to do.
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.