Debbie Taylor Williams

Lord Jesus, thank You for modeling being submissive to our Heavenly Father and trusting in His ultimate will. 

“He went a little beyond them and fell on His face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.’” Matthew 26:39

The Plan A Woman in a Plan B World: What to Do When Life Doesn’t Go According to Plan,   Available on Amazon

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 and every human being.  Jesus left heaven’s glory to come come and do 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 with our Heavenly Father. What good news. Is there someone we need to go looking for as Jesus did, someone with whom we can share the good news?

All praise to You, Lord Jesus, Son of God, SON of MAN.  Thank You for seeking us and saving us.  Rouse us to do as You did and seek out the lost in order to bring them to You. 

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10

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 recently heard the word “fear” in relation to the pandemic, elections, fires, and even drinking water? Yes. The news, “Brain-eating amoeba in city’s water supply kills 6-year-old,” may have caught your attention when Texas Governor Abbott issued a disaster declaration in Brazoria County on September 27 after an amoeba that can cause a rare and deadly infection of the brain was discovered in the local water supply system. What more could happen in 2020, we may ask. Few would disagree with author/speaker Jonathan Chan’s statement that 2020 has been a year of America being shaken. Is our being shaken a bad thing? Or, might it be a wake up call? While some today discount the value of fear and associate it with not trusting God, the Bible explains the value of fear that is rightly placed. Is ours? For more on the kinds of fear and to consider which fear you have, read my column, “Are Christians to Fear or Not Fear?“

You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield. Psalm 115:11

Heavenly Father, our nation has been shaken. Shaken by fires, lawlessness, the murders of innocent ones,  disease, floods, and more. We are looking to You, our Lord and Savior. Teach us how to walk through our days so that we point others to You. 

“Are Christians to Fear or Not Fear?“

Have you ever been separated from someone and you desperately wanted to be with them? Whether the separation is due to death, divorce, disease, or distance, the pain of not being able to be with or even get in touch with a loved one is indescribable. “Indescribable.” That’s the word people often use when attempting to explain 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 between heaven’s glory and earth. He offers His outstretched hand to save us for eternity and to save us daily. How tightly are we holding to Him?

Are you concerned about people’s shifting views about the Bible and Jesus? If so, remember that Jesus is who He says He is – the solid Rock, truth, and Savior. You are doing the right thing by building your life on Him and His Word. As a matter of fact, Jesus says in Matthew 7:24-27 that you are wise.  “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.” Today we are seeing the sad reprecussions of those who are not building their lives on Christ. What can we do? We can pray for them. We can be faithful to build our lives on the Word of God.

Lord Jesus, we worship and adore You, the ROCK of OUR SALVATION.  Thank You for the confidence we have in building our lives on You. 

Several years ago the world was sickened by the 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 his death was confirmated? No, of course not. Does that help us better grasp why people didn’t believe that Jesus was alive after they witnessed His torturous scourging and crucifixion? Matthew 28:6  gives the shocking angelic announcement 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 eyewitnesses saw Jesus after His resurrection. The grave couldn’t hold Jesus because He is life. He gives eternal life to everyone who acknowledges they are a sinner and asks forgiveness in His name. People are dying every day because of natural causes, disease, and senseless evil random shootings. None of us know when the life of our family, friends, and neighbors will end. It is time for us to be bold and lovingly ask those who are unsaved, “Do you know where you will be when you die? “Gentle Boldness” is the title of one of my chapters in Discovering His Passion. Prepare yourself to share Christ with others.

Jesus, we celebrate You – the giver of eternal life. Help us gently, but boldly share You with others. 

Do you think God expects you to be a superman or superwoman? 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 and other caffeinated drinks may give a temporary kick or 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.

Have you ever thought of God as being a Life Preserver? Psalm 116:6 describes Him that way. “The LORD preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me.”  The word preserve means to save a life.  No doubt, Jesus fits the description. He rescues the person who is drowning in sin and calls to Jesus for salvation.  We understand the need for someone to save us from drowning in raging waters.  Do we understand the need for Jesus to save us from drowning in raging sin? We understand the need to be saved from physical death. Do we understand the need to be saved from spiritual death?

Jesus, You are the only One who can rescue us from sin and preserve our soul for eternity. We call to You. 

As we have 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? Are we making anything besides God the priority of our lives?” If so, we must bow before the LORD in repentance and profess Him as LORD, giving Him praise.

God, You alone are LORD. Forgive us for putting anything or anyone before You. We bow in humble reverence and praise.