Debbie Taylor Williams
Who Can You Believe?
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Do you ever wonder who you can believe? One person says one thing and another claims the opposite. Yes, it can sometimes be difficult to know who to believe, but not in the case of Jesus’s words. Revelation 1:5 describes Jesus Christ as “the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood-” Jesus is a faithful witness. A witness of what? He witnessed to us about heaven, His Father, about angels, crowns of righteousness awaiting believers, resurrection bodies, thrones, powers, kingdoms, the judgment seat, forgiveness, redemption, His Father’s house, and about Satan. Jesus testified about the fact that Abraham, Noah, Moses, and Jonah were real people and the Old Testament is true. Our confidence in the Bible and its teachings solidly rests on Christ because He is a faithful witness to us that they are true.
Lord Jesus, we praise You, the faithful WITNESS! Thank You for the confidence we have in the Bible and You because of Your word.
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Jesus is Coming!
Have you been in awe of the magnificent beauty of the moon? The moon – IS – something that exists. The moon – WAS – created by God in eternity past. The moon WILL BE in our tomorrows. We see the moon appear in different phases, but it is still one moon. It existed in times past. It exists today. And, it will exist in our tomorrows. So why would we doubt that Christ is the LORD WHO WAS the CREATOR and WHO IS self-existent in heaven and in our presence, and WHO IS TO COME? On December 25, we celebrate the LORD who came in the appearance of a BABY. But, as Revelation 1:4 says CHRIST is not only “HE is WHO IS and WHO WAS,” He is the LORD “WHO IS TO COME…” again from heaven one day. Jesus is coming again! Will we be ready to meet HIS MAJESTY? Have a blessed Christmas!
Lord, WHO IS, WHO WAS, AND WHO IS TO COME, help us worship You not only with our lips, but with our daily lives.
“Grace to you and peace, from Him WHO IS and WHO WAS and WHO IS TO COME…”
Choose the Right One to Please
Do you ever feel like you can’t please anyone? Or, can’t please everyone? Hi! I’m Debbie Taylor Williams. It’s normal to want to please those we love. However, we’re wise to realize we can’t please everyone just like Jesus didn’t please everyone. So how do we prioritize who we please? We follow Jesus’s example. In John 8:29 He explained for whom He was living and making it His priority to please: His Heavenly Father. “He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”
If you’re in a quandary about how to live so that you at least please your Heavenly Father, follow Jesus’s lead.
Jesus used Scripture to stand against temptation. We can do that.
Jesus reached out to others in love. We can do that.
Jesus prayed before making decisions. We can do that.
Jesus followed His Father’s leading rather than acting on His own impulses and initiative. We can do that.
There is no one more worthy for us to live to please than our Heavenly Father, and we can do that.
Heavenly Father, as Jesus was well-pleasing to You, help us please You.
Running Low on Cash
“How much money do you make?” In our materialistic society, people often place value on the almighty dollar instead of the almighty Lord. But, Isaiah 33:6 speaks to what we should value: having a wealth of salvation, a wealth of wisdom, and a wealth of knowledge. He reminds us that a healthy fear of the Lord is the greatest treasure. Jesus echos Isaiah’s understanding of what true wealth is in Matthew 6:19-21 when He says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Christ’s command causes us to stop and ponder. According to Jesus where are we storing up treasures – on earth or heaven. In other words, where is our heart most focused – on getting possessions that won’t go to heaven? Or, are we most focused on treasures we’re placing in eternity?
Lord, You are a WEALTH of salvation, wisdom and knowledge. Set our hearts on treasures that count for eternity.
“And He will be the stability of your times,
A wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge;
The fear of the Lord is his treasure.”
It’s NOT TOO LATE! Give those on your Christmas list the gift that will keep on giving all year: Prayers of My Heart prayer journal; where they can record their daily gratitudes to God.
Do You Hear Him
Have you ever done a study on the “voice” of God? In Isaiah 30:30, the literal translation is “VOICE OF MAJESTY.” How does God speaks to us? He speaks through His majestic creation that He is glorious and a God of order and unlimited imagination. God’s voice goes out to us through the Bible, the most wise and beautifully written work of all time. God speaks to us in Christ, that He is sacrificial and loving; willing to forgive us and reconcile us. God’s voice calls to us in our innermost thoughts warning us of the danger of straying into sin and calling us to walk the path of righteousness. God’s voice calls to our hearts, but the noise of the world often drowns Him out. But, if we willingly, purposefully choose to slip out of our beds in the mornings and quietly meet with Him – just the two of us, we hear Him. He speaks. His voice encourages our weary souls. His voice comforts us that although we’ve sinned, He forgives us. His voice encourages us that we can start again. His voice whispers, “Take this course of action…” And, if we take His words seriously and even write down and follow through on what He tells us, we find He whispers more. Isaiah 30:30 says, “And the Lord will cause His VOICE OF AUTHORITY to be heard.” Are we listening?
Voice of Authority, Voice of Majesty, let us hear You. We trust in You.
The Why Behind This Plant
Have you noticed how stores are filling with poinsettias and people are using them to decorate? The poinsettia, also called the Christmas Flower or Christmas Star, reminds us of the true meaning of Christmas. Why? The red petals point to the reason Jesus came from heaven – to take our sin and judgment on His holy body and die in our place on the cross. The green leaves? They point to the gift of eternal life in heaven God gives us when we place our faith in Jesus. The gold crowned center of the poinsettia reminds us that Jesus is the crowned King of heaven, and one day, we will bow before Him. In the midst of shopping and parties, the poinsettia reminds us of the true meaning of Christmas as stated in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.” To learn more about Jesus and why we celebrate His birth, visit debbietaylorwilliams.com.
Lost and Found
TODAY! Please PRAY for an outpouring of God’s Spirit today at the South Dakota P.R.A.Y. with Passion Across the Nation Conference. Thank you!
Have you ever been lost? Perhaps you took a wrong turn in the road and didn’t know how to get back home. 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 and return us to the Father. What good news.
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
Remember This On Dreary Days
Dreary days. Gray skies. They can make us feel gloomy. The death of loved ones or estrangement from family or friends weigh our hearts. On what can we focus? Malachi 4:2 tells us that “for you who fear My name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.” What does that mean? Theologian Charles Spurgeon explains: “Jesus, like the sun, is the center and soul of all things, the fullness of all good, the lamp that lights us, the fire that warms us, the magnet that guides and controls us; he is the source and fountain of all life, beauty, fruitfulness, and strength.” Jesus is called the Sunof Righteousness because on the most dreary of days, when we are gloomy and despairing, we can call on Him to shine in our hearts and minds.
We praise You, SUN of RIGHTEOUSNESS, and look to You to enlighten, quicken, grow, and ripen us to holy surrender and fruitfulness.
*http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/1020.htm
When What You Want is Different from What God Wants
Friends, I’m so honored to be asked to be a contributor to The Christian Post. Please take a glance and pray readers take it to heart.
There are times we’re called to do something we’d prefer not to do it. Perhaps for you, it’s a medical procedure. For a tired mom, it may be changing another diaper. A worker may wish they could stay in bed rather than go to work. Then, there are those excruciatingly painful occasions when we may be called to help with an intervention, or change the lock on a door to keep an abusive person out of the home. But, only one person has known the great sacrifice of dying on the cross so mankind could be saved. Jesus asked His Father for a way other than the cross, but when it was the only way, submitted His will to His Father. Is there something you don’t want to do or perhaps want to do that is contrary to God’s will? What will you do…what your Heavenly Father asks of you or what you prefer to do?
Lord Jesus, thank You for modeling being submissive to the Father’s will for the ultimate good of all. We love and praise You.
“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
Are You Poor or Wealthy
Many times our search for wealth comes up short. Have you found that to be true? The all powerful dollar is held before us as the “end all” we should seek, but Jesus tells us the opposite; that we’re to lay up treasure in heaven. The wealth that should be our goal is best summed up in Isaiah 33:6. Listen to how Isaiah describes the Lord in terms of wealth. “And He will be the stability of your times, A wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is his treasure.” So the question is, are you poor or wealthy? God’s estimation is that if you have Him, you have a wealth of salvation and a wealth of wisdom and knowledge. Wouldn’t it be a shame if we lived like paupers when we have a treasure in the Lord?
Lord, You are a WEALTH of salvation, wisdom and knowledge. Thank You for all we have in You!
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