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About Tamar

Tamar Knochel at your service! From sewing and crafting to words of encouragement when you need them most. I'm here for you. ❤️

If He is Perfect, then We Don’t Have to Be

Posted on January 11, 2014 by Tamar


Luke 2:39-5:26

This blizzard has reminded me that I am not the perfect mom I strive so hard to be. Locked in my house for four days with no hope of escape turns even the most sane person into raving lunatic. But you pair that with a house in desperate need of a deep cleaning, two kids bored out of their gourds and two parents trying to deal with them, it equals the perfect environment for an imperfect storm.

Meet Mom, she’s home alone most days because that’s where she works; on her computer in her office. Dad is at work during the day, with hands and head busy fixing things. And two kids who are at school all day with plenty of people to learn with and talk to. Now shove those four people together in an itty bitty house for four days in a snow storm and you’ve got yourself one great reality show. It’s Mom that goes crazy first because, you see, she’s used to being home alone, doing her writing in peace and quiet with no interruptions. But now she can’t. Suddenly she can’t think because someone is constantly saying her name asking for something. So while the snow outside hasn’t stopped her from going to work, it has managed to stop her from getting work done. So, abandoning all hope of getting writing done she then resorts to Plan B. Work on cleaning the house in desperate need of cleaning. But alas, this too is a lost cause. As many of you have discovered, a family at home makes a MESS, while a family not at home leaves the house clean. So while some cleaning gets done, it doesn’t stay that way for long. This equals one frustrated Mom at the end of day 1. But day 2 dawns and mom is determined to have a good day. She prays:

“Come Holy Spirit, fill me with your fire so that I can be more like you. Lord, open my eyes to see You, my ears to hear You, and my mind to know You more. Lord, open my heart to receive Your heart for me today. Lord, open my mouth to speak Your truth with wisdom and authority, boldness and clarity. Open my hands to give generously, receive humbly and to let go of the things I don’t need to be holding onto. Come Holy Spirit, fill me with Your fire. I want to know You more. Help me Jesus, I trust You.” (A printable version of this prayer can be found here.)

She approaches the day with hope. She has decided to abandon her mile long to do list for today and just be still, watch movies, pop popcorn, and just be with the family. And things go really well until the kids go to bed and she logs onto Facebook to see someone tearing apart the fun things she did with her kids in the snow today, saying they were dangerous. So now mom is being unproductive, AND she’s endangering her children by feeding them snow cream. This equals mom going to bed, sad faced and unable to sleep because she’s trying to figure out if she really DID endanger her children by feeding them fresh snow.

Day 3 dawns and mom’s tired, frustrated and ready for everyone to get out of her space. It’s high time we return to normal, but the extreme temperatures say, “No, you must stay in these extreme conditions until we say otherwise.” It’s been two days of Mom coming face to face with her imperfections and inabilities and she’s ready to call it quits on the whole experiment. In come Facebook to save/ruin the day with someone else commenting about getting ALL of her laundry done. You go perfect mom!

So not to be outmatched our mom goes at that laundry with a vengeance, she starts by folding and putting away the three baskets of laundry that have been sitting at the end of her bed for a week. Yup, a whole week. As she’s hanging shirts in the closet she starts thinking about, of all things, her wedding day. (I think it was that wedding photo board she had just been looking at on Pinterest.) She’d spent more time and money on her appearance that day than any before or since. And she began thinking of that look on her husband’s face when he first saw her walk down the aisle. Then the question rang through her brain like a gong, “Has he ever looked at you like that since that day?” Maybe he had, probably he had, but not that she could remember. Sigh… Now she’s unproductive, dangerous to her children, and ugly! Yup, this was the BEST WEEK EVER!

Locking the door to her room she picks up the phone that’s been playing music while she put away laundry, Franchesca Battastelli sings Mary’s song as Mom crys, “Be born in me… while we waited for your promise you waited for my arms… Be born in me… the only thing my heart can offer you is a vacancy… be born in me…”

And Mom remembers, “By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:10

Day 4 dawns, school is of course canceled again and unproductive, dangerous, ugly Mom opens her Bible looking for comfort. Her daily reading just happens to be from Luke 2. As she opens her Bible and prays she remembers the last three days. She looks down and reads about Mary, the holy mother and thinks, “I wonder if Mary walked around always dressed perfectly with her hair in the latest style. I bet she never even wore a sweatshirt and ponytail. And if she did, I bet she ROCKED it and everyone loved her. And Jesus, He was perfect, I bet He NEVER got on Mary’s nerves.”

And you know what, God is good to our Mom. What is the very next scripture she comes to? “Now His parents (Mary and Joseph) went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of Passover. And when He was 12 years old, they went up according to custom.”

“Yup. They were the perfect parents obeying the Law.” She thought, then read on.

“And when the Feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing Him to be in the group they went a DAY’S JOURNEY, but then they began to search for Him among their relatives and acquaintences, and when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for Him. After THREE DAYS they found Him in the temple,”

“OK, now I don’t feel so bad!” Mom thought, “I’m only not getting everything done, feeding my kids snow and gained a few pounds, Mary lost the Christ child for THREE DAYS!”

Even Mary wasn’t the perfect mom, she screwed things up too. But you know what, she’s the imperfect woman God CHOSE to raise His son. (Luke 1:30) And just like Mary, you too are the imperfect woman God chose to raise your children and marry your husband. No one expects you to do all the things you expect of yourself, even God. And if God isn’t expecting you to raise perfect children by being the perfect mom, then why are you expecting that from yourself?

We hold ourselves to impossible standards and use social media to judge our blooper reel against everyone else’s highlight reel; finding ourselves lacking in every way. The only stand that we should be judging ourselves by is the word of God. And you know what it has to say about your imperfections mom?

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 “But He said to me, ‘My Grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

2 Corinthians 4:7-9 “We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;”

2 Corinthians 3:4-6 “such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers (or moms) of a new covenant, not of the letter (or to do list) but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

2 Corinthians 5:16-17 “From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold the new has come.”

Categories: 365 Life, Choose: Fear or Faith, Luke | Leave a comment

If He is the Bridegroom, then We are His Bride

Posted on January 11, 2014 by Tamar


Luke 1:1-2:38

“Do not be afraid Mary, for you have found favor with God.” Luke 1:30

As a woman I think it’s next to impossible not to found at least some of our identity in our outward appearance. It’s drilled into us from birth. We get dressed up and accessorized and then (and usually only then) we hear, “Oh! You look so pretty!” On our wedding day we spend hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars on a dress, and make-up, a hair dresser and spa treatments to look our very best for that special day. All so that when our groom sees us for the first time we can take his breath away with our beauty. But then within hours, the mascara has run, our lipstick has rubbed off, the fancy hair has fallen down and the dress gets taken off – probably to never be worn again. I don’t know about you all, but my husband has never seen me look that good before or since that day.

My point is this, that beauty is fleeting and that’s not the kind of husband Jesus is. The day you marry Jesus is the day you look the worst. You’ve been drug through the mud, and beaten to a pulp by the Enemy. And yet to Jesus, you are beautiful because you’re His bride. In the Hebrew culture when a young man came to a girl’s house to ask for her hand in marriage, the engagement ceremony involved a cup of wine. The couple was asked questions of their intentions toward each other, their commitment to one another, and then they each would drink from the same cup of wine symbolizing their union and how they would drink from the same cup of life together as husband and wife.

At the Last Supper Jesus held up the cup of wine and said, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:27-28) Essentially Jesus was asking them all (including us) to marry Him. To be united to Him in a way that is characterized by a physical, emotional, and spiritual bond that is more special and intimate than any other relationship in your life. When you enter into the bonds of marriage with your spouse you are giving your entire self to them. And they are giving themselves to you.

This is the kind of relationship that Jesus desires with you. Yes He wants all of you, but beyond that, He is giving you all of Him too!

In John 15 Jesus walks His disciples through a vineyard and says to them, “I am the vine and you are the branches”. Explaining to them how this marriage thing works. He is the source of all their needs. As the vine He brings to them and provides for them the water and nutrients that they need. (Much like a shepherd tends to his flock.)

In 1 Corinthians 11 we find the verses about Christ being the head of man and man being the head of woman. Many people take this verse to mean that woman is to always be subject to man as he is a greater authority over her. Some men use this verse as an excuse to abuse their wives or to hold power over them in a demeaning way. What they fail to realize is the true meaning of this word, “head”. In the original Greek this word is used to describe something as in the headwaters of a river. It is where the river finds its source, beginning and direction.

This is what Jesus is to be for us Yes, an authority figure. But not in a sense of a king to his subjects. At the last supper Jesus didn’t sit back and demand that His Disciples wash His feet, He washed theirs! That was the servant’s job. There was even a moment when Jesus came to Peter to wash his feet and Peter refused to let Him. Only to have Jesus explain to him that “if you don’t let Me wash your feet, then you can have no part in Me.”

Jesus is the wellspring, the headwaters of the river of Life. He is our husband, our source. Like the headwaters of a river drive the river in the direction it is to go. So we too find our direction from Him. We find our purpose and our identity in Him. He is the vine and we are the branches.

What you look like doesn’t define who you are. Who you are defines what you will look like. What you do doesn’t define who you are. Who you are defines what you do. Where you’ve gone doesn’t define who you are. Who you are defines where you’re going.

You are someone God chose. He chose YOU to be His bride, His Beloved, the recipient of His eternal love and grace. He died to save you, He lives to take care of you and He does so because you’re beautiful to Him. Jesus is so in love with YOU, not your outward beauty or even the things you do in His name, He is in love with the YOU inside that no one else ever gets to see. He is in love with YOU. Now if only you could love her too. You know, she must be pretty special if God loves her enough to die for her.

“Do not be afraid (insert your name here), for you have found favor with God.” Luke 1:30

 

Ezekiel 3:9 (HCSB) “I have made your forehead like a diamond, harder than flint. Don’t be afraid of them or discouraged by the look on their faces, even though they are a rebellious house.”

1 John 4:18 (HCSB) “There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears has not reached perfection in love.”

Matthew 8:26 (HCSB) “But He said to them, ‘Why are you fearful, you of little faith?’ Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea. And there was a great calm.”

Jeremiah 39:17 (HCSB) “But I will rescue you on that day” – this is the LORD’S declaration – “and you will not be handed over to the men you fear.”

Matthew 9:2 (HCSB) “Just then some men brought to Him a paralytic lying on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, ‘Have courage, son, your sins are forgiven.”

Isaiah 54:14-17 (HCSB) “And you will be established on a foundation of righteousness. You will be far from oppression, you will certainly not be afraid; you will be far from terror, it will certainly not come near you. If anyone attacks you, it is not from Me; whoever attacks you will fall before you. Look, I have created the craftsman who blows on the charcoal fire and produces a weapon suitable for its task; and I have created the destroyer to cause havoc. No weapon formed against you will succeed, and you will refute any accusation raised against you in court. This is the heritage of the LORD’s servants, and their righteousness is from Me.’ This is the LORD’S declaration.”

Categories: 365 Life, Choose: Fear or Faith, Luke | Leave a comment

Internet’s Down Again!

Posted on January 7, 2014 by Tamar

Ok folks. So I did my post from my phone yesterday and it looks like I would be doing it for the rest of the week. So. After quite a bit of prayer I’ve decided to send out the rest of the week’s readings tonight so that you can continue reading. I’ll continue reading and writing, and when our internet is back up I’ll send them all out. And then Saturday we’re starting a new series! For our daily devotionals We’ll be reading from our first book True Intimacy. Yay!
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Jan 7th, 2014: Luke 1:1-2:38
Jan 8th 2014: Luke 2:39-5:26
Jan 9th 2014: Luke 5:27-7:50

Categories: 365 Life, Luke, Writing Through the Bible in a Year | Leave a comment

If He is the Shepherd, then We are His Sheep

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Tamar

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Leviticus 25:23-27:34
“I will give you peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid.” Leviticus 26:6
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These last few days have been… interesting. The Midwest has been slammed with 11 plus inches of snow
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followed by extreme (in our opinion) cold temperatures. We knew in advance that they were coming so most of us were plenty prepared. But the one thing I wasn’t prepared for was being forced to lie down.
This morning I did my best to get some things done around the house, but I know more than started and everything inside me was screaming, “this is wrong”. At about the same time my husband came back in from shoveling snow holding his back. Yesterday he shoveled snow for an hour with no adverse effect. Today he shovels for 15 minutes and his back is yelling, “surrender”. It became pretty obvious, pretty quickly that today was to be a day of rest. But what if I didn’t want to?
If we open to Psalm 23 we will find one of the most memorized Psalms of all time. It opens with, “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures…” my friends, our Lord Jesus is the Good Shepherd who knows his own and his own sheep know him. (John 10:14) and as any good parent knows there are times when your kids are exhausted, but would never admit it. It is in those times that against your child pleas to stay up, you make them lie down.
Why?
Because it is good for them.
In today’s society we celebrate the espresso drinking overachiever who toils endlessly to earn the money to buy that next best thing. Or even to buy that next better thing in order to feel like they’re keeping up with the Joneses. But here’s the problem, we spend all our youth and health to accumulate wealth. Only to turn around and spend all that wealth to regain our youth and health. What’s the point? Why not just take a step back and keep our youth and health and stress less about the wealth that can’t buy youth or health.
The Lord makes us lie down in green pastures because He knows what’s best for us. And its not keeping up with the Joneses. It’s taking the time to stop trying to get things done and just be still for a day, a moment. Let’s embrace the power of a pause. Take a breath and a glimpse around the room at everything he has blessed you with. A family; crazy and messy, yes. But a family who loves you and thinks enough of you that when you come out of your locked bedroom (because you needed 20 minutes away, just 20 minutes) they come running across the room with arms flung wide screaming, “Mommy I missed you!”
Take the time to appreciate the snow clothes strewn about, looking like someone melted right there on the floor and think about the shivering gigglers that melted out of them. Breathe in the beauty of, if only for a day, living inside a snow globe.
Yesterday while typing out Psalm 139, verse 16 caught me off guard. “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” First of all, the fact that God has written in His book about ME. How cool is that!?! The best selling author of all time writes about me. Dude, that’s just awesome!
Oh, but wait, it gets better! Not only does He write about me, He actually forms the days for me! He doesn’t form me to fit into the days, no. He forms the days to fit me and my needs. And He forms them in such a way that no matter what happens in that day its good for me. (Romans 8:28)
My friend, He formed this day for you. Please don’t let it pass by without taking notice of the beauty in it, planned just for you. If just for a moment, be His sheep and heed his voice to lie down in green pastures He has prepared for you. Munch on some tender green bits of the crazy life that tastes so sweet that it must be savored for the moment before you take the next bite.
Taste.
Taste and see that He is the Good Shepherd.
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Philippians 4:5-7 ” the Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, with guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Isaiah 7:9 ” if you are not firm in face, you will not be firm at all.”
Psalm 23 ” the Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul, He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, & I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
John 10:10-18 ” The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am The Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who did not own the sheep, sees the wolves coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am The Good Shepherd. I know my own and my own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. So there will be one flock, 1 shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down My life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have athority to lay it down, and I have a thority to take it up again. This charge I have received from My Father.”
Romans 8:26-30 ” likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And He who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the Saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His son, in order that we might be the first born among many brothers. And to those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified.”
Psalm 46:8-11 ” Come, behold the works of the Lord, how He has brought desolations on the earth. He makes Wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the chariots with fire. ‘Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!’ The LORD of hosts is with us the God of Jacob is our fortress.”

Categories: 365 Life, Writing Through the Bible in a Year | Leave a comment

If God is the Creator, then We are His Creation

Posted on January 5, 2014 by Tamar

Leviticus 22:17-25:22

“I am the LORD your God.” Leviticus 23:22

There are times in life when WE are our own worst enemy. And more often than not it’s all in our head. We sell ourselves short because we fail to believe in the amazing woman God created inside each and every one of us.

Did you know that God Himself created YOU? Yup, He sure did. He knit you together in your mother’s womb so you are fearfully and wonderfully made in His image. In Genesis 2:7 we read that “the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” While our bodies may have been formed from the dust of the earth, our spirit, the thing that make you YOU, it’s the breath of God. YOU are the breath of GOD!

It’s the Truth, you are His creation. And when you say (or think) negative things about yourself you’re saying them about something God made. Think about that for a minute. If I say, “I can’t do ________.” Then I’m putting a limit on something GOD Almighty made. How do I know what I can and can’t do through God’s power? How do I know God didn’t make me with the ability to do ________? I am made in His image and His Spirit lives in me and gives me power who am I to say that He is not able and willing to do something through me?

God has stirred you about something specific and that stirring won’t go away until you move accordingly. It may be hard but it’ll be GOOD. Right now the voice of God is telling you, “You can do it!”, and the voice of Fear is telling you, “I can’t do that!” Which voice are you going to choose to believe?

You are God’s creation, only God can say what you can and can’t do.

“Lord, I believe that You are my creator and that when you created me you planted within me special gifts, talents and abilities that are unique to me. LORD, please make me more aware of these gifts, talents and abilities and how I may hone them more effectively so that I may then work in them more fully. I want to use them for Your glory LORD, please show me how I can do that. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Ephesians 2:10 “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

1 John 2:27 “The anointing that you received from Him abides in you,”

1 John 4:16 “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

Genesis 1:26-28 “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them.”

Psalm 139 “O LORD, You have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, You know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, it is high; I cannot attain it. Where shall I go from You Spirit? Or where shall I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, You are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,’ even the darkness is not dark to You; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with You. For You formed my inward parts; You knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are Your words; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in Your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God! How vast the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with You.

Oh that You would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me! They speak against You with malicious intent; Your enemies take Your name in vain. Do I not hate those who hate You, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies.

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”

Jeremiah 6:16 “Thus says the LORD; ‘Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.”

Categories: 365 Life, Choose: Fear or Faith, Jesus Loves YOU, Writing Through the Bible in a Year | 2 Comments

Unshakable Foundations Make Fear Flee

Posted on January 4, 2014 by Tamar


Leviticus 19:1-22:16

“you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.” Leviticus 19:18

The word says to love your neighbor as yourself. But how can you love your neighbor if you don’t love yourself? And furthermore, how can you love yourself if you don’t know who you are? And if you don’t know who you are how can you ever feel secure if the foundation you’re building your identity on is a shakable one. For example;

I find my identity in my job as a teacher. I know this because I make statements like, “I am a teacher”. However, suddenly the school I work for let’s go of several teachers and I’m one of them. For reasons I can’t explain or understand I can’t find another teaching job and I’m forced to work at a restaurant as a waitress. Now my “I am” statement is forced to change from “I am a teacher” to “I am a waitress.”

The foundation of my identity has changed, changing me and my view of myself in the process. This kind of instability creates a Fear inside me that is very difficult to battle, because it often goes unrecognized.

An unstable foundation is what Satan uses against us in order to push our Fear button and cause us to run in the opposite direction from where God wants us. In order to fulfill the command to love thy neighbor, we must 1st love ourselves. But first we’ve got to establish an unshakable foundation on which to build our identity. In order to do this we must first understand who God is. He is an unshakable, unchangeable foundation and our source. The next step is to build ourselves upon Him with materials that can withstand the test of fire. So that when the storms of life hit we do not fall flat like a house built on sand. With our identity firmly founded in Christ, it is possible to have no fear of drought or storm. Because no matter how many shingles blow off our roof, or how much of our hair turns silver, our foundation will never change. The thing that makes me, me, will always be the same.

Luke 12:32 (HCSB) “Don’t be afraid, little flock, because your Father delights to give you the kingdom.”

Matthew 9:22 (HCSB) “But Jesus turned to her and saw her. ‘Have courage, daughter,’ He said, ‘Your faith has made you well.’ And the woman was made well from that moment.”

Revelation 1:17&18 (HCSB) “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. He laid His right hand on me and said, ‘Don’t be afraid! I am the First the Last, and the Living One. I was dead, but look – I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades.”

Mark 10:49 (HCSB) “Have courage! Get up; He’s calling for you.”

Daniel 10:19 (HCSB) “Don’t be afraid, you who are treasured by God. Peace to you; be very strong!”

Luke 1:28 & 30 “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you! … Do not be afraid, (insert YOUR name here), for you have found favor with God.”

Mark 5:36 (HCSB) “Do not be afraid. Only Believe.”

Categories: 365 Life, Choose: Fear or Faith, Jesus Loves YOU, Leviticus | 1 Comment

You are a Beautiful Individual

Posted on January 2, 2014 by Tamar

Before we jump into the reading and devotional today I want to make sure you’re aware of some resources that we have for you to aid in your journey through the Bible in a year.

I highly recommend praying the Morning Prayer before reading the Word of the Day. It is an amazing prayer the Holy Spirit taught me that I think you would really like and benefit from as well. J If you want to read more about the story behind this prayer click here.

Also, to get the very most from these devotionals I encourage you to read the Word of the Day. It generally takes less than thirty minutes to read the entire thing. (You can click here to get a printable of the entire year’s plan, or here to find the Google calendar version, so you don’t have to wait for your email from me to get there in the morning before starting.) God has hidden gems, big and small, in His word for YOU in each and every reading. Sometimes they’re right out there on the surface and sometimes you have to dig a little deeper, but the Holy Spirit is faithful and will guide you to them if you open yourself up to receive a personal word from the LORD through His Word of the Day to you.


Leviticus 15:16-18:30

“For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the LORD from all your sins.” Leviticus 16:30

If God puts so much thought and care and detail into something that melts the moment it encounters the smallest amount of heat, how much more thought, care and detail do you think He puts into you and your life? You, the woman, who holds her family together, you keep everything running so smoothly that they hardly ever notice you’re there until you’re not.

God knows.

He sees.

And He appreciates it all.

Everything you do is under His watchful eye.

Fear not little snowflake: you are an individual, unique and beautiful.

HE protects you from the heat and keeps you from melting. He is the one who walks through the furnace with you and brings you out smelling like the rose you landed on. (Daniel 3)

Psalm 56:4 (HCSB) “In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

Psalm 91:5 (HCSB) “You will not fear the terror of the night, the arrow that flies by day.”

Luke 12:4 (HCSB) “And I say to you, My friends, don’t fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more.”

Proverbs 3:25 (HCSB) “Don’t fear sudden danger or the ruin of the wicked when it comes.”

Proverbs 29:25 (HCSB) “The fear of man is a snare, but the one who trusts in the LORD is protected.”

2 Chronicles 20:3 (HCSB) “Jehoshaphat was afraid, and he resolved to seek the LORD.”

Deuteronomy 1:21 (HCSB) “See, the LORD your God has set the land before you. Go up and take possession of it as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has told you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.”

Deuteronomy 1:29 (HCSB) “So I said to you; Don’t be terrified or afraid of them!”

Isaiah 35:4 (HCSB) “Say to the cowardly: ‘Be strong; do not fear! Here is your God; vengeance is coming. God’s retribution is coming; He will save you.'”

Psalm 25:20-21 (HCSB) “guard me and deliver me; do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in You. May integrity and what is right watch over me, for I wait for you.”

Mark 5:36 (HCSB) “So don’t be afraid therefore; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

 

Categories: Writing Through the Bible in a Year | Leave a comment

Today is the Day of His Cleansing

Posted on January 1, 2014 by Tamar


Leviticus 13:18-15:15

“the day of his cleansing” Leviticus 14:2



At midnight last night the clock ticked, the ball dropped and in one second everything changed. In that moment right before it happened, with glasses held high, I turned and glanced from the TV screen to my husband’s eyes. And with a squeeze of the hand and a sparkle in his eye we rang in the New Year together. Hand in hand, heart in heart we crossed over into a new season of life together.

I’m not exactly sure what it is, but there is something magical about that moment when the clock ticks and the calendar flips, or maybe it’s just that look that’s always in my husband’s eye. This look of excitement mixed with the very real fear that is in my heart in that moment.

It’s a fear of the unknown future facing us. Faceless foes just waiting to try and trip us up and make us fall. And yet there we stand, hand in hand, heart in heart ready to face them together. A few minutes after midnight I logged onto Facebook to say Happy new Year to everyone there. Scrolling through my News Feed I came across several posts form friends talking about the woes of 2013. It was a hard year for many. Some lost babies, some lost husbands, and others lost family members. Yet no one went through any of it alone. No matter how lonely it may have felt at the time, we were never alone. And we won’t be in 2014 either.

We didn’t step over the line in the calendar square alone, Jesus jumped into it with us. He comes down and walks with us. We are never alone. He has promised never to leave us or forsake us. He is ALWAYS there when we need Him. Always there to hold and squeeze our hand at just the right moment to let us know that no matter what happens, no matter what we do to try and make Him leave, He won’t; because He loves us way too much to do that. He is Love and Love never fails.

1 Corinthians 13:13 “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

1 John 2:27 “the anointing that you received from Him abides in you,”

1 John 4:10 “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

Psalm 31:24 (HCSB) “Be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the LORD.”

Luke 8:50 (HCSB) “When Jesus heard it, He answered him, ‘Don’t be afraid. Only believe, and she will be made well.”

Matthew 17:7 (HCSB) “Then Jesus came up, touched them, and said, ‘Get up; don’t be afraid.'”

1 Chronicles 28:20 (HCSB) “Then David said to his son Solomon, ‘Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my god, is with you. He won’t leave you or forsake you…”

Jeremiah 17:8 (HCSB) “He will be like a tree planted by water: it sends its roots out toward a stream, it doesn’t fear when heat comes, and its foliage remains green. It will not worry in a year of drought or cease producing fruit.”

Ezra 7:28 (HCSB) “So I took courage because I was strengthened by Yahweh my God.”

Nehemiah 4:14 (HCSB) “After I made an inspection, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, ‘Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the great and awe-inspiring Lord, and fight for your countrymen, your sons and daughters, your wives and homes.”

Categories: 365 Life, Choose: Fear or Faith, Jesus Loves YOU, Leviticus, Writing Through the Bible in a Year | 4 Comments

Read Through the Bible in a Year

Posted on December 31, 2013 by Tamar

Are you, or someone you know, resolving to Read through the Bible this next year, we would be honored if you would do it with us! When you sign up here, (look for the “Stay Updated” box) to follow our blog you will receive free daily devotional emails that contain a . When read daily for 365 days you will have read through the entire Bible in a year. However, we certainly don’t go in an order that is common! We read alphabetically, we start in Acts (on June 1st) and finish in Zephaniah (on May 24th). And that’s the beauty of the program; you can jump in at ANY time of the year and never miss a beat. So you can start on January 1st, June 1st, or even November 22nd and you’re never behind! Just read along with us for 365 days and you’ll have read through the entire Bible. The program is a circle, there is no beginning and no end, we just keep on reading for LIFE! How great is that!?!

Not interested in more emails? In that case you may want to look up Tamar Knochel’s book series “Jesus Loves YOU”. It’s the exact same daily reading and devotional content only in e-book or printed book format. You can find them here. As a New Year’s Resolution deal we’re offering “Jesus Loves YOU: Acts 1:1-2 Chronicles 28:21” in e-book (PDF) format free here from 12:01 am January 1st 2014 – January 31st 2014. So make sure to share this with your friends to let them in on the freebie.

If you would like a printable version of the entire 365 Life Plan, click here.

 

Please let your friends know about us! We’d love to be a part of your daily walk with the LORD!

Categories: 365 Life, Writing Through the Bible in a Year | Leave a comment

You are Not Common

Posted on December 31, 2013 by Tamar


Leviticus 9:1-13:17

I would be amiss today if I didn’t call out the irony of today’s Word of the Day. Today is New Year’s Eve. And tonight at midnight thousands of people will be starting a diet. And as God would have it, we read Leviticus chapter 11 today, the list of things you can and can not eat as a Jew. That just makes me laugh, God’s timing is impeccable. And thank You Jesus for Peter’s vision in Acts 10:9-33 deeming all animals clean to eat! Because I sure do love pig! (Mmmmm….. bacon….)

In Peter’s vision he saw a sheet lowered down to the earth. On that sheet was every kind of animal, reptile and bird. Then God said to him: “Rise Peter; kill and eat.” But Peter, being a good Jew said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” And God said, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” This whole scene played out before him three times! Do you think God was trying to drive home His point?

Immediately after receiving this vision Gentile men show up to see Peter and ask him to come with them. And Peter, being a good Christian, went with them and visited the Gentile home of their friend and spoke to the Gentile crowd that was gathered there. He said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.”

Back in the Word of the Day, Leviticus chapter 9, we find the details of the process of Aaron’s first offering to the LORD.

“This is the thing that the LORD commanded you to do that the glory of the LORD may appear to you… Draw near to the altar…” (verses 6&7)

Aaron had just been consecrated (we talked about that yesterday) and now because of his consecration he is allowed and able to obey the command of the LORD to draw near to the altar. And isn’t that the command to us all?

“Draw near to Me, My Beloved, for I desire fellowship with you!”

And yet all too often Fear keeps us at arm’s length from Him. Fear of our unclean unworthiness keeps us from racing into the loving open arms of the Father. And yet all too often, like the Prodigal son slinking back home stinking of pig, we convince ourselves that our Father could accept us better as his servant rather than his son, because we no longer deserve the status of son, because of what we’ve done. Yet while we are still far off, who is it that comes running? It’s the Father who runs, races, rushes to greet us with open arms, a coat of honor and shoes for our feet. Servants didn’t wear shoes, only family wore shoes. But that isn’t all, there is a ring for our finger too. The fingers that had just been feeding the pig’s food were now encircled with a band of forgiveness and fellowship that spoke of family and cleanliness.

At the end of Leviticus chapter 9 we finish the story of sacrifice accepted. “Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he came down from offering the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory of the LORD appeared to the people.”

How?

“And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.”

Now compare that with the story of Peter’s Gentiles & the Prodigal Son. In Acts 10 we see how God feels about these formerly “unclean” Gentiles: “While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God.” (verse 44-46)

While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell.

While the son was still far off, the Father RAN.

God is so desperate for you. Do you realize that? He desires time with you.

Just you.

YES YOU!

Don’t you dare call yourself common or allow anyone else to either! God Almighty through the blood of His holy son Jesus has declared you CLEAN,

CONSECRATED,

HOLY,

SET APART,

SPECIAL,

BEAUTIFUL.

And who do you think you are to disagree with Him?

Romans 8:15 (HCSB) “For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father!”

Lamentations 3:57 (HCSB) “You come near when I call on You; You say: ‘Do not be afraid.'”

Jeremiah 1:8 (HCSB) “Do not be afraid of anyone, for I will be with you to deliver you. This is the LORD’s declaration.”

Isaiah 44:2 (HCSB) “This is the word of the LORD your Maker who formed you from the womb; He will help you: Do not fear.”

Isaiah 44:8 (HCSB) “Do not be startled or afraid. Have I not told you and declared it long ago? You are my witnesses! Is there any God but Me? There is not other Rock; I do not know any.”

Isaiah 51:7 (HCSB) “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, the people in whose heart is My instruction; do not fear disgrace by men, and do not be shattered by their taunts.”

Deuteronomy 3:22 (HCSB) “Don’t be afraid of them, for the LORD your God fights for you.”

Categories: 365 Life, Choose: Fear or Faith, Jesus Loves YOU, Leviticus, Writing Through the Bible in a Year | Leave a comment

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