Sorry for the extreme delay! *Someone* didn’t want you to see this! But here it is, and I pray that you are fully able to receive this word today!
Part 1 of the video
Part 2 of the video
Part 3 of the video: Like I said, technical difficulties! Thank God I’m stubborn!
The “puzzle piece” picture
Video of 1 Chronicles 29:11 Yours, O LORD video:
We are experiencing technical difficulties at the moment. Please stay tuned for more great content including today’s reading and a VIDEO DEVOTIONAL on it… if i can ever get the poor thing uploaded!
Feel FREE to send up a prayer of technical support of you have a minute.;-)
Thank you!
Hi everybody. As some of you know I try really hard to keep things to a single post a day in order to keep your in-boxes a little tidier. However, I wanted to make sure that you were all aware of the new file in the Printables section of the website. As promised I have finished and uploaded the entire 365 Life reading plan for you. It includes links for all 365 daily readings (minus the Sabbath day’s rest of course). It also includes the number of days we’ve read so far and the date on which each reading will fall. I am asking each and every one of you to be my accountability partners on this! If I skip a day’s reading/posting I need for you to hold me accountable for that reading and I want to hear from you about it. I’m doing this for me first and then sharing the blessing with you all. I need your help in making sure that I keep doing this no matter how difficult it becomes to do it. His Word is LIFE and the moment I forget that I die. Help me remember it! Please!
I also wanted to point out that on the PDF, the readings are separated into 4 week sections called “Books”. I am *hoping* to take the posts from the blog and make them into printed and e-books for those who don’t have internet access or follow the blog yet. This was not part of God’s original mandate to me and so therefore I don’t *have* to do it. However, in order to reach as many people as possible it is something that I would like to do. Therefore, if you spot a typo, or grammar error in a post, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!! I do type them quickly and then edit them quickly. I only have two eyes, you have many more than that and I would love for you to lend them to me. 😉
I love you all so desperately and you are constantly on my heart as I pray for you daily. The fact that you allow me to play a part in your life is not a detail that I take lightly. The Word of God is alive and active and is sharper than a double-edged sword and I pray that we are all wielding it well daily!
The Enemy hates us, but he especially hates when we are reading God’s word every day. And I’m finding that those of us who have chosen to make it our mission to encourage others to read the Bible daily…well he REALLY hates us! These past few weeks I have been through some amazingly difficult battles. Your prayers are extremely powerful and valuable to me and I covet them more than anything right now. Satan is attacking everything he can get his hands on right now to try to get at my heart and make me give up. Thankfully God made me extremely stubborn. However, there have been many casualties from this battle. The powerful sword of James 4:7 says “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” This has been my weapon of choice through these long weeks of war. It comforts me to know that at SOME POINT the devil WILL flee from me and just let me do my job. And until that moment comes I will stand firm in my faith. Because if I don’t stand firm, I won’t stand at all. I am asking you my beloved friends to stand firm with me. To hold my arms up in faith like Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ arms in order to win the battle. I can’t do this alone. I need help. I need you.
“Then Ornan said to David, ‘Take it, and let my lord the king do what seems good to him. See, I give the oxen for burnt offerings and the threshing sledges for the wood and the wheat for a grain offering; I give it all.’ But King David said to Ornan, ‘No, but I will buy them for the full price. I will not take for the LORD what is yours, nor offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing.'” 1 Chronicles 21:23-24
Lord, I am so bewildered, befuddled, a little angry and just downright confused! You promised me this child of blessing, I believed you. And then I waited; nothing, no child. So I waited longer; nothing, no child. Sarah said take Haggar. So I did, that was a mistake. Then You came with Your two friends and spoke hope into Sarah’s womb, she laughed, we conceived, the child finally came! We’ve held this child of promise. We adored his laughter, his smile, and his childish tumblings. I love him more than my heart can admit. And now you’re telling me that I must sacrifice him?
Lord, I don’t understand. It just doesn’t make sense. You’ve asked me to kill the source of my tremendous joy. To give all that I have been promised. You gave me more than I could’ve ever hoped or imagined and now you’re asking for it all back? Why? What could you possibly need him for more than I do? He’s my son. He’s my legacy. He’s my great reward.
Abraham, I AM your great reward. I AM your legacy. I AM your Father and I know what is best. Trust Me. I love you.
Lord, I may not understand Your reasoning. I may not understand all the “whys”. But I do understand Your love. And I will take hope in Your love for me. Please allow me to take shelter under Your wings and allow me refuge from this storm of emotions tearing through my heart as I do my best to carry out this difficult task. You never said this job would be easy, just that it would all be worth it in the end.
I understand they’re called sacrifices for a reason and I will obey and choose to trust You with the end results. No matter how hard or how painful I choose to follow Your direction because at least then I have the reassurance that the pain has a purpose and a possible reward at the end. I choose not to “offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” (1 Chronicles 21:24)
Looking back over today’s reading and the things I underlined I noticed a theme. Let’s see if you can pick up on it before I give it away:
“And I will subdue all your enemies. Moreover, I declare to you that the LORD will build you a house.” 1 Chronicles 17:10
“There is none like You, O LORD,” 1 Chronicles 17:20
“For You, my God, have revealed to your servant that You will build a house for him.” 1 Chronicles 17:25
“for it is You, O LORD, who have blessed and it is blessed forever.” 1 Chronicles 17:27
“Be strong, and let us use our strength for our people and for the cities of our God, and may the LORD do what seems good to Him,” 1 Chronicles 19:13
The LORD will subdue all your enemies and will build you a house. You, O LORD, are different; You will build a house for your servant. You have blessed so it is blessed forever. May the LORD do what seems good to Him.
It all reminded me of a verse that we have had taped to our bathroom mirror since we were first married 13 years ago.
Psalm 127 “Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for He gives to His Beloved sleep. Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.”
I love the point of this Psalm, unless God is in it, it won’t be fruitful. I find it beautiful that Solomon of all people wrote this Psalm. Because there was this house that his dad, David, desperately wanted to build but God said, “No. Not you, but your son.” Solomon was that son. “Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.”
No amount of effort on my part is going to build a house if God isn’t on board with it. No amount of ADT Security equipment is going to keep a robber out of my house if God isn’t protecting it. No amount of staying up late and getting up early to work is going to produce money that lasts. No amount of money can produce a child within a womb if God isn’t the one who put it there. “There is none like You, O LORD.” “For it is You, O LORD, who have blessed and it is blessed forever.” “May the LORD do what seems good to Him.”
There are so many hopes, dreams and aspirations that we strain to achieve. Yet there is no possible way we can achieve them on our own. No amount of late night chapters written by the glow of a computer screen are going to land me that coveted book deal if God doesn’t want me to have it. Proverbs 23:4-5 says, “Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven.”
Oh how I have seen the many sprouted wings of money! It seems like no matter how big or small those paychecks are, they always seem to sprout wings and fly out our door! It makes me think of that scene in Charlotte’s Web when the baby spiders finally hatch and Wilber is so excited to see them and without hardly a hello or goodbye they’re gone with the wind. It’s a very helpless feeling. And yet, what was that scripture yesterday?
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light and momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the unseen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
If the LORD builds it, your effort is not in vain.
Oh my goodness how I have missed you my friends! It was a very interesting week, was it not? I think we had more technical glitches last week than ever before. There were several points where I said, “It would be so much easier if I were just posting myself.” But that’s not what God told me to do. He said to have other’s post for me.” And so while it was more work, I did it anyway.
At the beginning of this week “off” God posed me with a decision. “You choose. Neither answer is wrong. It’s your life; do you want to be a hobby writer or a career writer?” I chose, “Career writer”. “Then you need to start acting like one.” And for the next hour we went over schedule and borders (crossable and un-crossable). The first and firmest rule was that I had to treat it like a “real job” with office hours, open phone hours and specified times to work on the computer at my desk. But then came the tricky part. Helping those around me see it as a “real job” too. Because it is. My friends aren’t used to me having a schedule where I am unavailable to their phone calls. They’re used to me being able to sit for HOURS and talk. But if this writing thing is a career then I can’t do that like I used to. Because if I want to make money doing this (and I believe I can) then I’ve got to do it. God didn’t put this talent in this body for no reason. I’ve seen too many lives transformed from this pink pen of Grace to slack back and make it a hobby. Plus, honestly, while it would’ve been OK with God if I had chosen writing as a hobby, I think Satan would have been thrilled! This influenced me greatly in my decision.
Â
Satan hates people reading in their Bibles because that’s where they meet Jesus. *Whispered aside* Satan doesn’t like Jesus very much. But more than that, Satan really hates when people have someone to explain that Bible to them. (Acts 8:26-40) He hates when people open themselves up to the Word of God to transform them and make them more like Christ. (Because remember, he hates Christ.) So when someone as bull-headed as me makes up her mind to help people understand the Word of God and bring them closer to God through something as simple as a blog and books. Well, Satan gets downright pissed off. And boy did I see that this week too! But honestly, it didn’t matter to me. You know why? Because I had made a choice to step into Enemy territory and fight a winning battle for as many souls as God will allow me.
The deepest desire of my heart is for YOU to know the love of Christ. I want you to experience how deep and wide, high and long His love for you is. I want you to experience your heart burning with the fire of His presence. I want you to experience the depth of complete transformation that is only possible through the knowledge of the Grace of God. I want you to know what it’s like to hold the hand of the man who can do all things and has promised to never leave you.
Yes. It’s hard to do the will of God sometimes. But it’s worth every second of fighting and hardship. Just imagine meeting someone in heaven you never met on earth and having them embrace you with a hug of gratitude because you unknowingly endured that hardship for the purpose of their salvation. They will stand there in heaven because you sacrificed just a little bit on earth. Wouldn’t that make it all worth it?
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light and momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient (temporary), but the things that are unseen are eternal (permanent).” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Yes, it is an affliction. Yes, it is hard and a huge pain. But is the pain permanent? Will it last forever?
No.
Does that pain have a purpose?
Yes!
What is that purpose?
It is to “prepare you for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.”
While the affliction feels heavy at the time. This word from God tells us the Truth. That affliction is light compared to the weight of the glory you will receive from bearing that affliction.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 10:38 “Whoever does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.” We each have a cross to carry, financial hardship, death of a loved one, loss of a friendship, cancer, hospitalization, trouble at work, car break downs, lost keys, the list goes on and on. But each of those afflictions, though difficult and cumbersome to carry, are temporary and light.
In the next chapter of Matthew we find Jesus urging His followers to
“Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (11:29-30)
A yoke is the rabbi’s teaching, this is why in verse 29 He follows “take My yoke upon you” with “and learn from Me”. The teaching of Jesus is as simple as any of them get – LOVE. And in Him alone our souls find true rest. The burden He places on our shoulders is LIGHT. We are called to be His light-bearers, torches of love to a dark and dying world. We are to be an ever-present help to others in times of trouble; Jesus’ hands and feet to the helpless and broken.
Christ carried the heavy cross so that we wouldn’t have to. (We wouldn’t have been able to if we tried anyway.) His lessons for us are easy and His burden upon us is light, it’s our future glory that is heavy.
It’s like Dory from Finding Nemo says, “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming…”
Just keep swimming my little fish, this temporary affliction will pass and all that will be left is your reward. “An eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison”.
Mmmmmm…. my Spirit feels nice and filled after this week of feasting on the Word of God prepared by my Beloved friends! I am so amazingly blessed to call you all “friend”. You have no idea how much you all mean to me. Thank you all from the bottom-most place in my heart! We all are eternally grateful for your willingness to contribute to our cause. I pray that God will bless you more tremendously than you ever though possible! And if you ever wish to come back and share the stage here you are more than welcome!
Today’s guest is an artist extraordinaire! She can sing, she can play guitar, she can draw and paint and makes jewelery. She writes poetry and stories too, so I had no idea what to expect from her offering today. She decided to go with a devotional for us. And after having read it IÂ am positive that you will all love it! (I know I do! Maybe because her message is so similar to mine and therefore quite close to my heart. a DAILY walk with God.) Anyway, I digress, so without further ado, I give you my friend Beth Lively!
*Thunderous round of applause* You know, because this place is ROCKIN! (Can you tell I’m feelin’ frisky today?)
Philippians: 4:6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done.
God intended our lives to be like children at play—happily completing the tasks of our days, our hearts filled with wonder and joy, as we relish the company of loved ones, friends, and coworkers; working hard, satisfied in our labor, comfortable in our careers; fulfilled in our families, our heritage . . . but, often enough . . . we don’t, we aren’t, we are not.
We are guilty of worry; we waste time, sleep, and peace of mind, even to the point of endangering our mental health. We run our minds over worries like gerbils on a metal wheel—over and around, over and around—essentially, stubbornly, attempting to solve this weary world’s troubles and challenges all by ourselves. The temptations and tragedies of this world corrupt us as we struggle through the evil imposed by our complicated civilization.
Truly, though, we do not have to be tainted by any of it—not any of it.  By simply, literally, placing God firmly in front, our vision of the world (and ultimately our reaction to it) will change.
Getting closer to God is something we can fix . . . and that will fix everything else! Keeping God close is easy, but initially takes practice until keeping a prayer, (a running conversation) with God on the back burner of our minds, becomes a hot mug of love, goodness, joy, and hope, ready at hand in our souls, as we meet the challenges and joys of each day.
Devotionals, Stephen’s Ministers, Pastoral Counseling, Bible study, Disciple classes, Christian music, radio talk shows, and phone apps. can help create the habit, and once firmly fixed in our daily routine, (and I do mean daily, because this wicked world is loud, enticing, harsh, discouraging, and can eat up our strength so fast and cunningly we are drowning in negativity before we even realize), will carry us safely above the currents of distress.
Salvation isn’t only about dying and meeting God in Heaven; Jesus saved us here, too—saved us from daily troubles and worries—when He showed us beyond doubt that nothing can separate us from the love (joy) and protection (worry free) of God.
So . . . go fly a kite, catch a fish, jump in a pool, roast a marshmallow for a so’ more, then laugh until your eyes tear up and your tummy hurts . . . and pray for God to take care of the rest!
Dalaiah Hepburn is back with us today! Yay! I am so excited to share her writing with you! Plus, this time she brought me cupcakes mmmmmm……. Those I won’t be sharing with you. 😉 If you would like to visit her TransparenMe blog click here. Or her other blog, Not so Empty Nest Days, click here. Dalaiah thank you so much for coming back today. Let’s all give her a nice round of applause as she takes the stage.
*Thunderous Round of Applause*
I have a big enough family, both on my mom’s side and my dad’s. for whatever reason, I know my dad’s side more than I do my mom’s. I also notice something about my dad’s family. As far as I can tell, they are into children’s work. I don’t know how far back it goes or when this legacy started but its there and my brother, myself and even my kids are showing this trait of desire to work with or for kids, from teacher all the way to advocate. Just like in this genealogy, I’m sure we have some kin we love to be around, some we don’t. Some we flock to, some we duck from and then there are the ones no one can remember how they are kin to us!
Jabez, earlier in the text (v9-10), was one of the family members we would have asked as we saw him walking in the room or backyard, “now how is he related? I see his mama, but who is his daddy?” The other thing we would have noticed about him is that he, “more honorable than his brothers.” But he didn’t notice it. How many times has someone told you how gifted you are in an area and you thank them, though not believing it because of the torment you lived with in another area of life. Ouch!!
This is really a part of the Bible I struggle with. Can I say that out loud and still be looked at the same? I skim the genealogies not so much because I don’t care, but because all I see is and this one begat this one, this one begat this one, this one, this one and two others by his helpmaid. It’s just not as active as Judges 15:4-16!! Now Sampson read like an action packed movie!! But because it is in God’s Word, it’s important. That’s when it began to hit me, quite recently actually. Like right as I was writing this, what’s in the genealogy of Jacob’s sons is family and how different they are yet still blood.
We are actually able to see what Jacob had spoken over his sons and grandsons come forth. In the latter part of chapter 4, we see the family lining up and starting their own family trees, some of great worth, some not so great yet not counted out. In chapter 5, speaks of Reuben’s lineage and how sin can cast you out of the place of honor you were once in (his birthright was as firstborn) but not out all together. We also see others lineage as faithful, as small, as disobedient. In chapter 6, we literally see the birth of the Levites. We see the birth of Aaron, Miriam and Moses (in that order) and the understanding of their portion being the LORD. These were those set apart for Him. Chapter 7 gives no explanation of the omitting of Zebulun and Dan but they are visibly absent. This chapter ends speaking of where Joseph’s sons are…. and the saga continues right up to Jesus!
Whew!! What I pulled out of that is that we all have families we don’t get to choose. Some good, some bad and some…. yeah pray for those ones! But in our lineage, they were family before we knew it. And they left a legacy for us. Our forefathers and patriarchs, or matriarchs in some families, paved the way for a path. What I love about Christ is that when you surrender, this is no longer your path! When the path is filled with addictions, so on and so forth, our life in Christ is what now defines us! On the flip side, there are some whose lineage is success, fame, power, blah blah blah and when they surrender He may call them out of that! Only he knows what your path is in your Jesus journey! Your family cannot make or break you. The biggest thing I pulled away was that this was all BEFORE Christ! These folks had family lines they had to walk out due to the prophetic speaking of Jacob and his “blessings.” Our families don’t have to be that way!
My family is marked with all sorts of generational curses, but once I surrendered, Jesus’ blood covered me and I broke those with His authority! I now speak life and cancel every assignment made by the enemy for my kids! But it doesn’t stop there. Just speaking it isn’t enough! We must walk it out, no matter what!
Have you had a sordid, rough past? That doesn’t make you who you are, HE does! I leave you with this saying that God gave me as I did devotion one day, blessings!
Word of the Day: 1 Chronicles 1:1-4:23
Today I am Re-blogging my current favorite blogger’s post from yesterday. Kristin Lamb is a hilarious writer who blogs about writing professionally. In this post, as in most of her posts, the things that she uses as suggestions for ways to be a successful writer translate amazingly well for anyone else who is not a writer.
While the entire blog helped me. Her ending sent me to tears. “Focus on What Endures” – It’s so easy to lose sight of the things in life that are truly important. I’d love to say more but the Holy Spirit is reminding me that I’m not supposed to be talking today, Kristin is. I’m just supposed to introduce her. 😉
So without further ado, MY role model, Kristin Lamb!
*thunderous applause*
Many writers feel overwhelmed. We’re frequently trying to balance a day job, family, special occasions, emergencies, blogging, social media, laundry and even BATHING. It seems like just about the time we get a good juggling rhythm, someone tosses another bowling pin in our hand (sick kid, car breaking down, computer crashing).
I’d love to say that I’m perfect at these tips I’m about to offer, but I’m a lousy liar. But, I will say that though I’m not where I’d like to be, I’m far from where I used to be (again, thank you Joyce Meyer).
Sometimes We JUST Need to Outsource
I do a fairly good job of at least keeping the house looking like it was hit by a Category ONE Hurricane and not a KATRINA. But, do I have time to scrub all the floors properly and dust the blinds and make the shower sparkle like new?…
View original post 1,069 more words
Click to print the full 365 days
Click pic to download
Click here for more info!
