Boy, I don’t know about you right now, but I can really relate to that statement! It makes me think of the song “Need You Now” by Plumb.
Sometimes we just need Him don’t we? We need to just have a moment alone with the King of kings and the LORD of lords, the Creator of the Universe. Sometimes we need to know that He is the God of angel armies. We need to know that He is faithful.
He IS faithful.
We need to know that He fights for us and not against us.
We need to know that He is for us.
God IS for us.
God is for YOU.
The night before Jacob was due to meet his brother (and the army of 400 men with him), he fought with “a man” who turned out to be God. At the end of the night the man blessed Jacob and renamed him Israel which means, “God fights”. Now in the scripture it explains that the reason Jacob was renamed Israel was because he had fought with God and with men and had won. However, every time I saw those words today I read, “God fights for you“.
God fights for YOU. And if God is for you then WHO could be against you??? I mean honestly? Who? He’s GOD. He is the Creator of EVERYTHING seen and unseen. Would He have been so foolish as to have created something that COULD conquer Him? It may be a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the Almighty God. (Hebrews 10:31) But it is a WONDERFUL thing to fall into the arms of the Almighty God! And through the blood of Jesus YOU have been given that right to flee to the breast of the One who conquered death and fought for you against the forces of evil.
“Show me Your unfailing love in wonderful ways.” Psalm 17:7 NLT
“Wondrously show Your steadfast love” Psalm 17:7 ESV
Now normally I try to avoid the verses I’ve already written about in order to give you fresh manna. However, I came across something today that I just HAD to share with you!!!
Over the last few weeks I’ve been doing a SHMILY Sunday post. I share pictures from my week where God has shown me His unfailing love in wonderful ways. (If you’re curious where the name SHMILY came from, here is my original post where I explain in detail, but in short it stands for See How Much I Love You.)
Today as I was juuuuust dipping my toes into the Living Water of today’s Word of the Day I came across a footnote that blew me away. I mean, here is a verse that has literally changed my entire life and the lives of several others and I learn something NEW about it???
The first time I came across Psalm 17:7 I read it in my NLT pocket Bible, with no footnotes or commentary. Today I found it in the ESV that translates it much like the NLT except for the order of the words, but that’s where the footnote comes in. The phrase, “Wondrously show” can also be translated, “Distinguish me by”. Making it possible to translate Psalm 17:7: “Distinguish me by Your unfailing love”!
To demonstrate God’s love distinguishing us, I immediately thought of what happened to Sean yesterday at the gas station. And so I asked him to write this one up for you. 😉
“I went into a gas station to get a fountain drink. My daughter went in with me so I decided to get one for her too. We approached the counter and the attendant rang us up. The total was $1.71. I handed her $2.00 and said I had a penny, thinking I would get less change back.Â
Well before I paid her, another gentleman came up and started talking to her. I don’t know if she was distracted by the other customer, or didn’t understand what I had given her, but she only gave me $.28 in change. She shorted me $.02!Â
Since it was only two cents, I wasn’t that worried about it. However when I turned around, I saw two shiny pennies, laying on the floor just inside the door. So I just bent down, scooped them up and continued on my merry way.”
SHMILY!
Sure, it’s only two small pennies, but it SHOWS us that God cares about the little details in our lives. I mean, you want to talk about attention to detail, fingerprints, hair count and numbered steps! (See “What is Man that You are Mindful of Him“) We certainly could have lived without those two pennies in our pockets. BUT GOD wanted to show us that even those two cents we had been shorted, He could, was willing to, and would restore. And really, if you think about it, if He can, is willing to and will restore two pennies then would He, being God – the Creator and owner of everything seen and unseen, not also restore to us the much larger amounts that have been shorted us if we ask? (And trust me, I have been asking lately!) Especially since He knows we need them (Matthew 6:32).
The first time I found Psalm 17:7 I was wowed by its concept and prayed it for myself. I loved the idea that God is willing to show me His love in a way that was unique and special to me. That verse taught me that Jesus loves ME and He wants to show me that love, not in an ordinary way, but a WONDERFUL way. And right then and there I prayed, “Lord, show ME Your unfailing love in wondrous ways.” And later that morning I got an apple with pink swirls and a heart at the core (see Unfailing Love for pictures and the whole story).
So today, reading it again with fresh eyes and new meaning I am realizing that not only is He ready and willing to show ME how much He loves me, but He’s ready and willing to distinguish me from the world by that very same love. He wants to show the WORLD how much He loves.
He wants to show YOU how much He loves YOU!
He wants to set YOU apart from the crowd and show them how much He loves YOU.
So I think that it’s only fitting that like my first time, we pray the scripture. Shall we got boldly before the throne and ask so that we may receive? (John 16:24Â James 4:2)
“Lord, please distinguish me by Your steadfast love. I know that you do it every day, but I pray that You would do it in a NEW way today, one that is special and unique to ME. And I pray that You would open my eyes to SEE IT and recognize it for what it really is when it happens. In Jesus’ name. Amen!”
(Maybe this will be a new recurring theme for our little blog. 😉 )
“Every word of God proves true; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.” Proverbs 30:5
Every word proves true when spoken by God. Period. Every word. And the amazing thing is YOU don’t make it come true, He does. It’s HIS word, not yours. He is the shield, not you. He is the refuge, not you. You are the receiver of the True Words and everything they contain. You are the one who can take refuge behind His shield of faithfulness and find comfort and restoration for your soul.
Every word of God proves true; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. God’s word proves true and can become a shield to those who choose to take refuge in it.
In the 365 Life Program we read a portion of His word every day and take a word, phrase or section of it and claim it as our own. We WRITE DOWN those words in our journals or Â
365 Life Daily Planner so that we can say “it is written”. I strongly believe, (because I have experienced) that God has hidden treasures of truth, hope, encouragement, and love for us throughout His entire book.
When Jesus was being tempted by Satan in the desert, Jesus answered, “it is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4
There’s a power in writing the word of God, for yourself. Proverbs 3:3 says to “Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.” God gave me this verse when I first started writing and I began writing verses on note cards picturing the very words penned in ink, being etched into the walls of my heart.
In Jesus’ interpretation of the seed and the sower parable He explains that the seed symbolizes the Word of God and the soil is your heart. He also explains that Satan does everything he can to keep that seed of the Truth of God’s Word from taking root and growing in your heart. But get this, IT HAS BEEN WRITTEN!
The Holy Spirit led me to dig a little deeper into that phrase and I am SO GLAD I followed His lead! In the Greek “it has been written” is a single word. Greek is a complex and fascinating language. There are prefixes, stems, suffixes and endings and each of them tells you something different. So let’s dig into this for a minute and see what kind of treasures we can find.
In Greek the word is pronounced “Gegraptai”. The “grap” in the middle is the stem and it finds it’s roots in the word “grapho” which means to write. The “Geg” at the front tells us that it’s in the perfect tense. So it’s an action that took place in the past. But like someone starting a ball rolling while the initial action has ceased it’s effects continue. So while the words were written in the past, their meaning is still effective and powerful against the Enemy to this day. The “tai” at the end tells us that the action is a middle or passive voice. With the middle voice of the verb the action, no matter what it is, has an effect on you. In middle voice it’s like you’re bouncing a ball against a wall. The action is you throwing the ball, but there is a reflexive action and it bounces back to you in some way.
So in this case when Jesus speaks “it is written” as a way to point the tempter back to the moment in which “Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” was spoken and reminds him that although the initial action has finished, the impact of their Truth are still effective and active to this day. EVERY word of God proves true; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.
What was YOUR Word of the Day today? Which scripture from today’s Word of the Day reached out and grabbed YOU? Write it down somewhere, anywhere!!! And I’d simply love it if you would share it with us too! 🙂
The first book of the new 365 Life devotional series is now available in print and will be up in the Kindle store within the next 24 hours! Go check it out and tell your friends!
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!
” this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God,” (Acts 2:23)
Last night as I was sleeping, without ceremony or fanfare, May died and June was born. A new season of life has begun for me and I could not be more excited. Today is a fresh start, a new beginning, a new trip around the globe. It even rained last night making the world greener and more lush. The birds even seem to be singing with more gusto this morning.
I have spent the last two days flipping through my Bible marking out the landmarks for our year-long journey through the word.
I studied the road map of life and pinpointed our rest-stops and our resting days taking into account breaks in the stories and the need for some day’s journeys to be a bit shorter or longer than others in order to reach the best rest-stop possible. Together I believe God and I have marked out a definite reading plan for this next cycle around the Sun.
Now it’s up to us to follow it to the best of our abilities.
Yesterday God brought a slinky to my attention. He pointed out to me the shape of the coils, how they circle around a fixed point in a continual upward motion. He pointed out to me how even when the slinky appears to have no motion, the shape of the slinky itself emits motion.
So many times in life it seems like we’re not getting anywhere. It feels like nothing is happening. But that’s not true. We are constantly moving. We are always in motion through time and space in eternal clock work around the Earth’s axis, the Sun and around the universe. This place we call home is full of circles and cycles that spin us upward toward Home.
With every cycle we are one level closer to Him – even if it doesn’t feel like it. In today’s reading we find Peter quoting David prophesying about Jesus:
”
I saw the Lord always before me, for He is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;Â therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in Hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.
” (Acts 2:25-28)
In our walk through life, Jesus is ever before us, guiding us in the way we should go through His Holy Spirit. He remains always present through His Spirit, the comforter, so that we will not be shaken by life’s trials and tribulations. Because of Jesus no matter what troubles befall us our hearts can be glad our tongues can rejoice because the One who goes before us has overcome this world and cleared a path for us to follow, a Way through which to go. Because of Jesus we can live in Hope and not fear. How can we do this? We remember His promise. For He will not abandon us to Hell or let those of us in Christ see corruption! Now that, my friends, is a promise! It’s the truth, a whole truth and nothing but the truth! Jesus has made known this path of life to us, the truth that once we accept His gift of salvation He is faithful to guard and protect our souls from the corruption around us. We have been given an incorruptable life through Christ! There is no greater gift, there is no better joy than to live that life! While our bodies may be wasting away, our souls grow ever stronger, healthier, more lovely with age. The presence of God in our lives makes us glad when we could be sad. He makes us prosper when all around us fails. He strengthens our hearts through this cyclical journey we call life. A cycle where we often find ourselves back in pits we were once pulled out of… But He is with us, teaching us all the while how to avoid falling deeper into those pits. And even how to avoid them altogether by leaning on his power and strength to do so.
So. Let’s hitch up those wagons and set out on this next leg of our journey through life together. The Bible is our roadmap, His Holy Spirit is our guide, and 365 Life is our travel plan.
In my first season of writing, I have dealt with marital intimacy, struggling through life’s situations, the importance of rest in the Lord, the joy and struggle of motherhood, the discovery of truly radical grace, the fascination with the marvelous light of that grace, and the discomfort of transitions. Not too bad for 2 years of blogging, if I say so myself. 10 devotionals plus two journals published equals Season 1.
Today however, marks the beginning of Season 2. We are embarking on a year-long journey through the Word of God together. We call this journey 365 Life. 365: Because it is a journey that takes 365 steps around the calendar. Life: Because those daily steps toward God bring us the abundant life Jesus spoke of in John 10:10. “The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
In John 6:22-59 Jesus tells us that He is the bread of life, the manna from heaven, sent down for us to feast upon and to have a life everlasting. In this passage Jesus, a.k.a the Word (John 1:1), refers to himself as the bread from heaven, or mana. When we inspect that particular story from Exodus 16, we find some key details for 365 life.
“Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them whether they will walk in my Law or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” (Ex 16:4-5)
For you- these daily readings are for you. They’re not you serving God, they are Him serving you a banquet that brings life! Go out- the Israelites had to get up, put on their shoes and gather the manna. While God is providing the feast, we have to make the choice to indulge in it. A day’s portion every day- just like you eat food daily to stay alive, so too we must feast on the Word of God to stay alive. While there are many different ways to prepare the meal and to eat it, God has brought you to my restaurant where you never really know what shape the manna will take, but you will know it’ll be the same amount of reading every day and that you’ll walk away full and satisfied from the Scriptures. Test them- in the Garden of Eden Adam and Eve chose to believe Satan’s word over God’s. To this very day that is still the test humanity is taking. Whose words will you believe today? By reminding yourself daily of God’s words it is so much easier to take every thought captive and toss out the words from the enemy. Life is a test, so let’s study like we want to pass! The sixth day- last season I did not get all the way through the Bible. I had a plan. I thought it was great. But it had one huge flaw, me! I had committed to reading and writing all 365 days of the next year. I failed to take into account my human frailties, my own un-reliability and most of all a day of rest! In describing the manna God said, “when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” So although we may be reading the same amount of words on the 6th day, it will last us twice as long. The Sabbath principal.
“At evening you shall know that it was the LORD who brought you out of Egypt, and in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against the LORD.” Exodus 16:6-7
These are our parameters for the next year. I will post the complete 365 Life plan as soon as I get it all typed, but for now here are the first 56 days.
“Do not be afraid for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 2 Kings 6:16
Oh this story has got to be one of my all time favorites! The Prophet Elisha’s servant goes out early in the morning to do his daily chores where his eyes are met with a terrifying sight, the entire town surrounded by an enemy army… there for them! I can just see his eyes widening in surprised fear, jaw dropped down to his chest, his breath quickening as he turns on his heels and scrambles back into the house breathless and afraid. He looks up at the prophet of God and asks trembling, “What shall we do?”
And then there’s Elisha, calm as a cucumber, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” The servant had to think he was crazy, completely out of his mind. Couldn’t he count, one, two, there were two of them, not an army, just two; a servant and the man of God. But God’s math is a little, no a lot, different than the math of men. We can only count what we can see, and this man wasn’t seeing the whole picture. He was only looking at the natural side of things and had completely missed the supernatural side of the battle. In that moment he had forgotten who he was with. So Elisha prayed, “‘O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.’ And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” (2 Kings 17)
They had no need to fear because God was with them. And here we are today, Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us has come and is with us every step of every day in every way and we have no need to fear. Yet we do, I do, all the time, more often than I can count. So often I find myself, eyes wide in fear, crying out to God “What shall I do?” and He opens my eyes (sometimes) to the angel armies surrounding me and my situation prepared to fight the Enemy to the death just for me. Then other times He doesn’t open my eyes, but rather my heart, to see the Truth that even if I can’t feel them or see them doesn’t mean they’re not there. Just because it doesn’t feel like God is with me, doesn’t mean He isn’t there holding my hand and squeezing my heart. Just because I can’t see the chariots of fire, doesn’t mean that my deliverance hasn’t come. Just because I can’t feel Him, see Him or touch Him doesn’t mean He’s not real and that He’s not there.
Just like I can look out my window and see the leaves blowing around in my yard and know that the wind is blowing without feeling it on my skin. I can look into the Word of God and see how God loves me and know that His Spirit is working on my behalf for my good; even if it doesn’t feel good to me at the time. I can know with confidence that He is good and true and faithful and just and He is acting on my behalf, no matter what my eyes are seeing. So I will choose not to be afraid. I will choose to believe in faith that there really are more with me than those who are against me. And I will believe those things sight unseen because God’s word tells me they are Truth and I want to stand in agreement with Him all the days of my life.
_________________________________
I wanted to make you aware of some ministry updates. I am very excited to announce that I have a Mother’s Day speaking engagement scheduled for May 11th. I would LOVE to have books on hand for the women to buy, and even some to give away as gifts. However, the current funds in the ministry account are running drastically low. If you are able, I would love for you to prayerfully consider giving a book or Bible to someone who can’t afford one. If you are able, please click here!
“from now on neither death nor miscarriage shall come from it.” So the water has been healed to this day, according to the word Elisha spoke. 2 Kings 2:21-22
I have to tell you no sweeter words could I have read today. The leap of my spirit when my eyes fell on the word “miscarriage” was physically noticeable. In the last few weeks I have felt surrounded by infant death! Two miscarriages (one at only five weeks and the other at 7 months), a cousin’s daughter born with intestine problems fighting for her life, another relative through marriage trying to adopt and hitting dead ends… it’s just been too much. I mean, it’s one thing to be surrounded by death, but the deaths of infants, well it just seems so wrong.
Yet God is Sovereign and just and wise and I know that He knows best, even when it doesn’t feel good.
So today as I was just getting started in my reading I got a text that the relative through marriage was on a plane home with her “officially theirs” baby! We were so excited to hear that her waiting and dead ends were over! Hooray! But then a column of reading later there it is! The Word of the Lord that Elisha spoke, “from now on neither death nor miscarriage”! I believe that not only was that a word for them then, but that it’s a word for me and my friends and family now! Why else would God have paired it with a PERFECTLY timed text like that? That news of great joy could have come at any time but God wanted me to receive it WHILE I was reading; which (I might add) was at a much later time of day than normal… coincidence I think not!
Yes. While there may be naysayers out there who would chalk it all up to coincidence, I refuse to do so. My God has perfect timing and He knows how to use it. He really is an awesome God!
_________________________________
I wanted to make you aware of some ministry updates. I am very excited to announce that I have a Mother’s Day speaking engagement scheduled for May 11th. I would LOVE to have books on hand for the women to buy, and even some to give away as gifts. However, the current funds in the ministry account are running drastically low. If you are able, I would love for you to prayerfully consider giving a book or Bible to someone who can’t afford one. If you are able, please click here!
“for they shall hear of Your great name and Your mighty hand, and of Your outstretched arm,” 1 Kings 8:42
The 7 I Wills in Exodus 6:1-9
I will ______ you out from ______ the _________ of the _________.
I will ______ you from ______to them.
I will ______ you with an ______ arm & with great acts of _______.
I will ______ you to be My _________.
I will be your _____,
I will ______ you into the ______ that I______ to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
I will ______ it to you for a ______, I am the LORD.
The 9 I Wills in Ezekiel 20:33-38
I will be ______ over you.
I will ______ you out from the peoples & ______ you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a ______ hand & an ______ arm, & with ______ poured out.
I will ______ you into the wilderness of the peoples, & there
I will ______ into ______ with you ______ to ______.
I will ______ into ______ with you, declares the Lord GOD.
I will ______ you pass under the ______ and
I will ______ you into the ______ of the ______.
I will ______ out the rebels [sin] from among you, and those who transgress against me.
I will ______ them out of the land where they sojourn, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
Romans 7:1-4
Or do you not know, brothers – for I am speaking to those who know the law – that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? For a ______ ______ is bound by ______ to her ______ while he lives, but if her husband ______ she is ______ from the ______ of ______. Accordingly, she will be called an ______ if she ______ with another ______ while her husband is ______. But if her husband ______, she is ______ from that ______, and if she ______ another ______ she is ______ and adulteress. Likewise my brothers, you also have ______ to the ______ through the ______ of ______, so that you may ______ to another, to ______ who has been raised from the ______, in order that ______ may bear fruit for God.
Galatians 3:10-12
For all who rely on ______ of the ______ are under a ______; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by ______ things written in the Book of the Law, and ______ them.” Now it is evident that ______ ______ is ______ before God by the ______, for “The righteous shall live by ______,” But the ______ is not of ______, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.”
Galatians 4:1-7
I mean that the heir, as long as he is a ______, is no different from a ______, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under ______ and managers until the date set by his ______. In the ______ ______we also, when we were children, were ______ to the elementary ______ of the world. But when the ______ of ______ had come, God sent forth His ______, born of ______, born under the ______, to ______ those who were under the ______, so that we might receive ______ as ______. And because ______ ______ sons, God has sent the ______ of His Son into our ______, crying, “______,______!” So you are ______ ______ a ______, but a ______, and if a son, then an ______ through God.
Luke 15:11-24 the story of the Prodigal son
“While the son is a long way off” just tells us that the entire time the Father was there w______ for the son to c______ b______.
God was w______ for us to figure out “I need a S______, I need someone to h______ m__, to pull me out of this place where I’ve put myself.
As soon as He s______ us, He comes r______ with o______ a______ ready to e______ us.
Matthew 27:35, Mark 15:24, Luke 23:33, John 19:18
With His arms outstretched, they C______ H______.
Galatians 3:13-14
Christ r______ us from the c______ of the l___ by b______ a curse for ___ – for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree” – so that ____ C______ J______ the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that ___ might receive the promised Spirit through ______.
Hebrews 9:11-28
11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of His own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of g______ and b______ and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of C______, who through the eternal Spirit offered H______ without blemish to God purify our c______ from dead works to serve the l______ God. 15 Therefore He is the mediator of a n___ covenant, so that those who are called may r______ the promised eternal inheritance, since a d______ has occurred that r______ them from the t______ committed under the f______ covenant.
I will deliver you from slavery to the l____,
I will bring you out from under the burdens of the L___.
I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment on J______.
I will take you to be my people, and
I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the L___.
I will bring you into the land of rest that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob,
I will give it to you for a possession. I am the LORD.
Hebrews 9:16 For where a w______ is involved, the d______ of the one who m______ it must be established. 17 For a will takes effect o______ at d______, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive.
22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with b______, and without the shedding of b______ there is no f______ of sins.
26 … But as it is, He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to p____ a______ s___ by the sacrifice of H______. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to s______ those who are eagerly w______ for Him.
Psalm 136
H___ s______ l____ e______ f______! Praise be to God alone!
Tamar Knochel 