A Sure Foundation by Leighann Peoples
A Very Mary Response by Laura Pearson
Mighty Miracles by Sandy Noonan
Happy last Monday of 2021! Let’s make it the best week EVER! This weeks devo is “Mighty Miracles” written by Sandra Noonan! Please take the time to read as she shares her heart with us today! I hope you have the best week of 2021 yet!!
Mighty Miracles – Sandy Noonan
Luke 4:16-30.
I love this passage as Jesus goes back to his home town.
I love the way Jesus read from Isaiah with such authority.
I love how he closed the book and gave it back to the minister and then sat down.
I love how all the people kept their eyes on him.
I love how he said who He was looking straight into their Eyes, knowing they didn’t believe him.
Then I remember he left Nazareth without doing the miracles he did in other cities because of their unbelief.
As I let this passage sink into my heart my thoughts turn to my own family. Am I stopping God from doing miracles in my family because of unbelief? God show me some lessons I need to learn from this passage.
1. Be filled with the Spirit and not with selfish desires. Gal 5:22-26
2. Keep prayer as the first “go to”, not as our last resort in a world that attempts to find answers with a punch of a button. Ps. 143:1, Pro. 15:8, Ps. 141:2
3. Rejoice for the answered prayer. Ps 20:5
4. Lift up the God of righteous people not the people themselves. God uses ordinary people for His glory. I Sam 18:18-19
5. Let my family see I need God in my life just as much as other family members. Rom 10:11.
6. Don’t just talk about spiritual things at church but let it be a habit at home.
7. Be consistent at home and in church and at work and at play.
8. Be genuine, putting on masks to let other people think we are good will only cultivate unbelief in our children.
These are just some lessons God taught me from this passage. Let’s us have homes that resonate faith and belief in God because he is ready to show us his mighty miracles.
https://www.sappsolutely.com/devotions/mighty-miracles-sandy-noonan
Jesus – Firstborn
Jesus – Firstborn
Colossians 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Christ was born in the image of God – a vision of the Father in human form. Begotten is defined as ‘brought into existence by or as if by a parent’. Jesus is the only begotten Son of God.
Before all creation or any creature was made, Jesus existed. All things were made by Him (John 1:3) – absolutely everything.
The emphasis in this passage is on the preeminence of Christ. He should have first place in our hearts and lives. We need to let go of everything that hinders us from glorifying Christ.
Jesus – Daysman
Jesus – Daysmen
Job 9:32-33 – For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment. Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both.
Daysmen in the dictionary is an adjudicator, judge, or intermediary. A daysman must judge without partiality.
There is only one person I know who can rightfully be the mediator between God and man.
1 Timothy 2:5 says, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
Christ purchased peace for us with His blood on the cross. If we trust in Him, our sins will be buried in the deepest sea (Micah 7:19), and will wash them white as snow (Isaiah 1:18). This causes for no offense to be able to be laid to our charge.
Thankful that Christ is ever interceding on our behalf.
Praying you have a blessed day 🎄
How Thirsty Are You? – Debbie Netterville
Happy December ! I hope everyone had a GREAT weekend serving Jesus!
This week’s devo is “How Thirsty Are You?” written by Debbie Netterville! Please take the time to read as she shares her heart with us today! I pray you have a blessed week.
How Thirsty Are You? – Debbie Netterville
In August we were in Burlington, Iowa helping a church with Bible Handouts. Saturday night we went out to eat with the pastor and his family. In the middle of the night I woke up and began throwing up. Up and down all night. We thought it was food poisoning. I was unable to go to church all day. I continued throwing up and unable to keep anything down. This lasted a couple more days and I was beginning to get weak. Scott decided we needed to go to the ER. You know how long it takes waiting in the ER. When they finally called my name, they took blood and gave me some meds for nausea.
We spent another day in Burlington, but I was still weak and unable to keep anything down. We decided we wanted to head home to Bourbonnais, Illinois where our home church is and some of our family. We wanted to have family in case we needed help. Wednesday, we drove from Burlington to Bourbonnais, about a 4-hour drive. It was long and miserable for me.
When I would wake up in the morning, I would be so hungry. I could even feel the hunger pangs. I would eat yogurt, applesauce, oatmeal, drink water, 7UP and Pedialyte. I was still unable to keep anything down. I knew I was getting weaker. So again off to the ER in Kankakee. I think it was Friday evening when we went and spent 7 hours waiting. I was so miserable. So again blood work but this time they took x-rays. When they got the results it was not good news.
In fact, they said I was a very sick woman. I thought “oh no”. I had a double hernia with a bowel obstruction. That explains why I was not able to hold anything down. It was around 7:00 am on Saturday when they admitted me to the hospital. I was not allowed to have ANYTHING, no food, drink or even ice chips.
Family and friends were asking “why they didn’t figure it out in Burlington?” I said, “because God allowed us to get home where I could have my family and church family with us.”
Here is when the “thirst” really began. They gave me a “green lollipop”, (that is what I called it.) A green sponge on a stick that I could dip in a glass of water and then just wet my lips. The doctor wanted to wait a couple of days to see if I could hold anything down. On Monday they started giving me some soft foods, but I was throwing up again. My doctor said I needed to have surgery, so they scheduled it for Tuesday. After surgery I could have some ice chips with my “green lollipop”. By this time the ice chips were GREAT! But still barely quenching my “thirst”
As I laid there thinking how thirsty I was I began thinking about “How much do I thirst after God’s Word?
I remember when I first got saved and how I longed to read my Bible. I was thirsting after His Word. How exciting it was to find help from the scriptures. It was a thirsting that
looked forward to every day. “O God, thou art my God early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is:” Ps. 63:
Do we really thirst after the scriptures? “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” Matt. 5:6 As we read our Bibles our cup gets filled and we can continue on. We empty ourselves, then we go right back to our source
I remember both times before my cancer surgeries, the first thing I did was open my Bible to try to quench the thirsting of my soul. I needed to get my cup full of His Word to get me through my cancer journey. “…I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: …” II Kings 20:5 This was the verse the Lord gave me for my 1st cancer journey. The next verse for my 2nd journey was “…This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.:” John 11:4
Our physical thirst and spiritual thirst are totally different. But as I would take my “green lollipop” dip it in water and rub my lips I would think of how thirsty I was for a drink of cold water. Then to get my mind off my physical thirst, I would open my Bible to fill my cup with His Word. I needed Him more than anything
How thirsty are you? We need to be drinking daily from His word! “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst: but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:14.
https://www.sappsolutely.com/devotions/how-thirsty-are-you-debbie-netterville
Jesus – Bright and Morning Star
Revelation 22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
Jesus sent His angels to testify in the churches so that they could spread the word to the world. Hence, we should be joyfully sharing the Good News to the world around us.
Jesus gave himself the names “the root of David” and “the bright and morning star”. How can these being opposite of each other be compared to Christ?
A root is deep in the ground where it’s not seen while a star shines brightly in the heavens. The root signifies His humanity while the star signifies His deity. The root connects Him to the lineage of David; the star declares that He is the brightest of His Father’s glory and will be the One who puts a final end to the darkened world.
Looking forward to His glorious appearing!
Happy Monday! I can hardly believe it’s Thanksgiving week!!
I apologize for the lateness of this post. I accidentally popped my left arm out of place over the weekend and was in excruciating pain. I got sidetracked trying to get an appointment with my chiropractor.
Thankfully, my chiropractor was willing to fit me in this morning to get this taken care of. I am now ordered to take it easy over the next several days to allow my shoulder time to heal. Then I will start exercises as I am able to strengthen the muscles and ligaments to prevent any more dislocations or subluxations in the future. I am looking forward to spending time with family.
This week’s devo is “How Well Do You Know Ed?” written by Jan Neill!
Please take the time to read as she wants to encourage US today! I hope that you have an absolutely amazing week!!!
How Well Do You Know Ed? – Jan Neill
In Joshua we find that the 2 ½ tribes of Israel had completed the task of fighting with the other tribes to subdue the land- and were returning to ‘their’ side of Jordon. Not the Promised Land God had provided but their choice (whole new discussion on this one- later) but where they asked to stay.
Upon crossing over they stopped to build an alter for reflection, and remembrance. Joshua 22:34 And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar Ed: for it shall be a witness between us that the LORD is God.
I don’t know about you, but I often can be caught in the “God answers prayer for the deserving, staff, preachers, pastors wives, … and on it goes, but He isn’t as interested in my, my life, my needs as those IMPORTANT People, the Bible College crowd,.etc. (insert lie of the Devil that is whispered in your ear.)
We all need more ED… we need to make memorials, alters and remembrances of WHEN GOD did more than meet our needs, wants , and how He made ways we cannot see. In this world we are so bombarded with all the reasons that God, cant- won’t – or could use as reasons to NOT hear and care for His children. Our children, and grandchildren will live in a world that will continue to challenge who God is and that He is sovereign, mighty, holy, loving… all the attributes we KNOW about God, but can easily forget when the blows and challenges of the world constantly beat us up.
Who / what are the Ed’s in your life that when hard times come, and it seems the answers you pray for are delayed, that you can look to and remember .. several years ago after having been diagnosed with stage 2 type 2 melanoma, I can still tell you to this day the spot on the freeway where I surrendered my will to God for my health, and successful treatment and surgery, I can tell of begging God to save my then lost husband and provide me a Godly mate and a Christian home, and on and on the list goes.
We have a new member of the family this year and as I’m thinking of pulling out old pictures to share with her to show her the family, our history, who these people were that are so important to our history and who made a difference, as we move toward Thanksgiving and thinking about being thankful, grateful and blessed…. Perhaps it’s a great time to reflect on Ed, and maybe even share with our families the alters that God has made for and with us… ”That in times to come these shall not be forgotten.”
https://www.sappsolutely.com/devotions/how-well-do-you-know-ed-jan-neill
For My Good
Romans 8:28 – And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
What a glorious assurance that He who was willing to sacrifice His life for mine will have my best interest at heart. Thus, I must learn to trust that whatever He allows to come into my life will purposefully work out for His glory and my good.
Having this knowledge should spur us to be kind, be strong, and stand courageously against the wiles of the evil one. This should also encourage our faith and hope that God’s ways are perfect.
Praying you have a fantastic Friday!🍁🍂
Salt & Light
Matthew 5:16 – Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
As Christians, we are to be salt and light in this world. As salt, we are to seek to influence others with our lives showing Christ’s unconditional love. As light, we are to be witnesses concerning the truth of the Gospel.
Salt works internally while light works externally, affecting everything they reach. Hence, our lives should exemplify Christ both spiritually and physically with all with whom we come into contact.
May our lives influence others in such a way that it draws them to Christ. Praying you have a dynamic day!🍁
