TTC Tuesday

Our Limitless Savior

Tuesday

Early this morning, on the way in to work, I wasn’t sure what exactly today’s post would be about. Sometimes, though, the answer is all in my morning devotion – and this morning was no exception. ‘Jesus Today’ by Sarah Young (a ‘sequel’ to Jesus Calling) is one of the devotionals I’m currently reading and when I read this entry for January 12th…I could feel the Holy Spirit upon my heart.

What a beautiful feeling. There is absolutely nothing like it! And when it’s truly the Lord pressing on your heart, you cannot help but want to share His message! And so I knew that what impacted me this morning would be my gift to y’all today:

Jesus Today January 12

 

And before you argue that this is ‘just’ a devotional reading…all of these promises are backed up by the Word of God:

Verses.January1216

Faith in Christ is truly the answer. It leads to prayer, persistence…hope…joy. If you are merely living your life…going to church now and then – or even every week! – but don’t have a true living relationship with the Lord, you just cannot even fathom what the life God has in store for you really consists of!!

When you’re in a seemingly discouraging situation, life can look bleak and hopeless. But Christ tells us to write His Word on our hearts (Deuteronomy 11:18), and that isn’t so we can look impressive with the amount of scripture we have memorized, but so that, as believers, we have the comfort of His promises in our souls whenever any situation arises.

The Lord keeps all of His promises (Proverbs 30:5), so we can rest knowing that He hears His children. Although it isn’t easy, there is never a need to ‘help’ God along and trying to do so shows a lack of faith…In true worship of Our Savior, we must acknowledge that He alone is limitless in His ability and able to do anything – creating life out of barrenness, healing the incurable, saving the unsaveable, providing the impossible.

In this day and age, it seems as if nothing shocks or amazes us anymore. But GOD is above and beyond any place your imagination could take you, and His Love is infinitely beyond our comprehension. While we remain on our knees in faith, He has already answered our cries in the best way. Just as you would never give your child a gift that might cause him harm, He gives His children the very best.

In His Word and in the devotion for today, Jesus is assuring us of His love for us…As a Father to His Children, the Lord wants the very best for us. All we must do as Christ Followers is to pray faithfully, and live our lives in relationship with Him. It is surely not a simple undertaking, but it is a beautiful and rewarding life to live unhindered in His Promise.

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Thirsty For Christ Thursday

A Spirit-Filled Atmosphere

Thursday

Good Morning Friends & Welcome to Thirsty For Christ Thursday!

If you have been reading our blog for long, you know we love the devotionals written by Sarah Young – most especially “Jesus Calling” and “Jesus Today”. So this morning we want to bless you with a recent devotion from “Jesus Today”, in a format you can even print and hang by your desk as a reminder:

thirstythursday81815I just love the imagery that is derived from those last few sentences: ‘When Christlike goodness collides with worldly vileness, be on the lookout for miracles! The collision of spiritual opposites creates atmospheric conditions that are conducive to My powerful interventions.

Those words give me a visual of storm clouds erupting into miraculous lightening strikes.

 

You are the God of great wonders! You demonstrate your awesome power among the nations. Psalm 77:14 NLT

One thing to take from Ms. Young’s devotion is this: “Be on the lookout for miracles.” If you are told to be ‘on the lookout’ for an approaching train, you would be expecting that train to come around the corner at any moment! So the same we should be in being on the ‘lookout’ for God’s Mighty Hand at work!

As the psalm above says, He is the God of great wonders, and our faith in Him should reflect our belief that nothing is impossible with Him.

Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” Matthew 19:26 NLT

Be expectant of the miraculous in your circumstances!

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My Choice Monday

Turning Traffic Into Tranquility

Monday

Happy Monday Y’all!

I don’t know where all of you live, but here in the Atlanta area, it is BACK TO SCHOOL MONDAY!! Traffic was just dandy and my fellow drivers seemed to be in such relaxed moods!!! 🙂

Obviously, I speak sarcastically, but it brings me to the My Choice Monday topic of the day:

Turning Traffic Into Tranquility

5 Tips For Making Your Drive To Work A Blessing

  • Audible: Download the app on your phone and discover the joy of listening to great books on the way to work. It’s inexpensive and if you’re busy like the rest of the world, it can make reading that book you’ve been meaning to read a possibility!
  • Podcasts: Learn about subjects and topics that interest you or delve further into the subject your pastor spoke about on Sunday!
  • The Bible From 30,000 Feet: Skip Heitzig, pastor of Calvary Chapel Albequerque in New Mexico, did a series several years ago that is available on both Audible & as a podcast. It goes over every single book of the Bible, not verse by verse, but in detail with attention to historical background and Jewish custom. Craig and I typically read a book of the Bible and then follow-up by listening to Skip’s podcast/chapter on that book.
  • Prayer: Make your travel time your prayer time. I find some of my best conversations with God happen in the car. I can worship and belt out some of my favorite songs to Him. I can pray, cry, scream out loud to Him with abandon. Consider this your first meeting of the morning. You won’t have to worry about dialing-in or being late, because He is always right there. Waiting.
  • Two of my favorite devotional books are by the same author, Sarah Young, who wrote both “Jesus Calling” and it’s ‘sequel’ – “Jesus Today”. This past Friday’s “Jesus Today” reading had this to say:

“When world events are swirling around you and your personal world feels unsteady, don’t let your mind linger on those stressors. Tell yourself the truth: ‘Yes, this world is full of trouble, but Jesus is with me and He is in control.’ 

I don’t know about you, but I need to write that on my hand with a Sharpie and make a sticky note to put in my car too:

“…but Jesus is with me, and He is in control!”

That should be our mantra for traffic, stressful work situations, family squabbles, disagreements, political issues, the disturbing news of the world. Let us be reminded that no matter what, He’s got the whole world in His hands. We are His children and as long as we follow Him closely, we will be just fine.

When the horns honk and my blood pressure begins to rise as a car cuts me off, I will take a deep breath and, instead of yelling, remind myself:

“…but Jesus is with me, and He is in control!”

Isaiah43.1.FreePrintableNewlywedlefebvresIf you didn’t grab our free printable on Friday, here’s another chance, because this also fits well into the theme of tranquility in the midst of stress. Isaiah 43 is one of many places in the Bible to be reminded of His great and wondrous, overwhelming love for us:

But now, O Jacob, listen to the lord who created you.
O Israel, the one who formed you says,
“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
When you go through deep waters,
I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.
For I am the lord, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I gave Egypt as a ransom for your freedom;
I gave Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
Others were given in exchange for you.
I traded their lives for yours
because you are precious to me.
You are honored, and I love you.
“Do not be afraid, for I am with you.
I will gather you and your children from east and west.
I will say to the north and south,
‘Bring my sons and daughters back to Israel
from the distant corners of the earth.
Bring all who claim me as their God,
for I have made them for my glory.
It was I who created them.’”
Bring out the people who have eyes but are blind,
who have ears but are deaf.
Gather the nations together!
Assemble the peoples of the world!
Which of their idols has ever foretold such things?
Which can predict what will happen tomorrow?
Where are the witnesses of such predictions?
Who can verify that they spoke the truth?
“But you are my witnesses, O Israel!” says thelord.
“You are my servant.
You have been chosen to know me, believe in me,
and understand that I alone am God.
There is no other God—
there never has been, and there never will be.
I, yes I, am the lord,
and there is no other Savior.
First I predicted your rescue,
then I saved you and proclaimed it to the world.
No foreign god has ever done this.
You are witnesses that I am the only God,”
says the lord.
“From eternity to eternity I am God.
No one can snatch anyone out of my hand.
No one can undo what I have done.”
The lord’s Promise of Victory
This is what the lord says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“For your sakes I will send an army against Babylon,
forcing the Babylonians to flee in those ships they are so proud of.
I am the lord, your Holy One,
Israel’s Creator and King.
I am the lord, who opened a way through the waters,
making a dry path through the sea.
I called forth the mighty army of Egypt
with all its chariots and horses.
I drew them beneath the waves, and they drowned,
their lives snuffed out like a smoldering candlewick.
“But forget all that—
it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.
For I am about to do something new.
See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
The wild animals in the fields will thank me,
the jackals and owls, too,
for giving them water in the desert.
Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland
so my chosen people can be refreshed.
I have made Israel for myself,
and they will someday honor me before the whole world.
“But, dear family of Jacob, you refuse to ask for my help.
You have grown tired of me, O Israel!
You have not brought me sheep or goats for burnt offerings.
You have not honored me with sacrifices,
though I have not burdened and wearied you
with requests for grain offerings and frankincense.
You have not brought me fragrant calamus
or pleased me with the fat from sacrifices.
Instead, you have burdened me with your sins
and wearied me with your faults.
“I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake
and will never think of them again.
Let us review the situation together,
and you can present your case to prove your innocence.
From the very beginning, your first ancestor sinned against me;
all your leaders broke my laws.
That is why I have disgraced your priests;
I have decreed complete destruction for Jacob
and shame for Israel.

Have a blessed Monday, friends!

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