Good morning...
I had six errands to run today. I haven't been out a lot because we were away, which was not being in the house but it was different. My husband and I have been sharing a car, and I had a lot to do today. Then there is a need to put the groceries away and make supper. Poor me. You might be tempted to ask me if I would like a little cheese with this wine...LOL
The devotional for Tuesday was written by Kathy Bireley and is called "Door of Hope." It says, "There are times God leads us into the wilderness to speak tenderly to us, and then after we have heard His voice in this place, He restores and redeems our lives, and then we will sing and have joy."
I had six errands to run today. I haven't been out a lot because we were away, which was not being in the house but it was different. My husband and I have been sharing a car, and I had a lot to do today. Then there is a need to put the groceries away and make supper. Poor me. You might be tempted to ask me if I would like a little cheese with this wine...LOL
The devotional for Tuesday was written by Kathy Bireley and is called "Door of Hope." It says, "There are times God leads us into the wilderness to speak tenderly to us, and then after we have heard His voice in this place, He restores and redeems our lives, and then we will sing and have joy."
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BACK OFF!!!
Today's Devotional
"Door of Hope"
written by
Kathy Bireley
Therefore, I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert (the wilderness is not a place of punishment but a place of privacy) and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor (means trouble) A DOOR OF HOPE (God redeems situations). There she will sing (respond) as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. In that day, declares the Lord, you will call me ‘my husband’; you will no longer call me ‘my master’.
What does this say? God is leading me into the desert, a solitary place, a place I don’t understand and in this strange place he is going to speak to me. In this hard place I will hear him; he will be near to me and provide for me, this will be a place of privacy for him and me.
He says this place of trouble will be redeemed and become a place where I begin to have new hope. It is in this desert wilderness I WILL GAIN HOPE, this does not compute! I should have blessings in easy situations, where the goodness and honey flows, but not here in the desert. There are times God leads us into the wilderness to speak tenderly to us, and then after we have heard His voice in this place, He restores and redeems our lives, and then we will sing and have joy.
He begins to and responds to the Lords voice, as when we first knew Him. Have you ever experienced this first love’s joy after coming though to the other side of something hard and what do we take out of it?
The Lord says it is here that you begin to call me my husband and no longer call me my master. He is our husbandman, our covering, our provider, our healer, our protector, lover of our souls.
Ah, my friends be blessed today for the one who understands all things is walking with you…Weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning...Psalm 30
You Have Ravished My Heart"
Brian Johnson
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BACK OFF!!!
This precious baby already know what is up,
and she is not going to put up with any of satan's evil prowl.
She already knows that he is a liar and a thief.
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An Inspiring Prayer
Heavenly Father, help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.
Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who can't make change correctly is a worried 19-year-old college student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester.
Remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot every day (who really ought to get a job!) is a slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.
Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress are savoring this moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will be the last year that they go shopping together.
Heavenly Father, remind us each day that, of all the gifts you give us, the greatest gift is love. It is not enough to share that love with those we hold dear. Open our hearts not to just those who are close to us, but to all humanity. Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive, show patience, empathy and love.
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Promise Scriptures That Give Encouragement
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Encouragement
You likely have your own favorite Bible verses and these may naturally differ from mine and for different reasons. We all need the encouragement of our family, our friends, or our co-workers but encouragement from God is always sincere, without hypocrisy, and always genuine. Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
In a world where family betrays family member, spouses cheat on one another and people it is encouraging to know that God never leaves us or forsakes us. We sometimes forsake God but He never every does us and His love never fails and He never gives up on us. We do…He doesn’t. That’s strong encouragement.
John 6:37 “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.”
This promise sounds very reassuring to me because Jesus will never, ever cast or turn anyone away that comes to Him. This “whoever” means that anyone can come to Him and also tells us that God is no respecter of persons. When people come to Jesus for eternal life, He turns no one away…regardless of social status.
Romans 8: 38-39 “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
I need to be persuaded at times by the Holy Spirit and by Scripture that we cannot be separated from God by any created thing and that includes my own doubt. When a person is saved and even for a longtime Christian, doubt can creep in and make them and me have doubts about my salvation. This is the work of the enemy for God gives us peace through Jesus’ death (Rom.5:1) and I need to trust God for what He has said.
First John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
God is always faithful and I am not but when I sin, and it’s only a matter of time when I do, I must claim the promise that God forgives us when we confess our sins. He not only forgives us but also purifies “us from all unrighteousness.” Then I must learn to forgive myself and sometimes my standard of forgiving myself is higher than God’s is. If my children ask me to forgiven them, why wouldn’t I? I know God is even more forgiving than I am since He is faithful. That is so encouraging to know that no matter how many times I sin, He will always forgive me if I confess it to Him. To sin is to literally “miss the mark” but Jesus’ own death enables us to hit the bulls eye for absolution (2 Cor 5:21).
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Prayers are lifted up daily for
you by the Devotional Writers
and the Monthly Writing Staff
of Women's Focus Ministries.
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