Posted in Advent, Advent, Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Quiet Time, Rejoice

Light from Heaven

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based on the LGG’s Advent Study, Rejoice/ w1d5

Scripture: Luke 1:76-79(78-79); Hebrews 4:14-16; Mark 1:40-45

Because of God’s tender mercy,
    the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us,
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    and to guide us to the path of peace.”

Luke 1:78-79
Observation and Application from the Journey

Today’s journey takes us through three short and beautiful passages that reveal the message and essence of God’s love and beauty. Take a minute and check them out – you will see just how tenderhearted and full of mercy God is. You will see the power and love and light of our Savior, and if you look closely at the last two passages, you will see the depth of what He endured on our behalf. Look even closer at the last passage, and you will see the importance of our obedience and the impact our disobedience can have on the gospel message.

Luke reveals more of Zechariah’s song of praise, where he describes God as tenderhearted and merciful, and because of this, He sent Jesus, who lit up the dark world and gave all who would believe in Him a way to be set free from the penalty our sins deserve and instead receive eternal life.

The author of Hebrew reveals Jesus as our Great High Priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses because “He, Himself, has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sinning.” Because of this, we are able to “confidently approach His throne of grace and receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help.”

Finally, and perhaps my favorite portion of today’s journey, are the words Mark writes about Jesus healing the leper. I love knowing that while Jesus could have simply spoken, and the man would have been healed, He first reached out and touched the leper. However, there was one other thing that really jumped out to me from the story; – Jesus gave instructions to the healed man, actually Mark writes that after the man was made clean, “Immediately Jesus sent the man away with a very strong warning – not to tell anyone, but to go, show himself to a priest, and bring the offering that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” But the man did not obey, not only did he not go to the priest but he began to tell everyone what Jesus had done. This may easily be seen as unimportant to the story or to us, but don’t miss this important truth: Because the man did not obey the warning Jesus gave him, Jesus’ ministry was adversely affected. – As best described by the bibleref.com commentary:

The man healed of leprosy doesn’t understand the significance of Jesus’ command, so he doesn’t follow it. There’s no way to know what spiritual damage he caused, but it had a direct influence on Jesus’ ministry. For the time being, Jesus can’t enter a town, stay at a friend’s house, or go to the synagogue. He has no problem going to lonely, desolate places to pray and spend time with God the Father, but now He lives in the wilderness, with His growing crowd. Instead of defining the context of His ministry, He’s forced to work with what He has. As a result, He accumulates crowds that can only be fed by miracle (Matthew 14:15; 15:33) and has no place to lay His head (Matthew 8:20). …Even though Jesus heals the man and makes him ceremonially clean, the man still has free will, and he uses it. We do the same thing when we think we know best and ignore God’s commands. God can redeem any situation that comes about because of our disobedience. And yet, that doesn’t mean the outcome will be as good as it could have been. The initial failure of Israel to enter the Promised Land is a classic example: God redeemed the situation, but the nation suffered forty years of loss and wandering before finally achieving their goal. Very often, we don’t know the reasons for the rules given in the Bible. But we should trust the One who gave them enough to follow anyway.

Read the full commentary @ Bibleref.com

The way we live can have a positive or negative impact on the Gospel. 🦋

Posted in Advent, Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Quiet Time, Rejoice

Messenger of the Gospel

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based on the LGG Advent Study, Rejoice / w1d4

Scripture: Luke 1:76-77 / John 3:22-30 (27) / John 1:19-37

 John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven.

John 3:27
Observation and Application from the Journey

John the Baptist played a large part in the Advent of Christ. We read of him when he was still in the womb, how he leaped in Elizabeth when Mary, pregnant with Jesus, entered the room.1 Today, we are reminded again of Zechariah’s song of praise and prophesy concerning John, “who would be called the prophet of the Most High. For you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins.” I can picture the tender but excited moment when Zechariah spoke these words over his infant son. Excitement and hope surely stemmed from knowing the calling of this child, but perhaps even more so at the reality of the One who would come behind him. For John was preparing the way for the Most High, the Lord, the Messiah, who would bring salvation to a lost and dying world.

“And you, my little son,
    will be called the prophet of the Most High,
    because you will prepare the way for the Lord.
77 You will tell his people how to find salvation
    through forgiveness of their sins.

John 1:76-77

Fast forward to John as a man, a “Rabbi,” teaching the people about the coming Messiah. He had gained an audience, a following of those who believed the gospel message and were coming to John to be baptized. That is until Christ appeared on the scene with His disciples in the same vicinity as John and his followers, and jealousy provoked concern. Whether Jesus was gaining more followers than John or John’s disciples were leaving him to follow Christ isn’t clear, but when John’s disciples came to him with the news that “everyone was flocking to Jesus,” he wasn’t concerned.

While John’s response wasn’t what the people expected it was what they needed to hear. John wasn’t alarmed or rushing to reclaim his followers. Instead, he basically reminds those who were concerned about the shift in allegiance that this was the way it was meant to be. He credited God with the shift and reminded them that he was not the Christ but the one sent to proclaim Him and prepare the way. He was sent so that people would flock to Jesus and be saved. Thus, John isn’t worried but claims that his joy has been made complete by the shift in followers, saying: “The Christ must become more important while I become less important.”

What a beautiful and convicting statement and vital for all teachers of the Word to remember. “Christ must become more important while I become less important.” My story pales in comparison to John’s, but I have encountered a similar scenario over the course of my years of leading small groups, and it was a challenge for me in the beginning. Yet, God was gracious to remind me that He had called me to equip, encourage, and empower women with His Word, not to elevate myself but to promote Him and help others grow in their relationships with Him.

So, while I struggled to watch members switch to some of the newer groups, God helped me to see that whether the group was forty-plus women or only a handful, it was about Him, not me. Whether they were in my group or another, they were still being equipped, encouraged, and empowered by God’s Word. Actually, in time, I was able to see God’s fingerprints in the shift of the group’s size, and I watched with awe and joy how He worked to gather just the right group of women in that room on Wednesdays and Sundays. When COVID hit, things changed again, and as illnesses and deaths seemed to plague my family for the next five years (and counting), it gradually became clear that God was leading me to step away from in-person groups to minister to my family. At the same time, He showed me the need for and benefit of a Bible-study Facebook group. While I miss the in-person interaction, my family needed me, and God showed me that there were also others who were struggling to get to an in-person group or just wanted something extra, and He allowed me to meet that need.

Admittedly, there are drawbacks to the online format, and there are times when I have felt alone in it and wondered if it is worth it – but God always reminds me -to press on in what He’s called and equipped me to do and leave the outcome to Him. There are women in my group that I talk to or see regularly, and there are also those that I may never meet in person, but how blessed I am to Journey through God’s Word with them all. I have learned much from them, and I have been blessed by their love for the Scriptures. I have been blessed to pray with/for them over hurts, fears, and/or physical needs and to have them pray for me. Together, we have celebrated God’s answers and rejoiced in His fingerprints. God has used them to encourage me greatly, and every time something happens to make me wonder if what I’m doing really matters – I am once again reminded that while I am blessed by what I do, I do it not for me but that Christ might increase.

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 28:19

The bottom line from John’s story and from mine is this – as believers, we have all been called to tell others about Jesus.2 We are to lift Jesus up for His glory and the salvation of others. As John said, “Christ must become more important while I become less important.” We have been sent as messengers of the Gospel to share Jesus with the world around us so that they might believe and be saved. – Because this is so important, I leave you with this statement by Bibleref.com:

“This is an important guideline for Christians in general. As John the Baptist says, all that we have is given by the providence of God. No matter what success we have, we owe it to our Creator. We shouldn’t be angry or frustrated when others seem more successful. (Genesis 4:4-7): God is ultimately he one in control,
(1 Corinthians 3:1-9).”

bibleref.com

Posted in Advent, Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Quiet Time, Rejoice

OUR RESCUER

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based on the LGG Advent Study, Rejoice / w1d3

Today’s Scripture: Luke 1: 68-75 (74); Zechariah 3:1-4; Hebrews 2:14-18

We have been rescued from our enemies
    so we can serve God without fear,

Luke 1:74

This is the third day of our study and the second day of reading Zachariah’s song of praise in Luke 1:68-75. Today’s focus is on verse seventy-four, but I was drawn once again to verses sixty-eight and sixty-nine, where we read the prophecy of Zechariah that God had come to help and redeem His people. As bibleref.com writes: “His song of praise emphasizes how God’s promises, as given through His prophets, have always come true. That the world has seen the fulfillment of prophecy and will soon see more is reason to worship. That also comes with joy, as the role of this Messiah will be that of Savior.”

Helped…Redeemed…Saved…Rescued

We needed God’s help, we needed someone to redeem us, someone who could save us from our sins – so in love, God sent His Son Jesus to rescue us from sin and death. We were once covered with filthy rags but now we have been freely forgiven, cleansed of our sins and clothed in the righteousness of Christ. As the writer of Hebrews points out, only Jesus could destroy the devil, and set free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death. Only He could serve as our great high priest and make the proper and lasting atonement for our sins.

God’s people needed to be rescued, so He sent them a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Through God’s tender mercies, He opened the doorway for the adoption of many sons and daughters who were not born of the seed of Abraham to be called His own. In love, God positions them as joint heirs with His only begotten Son, Jesus. – I love the closing paragraph of today’s journal entry in the LGG Rejoice Journal – may it be an encouragement for us – as children of God to walk in the freedom Christ died to give us – and live the righteous lives God has called us to.

“As Zechariah sings, Jesus has come to redeem us so that we can serve God in holiness.”

Rejoice Journal/p51

“Jesus not only forgives those who trust in Him, but changes us, giving us the power to live righteous lives. We ourselves can’t break the chains of our selfishness, bad attitudes, or destructive behavior, but Jesus can. He is strong enough to free us from anything that still holds us in bondage. When we go to Him in faith and ask Him for forgiveness and deliverance from sin, He will answer. He wants to fill us with His love so that we can live fully surrendered to His will and way as well as live selflessly for other people. Our enemy trembles when we pray like this ” Rejoice Journal/p51

Rejoice in this song about our Rescuer – who has set us free from sin forevermore.

Posted in Advent, Bible study, Christmas, Devotion, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Rejoice

The Power of Christ

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For he has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David.

Luke 1:69

In my late twenties, not too long after my salvation moved from a religion to a relationship, I began really studying the Scriptures and quickly learned that the meaning of God’s Word can be found within His Word. Today’s passages are prime examples1. For instance, Bibleref.com shares many references that explain the horn of salvation and connect the dots to David. The commentary explains that “In biblical texts, “horns” are symbolic of power (Psalm 75:10; 89:24; Numbers 23:22; Daniel 7:7; Revelation 17:12). Referring to Jesus (Luke 1:31–33) as a “horn of salvation” (Psalm 18:2) echoes the idea that Messiah will be from the lineage of David (Psalm 132:17; Jeremiah 23:5). When Hannah, mother of the prophet Samuel, praised God for her son’s birth, she used similar phrases (1 Samuel 2:10).” – That’s what I call Scripture squirrels, and while they can take up a lot more time, I’ve realized through the years that they add so much to my time in the Word by helping me to understand what I read.

As we read Zechariah’s declaration of “the horn of salvation” in Luke 1:69, we come to understand, by his reference to “the house of God’s servant, David,” that the “horn of salvation” refers to the Messiah who would redeem His people from their sins. This Messiah is the same baby Jesus born in a manager, fully man but fully God, The God of power and of might, who conquered the grave and crushed the enemy – and continues to give us power over the enemy today! Paul’s prayer for the Colossians was that they would be strengthened with all might according to the glorious power of Christ. This is the same power that Peter writes about when he wrote about the divine power given to believers that would enable them to live a godly life and escape the corruption of this world. Just as John was born to Zechariah and Elizabeth as the angel promised, the promise of the Messiah was realized when Christ was born in Bethlehem, and with that birth came all the power and love of God.

“With the arrival of Jesus, God’s power has broken into our world. He is the risen Lord. He lives. He is here. He is with us, and He is our strength. In faith, we can connect our weak lives to His mighty power, counting on His help and experiencing Jesus as the Horn or our Salvation.”

Rejoice Study Journal/p47

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

2 Peter 1:3-4
A Prayer of Response

Jesus, as I am reminded daily – You are my strength when I am weak. Your Spirit empowers me to overcome the enemy, to stand firm in temptations, and to endure the troubles of this world. As Paul prayed for the Colossians, I pray for this group and all Your people throughout the world that -in these troublesome times, as we wait for the return of the Messiah, the Hope of Heaven – we will be strengthened with all His glorious power so we will have all the endurance and patience we need – and be filled with joy, to Your glory and honor – Amen!

Read More verses on the power of Christ, available to all who belong to Him
A Beautiful Song to Celebrate Jesus, our Messiah, strong and kind.

Posted in Advent, Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Quiet Time, Rejoice

Blessed be the Lord

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Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,

Luke 1:68

How we spend our time has a direct impact on our relationship with God. Today, as we begin our focus on the advent of Christ, let’s pause and consider how we spend our time. Specifically, how much time does God factor into our day? Does He encompass all areas of our lives or only those times set apart for reading His Word or praying? Or, perhaps He’s relegated to Sunday mornings only?

Check out this suggestion from today’s LGG Journal entry on the how and why of alone time with God: “If we want to meet with God and be filled with the Holy Spirit, it is vital that we spend time in prayer and meditate on God’s Words. We are surrounded by so much noise that it often takes great discipline and a firm resolve to switch off the TV, put away our phones, go into our room, close the door and – in the stillness – spend time alone with God.”

When Zechariah learned that Elizabeth was pregnant, the reality of Gabriel’s words would have erased even a smidgen of doubt that may have remained in Zechariah’s mind. From his response of obedience and rejoicing following the birth, it seems evident that he had not turned away from God but had drawn all the closer to Him. Zechariah clearly believed all that the angel had said, and he set an example of a life that includes God in all areas. We see this when the baby was born; Zechariah not only celebrated the birth of his son but also, after nine months of silence, his first words were used to bless God and then to speak of the evidence of the coming of the long-awaited Messiah.

Friends, may we practice factoring the Messiah into the whole of our lives. Whether we are on the mountaintop or in the valleys of suffering or troubles, in our times of silence, concerns, or doubts, may we not turn away from Him but draw all the closer to Him – so that at the end of every day, whether we find ourselves celebrating or lamenting, we are found praising God and looking forward with hope.

Posted in Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, God is good, Journey Through The Word, Prayer Starters, Quiet Time, Thanksgiving

Our Eyes Are On You

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“Doxology is always the first line of defense against the dark.”

Ann Voskamp

Over the past decade, Ann Voskamp has been a tool in God’s hands, by which He has reshaped my life, so it should come as no surprise that I am sharing one of her blogs with you while we traipse through some side trails as we await our next journey. The timing is perfect because it focuses on gratitude. However, the content is helpful to our walk of faith and, therefore, perfect for any time of the year. I pray it is a blessing.

Ann writes:

“Watching your little sister get crushed and killed under a wheel when you’re only only four-years-old? That’s a moment that’s going to take decades to process.”

My therapist says it steady, his eyes searching mine, reading my face.

And I turn away, as if not looking into his eyes but out the window, I can turn back all this startling wave of drowning ache.

“I’m kinda worried about you, Annie,” a friend comes looking for me after that therapy session. “You… okay?”

“Yes, of course, I am… and no, I’m not… and yes, I am. You know… ” I smile weakly, bravely, through everything brimming.

Every single one of us is walking through some kind of deep heartbreak, and real life strain, and if you look into people’s eyes, and ask the right tender question, there it is: a fracture of pain right up the side of their one life. Bruised relationships, and draining bank accounts, and weary dreams, and sheer mountains ahead of us, and who isn’t a bit tired of the fight called life?

This world is a broken-heart factory, and it’s full of His glory, and it’s only holding both of those, that you let go and find joy.

Ann Voskamp/Blog/When It’s Kinda Hard to Give Thanks
Read the rest of the story here: When It’s Kinda Hard to Give Thanks
The More We Know

*Note: This is a bittersweet glimpse into her life and a glimpse of just some of the trauma and heartache she has known. If you’re not familiar with Ann and her writings, I encourage you to check out some of her blogs or pick up a copy of her book, One Thousand Gifts.

Posted in Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, Quiet Time

With You in the Storm

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I’m sharing this verse of the day commentary borrowed from YouVersion, one of my favorite Bible apps. The app has Bible reading plans, easy to use verse look-up, and even images you can add verses to and then share with others. There’s so much more like prayer options and videos. If you don’t have the app yet be sure to give it a try. It’s also a great way to keep the Bible with you everywhere you go. Oh, and if you do check it out – or if you already have it, be sure and find the friend tab and add me. 💕

Youversion for the computer
Youversion for your phone

 When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.

Mark 4:39
watch the short video clip here

The Sea of Galilee in Israel is known for violent, sudden storms. Strong winds can create huge waves that threaten seafarers, like we see in the book of Mark.

The night the disciples and Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee, a storm set in. Violent. Sudden. Terrifying. And while the disciples frantically worked to keep the vessel afloat, there was Jesus, asleep in the boat. The disciples woke him and asked: “Teacher, do you not care if we drown?” (Mark 4:38 NIV)

That question might read a little differently for you today:

“Jesus, do you not care that my health is falling apart?”

“Jesus, do you not care that my finances are draining out?”

“Jesus, do you not care that my relationship is in tatters?”

But there is more to the story.

“Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” Mark 4:39 NIV

Jesus didn’t join them in their fear. Instead, He looked right at the storm and brought calm. Then, He asked His disciples why they were so afraid: “Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40).

Have you ever faced a challenge so massive, it threatened to overwhelm you? It can be disorienting, terrifying, heartbreaking, even, when the storm sets in and everything suddenly feels bleak in the face of such a strong force against us.

But God went with the disciples because He cared about them. He goes with you because He cares about you.

What storm are you facing today? Take a moment to close your eyes and imagine Jesus, unafraid of the storm, bringing everything to a calm. He is with you. You are not alone in this storm.

Posted in Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, God is good, Journey Through The Word, Quiet Time

Safe In God’s Hands

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Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

1 Peter 5:7

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

1 Peter 5:7

For further reading: Read 1 Peter Chapter 5

Sometimes, I hesitate to use or write about this verse, which has been a crutch and saving grace for almost fifty years of my life. I’ve shared it often as a testimony of how I came to know it when I was in my teens and the many ways He has used it in my life since that day in the little farmhouse in Texas. Yet, really, can God’s Word ever be shared too much? I don’t think so … plus it is the verse that came to mind when I watched the video that I am sharing with you today.

The video is a beautiful reminder of what a difference it makes to give all of our worries and cares to God. I have seen it time and time again in my own life. I’ve seen what happens when I try to handle the worries and cares on my own and what happens when I lay them at His feet or raise my hands in urgency and sometimes tears – saying, “Here, God – please take ‘this’ I can’t carry ‘it’ alone.” I’ve given Him everything from a daughter’s cancer to my sore knees. Yep, He even cares about sore knees and parking places – well, the truth of the matter is He cares for us, so if our concern is a parking place, then He has invited us to give that concern to Him. Before you laugh too hard or perhaps scoff at giving such a seemingly trivial concern to such a great and mighty God – let me share this brief story/example.

I have bad knees, and for the past year, I have been getting injections to help manage the pain. The doctor I see is in a building with limited “close” parking. There is plenty of parking, but you may have to walk a city block or two—or more, depending on the day and time. I learned very quickly to make it my mission to give God the concern – both for a parking place and/or strength to walk as far as I had to. Time after time, I saw a place open right as I pulled in or when I circled for the third time. There have also been days when I found nothing close and ended up in the three-story garage. Disappointed, yes? But not for long, because in spite of the pain, every time I had to walk further than was comfortable, I knew His strength or saw the greater need for another, whom He allowed me to encourage or the one I was able to share Him with along the pain-filled walk.

You see, it wasn’t that I prayed for a parking place; it was that I prayed. I talked to the One who cares for me and placed my care/needs in His hands and then watched to see what He was going to do.

It Depends On Whose Hands It is In! Watch the short Video here

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Posted in Devotion, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, Prayer Starters, Quiet Time

Thanksgiving Worship

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Today’s pathway takes us to Psalm 100 and comes through a sermon my Pastor preached this past Sunday. The sermon features teaching on “how to give thanks” and how thanksgiving can turn into worship. May our hearts be moved to give thanks to the Lord daily and to take up the challenge Pastor Lemming shares at the end of the sermon to read Psalm 100 every day through Thanksgiving Day.

Shout out praises to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Worship the Lord with joy.
Enter his presence with joyful singing.
3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God.
He made us and we belong to him,
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise.
Give him thanks.
Praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good.
His loyal love endures,
and he is faithful through all generations.

Psalm 100
Listen to the Sermon here

Pastor Lemming shares the following points on Thanksgiving worship. He outlines the words of the Psalmist to teach us that worship is …

  1. Imperative
  2. Comprehensive
  3. Active
  4. Responsive
    • Because of Who He is
    • Because of What He has done
  5. Expressive
    • There is shouting
    • There is singing
    • There is clapping
    • There is praising
    • There is bowing
  6. Contemplative
  7. Transformative
  8. Persuasive

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Posted in From the Insideout, God is good, Journey Through The Word, Prayer Starters, Quiet Time, Some of My Favorite Things

Philippians 4:4

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Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 

Philippians 4:4

After reading my morning verse recently, I found myself journaling these words: “Father, You are good. How long ago did You show me this verse? How many years since I sat at my kitchen table reading and rereading it and the verses that followed? How many times and ways since then have you shown me the truth of those verses?”

Sometime in the early nineties, I sat at the table of our newly built home, enjoying the quiet moments of my baby’s nap time. Sometimes, when she slept, I would rest or clean, but most often, I would spend some alone time with God in His Word. As a newly “revived” believer, I was hungry for the Word and eager to build/rebuild a relationship with God.

Today’s verse brought that table and time to mind, as it was there that I first remember beginning to study Philippians 4:4-7, specifically – Paul’s words, “Rejoice in the Lord always. (I will say it again: Rejoice!) 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” – note: while verse eight wasn’t included in my early study, it soon followed and has rescued me from more than one battle.

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Philippians 4:8

God seemed to embed those words in my mind that day. Through the three decades that have followed, He has continued to faithfully ingrain them and use the words to help me through many turbulent days/years of this life/world. These words … have taught me to fix my eyes on God and His will … to ‘rejoice’ even when the days are hard, sad, or downright scary. The words helped me develop a relationship with God, teaching me to spend time in prayer, talking to God, not just at Him. From there, I began learning to trust Him, to fix my thoughts on Him, and to experience the promised peace.

To this day, these words of Paul remind me that God is near, that His return is imminent, and that in and with God, I can have, know, and be filled with peace even in the tumultuous storms of this life! God’s peace is truly a peace that surpasses all understanding. It is a peace that gives strength and hope in both the good and challenging seasons; this strength and hope have led me to “re-joy-cing” in God for more than thirty years of my life.

As I read the words again this morning, they were not new to me but they caused my mind to stop and remember God’s goodness so many years ago and every day since to change my life from the inside-out!

“Joy is the flag flying high above the castle of the hear, announcing that the King is in residence there.”

~Unknown

Loving Heavenly Father, my strength and hope are from You and through Christ in me. Your grace and power fill me with the confident JOY to keep going when hope seems far away and sorrows weigh me down. When I am weak, You are strong! So in my sorrow for this world and despite my concerns – please continue to help me KEEP my eyes and thoughts fixed on You – and let the flag of JOY fly high above the castle of my heart – where You rule and reign – announcing to all that You – my God and King – are in residence here!💜 – And to borrow from today’s devotion from “Our Daily Verse,” “May my life be a testament to the unshakable joy found in a relationship with You. Let this joy be my strength, a light to others, and a reflection of Your constant grace in Jesus’ name, Amen.”