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

Everything You Say

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Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

Ephesians 4:29

I didn’t grow up in a home where foul or abusive language (or corrupt, as some translations say) was used. However, the second part of this verse is ingrained in my mind, as God has used it frequently through the years, sometimes daily, to correct how I use my words. God has been very patient with me, but even in the hard lessons, He has faithfully forgiven me, stuck by me, and trained me for righteousness. You see, it’s always been easy for me to get caught up in conversations without considering whether my words are “good and helpful.” So, Paul’s lesson to the believers of Ephesus has been God’s lesson to me more times than I can count – and I encourage you with the same: Be purposeful when you speak so that your words are an encouragement to those who are listening – not just to the person you are speaking to but to “all who might hear them.”

Let everything you say [be good and helpful], (so that) your words will be an encouragement (to those who hear them.)

Ephesians 4:29b
The Importance of Encouragement in the Believer’s Life

Encouragement makes it easier to live in a fallen world in a holy way. Encouragement makes it easier to love as Jesus loved (see John 13:34-35). Encouragement gives hope (Romans 15:4). Encouragement helps us through times of discipline and testing (Hebrews 12:5). Encouragement nurtures patience and kindness (see 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and Galatians 5:22-26). Encouragement makes it easier to sacrifice our own desires for the advancement of God’s kingdom. In short, encouragement makes it easier to live the Christian life.

Without encouragement, life would soon feel pointless and burdensome. Without encouragement, we can be overwhelmed by the very real pains of our lives. Without encouragement, we feel unloved. Without encouragement, we begin to think that God is a liar or is unconcerned with our welfare. So, the Bible tells us to encourage one another, to remind each other of the truth that God loves us, that God equips us, that we are treasured, that our struggles are worth it.

Encouragement from the Bible gives us the will to carry on. It is a glimpse of the bigger picture. It can prevent burn-out. It can save us from believing lies (“sin’s deceitfulness”). Encouragement helps us experience abundant life (see John 10:10).

Gotquestions.org

Friends, my prayer for all of us is to not only encourage others faithfully but to listen for/to the encouragement others are speaking to us. – Mefromthensideout 🦋

Reflection: Who can you encourage today? What are some encouraging words someone has spoken to you?

The More We Know

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen and slow to speak …

James 1:19a
Posted in Bible study, Devotion, For Such A Time As This, From the Insideout, God is good, Journey Through The Word, Know These Truths, LGG Study, Prayer Starters, Quiet Time

Be An Encourager

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“But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness,” 

Hebrews 3:13

The graphic attached to today’s post is a gem I saw online recently. It spoke to me, so I copied and pasted it into my photos. God nudged me, first with a reminder to let my words lift up and not tear down. Then came the reminder of Hebrews 3:13, where the author teaches his readers (us) to encourage one another daily so that we don’t become “hardened” by sin’s deceitfulness.

Encouragement is of great importance to our faith.

Encouragement is of great importance to our faith. We live in a world infested with sin and a myriad of problems and heartaches. It is easy to succumb to or be hardened by the sins we see around us because they have become acceptable, even among those in the church. It is also easy to get caught up in critiquing the world’s problems and/or allowing the troubles of this life to overcome us and distract our focus from God and the life He has called us to live. It is easy to give way to despair, fear, and worry.

Jesus knew there would be troubles for His disciples; He knew they would be hated, mocked, and persecuted, and He told them so, but He followed the troubling news with encouraging words, or as gotquestions.org states: “Jesus’ grim forecast was tempered with cheer; He followed His prediction of trouble with a sparkling word of encouragement: He has overcome the world. Jesus is greater than any trouble we face.””1

One of my favorite passages of encouragement that Jesus spoke to His disciples comes right after He told them, “In this world you will have trouble. But…” He followed that statement with, “…take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33b). Undoubtedly, knowing they would be alarmed by the warnings of trouble He delivered to them, He was quick and kind to offer them loving encouragement and hope. They could not yet see the whole reality of the problems they would know, nor could they entirely understand His words of encouragement and the hope they were meant to give, but – they trusted Jesus, and I would imagine they found comfort in His words.

What about you? Do you know Jesus2? Do you trust in His promise of encouragement that “He has overcome the world”? Are troubles surrounding you or lurking at your door? “Take heart!” Rest in the words of the Savior: “I have overcome the world.” There is no problem that is too big and no mountain that is too tall that He cannot overcome. Is there someone you know who is struggling? Maybe it’s a particular sin, or perhaps it’s loneliness, or a need… maybe it’s a relationship or a health crisis … or maybe it’s with salvation … whatever it is, be an encourager – “the world has plenty of critics already.”

Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don’t miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out.

The Message/A paraphrase of Colossians 4:5-6
Prayer of Response:

Father, thank You for the encouragement we find in Your Word and for Your Son, who faithfully and lovingly encouraged His disciples. Let my words encourage and lift up. As Paul wrote, may they be always full of grace and seasoned with salt. – Amen 💜

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

But God … and the Crippled Feet

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 Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles. Act 7:9-10

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 86:15.

To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you, LORD my God, brought my life up from the pit.

When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead . . .– Acts 13:29-30

These are just some of the “But God” moments recorded in Scripture. Every moment is an opportunity to see the love, grace, mercy, and power of God. When we look closely enough I believe, they are also opportunities to see just how intimately God is involved in our lives.

My youngest daughter is celebrating her 30th birthday today. She is one of the grandest “But God” moments of my life. The full story is for another day but for those who don’t know the story, she was born with crippled feet (clubfoot was the term the doctor used). The hands of the doctor may have molded and shaped those little crippled feet into healthy feet. But God alone could have taken those little feet and enabled them to run and play and climb all throughout her childhood. Then dance her way through show-choir in high school and afterward take up running – and still run to this day. Yet, we never fail to forget that “But for God’s” power through the hands of the doctor none of it would have been possible.

We remember it often throughout the year but on this day we look at the pictures and we recall the trauma of those early moments and days of not knowing if she would ever walk. For those who have heard the story – perhaps two many times – I share it because I believe when God gives you a testimony – it’s meant to be shared as light for others to see Him. All glory to His name and all praise for His mercy and miraculous healing hand.

This picture is several months into the process of healing. She had just graduated from two cast to one cast and a brace. –

Reflection: What are some “But God” moments in your life?

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

“I Need Your Help.”

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Bend down, O Lord, and hear my prayer ~ answer me, for I need your help.
2 Protect me, for I am devoted to you. Save me, for I serve you and trust you.
    You are my God. 3 Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am calling on you constantly. 4 Give me happiness, O Lord, for I give myself to you. 5 O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help. 6 Listen closely to my prayer, O Lord; hear my urgent cry. 7 I will call to you whenever I’m in trouble, and you will answer me.

Psalm 86:1-7

Hey Sisters 💕 No blog today – just this passage from Psalm 86:1-7 that struck me earlier this week. I felt God leading me to use it as a post this week but never could quite figure out how or why – so I laid it aside. Today, He made it clear to my heart and mind what He meant for me to do with it. I’m not sure the picture does it justice, but if you look closely, you will see a tear on the cheek of the woman – which is exactly how I pictured my youngest daughter (she will be 30 on April 4th) when she called in tears today. They aren’t the first of the tears of this storm, and I feel certain -they will not be the last.

Those who follow this page might remember that a few weeks ago, she was notified that her job would be ending at the end of the school year, as they were making significant cuts in the budget and staffing. As she says, this is her dream job, and her heart is breaking a little more each day as the end of the school year approaches. Tears have flowed, anger at a broken system, hurt beyond words, fears of the future, hopelessness of the present, and heart felt sorrows and brokenness have been among the myriad of emotions. Yet, our faithful God, by her own admission, has given peace in great measure – and faithfully reminds her to trust in Him… to remember that He has a plan… to know that He will provide. Yet, as we all know, walking by faith rather than sight is a difficult thing … and waiting for other jobs to open and spending money she doesn’t have – to qualify for other subjects and add to her resume – only adds to the frustration and concerns.

We do not doubt that God will provide. I am confident that He has a plan and that He is walking with her and holding her up with His victorious right hand … However, I am equally confident in the power of prayer and am using today’s post to ask you to pray boldly and fervently for Abi. She is a sister in Christ who is weak and weary and in desperate need of sisters (and brothers) standing in the gap, holding her up to the One who holds her in His hand. Please pray as God leads you. We love to pray specifically; if you do as well, we are praying that God would let this cup pass from her – that positions would miraculously open up so she would be able to teach in the coming school year, preferably in this school that she dearly loves, but ultimately in the place God wants her. While she would love to continue teaching English, we also pray that she passes her qualification tests for social studies and other subjects that would keep her employed. We are praying for God to send hope and encouragement daily and to protect her from the enemy’s tactics of wearing her down and feeding negativity. Mostly, we pray for God’s will to be done (we believe He is a miracle-working God – completely and perfectly in control of all things). We are also praying for strength to trust His heart when we cannot see His hand.

Friends, I would be remiss to make this prayer of David only about Abi and our family. There are many who need prayers – perhaps even you. I encourage you to ask God to help you know who to pray for and to use David’s prayer as a springboard to pray God’s Word back to Him. I also encourage you to share your requests with someone in your concentric circle or perhaps in the comments bar of this post, or feel free to drop me an email – I would be honored to pray for you.

Bend down, O Lord, and hear my prayer ~ answer Abi who needs Your help. Father, You know she needs a job, and You know the love that she has for this school and position. She is devoted to You, O Lord – please protect her. Save her job with the county, which we believe You led her to and provided according to Your will, come to her rescue and provide for this daughter who serves and trusts You. You are her God ~ be merciful to her, as she calls on You constantly. As David prayed for happiness, I pray the same for my child – as she gives herself, her cares and fears and needs to You. You are so good, and we have tasted the fullness of Your unfailing love for all who ask for Your help – as we do now. Listen closely, O Lord; hear my urgent cry – I call out to You on behalf of my child, Your daughter who is in misery and trouble -and I trust You will answer me – according to Your perfect will. Please, send encouragement even today – and thank You for those who are praying with me for Abi – hear our prayers according to Your loving kindness. – In the name of the One who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or even imagine – to Him be all the glory now and forever more – Amen!

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

Rest For Your Souls

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Do you ever feel so tired (body, mind, and soul) that you can’t think, pray, or function well? Are you carrying burdens, perhaps not just your own but those of others, that are causing you to miss out on the fullness of life that Jesus came to bring? If so, don’t lose hope! Jesus, the lover of our souls, invites us to come to Him, and He will give us rest. While Jesus is not referring necessarily to physical rest here – the Spiritual rest that He gives brings rest to body, mind, and soul, – as we lean into His teaching and realize just how humble and gentle He is1 To experience the promise of this rest, Jesus lists three actions we need to take:

  • Come … I will give you rest.
  • Take … My yoke upon you.
  • Let Me …Teach you.

-All of which means “giving Jesus control and letting Him direct our efforts.” This may not sound easy or be easy for those of us who like to be in control, but trust me when I say the benefits of “His rest” far outweigh the difficulty of letting go. When we rest in Him, we will know an awareness of His presence, unspeakable joys, freedom from the past, peace, strength, love, hope, gentleness, and so much more.

Praying the Word Back to God

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matt 11:28-30

Jesus, I come to You, out of the heaviness and weariness of life’s burdens, and seek Your promised rest. I am so grateful that You have taken my heavy yoke of sin and shame upon Yourself, and in exchange, I take Your yoke upon me – committing myself to You and Your authority, knowing You are gentle and humble at heart. Help me to yield control daily, letting direct my efforts in all things. Help me to learn from You and to live and love like You in all I do and say. – Amen!

A Song of Response

These words from an old hymn, “Out Of My Bondage, Sorrow, and Night,” came flooding my mind as I was writing my prayer. You may not be familiar with the tune, but I encourage you to read each word. I believe you will find the words paint such a beautiful picture of the rest we receive for our souls when we come to Jesus … when we take His Yoke upon us and learn from Him … when we realize how gentle and humble of heart He is … and we find ourselves delighting in His rest for our souls. I particularly love verse three; what about you?

The More We Know
Verse 1

Out of my bondage, sorrow, and night,
  Jesus, I come! Jesus, I come!
Into Thy freedom, gladness, and light,
    Jesus, I come to Thee!
Out of my sickness into Thy health,
Out of my want and into Thy wealth,
Out of my sin and into Thyself,
    Jesus, I come to Thee!

Verse 3

Out of unrest and arrogant pride,
  Jesus, I come! Jesus, I come!
Into Thy blessed will to abide,
    Jesus, I come to Thee!
Out of myself to dwell in Thy love,
Out of despair into raptures above,
Upward for aye on wings like a dove,
    Jesus, I come to Thee!

Verse 2

Out of my shameful failure and loss,
  Jesus, I come! Jesus, I come!
Into the glorious gain of Thy cross,
    Jesus, I come to Thee!
Out of earth’s sorrows into Thy balm,
Out of life’s storm and into Thy calm,
Out of distress to jubilant psalm,
    Jesus, I come to Thee!

Verse 4

Out of the fear and dread of the tomb,
  Jesus, I come! Jesus, I come!
Into the joy and pleasure, Thine own,
    Jesus, I come to Thee!
Out of the depths of ruin untold,
Into the flock Thy love doth enfold,
Ever Thy glorious face to behold,
    Jesus, I come to Thee!

Posted in Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, God is good, Journey Through The Word, Know These Truths, Love, Prayer Starters, Quiet Time, Some of My Favorite Things

Finding Rest in God

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“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

~Saint Augustine

How true these words of Saint Augustine are. They certainly ring true in my heart and mind. Raised in a Christian home, taken three times weekly to church, and saved at a young age, I really do not know a time when I didn’t know of God, who He was, and what He had done—though I do confess knowing more of Jesus than of God. – I knew God created the world, split the Red Sea, gave the ten commandments to Moses, and loved the world so much that He sent His Son to save whosoever believed in Him. What I didn’t understand until much later in life was that He made us for Himself.1 It was much later in life that I learned that He created, desired, and sought out His people because He wanted to have a relationship with them.

“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” 

“All things were created by him and for him.” 

Revelation 4:11 / Colossians 1:16 

From the beginning to the end of Scripture, we read how God made Himself known to His people, how He cared for them, taught them, led them, loved them, and poured out His grace, forgiving them of all their sins. However, until I understood this and removed myself from the hamster wheel of trying to please and trust God in my own strength, I was indeed – restless. The restlessness came from always striving to please Him, and when I failed, there was the unending feat of trying to make it up to Him. “Saved by grace” is not just a winsome phrase but a never-ending characteristic of God and of His love in action. It is a love meant to change us from the inside-out, to make us new creations in Christ🦋 – so that we can live and walk in fellowship with God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

  • Rest in His love … for there is no greater love than giving your own son to die for the sins of the world.
    • For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him. John 3:16-17
  • Rest in His Grace … grace that is greater than all our sin
    • 20 Now the law came in so that the transgression may increase, but where sin increased, grace multiplied all the more, 21 so that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Rom. 5:20-21
  • Rest in His Strength … the strength that raised Him from death to life.
    • I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Eph. 1:19-20
  • Rest in His promises … for has He not kept all of His promises to this day?
    • For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory. 2 Cor. 1:20
  • Rest in His Greatness … knowing that He alone has the power and words of eternal life.
    • “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” John 6:68

Friends, “‘To whom shall we go?’ wasn’t written by John as a question of despair—it’s a declaration of devotion. Once you’ve tasted living water, nothing else satisfies. Once you’ve heard the voice that awakens your soul, all others fade. The deepest worship may simply be this: staying when it would be easier to walk away.2“

Prayer of Response To God’s Word

Father, what a blessing it was the day I began to understand that You created me for Your pleasure. I wasn’t just one of many that You created – I am known by You, created to be loved by You and to love You. I was created with a purpose and am meant to be dependent on You – and called to find rest in You. Oh, what a good good Creator and Father You are. Remind me daily to cease striving and find rest in You alone. – To You be the glory and honor, amen 💜

The More We Know
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Posted in Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, LGG Study, Our God Who Pursues

Give Him Your Heart

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based on, Our God Who Pursues / w3d4

He has told you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord really wants from you: He wants you to carry out justice, to love faithfulness, and to live obediently before your God.“

Micah 6:8

As we dive into chapter six of Micah, it’s important to remember that Micah has been addressing the problem God’s people were having with sin. Gotquestions.org explains that “the answer to Israel’s sin problem was not more numerous or more painful sacrifices. The answer was something much deeper than any religious observance: they needed a change of heart. Without the heart, Israel’s conformity to the Law was nothing more than hypocrisy.

While there are clearly some things God does not reveal to us in today’s passage, Micah makes it clear that God’s people, then and now, do not need to wonder about or act like they/we do not know what the Lord wants from us. He spells it out for us here and throughout Scripture so that we are without excuse.

The overall picture seems to be that God doesn’t want our hearts more than any other ‘thing’ we can offer Him.

  • We are to “carry out justice,” meaning we are to know what is right and wrong and do what is right. Gotquestions.org points out that this was particularly pointed at the judicial courts, “They had a responsibility to provide equity and protect the innocent,” The commentary goes on to say that “Injustice was a problem in Israel at that time.”
  • We are to “love mercy,” which involves “loyal love or loving-kindness,” which, as the commentary points out, “is foundational to God’s character. – This, of course, would indicate that He expects His people to show love to their fellow man and to be loyal in their love toward Him, just as He had been loyal to them.”
  • We are to “walk humbly” (aka: have a humble attitude toward God. “Instead of taking pride in what we bring to God, we humbly recognize that no amount of personal sacrifice can replace a heart committed to justice and love.”

The response of a godly heart is outward (do justice, inward (love mercy), and upward (walk humbly).

Got questions.org

“The message of Micah is still pertinent today. Religious rites, no matter how extravagant, can never compensate for a lack of love. External compliance to rules is not as valuable in God’s eyes as a humble heart that simply does what is right. God’s people today will continue to desire justice, mercy, and humility before the Lord.”

Prayer

God, thank you that all you ask of me is my heart. May I live fully surrendered to you each day and love others in response to your love. Amen.1

The More We Know

All quotes used today are from gotquestions.org unless otherwise noted.

Bonus Post from the Journal
  1. as found on p107 of the journal, Our God Who Pursues ↩︎
Posted in Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, LGG Study, Our God Who Pursues

What God Requires

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SOAP
Micah 6:8
He has told you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord really wants from you: He wants you to carry out justice, to love faithfulness, and to live obediently before your God.


INTO THE TEXT – from the journal, Our God Who Pursues / p107


Have you ever gotten something really wrong before? Maybe you’ve been listening to some music, singing along, and you realize that you really don’t know the words. You’ve been singing it wrong the whole time. Maybe you were on the way to your destination and realized you were going in the wrong direction. Though these are silly examples, Micah is addressing this concept here in the beginning of Micah 6.


The people of Israel and Judah had gotten their faith all wrong. They had started to look like the nations around them serving false gods and rejecting the true God: Yahweh. So God asks them, “What have I done to deserve this?” He lists out His faithful acts of rescuing Israel from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 12-15) and provision in the desert (Numbers 22-24). God had always been faithful. It was the people who had forgotten their God and refused to follow Him


What does God require of His followers? Micah tells us to carry out justice, love, and faithfulness and to live obediently to God. Essentially, God wants us to love Him and love others.


We can equate going to church or doing good things as the sum of following God. This is not the case. Yes, our actions can be indicators of who we follow and love, but God ultimately looks at our hearts.


If we have not trusted in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins and our hearts are not fully surrendered to Him, then our actions are meaningless. That’s because we will not be doing the good things for the glory of God but rather to impress Him and others or to feel proud about ourselves. Instead, God wants our actions to be done out of sincere devotion to Him and real love for the people around us. How short we fall of His standards if left to ourselves! We need to humbly ask Him for help so that we can increasingly love Him and others the way He wants us to.
Love God and love others. It’s that simple.


PRAYER
God, thank you that all you ask of me is my heart. May I live fully surrendered to you each day and love others in response to your love. Amen.

Posted in Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Our God Who Pursues, Quiet Time

Glorious Hope

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Based on Our God Who Pursues/w3d3

Read: Micah 5:2-7 and 10-15

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    are only a small village among all the people of Judah.
Yet a ruler of Israel,
    whose origins are in the distant past,
    will come from you on my behalf.

“O’ Little Town of Bethlehem” was always one of my favorite songs when I was growing up. It still brings tears to my eyes and joy to my heart. So, when I read chapter 5 of Micah, it drew me in. My mind pictures the scene of the little town that unknowingly welcomed the birth of a King, who lay wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger bed.

Micah 5:2 is a Messianic Prophecy that was actually quoted to the Magi; these wise men from the East were told that from the tiny village of Bethlehem would come forth the Prince of Peace, the Light of the world. Micah’s message of sin, repentance, and restoration finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who is the propitiation for our sins (Romans 3:24-25) and the only way to God (John 14:6).1

The Hope of a Rescuer

Knowing the people had previously received a message of exile and destruction, I can only imagine what a beautiful message of hope Micah’s words offered the people, one they desperately needed. As today’s journal entry points out, “We all need words of hope in this fallen world. Hope keeps us going, and it helps us to keep things in perspective.”

“We all need words of hope in this fallen world. Hope keeps us going, and it helps us to keep things in perspective.”

Our God Who Pursues/p99

The message would have reminded them not only of God’s faithfulness but of God’s “promise in the Garden (Genesis 3:15) that He would send a Rescuer to save people from their sins. Over time, God had been slowly revealing more and more of who this Rescuer would be and what He would be like. Now, God was showing where He was to be born.2“

A Ruler from Bethlehem: Little is much when God is in it

Jesus left all the grandeur of Heaven to come to Earth, where He was quietly and unobtrusively delivered into this little, “seemingly insignificant” town of Bethlehem. Yet from it, God brought King David and, ultimately, used it as the birthplace of His only begotten Son, the promised Messiah from David’s line. Actually, gotquestions.org says this about the little town: “As the City of David, Bethlehem became a symbol of the king’s dynasty.“- As an old song comes to mind as I write, entitled, “Little is much when God is in it.” We have read and seen evidence of this truth on the pages of God’s Word, and as believers, we have experienced the reality of the truth in our own lives – as His presence takes our sinful, insignificant lives and changes everything! Friends, this is the greatest gift we can ever receive – to know the presence of Christ in our lives, His forgiveness, love, and power. Without Him, we are nothing, lost with no hope, but by faith, we are filled with the Holy Spirit and can truly bear witness to the fact that Little is much when God is in it!

“Bethlehem, while diminished in importance to a humble village in New Testament times, remains distinguished above all other biblical cities as the place where our Savior Jesus Christ was born.”3

gotquestions.org
Prayer of Response

Father, thank You for the gift of Jesus, sent as a baby into that seemingly insignificant little town of Bethlehem. A baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger certainly would not have seemed like a king or anyone of any significance – yet we worship Him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords! He’s our rescuer proclaimed from ages past, the One in whom we have believed and received so great a salvation – the forgiveness of our sins and the hope of eternity with You. The same King that we know will one day come again and take us to live with Him forever. Oh, what glorious Hope we have been given!

The More We Know
More Insight from LGG

“Today, you may be facing great difficulties or challenges. You may be in a season where you have turned your black on God. Know that God still has a message of hope for you. That coming Rescuer has come. His name is Jesus. He brings a message of hope that you can be forgiven and free of your sins. He wants to give you an abundant life full of love, joy, and peace, lasting for eternity. All He asks for is your heart. Will you trust Him today?4“

Know These Truths

Posted in Bible study, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Our God Who Pursues, Quiet Time

Choosing The Jesus Way

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Based on the LGG Study, Our God Who Pursues,/w3d2

Read: MICAH 3:9-12; 4:1-5 and 4:10-12
Bad morals corrupt good character

Today’s journey through Micah reveals an unflattering picture of God’s people and disturbing news of what was to come. Israel’s leaders had forgotten the God whom they were committed to serve. Micah writes that they hated justice and perverted all that was right. They were building Zion through bloody crimes and Jerusalem through unjust violence. Legal cases were decided on bribes that the leaders received, even the priests proclaimed rulings for profit, and the prophets read omens for pay. As if this corruption was not bad enough, despite the fact that devastation and destruction were already wreaking havoc within the nation, the leaders continued to claim to trust the LORD and were telling the people, “The LORD is among us. Disaster will not overtake us!”

What About You?

We, too, face a similar choice. In a world that says that serving self and doing what seems right to you is the most important, we must, as Joshua told the people in his day, decide whom we will serve. Will we serve self or God? Take a moment to think about your own heart. Are you willing to set aside your wants and desires to follow what God may be calling you to? Are you willing to put others first over getting something you want? Is your heart’s desire to make the name of Jesus known over building your platform or building your own renown? It’s a choice we all must make.

Our God Who Pursues/LGG Journal p99
The hope of Future Days

In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s house will be the highest of all— the most important place on earth. It will be raised above the other hills, and people from all over the world will stream there to worship. 2 People from many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of Jacob’s God. There he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” For the Lord’s teaching will go out from Zion; his word will go out from Jerusalem. 3 The Lord will mediate between peoples and will settle disputes between strong nations far away. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore 4 Everyone will live in peace and prosperity, enjoying their own grapevines and fig trees, for there will be nothing to fear. The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has made this promise! 5 Though the nations around us follow their idols, we will follow the Lord our God forever and ever.

Micah 4:1 -5

The Temple Mount/Mountain of the LORD’S House written about by Micah: A hill in the Old City of Jerusalem that has been venerated as a holy site for thousands of years, including in Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

The Jesus Way

Admittedly, serving oneself or garnering the applause or approval of others can be pretty enticing. Goodness knows I have succumbed to those choices more than I care to admit, but I can tell you it generally led to disappointment or heartache. Choosing the Jesus Way isn’t always the easiest, most desirable, or most comfortable way, but it is most certainly the best way, for it leads to immeasurable blessings and joys.

As I wrote that last sentence, A group of women I used to lead on Sunday mornings came to mind. The name of our group was JOY, which stood for Jesus … Others … You. Seems like a great acronym for our focus today. Jesus first, then others, and then yourself. Whether it is in serving or living out our day-to-day lives, or even in our prayer lives, pay our eyes to stay on Jesus, the One we chose to follow.

23 Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. 24 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.

Luke 9:23-24

But I say love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

Matthew 5:44

Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

Mark 12:29-31
Prayer of Response

Father, do not let us be like the leaders of Israel, who forgot their commitment to serve You and Your call on their lives to serve the people. Help me to remember Jesus’ similar call to let go of my life and follow Him. It isn’t always easy, but You knew that, and You sent the Spirit to empower us to do all that You have called us to do. Holy Spirit, keep my focus Heavenward, guard me from the distractions of this world and the enticements of the flesh. May I be known for living a J.O.Y.-focused life: Keeping Jesus first in all things and serving and loving others before myself. In the name of Jesus – I pray and believe – Amen!

The More We Know
The Jesus Way Devotional
The Jesus Way Song