Category: Book

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Out of Balance

The first of our three youngest grandchildren woke up about 30 minutes ago. She wanted to cuddle on the couch with me; 15 minutes ago Dave and the 2nd grandchild got up. She was cold and needed under the blanket. Still one grandchild, the boy, is sleeping upstairs in the loft.

It makes my morning a bit out of the norm. Quiet time cut short, coffee just getting made but I wouldn’t change it for the world. Just that things happen a little later than normal. But whether it’s routine or a break in routine God is always the same.

Practical.

God is practical. Everything He does has balance. Gravity, sunrise, sunset, changing seasons; earth, sky and water created before fish, plants and animals. Sun produces light and heat, the moon reflects light and no heat. Balance.

What’s out of balance and impractical about God is His unconditional love!

It doesn’t matter what we do or don’t do, God’s love for us will be the same. (Now that doesn’t mean He approves of everything we do, not in the slightest but He always loves us.)

People won’t go to hell because God hates them. They will go because they don’t accept His gift of love and His sacrifice for them.

Since we have Christ living in us it’s His love that should be flowing out of us.

” Together with these things, the most important part of your new life is to love each other. Love is what holds everything together in perfect unity. 15 Let the peace that Christ gives control your thinking. It is for peace that you were chosen to be together in one body. And always be thankful…17 Everything you say and everything you do should be done for Jesus your Lord. And in all you do, give thanks to God the Father through Jesus.” Colossians 3:14-17 ERV

The most important thing we can do is love each other. Love brings us to a place of peace. When we love we know that we have done all God has asked of us and God will do the rest. When we trust God to do what only He can do we can be thankful because He definitely has the talent and capability of handling His part.

We love not because those around us deserve our love but because God first loved us and so we can extend that love to others. It makes our Father happy to see us acting like Him.

I’m not asking you to go out and love the whole world, but I am asking that you extend God’s love to your co-worker, your neighbor, your child or spouse or sibling. Love unconditionally the way God loves you.

Now I’m off to love on some sweet grandkids.

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Be Brave

Yesterday we saw how we can pray confidently when we are praying God’s word, relying completely on His promises.

That’s where bravery comes from. It’s a confidence in God’s word and His presence. Bravery isn’t the lack of fear. No, not at all. Bravery is trusting God in every situation. It’s what the Apostle Paul taught the Christians in Rome.

“ What can we say about all this? If God is on our side, can anyone be against us? 32 God did not keep back his own Son, but he gave him for us. If God did this, won’t he freely give us everything else? 33 If God says his chosen ones are acceptable to him, can anyone bring charges against them?” Romans 8:31-33 CEV

Many of our fears come from the “what if’s” in life. What if I’m not strong enough, not articulate enough, not accepted by the right people, not wise enough. When we trust in God and His love for us, knowing that He is on our side we can and will dispel each and every fear.

“Trust the Lord! Be brave and strong and trust the Lord.” Psalm 27:14 CEV

What do you face that is unnerving causing you to be anxious and even fearful? Take these Scriptures to heart. The Bible is a powerful weapon against fear.

“God’s word is alive and powerful! It is sharper than any double-edged sword. His word can cut through our spirits and souls and through our joints and marrow, until it discovers the desires and thoughts of our hearts.” Hebrews 4:12 CEV

The Book of Joshua is a lesson in bravery. In fact, I have a book in my library, “Victorious Christian Living” written by Alan Redpath in 1955 that is such an amazing study in courage and trust.

Joshua was tasked with leading the Israelites, all million plus of them, into the Promised Land. They had physical armies to defeat, hostile land to work and weariness of mind to conquer. This is God’s command to Joshua.

“Always remember what is written in that book of law. Speak about that book and study it day and night. Then you can be sure to obey what is written there. If you do this, you will be wise and successful in everything you do. 9 Remember, I commanded you to be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid, because the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:8-9 ERV

The key to bravery and overcoming fear is remembering God’s promises, (He cannot lie), and trusting Him in every situation.

“The officials were amazed to see how brave Peter and John were, and they knew that these two apostles were only ordinary men and not well educated. The officials were certain these men had been with Jesus.” Acts 4:13 CEV

Peter and John were ordinary men, just like you and I, not well educated but they were brave when they faced the ruling officials, arrested and commanded not to speak the name of Jesus. Their faith was in God; faith grew and fear was abolished.

“So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved grace, and we will find help.” Hebrews 4:16 CEV

We are living in a time where bravery and courage are needed. As we trust the Lord we will be strong, brave and very courageous!

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Pray Confidently

The other night Dave and I were talking about prayer. There is a confidence when we pray that only comes for the Lord. We have learned that we don’t have to beg God for answers, we simply need to pray His will over any given situation. He tells us His will in His word.

“We are certain God will hear our prayers when we ask for what pleases him. 15 And if we know God listens when we pray, we are sure our prayers have already been answered.” I John 5:14-15 CEV

This morning, I am praying this for all of you.

Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray over my many friends who are reading this. Some are experiencing great pain and sorrow in their lives, others are facing some of the greatest financial challenges ever, still others are seeing those they love hurt and relationships destroyed.

There are those who need to make right decisions, decisions of life and death, and those who need physical protection from very real enemies. Yes, Father and there are those who have waited years to see answers to prayer who are growing weary – it is for all of these that I am praying this morning.

Let Your peace rule in their lives; let them know Your presence, protection and provision. Let them see that You are here and have promised to never leave them or forsake them; let them rest and trust in You.

Thank You for Your answers; Your word; Your great love and thank You that it’s not You who has created these problems but that You are the problem solver. Thank You for hearing and answering this prayer, in Jesus name.

“You, Lord, are the light
    that keeps me safe.
I am not afraid of anyone.
You protect me,
    and I have no fears.
2 Brutal people may attack
and try to kill me,
    but they will stumble.
Fierce enemies may attack,
    but they will fall.
3 Armies may surround me,
    but I won’t be afraid;
war may break out,
    but I will trust you.

4 I ask only one thing, Lord:
Let me live in your house
    every day of my life
to see how wonderful you are
    and to pray in your temple.

5 In times of trouble, Lord,
    you will protect me.
You will hide me in your tent
and keep me safe
    on top of a mighty rock.” Psalm 27:1-5 CEV

Be confident in God’s word and in His love for you. He will never abandon you and He is always there to help in time of need. Come boldly to His throne room.

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Too Much Hurry

Did you experience any divine interruptions yesterday? Were you able to experience them with a heart of gratitude?

Often times those interruptions leave us feeling that we now need to work longer and harder. That is not God’s intention at all. He is showing us a better way, a way to trust and rest in Him. He wants us to surrender our load and cares over to Him.

There was a time that I felt there just weren’t enough hours in the day. I honestly prayed, “Lord, I would really like to have a couple extra hours in each day”. His answer was loud and clear, “No, if I gave you more hours you would just fill them with more work, you need to rest and trust Me”.

Even good things can be done with the wrong motive. We think that we have to be “doing” things for God so that He will be pleased with us. And that mindset is more destructive to us than the physical labor that we put in.

“Christ died for us when we were unable to help ourselves. We were living against God, but at just the right time Christ died for us…8 But Christ died for us while we were still sinners, and by this God showed how much he loves us.” Romans 5:6-8 ERV

Before we could do or even had a desire to do anything for God, Christ died for us. His unconditional love made provision for us when we were unable to do anything to save ourselves. And His love is still unconditional toward us once we accept Him as our Saviour.

If we are living a life of “doing” things for God to earn His favor, we don’t understand grace. There is nothing we can do to get God to love us more and there is nothing we can do that would cause God to love us less. His love comes to us by GRACE! Does that mean we just go out and do whatever we want because we know that God will always love us? To coin a phrase from the Apostle Paul, God forbid!

Our lives should reflect the gratitude and love we feel for the great sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf, but it shouldn’t be done trying to earn it. There is nothing that we can do to earn God’s love.

“But God is rich in mercy, and he loved us very much. 5 We were spiritually dead because of all we had done against him. But he gave us new life together with Christ. (You have been saved by God’s grace.) 6 Yes, it is because we are a part of Christ Jesus that God raised us from death and seated us together with him in the heavenly places. 7 God did this so that his kindness to us who belong to Christ Jesus would clearly show for all time to come the amazing richness of his grace.” Ephesians 2:4-7 ERV

Take a break today…stop hurrying through life, stop working to be good enough for God. Our efforts will never accomplish that. Instead take time to rest and enjoy God’s grace and let love flow from your heart to His!

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Divine Interruption

This morning, I woke up with these words on my heart, “but with God”. I’m not certain but I think God may be setting me up for a divine interruption.

Time for a brief English lesson. The word “but” is a conjunction and is defined liked this: “used to introduce a phrase or clause contrasting with what has already been mentioned: ‘he stumbled but didn’t fall'”.

But is used to join two contrasting ideas. I had my day planned but God…

I wrote in my journal “We seem to have it all planned, but God, Your plan is better. Thank You for interrupting my life”.

The Bible is filled with but God moments. That’s how it all starts.

“The earth was barren, with no form of life; it was under a roaring ocean covered with darkness. But the Spirit of God was moving over the water.” Genesis 1:2 CEV

And we all know what happened after that. A world with no form of life is a stark contrast to the Spirit of God who is the giver of life. From His interruption life thrived and covered the earth.

God had made a promise to Abraham and Sarah that they would have a son. Years passed with no heir so Sarah decided to take matters into her own hands and sent her maid to Abraham and a son was conceived. Man’s plan followed by God’s interruption.

“But God answered: No! You and Sarah will have a son. His name will be Isaac, and I will make an everlasting promise to him and his descendants.” Genesis 17:19 CEV

Young Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. He was falsely accused of molesting his master’s wife and then sent to prison. It seemed as if that would be the end for Joseph but God interrupted and used Joseph to save the lives of all his family.

“You tried to harm me, but God made it turn out for the best, so that he could save all these people, as he is now doing.” Genesis 50:20 CEV

The brothers had a plan to get rid of Joseph but God had an interruption. Joseph went from slave to second in command in Egypt.

A young Jewish girl had a plan of marrying the man of her dreams. She would have a wonderful life as a carpenter’s wife. It was all planned. We don’t have the words “but God” but this was definitely a divine interruption.

“and you will have a son. His name will be Jesus… 34 Mary asked the angel, “How can this happen? I am not even married!”… 37  Nothing is impossible for God!” Luke 1:31-37 CEV

When God makes the plan, nothing is impossible.

I have one final “but God” moment that involves each of us personally.

“No one is really willing to die for an honest person, though someone might be willing to die for a truly good person. 8 But God showed how much he loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinful. 9 But there is more! Now that God has accepted us because Christ sacrificed his life’s blood, we will also be kept safe from God’s anger.” Romans 5:7-9 CEV

Realizing the love that God has for each of us should be our “but God” moment. He reaches out to us. Our sinful lives are contrasted with His amazing love and forgiveness. When we recognize that God isn’t angry with us, that His plans for us are for our good, an abundant life, we can welcome His interruptions and confidently trust that He will work everything out for our good.

Welcome divine interruptions.

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Grace Giver

Good hearted people let go of the past. I was thinking about Jesus and the way he reacted to those who treated him badly.

Peter comes to mind; he was one of the inner circle. He knew Jesus up close and personal. He saw Jesus calm the sea, he walked on water, he saw the miracles of raising Lazarus from the dead, feeding the 5000 and he saw Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration and heard God the Father’s voice from heaven. And then…a young girl by a fire questioned him about his relationship with Jesus and Peter denied knowing Him. The heartbreak for both men must have been unfathomable! The betrayed and the betrayer.

Jesus reached out to Peter after the resurrection and restored Him to a place of usefulness. That’s grace!

Have you ever done something that would make others feel that you were unusable? Have you been judged for your past transgressions?

Consider the Apostle Paul, as Saul of Tarsus he persecuted the Christians. He had arrest warrants drawn up for their imprisonment, he stood holding the coats of the Pharisees at the stoning of Stephen. And God…found him usable!

Paul wrote to Philemon about a runaway slave named Onesimus. He instructed Philemon to look beyond his past and find him usable.

“I remember you in my prayers. And I always thank my God for you. 5 I thank God because I hear about the love you have for all of God’s holy people and the faith you have in the Lord Jesus. 6 I pray that the faith you share will make you understand every blessing we have in Christ. 7 My brother, you have shown love to God’s people, and your help has greatly encouraged them. What a great joy and encouragement that has been to me.

8 There is something that you should do. And because of the authority I have in Christ, I feel free to command you to do it. 9 But I am not commanding you; I am asking you to do it out of love. I, Paul, am an old man now, and I am a prisoner for Christ Jesus. 10 I am asking you for my son Onesimus. He became my son while I was in prison. 11 In the past he was useless to you. But now he has become useful for both you and me…17 If you accept me as your friend, then accept Onesimus back. Welcome him like you would welcome me. 18 If he has done any wrong to you or owes you anything, charge that to me.” Philemon 1:4-18

Is there a Peter, a Paul or an Onesimus in your life?

Live a “graceful” life and find them useful. We shouldn’t do any less from them than Jesus has done for us!

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God’s Gratitude

This image popped up this morning and it seemed important enough to share.

Years ago, I made a transaction at our local bank. As part of my normal custom, I reviewed the receipt once I got in the truck. This day the receipt made me laugh but it also struck a chord in my heart.

“Thank you, Jesus”.

Of course, you probably understand that my teller was a young man named “Jesus”. But it made me wonder, what had I done that day that would make JESUS say thank you to me.

“Wonderful!” his master replied. “You are a good and faithful servant. I left you in charge of only a little, but now I will put you in charge of much more. Come and share in my happiness!” Matthew 25:21 CEV

We’ve been left in charge of little things in God’s kingdom. Our sphere of influence is relatively small. Friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors. Spread out from there to the tellers at the bank, the clerks in the grocery store, the people at the service station and that is pretty much the sum and substance of our world.

But still, we have been left in charge of it. We have been commanded to go “into all the world”, our world, and preach the good news of God’s love and the sacrifice of Jesus.

“But I am giving you a new command. You must love each other, just as I have loved you. If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my disciples.” John 13:34-35 CEV

We’ve been put in charge of loving God and loving people. This is our daily task. It’s our priority. We are ambassadors of God’s kingdom.

“What we mean is that God was in Christ, offering peace and forgiveness to the people of this world. And he has given us the work of sharing his message about peace. 20 We were sent to speak for Christ, and God is begging you to listen to our message. We speak for Christ and sincerely ask you to make peace with God. 21 Christ never sinned! But God treated him as a sinner, so Christ could make us acceptable to God.” II Corinthians 5:19-21 CEV

There was one other message on that receipt that struck home with me. “Enjoy the convenience of scheduling appointments online”.

There we have it. Wherever we are, whenever we need it, we can schedule an appointment with our Father, the Creator of the universe, and He will meet with us. He desires to meet us in our place of need, and we will hear Him say, “well done”.

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Sounds of Refreshing

What sounds wake you up in the night? For me it was the sound of distant thunder. About 2 hours ago, it was slightly muffled, and I knew it was far away but there it was. Hopefully, the promise of rain.

All around us there has been rain but here in our little community we’ve had very little. As I listened the thunder seemed to be coming closer and then the patter of rain drops on the roof. At first, I stayed in bed thinking it was but a brief shower. To my pleasant surprise it wasn’t. It’s a gentle shower, not a pelting deluge, that has continued for well over an hour.

I walked out on the patio and just stood there taking it all in. There is something so soothing about the smell of rain in the desert. The dry earth welcoming the moisture; the sage brush, palo verde, mesquite, saguaro and the ocotillo exhale their dryness and welcome the refreshing.

Oh, the refreshing! The welcomed refreshing.

“When your land was thirsty, you sent showers to refresh it.” Psalm 68:9 CEV

“Thirsty deserts will be glad; barren lands will celebrate and blossom with flowers. 2 Deserts will bloom everywhere and sing joyful songs. They will be as majestic as Mount Lebanon, as glorious as Mount Carmel or Sharon Valley. Everyone will see the wonderful splendor of the Lord our God.” Isaiah 35:1-2 CEV

But rain isn’t just for the dry ground or the barren desert. The Lord promises a refreshing for our souls.

“I will bless the thirsty land by sending streams of water; I will bless your descendants by giving them my Spirit. 4 They will spring up like grass or like willow trees near flowing streams.” Isaiah 44:3-4 CEV

“Let’s do our best to know the Lord. His coming is as certain as the morning sun;
he will refresh us like rain renewing the earth in the springtime.” Hosea 6:3 CEV

“The Lord your God wins victory after victory and is always with you. He celebrates and sings because of you, and he will refresh your life with his love.” Zephaniah 3:17 CEV

“You let me rest in fields of green grass. You lead me to streams of peaceful water,
3 and you refresh my life.” Psalm 23:2-3 CEV

There’s only a few light sprinkles falling now but the earth is refreshed. Let me share one more verse of refreshing with you.

“Rain and snow fall from the sky. But they don’t return without watering the earth that produces seeds to plant and grain to eat. 11 That’s how it is with my words. They don’t return to me without doing everything I send them to do.” Isaiah 55:10-11 CEV

God’s word is like the rain that showers the earth bringing new life and refreshing. If you are thirsty, if you are dry, look to God’s word and soak in the rain of His Spirit.

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Balance Sheet

Today marks the 7th anniversary of Kristi’s Morning Devotional. Before that I was making daily postings on Facebook but a friend of mine, Tom Slater, told me I needed a blog and he developed it for me.

It has been a joy to share God’s word with you on this avenue. I am so humbled and blessed that it has touched so many lives.

This is that first posting. Somehow it seems very appropriate for today too. ‘”Yesterday I spent a good portion of the day working on bookkeeping. Evaluating some things and determining if they were financially profitable based on the time expended.

Have you ever put together a profit and loss statement? Listing your assests and liabilities can certainly be worthwhile in determining how you should spend your time and your money.

So let’s get down to the bottom line. What do you owe? That’s the question the Apostle Paul was addressing this morning as I read Romans 13.

‘8 You should owe nothing to anyone, except that you will always owe love to each other. The person who loves others has done all that the law commands. 9 The law says, “You must not commit adultery, you must not murder anyone, you must not steal, you must not want what belongs to someone else.” All these commands and all other commands are really only one rule: “Love your neighbor the same as you love yourself.” 10 Love doesn’t hurt others. So loving is the same as obeying all the law.

11 I say this because you know that we live in an important time. Yes, it is now time for you to wake up from your sleep. Our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is almost finished. The day is almost here. So we should stop doing whatever belongs to darkness. We should prepare ourselves to fight evil with the weapons that belong to the light. 13 We should live in a right way, like people who belong to the day. We should not have wild parties or be drunk. We should not be involved in sexual sin or any kind of immoral behavior. We should not cause arguments and trouble or be jealous. 14 But be like the Lord Jesus Christ, so that when people see what you do, they will see Christ. Don’t think about how to satisfy the desires of your sinful self.” Romans 13:8-14 ERV

Owe no one anything…nothing except love!

The desire to live debt free is admirable and is one worth pursuing. An even greater goal is to live a life of loving people, not with a human selfish love but with the same love that Jesus shows us.

Let’s look at that bottom line again, the P&L Statement.

” For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Mark 8:36 KJV

Let love be your daily ambition and let your only debt be that of love.”

Thank you all for reading each day and thank you for loving those in your world the way Jesus has commanded us too.

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Just Breathe

How are you going to spend your day? Do you have a list of projects that need to be completed? Are you travelling to far away places? Do you think your activities are mundane and uneventful? Or do you possibly have a “big” appointment that could be life changing?

As you hurry through your morning or stop to have a quiet cup of coffee and reflective moment, I want to encourage you to start your day praising God for the blessings in your life. You have breath, you have a computer (if you’re reading this), you slept in a bed, you have some degree of health and wealth and you have God’s promises to never leave you or abandon you!

Yes, so much to be thankful for. Just breathe!

I was reading the last chapter of Luke. Jesus disciples and apostles had followed him for 3 years. They thought he was going to set up an early kingdom, overthrow the Roman oppression and bring peace to their nation. He had died, they were dejected – He brought them hope after His resurrection and now he was leaving them again but this time they had new prospective.

What did they do?

“Jesus led his followers out of Jerusalem almost to Bethany. He raised his hands and blessed his followers. 51 While he was blessing them, he was separated from them and carried into heaven. 52 They worshiped him and went back to Jerusalem very happy. 53 They stayed at the Temple all the time, praising God.” Luke 24:50-53 ERV

They spent their time praising God!

What a great way to pass the time while you’re waiting in traffic, while in the checkout line that seems to be at a standstill, riding on a bus or commuter train, waiting to be served in a restaurant or on hold waiting for a live person to take your call.

Wherever you are waiting today, wait on the Lord – praise Him and He will fill your life with joy and just breathe!

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