Category: Book

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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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Not A Chunk of Coal

Have you heard the expression “Diamonds are just a chunk of coal under extreme pressure”? Well, the adage has been around for years, but it isn’t true.

Another adage that I take exception to is one used often in Christian circles. “I’m not but an old sinner saved by grace”. Were we sinners? Yes. Were we saved by grace? Yes.

But to continue in that thinking goes against all that God has created us to be. He has called us to be new creatures in Christ. The past is gone; our present and our future are in Him and He has redeemed us, made us new; we are called saints, a chosen people, a royal priesthood.

God’s opinion of us is so much greater than our opinion of ourselves. He saw that we were valuable, priceless and worth the ultimate sacrifice.

He loved us enough to send His Son to die for us so that we could live in Him!

Now that alone should drive out any feelings of low self-esteem or worthlessness!

” Brothers and sisters, God chose you to be his. Think about that! Not many of you were wise in the way the world judges wisdom. Not many of you had great influence, and not many of you came from important families. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. He chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 And God chose what the world thinks is not important—what the world hates and thinks is nothing. He chose these to destroy what the world thinks is important. 29 God did this so that no one can stand before him and boast about anything. 30 It is God who has made you part of Christ Jesus. And Christ has become for us wisdom from God. He is the reason we are right with God and pure enough to be in his presence. Christ is the one who set us free from sin. 31 So, as the Scriptures say, “Whoever boasts should boast only about the Lord.” I Corinthians 1:26-31 ERV

That’s the way He feels about all of us who have received Christ as our Savior.

“Then the Lord All-Powerful said: You people are precious to me, and when I come to bring justice, I will protect you, just as parents protect an obedient child.” Malachi 3:17 CEV

He sees us as a loving father sees his children. We are not unworthy. We are dearly loved and accepted. We are welcome in His presence.

He has called us, redeemed us and made us His own. We’ve been chosen!

“We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him. They are the ones God has chosen for his purpose, 29 and he has always known who his chosen ones would be. He had decided to let them become like his own Son, so his Son would be the first of many children. 30 God then accepted the people he had already decided to choose, and he has shared his glory with them.

31 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 8:28-33 CEV

Not an old chunk of coal, not an old sinner; we are the redeemed of the Lord!

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Jesus Wept

As Christians we aren’t immune from heartache and grief. No, but we do have the Promised Holy Spirit to comfort and to console.

The last few days I have experienced a personal grief that I have only shared with my family and a close friend. What do we do when the tears flow and our hearts ache? How to deal with loss?

Jesus wept!

His friend had died and now Jesus was with the sisters and friends who were in mourning, and He wept. This wasn’t the only occasion that we see Jesus weeping. He wept over the residents of Jerusalem and their rejection of Him. He wept in the garden knowing His life would be given as a sacrifice for sins and He would experience a temporary separation from the Father.

“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:3-5 KJV

Jesus wept.

When His disciples were facing their greatest time of sorrow, He promised them a Comforter.

“And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever—17 The Spirit of Truth, Whom the world cannot receive (welcome, take to its heart), because it does not see Him or know and recognize Him. But you know and recognize Him, for He lives with you [constantly] and will be in you.” John 14:16-17 AMPC

Jesus says another Comforter. He had been the One to comfort and encourage them for the past three years. He had calmed their fears, healed their family members, showed them how to face adversity and verbal persecution.

“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me. He has put His hand on Me to preach the Good News to poor people. He has sent Me to heal those with a sad heart. He has sent Me to tell those who are being held that they can go free. He has sent Me to make the blind to see and to free those who are held because of trouble. 19 He sent Me to tell of the time when men can receive favor with the Lord.” Luke 4:18-19 NLV

Now, He would be leaving but He would not orphan them. He sent them, and us, a Comforter who would live with them constantly, individually and collectively. The Holy Spirit is our constant companion.

God doesn’t ignore or discount our heartache and grief. He carries it and He heals it.

“You have kept record of my days of wandering. You have stored my tears in your bottle and counted each of them.” Psalm 56:8 CEV

One of the things that will make heaven, heaven, is that there will be no more tears, no more sorrow and no more pain.

“Yes, God will make his home among his people. 4  He will wipe all tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death, suffering, crying, or pain. These things of the past are gone forever. 5 Then the one sitting on the throne said: I am making everything new. Write down what I have said. My words are true and can be trusted.” Revelation 21:3b-5 CEV

Until then, remember Jesus wept. He knows our sorrow and grief and He has sent the Holy Spirit to be our Comforter.

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Keep Doing Right

Do you know how often I stop to pray for you?

Of course, it’s always first thing in the morning when the Lord fills my heart with what He wants to share but it’s also during the day when I am impressed with how blessed I am to be able to share God’s love with you each day.

I can relate with the Apostle Paul and his greeting to the Christians in the church of Philippi. I will probably never meet many of you this side of heaven, but I hold you in my heart and my prayers.

“ Every time I think of you, I thank my God. 4 And whenever I mention you in my prayers, it makes me happy. 5 This is because you have taken part with me in spreading the good news from the first day you heard about it. 6 God is the one who began this good work in you, and I am certain that he won’t stop before it is complete on the day that Christ Jesus returns.

7 You have a special place in my heart. So it is only natural for me to feel the way I do. All of you have helped in the work God has given me, as I defend the good news and tell about it here in jail. 8 God himself knows how much I want to see you. He knows I care for you in the same way Christ Jesus does.

9 I pray that your love will keep on growing and you will fully know and understand 10 how to make the right choices. Then you will still be pure and innocent when Christ returns. And until that day, 11 Jesus Christ will keep you busy doing good deeds that bring glory and praise to God.” Philippians 1:3-11 CEV

Growing and making the right choices.

What are the right choices? I’m so glad you asked.

“Each one of you is part of the body of Christ, and you were chosen to live together in peace. So let the peace that comes from Christ control your thoughts. And be grateful…17 Whatever you say or do should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks to God the Father because of him.” Colossians 3:15-17 CEV

Remember a few years ago when people were wearing those bracelets, WWJD? That’s a good way to do right. But this just wasn’t a new concept that Paul was teaching. No, God had put it in place thousands of years before. This is what Moses said:

“ You must be sure to obey the commands of the Lord your God. You must follow all the teachings and laws he has given you. 18 You must do what is right and good—what pleases the Lord. Then everything will go well for you, and you can go in and take the good land that the Lord promised your ancestors.” Deuteronomy 6:17-18 ERV

Solomon said this: “Doing what is right and fair pleases the Lord more than an offering.” Proverbs 21:3 CEV

And Isaiah recorded this: “ The Lord said these things, ‘Be fair to all people. Do what is right, because soon my salvation will come to you. My goodness will soon be shown to the whole world.‘” Isaiah 56:1 ERV

“When people live to please the Lord, even their enemies will be at peace with them.” Proverbs 16:7 ERV

Doing what is right is good; we will never go wrong making the right choices. We may be misunderstood by those around us; we may even be judged unfairly. But, when our heart is right before God, we please Him and that’s more than enough!

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Complete Peace

Yesterday a part of our praise was given to this song. It’s one of my very favorites. It has ministered to my heart since the first time I heard it. I fell asleep last night and woke this morning with my heart flooded with this song. It’s for you, each and every one of you.

I SPEAK JESUS

I just want to speak the name of Jesus
Over every heart and every mind
Cause I know there is peace within Your presence
I speak Jesus

I just want to speak the name of Jesus
Till every dark addiction starts to break
Declaring there is hope and there is freedom
I speak Jesus

Cause Your name is power
Your name is healing
Your name is life
Break every stronghold
Shine through the shadows
Burn like a fire

I just want to speak the name of Jesus
Over fear and all anxiety
To every soul held captive by depression
I speak Jesus

Your name is power
Your name is healing
Your name is life
Break every stronghold
Shine through the shadows
Burn like the fire

Shout Jesus from the mountains
Jesus in the streets
Jesus in the darkness over every enemy
Jesus for my family
I speak the holy name
Jesus

Your name is power
Your name is healing
Your name is life
Break every stronghold
Shine through the shadows
Burn like a fire

I just want to speak the name of Jesus
Over every heart and every mind
Cause I know there is peace within Your presence
I speak Jesus

Now, let’s see how this applies to us in our daily lives.

Jesus said: “Come to Me, all of you who work and have heavy loads. I will give you rest. 29 Follow My teachings and learn from Me. I am gentle and do not have pride. You will have rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29 NLV

Peter said: “This Jesus is the stone you builders rejected; he has become the cornerstone! 12 Salvation can be found in no one else. Throughout the whole world, no other name has been given among humans through which we must be saved.” Acts 4:11-12 CEB

“Peter said, ‘I don’t have any money, but I will give you what I do have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, rise up and walk!’” Acts 3:6 CEB

Paul said: “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:10-11 CEV

It was in the name of the Lord that Daniel was kept from destruction in the lions’ den. It was His trust in the Father’s protection that allowed Jesus to sleep during a storm that was swamping their boat. It was faith in the name of Jesus that caused the crippled man to walk and blind eyes to open.

It is the power in the name of Jesus that brings forgiveness and salvation to all who believe; peace that bypasses our understanding and rest to the weary.

“I just want to speak the name of Jesus Over every heart and every mind Cause I know there is peace within Your presence I speak Jesus”. Complete Peace!

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Made Clean

A couple of weeks ago Dave and I went thrifting with friends. We really like treasure hunting at the thrift stores. In the last store, we found this dirty, rusty, cast iron dutch oven.

Yesterday I got the steel wool and scrubbed it clean. Washed it and then rubbed shortening all over and put it in the oven to season. One hour at 450 degrees. When it finally cooled down and could be removed from the oven, it looked remarkable. Clean and ready to be used.

It made me think of the cleansing that we go through when we come to Christ.

“Then He said, “I have come to do what You want Me to do.” And this is what He did when He died on a cross. God did away with the Old Way of Worship and made a New Way of Worship. 10 Our sins are washed away and we are made clean because Christ gave His own body as a gift to God. He did this once for all time.” Hebrews 10:9-11 NLV

So many times we allow our past sins and mistakes to penetrate our thinking and work on our consciences; leaving in its path rusty feelings of guilt and unworthiness. Instead of running away from God in times like that we need to run to Him, it’s there we find freedom from guilt.

“ We have a great Religious Leader over the house of God. 22 And so let us come near to God with a true heart full of faith. Our hearts must be made clean from guilty feelings and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold on to the hope we say we have and not be changed. We can trust God that He will do what He promised.” Hebrews 10: 21-22

Jesus told his disciples that it’s His word that makes us clean. Paul repeated that in his writing to the Christians at Ephesus, remember?

“Christ did this so He could set the church apart for Himself. He made it clean by the washing of water with the Word. ” Ephesians 5:26 NLV

Because of what Christ has done – dying for our sins and taking the punishment – we are clean and God, the Father, removes our sins and guilty conscience from us.

“I will show loving-kindness to them and forgive their sins. I will remember their sins no more.” Hebrews 8:12 NLV

“He forgives all my sins. He heals all my diseases. 4 He saves my life from the grave. He crowns me with loving-kindness and pity. 5 He fills my years with good things and I am made young again like the eagle…8 The Lord is full of loving-pity and kindness. He is slow to anger and has much loving-kindness…11 For His loving-kindness for those who fear Him is as great as the heavens are high above the earth. 12 He has taken our sins from us as far as the east is from the west. ” Psalm 103:3-12 NLV (Just go ahead and read the whole chapter)

I love these verses!! It doesn’t matter that we are going through…really. Nothing can separate you from the love of Christ and the love of your heavenly Father.

He washes us clean from all our sins and restores us to right relationship. We’ve been made clean!

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Black Tie Affair

Have you ever been to a black-tie banquet? I have but only once. It was quite an elegant evening. Dave in his tux, me in a gown. Very exciting!

That’s the image that came to mind this morning as I was reading in the Psalms.

“God’s Love Means More than Life

1 You are my God. I worship you.
    In my heart, I long for you,
as I would long for a stream
    in a scorching desert.

2 I have seen your power
and your glory
    in the place of worship.
3 Your love means more
than life to me,
    and I praise you.
4 As long as I live,
    I will pray to you.
5 I will sing joyful praises
and be filled with excitement
    like a guest at a banquet.

6 I think about you, God,
    before I go to sleep,
and my thoughts turn to you
    during the night.
7 You have helped me,
and I sing happy songs
    in the shadow of your wings.
8 I stay close to you,
and your powerful arm
    supports me.” Psalm 63:1-8 CEV

” filled with excitement  like a guest at a banquet.” I remember the anticipation of going to such a prestigious event. We were greeted at the door and ushered to our table. There was entertainment, delicious food and dancing.

But none of that compares with the joy and excitement of spending time in the Lord’s presence. King David knew what it was like to be honored and he lived an enviable lifestyle but what brought him the most joy was knowing he was loved by God and welcomed by Him.

It doesn’t matter our social, economic, or educational background; each one of us are welcomed at the Lord’s banquet.

“ Once again Jesus used stories to teach the people: 2 The kingdom of heaven is like what happened when a king gave a wedding banquet for his son. 3 The king sent some servants to tell the invited guests to come to the banquet, but the guests refused…8 Then he said to the servants, “It is time for the wedding banquet, and the invited guests don’t deserve to come. 9 Go out to the street corners and tell everyone you meet to come to the banquet.” 10 They went out on the streets and brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike. And the banquet room was filled with guests.” Matthew 22:1-10 CEV

We are part of the everyone who has been invited in. Not only does the Father invite us but He clothes us as well.

“The Lord makes me very happy. I am completely happy with my God. He dressed me in the clothes of salvation. He put the victory coat on me. I look like a man dressed for his wedding, like a bride covered with jewels.” Isaiah 61:10 ERV

Join me at the banquet. The table is set, all is in order. Our attire is custom made; we’ve been invited to the Father’s black-tie affair.

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