Category: Theme

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Prayer Requested

For the past weeks I have been writing a book which will be published in time for Christmas.

Today we will be making some of the final edits and I ask that you pray for us as we finish up.

“And now, brothers and sisters, pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s teaching will continue to spread quickly. And pray that people will give honor to that teaching, the same as happened with you.” II Thessalonians 3:1 ERV

This is a project the Lord put on my heart early in the year. It is a 30-Day Devotional for the month of December. Each day will be a short teaching on a gift that the Lord has given us. There is also a practical application at the end of each day’s readings.

At first, I thought this would just be something that I would give to my family and close friends but the Lord let me know I was thinking too small.

“ Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed.” Proverbs 16:3 AMPC

With the help of my friend, Rob, I learned about self-publishing and the opportunity for new authors to have their books sold on Amazon. I will let you all know as soon as it is available on their site.

Today I need your prayers as we put the finishing touches on the manuscript. There are still a couple of small formatting tweeks that need to be made and a final read-through.

My desire is that those who read the book will be drawn into a closer relationship with the Lord. I want the world to know that our Heavenly Father is the Master Gift Giver and He loads us up with good and perfect gifts.

“Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from him. These good gifts come down from the Father who made all the lights in the sky. But God never changes like the shadows from those lights. He is always the same. 18 God decided to give us life through the true message he sent to us. He wanted us to be the most important of all that he created.” James 1:17-18 ERV

“Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our salvation! Selah” Psalm 68:19 NKJV

Thank you for your prayers. Now I’m off to finish things up. Blessings to you all.

 

 

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Loving Others

In light of all that’s been going on in our world lately I wanted to share these thoughts.

Pooh is right; we feel love and that feeling can be labeled compassion. Jesus was moved with compassion to help those who were hurting. True Love is a person. That person is Jesus and it’s His desire that we love one another.

Jesus said the world would know that we are His disciples if we love one another. Jesus ministry was marked by His love for everyone He came in contact with. He loved the sinners and publicans; the tax collectors and the prostitutes, He even showed his love for the Pharisees and the Sadducees. He reached out to all with loving arms and was moved with compassion toward all.

“I give you a new command: Love each other. You must love each other just as I loved you. 35 All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other.” John 13:34-35 ERV

As Christians we should be a light of God’s love in this world. He is the one who gets the glory when we walk in love. No one is excluded from his love.  Jesus never accepted sin but he also never rejected a sinner. Doctrines and dogmas can be divisive but when we are being led by the Holy Spirit we will have a heart of love even when we don’t agree.

The Apostle Paul gave this instruction to the Christians at the church in Philippi.

“Think about what we have in Christ: the encouragement he has brought us, the comfort of his love, our sharing in his Spirit, and the mercy and kindness he has shown us. If you enjoy these blessings, 2 then do what will make my joy complete: Agree with each other, and show your love for each other. Be united in your goals and in the way you think. 3 In whatever you do, don’t let selfishness or pride be your guide. Be humble, and honor others more than yourselves. 4 Don’t be interested only in your own life, but care about the lives of others too.” Philippians 2:1-4 ERV

Make it a goal to walk in love so that the world will see Jesus living in us!

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Wipe It Clean

If you’re my age or close to it, you will remember wiping the chalkboard clean when you were in school.

It was one thing to use the eraser to remove the Math problems or the sentences written for Grammar instruction but the real fun came at the end of the day when we got to use the teacher’s chamois to wipe the boards completely clean.

When I was a girl we sang this song in church, Calvary Covers It All. I was thinking about that song this morning. How thankful I am for Calvary!! Thankful that the blood of Jesus covers my sin!

In the Old Testament the priest would offer a lamb once a year for the forgiveness of sin. The priest would lay his hands on the head of the lamb, signifying a transfer of the sins of the people to the perfect lamb of sacrifice. And when this transfer was complete the Israelites could experience freedom and cleansing for another year. The blood of the lamb “covered” their sins but never completely blotted it out. Each year they would have to come again, offering another sacrifice, to receive their forgiveness.

“The Law of Moses is like a shadow of the good things to come. This shadow isn’t the good things themselves, because it cannot free people from sin by the sacrifices that are offered year after year. 2 If there were worshipers who already have their sins washed away and their consciences made clear, there would not be any need to go on offering sacrifices. 3-4 But the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sins. It only reminds people of their sins from one year to the next.” Hebrews 10:1-4 CEV

Jesus Christ is our lamb of sacrifice  and only had to be offered once for the forgiveness of sin! We, who have accepted that sacrifice don’t just have our sins covered but can rest knowing those sins are completely blotted out.

“You were dead, because you were sinful and were not God’s people. But God let Christ make you alive, when he forgave all our sins. 14 God wiped out the charges that were against us for disobeying the Law of Moses. He took them away and nailed them to the cross. 15 There Christ defeated all powers and forces. He let the whole world see them being led away as prisoners when he celebrated his victory.” Colossians 2:13-15 CEV

Now this is significant. If something is just covered, we could lift the covering and find what was being hidden. However, if it’s blotted out or wiped clean. There is nothing to be found.

I know it’s  crude to use the illustration of cleaning the chalkboard but it gives us a visual that we can all identity with.  The blood of Jesus is so much greater than a chamois eraser but I think you get the point.

“The priests do their work each day, and they keep on offering sacrifices that can never take away sins. 12 But Christ offered himself as a sacrifice that is good forever. Now he is sitting at God’s right side, 13 and he will stay there until his enemies are put under his power. 14 By his one sacrifice he has forever set free from sin the people he brings to God. Hebrews 10:11-14 CEV

We have been wiped clean by the blood of Jesus. There is no longer any evidence there to show our sin and failings. Jesus set us free forever. Let’s not  allow our mind or well-meaning people  to hold us captive to our past.

Jesus blood has wiped out and removed all trace of our sin. Hallelujah!

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But Wait…

Patience and waiting have been the  theme of these morning devotional thoughts for the last couple weeks.

I think I do pretty well with waiting, unless I’m on hold and the music is bad. And I can be patient and understanding of the five people in front of me at the grocery store or the driver in traffic who is going too slow.

I grew less patient and didn’t like the wait when we had our house in Montana on the market to sell. It was for sale for seven years. Just not a buyer’s market. Our hearts were longing to be back in Arizona and all the doors seemed to be closed.

The Lord and I talked about this at length. He would encourage me and I would patiently wait for another six to nine months and then would go through it again. How about it? Can you relate?

“I patiently waited, Lord, for you to hear my prayer. You listened 2 and pulled me from a lonely pit full of mud and mire. You let me stand on a rock with my feet firm, 3 and you gave me a new song, a song of praise to you. Many will see this, and they will honor and trust you, the Lord God.” Psalm 40:1-3 CEV

Each time I would begin to get frustrated with our lack of movement, the Lord would remind me of people in the Bible who had to wait. They were my examples; there was Noah who had to wait for God’s promise of rain, all the while building an Ark. Abraham waited 25 years for his son Isaac to be born, this was God’s promise.

This morning my thoughts went to waiting once again and the Lord reminded me of two wonderful people who had waited years to see the promised Messiah come to earth. These two were quite elderly before they saw God’s promised Son; they were Simeon and Anna.

There story was one of decades of waiting.

“The Holy Spirit made it known to Simeon that he would not die before he had seen God’s Chosen One. 27 He came to the house of God being led by the Holy Spirit. The parents took Jesus to the house of God. They came to do what the Law said must be done. 28 Then Simeon took Jesus in his arms. He gave honor to Him and thanked God, saying,

29 “Lord, now let me die in peace, as You have said. 30 My eyes have seen the One Who will save men from the punishment of their sins. 31 You have made Him ready in the sight of all nations. 32 He will be a light to shine on the people who are not Jews. He will be the shining-greatness of Your people the Jews.” Luke 2:26-32 NLV

Simeon had been waiting years and now his life was complete, He had seen the Christ. He would die a happy man because God had been faithful to let him see the Messiah.

Also in the Temple that day was Anna, an old woman. 

 “Anna, a prophetess, was there at the Temple. She was from the family of Phanuel in the tribe of Asher. She was now very old. She had lived with her husband seven years 37 before he died and left her alone. She was now 84 years old. Anna was always at the Temple; she never left. She worshiped God by fasting and praying day and night.

38 Anna was there when Joseph and Mary came to the Temple. She praised God and talked about Jesus to all those who were waiting for God to free Jerusalem.” Luke 2:26-38 CEV

When we’re waiting longer than we would like let’s not complain about it.  Instead let’s thank God that He is faithful to His word and it will come to pass. When we can praise God during the waiting it puts our hearts at peace.

Today we are one day closer!

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Forgiven

How much credence would you give to some one who was a liar and a back stabber?

Would it surprise you if I told you a man like that wrote some of the New Testament and was one of the greatest preachers of the early church?

Recently our news was filled with the public interrogation of one of our Supreme Court Justices. What a horrible display by those who are supposed to be leading our country. Most of us will never have to go through that type of scrutiny but if we did I’m sure they would find something in our past that we aren’t proud of and want to keep hidden.

Each day Satan accuses us. He brings up things from our past and tries to keep us in bondage with those memories. He wants us to feel useless and unworthy of being loved. But Jesus is our advocate, He covers our sins with His blood.

“My little children, I’m writing these things to you so that you don’t sin. But if you do sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. 2 He is God’s way of dealing with our sins, not only ours but the sins of the whole world.” I John 2:1-2 CEV

That preacher I was telling you about is Peter. He was one of those closest to Jesus, but he denied Him. While sitting around a warm fire, watching the witch hunt and sham trial that the religious leaders were conducting he was asked if he knew this Man or was he one of His followers. Peter lied and he denied knowing the Lord.

I can’t imagine the anguish he must have felt when Jesus looked at him after the third denial. Heart sick and broken, he had denied knowing his friend and his Lord. But our story doesn’t end there. Peter’s story is one of forgiveness and restoration.

When Jesus rose from the dead He stayed and ministered to the disciples for forty days before He went back to heaven. Jesus didn’t approach Peter and tell how devastating it was that He had been denied. No, Jesus asked Peter to feed His sheep (his followers). Teach them, care for them, provide for them. Peter was forgiven and restored.

Now let’s look at Peter’s message to those sheep.

“You know that in the past the way you were living was useless. It was a way of life you learned from those who lived before you. But you were saved from that way of living. You were bought, but not with things that ruin like gold or silver. 19 You were bought with the precious blood of Christ’s death. He was a pure and perfect sacrificial Lamb. 20 Christ was chosen before the world was made, but he was shown to the world in these last times for you. 21 You believe in God through Christ. God is the one who raised him from death and gave honor to him. So your faith and your hope are in God.

22 You have made yourselves pure by obeying the truth. Now you can have true love for your brothers and sisters. So love each other deeply—with all your heart. 23 You have been born again. This new life did not come from something that dies. It came from something that cannot die. You were born again through God’s life-giving message that lasts forever. 24 The Scriptures say,  “Our lives are like the grass of spring, and any glory we enjoy is like the beauty of a wildflower. The grass dries up and dies, and the flower falls to the ground. 25 But the word of the Lord lasts forever.”

And that word is the Good News that was told to you.” I Peter 1:18-25 ERV

Peter knew about things that pass and things that last. Silver and gold pass; the word of God is incorruptible and will last forever. It brings life changing results. It brings forgiveness to the lowest of the low. It brings new life to all who will receive it. 

We all have done things that we are ashamed of and never want anyone to know. The good news is this. Jesus knows what each of us try to keep hidden and He reaches out to us with love and forgiveness.  We have been given new life in Christ!

Forgiven! Amen.

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What’s Humility Look Like

Have you been hurt or judged wrongfully? Have your good intentions been misunderstood?

I want to encourage you this morning.  Jesus was often misunderstood and ridiculed.

“think the same way that Christ Jesus thought: 6 Christ was truly God. But he did not try to remain equal with God. Instead he gave up everything and became a slave, when he became like one of us. 8 Christ was humble. He obeyed God and even died on a cross. 9 Then God gave Christ the highest place and honored his name above all others.” Philippians 2:5-9 CEV

What does Humility look like? It looks like Jesus. He gave up all the glory of heaven and His place at the right hand of God the Father to come to earth. There was no room for pride in His life.

Jesus played with children, gave comfort to the grieving, befriended rough and burly fisherman, spent His time with lepers, lame, blind and societies outcasts. He never compromised His deity but He never lorded His position over those He was teaching.

The Apostle Paul gave this instruction to Christians in the early church.

“God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So your new life should be like this: Show mercy to others. Be kind, humble, gentle, and patient. 13 Don’t be angry with each other, but forgive each other. If you feel someone has wronged you, forgive them. Forgive others because the Lord forgave you.” Colossians 3:12-13 ERV

A humble person doesn’t need to be in the limelight. They help make others look good and feel elevated. A humble person is one who encourages others, someone who isn’t afraid to get in and help out where needed. They don’t need the praise of others, they do the right thing because it’s right.

“All of you young people should obey your elders. In fact, everyone should be humble toward everyone else. The Scriptures say, “God opposes proud people, but he helps everyone who is humble.” 6 Be humble in the presence of God’s mighty power, and he will honor you when the time comes. 7 God cares for you, so turn all your worries over to him.” I Peter 5:5-7

A meek or humble person will be misunderstood and even be treated wrongly. Look at Jesus, he was despised and hated by the religious rulers of his day because He didn’t measure up to their ideals. He ate with sinners, showed compassion to harlots, healed on the Sabbath. In the face of their objections, He continued on.

Isn’t it better to be humble and know we are pleasing God than to measure up to all of societies ideals and expectations? Yes, it is. When our lifestyle reflects humility we may offend some, we may be passed over because we don’t have the “leadership” skills necessary. If that’s the case, so be it.

“ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” James 4:10 NIV

I love that verse! The Lord will lift us up. Our loving Father will pick us up in His arms and give us a big hug. Or He’ll come in and wrap His arm around our shoulder and encourage us to continue on with what we’re doing. We’re acting like Him.

Thank  you Father for coming to our aid and taking our cares. We rely on you.

 

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Wait for It

Ever have one of those days when it seems like all you do is wait?

The other day I made this pumpkin coffee cake. It was a new recipe and looked delicious. I got it all mixed up and in the oven, set the timer and walked away. The timer beeped and I opened the oven door to a wonderful smell but as I pulled it from the oven it jiggled in the middle; it wasn’t done. I had set the oven to the wrong temperature.

So, I turned the oven up to the correct temp and let it cook a little longer. Not quite done, 5 more minutes…Wait for it! It was delicious.

This summer when temperatures were high I heard the weather forecasters say, “things will be cooling off soon, just wait for it.” We tell little children that it will soon be a special event like their birthday, vacation or Christmas “just wait for it”.

In a microwave, insta-pot,  google search generation it’s hard to wait for anything.

Good things are worth waiting for.

When we need strength…     “ I would have been without hope if I had not believed that I would see the loving-kindness of the Lord in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the Lord. Be strong. Let your heart be strong. Yes, wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:13-14 NLV

Things not going right …      “Rest in the Lord and be willing to wait for Him. Do not trouble yourself when all goes well with the one who carries out his sinful plans. 8 Stop being angry. Turn away from fighting. Do not trouble yourself. It leads only to wrong-doing. ” Psalm 37:6-8 NLV

Need answer to prayer…   “I wait for the Lord. My soul waits and I hope in His Word. 6 My soul waits for the Lord more than one who watches for the morning; yes, more than one who watches for the morning.” Psalm 130:5-6 NLV

Waiting is not something we do well. However, if we rush too quickly the result will not be good, just like my coffee cake. No one wants to eat a half-baked cake.

“He gives strength to the weak. And He gives power to him who has little strength. 30 Even very young men get tired and become weak and strong young men trip and fall. 31 But they who wait upon the Lord will get new strength. They will rise up with wings like eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not become weak.” Isaiah 40:29-31 NLV

Whatever it is you need, give it to the Lord and then…wait for it! Provision is on the way.

 

 

 

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Enriched Living

All this week I have been back to work on the book I am writing. It is filled with Scripture and each time I include another verse the Holy Spirit reminds me of the time that verse became a reality to me and not just words on a page.

I cannot begin to explain how choosing to live according to God’s word and His promises have enriched my life.

Some of you know me well and others only through these words on a page. I feel I need to say this, in case you have the idea that I never know struggles or disappointments. Nothing could be farther from the truth. It has been in those times that I have dug deeper into God’s word to find the answers I needed and the unshakable foundation that He has promised.

When the Word of God lives in our hearts we can give thanks to God in whatever we do. You see, if we have His word we have His wisdom, His strength, His power, His blessing.

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” Colossians 3:16-17

I am particularly drawn to the phrase in the verses above “dwell in you richly”. Over my lifetime I have stayed in many different hotel rooms. Anything from the Mom n Pop, small town motor courts to the luxury view rooms in large cities. And I’ve stayed in some real dumps, places you wanted to have someone standing guard at the door as you slept. I prefer to stay in the ones where I can dwell richly.

The beds are bigger, the pillows softer, the showers are heavenly and they are so spacious that I don’t trip over the furniture when I get up in the middle of the night. It’s nice.

That’s the atmosphere I want God to feel He has in my life. I don’t want Him to be forced to “dwell” in a life that pushes Him to the back room or the broom closet. I want Him to come in and feel welcomed. I want to roll out the red carpet and make Him the honored guest of my heart. I desire to give His word pre-eminence over everything and everyone.

I have folks ask me don’t you ever get down and I answer “yes, but it’s only when I have my eyes on myself”. If I am looking at God and His word, I see that He loved me before the foundation of the world; He sent His Son to die so that I will have a new & abundant life; He is ever-present to be my help and strength; He has blessed me with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places so how could I possibly be down? I have to give Him praise!

Jesus, who is The Word, said He came to give us a life overflowing. That’s the same picture that King David paints for us in Psalm 23 when he said “my cup runs over”.

“The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).” John 10:10 AMPC

I am so blessed in my overflowing life; it’s luxurious to have overflowing love, joy, peace, strength and provision. I’m not being a greedy or materialistic; I have the heart of a grateful loving child. When we’re offered a wonderful gift, we accept it with a grateful and thankful heart. To do any less would be an insult to the gift giver.

Receive from our Father today. Let His word bring richness to us, heart and soul.

 

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Hurry – I’m Trying to Be Patient

How you noticed that there are many cultures who are not obsessed with time?  They seem to be in no obvious hurry. They have time to stop, visit with friends and strangers and go unhurried throughout their day.

Some countries see value and beauty in taking your time, doing it right and enjoying the journey. What a contrast to many of us in America who want to hurry things along, take charge, get finished and on to the next conquest.

Impatience is a fruit of selfishness!

It’s true – “I” don’t have time to wait; “I” could do it better; “I” deserve to be treated better than this; “I” told you to do it “my” way. And it goes on and on. Most of our objections around things that make us impatient start with I.

How contrary that is to God’s character!

He waited for just the right time to send Jesus. Jesus walked this earth teaching the same thing over and over, the love of God and restoration to Him, and still people didn’t get it. And now God is waiting again, He is not willing that anyone should die without having relationship with Him and so He waits.

In John 13 we find  Jesus final Passover celebration with his disciples before His crucifixion. He takes the role of a servant and starts washing the disciples feet. Peter objects, not understanding but Jesus doesn’t become impatient. He takes time to explain His purpose to Peter and still Peter misunderstands…

“It was almost time for the Jewish Passover festival. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go back to the Father. Jesus had always loved the people in the world who were his. Now was the time he showed them his love the most.

2 Jesus and his followers were at the evening meal. The devil had already persuaded Judas Iscariot to hand Jesus over to his enemies. (Judas was the son of Simon.) 3 The Father had given Jesus power over everything. Jesus knew this. He also knew that he had come from God. And he knew that he was going back to God. 4 So while they were eating, Jesus stood up and took off his robe. He got a towel and wrapped it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a bowl and began to wash the followers’ feet.[a] He dried their feet with the towel that was wrapped around his waist.

6 He came to Simon Peter. But Peter said to him, “Lord, you should not wash my feet.”  7 Jesus answered, “You don’t know what I am doing now. But later you will understand.”  8 Peter said, “No! You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “If I don’t wash your feet, you are not one of my people.”

9 Simon Peter said, “Lord, after you wash my feet, wash my hands and my head too!”  10 Jesus said, “After a person has a bath, his whole body is clean. He needs only to wash his feet. And you are clean, but not all of you.” 11 Jesus knew who would hand him over to his enemies. That is why he said, “Not all of you are clean.” John 13:1-11 ERV

How many times has the Lord been patient with our failings, our shortcomings, our wanderings, our lack of understanding? Just like Peter, many times we are dense and unaware of what Jesus is teaching us.  He has been there to pick us up, brush us off and encourage us to grow and see things from His perspective.

He asks us to be patient with ourselves and with others.  He wants us to show  the same love and compassion He has shown to us. When we are patient, we are Christ-like and our lives will reflect His love.

“My brothers and sisters, you will have many kinds of trouble. But this gives you a reason to be very happy. 3 You know that when your faith is tested, you learn to be patient in suffering. 4 If you let that patience work in you, the end result will be good. You will be mature and complete. You will be all that God wants you to be.” James 1:2-4 ERV

Be aware today if you find yourself in hurry and becoming impatient and less than loving. We are being given an opportunity for patience to grow, making us all that God wants us to be.

Look for opportunities to patiently love today!

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Music To My Ears

I love music! Memorizing the lyrics of a song comes easy to me. Time and again I will be sitting alone and my heart and my head will break into song.

And music takes me places. I hear a song on the radio or on Pandora and it will take me to the first place I heard it or to a special time that’s marked in my memory. (I hope you don’t think I’m crazy)

One time that I remember particularly well  was a Sunday morning in a small country church in Dillon, Montana. We had been singing from the hymn book and the song leader asked if anyone had a favorite song they’d like us to sing. There was an awkward silence and so the song leader asked a man sitting on the front row if he had a favorite song.

Don cleared his throat and said “Well the only church song I know is Our God Is An Awesome God.” The song leader was a bit embarrassed and quietly said, “Don, I don’t think I know that one.” To which Don replied, “That’s ok, God is Awesome anyway.”

I’ll never sing that chorus again without thinking of that time in a little country church that we didn’t sing Our God Is an Awesome God.

“Shout praises to the Lord, everyone on this earth. 2 Be joyful and sing as you come in to worship the Lord! 3 You know the Lord is God! He created us,  and we belong to him; we are his people, the sheep in his pasture. 4 Be thankful and praise the Lord as you enter his temple. 5 The Lord is good! His love and faithfulness will last forever.” Psalm 100 CEV

All through the Bible there are verses about singing and even times where it says the Lord gave them a song. Paul and Silas were singing one night in prison. God enjoyed it so much He sent an earthquake to break them out.

“I will sing forever about the Lord’s love.
    I will sing about his faithfulness forever and ever!
2 I will say, “Your faithful love will last forever.
    Your loyalty is like the sky—there is no end to it!” Psalm 89:1-2 ERV

Not only does God like to hear us sing but He likes to sing too. He sings about us. His is a song of love and joy.

“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

So, as you sit quietly this morning, listen for Him. Do you hear Him singing? He sings because He loves you!

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