good success | Kristi's Morning Devotional

May 19, 2020May 19, 2020

Congratulations Class of 2020!

I want to take this morning to say congratulations to all who are graduating this year. You did it!

Each one of you are unique and have talents and abilities that no one else does. Your perspective, sense of humor, compassion, strength and skills have made you one-of-a-kind. As parents, grandparents, educators, family and friends we want to encourage you as you continue on this road of life.

God made you complete; an individual who will add to this world and not take away from it. The person you are now and in the process of becoming is as distinctive as your fingerprints. Without you we would all be missing out.

Parents, from the time our graduates were born we guided them in their development. It was our job to nurture them and help them see their God-given talents. As this door on their education closes and they step out into a waiting world we know there is nothing common about them. They have a calling, a plan and a purpose that is exclusively theirs.

“‘I say this because I know the plans that I have for you.’ This message is from the Lord. ‘I have good plans for you. I don’t plan to hurt you. I plan to give you hope and a good future. ¹²Then you will call my name. You will come to me and pray to me, and I will listen to you.'” Jeremiah 29:11-12 ERV

Trust God to direct your path; as you pursue His plan your lives will be filled with peace, protection and wisdom. He has designed this day from the beginning of time and He desires nothing but good for you.

Any plan that God designs is excellent. Trust Him with your future. You are valuable to your heavenly Father; it makes no difference your profession. We need you – trades persons, educators, first responders, professionals, ministers, musicians, bankers, clerks, artists, designers, homemakers – we need you all.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. ⁶Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. ⁷Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. ⁸Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.” Proverbs 3:5-8 NLT

We are celebrating you, the graduates, today. College, High School, Trade School, Junior High and yes, even kindergarten. God’s love and provision is never limited – not by age, class, race, gender or education. He has made a promise to each and everyone of us – He will never leave us or abandon us – never!

Go with God! Follow His path.

Congratulations!

March 5, 2020March 5, 2020

A Box of Promises

Were you able to encourage someone yesterday? I had a pretty tough afternoon and I am so thankful for dear friends and family who were there to encourage me. It meant so much.

As I sat here this morning I found myself thinking about my Grama Mac’s kitchen table. When I was a little girl and we would go to visit her and Grampa we never left the breakfast table without one of them taking a card from the Promise Box, reading it aloud and then taking time to pray. Do you remember those little “Promise Boxes”? I didn’t realize it then but she was planting God’s word in my heart.

We found out yesterday that success, true success, in life comes one way!

“Joshua, you must be strong and brave! You must lead these people so that they can take their land. I promised their fathers that I would give them this land. 7 But you must be strong and brave about obeying the commands my servant Moses gave you. If you follow his teachings exactly, you will be successful in everything you do. 8 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 1:6-9 ERV

Meditate on the Word of God and obey it! It’s a simple instruction. God’s message is consistent. See what he spoke through Moses:

“Always remember these commands that I give you today. 7 Be sure to teach them to your children. Talk about these commands when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road. Talk about them when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them on your hands and wear them on your foreheads to help you remember my teachings. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:6-9 ERV

Maybe we should make our own box of promises. Take one promise from God’s word and write it down. Keep it in our pocket read it over throughout the day. Let it bring life to our situation. Moses preached it, so did Joshua, King David, Isaiah, and Jesus did too. After Jesus ascended back into heaven Peter made teaching God’s Word his daily ministry.

“The apostles did not stop teaching the people. They continued to tell the Good News—that Jesus is the Messiah. They did this every day in the Temple area and in people’s homes.” Acts 5:42 ERV

Every day. Day in and day out. Just like breathing, eating and drinking. Every day the Word gives life and causes us to succeed.

January 22, 2018

What’s Next??

The other morning when I took Glory, our miniature Aussie, for a walk I was praying. I knew we were about to end our study in Psalms 119 and I wanted to know where the Lord would have me go next for my daily devotionals.

It was then the Lord reminded me of how I began to put His word into my daily life. As a young girl I had memorized a lot of Bible verses. Sunday School teachers gave me stars for learning my weekly Bible verse; King’s Daughters, a girls club, awarded us points and badges for memorization. I still remember a lot of those verses.

However, as you all know, memorization doesn’t mean that you understand or better yet, apply that information to your life. I wanted to “know” God’s word not just have it memorized. I wanted to depend on God’s word for answers but the question was “how”.

Dave and I decided to start looking up verses that applied to specific areas of need in our life; faith, health, finances, relationship with God. Now mind you this was before computers, back in the dark ages, when you had your Bible and a concordance (a book that lists all the verses that had a particular word in them). We would sit down at our kitchen table and write all these verses down, look them up in the Bible, read them out loud and cross off the ones that didn’t really apply. Then we took the ones that were left and would copy them onto 3×5 cards.

We took those cards and punched a hole in the corner and put them on a ring. Dave had a set he carried in his work truck and I had a copy I kept in the house or my purse. When I situation would come up and we needed God’s answer we would read those verses and let the Lord show us what to do. We were living the word not just memorizing it.

Depending on God’s word became almost as natural as breathing.

Now – what’s this have to do with you and my morning devotionals? That was 35 years ago and I still have that ring with verses on it and over the next few weeks I am going to be sharing some of those verses with you. One verse at a time.

It’s so much easier now with the technology we have. You can go to an app like BibleGateway and have dozens of translations on your screen in a matter of seconds. If you don’t understand what a verse means in one translation, find one that you can. You don’t even have to hand write or type the verses, just hit print and it’s done for you. I hope you will make them a part of your life the way we did.

Here is God’s promise regarding His word:

“But you must be strong and brave about obeying the commands my servant Moses gave you. If you follow his teachings exactly, you will be successful in everything you do. ⁸Always 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. ⁹Remember, 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 1:7-9 ERV

One verse at a time, one day at a time makes a lifetime of difference!