Blessings~

Greetings,

The 33^rd chapter of Deuteronomy in the Bible is dedicated to the blessings Moses spoke over the Israelites.  Today, we will speak them over ourselves and those we love.

Grant us life, dear Lord, and bring us together and keep us tightly knit as a family.  Give us strength to stand against our enemies. Accept the work of our hands, and bless our land with the precious gift of dew from the heavens and water from beneath the earth; with the rich fruit that grows in the sun, and with the best gifts of the earth and its bounty, O Lord. May we prosper in our homes.  Enlarge our territories, and may Your justice rule over us. May we be rich in favor and full of Your blessings.  May we be safe and secure all our days. There is no one like You, our God. You ride across the heavens to help us, across the skies in majestic splendor. You, eternal God, are our refuge, and Your everlasting arms are under us.  You drive out our enemies, and we live in safety. We are blessed and saved by You, O Lord. You are our protecting shield!

AME! AMEN! AMEN!

Take Him at His Word

John 4:50 “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.” The man took Jesus at His word and went home.

Greetings,

Last night Hormone had a softball game, and I texted him that I would bring a sandwich.  He didn’t respond with, “Are you sure?” Or, “Don’t forget.” Nor did he text or call to remind me.  Why? Because I have demonstrated that I am pretty much reliable in always taking him a sandwich when I said I will.  In other words, Hormone takes me at my word.

Taking someone at their word takes the pressure off.  No need to worry or doubt.  It diminishes stress and invites peace.  Just ask the man in the verse above.  How might the quality of our life and faith improve if we just took Jesus at His word?

Jesus said so many necessary and powerful things; here are three:

Matthew 11:24 Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Matthew 19:26 With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you…Do not let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid.

Let’s take Him at His word today. 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, we desperately want to believe You and take You at Your word.  Sometimes, however, we get so focused on our problems that we lose sight of You.  Help us to take a step of faith in Your direction.  We want to be like that man in the verse above – simply believe and go on with our lives. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.

A Clear Message

Greetings,

The other day I was talking to a high school buddy who shared a funny story.  When she got married her Pekingese didn’t care too much for her new husband.  Mr. Puppy would snark, growl, and aim his bottom at this poor newlywed.  (I have no clue what that last part means).  One day when the otherwise happy couple arrived home, they saw just how far Mr. Puppy was willing to go to show his disdain for the other man in the house.  He went into the dirty clothes hamper and one by one, brought out all the clothes belonging to his arch nemesis and piled them by the front door.  Not one garment belonging to his mommy, my friend, was touched!  Talk about sending a clear message! What a smart and phenomenal dog.

Jesus sends a clear message too: Mark 2:15 “Jesus was at the table in Levi’s house having supper with a collection of disreputable guests.  The religion scholars saw Him keeping this kind of company and lit into His disciples: ‘What kind of example is this, acting cozy with the riffraff’” (The Message Version).

Jesus acted cozy with the “riffraff” because He was and is a Savior for all.  Unlike Mr. Puppy, He loves everybody, and His blessings are meant for anyone who invites Him in.  That’s good news for us.  We don’t have to worry about whether we are good enough, deserving enough, or worthy enough.  We just have to be willing to sit at the table with Him.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank you for receiving us and always welcoming us. You will always sit with us when we ask You to.  We invite Your presence into our life right now and ask for peace and healing.   Let Your goodness wash over us! In Jesus’ name, AMEN.

God Never Declines an Invitation

Greetings,

As you may or may not know, I am currently learning French via an app on my phone.  This has been going on for almost three years, and I am ever so slowly but surely making progress.  One of the things I love about studying this romantic language is seeing how some of its words have infiltrated our American culture.  RSVP, for example, stands for rèpondez s’il vous plait, which means please respond. 

I am sure each of us has, at some time or another, issued invitations and then waited for folks to respond.  Sometimes people say “yes,” and sometimes people say “no.” And we respond to invitations the same way; sometimes we can go and sometimes we can’t. A couple of years ago, Jorge and I were invited to a wedding that was on the same day as our 30^th wedding anniversary.  We had already made plans and had to politely decline. 

Oh, but do I have some great news: GOD NEVER DECLINES AN INVITATION!

Matthew 7:7 “Ask and keep on asking and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking and you will find; knock and keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you.”

In other words, every single time you invite God into your situation, answers are given, solutions are found, and door are opened.  I would feel a lot differently if this verse said, “Ask, and keep on asking, and I, the Lord your God, will get around to helping you at some point but not right now.” Or, “Seek and keep on seeking, but I am busy right now so who knows when you will, if ever, find what you need.” Or, “Knock all you want.  I don’t feel like getting out of bed this morning;I have a bigger better party to attend to and can’t deal with you right now.”

How much better would your life be if every single time you prayed and asked God to show up, you accepted as fact that He did and always will? That You never ever have to include a “please RSVP” because He only has one response? His response is simply that He responds.

Psalm 120:1 I cried to the LORD in my distress, and He responded to me.”

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You that You always respond. And if we have to wait for a situation to improve or change because You know the best timing, we know that in the meantime, Your answers to us are always filled with peace and assurances that once we seek You, You’re are in control. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.

Becoming a Tree~

“The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8).

Greetings,

This past Thanksgiving I hosted the family, and I purchased some orange pots and yellow-flowered plants to decorate the tables. They looked so pretty, but guess what? Fast forward two months and these pretty little centerpieces are wilting and losing luster. That’s ok. Such is life. I never expected to have them around until the next Thanksgiving.

God’s word, however, is ever fresh, enduring, trustworthy, vibrant, and alive! 

This means it’s powerful and has the ability – when we read it – to change our hearts, strengthen our faith, bring forth blessings, immerse us in peace, fill us with joy, comfort us with hope, and give us an abundant life!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You that Your word is Your living, breathing, eternal, powerful and loving message to us.  Psalm 1:2-3 says that when we delight in Your teachings we become “like a tree planted beside streams that produces fruit and whose leaves do not wither!” What a beautiful and necessary promise! Help us to delight in Your word knowing that as we do, we will produce fruits of peace, joy, patience, love, faith, and hope in our lives. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.  

Be a Hur~

"As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.  When Moses’ hands grew tired, Aaron and Hur took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset...the Amalekite army was defeated" (Exodus 17:11-13).

Greetings,

I initially published this DEVO back in November, but since then, it has taken on a whole new significance.  And again, it’s not so much about the way God gave the Israelites the victory.  What really blesses me, more than ever, is that when Moses grew weary, two faithful buddies came to his rescue and held him up!

If I were to rephrase this verse to fit me right now, it would read, "Once upon a time there was a soon-to-be grandma named Yenise who really believed in the power of prayer. So, she called on all her family and friends to pray for her daughter, Rachel, who was scheduled for a C-section this past Friday.  Yenise had so many concerns for her daughter and grandbaby.  And yes, she was praying her heart out, but as the moment grew closer, she fought the urge to freak out.  Then something amazing happened. Text after text and phone call after phone call came in encouraging Yenise that folks were praying, which is great because at the moment the C-section started, all Yenise could barely whisper was, “Help, Lord.” And then a supernatural peace enveloped her, and all was well with her soul.  Yenise could FEEL the support and prayers of others in a profound way! Yenise knew her hands were being held, and she remained steady – steady when the first picture came in showing the proud papa cutting the chord, and steady enough to have the high-honor of being the first one in the extended family to see the baby after it was born and take a million pictures and videos! And now, because she received so much love and support from these precious, modern-day “Aarons” and “Hurs,” she remains forever committed to holding up the hands of others as long as she lives! AMEN!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Help us lift others in their time of need. The Bible makes it clear that we will all share in the victory together! In Jesus' name, AMEN.

Better Than Wishing is Blessing

Happy New Year!

I always like to wish people a Happy New Year for at least the first two weeks of the year!  However, better than wishing is blessing.  So as my little motley crew consisting of my five-year old, eight-year old, and 13-year old nephews, 15-year old niece, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, father-in-law, and husband gathered to ring in the new year, I chose a special Bible verse, and turned it into a blessing that I spoke over us right before midnight.  I am sharing it with all of you today hoping you will appropriate it for yourselves and those you love:

Job 42:16-17 “Job lived another 140 years, living to see his children and grandchildren—four generations of them! Then he died—an old man who lived a long, full life.”

MAY WE AND THOSE WE LOVE SO DEARLY LIVE WITH HEALTH TO SEE OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN AND LIVE LONG, FULL LIVES!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for Your Holy Word.  There are so many encouraging passages of scripture written for us, including these verses in Job.  If You took time to note that Job lived 140 years and was able to enjoy seeing four generations worth of family, then we pray the same for ourselves. Glory to Your life-giving name! AMEN.

The Most Important Call

Psalm 28:1 “To You, Lord, I call…”

Happy New Year!

If you’re like me then you have been busy texting and calling and wishing everyone a Happy New Year.  The most important call we make, however, is to our Lord.  No one can answer us like He can.  No one can bless us like He will.  No one can shower us with the peace, joy, hope, protection, faith, guidance, wisdom, and health that we will need in the upcoming year.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the rest of the 28^th Psalm says, “The Lord heard me praying…He is my strength and my [impenetrable] shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. My heart greatly rejoices; I thank Him and praise Him.”

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You that You hear our prayers.  Thank you that You are our strength. Thank You that You are our shield.  You cover us from all the madness in this world, and we need it every single day.  Help us to trust you more and more.  Our hearts rejoice today and will rejoice every single day in the coming year. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.