Bread of Life and Beyond

Greetings,

All through scriptures, God provides excellent instructions on how to do something right.  He teaches us how to pray, how to treat our neighbor, how to raise our children, how to handle our finances, how to make wise decisions when it comes to dating and marriage…  And one of my favorite lessons is about how to properly bless someone.

“The Lord spoke, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the Israelites. Say to them: The Lord bless you, and keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you a tranquil heart and life’” (Numbers 6:24-26).

It certainly is a beautiful passage, and I have used it often when writing a card for someone’s birthday or wedding day. But until this very day as I sat to share this DEVO, I never realized what the very next verse, 27, says: “Put My name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them.”

Let’s think about this.  When my son was born, Jorge, my husband, was ecstatic about naming him Jorge too.  And I have been told that my son wants to name his future son Jorge also.  All that is fine and dandy, and I understand the sense of pride and joy about having a namesake. But is there any power in the name of Jorge? What about forgiveness in the name of Jorge? Does Jorge console the weary heart? Does Jorge supply all my needs? When we get right down to it, Jorge means “farmer.”  Very one-note, a little cute, I suppose, but kinda ho-hum. Even if I were to say that Jorge means “horticulturist,” it might sound more impressive, but it’s still a FAR cry from the all-encompassing, glorious name of God, which has over 300 meanings in the Bible.

When you and I put the name of God on someone, He becomes their Bread of Life, Healer, Living Water, Provider, Peace, Presence, Comforter…He blesses in profound and powerful ways.  Our part is simple. We open our mouths to pray and put His name on those we love. He shows up with incalculable goodness.  

PRAYER: Dear Lord, we put Your name on ourselves and our families today.  It brings us so much joy to know we are welcoming Wisdom, Protection, Guidance, the very Bread of Life and beyond into our lives.  Thank You for all You do.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN.

Two Options

Greetings,

Anyone who has ever painted understands the complexity of choosing the right color.  Home Depot offers over 10,000 varieties of white alone!  Gloss, semi-gloss, matte, eggshell, Antique White, Cottage White, Dutch White...there's even one called White Lie.   All those choices can be maddening as well as expensive.  (I have been known to purchase 10+ samples trying to find the right color).

God makes our choices more simple.  He only gives us two options:

"Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit  -  you choose" (Proverbs 18:21 THE MESSAGE Version).

It does not get any more straightforward than that.  It's uncomplicated and plain.  Death or life, blessing or curse, good or bad...

Let's choose life! 

The Bible says that when we speak life-giving words they bring "health and energy to the body," and "are sweet and encouraging to the soul."

How about we start with blessings ourselves?  I could use some health, energy, and encouragement today.

PRAYER:  Dear Lord, I choose life for myself and those I love.  I choose to speak words that bless.  I choose good words  -  words that produce sweet fruit.  The greatest words ever written are in Your Bible so I speak Your Words over my life and declare that You always lead me in triumph, You chose me and lovingly planned for me to be Your child.  I am forgiven, protected, provided for, and loved.  Your peace and grace are with me, and I am strong because of Christ.  Thank You for equipping me with everything I need to live a blessed life.   And thank You that according to 3 John 1:2 You desire for my soul and my body to be healthy.  I receive it! In Jesus' name, AMEN! 

An Immediate Blessing~

Acts 3:6-7 But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened.

One final thought on this passage.  After Peter helps the lame man connect with the healing name of Jesus, he helps him up.  What good would a healing be if you never stood up and proved it?  I believe we all have a responsibility to help those we pray for (when we can), and sometimes this will be most evident in our own families.

Case in point…

Almost two weeks ago lovely me tripped on an uneven sidewalk, and I sprained the juice out of my ankle.  It immediately swelled up to the size of an orange, and well, you know, it was not pleasant.  But it has been wonderful seeing my family rally around me.  Slowly but surely I am getting back to normal, and Jorge prays for me everyday.  But what if that was all he did?  What if he said, “Yenise, I bless you in the name of Jesus with healing and wholeness!” and then walked out the door?  Those first few days I was totally immobile.  I couldn’t put any pressure at all on my foot, and if not for the office chair with wheels that acted as my transport, I might have had to use a diaper.

Jorge and all four of my children have dutifully picked up the slack by cleaning up and making sure everything is in order.  They have lifted my spirits in more ways than one, and I am blessed.

The Bible says that when Peter took the lame man by the hand, the man’s ankles were instantly healed and strengthened.  The greater point for all of us today is that the moment we pray and follow through with love in action, there is an immediate blessing.  May we have the faith to believe it!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for Your beautiful word.  We all want to be used by You to bring immediate strength and healing into the lives of others – especially our families.  In Jesus’ name, Amen~

What God Says Goes!

Chello~

Hebrews 4:12 "God means what He says. What He says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything...Nothing and no one is impervious to God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what."

Tuesday's DEVO ended with this prayer: "Dear Lord, What You say goes--You and no one else or nothing else has the final word in our life."

That truth is applicable to every single thing in our life. It takes precedence over what bullies say, what doctors say, what our significant others say, what our friends say, even what those with good intentions say. Let this revolutionize the way we approach life. Using the blessing from Tuesday's DEVO, how might we apply this in every day life?

When someone says, "You will never amount to anything." You say, "God has blessed me to be the head and not the tail!"

When someone says, "You will never get out of debt." You say, "The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of His bounty, and send rain on my land in season and bless all the work of my hands."

When someone says, "That professor who has it in for you is powerful and you will never get that unfair grade changed." You say, "The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against me will be defeated before me."

When someone says, "You will never have children."

You can do what my friend "L" did. She had been married for a few years and still wasn't getting pregnant. And after checking out both her and her husband, doctors could not find a reason and said to her, "Some women just will never get pregnant, and we do not know why."

Those were devastating words to hear, but thank God she came to her senses and remembered that there are promises in the Word of God that were meant for her.

Consider her prayer:

"Dear Lord, You promised that the fruit of my womb would be blessed. So far I have no fruit for You to bless, but I am asking You to put a baby in there and then bring the blessing You promised--right now!"

That's a bold prayer if I ever heard one. (Does God honor bold requests? We'll dive into that topic tomorrow).

And for the record, she boldly prayed it more than once. Month after month, in fact, and year after year, for three long years, until she did indeed get pregnant and gave birth to a beautiful healthy baby. Glory hallelujah!

What God says goes!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for teaching us that Your Word is sharp like a surgeon's scalpel that cuts through all the nonsense and negativity and bring blessings. We receive them all, in Jesus' name, AMEN~

God Means What He Says~

Greetings :)

The topic of blessings is still weighing heavily in many of our minds. I shared how both my kids were called names when they were growing up. But it was my son, in particular, who went through a really rough period in eighth grade. Now that he is a full grown 26-year-old man, I can share this story.

One of his teachers, God bless her soul, made the mistake of calling him "Gorgeous Jorge," and this started an almost year-long tirade against him where some of the other boys would call him all sorts of names--disgusting, foul, cruel, and crude names.

On and on this taunting went. At first, Hormone didn't say anything, but one day my spidey sense started tingling, and I knew something was up.

I felt like there was a war going on. Me trying to reaffirm him so he wouldn't be traumatized; and the bullies doing their daily best to take him to a breaking point.

I was determined that my son would not--I REPEAT--would not succumb to the bullying. He would not be labeled, or have his sexuality questioned, or feel inferior.

So I pulled out the big guns. Fighting fire with fire is the human inclination. But God has a better way. A higher way. A sure-fire way to bring victory.

Hebrews 4:12 "God means what He says. What He says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything...Nothing and no one is impervious to God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what."

In other words, taunts and name-calling hurt those who they're aimed at. Sometimes all it takes is one insult, and we carry the sting for the rest of our life. We develop a thick skin and let no one in. But if mere human words have such a profound effect, how much more does God's Word affect us? God's Word is powerful. Nothing can get in it's way, and no one can get away from it. Not an eighth grader who is being teased and not an eighth grader who teases.

Check out this amazing portion of scripture: Deuteronomy 28:1-12

You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land He is giving you. Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of His bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. The LORD will make you the head, not the tail.

I am going to stop this DEVO right now and ask you all to print out the passage from Deuteronomy. Bless your family with the Word of the Lord today. If you aren't as pushy as me and can't physically put your hand on them, by all means go to their pillow and pray over them there. Go into your closet and pray for them there.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, What You say goes--You and no one else or nothing else has the final word in our life. Strengthen us today to bless those we love, and thank You that Your word will go straight to their heart and help them. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

What's in a Name?

TGIF Greetings~

Have you ever been labeled?  When I was a senior in high school the entire 34-member class of 1983 took a two-week field trip to visit Christian colleges and hang out at a camp called The Wilds.

It was great fun, and imagine my surprise when they were handing out awards, and I received a plaque, which was signed by all my classmates, that said, “Mouth of the South.”

I still have that plaster of paris monstrosity somewhere in my garage, and I am fond of it.

As labels go, that one was right on the money. 

However, sometimes labels aren’t very nice, and we are all guilty of putting nasty labels on others, even our own kids and certainly people we don’t like.  If I had a quarter for every time I have called someone an “idiot…”

Lord, forgive me.

But yesterday’s DEVO was all about putting the most positive label in the history of labels on others:

Numbers 6:22 “When you bless the people this way, you will place My name on the people of Israel.”

What, exactly, is God’s name?

Below is a partial list of the names of God.

ADVOCATE  ALMIGHTY   ALL IN ALL    BREAD OF LIFE   BREATH OF LIFE   BRIGHT MORNING STAR    COMFORTER    CONSUMING FIRE CORNERSTONE    COUNSELOR    CREATOR    CROWN OF BEAUTY   DELIVERER   ETERNAL LIFE    EXCELLENT    FAITHFUL & TRUE   FORTRESS FRIEND    GOOD SHEPHERD    GUIDE    HOPE    JUST ONE    KING OF KINGS    LIFE    LIGHT OF THE WORLD    LIVING WATER    LOVE LOVINGKINDNESS    MIGHTY ONE    PHYSICIAN   PRINCE OF PEACE   REWARDER   SHADE   SHIELD   STRENGTH   STRONG TOWER   TRUTH   WALL OF FIRE

The importance of blessing others is becoming clearer and clearer.  When I tell Hormone, “God bless you!” I am actually putting Hope, Guidance, Eternal Life, Comfort, Healing, Peace, Strength, Truth, Excellence and more—so much more—right onto his life.  Glory!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Your Majestic and Powerful name represents depths of blessings we are all eager to receive.  Bless us now, in Christ’s holy name, Amen! 

A Blessing For All~

One of my favorite blessings in the Bible is found in the Old Testament.  As we wake up this morning to a New Year filled with promise, I bless each of you with these words found in Numbers 6:24-26

"God bless you and keep you, God smile on you and gift you, God look you full in the face and make you prosper."

In His name,

Yenise~

Protect Us!

Good morning, all you beautiful and blessed children of God:)

Today we have arrived at part four of the definition of blessing:
To protect or guard from evil (usually used interjectionally).

I could not agree more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

An exclamation point at the end of a sentence says that the words preceding it are intense and emotional.

"God bless you." Is not the same as. "God bless you!" Jabez had it right when he cried out to God saying, "Bless me and enlarge my territory!"

Yes, an exclamation point appears in the Bible. Does it matter? Does it make a difference?
2 Timothy 3:16 "Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth...correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way."

The truth is God has exclamations in His word because sometimes we need to pray with exclamations. Part of our training for living His way includes getting to know Him as the kind of Father Who responds to fervent cries for blessings of protection.

One of you precious folks grew up attending a church where everything was low key. Prayers were soft and barely above a whisper. No matter what the situation, one always prayed in hushed, quiet tones. And then one day an urgent matter arose where you lost your toddler at the mall and you did not have time for formalities. You yelled to Jesus for help so loud that everybody in Cuba heard you. And God, did in fact, come running with your wiley two year old in hand.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Protect us and our families from all danger and evil! In Jesus' name, Amen~

Yenise~
With God all things are possible~
www.speedypalomino.com

Divine Favor Fave

Monday morning greetings:)

The second definition of the word bless (as defined by dictionary.com) is:
to request of God the bestowal of divine favor on.

I love how those words sound--Divine Favor...

Dictionary.com provides an eye-opening explanation as we peel back the layers of this verse. "Favor" means "friendly or kind regard; good will; approval; liking; favoritism; to be partial to; prefer; to help; assist; to do a kindness for;endorsing; provided with advantages; specially priviledged."

What makes it divine is that God Himself does all those things for us. Jabez had it right; who wouldn't want advantages and preferential treatment from God?

I have a license plate tag that says, "Jesus loves you, but I'm His favorite." But the truth is we're all His favorites. Hebrews 4:16 invites every single person to "have confidence, and approach God's throne, where there is grace. There they will receive mercy and find grace to help them just when they need it."

In other words, God is waiting to show us preferential treatment;
like Jabez, all we have to do is approach God.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, thank You for inviting us to approach You. This means You are approachable! We need and ask for Your divine favor--for help, approval, assistance, and advantages. Especially in this area ____________. Jabez has been a powerful reminder that You grant requests, so grant ours. In Jesus' name, Amen~





Have a beautiful day~

Bless Me~

And finally we can say...TGIF:)

We know by now that Jabez cried out and the first thing he asked for was, "Oh, that you would bless me..."

BLESS ME!!!

What does this beautiful verb mean?

As always, the fine folks at dictionary.com have great, multiple definitions.

1. to make or pronounce holy.

2. to request of God the bestowal of divine favor on: Bless this house.

3. to bestow good of any kind upon: a nation blessed with peace.

4. to protect or guard from evil (usually used interjectionally): Bless you! Bless your innocent little heart!

I'll take all four, but first things first. God has the means and the power to make us holy, which means He call us unto Himself and helps us live the Christian lifestyle.

In essence, the very first thing Jabez cried out for was help to make him a better man. The Christian lifestyle is NOT characterized by perfection or trying to be perfect, but rather by a daily dependence on God through prayer whereby we admit that without His help we are not going to make it. We need Him to help us with our emotional stability and with our work ethic. We need His help to maximize our ability to love and love well. We need His help to walk in kindness, patience, forgiveness, gentleness, peace, and self-control.

Jabez was wise to acknowledge God as the source of blessing in his life, and we should too. It's easy to see how if each of us ask for God's blessing, those around us will automatically be blessed as well.

One day at work I had a particularly rough day when someone said something to me extremely offensive. Jesus Himself would have understood if I would have retaliated with judo chop to the neck. But then again, Jesus is the biggest source and provider of blessing in my life, so I backed down. Instead, I calmly (Evidence number one that God helps us make better decisions) stood up and said in the most regal of tones, "I give thee the gift of my immediate forgiveness." (Evidence number two that God helps us make better decisions and that sometimes He likes it when we speak with a British accent). I gathered my things, because the only recourse after this highly dramatic event was to leave for the day. Before I even got to the car, this person called me and profusely apologized. (Evidence number three that God helps us make better decisions and that when He blesses us with the ability to have the right response others are motivated to respond in a right manner as well).

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Bless us today; make us holy. Pour out Your spirit on us so we, our children and everyone we come in contact can live rightly. When we live according to Your ways, we make wise decisions that lead to life. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

Give Her Special Treatment~

A glorious Tuesday greeting to all; I hope you all enjoyed a nice day off yesterday:)

 

Let's continue with our look at relationships.

 

Ruth 2:15-18

"When she got up to go back to work, Boaz ordered his servants: 'Let her glean where there’s still plenty of grain on the ground—make it easy for her. Better yet, pull some of the good stuff out and leave it for her to glean. Give her special treatment.'”

"Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. When she threshed out what she had gathered, she ended up with nearly a full sack of barley! She gathered up her gleanings, went back to town, and showed her mother-in-law the results of her day’s work; she also gave her the leftovers from her lunch."

 

Beautiful principle of the day: A good and generous man improves the life of the woman he is with AND her family. That's right. It's not just about you. It's also about the in-laws and the parents and the siblings, even the grandparents.

 

Naomi was so impressed with the bounty that Ruth brought home that she exclaims in verse 19. "God bless whoever it was who took such good care of you!”

 

I can assure you that I was not always so eager to bless those who dated my children. Quite the opposite, in fact. There were certain seasons in life where it took a Herculean effort to keep my mouth shut. I knew that if I said what I was really thinking I would alienate my child. Man, that was hard. But it's ok. God invites us to pour out our complaint to Him, so I did--often--daily--to be exact.

 

Start telling your children now that whoever they are going to date needs to be worthy of the blessings that you as a parent are willing to give. A good relationship brings unity--not division. The right relationship shows respect for everyone in the family. The behavior that a young man or young woman displays better have you and me saying exactly what Naomi said: GOD BLESS WHOEVER IT IS THAT IS TAKING SUCH GOOD CARE OF YOU!"

 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We raise our voice with the good Naomi to let You know that we desire to bless those who date our kids or even those whom we are dating. You provide some clear guidelines in Your Word; help us not to settle. We all want special treatment, and we want our relationships blessed. In Jesus' name, AMEN~