Tag Archives: God

Words of Grace – Book Review

This is certainly not just another devotional.  It’s better than that.  It’s full of thoughtful, inspiring articles that drew me closer to my God.  It led me to a deeper level of thought on what the Word is trying to say.

Best of all, I can pick it up or put it down at any point.  Meaning, it’s not dated so I didn’t feel pressured to read a certain part on a certain day.  I can open it anywhere and read something important about my walk with Jesus any time I want.

It is thoughtfully divided into three categories.  Who God is, how He works in our lives, and how we are to respond to Him.

Here are a few quotes that really spoke to me:

  • “In the realm of morality and money, family and friends, work and play, God has a will and a way for us to live.”  (pg. 13)
  • “What is the message of Good News? God’s favor is on all mankind.” (pg. 25)
  • “We must know, feel, and acknowledge our sin before we will turn to Christ for salvation.  We must turn to Christ for salvation before we will have freedom from our sin.” (pg. 51)
  • Regarding the truth of Romans 8:1 – “You don’t have to justify yourself to others.  Imagine relating to others without being defensive.  You are not condemned, and no one can condemn you before God, so when you interact with others you can focus on truth, love, and edification.” (pg. 87)

I had only one drawback as I read through.  Scott Patty is a deep thinker and with that came sentence structure that was sometimes difficult to read.  But then, that forced me to think more deeply on God’s Word.

I’m sure I’ll be keeping this devotional in my book basket for months/years to come.

What a blessing!

Marie

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Broadman and Holman Publishers.  I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

5 Sentence Friday Psalm 139:14

Here it is. 5-Sentence Friday. Today’s verse is one that is often repeated. The One and Only thought of me, planned me, loved me from the beginning of time.  In the ‘fullness of time’ (phrase from Eph. 4:4) I came to be. Just thinking about this concept is overwhelming but it is what it is.

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous—and how well I know it.  Psalm 139:14  TLB

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderfully made; I know that full well.  Psalm 139:14 NIV

  1. I had nothing to do with the complexity of who I would be.
  2. I am His wonderfully made creation.
  3. God deserves (and expects) my thanks for even thinking of me.
  4. Every heartbeat, every breath, every step is/was orchestrated by You.
  5. My skills, talents, and habits are part of Your purpose for me.

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie

God’s Plan Works

Hands_of_God_and_Adam

“I’m convinced: You can do anything and everything.  Nothing and No one can upset Your plans.  Job 42:2

Are you as convinced as Job that God can do what He says He can do?  I wonder then, why do so many of us who say we believe not trust Him on this?

God had just taken Job to task for trying to explain His motives and actions.  Now, I don’t know about you, but if God appeared to me in a whirlwind or tornado or giant storm I would be listening closely.  Job and his friends were trying to explain the catastrophe of Job’s current life.  God simply  set them straight by asking if they really thought they knew what they were talking about.

Jeremiah gives the same message to the Exiles in 29:11.  I know you know that verse.   God is telling them that He has a plan and it is not to harm them.  In Job’s case God was not causing the harm, the evil one was.  God’s plan was still in place.  He restored Job’s fortune and gave him more children.  He will do the same for everyone if we ask.  Job had to ask for forgiveness because he was trying to say he knew more than God.  The Israelites had to ask for for forgiveness before they were allowed to return to their homeland. (Check out Jeremiah 29:12-13)

All we need to do is trust God to do what He has already planned for us.

Almightly God, help us see that we are not always right in our thoughts of what You are doing.  Help us know that Your plan is already in motion, that it is perfect in every way, and that You know what You are doing.  Open our minds to Your leading.  Make it so in Jesus Name.

This post can also be found in Pondering and Prayer.

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie

My God Will Supply All I Need

My God Will Supply

God is working in the world, around the world, to let us know that He is present, watching us and helping us.

We’ve had more rain in the last two months than in the entire 5 year period preceding. floodOur sump pump was working non-stop to keep water from the basement. Now, add to that to Ray being in the hospital because his heart doctor wanted to do a cath procedure and of course they found another blockage which required another stent (6 altogether now) and he would have to stay all night. When I went to the basement the next morning I was not expecting to see 2 inches of water covering the floor.

OK, what am I going to do now? Barefoot, I go to the bottom of the stairs and decide there is no way I’m going to put my feet in that water.  I gave some thought to putting plastic bags on my feet (I have no boots) but quickly came to the conclusion that falling from the slipperiness created between plastic and water was not an option either.  Then I saw my laundry baskets floating right in front of me…All right! I could put one foot in each and 250850042900-1_1walk/slosh over to the pump to see what was going on. I unplugged and replugged but still nothing. So the thought occurred to me that perhaps it was a power problem. Over to the  breaker box I sloshed.  Flipped all the breakers because I hadn’t thought to turn the light on and said another prayer that God would intervene in this situation. Our sump is very quiet so I couldn’t tell if anything was happening or not and decided to go upstairs and get ready to go to the University Medical Center to pick up Ray. While sloshing back to the stairs, heading up and getting dressed for the day (Yes, I was still in my PJ’s through all the drama.) I was praying…Lord, You know I don’t really know what I’m doing here, You know that we don’t have a lot of ready cash, You know what I need…Please help us!

And He did! I looked into the basement as I walked by the door to head out to the garage and the sump had done the job.  It was wet, but I could turn the fans and dehumidifier on high to take care of that.

I believe, without question, God heard my prayer and answered every part of it.  The sump pump is still working and the basement is dry.  He knows my every need.  I’ve learned to depend on Him for everything.  He is my Provider, my Power Source, my Counselor.

You’ll find a similar story of God’s provision over at Amazing Battery Power from God.  Anne lives in Australia and writes much about God’s work in her life.  Check it out!

These stories are popping up all over the web from bloggers around the world.  God is alive and well and acting on His children’s requests every moment.  What a mighty God we serve!

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie

No One Is More Important Than Jesus

These words of Oswald Chambers had a profound effect on me the first (and every) timehouse I read them.  I have many friends who mean much to me but not as much as my Jesus.  I have a loving family whom I adore but they don’t mean as much to me as my Jesus.  I have a church family that I think the world of but they don’t mean as much to me as Jesus.  God gave me the most awesome man on earth as a helpmate, but Jesus surpasses the love he has for me.  (Yes, he’s comfortable with that because he also knows that Jesus’ love for him is greater than mine.)  There is no one in this world greater than my  Jesus!

Our soul’s history with God is frequently the history of the “passing of the hero.”  Over and over again God has to remove our friends in order to bring Himself in their place, and that is where we faint and fail and get discouraged.  Take it personally: In the year that the one who stood to me for all that God was, died–I gave up everything?  I became ill?  I got disheartened?  Or–I saw the LORD?

It must be God first, God second, and God third, until the life is faced steadily with God and no one else is of any account whatever.  “In all the world there is none but Thee, my God, there is none but Thee.”  Keep paying the price.  Let God see that you are willing to live up to the vision. 

Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest (Westwood, NJ; Barbour and Company, Incl, 1935), 195.

I thank my God every time I remember you.  Philippians 1:3

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie