More Than Informed

S ~ And that's when Rebekah's nurse, Deborah, died. She was buried just below Bethel under the oak tree. It was named Allon-Bacuth (Weeping-Oak). Genesis 35:8

O ~ The text so quickly relates that Deborah died, and they called the place 'Weeping-Oak'. Real life, real death, real weeping. Someone dear died, and they wept.

A ~ I need to remember that people have real experiences that touch them deeply. When I hear of people facing things, I need to know more than the facts, but sensitively care for them in what they are facing.

P ~ Lord, please help me to be more than informed; help me be full of compassion and care for those around me. Use me - I'm available to care for people.

Free on the Sabbath

S - But Jesus shot back, "You frauds! Each Sabbath every one of you regularly unties your cow or donkey from its stall, leads it out for water, and thinks nothing of it. So why isn't it all right for me to untie this daughter of Abraham and lead her from the stall where Satan has had her tied these eighteen years?" When he put it that way, his critics were left looking quite silly and redfaced. The congregation was delighted and cheered him on. Luke 13:15-17

O ~ Again Jesus keeps the Sabbath by doing good. The Sabbath is a day for healing - wholeness - loosing.

A ~ Bringing Spirit-Life Healing is not a violation of the Sabbath - it is the purpose of the Sabbath. Keeping it holy is keeping people whole. It needs to be life giving to others, as well as to me. It should not be veiwed as work, nor should it be work - simply being a vessel that His Spirit can use in power. But that is the key - it is not an exertion of my power (work), but a release of His power (grace).

P ~ Father, help me to rely on You on the Sabbath - and be a instrument of healing, seeing people loosed from the grip of the enemy and everything of his dominion.

S ~ God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know your intentions were pure, that's why I kept you from sinning against me; I was the one who kept you from going to bed with her. So now give the man's wife back to him. He's a prophet and will pray for you—pray for your life. If you don't give her back, know that it's certain death both for you and everyone in your family." Genesis 20:6-7

O ~ The kings potential sin would have not only brought death to him, but to his whole family.

A ~ I always need to remember that sin costs more that I want to pay. And my sin impacts the ones I love the most.

P ~ Lord, just like you kept the king from sinning, please keep me from sin, and in protecting me, you are protecting my family.

It's Relative

S ~ And that's the story: When God destroyed the Cities of the Plain, he was mindful of Abraham and first got Lot out of there before he blasted those cities off the face of the Earth. Genesis 19:29

O ~ He saved Lot because of Abraham, not because of Lot's righteous (or unrighteous) lifestyle.

A ~ What tremendous hope for those with wayward children and relatives. God remembered Lot, and God will remember my extended family. Because of God's faithfulness and promises, He saves our relatives.

P ~ Thank You Lord for this wonderful picture. Please bring my family out from dwelling in the land of sin. Redeemer. Deliverer. Saviour.

Pop Culture

S ~ There's trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. Popularity contests are not truth contests—look how many scoundrel preachers were approved by your ancestors! Your task is to be true, not popular. Luke 6:26

O ~ This makes me think of the need to be careful when all people speak well of you. When you live for the approval of others, it is the life of a chameleon, fitting in to every situation and having no conviction of your own. It is a life of deception.

A ~ I see the need for 2 things to be present in my life to avoid this pitfall. 1 - an authentic devotional life comprised of worship, His Word, and Prayer. 2 - Authentic people in my life who will not only encourage me, but admonish me - sharpen me, loving me enough to be truthful.

P ~ Father, may I live my life before you, refusing to be shaped by what is popular, and instead being transformed by Your Presence.

Bounty

S ~ You're here to bear fruit, reproduce, lavish life on the Earth, live bountifully!" Genesis 9:7

O ~ This was the LORD's command to Noah and his family; live bountifully. Don't just be a user, be a producer. Don't just take, but multiply. Leave more than you take. Be fruitful. Pick a fruit and eat it, enjoy it to the fullest, but then plant the seeds from that fruit and turn it into an orchard. Extend life, not advance death.

A ~ Living bountifully doesn't mean living either extravagantly or wastefully - it means to create bounty; more, not less. Give more, laugh more, share more. Waste less - less money, less energy, less time, on meaningless things. Live in the fullness of the bounty of the present. Celebrate large.

P ~ Lord, help me to extend the bounty you have provided to me, by sharing it with others. Help me to be fruitful, not fruitless. May there be MORE because of me, not LESS. May there be more joy, more life, more supply - all for others.

Baptism of Life Change

S ~ He (John the Baptist) went all through the country around the Jordan River preaching a baptism of life-change leading to forgiveness of sins, as described in the words of Isaiah the prophet... Luke 3:3

O ~ An amazing perspective on baptism: a change of life. Just like James Thomas taught me so many years ago in Bible school, it is not just a change of 180 degrees, it's a life change.

A ~ I want to be faithful to my baptism, that truly my life is changed because of Christ.

P ~ Lord, please don't stop changing me. I want to continue to be changed and walk in the forgiveness you have purchased for me. I don't want to sin that grace may abound, instead I want to live a changed life, surrendered and presented to You, in action, word, thought, and motivation.

God's Presence

S - Cain left the presence of God and lived in No-Man's-Land, east of Eden. Genesis 4:16
O - As God is omnipresent, this must indicate that Cain left relationship with God, communion, fellowship, access.
A ~ I'm so grateful for the price that Jesus paid for me that no matter how I fail and fall short, there is always access to God's presence. The atoning blood of Jesus has made a way.
P ~ Jesus, thank You for making a way that I will never be alone ~ forsaken or abandoned.
May my life be filled with the presence of God and may I be a catalyst for others to encounter You.

Daughters of Beauty

S - Good morning! You're beautiful with God's beauty, Beautiful inside and out! God be with you. Luke 1: 28
O - Gabriel's message to Mary declared that her outside appearance reflected her true beauty - she shone from the inside out! His greeting was also interesting "God be with you", as He already was.
A - I need to continue to pray for a right perspective for my daughters concerning beauty. In a culture that is so sexually charged and that has distorted and perverted what is beautiful, may Robyn and Emily Dawn reflect and model God's beauty in their lives ~ from the inside out.
P ~ Father, you are not only my heavenly Father, but my girls have given their lives to You. Please shield them from this worlds mold; instead transform them by the renewing of their minds, and the guarding of their hearts, to simply be WHO you have created each one of them to be. I love them.