Posted on 01/01/2024 3:15:48 PM PST by luvie
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Bible in a Year :
So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide.
Born on a farm, Judson Van DeVenter learned to paint, studied art, and became an art teacher. God, however, had a different plan for him. Friends valued his work in church and urged him to go into evangelism. Judson felt God calling him too, but it was hard for him to give up his love for teaching art. He wrestled with God, but “at last,” he wrote, “the pivotal hour of my life came, and I surrendered all.”
We can’t imagine Abraham’s heartbreak when God called him to surrender his son Isaac. In the wake of God’s command to “sacrifice him there as a burnt offering” (Genesis 22:2), we ask ourselves what precious thing God is calling us to sacrifice. We know that He ultimately spared Isaac (v. 12), and yet the point is made: Abraham was willing to surrender what was most precious to him. He trusted God to provide in the midst of a most difficult calling.
We say we love God, but are we willing to sacrifice what’s dearest to us? Judson Van DeVenter followed God’s call into evangelism and later penned the beloved hymn “I Surrender All.” In time, God called Judson back into teaching. One of his students was a young man named Billy Graham.
God’s plan for our lives has purposes we can’t imagine. He longs for us to be willing to surrender what is dearest. It seems that’s the least we can do. After all, He sacrificed for us His only begotten Son. .
Reflect & Pray
What’s God’s calling for you? What might you need to sacrifice for Him?
Dear God, I struggle to fully surrender parts of my life to You. Please help me to trust You.
Yes, Daily Bread. I enjoy reading and sharing it everyday.
God only knows how many people have read it since I started over 20 years now.
God Bless my friend and thank you for coming by.
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I’m sure that’s not the end of it, but enjoy the thaw while you can...muddy paw prints and all! :)
Oh...it never is the end of it. March is terrible around here.
We’ve even had blizzards on Easter Sunday.
Actually, believe it or not, so have we. Even when Easter was in April. I felt so sorry for the little girls at church who wanted to wear their new Easter dresses and had to cover them up with heavy winter-wear. LOL!
What’s worse is the Irish Step-Dancers in their little short tunics marching in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in a Freezing Blizzard that hit Boston unexpectedly, right in the middle of the Parade.
Brrrr! That had to be such a disaster for them!
It’s hard to do the Irish Jig on snow and slush. :-)
Hi there! Puppy has me pretty busy....as expected. I hope all this running around causes me to drop a few pounds! Activity level is awful high lately!
😅
Oh Yes. Puppies are like that.
Zoomies all day and night.
Bible in a Year :
We prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.
When Wallace and Mary Brown moved to an impoverished part of Birmingham, England, to pastor a dying church, they didn’t know that a gang had made the grounds of their church and home its headquarters. The Browns had bricks thrown through their windows, their fences set on fire, and their children threatened. The abuse continued for months; the police were unable to stop it.
The book of Nehemiah recounts how the Israelites rebuilt Jerusalem’s broken walls. When locals set out to “stir up trouble,” threatening them with violence (Nehemiah 4:8), the Israelites “prayed to . . . God and posted a guard” (v. 9). Feeling God used this passage to direct them, the Browns, their children, and a few others walked around their church’s walls, praying that He would install angels as guards to protect them. The gang jeered, but the next day, only half of them showed up. The day after that, only five were there, and the day after, no one came. The Browns later heard the gang had given up terrorizing people.
This miraculous answer to prayer isn’t a formula for our own protection, but it’s a reminder that opposition to God’s work will come and must be fought with the weapon of prayer. “Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome,” Nehemiah told the Israelites (v. 14). He can even set violent hearts free. .
Reflect & Pray
What would you have done in the Browns’ situation? Who needs your prayers for deliverance today?
Awesome God, protect Your people by Your powerful angels, and set the hearts of Your enemies free.
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Still chasing after the puppy.....😅
I can’t wait to see how many pounds I lose in a month!
😀
Tippy keeps me movin’ too! :-)
I hope I lose 20 pounds!
😅
Me Too!
It’s a goal! :-)
I hope you can post some pics of your little weight-loss plan! LOL!
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