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Posted on 01/01/2024 3:15:48 PM PST by luvie
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Bible in a Year :
Now you are the people of God.
Applause rang out as a school’s top students received certificates of excellence for academic achievement. But the program wasn’t over. The next award celebrated students who weren’t the school’s “best,” but instead were most improved. They’d worked hard to raise a failing grade, correct disruptive behavior, or commit to better attendance. Their parents beamed and applauded, acknowledging their children’s turn to a higher path—seeing not their former shortcomings but their walk in a new way.
The heart-lifting scene offers a small picture of how our heavenly Father sees us—not in our old life but now, in Christ, as His children. “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,” wrote John (John 1:12).
What a loving perspective! So Paul reminded new believers that once “you were dead in your transgressions and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). But in fact, “we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (v. 10).
In this way, Peter wrote, we are “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light,” and we are now “the people of God” (1 Peter 2:9-10). Through God’s eyes, our old path has no claim on us. Let’s see ourselves as God does—and walk anew.
Reflect & Pray
How does God see you? In Him, how should you walk?
On this new day, dear Father, please inspire me with Your view of me.
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I just had mine for dessert! :D
Bible in a Year :
For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.
On July 29, 1955, the United States of America announced its intent to place satellites in space. Soon after, the Soviet Union declared its plans to do the same. The space race had begun. The Soviets would launch the first satellite (Sputnik) and place the first human in space when Yuri Gagarin orbited our planet one time. The race continued until, on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong’s “giant leap for mankind” on the surface of the moon would unofficially end the competition. A season of cooperation soon dawned, leading to the creation of the International Space Station.
Sometimes competition can be healthy, driving us to achieve things that otherwise we might not have attempted. At other times, however, competition is destructive. This was a problem in the church at Corinth as different groups latched on to various church leaders as their beacons of hope. Paul sought to address that when he wrote, “Neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow” (1 Corinthians 3:7), concluding “for we are co-workers” (v. 9).
Co-workers—not competitors. And not just with one another but with God Himself! Through His empowering and His guidance, we can serve together as fellow workers to advance the message of Jesus, for His honor rather than our own.
Reflect & Pray
When have you experienced unhealthy competition, and what was it like? How does Jesus help you humbly serve others?
Loving God, thank You for the privilege of serving You. Please teach me the value of working to honor You and help others.
I swear my granddaughters need removed from their parents custody. PRAYERS PLEASE MY 6 YEAR OLD GRANDDAUGHTER SAVANNAH HAS, RSV, STREP, AND COVID. 3 month old Scarlett has FAILURE TO THRIVE AND SNIFFLES, needs a better Peditrician THIS 1 IS A JABBER. PARENTS ARE STUPID.
August 26
Bible in a Year :
The Lord . . . has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness.
It’s in the hard places of sorrow, loss, and pain that God helps us to grow in our faith and become closer to Him. As Lina learned, “The desert is not an oversight in God’s plan but an integral part of [our] growth process.”
God led many Old Testament patriarchs to the desert. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all had wilderness experiences. It was in the desert that God prepared Moses’ heart and called him to lead His people out of slavery (Exodus 3:1-2, 9-10). And it was in the desert that God “watched over [the Israelites’] journey” for forty years with His help and guidance (Deuteronomy 2:7).
God was with Moses and the Israelites each step of their way through the desert, and He’s with you and me in ours. In the desert, we learn to rely on God. There He meets us—and there we grow.
Reflect & Pray
When has God met you in a desert place? What happened as a result?
Dear God, thank You for being with me in the difficult desert experiences of my life. You’re faithful and compassionate.
| Many prayers for the safety and return to good health of your beloved granddaughters, GailA. No child should be in that kind of a situation! Prayer Warriors, let's get it done for these innocent children in the best way possible for them, Lord. |
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Good night Amy’s Place!
We’re having a heatwave here in WI.
Will be better by the weekend.
Took the dogs out tonight at 10 and it was still very warm and humid.
Must have been at least 85 degrees.
Not good for 10pm.
🙃
Definitely not good for 10:00PM.
Bible in a Year :
They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.
God designed the great gray owl as a master of camouflage. Its silver-gray feathers have a collective pattern of coloring which allows it to blend into the bark when perched in trees. When the owls want to remain unseen, they hide in plain sight, blending into their environment with the help of their feathery camouflage.
God’s people are often too much like the great gray owl. We can easily blend into the world and remain unrecognized as believers in Christ, intentionally or unintentionally. Jesus prayed for His disciples—those the Father gave Him “out of the world” who “obeyed” His Word (John 17:6). God the Son asked God the Father to protect and empower them to live in holiness and persevering joy after He left them (vv. 7-13). He said, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one” (v. 15). Jesus knew His disciples needed to be made holy and set apart so they could live out the purpose He’d sent them to fulfill (vv. 16-19).
The Holy Spirit can help us turn from the temptation to become masters of camouflage that blend into the world. When we submit to Him daily, we can look more like Jesus. As we live in unity and love, He’ll draw others to Christ in all His glory.
Reflect & Pray
When has God met you in a desert place? What happened as a result?
Dear God, thank You for being with me in the difficult desert experiences of my life. You’re faithful and compassionate.
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Bible in a Year :
Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
Abraham also endured what must have felt like a lengthy delay. Way back when he was known as Abram, God told him that He would make him “into a great nation” and that “all peoples on earth [would] be blessed through” him (Genesis 12:2-3). Only one problem for the seventy-five-year-old man (v. 4): how could he become a great nation without an heir? His waiting was left wanting at times, however. He and wife Sarai tried to “help” God fulfill His promise with some misguided ideas (see 15:2-3; 16:1-2). And when he “was a hundred years old . . . Isaac was born to him” (21:5). His faith was later celebrated by the writer of Hebrews (11:8-12).Waiting can be hard. And, like Abraham, we might not do it perfectly. But as we pray and rest in God’s plans, may He help us persevere. In Him, it’s always worth the wait.
Reflect & Pray
What are you waiting for? How can you rest and persevere in God’s strength?
Dear God, please help me wait and persevere in You.
Happy Warm Fuzzy Wednesday!
Heatwave has left us. Was miserable for a few days.
Much needed rain on the way for Thursday.
😁
I knw where your heat wave went.
HERE! :-(
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