I used to think raising children was more or less a task of shaping and guiding a future generation. I still do. But I also think God uses children to shape parents. And the trials that come into our family circle aren’t necessarily to make us “better.” They are to “empty us out” so that God can fill us up with more of Himself.
Excerpted from Espresso for Your Spirit by Pam Vredevelt
Daily Reflection: Do you feel that your children have helped shape you to be closer to God?
Instead, remember two truths: our perspective is limited, but our God is unlimited. We can only see part of the pictureone frame of the movieat a time, but God sees it all. And although our resources may be limited, our faith stretched, and our fears multiplied, our Father can provide for all our needs, and he delights in loving us more than we can know. He is the ultimate chief of the construction crew of our lives, and he builds and shapes, tears down whatever is unneeded or in the way, and constructs a masterpiece, a work of significance, out of our lives. Under his direction, we can have the confidence to grow into all that we were meant to be.
Excerpted from 99 Bible Promises for Tough Times by Randy Petersen
Daily Reflection: How can you trust [ … ]
Maybe you have a favorite old mug. Into it you pour your morning coffee, your afternoon tea, or your bedtime cocoa. It might be stained, dulled by many washings, chipped, or crackedbut it still warms your hand as you enjoy its contents day by day.
That mug is like you. Outwardly we show the chips and cracks of everyday wear and tear, but inwardly we are renewed daily with the outpouring of the Spirit. Just before this promise of renewal, the apostle Paul described us as “jars of clay” (see verse 7), perhaps thinking about Adam being fashioned from the dust of the earth. We are indeed earthen vessels, but don’t focus on the fading exterior. Feel the warmth of what God is pouring into you.
Excerpted from 99 Bible Promises for Tough Times by Randy Petersen
Daily [ … ]
October is Depression Awareness Month
God is the ultimate recyclernothing goes to waste. He is able to use every experience, even your depression, to help you to grow. Chuck Swindoll, in his book Hope Again, puts it this way: “This variety of trials is like different temperature settings on God’s furnace. The settings are adjusted to burn off our dross, to temper us or soften us according to what meets our highest need. It is in God’s refining fire that the authenticity of our faith is revealed. And the purpose of these fiery ordeals is that we may come forth as purified gold, a shining likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.” Even amidst the fiery trial of depression, God is able to bless you and help you to grow. You must decide to meet him in this challenge for [ … ]
“Hand-me-down faith may work when things are going well, but when pressures and problems hit, what you thought you believed will crumble
Firsthand faith is not something you wear on the outside. Firsthand faith, in our experience, is centered deep in your own mind and heart. Sure, it’s still a work in progress, but it’s yours. It’s you. When hard times hit, you have a lot to draw on to weather the storm. In fact, firsthand faith is so real and personal that it just gets stronger when it is challenged.
Who wouldn’t want that kind of living, breathing faith?”
Excerpted from Firsthand by Ryan and Josh Shook
Daily Reflection: Are you relying on the faith of another (parent, spouse, child, friend), or do you know the Lord firsthand?
“A woman in her early thirties confessed to me, ‘Apparently my husband and I cannot have children.’ Since they have yet to conceive, she fears it might never happena logical assumption based on solid evidence. Still, that word apparently is very telling. Faith is believing what isn’t seen, what isn’t apparent. This wise young woman is quietly leaving a door open for a miracle.”
Excerpted from The Women of Christmas by Liz Curtis Higgs
Daily Reflection: Do you tend to believe only what is apparent, rather than the unseen reality God may be in the process of unfolding?
The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy. Psalm 111:7
Psalm 111:7 speaks of God’s works, but as Christians, shouldn’t we do our best to emulate Him? Whatever task is set before us we should strive to perform to our best ability and with honesty. A man’s true character shows best when he thinks no one is looking. If we do the right thing–our best work–even when no one is around to see if we do a slip-shod job, then we’re honoring our God and no one can find fault with us.
Original Devotional by Kim Vogel Sawyer, author of What Once Was Lost
Daily Reflection: How do you honor God with your best work?
Adonai is a Hebrew name for God meaning “master, ruler, owner, lord.” It is the generic term for lord in Hebrew. It is first seen in Scripture when Abram, longing for an heir, cries out to God in Genesis 15:2. Abraham called out to God as his Master. He looked to Him in prayer through confusing circumstances. He connected his hopes to Adonai and revered Him as the One who held the answers to life in His hands. You and I should do the same. When we accept God as Mastersovereign over allthen He becomes greater and we become less. When we get to know God as our Adonai, we will become more inclined to seek Him and revere Him in appropriate measures to His glory.
How have you called out to God as your Adonai?
Excerpted [ … ]
The truth is, feeling small may not be so bad after all, if in recognizing our smallness, we come to realize the wonder of Goda God who is beyond our ability to fully describe or imagine, yet Someone we are privileged to know, love, and embrace. Looking up from our fragile little lives, we are faced with the supremacy of a God who is fully capable of not only running the entire cosmos todaya task that doesn’t tax Him in the slightestbut of sustaining the affairs of our lives as well.
Excerpted from I Am Not But I Know I AM by Louie Giglio
Daily Reflection: How can you take comfort in Gods supremacy today?
