PODCAST: My Hope is Found by Joanne Bischof
Women of Christmas Radio Special
WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group and Westar Media Group are producing and distributing a 30-minute radio special featuring New York Times bestselling author and popular speaker Liz Curtis Higgs and her latest book The Women of Christmas: Experience the Season Afresh with Elizabeth, Mary and Anna .
Hundreds of Christian radio stations around the country have signed up to air the 30-minute special or a series of 60-second vignettes, which offer a closer look at the three vital women in the story of the Christ childs birth. Higgs, who is best known for her million-selling Bad Girls of the Bible, along with radio host Chris Fabry discuss a trio of the Bibles good girls, Elizabeth, Mary and Anna, and why God chose them to fulfill his promise of a Messiah.
Christmas is so much more than a holiday, says Higgs. [ … ]
What Isn’t Apparent
“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?
Honoring God
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: Lord and Master
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 [ … ]
Our Smallness
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?
Loving Others, Avoiding Resentment
“One of the things that kills empathy and compassion for someone we once felt love toward is the buildup of negative emotions, especially resentment. Jesus knows that when we’re struggling with the effects of a person’s sin against us, we will feel angry, scared, and hurt. That is human and normal. But when the person who has hurt us is not sorry, or continues to hurt us again and again, our negative emotions grow and resentment builds, putting a choke hold on all our positive feelings. I believe that is one reason why the Bible commands us to forgive when someone hurts us and why Jesus tells us to love our enemy by doing him or her good. It’s not only for their benefit but for ours, so that we don’t fill up with resentment and become toxic.
Doing good [ … ]