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 Psalm 139:5 "You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me." |
Surprise! Writing this devotion this morning is a challenge for me. I don't feel prepared, but I made a commitment this past Sunday in worship to "expect the unexpected with God." I don't know what to expect as to what will come out of my heart, through my hands, and into your heart. I do know that I just discovered the opening verse of Scripture and it reminded me of when, as a child, my mom would come in on a cold night and tuck me into bed. I felt so safe and warm. I couldn't move, but I was safe!  Another
wonderful memory was when I was in my twenties and went home to visit my mom
in Michigan. It was just like I had never left home. She sat beside me,
tucked me in and ran her hand softly across my brow. I also felt as if I had
never left home as I welcomed her gentle reassurance that the monsters under
the bed wouldn't gobble me up because she was there, just in the other room,
to keep me safe. Just as it is with God. Like we never left home to wander
about, He welcomes us, tucking us into His loving presence, running His hand
across our brow in loving reassurance.Now, that
was unexpected! You have witnessed God in action. Just this morning I took a
card out of a "Scripture-a-day" box from my desk, read it, and decided to
use it, somehow, in my devotional writing. The reverse side of the card says
this, "I know peace because you forgive my past, know my future, and protect
my life today." Rest in His unexpected blessings for the day, just like
little wrapped gifts, just waiting to be unwrapped by you!Prayer Thank you God for the blessings of unexpected grace. You truly have tucked me in and made me feel safe in a sometimes unsafe world. Amen. Additional Scripture Psalm 105:4; Romans 8:28; Psalm 107:8
Cheryl D. Wyatt
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NOTE: This page contains 5 devotions. Pick
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| Luke:1:13-24 But the angel said, “Don't be afraid, Zechariah! For God has heard your prayer, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son! And you are to name him John. You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice with you at his birth for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord." |
God's Blessings Imagine the surprise felt by Zechariah and Elizabeth! They were a couple who had thought themselves barren and had reached an advanced age, resigned to the fact that they would never be parents. Then during her pregnancy, Elizabeth had a visit from Mary, who also had been blessed with an unexpected gift from God. In today's
world, it can be hard to understand why some women can't get pregnant while
other women get pregnant before they're married and ready to have children.
When we begin to question God's reasoning, we just need to look back at the
facts surrounding John the Baptist's and Jesus' conception and birth to
understand that God knows what he's doing.God’s
blessings often come at a time when we least expect it and in forms that we
sometimes don't understand. I recently saw a television report on a young
boy named Mattie Stepanek who has a rare form of Muscular Dystrophy. He has
already lost two brothers to the same disease and his mother is in a
wheelchair. Mattie has written two best selling books of poetry revolving
around the themes of peace and love and he is only eleven years old. When
asked if he ever asks “Why me?,” he replied, "Why not me?" You see, the Lord
has taken this sick boy and given him the gift to impact millions of lives
with his insight and wisdom. The kind of insight and wisdom that comes only
from experiencing pain and heartache.Prayer Lord, let us never refuse a gift of your blessings. Help us to accept them with open hearts and share them with the world. Let us recognize the many blessings that are already in our lives and become gifts to those around us. Forgive us of our sins and remain always in the front of our thoughts. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Ruth Moorman |
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| Hebrews 11:1 What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see. |
What Do You See? Lately it seems as if my prayers aren’t being answered. I asked for money to pay my bills. I asked for a significant relationship. I prayed for a better job. None of this has happened. I do get discouraged sometimes. In Mark 9:24 it is written, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief.” Trying not to get discouraged is hard to do sometimes. Prayer Dear God, should I change what I pray for? Am I praying for the right things in my life? Am I having to wait to be blessed by You because I’m not asking for the right things? Lord, give me wisdom in my prayer life. Instead of my “need to get by” prayer list, I will start asking for my needs and my wants that bypass my expectation. I shouldn't limit myself to the awesome power that is available when I call upon You in my prayers. Father, you blessed Jabez. I also ask for your blessings and ask for all things in the name of your Son, Jesus. Amen. Additional Scripture 1 Chronicles 4:10; Luke 12:12; Romans 8:26
Rod McKenzie
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| Mark 8:17-19 “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” |
Spirit Sleep It can happen in a variety of ways. You pray for your family to open themselves up to God, only to find them still dead as a doorknob as you get together to gnaw on that Thanksgiving turkey. You volunteer to help out at a youth outreach event only to find the youngsters more interested in cursing their skateboards than praising God. Such moments, when compiled together, begin to pound our faith like a hammer to a nail. Whack! Whack! Whack! So we continue to pray for God to intervene, but we really don’t expect anything to happen. Slowly but surely, dullness and deadness begin to creep into our very being. We become hardened, stoic, and unenthused about life. Most of all, we begin to forget about the miracle that God did in our own lives. God has been working all along, in His time and fashion, but our doubt has kept us from seeing it happen. Prayer Lord, I forgot that you really exist. I’ve fallen asleep. I am sorry. Wow! You are all around me! Drench me with your love. Additional Scripture Numbers 14; John 20:29
Jim Schul
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| Psalm 30:11-12 You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever. . |
Silence Can Be Golden I can relate to John the Baptist’s father, Zechariah, in having the use of your voice taken away. It has been almost a year now since my left vocal cord was paralyzed due to the effects of cancer. While Zechariah was struck completely silent and had to communicate with others by hand signals, I can still “speak in a squeak.” In fact, my children have lovingly dubbed me Squeaky. Zechariah’s term of silence was a little over nine months and when he acted in obedience to the Lord’s will, “his tongue was loosed and he began to speak, praising God.” (Luke 1:64) Unlike
Zechariah, I do not know how long I must wait until my voice is restored and
I, too, will be able to speak loudly in praise of the Lord’s goodness. I do
not know why I have been so afflicted, but choose not to ask and just trust
in the Lord to get me out of this situation. I do sometimes wonder, however,
if, as in the case of Job, this could be a test of my faith and love. If it
is, I feel blessed that God has armed me with His Word and grace and has
enabled me to continually lambaste Satan and extinguish all his flaming
arrows. If my condition is the work of Satan, he did me a great favor as I
have learned so many wonderful things during this journey. Things I might
otherwise never have known. I knew God loved me, I just didn’t realize how
much! I am so
thankful that God called me, not for what I was or am, but for what, by His
grace, I will become. I do not know, as yet, what His plans are for me or
when this particular journey will end. But this I have learned. He never
leaves me or forsakes me and no matter what path I must walk, He walks with
me! I long to speak and sing again. Hopefully, and because of this
experience, when He does restore my voice, I’ll know better how to use it to
His glory.My dear
brothers and sisters, please put yourselves completely into God's hands and
know the joy of His love, grace and compassion. Whatever journey we take can
never compare with the ultimate journey of all time: Jesus’ faithful and
obedient journey from heaven to earth, from the earth to the Cross, from the
Cross to the grave, from the grave to heaven - that we all could have
eternal life. In the words of Sam Shumaker, as Jesus journeyed to earth, God
said, “Tell them all how much I love them.” And Jesus did!
Prayer My dear Father, I thank you for your total and unconditional love and for accepting all of us just as we are. Whenever I am weary or tired or concerned, thank You for the ability to just close my eyes and imagine that You just picked me up in Your arms. What comfort and joy to feel Your presence! In my heart I will praise You until You take away the silence of my voice and I can shout to the world how great Thou art! I put my life and times wholly into Your hands and let You be You. Yes! Additional Scripture Psalm 62:1; Ephesians 6:16; I Corinthians 15:58
Pat Hedleston
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