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Posted on 01/01/2024 3:15:48 PM PST by luvie
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We had a cold, snowy, windy Wednesday.
🙄
Things can only get better from here.
🌷🪻🌷🪻🌷
We had all that too, except the snow didn’t stick, thank goodness. Perhaps because it was a balmy 39 degrees.
Weather dude on TV tonight says nice weather next Monday.
Oh boy.
Only 5 days away.
😅
Bible in a Year :
I will be with him in trouble.
The sound of the drill terrified five-year-old Sarah. She leaped out of the dentist’s chair and refused to get back in. Nodding understandingly, the dentist told her father, “Daddy, get into the chair.” Jason thought he was meant to show his daughter how easy it was. But then the dentist turned to the little girl and said, “Now, climb up and sit in Daddy’s lap.” With her father now cradling her in his reassuring arms, Sarah relaxed completely, and the dentist was able to continue.
That day, Jason learned a great lesson about the comfort of the presence of his heavenly Father. “Sometimes, God [chooses not to] take over what we have to go through,” he said. “But God was showing me, ‘I will be there with you.’ ”
Psalm 91 speaks of the comforting presence and power of God that gives us the strength to face our trials. Knowing that we can rest in His powerful arms gives us great assurance, as does His promise to those who love Him: “He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble” (v. 15).
There are many unavoidable challenges and trials in life, and we will inevitably have to go through pain and suffering. But with God’s reassuring arms wrapped around us, we’ll be able to bear our crises and circumstances, and let Him strengthen our faith as we grow through them. .
Reflect & Pray
What trials are you going through now? How can you remind yourself that God is always with you?
Gracious Father, thank You for Your reassuring presence in my circumstances. Please help me through them, knowing that You’re always with me.
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Happy Thankful Thursday!
The sun is peeking out of the clouds now, after a 4 day absence.
Yay!
🌝
I hope the rain stops by you. We had 4 days of rain and snow. Even saw some snow again today. Looking better starting Friday. Monday looks sunny, but then the eclipse will take some sun away. Just can’t catch a break, ha ha.
Bible in a Year :
[God] has . . . set eternity in the human heart.
Monique was struggling. She had friends who were believers in Jesus, and she respected how they handled life’s struggles. She was even a bit jealous of them. But Monique didn’t think she could live the way they did; she thought having faith in Christ was about following rules. Finally, a fellow college student helped her see that God wasn’t out to spoil her life; instead, He wanted the best for her amidst her ups and downs. Once she understood this, Monique was ready to trust Jesus as her Savior and embrace the magnificent truth about God’s love for her.
King Solomon could have given Monique similar advice. He acknowledged that this world does have its sorrows. Indeed, there’s a “time for everything” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)—“a time to mourn and a time to dance” (v. 4). But there’s more. God “has also set eternity in the human heart” (v. 11). An eternity meant to be lived in His presence.
Monique gained life “to the full,” as Jesus said (John 10:10), when she trusted Him. But she gained so much more! Through faith, the “eternity in [her] heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) became the promise of a future when life’s struggles will be forgotten (Isaiah 65:17) and God’s glorious presence will be an eternal reality. .
Reflect & Pray
How have you experienced the fulfilling life Jesus offers? What are some things about your life in Him that you’re thankful for?
Dear Jesus, Solomon was right. Life is a rollercoaster. Thank You for making this life valuable and worth the effort. And thank You for the eternal joys that await.
AMEN to this great devotional today.
It’s all about the POWER of the CROSS...........
Well, bummer! I wondered if it were being felt that far from the epicenter. I assume you had no damage?
We had a 5.2 last year. The BOOM sound scared me. I thought the house had been hit by a truck or something. No damage, though.
No damage here, but everybody is talking about it.
Well, it was kind of a shock to everyone up and down the coast. Glad it wasn’t stronger and there was no major damage.
Well, that would be a new experience.
No such excitement here today.
We had sunshine, which was very nice.
🌞
Indeed. I could have been much worse.
Bible in a Year :
Put on your new nature, created to be like God.
Our blue spruce was dropping pinecones and needles. The tree doctor took one look at it and explained the problem. “It’s just being a spruce,” he said. I’d hoped for a better explanation. Or a remedy. But the tree man shrugged, saying again, “It’s just being a spruce.” By nature, the tree sheds needles. It can’t change.
Thankfully, our spiritual lives aren’t limited by unchangeable actions or attitudes. Paul stressed this liberating truth to the new believers at Ephesus. The gentiles were “darkened in their understanding,” he said, their minds closed to God. They possessed hardened hearts containing “every kind of impurity,” and sought only after pleasures and greed (Ephesians 4:18-19).
But “since you have heard about Jesus” and His truth, the apostle wrote, “throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life” (v. 22 nlt). Paul noted how our old nature “is corrupted by lust and deception.” He said, “Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy” (vv. 22-24 nlt).
Then he listed new ways to live. Stop lying. Resist anger. Stop cursing. Quit stealing. “Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need” (v. 28 nlt). Our new self in Christ allows us to live a life worthy of our calling, yielded to our Savior’s way. .
Reflect & Pray
What does it mean to put on your “new self”? How can you seek to walk the Savior’s way?
Renew my nature today, dear Jesus, as I yield to become more like You.
Learn more about developing your new nature in Christ.
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