Today's Devotional brought to you by Prayer Warrior Michelle Simpson

Psalm 29:9-11

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁹ The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth,
And strips the forests bare;
And in His temple everyone says, “Glory!”

¹⁰ The Lord sat enthroned at the Flood,
And the Lord sits as King forever.
¹¹ The Lord will give strength to His people;
The Lord will bless His people with peace.

Deuteronomy 7:6

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁶ “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.

1 Peter 2:9

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁹ But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

God is the same yesterday, today and always! The same God that spoke all of creation into existance still speaks creation into existance, it is His voice that causes the deer to give birth. The same God that sat enthroned at the flood still sits enthroned, He is King of kings forever and reigns sovereign over every situation. The same God that strips the forest bare in the fall causes it to burst foth with new growth every spring! This same God has chosen you, you! He has sett you apart as a special treasure to Himself! He will give you strength and bless you with peace! He sat enthroned over the flood that covered the earth and sits enthroned over the floods that threaten to overwhelm you! After the flood God gave a promise, a rainbow. Trust in Him and look for your rainbow! God is faithfull!

Father God, Creator of heaven and earth, I will trust in You all of the days of my life! You have called me and set me apart. You have promised to strengthen me and give me Your peace wich passes all understanding! Thank You for chosing me! Help me to soar over the rainbow! Thank You for Your faithfulness! Your love is amazing! In Jesus, Holy, Healing, All powerful name, amen.

Today's Devotional

Brought to you by Prayer Team member Bobbi Heffel

Exodus 34

 ²⁷ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” ²⁸ Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.

The Radiant Face of Moses

 ²⁹ When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. ³⁰ When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. ³¹ But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. ³² Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the LORD had given him on Mount Sinai.

 ³³ When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. ³⁴ But whenever he entered the LORD’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, ³⁵ they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD.

I keep thinking of the “mountain top experience” as we call it. That time (or times) in your life when you have been so close to God that you are filled with euphoria and it feels like your feet are barley touching the ground. What a blessing to know His presence so intimately and intensely. Sometimes we seem to be stuck in a dry, blowing desert either spiritually or the path our life has taken due to unforeseen events. If you are stuck or struggling, take heart!

Moses had just lead the Israelite people out of Egypt. Strenuous.  He made several requests for his people’s freedom by coming before Pharaoh. Stressful.  And he had just living through the 10 plagues of Egypt. More than unpleasant. Not to mention the emotions that come with discovering you were adopted. An now here he is in the desert, with a great throng of people counting on him to lead them safely through the desert to the promised land. Now what does Moses do? He climbs the mountain where he encountered God before, with the intent to meet with or hear from God.

Moses had just lived through history changing events and he chose to seek out God. That gives me great hope that no matter what we are struggling with or against that it is not so big, that we can’t seek God and overcome it! Our struggle maybe the very thing that compels us to draw near to God.

When Moses reached the top of the mountain was it empty? Absolutely not! Moses spent 40 days and nights with the Lord without eating or drinking and when Moses came down from the mountain his face was radiant. This isn’t the glow we see on someone happy or an expectant mother. This was a glow that caused people to fear him.

Are you ready for a mountain top experience? A time with God no matter what circumstances surround you? Moses was still in the desert when he ascended the mountain. Are you ready for an encounter with God so sweet that food can’t equal. An encounter that molds you into the will of God so much that people take a step back to try and understand what has happened to you.

2 Peter 1

³ His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴ Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

 ⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷ and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. ⁸ For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

 ¹⁰ Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, ¹¹ and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Prophecy of Scripture

 ¹² So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. ¹³ I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body,

 

PRAYER

Lord, Thank you for your promises! That you will never leave nor forsake us and that you are with us in all of life’s events. You go with us through the desert. You hold us during the storms. You comfort us through the deepest hurts. And you celebrate with us in the joys! While we long for the next mountaintop, help us to faithfully walk the path you have set before us and may you receive all glory and honor. Amen

Today's Daily Devotion

Today's Devotion is brought to you by prayer team member Bobbi Heffel

From Trial to Triumph

Luke 23:26-43

The Crucifixion

 ²⁶ As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. ²⁷ A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. ²⁸ Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹ For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ ³⁰ Then “‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’

   ³¹ For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

 ³² Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. ³³ When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. ³⁴ Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.  And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

 ³⁵ The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”

 ³⁶ The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar ³⁷ and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

 ³⁸ There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

 ³⁹ One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”

 ⁴⁰ But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? ⁴¹ We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

 ⁴² Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

 ⁴³ Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

John 19:25-27

Behold Your Mother

 ²⁵ Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” ²⁷ and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

Matthew 27:45-50

The Death of Jesus

 ⁴⁵ From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. ⁴⁶ About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi    lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

 ⁴⁷ When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”

 ⁴⁸ Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. ⁴⁹ The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

 ⁵⁰ And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 

Sometimes we find ourselves in a situation that is out of control, unbearable, painful.  Sometimes we feel beat down and ready to give up. We have been hanging on to the last knot in our rope and Friday just won’t get here soon enough. What do we do? How do we go on? 

We follow the example of Jesus. The pain he endured on the cross was unbearable but he knew the Father had a purpose in it. Jesus endured the pain while still thinking of his mother’s needs and making arrangements for her future needs. He had physically been beaten to beyond recognition yet he didn’t hold malice toward the ones who attacked him. Better yet, he asked for forgiveness for the ones that had abused him. While hanging on to humanity and the life left in his body he never called upon the armies of angles at his disposal to rescue him. He lived out that situation knowing that was what he was born for and, that there was a great purpose in it. 

Whatever you are going through God is there with you in the midst of it. As out of control as it seems, he knows about it and he is in control of it. He will use it to refine you and bring you closer to him, if you allow him to. Remember that you aren’t the only one hurting. Reach out to others and help them however you can. Forgive the ones that have hurt you and are currently hurting you. Hang on until God tells you otherwise. We don’t always know why he created us, the task he has for us, or the prosperity he has for us around the next corner. We do know he loves us and we can trust him. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:10-12)

Today’s Prayer

Father, here we are at the holiday season. Everything is decked out for Christmas and everywhere we look hearts and faces are aglow. As wonderful as this time of the year is it can leave us feeling lonely and filled with pain. Lord I pray for those of us who need your loving touch, a fresh filling of your joy, that we would experience your presence anew. Lord, take these things that grab us, hold us or bind us and put them in perspective so that we may leave them at your feet. Holy is you name! You are worthy to receive all glory, power and honor! Thank you for all you have done on our behalf and all you are still doing. Merry Christmas! We love you too! Amen

All scripture used today is from the New International Version 1984 (NIV1984) http://www.biblegateway.com/

Daily Devotion

This week's Daily Devotion is brought to you by Dream Team member Bobbi Heffel

I stopped to look at Mary's video update as she goes through her battle with cancer and it just struck me how we had the same thought of being in the arms of Jesus. One of my favorite things about the Christmas season is sitting in front of the lit Christmas tree with a steamy cup of tea or hot chocolate. Those lights draw me in and the next thing I know I am a million miles away in thought. The hustle and bustle of the season just falls away and I am able to focus on whatever God has for me that day.

Today as I sat in front of the Christmas tree it wasn't the lights that grabbed my attention but the ornaments. We don't have matching ornaments but more of a mish mosh of collected treasures. Each ornament has its own story; a memory of family, friends and Christmases past. I recalled when my children were younger and they would climb into my lap to hear the story of each ornament they picked out.

Then I envisioned crawling into the lap of the one that loves us best. I could hear him as he began to hold up a treasure he had created in me. He lovingly displayed it while reminding me of how he loved me and sculpted this treasure in me. That he was there with me in that situation. Always present, always loving, always giving, and always guiding. There were enough treasures to fill a whole tree! Some were storms he had brought me through. Other treasures were unexpected beauty and joy he had brought into my life; the birth of children, sunrises and sunsets, double rainbows and butterflies. Some treasures were the people God has introduced into my life; a Godly mother, a special best-friend, one particular little old lady that taught me that work is the most precious word in the English language. I could spend the rest of the day thinking of the people God has used to bless me, grow me and challenge me to new heights. Alas, the phone rang and life was calling. I long to crawl back into the lap of God, to be near him and hear what else he has to say. I pray you make the opportunity to spend time in his lap soon.

Today's Prayer
Father, thank you for being our ever present help. Thank you for the special times when we can fall into your arms. In your arms we find love, comfort, adoration, compassion, strength, protection and encouragement. Amen

Deuteronomy 33:26-28 (Amplified Bible (AMP) Biblegateway.com)
26There is none like God, O Jeshurun [Israel], Who rides through the heavens to your help and in His majestic glory through the skies.
27The eternal God is your refuge and dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms; He drove the enemy before you and thrust them out, saying, Destroy!
28And Israel dwells in safety, the fountain of Jacob alone in a land of grain and new wine; yes, His heavens drop dew.

Today's Daily Devotional

Today's Inspiration by Dream Team Member Shelley Brandon
John 14:9-17

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.

Romans 7:14-25

14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature[d] a slave to the law of sin.

Today’s song is another Josh Groban tune called “Higher Window”. Like yesterday, I’m renaming the song “Paul’s Song”

The two scripture passages may not appear to go together but for me they do. Jesus is telling his disciples in John that we are to love one another. When we love one another, when we love each other enough to share our Savior with them our joy is certain, it is promised. When we love each other and serve each other we reach beyond our human tendency to focus on ourselves.

When I’m working on a particularly detailed yarn project my eyes focus solely on the work in my hands. They are so absorbed in the tiny details in my hands that when I look up everything else around me is blurry. We do this on a spiritual level as well, focus on our own lives, our own issues so intently and completely that when we look outside ourselves the rest of the world is blurry. Jesus is telling us to focus outside our own bodies and love the ones God has placed in our lives.

Now I will attempt to tie this all together. Paul was so focused on persecuting that he missed Jesus altogether. He didn’t love; his heart was full of hatred. Christ removed Paul’s eyesight so that Paul might see. Even after his encounter with the living Christ, Paul struggled with his humanity. “15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” He did however love. Paul loved Jesus so much that he found joy in the worst of circumstances in order to teach the world around him about his Savior.

Now as to the song; I can picture Paul after his blinding experience in the presence of Jesus. On his knees, asking what Jesus wanted him to do and pleading, “Don’t tell me it’s too late to love you!” How many times have those words echoed from lost souls throughout history. On our knees before the Lord, broken, lost, alone and desperate, “Please Jesus, don’t tell me it’s too late to love you!”

Most Holy God, we give you thanks for the Light from a Higher Window… your love shining down on us. Help us to share your light with everyone we meet. Help us to keep your love in us shining and visible as a living testimony to your truth. Keep us ever mindful of what we ought to be doing to help us remember that you have freed us from bondage with the gift of your son. In Jesus’ name… Amen.

Our Darkest Hour May Be God's Finest Moment

God is a mystery.
Wouldn't it be great if Nick Vujicic's arms and legs miraculously grew, if I was cured of this painful blood disease, if no more children had to suffer from abuse, cancer and neglect?

God is in control even though we live in a fallen world where bad things happen to good people. I do not believe this was His perfect plan but when the choice to sin and disobey His direction occurred there was a price to pay and consequences to endure. Why God allows one to be healed and another not despite faithful prayers is a mystery we may never understand but let's take a look at a few possiblities.

Suffering
As it applied to suffering, Peter understood this, "Those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good" (1 Pet. 4:19). We tend to doubt the sovereignty of God in difficult times, especially when things do not go the way we think they should.

Wouldn't it be great if Nick Vujicic's arms and legs miraculously grew, if I was cured of this painful blood disease, if no more children had to suffer from abuse, cancer and neglect? Even so, I know that Jesus changed the world more through His suffering than he did through His miracles. Jesus said, "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead" (Luke 16:31). Yes, but God, wouldn't your miraculous intervention show your power in such a way that souls would be saved and the world changed forever? Didn't you say that we would do even greater things in your name than you did while you were here on earth... What are we waiting for? This I wonder in the darkest hours... of emergency room visits, when a child disappears, when unfavorable test results come in...

I suffered for three long years not knowing what was wrong with my body. The need to know what I'd done wrong to lose God's love and the notion that I would be better off dead than alive consumed me until I turned my back on all that I knew and descended into the pit of despair, making one terrible choice after another. I thought that God abandoned me but couldn't blame him since I felt worthless, unlovable and broken.

God asked me to trust Him
I wanted proof in signs and wonders but had to learn that faith is being "certain of what we do not see" (Heb. 11:1). God asked me to trust Him and embrace the sufficiency of His grace so He could become the God of my mountaintops as well as my valleys. I found His grace in suffering... I asked, if there was ANY other way... The drops of His saving blood started with that prayer and we've stood strong and courageous ever since, enduring for the "joy set before" (Heb. 12:2) .

Apply!
What does this mean for me? How do I apply these truths to my life, my challenges, my disappointments, my unanswered prayers, my circumstances... Are my afflictions purposeful? I may never understand but I will choose to cling to His word and follow Jesus because the joy of the Lord is my strength! Three times Paul requested to be healed of his "thorn in the flesh." But God said, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9). It was a messenger of Satan, sent to harass him. So Paul decided to boast of his weaknesses, that Your power may rest upon him and be shown through him. I'm learning to be content no matter what. Content with weaknesses, hardships, pain, insults, and sickness; because Your word says, "When I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:10) and sometimes wellness isn't the absence of illness but a wholeness in your heart that only He can bring.

Friend, it's not always that simple, is it? It's a daily process of laying down my life and taking up the cross of Christ. Satan is at work here but God is too. The thorn is not just the work of Satan to kill, steal and destroy. It is the work of God to save because He will turn everything around for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Why was Paul awarded with this thorn? “To keep me from being too elated;" "to keep me from exalting myself," NASB, or: "to keep me from becoming conceited," NIV by the abundance of revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from exalting myself.” In Luke 22:31-32 (NIV), "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. (32) But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." Wow, Paul, Job, Peter and the list goes on — God permitted Satan to afflict these righteous servants, yet He turns the affliction for good purposes. I do not get it; however, I believe that nothing will happen to me that does not first go through God's screen of love.

Do we get too full of ourselves?
Seriously, don't we get too full of ourselves? Maybe my disease is just that-allowed to keep me from thinking I'm in charge, or that I do not need God that I can rely on myself and "get her done." I use to think God was too busy -- I would just go to Him with the big stuff I couldn't handle. Well He fixed me on that one. God cares about every detail of my life. Like any good parent He desires to be included in everything. No pride and self-exaltation here--because that always comes before the fall. God pulled me out of that pit and I have no plan to return. I'm seeking the healer more than the healing and His will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven!

Alister McGrath in Mystery of the Cross (Zondervan, 1990) wrote,

"God is active and present in his world, quite independently of whether we experience him as being so. Experience declared that God was absent from Calvary, only to have its verdict humiliatingly overturned on the third day."

Let God be God
Our darkest hour may be God's finest moment, as it was for Jesus on Calvary's Cross. YES, pray for relief. Satan delights in our suffering and he must be resisted. God will hear and do what is best. Let God be God. Hebrews 11 says, "By faith some escaped the edge of the sword (34) and by faith some were killed by the sword (37). By faith some stopped the mouths of lions, and by faith others were sown asunder. By faith some were mighty in war, and by faith others suffered chains and imprisonment... It may not always turn out as we want or hope.

Philippians 4:11-13 (NIV)
(12) I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. (13) I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

The real miracle
God doesn't always calm the storm but the real miracle for us is to be calm in the storm. Our deepest need isn't for quick relief from our present storms. Paul said that Christ crucified was foolishness to the Greeks, a stumbling block to the Jews, but to those who are called it is the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:23). It appears to me that God thinks humility is more important than comfort; salvation more important than having our way; and reliance on Him more important than freedom from pain. Salvation, peace, grace, mercy, even balance and discipline are gifts He offers but it is up to us to reach out and receive them.

It is well with my soul
So I've made the choice to trust Him so circumstances will NOT overwhelm me. I will keep my eyes on Jesus no matter the storm and be consumed with God and God alone! I will pray without ceasing, enjoy peace no matter what and trust in all His ways. It's a deep need we all have in the midst of adversity. To walk in power and strength even if we have to use a wheelchair. My faith helps me to not only endure my weaknesses but to thrive in them because of the power of His love. And I can honestly say, "It is well with my soul especially if my darkest hour could be His finest moment because when I wanted to hear yes and all I got was a no--I could still believe! And that is the miracle of faith.
Be a light in the darkness, I dare you... especially and in spite of your challenges that is the miracle of faith!