Sunday Praise and a Prayer For the New Year

Posted on by Dorci

Hello! I pray your new year is off to a good start. And whether it is or isn’t, let us remember that the Lord has promised to never leave us or forsake us. He is with us no matter how deep and dark the trial may be.

He will give us the strength and courage to endure, and not only to endure, but as Jesus tells us in John 10:10, He came to give us not only life, but an abundant life. That word for abundant, perissos, means beyond, superabundant, superior, excessive, exceeding abundantly above, beyond measure…   You get the idea. 

This is God’s will and promise for us who walk with and in His Spirit. 

So let us set our hearts and minds on Him and let Him be the very reason we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28) and watch what He will do!

I’d love to hear from you throughout the year what God is doing in your lives so we can praise and glorify Him together. And if you ever need prayer, please do not hesitate to leave a comment, email me, or contact me through the blog’s pages on Facebook or Twitter. 

In Christ,

 


“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Romans 15:13

***

Dear Heavenly Father, we praise your holy and precious name. As we seek you each day, may we make choices that glorify you. We thank you in advance for what you’re going to do, how you will provide for us in every situation, and for the abundant life of your Spirit, your love, joy, peace and all the fruit we bear as we hold onto you through our Lord Jesus Christ, and may the world sit up and take notice so much that they, too, will know that in you and you only is life. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen. 

To Stand or Not to Stand

Posted on by Dorci

Those of us who have been around a while probably couldn’t have imagined we’d see what we’re witnessing in the world, much less in our own backyards. And we who are in Christ know it’s going to get worse, much worse, before it gets better. 

We stand on the precipice of a new year and we have no idea what it holds. The days seem to be flying by, and the darkness is getting exponentially darker. 

The question is: will we stand through it all? No matter what happens in our personal lives or in the world around us, will we stand in our faith in Christ, holding to the fact that He loves us, that He is good and faithful and righteous and holy, and will we continue loving Him in return with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strength?

Will we reject the lies, no matter how subtle they may be, that come from those claiming to know it, but are only a mouthpiece for the enemy, and have the strength and courage to hold onto the truth?

No matter what the world says or thinks or does, will we stand in our witness to it of the good news that Jesus Christ is, that He died for the sins of the world, was raised to life showing His power over death, and that anyone who believes on Him will be saved, and that there is an infinitely better life waiting for us?

“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 

 

 

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” 
Ephesians 6:10-18

 

Compared with much of the rest of the world, the Christian life we’ve lived in the western world has been a relatively easy one, and many have been lulled into a level of complacency. But when someone is arrested for praying, not to mention all the other atrocities we see happening, we know things are changing. 

In the past we may have gotten away with being a little lazy, a little idle, a little worldly in how we live and walk with Christ, but it’s time to be diligent, alert, and discerning. It’s time we abide in the Vine as firmly as we can. 

It’s time we walk worthy of our calling in Christ, “forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, {and} press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called {us} heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14

***

What are some ways we can ensure we’re abiding (staying, continuing, dwelling, enduring, remaining, standing) in Christ daily? What fruit do you think will be evident in our lives when we are?

***

Heavenly Father, please show each of us the ways we’re clinging to the world, and if there’s any way we can better abide in You so that we might know and love you more, and receive your strength, courage, and boldness to live for you and bring you glory.  In Jesus’ name we pray, amen. 

The Light of the World

Posted on by Dorci

 

Darkness filled the earth. It had been 400 years since God had spoken, the last time through the prophet Malachi. 

“‘Behold, I send My messenger,
And he will prepare the way before Me.
And the Lord, whom you seek,
Will suddenly come to His temple,
Even the Messenger of the covenant,
In whom you delight.
Behold, He is coming,’
Says the Lord of hosts.”
Malachi 3:1

Generations had come and gone since then and the silence persisted; the darkness remained. People came and went, having no idea when, or perhaps even if, God would speak again. 

Then one night, as some lonely shepherds in a field kept watch over their sheep, the light of the glory of God pierced the darkness. An angel stood before them with this announcement:

“Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” 
Luke 2:10-11

And before they could catch their breath, a host of angels appeared before them, too, praising God and saying:

“Glory to God in the highest, 
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
Luke 2:14



God had broken the silence. His Word, the Messenger of the covenant (spoken of in Jeremiah 31:33 and Ezekiel 36:26-27) was born among them, and with Him an everlasting hope.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
John 3:16

God’s love shone into the world that unsuspecting night. He’d come! The long-awaited Savior, born as a humble babe in a manger, sent that all who believed in Him would be born anew, filling each heart with a never-ending peace and joy, and the promised light of His presence shining in and through us, forever piercing the darkness. 

 

 

 

 

 

Great Things!

Posted on by Dorci

 

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! May we ever be aware of the blessings continually coming from our precious Heavenly Father, and never fail to give Him thanks.

 

The Lord has done
GREAT
things for us, and we
are filled with
JOY!

Ps 126:3

 

 
 
 

Saturday Song – Give Me Jesus

Posted on by Dorci

 

 



Give Me Jesus
by Jeremy Camp

In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I riseIn the morning, when I rise
 
Give me JesusGive me JesusGive me Jesus
You can have all this worldJust give me Jesus
 
When I am aloneWhen I am alone, oohWhen I am aloneGive me Jesus
 
Give me JesusGive me JesusYou can have all this worldJust give me Jesus (Jesus)
 
When I come to dieWhen I come to dieOoh, when I come to dieGive me Jesus
 
Give me JesusGive me JesusYou can have all this worldJust give me Jesus
Give me JesusGive me Jesus
You can have all this worldYou can have all this worldYou can have all this world
Just give me Jesus

Choices

Posted on by Dorci

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.”
1 John 2:15

In some ways this command seems to be getting easier to follow all the time. Still, there can be a lot to love in this world. Why wouldn’t God want us to love it? 

You might have heard that while in English we use the one word – love – to talk about all kinds of love, there are many Greek words for love –

phileō – a friendship love
philostorgos – a familial love 
‛âgab – a sensual love 
eros – a romantic love
philarguria – a love of money

And that’s not even an exhaustive list. 

The word used for love in the command above is agapaō – to love much, or dearly, to be well pleased, to be contented at or with a thing, to have a preference for, to prize it above other things, to be unwilling to abandon it or do without it. 

It’s the same word Jesus used when asked “‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’ Jesus replied: ‘Love (agapaō) the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love (agapaō) your neighbor as yourself.’” 
Matthew 22:36-39

Jesus then goes on to say “‘All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’”
Matthew 22:40

The commandments in the Old Testament were given to show people how they were to love. The first four commandments pertained to their love of God, starting with the command to “have no other gods before me,” and then moved on to how they were to love others – “honor your father and mother, you shall not murder…” and others. 

Christ reiterates, and makes possible in and through us as the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our hearts, what the commandments said – that if we love God first, love for others will flow from that. 

It’s even the same word Jesus used when He said “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…”  
Matthew 5:44

But when we agapaō the world, when our mind is focused on and busy with all the world has to offer (name your worldly passion), if we prefer those things, cling to those things, put those things first in our lives over and above God and above showing love to others, then we’ve gotten it all out of order. 

It will cause us to put off spending time with our Father, growing our relationship with Him by abiding in Him through prayer and the reading of His precious Word. 

And if we don’t remain in His love through abiding, we won’t have the love we need to fulfill the second commandment Jesus gives to love others and all that would entail. 

I have very nearly perfected procrastination. I can find a million things to do before I sit down to read or pray, or do whatever God is calling me to do. And I look back and regret that countless times. 

But I don’t want to just “phileō” God, to love Him as a friend on par with the rest of the world, as Peter confessed in John 21 when Jesus asked him twice if he “agapaō” Him, and both times Peter confessed that he only “phileō” Him.

Then Jesus asked him a third time if he even “phileō” Him, if he even loved Him as a friend. Peter was grieved because he could not yet say that he “agapaō” Him, that he loved Him unconditionally, that he was ready to put Christ above all things, or that he was unwilling to abandon Him for the sake of the world. 

But once Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit, he “agapaō” Christ, even being willing to endure persecution in order to tell others the gospel of Jesus Christ, all the way to being crucified upside down. 

I don’t think God doesn’t want us to enjoy the things He’s given us in this world He created, He just wants to remind us to keep it in its place, to remember that He needs to be who we love above all things, that when we have a choice, and we will have choices, our only real choice is Him because without Him we have nothing. 

I pray that whatever God is calling you and me to do, we will not put it off because we’re busy doing other things.  A whole lifetime can pass while we do other things, but in the end only one thing will matter –  how we loved the Lord and lived our lives in Him. 

In His agape,

 

 

Heavenly Father, we confess that we’ve chosen other things before you and we humbly and sincerely ask for your forgiveness. Help us to agapaō you, to walk in your Spirit every minute of the day and night, always putting you first, doing what you call us to do, glorifying you with our lives. In Jesus’ name, amen.

 

 

Oh, Those Pop Quizzes

Posted on by Dorci

Remember being in school, having gotten to the end of the semester, maybe the year. You walk into the classroom and sit down, thinking it’s going to be just another ho-hum day, when the teacher walks to the front of the class and announces there’s going to be a pop quiz on everything you’ve learned (or haven’t) up to that point. Soon you find out exactly how well you’ve been paying attention.

I recently had one of those days, not in school, but in life. 

I woke up on a Friday, looking forward to the weekend, and instead found myself hours later in a hospital bed hearing the doctor tell me news I never expected – I’d had a stroke. 

Suddenly I was faced with the constant choice, every minute of every day, with every new twist and turn, to believe what my God had taught me the last 32 years, or not. How well had I truly internalized what I’d read and heard; how well had I learned my lessons in previous “quizzes?” Did I believe He was with me, that His love was true, that in Him my suffering had a purpose, that He would never leave me or forsake me? 

Had I truly walked with my God, my Father, my Savior, my Lord, or had I been kidding myself? 

In the last three months I’ve had a few bad days, when it’s all been just too much, too overwhelming, too “unfair.”

But for the most part I’ve looked around and seen God’s grace and mercy in a myriad of ways. So much grace and mercy. I’ve felt His presence, His indwelling Holy Spirit, giving me joy and hope, even in the face of reasons to have very little.

There are many of those stories to tell, and God willing, I will. 

But the good news is my faith has once again been proven to be real. If it were never real, if it was only a “said” faith – in word only – but no real belief, no indwelling and sealing by the Holy Spirit, I surely would have dropped out by now. 

Oh, I’ve had days where I questioned, I’ve been angry, but God’s been there even in the middle of that. His understanding and compassion no one can fathom. I am still His child and He is still my Father, and no one can separate me from His love.

For a while I’ve kept a flip calendar that has a new scripture for each day. I have yet to flip the page from the one it was on the day my life changed. 

“I will say of the LORD, 
‘He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.'”
Psalm 91:2

Those words have been a reminder to me every day where my hope lies. 

So, when the next trial pops into your life, will you be ready? When your faith is tested, will you persevere because you’ve been learning to trust Him all along? Are you preparing now by seeking Jesus with all your heart, by building on that relationship with Him every day so that you know Him, and when the trial comes, you’ll know He’s where He’s always been – right by your side?

I pray your hope lies in the only One who is completely trustworthy, that your faith, your belief is in His Son Jesus as Lord and Savior, for “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

If not, or if you’re not sure, just ask Him. Ask God to forgive you of your sins, and tell Him you’re putting your faith in His Son Jesus and His blood that was shed on the cross to pay for your sins.

Read, listen, and learn all you can. Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love others as yourself. And when life hits you hard, as it does for everyone, you’ll be ready, and He’ll be there. 

 

 

 

One Author, Many Stories

Posted on by Dorci

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”

So begins one of the most well-known and best-selling novels of all time. But it doesn’t stand alone. There are countless other stories just as beautifully written and well-regarded. It would be futile to compare them because they’re each beautiful in their own unique way. 


“…let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…”  
Hebrews 12:1b-2a


It is oh so easy to compare our lives, our stories, to others. In fact, satan encourages it. And with the explosion of social media, it’s easier than ever to become engrained into our psyche, even subconsciously, to compare everything about ourselves and our lives to others. 

What he doesn’t want us to remember is that we have a perfect Author who writes each unique story of faith.

Our Author knows what what’s needed to advance our own particular epic, strengthening our faith, while taking into account our unique hearts and the varying characters and events of our lives, so that our faith is mature and complete. 

Yes, our stories will be different, but every one is written just as thoughtfully and lovingly as the others, each just as beautiful and miraculous.

The one commonality we share in our stories, if we indeed know Him, is our Protagonist, our Hero, the Champion of our faith. 

So whether our stories begin with “Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmond, and Lucy” or “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit,” as long as we continue walking with our Champion, the Author of our faith, we can trust Him with the twists and turns of own adventures, developing our faith until the end.

And then, a new beginning…

 

 

 

Sunday Praise – Psalm 150

Posted on by Dorci

 

Hallelujah! Praise God in His sanctuary.
Praise Him in His mighty heavens. Praise
Him for His powerful acts; praise Him for 
His abundant greatness. Praise Him with
trumpet blast; praise Him with harp and 
lyre. Praise Him with tambourine and 
dance; praise Him with flute and strings.
Praise Him with resounding cymbals;
praise Him with clashing cymbals. Let 
everything that breathes praise the Lord.
Hallelujah!

Psalms 150 (HCSB)

Saturday Song – Cry Out To Jesus

Posted on by Dorci

 

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:18

 

 

Cry Out To Jesus
by Third Day

To everyone who’s lost someone they love
Long before it was their time
You feel like the days you had were not enough
When you said goodbye

And to all of the people with burdens and pains
Keeping you back from your life
You believe that there’s nothing and there is no one
Who can make it right

There is hope for the helpless
Rest for the weary
And love for the broken heart
And there is grace and forgiveness
Mercy and healing
He’ll meet you wherever you are
Cry out to Jesus
Cry out to Jesus

For the marriage that’s struggling just to hang on
They’ve lost all of their faith in love
And they’ve done all they can to make it right again, still it’s not enough

For the ones who can’t break the addictions and chains
You try to give up but you come back again
Just remember that you’re not alone in your shame
And your suffering

There is hope for the helpless
Rest for the weary
And love for the broken heart
And there is grace and forgiveness
Mercy and healing
He’ll meet you wherever you are
Cry out to Jesus

When you’re lonely
And it feels like the whole world is falling on you
You just reach out, you just cry out to Jesus
Cry to Jesus

To the widow who suffers from being alone
Wiping the tears from her eyes
And for the children around the world without a home
Say a prayer tonight

There is hope for the helpless
Rest for the weary
And love for the broken heart
And there is grace and forgiveness
Mercy and healing
He’ll meet you wherever you are

There is hope for the helpless
Rest for the weary
And love for the broken heart
And there is grace and forgiveness
Mercy and healing
He’ll meet you wherever you are
Cry out to Jesus
Cry out to Jesus
Oh, cry out to Jesus
Cry out to Jesus