Your Daily Crossroad
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Dec '19
Enter His Gates
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Dec '19
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. (Psalm 100:4)
“Enter His gates”
In ancient Israel, the City gates were symbolic of entering or leaving a new region.
When we come into a gate through prayers of Thanksgiving we are approaching God, and entering where he lives.
Thanksgiving prayers are about what God has done for us.
Don’t we often pray for specific things, but forget to connect our outcomes to those prayers?
Because God’s timing is rarely ours, the answered prayer from our Heavenly Father may be days, months, or even years after our initial prayer request.
It’s so important to give thanksgiving to God!
It is the intentional awareness between my prayers and His actions.
When we journal about answered prayers, speak them to others, or spend quiet time offering our thanksgiving to God, we affirm that we are loved, safe, seen and heard as a child of God.
I will speak words of thanksgiving as a conscious act of appreciation for what He does, and what He is at work doing now.. I will search each day to discover and declare His faithfulness to my prayers. Amen.
I love this devotion. I pray you are encouraged to speak words of thanksgiving and hope today. Romans 12:12, Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer.
I pray you have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord! 🙏🏻
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Dec '19
Trust Him for The Promise
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Dec '19
And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh. (Matthew 2:12)
The three Kings (three wise men) were fearless. They stepped out in faith, and with the promise of the prophecy they followed the star and…they encountered heaven.
“They fell down and worshipped him.”
These distinguished, wealthy, and educated men fell down at the feet of a young child and worshipped him.
Their expectations were exceeded beyond anything they could have dreamed of.
The sacrifices of comfort, the lengthy separation from home, running from King Herod…in an instant it was all worth it.
They were able to worship the Savior of the world.
Courage in our journey and pursuit of God can be a hard thing.
But, if we truly long for an encounter with Jesus, He will always exceed our expectations.
If we take the leap of faith and with trust and abandonment say – “your will not mine”, we can experience a glimpse of heaven.
This devotion blessed me. What truth! He will always exceed our expectations no matter what the outcome looks like, amen. I am reminded of Isaiah 55:8-9, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Trust Him for the promise.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Matthew 1:21
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Dec '19
Where to Run If You’re Overwhelmed
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Dec '19
From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. (Psalm 61:2)
You skip breakfast. You’re late for work. You forgot to pack little Joey’s lunch. Your laundry basket is a Mt. Everest of dirty clothes. Your loved one is in the hospital. You can’t seem to get to the store to buy groceries. You still haven’t returned that growing list of phone calls and text messages.
Your mother needs you, your friend needs you, your spouse needs you, your kids need you, your boss needs you … you need to be cloned or counseled or consoled or caught up in the air to meet the Lord!
“Rapture me Lord!”
You feel stressed. Guilty. Inadequate. Overwhelmed!
Overwhelmed. We feel it for all sorts of reasons, and I don’t know about you, but when I feel overwhelmed I want to run away! I want to run from what feels too big and unfixable! I want to run to my closet with some Dove dark chocolate and hide!
Thankfully, God wants us to run when we’re feeling overwhelmed. But instead of running away from what overwhelms us (and turning to dark chocolate), He wants us to run to Him. To run to His Word which settles us and shelters us.
Sometimes we can’t change all the stuff in our lives that feels bigger than we can handle. But, whatever feels bigger than you is still puny compared to the Rock that is higher than you!
When I feel flat-out overwhelmed and under-qualified and out-of-sorts, I’m learning not to run away from my stress. I am also learning not to run to a bag of chocolate!
Instead, I’m learning to run to God — to His Word — in the overwhelming middle of my stress!
When I run to God’s Word, even just one verse, I find that God is my “refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1, NIV). When I run to Him, I find that my refuge isn’t an escape from my stress. God is my refuge. I’m reminded once again that my strength doesn’t come from me and my stamina or drive. My strength comes from the Lord.
He is the rock that is higher than I am. When I run to His Word, I discover that His law is “my delight” and it protects me and keeps me from totally freaking out or giving up or falling apart. (Psalm 119:92) He really is the Rock that is stronger and higher than anything you and I face.
If you feel the need to run away, lace up your cutest running shoes, and go for it! Run into the strong arms of Jesus. He is Your strength. He is your Rock. He is your refuge.
And, when you find yourself sheltered in the truth of His Word and in the sanctuary of His presence, all the stress that overwhelmed you and felt bigger than you suddenly shrinks down to the pebble size it really is!
God’s Word gives you the perspective you need. God’s presence gives you the peace you need, so run away sister … run to the Rock who’s waiting to shelter and settle you.
Lord, when my heart is overwhelmed, overwhelm me with Your peace. Lead me to You, my rock. Guide me to Your Word which gives me strength and refuge. Help me not to run to lesser things. Draw me to run to You first. Help me get into the habit of taking my “overwhelmed” and placing it under your will. Thank You, Lord. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
When I read this devotion it hit so close to home for me in more ways than one. It brought tears to my eyes. For those who read and follow the churches devotions you know I haven’t been as consistent over the past couple of weeks and for that I am sorry. I have felt “overwhelmed” for a while now and I’ve had to take a step back and reevaluate my why in so many areas of my life. So often I fear we can get in a spiritual rut to the point when we stop and ask ourselves why, we can’t answer it with complete honesty and the enemies whispers of lies are becoming louder and louder in your mind. Weather it be from fear of what others might think or struggling to see beyond what is and what you feel always will be. Your why shouldn’t be, just because. You should have passion and love for whatever it is your doing but so often we can be like a hamster on a wheel, just constantly running on the wheel not stopping to look around and ask ourselves, ask God, why am I doing this, is it because you have called me to do this. If you are feeling stressed, guilty, inadequate, overwhelmed, I am here to encourage you today. Take this scripture and place it on your bathroom mirror as a daily reminder that He is your rock, He is much higher than you, than anything you are facing, allow Him to be your everything. Allow Him to show you your why. When my heart is overwhelmed lead me to the rock that is higher than I, (Psalm 61:2). I pray you are just as blessed by this devotion today as I was and that it speaks to you in some way, in some area of your life.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Matthew 2:6
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Dec '19
A Moment of Truth
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Dec '19
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)
I read one of my morning devotionals today and had one of those ‘ah-ha’ moments that always make me wonder what other, simple, truths I’ve missed in my life. You see, I love my children. I mean the deep, feel-their-pain, kind of love. I feel so much pride when they do well that I often cry because of my love for them.
Oh, not the boastful kind of pride but, rather, the kind that springs from the heart when they ‘get it right’ in their life-decisions. I feel disappointment, but never stop loving them, when they don’t get it right.
I realized that my Heavenly Father loves me the same way…only on a much grander scale!
Friend, we are His children and He loves us, in spite of all our ugliness and sin, in such a way that you and I cannot and will not ever comprehend. He will always love us unconditionally. He will never lock the door behind us when we’re willful and turn away from His path. He will never hit the ‘ignore’ button and not take our calls. He will never write us out of His will.
You will always be welcomed back to His open arms (though the punishment may sting a bit). You will always be heard when you fall to your knees and call out to Him in prayer. And you will always have the promised inheritance of eternal life, mercy, grace and forgiveness that has been yours since you accepted the truth of Jesus’ death on the cross. Nothing will ever take His love from you. You are a child of the most-high, God, and He will never stop loving you unconditionally…nothing you do can change that!
Enjoy your day, my friend, with that truth tucked away in your heart!
What a beautiful reminder of just how much God loves you and I. No matter what your facing today, know that no matter what, you are loved by God.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Deuteronomy 18:15