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Devotions
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August 3, 2007
Looking Up "I say to you, he who believes in Me, greater works than these
he will do, because I go to My Father." (John 14:12 NIV) Each morning I try
to read My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers, it is called a one-minute devotion book.
This was today's verse of scripture followed by these words ... "Wherever
God has placed you and whatever your circumstances, you should pray, continually offering up prayers to Him. When you labor at prayer, from God's perspective there are always results." Philippines 4:4 says "Rejoice in the
Lord always: and again I say, rejoice!" and in Philippines 4:7 it says, "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your
hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Our lives should have one ultimate goal ... to glorify God in all circumstances!
No matter what we do or where we are, we need reminders that God is in control! Nothing happens by chance. We
make decisions and choices in our lives, sometimes they are good and sometimes they are not. But when we make the ones
that are not - we need to ask our selves, did I really seek guidance from God on this or was I out there on my own?
Most of the time in those circumstances I believe we may have acted alone. BUT ... in those times, if we really reflect
on the situation God can still use that for His glory as a testimony as to how He brought you through it. Whatever
you do ... wherever you are today - seek God. Know that He is in control. Know that His love for you is unconditional
and that whatever you are going through - He understands and He wants you to surrender all to Him. I pray
that you feel God love in all you do today. I hope that it is your prayer to seek God in all circumstances. I
hope you have a great weekend Invite someone to church with you this Sunday. Love, Tracy
August 2, 2007
The Desire to Make A Difference "Because he loves me, says the Lord, I will rescue him. I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He
will call upon me, and I will answer him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and
show him my salvation." (Psalm 91:14-16 NIV) Are your eyes open to what the Lord has planned for your life? Are you willing
to seek Him and change your way of thinking to the plan He has for you and not pursue the plan you have for yourself? God
created us to be unique - not a carbon copy of anyone else. Our prayer life and spiritual walk with Him should be unique, because
it is a personal walk with Him. Each day we should desire a closer walk with Jesus. To
desire to do things different, to become better and closer to Him. Yesterday was yesterday - today is a new day.
When we wake up each day and open our eyes that is the first gift of the day. Thank you Lord for the gift of sight.
Then we place our feet on the floor and stand up. Thank you Lord for a body that can stand. Then we get up and
start our day. Thank you Lord for allowing me to see another day. Already we have so many things to be thankful
for and we are only 2 minutes into this new day! Read the words of this verse - He will rescue
us from trouble, He will protect us, He will answer
our prayers, He will deliver us, He will satisfy
all our needs and He will give us the greatest gift.......Salvation! WOW. Can you feel the love that Christ is sending to you right now as you read those
words? Give Him your all today and watch him restore and reform your life. Watch as your life transforms and you become
more like Christ and less like yourself. Thank you Lord for my life, thank you for going to the Cross for my
sins and suffering for me. Please forgive me of my sins Lord and please forgive me where I fail you each day
Lord. Thank you for making the sacrifice of Your life so I may have eternal life in peace with You. I pray that
each day my life reflects that of a person that is serving You Lord and not serving the world. Growing closer to You
Lord each step of the way. May we always try to please You Father and not disappoint You. I ask that you be with
each person reading this devotion each morning, touch their lives and place a desire in their hearts to have a closer walk
with You. I pray that if they are not attending church, that a desire to find a church that teaches straight from your
Word is heavy on their heart. I pray if we are not teaching our children things that are Holy and pure from Your Word
that a conviction is placed on our hearts today Lord. How do we expect things to change in this world if we aren't
willing to change our ways to please our Heavenly Father! In Jesus name I pray and ask these things - Amen. This was
a devotion that I wrote a few years ago that I had tucked away in my bible. I know that I really needed to hear those
words today ... today is a new day - a fresh clean slate! Aren't you glad? I hope you are counting your blessings
:-) Have a great Thursday. Love, Tracy
August 1, 2007
Actually Pray! "Finally,
brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure,
whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think
on these things." (Philippians 4:8 NIV) I was re-reading a small passage in
a book called All Things Are Possible Through Prayer. It is really old book - you can tell by the smell
of it. The author was speaking about a friend who had troubles and many of them kept her up at night ... "A
lady came to tell me of her worries and especially how they crowded upon her after she had turned off the lights in the evening.
She would toss and turn until sheer exhaustion put her to sleep. In the morning she would wake up tired and nervous.
She was completely missing the marvels of truly restful sleep. I asked her what she enjoyed most in life and she told
me flowers. She liked to grow them and especially arrange them. I suggested that at night, after getting in bed,
she picture in her mind a table with two dozen beautiful roses on it, half deep red and half snow white. I suggested
that in the center of the table she imagine a vase and then mentally begin arranging them. This is a simple thought,
but for her it was a small miracle that worked!" It is so easy to dwell on our "have nots" instead of what we
have! We need to pick ourselves up, stay strong in our faith and trust in Jesus that He is our deliverer and He will
get us through these things that we just cannot understand. Sometimes, we have to get to a breaking point. Just
surrender - He will reveal His truth and you will be set free! I read this quote, "God is in control of all outcomes as well as in
control of the process." True, He can stop the valley's ... but, those valley's are what brings us
to the mountaintops! What we experience in the valley are the testimony of our life and what the Lord has brought us
through. Why do we feel a need to travel it alone? What are we doing? Why aren't we praying "Oh
Lord, I don't understand ... but I know you are all powerful and you are all mighty. I know whatever happens to
me Lord God, You are in control. I place all my faith in you. All my hope in you. All my needs in you.
I know your mighty hand with lift me up!" Can you make this your prayer each day ... turn to Jesus. He loves
you! He wants you to be set free from whatever stronghold you are under. This passage of scripture
really spoke to me this morning, I have been worried about a situation in my own life and I have just been sitting back
waiting for the Lord to provide the answer and solution. As I thought about it the morning, the Lord spoke to my heart
and said all you have been doing is thinking about it - not once have you truly lifted this need up to me. Not once
~ bold neon flashing sign. Whoa. It was true. For the past 3 weeks I am just waiting for an answer to something
that I never even prayed about. I am so thankful for God's Word and how each day the Lord has something to say to
me - I pray that my ears are always open! I hope you all have a blessed day! Even though it was written in 1897, the words are so powerful to help us get through our valley's.
Count Your Blessings ... name them one by one!! Love, Tracy
July 31, 2007
Your One True Friend .... "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory
both now and for ever. Amen" (2 Peter
3:18 NIV) Many of us need encouragement today. For one reason or another, maybe we have just gotten into
a valley that we can't see our way out of. Maybe we have forgotten to have our "alone time" with God.
I think a lot of us get so overwhelmed with our own circumstances, we forget to start each day with God. Many of us
are so busy, with work, kids, home, family ... just life in general, that we just do not make time for God. Why?
I wonder, if God, with His busy agenda, said, well ... I just don't have time for Tracy Beckham today. I'll
get back to her tomorrow. Tomorrow comes, and He says, well, this came up unexpectedly and I can't take care of
Tracy today either, maybe tomorrow. Then a few days go by, a week a month ... and maybe before He knows it - it is Tracy
who? Some times I wonder about that, because that's how it is with me. I get in a rut and maybe a little down
and start having a pity party and circumstances start taking over. I start to wonder - where are you God?
But it is never God that has left me ... it is I that has forgotten Him. We need to stay focused on the Lord
and not our circumstances, trust that His Word is true. I know it is hard sometimes, I know the valley's that some
of you are facing today. But honestly ... Jesus loves you and He is not going to let you face this alone!
Sometimes, what we think is good for our lives is the not the journey the Lord is taking us on. You have to trust
God - know that He is there and know that He is going to bring you through this. If you do this, you will become a stronger
person and it will only strengthen your relationship with Christ. Sometimes when we discover later what the Lords plan
was, or why we had to travel in this valley everything will make sense - and sometimes it will not. But trust in the
Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding - trust only in Him. There is one true
friend you will have in your life - no one more true than Him and that is Jesus! His only agenda is to draw us
closer to Him. He loves us unconditionally, He will never leave us or forsake us. So if you feel lonely today, if you are asking that question, "OK God where are you?"
Find a quiet place, alone with nothing to distract you and talk to the Lord. Sometimes answers come immediately, but
sometimes answers come over time. A Christian walk is a daily thing, not just in times of need or distress. Know
that Jesus is always there. I pray that the Lord has touched your heart today through His Word. I hope that your
desire is a closer walk and that your desire is to change today. To start putting God at the head of your home
... "As for me and my house ... we will serve the Lord. Who do you choose today? Count your blessings my
friends! Thank you for praying for Robert Cook, Robert passed away yesterday. Please continue to pray for his
wife Betty and their family. Have a blessed day today.
Love, Tracy
July 30, 2007
Can We Say Whatever It Takes?
"Then He said to them, "If anyone would come after me, he must first deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for
me will save it. What good is it for man to gain the whole world, and yet lose of forfeit his very self? If anyone is ashamed
of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of
the holy angels." (Luke 9:23-26 NIV)
"Then
He said to them, "If anyone would come after me, he must first deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for man to
gain the whole world, and yet lose of forfeit his very self? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will
be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." (Luke 9:23-26
NIV)
The last line of this verse really spoke to me this morning. People think and people say that they
are not ashamed of Jesus Christ, but how come when He is mocked in our presence there is an awkward silence? We walk away
or shrug it off instead of saying something to the offender? Where is our boldness to walk the talk? Chances are
they don't even realize that what they are saying is really, really wrong! Or maybe they just do not care.
I looked up the word blaspheme in my bible, the definition was "to speak carelessly, falsely or insultingly about God
or Holy things." I am sure we've all experienced it. People using the Lord's name in vain, just like
it is another word in the English language. It is very offensive to me. Last night I was watching one of my favorite
shows, (about house flipping). They usually bleep any bad language. The house flipper used the Lord's
name in vain a half of dozen times - without being censored and I finally changed the channel. Why are we so accepting
of that language? When I think about Jesus and what He did for all of us. Giving
His life for you and for me so we would not have to pay the price for the wickedness in our lives ~ even if
you or I were the only person in the world, He would have given His life for us. That is amazing! Do you ever just really
sit and think about that? Are our words pure? No one is perfect, we all make mistakes, but what is stopping
us from making a conscious effort to please the Lord? The answer is PRIDE! Do we care? Maybe it is indifference!
Why do we expect the Lord to care for us, yet we show Him no respect. Some of us showing more respect to a stranger
or a preacher or priest then we do to Jesus! Do we ever think about that? Does it even bother us?
No matter what background you
come from, we all realize that there will be a day where we come face to face with the Lord, either for judgment of sins in
our life or the missed opportunity of sharing the Gospel. A lot of people take it too lightly. They think they will
have an opportunity at the feet of Jesus to plead their case - so to speak. But in the bible Jesus says, "if
you deny me, I will deny you before the Father." What does this verse mean to you? Think
about it.
When we begin to read the Word of the Lord
daily - we will see the promises that God has for us. We learn how to speak, we learn how to be more like Jesus and less
like ourselves. We see the Love Jesus has for us. We begin to feel love and compassion for strangers,
because that is how Jesus is - His love is unconditional. I have this quote written in my Bible, (I am
not sure where I heard it), "God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the called." I love that.
I am not qualified. You may not feel qualified, but all we need to be is willing "to go" and willing "to
do" and the Jesus will provide the words. His words - not ours. I
pray the Lord has challenged your heart today. I pray that we each seek His Word and pray that Jesus will place
a desire in our hearts to make changes in our lives. Whether it be the words that come from our mouths (which also means
those are the words that stir in our hearts), maybe it means we will change our TV habits, computer habits. It might
even mean changing the people we associate with. Maybe it means we will change our prayer life. Maybe it means
we will make a commitment to study the Word of God more. Maybe it means we will volunteer more. Whatever
it takes Lord. Guide and direct as only You can do. My desire each day is for the Lord to help me in my life making
my days less about me and more about serving Him and encouraging others. It is not always easy, then tomorrow comes
and it is a new opportunity to start all over. Won't you start today? Count your blessings
... for you are blessed ... daily! Have a great Monday. Love, Tracy
July 26, 2007
Kick Pride to the Curb! "My
son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding,
and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as
for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom,
and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding." (Proverbs 2:1-6 NIV)
When you've entered into a valley
and you don't know where to turn - and you don't know what to do, turn to Jesus. Open the Word of God and
He will give you insight to your situation. When we keep our eyes upon Him, He will guide and direct us. It is when
we take our eyes off Him and place our eyes on our circumstances that we fall deeper into the valley.
Jesus should not be our last resort. He
should be our constant adviser! I was saw a movie a few years ago called "Gone," it was about the end times.
There was a line in that movie where the main character said, "where were the warnings? Why didn't anyone say
anything?" That has always stuck with me. We can get so caught up in our day to day activities that we
don't see the signs and warnings. 9-11 happened almost 6 years ago. At the time it was a wake up call
to a lot of people ~ for that moment. But have you noticed we've moved right back into our routines? What
has changed in our lives? For most Americans we again let down our guard. Do we remember what happened that day?
In scanning the Internet headlines, I think we have become the most disrespectful nation. The majority of our country
has absolutely no respect for our government. It doesn't matter how you feel about the government - Mr. Bush will
have to give an account for how he handled his job in this world - as will you and I ... are we praying for him each and every
day? Are we praying for the newly (potential) elected for 2008? God's Word tells us to respect our authority
- that is our government. I think more people have respect for Hollywood. I just wonder, have we forgotten the price that Jesus paid
for our freedom from an eternity separated from God? Will the rapture
happen in our life time? I don't know. It seems like it is getting closer and closer. The Lord says in the
book of Revelation, no one knows the day or the hour...we just must be prepared. Are you prepared? Is your relationship
with Christ personal enough? Are you living a life pleasing to Him? Are you doing all you can to tell people about God and
the sacrifice Jesus made for you? He loves you and wants things to be personal! I hope that the Lords Word has touched your heart today and
that you will desire to take a closer look and it will be your desire to have a closer walk with Jesus - make it
personal, just about you and Him. Don't let pride stand in your way and something so wonderful. Study the
promises of the Lord. Have a great Thursday. Please continue to remember Presley Melton as she is healing from
surgery last week. Robert Cook (end stages of cancer), Doug Heffner (battling cancer) and Alex Hopkins. Count
your blessings my friends!!! Today's valley are going to bring you to tomorrow's mountaintop! Love, Tracy
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| Devotions |
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| by Tracy Beckham |
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