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Devotions
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"Listen and Be Still" "I trust in you, O Lord, I
say, 'You are my God.'" (Psalm 31:14 NIV) I read a great prayer during my devotion
time today. It is out of the book of Daily Word for Healing. I pray it touches you and helps you get through any
circumstance you are facing today. We never know what is going to come our way each day when we wake up, but the Lord
does, so hold on and keep faith in Him. The words below are a beautiful reminder to have a desire to want
to give and serve the Lord in every way. "God, my faith is in You, and I trust You to give me whatever
I need to live each moment fully and without fear. You have
blessed me, God, with a strong body and an intelligent mind. My body is a temple for Your sacred spirit within, and
I am grateful got the ability to move from place to place with ease and efficiency. You also give me understanding, God; through Your spirit within me I have a vital connection
with divine wisdom." I think sometimes we are a society that lives in the moment.
We have to learn to put our faith and trust in the Lord and realize that every journey that we go on is traveled for a reason.
A plan that God has for our lives. To grow, to witness, to change, to sacrifice. But through every single step
of the way Jesus is by our side. When we will just give our needs, our wants, the desires of our hearts to Jesus,
He will guide us and show us how to live. Submit everything, even the littlest thing to Jesus in prayer.
He will give you peace. He is PEACE! I hope you all have a great weekend. Invite someone to go to church
with you this Sunday. If you have not found a church to go to each week, pray the Lord will lead you to one that stands
on His Word, that encourages you to reach deeper. Count your blessings - for you are so blessed!!! Love, Tracy
link
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow
will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:34 NIV) God doesn't want us to worry, to spend our lives
in fear. Worry steals the joy that God wants us to have! We can't change anything by worrying! The next time that you
start to worry, remember that we are not in control, God is and that is good news. He is the one who redeems us.
He restores us. I
love old Church Hymns. I was thinking about the song, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus. Read the lyrics,
we usually just sing the chorus - but the words in the verses are amazing and just speak to your heart. O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There's a light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free! Refrain:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely
dim,
In the light of His glory and grace. Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there;
O’er
us sin no more hath dominion—
For more than conquerors we are! Refrain:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look
full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace. His Word shall not fail you—He
promised;
Believe Him, and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus ......... is the sweetest name you'll ever know! Faith,
Hope, Love, Forgiveness, Peace, Understanding, Mercy, Grace, Salvation ... I could go on and on as to what it means to me.
What does HE mean in your life? Turn your eyes upon Jesus! I pray He touches your life and changes your heart today.
Trust that He will be all you need. Ask the Lord to teach you to trust and have faith in Him. I pray that His
Word touches your heart each day and that you desire a closer walk with Him. Have a great Thursday ... count your blessings
... for we are so so blessed! Love, Tracy
Do Not Be Ashamed! "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to
every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:" (1 Peter 3:15 King James) The Message puts it this way.... "Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to
speak up and tell anyone who asks why you're living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy." In my quiet time this morning I have been scanning through devotions that I had written starting
back in 2002. It is amazing how the Lord has used the trials I have faced in my life to help me grow as a Christian. I
pray that you are never ashamed to say that you are a Christian and that you love Jesus and that you care what Jesus
thinks about what you are doing in your life. In Luke 9:26, Jesus says, (and please forgive the paraphrase of this verse),
He says, if you are ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of you before my Father. We don't want Jesus to be
ashamed of us. What a shame it is if we go through each day living for what we want instead of living for what Jesus
wants for us -- we are robbing ourselves of many blessing He has for us. Growing each day draws us closer to the Lord
and helps us though the valleys. Everything we experience today will be our testimony tomorrow! Someone you
know one day will face the valley you experienced today. What a blessing you will be in their life to be able to encourage
them and know how to pray for them. I pray that no matter what you are facing today, that your first step is to turn to Jesus and ask Him to
guide you out of the valley. Once He has done that, use that circumstance to be a witness for Him, giving Him all the
Glory, the Honor and the praise. He loves you and His desire for all is that we are drawn closer to Him. That
we grow daily and we live a life that is a walking testimony of our love for Jesus. I hope you have a great Wednesday. Please continue
to remember Alex Hopkins in your prayers. Count your many blessings ... for you are so blessed! Love, Tracy
Is Today THE Day?
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This
is what the ancients were commended for.
verses 4-11 ... By faith, we understand that the universe was formed
by God...By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain...by faith Enoch was taken from this life so that he did not
experience death...by faith Noah (when warned about things not yet seen), built an ark....by faith Abraham went into the city-even though he did not know where he was going - by faith he made his home
there ... by faith even though he was past the age and his wife was barren - he became a father. All these people were still
living by faith when they died." (Hebrews 11:1-2 NIV)
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients
were commended for.
verses 4-11 ... By faith, we understand that the universe was formed by God...By faith
Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain...by faith Enoch was taken from this life so that he did not experience death...by
faith Noah (when warned about things not yet seen), built an ark....by faith Abraham went into the city-even though he did not know where he was going - by faith he made his home
there ... by faith even though he was past the age and his wife was barren - he became a father. All these people were still
living by faith when they died." (Hebrews 11:1-2 NIV)
Every time I read that verse I can hear the Lord saying ... "oh,
ye of little faith!" We have hopes and we have dreams and we pray that they come true and hope that the Lord will
answer our prayers. We say we trust and have faith and yet we worry about circumstances? Where
have we set our faith today? Do we place our faith just in faith and not in our Savior Jesus? And when we pray,
are we praying that the Lord's will be done? Or are we just hopelessly asking for "things". Does
it concern us what the will of God is for our lives?
So many of us pray like that today, our worship almost becomes like a ritual,
never changing. Even our mealtime prayers become the same stale words with no desire to praise Him for all He has provided.
Something as simple as a meal. There are some that don't have money for food. We are blessed - even
for that peanut butter sandwich! So many times I take that for granted. Jesus
says I am the way and the truth and life - believe in me and put all your faith and trust in me. He will guide us and protect
us and by His Grace will see us through this earthly life. Trust in Him today - for today is the day of Salvation!
Is today the day you see things more clearly? Thank Him for your valleys ... because the valley today will be our testimony
tomorrow. Have a great Tuesday, I pray that God's Word has spoken to your heart today
and that you desire a closer walk with Him. Place all your Faith in Jesus - not in people or things of this world.
The things of this world we disappoint you - Jesus is eternal ... forever. He loves you and that love is unconditional
and unending to those who seek Him. Count your blessings! Love, Tracy
Simple Reminders
Have you ever just had a day where you were just feeling blah and every where you turned the Lord keep reminding
you of His love for you? Sometimes you just can't pin point why you are experiencing that blah mood, but Jesus just
keeps placing reminders in your path telling you it will be all right! I had that kind of day Saturday. I had
been thinking about my week and anticipating my weeks to come. No real reason to be blah, things could be worse.
I haven't felt well and I had that on my mind. In the Carolinas, Friday, Saturday and Sunday were tax free
days for clothes, computers and school supplies so Saturday I decided to go shopping for a few "back to school"
items for me. The stores were crowded and I was not finding anything that would fit me. That just added to the
blahs! As I was driving from store to store I put my CD player on to see what CD was in there. I had just cleaned
out my van and rediscovered a CD I bought last year that I had forgotten about. God has a way of doing that ... providing
what we need just when we need it. This is one of my favorite songs for 2007. Made Me Glad
I will bless the Lord forever
I will trust Him at all times
He has delivered me from all fear
He has set my feet upon a rock
I will not be moved
And I'll say of
the Lord
You are my shield, my strength
My portion, deliverer
My
shelter, strong tower
My very present help in time of need
Whom have I in heaven but You
There's
none I desire beside You
You have made me glad
And I'll say of the Lord
You are my shield, my strength
My portion, deliverer
My shelter, strong tower
My very present help
in time of need
I needed to
be reminded that day, that moment ... that Jesus is my shield, my strength, my portion, deliverer, my shelter, strong tower
and my very present help in time of need. WHICH, by the way is EVERY DAY! In an instant my mood changed from the
blahs to comfort. No matter what we are facing today ... it may be a sad day, a blah day or even an upbeat day - I pray
that the words to this song remind you that no matter what you are facing that the Lord is your shield ... your
strength ... your portion ... deliverer ... your shelter ... strong tower ... your very present help in time of need!!!
I hope you all have a great Monday. Please pray for my sister in laws Mother,
her name is Mary Ryan, she is having health problems. Also, continue to remember Alex Hopkins. Count your blessings
... for we ARE so blessed! Love, Tracy
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| Devotions |
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| by Tracy Beckham |
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