Category: Uncategorized

Two-minute read.

When my sister died, my brother couldn’t leave the graveside after the service. Sitting alone beside her casket, the thought of lowering her body into the ground and leaving her overwhelmed him. A sorrowful moment, her death devastated us all. Diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer the day after Christmas, she battled hard for a year and a half, dying Aug. 18, 2001. We had the same father, but different mothers. Her mom died of the same disease almost 37 years to the date, on Aug. 6, 1964.

Less than a month after we buried my sister, 9-11 happened. Terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center’s twin towers, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania. Two thousand nine hundred seventy-seven people, not including the hijackers, didn’t go home to their families that night. Our country experienced a devastating loss that cut to the core. As I lay in bed that night, afraid of what would happen next, tears flowing down my cheeks, I thought of my sister, and for the first time since her passing, I thanked God she didn’t have to live through the horror of the attack.

Soft-hearted, my sister possessed a kind soul. She felt other people’s pain and cared deeply for them. Always loving, Lorn lived with a quiet grace, a tinkling laugh, and an easy smile.

Twenty-four years later, the seeds planted in tears when my sister died have become shouts of joy that I had such a fantastic woman in my life to help guide and direct my path. Knowing we will meet again in heaven and that the love we shared never died helps me persevere on tough days. Her last words on Earth give me hope for what’s to come.

“It’s so beautiful,” Lorn said as she gazed into heaven before taking her last breath. What we sow in tears, we will reap in shouts of joy.

Journal Questions:

How have you sown in tears?

In what ways have your tears turned into shouts of joy?

What pain do you need to give God today?

Joyful Application:

Let your tears become shouts of joy as you give your pain to Jesus and let Him heal your wounds.

Two-minute read.

“Remember, the joy of the Lord is our strength.”

Wrapping up our small group session, the leader said those nine words in closing, and they immediately struck a chord with my heart. I had never heard the verse shared that way before. As many times as I’ve read the Bible, the scripture had escaped me. Coming home, I looked up the passage and began studying it; unbeknownst to our leader, his words changed my life. When we live communally with others, sharing the blessings God gives us, it brings joy to our hearts and strengthens our souls.

Becoming spiritually rooted in God’s presence and increasingly relying on Him gives us joy that produces enduring strength. We can’t gain strength from anything we do, only from a God-given joy. Hope and forgiveness connect us to the Creator. Letting go of past sins gives us a do-over, putting the Savior’s teaching into practice in our lives, and foregoing our selfish desires. The more we look for God’s blessings, worship Him, and let scripture take root in our hearts, the more divine joy we will experience.

“I’m leaning into God’s promises,” a friend said when talking about an uncontrollable situation in her life. Knowing she had done everything she could to help the people involved, she left the rest in the Lord’s hands, trusting His promises and that He loved them more than she ever could. Memorizing, meditating, and applying scripture in your life helps it take root. The more seeds you plant, the deeper your relationship with the Savior will become. As life unfolds, you will quickly discover that God has given us promises to apply to everything that comes our way.

Live in the joy of the Lord by letting His promises take root in your heart. Find verses that apply to your current situation and plant them in your soul. Ask the Savior to fill your being with His divine joy and lavish the strength you receive from it.

Journal Questions:

How have you discovered God’s joy?

In what ways does the joy of the Lord give you strength?

In what situation do you need God’s promises today?

Joyful Application:

Ask God for His divine joy and the strength that comes from it.

Two-minute read.

God created life and gave it to all creatures. Living in His presence brings joy and pleasures we can find no other way. Nothing fills our hearts more than experiencing the Almighty’s love and sharing it with others. As we gain more knowledge and understanding from God, life takes on a new hue. Things that seem impossible become possible. Hurts that wound us receive healing. We discover that the Lord does use all things for the good, even the most unimaginable things.

Watching “Amish Grace,” which details the tragic Amish school shooting in Lancaster, PA, in 2006, inspired me. When five of their young girls died at the hands of a mentally ill individual, the Amish immediately put God’s word into practice. Before the sun went down, they forgave the shooter and embraced his family into their lives. Accepting God’s decision to call their daughters home, they submitted to His control of their lives, knowing their loved ones now rested in the arms of Jesus.

One mother, struggling to forgive, nurturing hatred in her heart because of the loss, didn’t want to submit to God. But then a survivor’s testimony changed her heart.

“He asked Mary Beth to pray for him. She told him she would, even though she knew he was going to shoot her. And then she did it, she prayed for him.”

As the grieving mother listened to her daughter’s last actions on earth, she had no choice but to forgive because her daughter had. Mary Beth’s mother’s heart softened, and in that moment, she laid her hurt at the foot of the cross, and healing began.

Lay your burdens at the foot of the cross. Acknowledge the Creator and His sovereignty as He leads you on the path of life.

Journal Questions:

How do you experience God’s presence in your life?

In what ways does falling Jesus give you a more abundant life?

What do you need to lay down at the foot of the cross today?

Joyful Application:

Give God whatever burdens your heart today and ask Him for His divine joy.

Two-minute read.

Saying the right thing at the right time takes divine assistance. Only when we connect to the Creator can we give an apt answer. Solomon writes a lot about our words, not speaking in anger, even fools appear wise when they say nothing. Using kind, honest words brings healing. We must listen before we speak. And we should consider the consequences of our words.

“Plan, prepare, and pray,” I said to a friend when he asked me about retirement advice. Dealing with a medical issue, the doctor recommends that he quit his current job. Working for a small-business owner, they have a close-knit family of employees who love each other deeply. For my friend, leaving means losing that connection and moving into a new chapter of life. He didn’t know how to end one chapter and begin the next, and so he asked my advice.

As I leaned against the stove in our kitchen, the smell of cinnamon and cloves from my crockpot filled my senses, and I listened and prayed as my friend talked. Wearing his heart on his sleeve, I could see how he agonized over his decision, not wanting to let his friends down, but also not wanting to burden them with his issues. His face showed his distress; I felt the weight of the moment. In the middle of writing this devotional when he stopped by, today’s verse popped into my head, and I prayed for an apt answer.

“As a woman of faith, my best advice is to pray and ask God for direction.”

How could I give an apt answer without divine assistance? Asking God for help allows us to say the right thing at the right time. Because the Lord knows the other person’s heart, He knows what they need to hear. Pray first, then speak what God lays on your heart.

Journal Questions:

When have you received an apt answer at the right time?

How has the Lord helped you to answer wisely?

In what area do you need divine guidance today?

Joyful Application:

Bring joy to someone today by asking God for an apt answer to give them when needed.

Two-minute read.

Paul mentions hope more in Romans than in any of his other letters. “God of hope” means the Creator who gives us hope through Jesus. Because of the Savior’s actions, we can look to tomorrow with anticipation of the coming glory. The Lord will accomplish all He wants to do through us, working out our problems. Trusting in the Almighty produces hope as we lean into His promises and expect them to come true in our lives. Believing in Christ gives us hope that His grace will continue to grow in our lives, with the help of the Holy Spirit, who prompts us.

When difficulties in life happen, we have a choice: we can become bitter or get better. Jesus, the Great Healer, wants us to overcome our struggles and allow Him to heal our hearts. None of us knows the battles we will face when we roll out of bed in the morning, but we do know the God who does. Before we enter a skirmish, Christ already knows how He will help us through it. In our pain, the Lord heals us. As we lay our hurts at the foot of the cross, divine comfort helps us persevere.

Often, we don’t consciously decide to become bitter; it grows from a small seed over time. When my father died, I became bitter, ruminating in self-pity. Feeling sorry for myself because I no longer had a dad, I became resentful of anyone who did. The more I thought about what I didn’t have, the more bitter I became. Returning to Jesus, He began the healing process in me, removing the bitter root and replacing it with His love.

Let Paul’s prayer sink into your spirit. Allow God to fill you with all joy and peace, believing His promises and letting the Holy Spirit’s power help hope abound.

Journal Questions:

Describe how God’s promises give you hope?

When have you had to battle bitterness in your life?

How can Jesus heal your heart today?

Joyful Application:

Pray for people in your life who need hope and that they become better, not bitter.

Two-minute read.

When Jeremiah first received a message from God, he devoured its revelatory truth. Chosen by the Lord to prophesize to the people, Jeremiah served the Lord with all his heart, mind, body, and soul. Now the prophet wants divine justice for his enemies, asking God not to wait but to take vengeance in Jeremiah’s lifetime. However, the Lord doesn’t work on our timelines; He works on His. We can find encouragement in scripture to help us persevere when the Creator doesn’t do what we want, when we want.

Everyone has enemies we think deserve justice, but we see them only from a limited perspective. When we devour God’s word, allowing it to take root in our hearts, we will begin to see things differently. Divine intervention turns people’s lives around; enemies become friends when the Lord gets involved.

“Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?”

Abraham Lincoln

A man of faith, the United States’ 16^th president practiced what he preached. When elected to the highest office in the land, he appointed rivals to his cabinet, making them his political allies. Finding common ground with people who disagree with us paves the way for unity. When we agree on Christ as our Savior, we have a firm foundation for a hopeful future. Destroying our enemies by making them our friends honors Jesus, enlarges the kingdom, and allows for peace on earth.

Find delight in God’s word, let it encourage your heart, and help you turn enemies into friends. Through Christ, all things become possible.

Journal Questions:

What happened to your heart when you discovered Jesus?

In what ways does God’s word encourage you?

How can you turn enemies into friends today?

Joyful Application:

Find a way to bring joy to an enemy today with words of kindness.

Two-minute read.

Detailing the Ark of the Covenant’s return to Jerusalem, when the Lord’s presence entered the city, the transformation of Jerusalem began. Once the Ark returned home, the people experienced God anew, as Moses had predicted that the Creator would choose a place for all His tribes to dwell. Splendor and majesty reign when the Almighty rules the city, strength and joy His gifts.

Because of Jesus, the Holy Spirit resides in our hearts, the center of our city. The moment you place faith in God’s Son, He moves into the center of your soul, and transformation begins. As you encounter life changes, one day at a time, you will begin to understand divine splendor and majesty. The joy of the Lord becomes your strength as you pursue Him, producing life-giving fruit that enlarges the kingdom.

When God dwells in your heart, He fills you with His glory, honor, power, and joy. An awe-inspiring nature, developing a relationship with the Savior will introduce you to His wonders. Divine power encourages your soul, Christ’s gift to us through His Spirit.

Splendor and ma­jes­ty are be­fore You!
Strength and joy are in Your dwell­ing place!
Mercy and kind­ness, full of for­giv­eness!
Great are You, Lord, hon­ored and wor­thy of praise!

Splendor and Majesty; Ralph P. Merrifield and Leonard Smith

Praise the Lord for His splendor and majesty. Bask in His joy, gain God’s strength, and live in His victory. Submitting our lives to the Savior connects us to the divine gifts He offers. In Jesus, we find everything we need to win the day’s battles, lighting the world with our faith, glorifying the Almighty, and helping others discover what we have found. Worthy of all praise, Christ does for us what we can’t do for ourselves. In Him, we have eternal life.

Journal Questions:

How have you experienced God’s splendor and majesty?

How has the Lord transformed you with His Spirit?

How do you gain strength from the Lord?

Joyful Application:

Share the joy of the Lord with others by praising His splendor and majesty.

Two-minute read.

“One of our clients I invited to church finally came on Sunday, and guess what? She responded to the altar call and accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior! Rejoicing for her!!”

When I read my friend’s comment on our shared Bible reading plan, tears came to my eyes. Immediately, I responded:

“The angels are rejoicing!”

Every time someone places their faith in Jesus, a party happens in heaven. Leaving the darkness and walking into the light gives life new meaning. Purpose begins to unfold as they stop listening to the world and begin building a relationship with the Savior. As the past slips away, the hope of the future directs their steps. No longer do they wander in the desert, as God leads them home to the promised land.

In the previous verse, a woman loses one of her ten coins. She lights a lamp and searches high and low for the money, listening for it to clink when she finds it. In today’s world, if we lost our phone, we would search to find it, rejoicing when we finally did. Just last week, I misplaced my phone. Panic set in as I realized I might not see it again. Eventually, I found it in the oddest of places and rejoiced with enthusiasm when I did.

God and the angels rejoice more than we can even imagine when a sinner repents, submitting their life to the Savior. The Lord wants no one to perish, but He can’t force anyone to love Him, and neither can we. Without choice, one can’t love. And some people choose not to love but to hate, rejecting Christ and the grace and mercy He offers.

Pray for the lost souls in your life. Write down their names, ask God to soften their hearts, drawing them to Him, and the everlasting life He offers.

Journal Questions:

How did you feel when you first gave your life to Christ?

How would you describe the angels rejoicing in heaven?

Who needs your prayers for salvation today?

Joyful Application:

Tell someone about Jesus today and the joy He brings to your life.

Two-minute read.

Jesus kept His Father’s commands as an act of love, outwardly showing devotion through His actions. We do the same when we abide in Christ’s teachings, following His example, showing the world who we follow. The more we obey God’s commands, the more fruit we will produce, and the more joy we will experience. Having a revelatory Creator, we must practice His precepts to experience His joy. As we discover the goodness that comes from following Jesus, we can’t help but want to share it with others.

When I gave my life back to the Lord as an adult, I didn’t immediately experience His joy. Transformation began when I started to live for God rather than myself. As I began to do what the Creator says, life changed, peace descended, and joy began to thrive. On a mentor’s recommendation, I began reading my Bible daily, front to back. I found a plan and dug into scripture. But about a third of the way through the Old Testament, I stopped reading —not a conscious decision; one morning I didn’t have time, and that quickly turned into two, then three, etc. And I felt myself slipping back into the murky mud of despair.

“How’s your Bible reading going?” my mentor asked me when I shared my thoughts with her.

“Not well, I stopped.”

“Then I’d start there.”

And so I did, I began reading God’s word again, and this time I didn’t stop. Thirty-plus years later, I still read the Bible every morning, spending more time in scripture now than ever. And I haven’t felt those dark feelings again. Each morning, when I place my life before the Savior, allowing Him to search my heart, He renews my soul, comforts my pain, and gives me the strength to persevere.

When we abide in Jesus, He abides in us. Living a life of obedience produces fruit that fills our lives with everlasting joy.

Journal Questions:

What area of disobedience hinders your relationships with God?

How can you abide in Christ today?

In what ways does producing good fruit bring you joy?

Joyful Application:

Show God’s love to the world by obeying His commandments which will produce good fruit and bring you divine joy.

Two-minute read.

Penning Psalm 94, the unknown author felt despair from the multitude of thoughts within him, but trusted God’s comfort. Seeking the Lord will lead to finding comfort, but we must first turn to Him. Many a time I have felt sorrow, from losing loved ones, broken relationships, unexpected job loss, and getting knocked off my feet in various ways. But God always comforted me, and in the most unexpected ways.

Sometimes, scripture comforts me. Going through a recent disappointment, I wanted to quit. Everything seemed pointless; the prayers I prayed went unanswered. The seeds I planted didn’t appear to take root. But then I read one verse, and it changed everything for me.

“But as the believers gathered around him, he got up and went back into the town.”

Acts 14:20

Referring to Paul, the crowds stoned him, dragging his body out of town, thinking they had killed him. With believers surrounding him, probably praying for Paul, he got up and returned to the city. My mind imagined the apostle standing up, determined to share Christ’s love with those who had just tried to murder him. With a confident stride, he went back to work, knowing they needed Jesus in their lives. The more I meditated on Paul’s total devotion to the mission and the persecution he endured, the more I realized my troubles paled in comparison. Sixteen words comforted my heart and cheered my soul.

Miracles happen every day, but we don’t always notice. One way or another, God cheers our souls in intimate and personal ways. In our suffering, Jesus suffers with us. He walked in the fire with Daniel, sailed through the storms with the disciples, and endured the cross for our salvation. Christ comforts us in our pain and cheers our souls with His presence.

Journal Questions:

How has God comforted you in your pain?

In what ways do you seek the Lord during difficult times?

How does Paul’s example help you keep going?

Joyful Application:

Find a way to share joy with someone going through a difficult time.