God’s grand strategy, birthed in His grace toward us in Christ, and nurtured through the obedience of disciplined faith, is to release us into the redeemed life of our heart.
From Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.”
John Eldredge (born 1960) is an American author, counselor, and lecturer on Christianity. More details are available on his website: wildatheart.org.
We are all in the same boat, in a stormy sea, and we owe each other a terrible loyalty.
What embitters the world is not excess of criticism, but absence of self-criticism.
Gilbert Keith (G. K.) Chesterton (1874-1936) was an English Christian writer.
Whatever your day holds, you’re deeply loved.
From Lamentations 3:22-23: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”
Holley Gerth is an American Christian author.
When the heart submits, then Jesus reigns. When Jesus reigns, there is rest.
From Jeremiah 29:13-14: “When you search for Me, you will find Me; if you seek Me with all your heart, I will let you find Me, says the Lord.”
Hudson Taylor (1832-1905) was a British-born Christian missionary. He spent 54 years in China.
The Son’s obedience was as Redeemer, because He was Son, not in order to be Son.
From John 13:13: “You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for that is what I am.”
Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) was a Scottish evangelist and Christian teacher. Following his death from an illness while in Egypt during World War I, his wife took on the task of transcribing the detailed notes she had written from his lectures and sermons. Gertrude Hobbs Chambers’ efforts resulted in the publication in 1924 of MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST. I frequently read from this devotional, and it has greatly deepened my faith and understanding of God’s Word.
There is no greater joy in the Christian life than to trust Him and need no explanation.
From Jeremiah 17:7: “Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.”
Jack Hyles (1926-2001) was an American pastor, who led his congregation at First Baptist Church in Hammond, Indiana from 1959 until his death. He was well-known for creating a bus ministry to bring people to worship at First Baptist Church.
From Luke 2:8-11: “Now in that same region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.'”
Humble shepherds
Tending flocks at night
Angel sharing great news
Shining from Bethlehem’s light
Minds awaken
Praising with great joy
Hearts filling with wonder
Witnessing love in this boy
Promise fulfilled
Giving thanks to God
Savior comes to rescue
Raising hope, at last unthawed
Darkness conquered
Forgiving man’s sin
Forever, King of Kings
Locking redemption’s linchpin
From Colossians 1:13-14: “He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
When we lack the peace of God, we should turn to our peace with God.
From Romans 5:1-2: “Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.”
Robert Millen Horn (1933-2005) was a British pastor and Christian writer. He was born to parents who served as missionaries in Ethiopia until 1936 when they fled the country following the Italian invasion.
We cannot afford to be naive about evil–it must be faced. But we cannot be intimidated by it either. It will be used by God to bring good.
From Romans 8:31: “What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”
Eugene Peterson (1932-2018) was an American pastor, theologian, and Christian author.
Doubts and mistrust are the mere panic of timid imagination, which the steadfast heart will conquer, and the large mind transcend.
From Proverbs 3:5: “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.”
Helen Keller (1880-1968) was an American author and lecturer. Her own journey through blindness and deafness encouraged her to advocate for the rights of others who live with disabilities.
Big Sky Buckeye 