“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13
1. For a look at hope this weekend, read my post Hope Redeemed at Christian Stay at Home Moms.
2. For moms who need hope: read my recent devotional at Devotions for Moms.
Many blessings on a hope filled weekend!
I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father. John 15:1-8
As we prepare and plough our hearts to join the Body in worship this weekend, may we pray for a heart that bears fruit. Let us eat our fill of His Word so that we hunger for nothing else. And may His Word fertilize and nourish our souls, helping us to grow and produce a great harvest for the Kingdom.
For your heart this weekend: Read my latest post at Bible Study for Her, “Do you know Him?”
May this Christmas find you kneeling in worship before the babe born to save. Experience anew this Love that came down on Christmas. Behold and rejoice that God became man, Immanuel.
Mighty God (Is. 9:6) is the name of this child. The child in the manger is none other than God himself. Nothing greater can be said: God became a child. In the Jesus child of Mary lives the almighty God. Wait a minute! Don’t speak; stop thinking! Stand still before this statement! God became a child! Here he is, poor like us, miserable and helpless like us, a person of flesh and blood like us, our brother. And yet he is God; he is might. Where is the divinity, where is the might of the child? In the divine love in which he became like us. His poverty in the manger in his might. In the might of love he overcomes the chasm between God and humankind, he overcomes sin and death, he forgives sin and awakens from the dead. Kneel down before this miserable manger, before this child of poor people, and repeat in faith the stammering words of the prophet: “Mighty God!” And he will be your God and your might. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Perhaps you’d like to read my Advent devotional at Devotions for Moms? Click here.
This season, as we celebrate Advent and the birth of our Lord Jesus, may we also reflect on his second coming. Does your heart feel the same joy when you anticipate his second coming as it does celebrating the first? May we always live in expectation of that great Day.
Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End… “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give youathis testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life…He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. Revelation 21:12-13, 16-17, 20
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8
“When you pause to consider that God is infinitely strong and can do all that he pleases, and that he is infinitely righteous so that he only does what is right, and that he is infinitely good so that everything he does is perfectly good, and that he is infinitely wise so that he always knows perfectly what is right and good, and that he is infinitely loving so that in all his strength and righteousness and goodness and wisdom he raises the eternal joy of his loved ones as high as it can be raised—when you pause to consider this, then the lavish invitations of this God to ask him for good things, with the promise that he will give them, is unimaginably wonderful.” John Piper
As you prepare your heart to worship, remember that you have a Heavenly Father who desires to lavish you with good things. His love is unmeasureable and His power beyond imagination. Kneel before Him, ask, seek and knock.
More for you heart: my latest devotional at Devotions for Moms.
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23
As you worship The Great Shepherd tomorrow, may you find restoration and comfort for your soul.
And to prepare your child’s heart: a great allegory on Psalm 23 is the book Sammy and His Shepherd
For your own heart, this gospel prayer from Scotty Smith.
Have you ever sung from the Psalter? My favorite has always been the Scottish version of Psalm 23. You can listen to it here.
May the Lord be with you in whatever storms that are stirring your soul into turmoil this day.
“Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.” Psalm 57:1
“And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.” Matthew 8:26
Jesus said to enter the Kingdom, we need to become as little children. A child like faith isn’t encumbered by the baggage of life. Worries about paying the bills doesn’t weaken their faith. A lifetime of regrets and wounds doesn’t give them excuses to not believe. They simply trust and believe.
“And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3.
As I prepare my heart for worship tomorrow, I’m praying that my heart will be like that of a child.
David had a heart for the word of God. Psalm 119 is written entirely about the Word and is the longest of all the psalms. I desire to have the same heart for the word of God. I want to hunger for it the first thing when I awaken and feed on it throughout the day. I want it to be my source of direction, my calm in the storms of life and peace for my soul. It’s the Word of God that shows me His grace. And it’s His grace that has set me free.
As I prepare to worship and hear His word tomorrow, I’m focusing on the Word penned by David:
“Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn your commands. May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in your word. I know, O Lord, that your laws are righteous, and in faithfulness you have afflicted me. May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant. Let your compassion come to me that I may live, for your law is my delight.” Psalm 119:73-77
And for your heart this weekend:
This Post about prayer from A Holy Experience
These words-so creative!
New favorite book-gives me a passion for the Word: 66 Love Letters: A Conversation with God That Invites You into His Story
Lastly, my latest devotional at Devotions for Moms: When You Feel Like a Failure
In preparing my heart for worship tomorrow, I’m remembering that all my hope is found in Him. To hear this song visit here.
In Christ Alone lyrics
Songwriters: Getty, Julian Keith; Townend, Stuart Richard
In Christ alone my hope is
found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid
ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of
love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My
Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand
In Christ
alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless Babe
This gift of
love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
Til on
that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on
Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live, I live
There in the
ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious
Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in
victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is
mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ
No guilt in life, no
fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From a life’s first cry to
final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of
man
Could ever pluck me from His hand
Til He returns or calls me
home
Here in the power of Christ I stand
I will stand, I will
stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground, all other
ground
Is sinking sand, is sinking sand
So I stand
For more soul ploughing, perhaps you’d like to read my recent post at Bible Study for Her? Click here to read “Confession is Good for the Soul.”
