Imitating

IDOK Devotion for Tuesday, October 26, 2010

It’s a beautiful gray Monday morning in Satsuma, Alabama — actually it’s almost noon and I have settled in, kinda, to begin preparing for this coming Sunday’s Sunday School lesson and I have a quick word picture to share with you.

Ephesians 5:1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;

Why do think he wrote it that way?

What word picture does it give you?

Have you seen a little boy trotting along behind his daddy, taking great care and concentration to walk in the steps his daddy makes?  Why does he do that?

He’s imitating his daddy.

I love that picture. That’s what our DADDY GOD wants for us and from us. He wants us to love Him so much that we follow along right after Him trying our best to make those steps He makes before us.

How beautiful is that?!

ABBA, You have made me smile this beautiful gray day. May it be that all my gray days from this day forward be beautiful to me. Not because gray is considered a wonderful thing by natural standards but because Your joy within finds beauty even in gray.  I am so grateful to You.  And I love You, ABBA.  Thank You.

And as we set this tidbit of a devotion to post, thank You. Imitating. It’s a sweet picture.  I pray it will be sweet when it arrives at each screen. And I pray each will be encouraged. I pray they will smile and feel and know You are smiling on them.

We as a Body present our Praying for These Loved Ones to You with their many, many needs. It is so good that You let us bring them; so good that You are so willing and able to answer their cries and ours for help. Thank You, ABBA.  IDOK Troops too.  Safety and protection for them we pray. And for revival. And for repentance. And for an awakening in America. And the November election … still asking for a legal election and a turning to the RIGHT — Your Right, ABBA.  And Israel. Always mindful of them and waiting for the fulfillment You have for them.  And now, LORD, on with what’s at hand here — praying to imitate You as your beloved children in JESUS name. Amen and amen.

Holy hugs, kt

Monday, October 25, 2010

The Difficulty of Self-Forgiveness

From a recent experience, I’ve discovered that sometimes it’s harder to forgive myself than for the person I’ve wronged to forgive me. When I tried to play a joke on a friend, it turned out to be a painful experience for him. After talking to him about it, he forgave me, but the stupidity of my thoughtlessness bothered me for days.

God said He will take our sins so far away we can never find them again. With this promise, I shouldn’t let guilt haunt my mind after I’ve been forgiven. I must learn to forgive myself because God  has and go on from there.

He has removed our sins as far away from us as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12 LB).

Thank You, God, for Your forgiving Spirit. Teach me to forgive myself too. Amen.

Written by Sandra Drescher and taken from her book entitled Just Between God & Me.

Holy hugs, kt

Friday, October 22, 2010

The refreshing time continues to be refreshing.  Thank you for your love and prayers.  SO again today we go to Just Between God & Me by Sandra Drescher.

Mighty God

When I reached the top of a mountain with a group of friends, we broke into songs of praise to God. The view was beautiful as we looked down on miles of trees and up into the clear blue sky. Seeing the earth from high above, as God does, made us feel especially close to Him.

By seeing all the beauty and majesty in God’s creation, I saw myself as only a tiny part of His vast purpose on earth. I felt the great privilege of having God, who made all that I saw, as my personal Savior.

My help is from Jehovah who made the mountains! And the heavens too! (Ps. 121:2 LB).

O mighty Savior, I praise You for caring about me amidst all the grandeur of Your creation. Thank You for the beauty all around me. Amen.

I am particularly appreciating Sandra’s words today as I am mindful of a world of folks in this world who relegate God to an occasional Sunday morning, excluding this Personal Savior from their moment to moment living.          . . .  My brothers, these things ought not to be so. James 3:10 (ESV)

LORD and CREATOR, SAVIOR, FRIEND and FATHER — it is so good to know You are all this and more to us. I petition You to reveal Yourself more and more to Your People. Thank You for the vast, innumerable privileges, gifts, and blessings You lavish upon us each moment; HOLY SPIRIT, give us eyes and hearts to see these more. I come now with Praying for These, and our IDOK Troops, Israel, the Church, America and particularly the November election, all these concerns, thanking You that You are able.  We trust You with it all.  Amen and amen in JESUS Name.

Holy hugs, kt

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Your prayers are working.

Thank you.

And I am so grateful that the LORD provided the book Just Between God & Me by Sandra Drescher for us in this quiet period. My soul is getting refreshed!

Pass It On

I have a friend who loves to do things for other people, and she doesn’t expect anything in return. When it’s impossible for me to repay her acts of kindness, she tells me to do something for someone else, and that will be pay enough.

She is a beautiful example of the kind of love Christ has for me. I can never repay Him for what He’s done for me, but I can show my gratitude by spreading His love to others.

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37 NIV).

Your love, JESUS, is more than I can repay except by telling others about it. Thank You for Your amazing love. Amen

Amen, ABBA, Your love for me, for us all is amazing! Thank You. And thank You for our IDOKs. I am placing them before You petitioning You for the very best You have for each one individually and for us collectively. Thank You for this time of refreshing. Thank You for the good I see happening. Thank You that adversity given to You grows good stuff in JESUS’ name.  I am mindful as I trust our IDOKs are of our IDOK Troops, the November elections, the State of Hearts in the Nation, the need for revival in Your People, and the WOW Conference in February 2011; all this and more we lay on the altar with our love and praise in JESUS name. Amen and amen.

Holy hugs, kt