Category Archives: 2018

1 Timothy, 2 Corinthians, 2018, Ezekiel, Forgiveness, Gospel of Matthew, Proverbs

So Far

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Approximate Reading time: 2 minutes

1 Timothy 6:20  (TLV) 20 O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, turning away from pointless chatter and the contradictions of so-called knowledge—  source  

O (fill in your name), guard what has been entrusted to you, turning away from pointless chatter and the contradictions of so-called knowledge— What has been entrusted to me? What has been entrusted to you?  Our answers may vary as we mature in our journey, but I can think of two gifts (so far) that each repentant sinner who has placed faith in Christ has received. 

A new heart.

Ezekiel 36:26 (KJV) 26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. source 

And to further confirm:

Proverbs 4:23  (NIV) 23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. source 

The Ministry of Reconciliation 

2 Corinthians 5: 18 Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. source

I think we can safely dovetail The Great Commission with this Ministry of Reconciliation to confirm our entrustment of sharing the Gospel of Salvation with others. 

So how do we guard these priceless gifts? And from what do we guard them? 

An old principle comes to mind: Use it or lose it. 

Could we say, guarding our heart would be tantamount to exercising our new heart so that it does not become weak and sickly?  If we exercise our hearts will we not build muscles of faith, trust, and love —? I think we could name all the fruits of the Spirit right here.  Galatians 5:22-23. May I say if these fruits are not steadily increasing in us, we are not well guarding our hearts? Ouch!

And if we are not well guarding our heart, how well can we guard our Ministry of Reconciliation? How well can we demonstrate and speak the Gospel of Salvation to the world with a weak, sickly, offended, unforgiving, wounded, bruised, beat-up heart? 

Forgiveness that leads to healing – it truly must be my Word for 2018. 

Selah ~ ~ ~

2018, Guests

Don’t Leave Home Without It

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YouVersion.

It’s on my phone, on my desk top, on my laptop. I guess you could say I hardly go anywhere without it. 

The devotion feeding me now is this one:

Hey! She has a book! No. I don’t have it. Yet! :)
Looks like it was published in October of 2017. See HERE.

This is a portion of  Day Two’s reading:

Shifting your focus off of yourself and onto God is much harder than it sounds. As broken people, our gaze naturally drifts inward, making vanity a tough pattern to shake. Once I was able to see my own self-preoccupation—both the allure and the peril of it—God took me on a long journey to freedom. He taught me how to adjust my sight back onto him, and it literally changed my life. Once I grasped the truth that life is not about me and shifted my focus onto Christ, it became the song of my heart, one I can’t stop singing to others.

I know from my own experience that it’s hard to look straight in the face of your vanity, but it’s how we break the spell of self. And oh how it is worth it! May God shine on the hidden places in your heart and grant you the courage to see yourself honestly.

If you are not familiar with YouVersion, I urge you to check them out!  I’m providing a link – HERE.

Selah ~ ~ ~
2018, Acts

See?

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Acts 26. Such a worthy read!

If you are short on time at this page opening let us concentrate on just this portion. 

A little background, Paul is in Rome, in chains, and appearing before King Agrippa, Bernice (said to be Agrippa’s sister/lover)  and Fetus the Governor. Paul is giving testimony as to his conversion. 

Acts 26: 15 “Then I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’

“And the Lord said, ‘I am Yeshua—whom you are persecuting. 16 But get up, and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you for this purpose—to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things you have seen as well as to the things I will yet reveal to you. 17 I will rescue you from your own people, and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you, 18 to open their eyes—so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of satan to God, that they may receive release from sins as well as a place among those who are made holy through trusting in Me.’

19 “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. 20 Rather, I kept declaring—first to those in Damascus, and then Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also the Gentiles—that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds consistent with that repentance.  source

Verse  18 in particular. What do you see in this one verse packed with so much Gospel? 

Selah ~ ~ ~