A Final Word (#96 of 365+)

What is it that makes teenagers do crazy things? Is it the surge of hormones rushing through their bodies that make them think they’re invincible? Or is it more a combination of youth and

Amen (#95 of 365+)

We returned from our Christmas vacation just yesterday. Most of our time was spent in and around Cambria, California. Everywhere we looked we saw the goodness of God’s handiwork.

Come Quickly (#94 of 365+)

I’m doing my devotional away from the internet today.
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My Savior Leads Me… and Francie (#93 of 365+)

I’m doing my devotional away from the internet today.
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Heartbroken Holiday (#92 of 365+)

I’m doing my devotional away from the internet today.
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The Second Advent (#91 of 365+)

I’m doing my devotional away from the internet today.
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Christmas Day (#90 of 365+)

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“Come On In!” (#89 of 365+)

I’m doing my devotional away from the internet today.
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All I Want for Christmas… (#88 of 365+)

We’re all flying to California to spend Christmas with my husband’s dad, stepmom, and granny! We’ll leave early Thursday morning and return late Tuesday afternoon. I’ll pack my Pearls of Great Price devotional book and I'll keep having my daily “devotes” but—just in case we have technical difficulties during the trip—I’m going to prepare and schedule (in advance) daily widgets of songs that I’ve enjoyed listening to lately. Have a Merry CHRISTmas!

Today’s verse is: “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). Sometimes I compare different translations of the bible to get a broader view of a verse. In place of “Delight yourself in the Lord”, the Message version says, “Keep company with GOD”. This is easy enough to understand. However, it seems the second part of the verse, “He will give you the desires of your heart”, is the most difficult part for many to understand.

When I was single, I enjoyed fellowshipping with other singles at church and in a Christian singles organization. It was natural for me to want to find others who shared the same faith, interests, struggles, etc. I learned a lot of lessons during those years. One of the first tough lessons I learned was not all singles attended church, participated in events, or developed friendships for the same reasons I did. Some of them, and this applied to both women and men, were doing it for the sole purpose of finding a mate. Here’s how I found this out: We started a new bible study series. They wouldn’t attend until they found out if someone else (of the opposite gender) was interested in attending… If some people (of their gender) wanted to get coffee after a movie, they would be non-committal until someone (of the opposite gender) decided to go… When there was an event at someone’s home, they would arrive an hour late and then leave within the hour if nothing interesting had happened… And so on.

I remember a 40-something woman said she felt God had forgotten about her. She thought by now he would have sent the man she was going to marry. After years of faithfully serving the Lord at church even as she struggled with various health issues, he never sent her future mate. She watched as other single women—many who weren’t as interested in bible study or prayer as she was—were finding boyfriends, getting engaged, and having weddings in that very same church! She was obviously confused and hurt by this. She didn’t understand why the Psalm 37:4 formula wasn’t working for her.

Psalm 37:4 isn’t supposed to be the promise of wish-fulfillment. God isn’t a genie in a bottle! Rather, the verse is the promise of fulfillment period. Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible said it well, God “has not promised to gratify the appetites of the body, and the humours of the fancy, but the desires of the renewed, sanctified soul”. He isn’t seeking to fulfill our worldly “wants”. Instead, he desires to fill our spiritual need.

Joni explained how in her own life, when she wasn’t healed from the injury that took away the use of her arms and legs, she learned what it meant to delight herself in the Lord according to what Jesus said: “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you” (John 15:7). The more she let his words fill her life and the more she abided in him, the hungrier she became for his words and his presence. When a quality relationship with the God of the universe—not physical healing or anything else—became what she looked forward to every day, God granted her heart’s desire (a deeper relationship with him). No more wishing upon a star. As she said, she got “the Bright and Morning Star himself”.

Lord Jesus, thank you for sending the rain this morning. You are like rain to my thirsty heart. “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God” Psalm 42:1. Thank you for your word, and thank you for always being so near. Amen.

Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming (#87 of 365+)

Joni shared about her and Ken’s favorite Christmas tradition: To dress in their finest and treat their entire family to an elegant dining experience in Beverly Hills. As she described the beauty of

Apples of Gold (#86 of 365+)

I suspect “The Proverbs 31 Woman” has been the object of veiled scorn among young women for hundreds of generations. She is too perfect! Only a superwoman could rise before the sun

The Most Unusual Christmas Gift (#85 of 365+)

“The LORD will indeed give what is good” (Psalm 85:12)

“‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ —which means, ‘God with us’” (Matthew

Anna Leads the Way (#84 of 365+)

“Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name!” (Psalm 103:1 NKJV)

About ten years ago I used to drive past a church at the same time

Salvation Is of the Lord (#83 of 365+)

Today, Joni’s devotional was so especially incredible and wonderful that I copied it in its entirety into this post. I couldn’t add a thing to her words. Here it is…

For Your Comfort (#82 of 365+)

Today’s devotional continued with the theme of suffering for the benefit of others. Joni talked about a Christian friend of hers who suffered much from a painful disease and was constantly in and

The More Necessary Thing (#81 of 365+)

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire

Tidings of Comfort and Joy (#80 of 365+)

“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!’” (Luke 2:13-14

Jacob’s Ladder (#79 of 365+)

“And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night... and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a

We Band of Brothers (#78 of 365+)

“Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians

Christmas: The Defeat of Darkness (#77 of 365+)

“Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong” (Habakkuk 1:13)

Joni reminds again—although “God permits what he hates to

Incline My Heart (#76 of 365+)

“Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name” (Psalm 86:11)

Sometimes my thoughts are elsewhere and I’m not interested in

God Impressions (#75 of 365+)

A few months ago, a dental assistant tried to make an accurate impression of my son’s teeth and gums. They would later pour plaster into the mold to make an exact copy of his mouth. The

Adding Muscle to Our Prayers (#74 of 365+)

“When you received the word of God… you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe” (1 Thessalonians 2:13)

You’re a Jewel! (#73 of 365+)

I’m frequently amazed at how much imagery God has left in this world to teach people about him.

Imagine if today a large cathedral was built, stone upon stone,

The Bad News (#72 of 365+)

Our son selected Christianity as the topic of a five-page paper for one of his classes. The assignment was due today, but he waited until Friday night to begin the outline and research. He was up

Worth the Wait (#71 of 365+)

“Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD” (Psalm 27:14)

Lately I’ve heard this saying in the media quite a bit: “Wait for it…

Private Praise (#70 of 365+)

“Do those things that are pleasing in his sight” (1 John 3:22)

Joni’s friend Careen has been blessed with a beautiful singing voice. She loves to sing praise songs to God and often does so

Deliver Us from Evil (#69 of 365+)

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13)

I’ve been feeling weak for the past few days. Physically weak. A

Lifesaving Truth (#68 of 365+)

The other day my husband and I were talking about movies. He didn’t understand my strong aversion to zombie films since it fits into the apocalyptic genre and I’m an apocalypse enthusiast. I

In Jesus’ Name (#67 of 365+)

“And I will do whatever you ask in my name… You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (John 14:13-14)

I agree with Joni when she says, “These are profound words from

Be of Good Cheer (#66 of 365+)

Depression seems to be more common during the Christmas season than at any other time. This is probably due to associating the season with loss. The most significant type of loss is relational.