πŸ”₯ Acts Chapters 3-4 πŸ’’

πŸ™πŸ½ Dear Heavenly Father – Let us humble ourselves before Your Word as we learn how You built Your Church. Let us remember that we are the latecomers – benefitting from the work and perseverance of those that went before us.  You honor them by telling us their names and sharing their stories.  Let us find inspiration to honor You, as well. Amen.

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πŸ”₯ Acts Chapters 1-2 πŸ’’

πŸ™πŸ½ Dear Heavenly Father – We sit at Your feet today to hear Your Word. We are traveling back to the point in our history where the Good News of Jesus is being preached and Your Church is born. Let us receive Your truth for the gift that it is – a message of power and comfort – a message we receive with awe and wonder. I message that we humbly admit that we can barely grasp all that it contains, yet it fills the thirst of our souls.  We thank You Lord for Your Spirit and we thank You for Your servant Luke who records this time in history.  Open our hearts and our minds to graciously receive this gift. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray this. Amen.

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πŸ€·πŸ»β€β™€οΈ Verily, Verily… What is Truth?

For assuredly, I say to you (NKJV)… For verily I say unto you (ASV, KJV, AKJV)… I assure you and most solemnly say to you (AMP)… I say to you very seriously (CEB)… Yes indeed! (CJB)… I tell you the truth (EXB, NET, NCV, NLT)… Amen, I say unto you (NAB)… For truly I tell you (NIV, AMPC, CSB,)… the translations may differ in how they translate these verses, but they each have the consistency to emphasize the words that Jesus emphasized.Β  And these words of His are truth. If we want to be prepared to fight off our enemy with the truth, we study His Words.

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πŸ€·πŸ»β€β™€οΈ What is Truth? (It’s How a Christian Fights)

It’s been about a decade since I started a sincere search for truth which led me to this wild ride of a life called, β€˜Christianity!’  At first, I circled around it – judging the outside, then I peered into it – hoping to examine the inside.  I kicked the tires before realizing that I would never know until I went all in. This meant actually reading Scripture.  Listening to others is helpful when they draw you closer to The Truth, but they can never replace it.  Talking about Scripture with a few friends may make you feel better, but again, it’s not enough. 

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First Things First

When a new year begins, everyone thinks about their priorities. I love ‘new beginnings’. But my priorities aren’t changing. My growing relationship with Jesus is still first. Since 2018, I have completed a Bible in One Year plan, each year, on the YouVersion app downloaded on my phone.Β  There are many such plans to choose from; I happened to pick the one from Nicky and Pippa Gumbel in 2018 and have stuck with their plan each year.Β  His commentary on Day 2 focuses on asking questions, specifically the first questions that are asked in Scripture.Β  Fascinating!Β 

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πŸ‚ Mark – Chapters 15 and 16

πŸ™ Heavenly Father, as we finish this Gospel of Mark. Let us humbly accept Your will for us as Jesus accepted Your will for Him, in fulfillment of the Scriptures. Let us keep in our hearts the fact that this is Your creation and Your perfect plan to redeem Your beloved children. Let us see the beauty and Your wisdom within the retelling of Jesus’ crucifixion. We ask this in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

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πŸ‚ Mark – Chapters 13 and 14

πŸ™ Heavenly Father, You have shown us how mankind can find many excuses to deny Your authority or question Your wisdom. Even when Your Son, Our Lord Jesus, walked among us, demonstrating His authority, we were slow to listen. Our pride makes us try to fit Your wisdom into our own molds.  Help us humble our wills and expand our minds to embrace the reality that You want to show us in these chapters today.  We ask this in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

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Advent 2022 – Journey of the Wise Men  🌟

πŸ™πŸ» Heavenly Father, like the Magi from the east who journeyed to Jerusalem in search of The King, we are often told that as far as our Christian life is concerned, we too are on a journey. Let us humble ourselves and read what You have told us about the wise men that went before us in search of You. You have shown us milestones in this journey, let us learn from Your Word, which brings us life. We ask this in the mighty name of our King, Jesus.  Amen.

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πŸ‚ Mark – Chapters 11 and 12

πŸ™ Heavenly Father, let us humbly submit ourselves to You and listen to Your teachings in these next two chapters of Mark’s Gospel. You have shown us already how easy it is for us to lose our perspective of Your holiness as You condescend to draw near to us.  Let us remember that the drawing near is always meant to lift us to You and Your Kingdom, never to reduce Your almighty Son, Jesus, to ours.  You have told us who HE IS.  The great I AM. And we sit now to LISTEN TO HIM.  It is in His name that we pray that You soften our hearts to hear You today. Amen.

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πŸ‚ Mark – Chapters 9 and 10

πŸ™ Heavenly Father, we draw near to You as You reveal to us the beauty and majesty of Your Kingdom.  We thank You for Your Spirit that You’ve given to us to help understand and interpret Your Word. You speak plainly to us; let us sit at Your feet and wonder anew at what You are showing us in these two chapters of Mark’s Gospel.  Reveal Yourself, reveal our hearts, and reveal our Savior.  Speak now Lord, Jesus, Your servants are listening.  Amen.

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