Posts Tagged "devotionals"

My Times Are in Your Hands, Therefore I Trust

Posted by on Jun 16, 2020 | Comments Off on My Times Are in Your Hands, Therefore I Trust

My Times Are in Your Hands, Therefore I Trust

“My times are in your hands…” All week, these words played through my mind to the tune of an old hymn. Peace comes with the knowledge that God is in control.

 

 

 

 

My Times Are in Your Hands, Therefore I Trust

2MefromHim Devotional

My times are in your hands… Psalm 31:15

My Times Are in Your Hands scripture

“My times are in your hands…” All week, these words played through my mind to the tune of an old hymn by William F. Lloyd. Then I discovered a sermon by Charles Spurgeon by the same title. Peace comes with the knowledge that God is in control.

My faith sustains me when the world is filled with turmoil. COVID-19 and social unrest have our world in chaos. Natural disasters, fires, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, and hurricanes rob struggling people of all they possess. Where does your hope reside?

My faith sustains me when the world is filled with turmoil. #faith #hope #anxiety Click To Tweet

Our Times Cry for Hope

Psalm 31 reveals David crying out to God, his rock, refuge, and fortress, words that produce the sense of safety, a firm foundation in times of fear and distress. Spurgeon says, “If our lives were not appointed of heaven, we should wish they were. If there were no overruling Providence, we would crave for one.” I long for Jesus’ return because of promised peace.

Psalm 139:16 tells us, “all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” I face the unknown with courage because I understand that God has a plan and purpose. Moses prayer, recorded in Psalm 90 says, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” True wisdom offers hope.

My Times Are in Your Hands 1

When the downtrodden cry out for justice and disease or disaster threaten, I am comforted by my hope in God. In the words of Job 23:10, “He knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” This time of testing for the entire world provides new opportunities to share the source of our hope with those around us. Moreover, as Christians, we can thrive despite our circumstances because we understand God is in control.

I face the unknown with courage because I understand that God has a plan and purpose. #courage #purpose #Godisincontrol Click To Tweet

My Times Are in God’s Hands

Corrie Ten Boom said, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” I know peace because all my days rest in the hands of a loving God. Likewise, never have Jesus’ words in John 10:27-29 resounded with such promise. “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” I am safe even when the world around me spins out of control.

My Hands Are in Your Hands 2

Do you have the certainty that your life rests in God’s hands?

I am safe even when the world around me spins out of control. #safety #control #fear Click To Tweet

My Times Are in Your Hands

My times are in Thy hand;
My God, I wish them there;
My life, my friends, my soul I leave
Entirely to Thy care.

My times are in Thy hand;
Whatever they may be;
Pleasing or painful, dark or bright,
As best may seem to Thee.

My times are in Thy hand;
Why should I doubt or fear?
My Father’s hand will never cause
His child a needless tear.

My times are in Thy hand,
Jesus, the crucified!
Those hands my cruel sins had pierced
Are now my guard and guide.

My times are in Thy hand,
I’ll always trust in Thee;
And, after death, at Thy right hand
I shall forever be.

Hymn by William F. Lloyd

© Devotional by Norma Gail Holtman, June 14, 2020

My times are in your hands… Psalm 31:15 #Godislove #trust #faith Click To Tweet

About the author:

Norma Gail - AuthorNorma Gail writes Fiction to Refresh Your Spirit. Her contemporary novels, Land of My Dreams, which won the 2016 Bookvana Religious Fiction Award, and Within Golden Bands (releasing May 19, 2020), explore the theme of women whose faith triumphs over trials. A women’s Bible study leader for over 21 years, her devotionals and poetry have appeared at ChristianDevotions.us, the Stitches Thru Time blog, Inspire a Fire, and in “The Secret Place.” She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, Historical Writers of America, and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Norma is a former RN who lives in the mountains of New Mexico with her husband of 44 years. They have two adult children. To connect with her, you can follow her blog, or join her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Goodreads, BookBub, or Amazon.

 

 

 

 

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Childlike Hearts Speak Truth: Love One Another

Posted by on Jun 9, 2020 | 4 comments

Childlike Hearts Speak Truth: Love One Another

Childlike wisdom rings true in a world torn with racism, prejudice, and juxtaposed ideologies. Human-kind was created as one.

 

 

 

Childlike Hearts Speak Truth: Love One Another

2MefromHim Devotionals

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

Act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 #justice #mercy #Godislove Click To Tweet

Childlike Hearts Speak Truth

Skipping up and down the broad sidewalk hand in hand, little girl giggles rang across the parking lot as we waited for the field trip to begin. My daughter and her friends, black, white, Native American, and Hispanic, created a rainbow of ponytails, skinned knees, and laughter.

“Maybe someone will see us and think we’re sisters and your mom is our mom.” One said.

“That couldn’t happen.” Interjected another. “Susie is black, Ann is Indian, I’m blonde, and Amy has brown hair. We can’t be sisters.”

My adopted daughter, used to families of every kind, answered, “We could be sisters. We could all be adopted.”

Childlike Hearts Speak Truth 1

My daughter's words coincide with God's plan.: We could be sisters. We could all be adopted. #humanity #unity #loveoneanother Click To Tweet

Childlike Wisdom Echoes God’s Plan

Her childlike wisdom rings true in a world torn with racism, prejudice, and juxtaposed ideologies. Human-kind was created as one. However, Genesis tells us that God created them male and female. Scripture doesn’t mention color. Likewise, genetics and geography show that the first people carried the genes for every skin color and were probably of a darker tone like Middle Eastern people of today. Any couple could produce children of a variety of skin tones and eye colors. We were one in the beginning.

Childlike wisdom rings true in a world torn with racism, prejudice, and juxtaposed ideologies. #wisdom #truth #Godislove Click To Tweet

Childlike Eyes See Similarities Not Differences

The way my children chose friends mirrors God’s lesson to Samuel, “People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7) Though we perceive people as different due to sin, in the eyes of God, the heart is all that matters. How might our world be different if we looked at people through the eyes of our Creator?

The world pleads for the message and love of God. Unity comes through Christ alone.

Childlike Hearts Speak Truth 2

Though we perceive people as different due to sin, in the eyes of God, the heart is all that matters. #racism #sin #mankind Click To Tweet

The Message of Christ

Paul says it better than I: “Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts….” (Colossians 3:11-15)

Childlike Obedience to Christ

As Christians, we must serve as examples in our torn and bleeding world. The call is simple. We are to walk humbly as Christ did, treating all we meet with justice, mercy, and love. What steps will you take today?

We are to walk humbly as Christ did, treating all we meet with justice, mercy, and love. #justice #mercy #love Click To Tweet

© Norma Gail Holtman, June 3, 2020

About the author:

Norma Gail - AuthorNorma Gail writes Fiction to Refresh Your Spirit. Her contemporary novels, Land of My Dreams, which won the 2016 Bookvana Religious Fiction Award, and Within Golden Bands (releasing May 19, 2020), explore the theme of women whose faith triumphs over trials. A women’s Bible study leader for over 21 years, her devotionals and poetry have appeared at ChristianDevotions.us, the Stitches Thru Time blog, Inspire a Fire, and in “The Secret Place.” She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, Historical Writers of America, and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Norma is a former RN who lives in the mountains of New Mexico with her husband of 44 years. They have two adult children. To connect with her, you can follow her blog, or join her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Goodreads, BookBub, or Amazon.

 

 

 

 

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God Seems Silent When Our World Spins Out of Control

Posted by on Jun 2, 2020 | Comments Off on God Seems Silent When Our World Spins Out of Control

God Seems Silent When Our World Spins Out of Control

God seems silent when our world spins out of control. When people seek to destroy each other with hate, violence, and destruction, fear threatens to dislodge faith.

 

 

 

 

God Seems Silent When Our World Spins Out of Control

2MefromHim Devotionals

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9

Isaiah 55:8-9

God seems silent when our world spins out of control. When people seek to destroy each other with hate, violence, and destruction, fear threatens to dislodge faith. Hope runs low.

Our world heaves in the throes of COVID-19, riots, tornadoes, floods, and earthquakes. Some perceive it as contrary to God’s loving nature to allow circumstances to run their course and not intervene. However, even when we cannot understand, the Lord is still with us. God promised to never leave or forsake us. He is present even when our world spins out of control.

When people seek to destroy each other with hate, violence, and destruction, fear threatens to dislodge faith. #riots #fear #faith Click To Tweet

God Seems Silent When We Cannot Understand

Recently, a young Cooper’s hawk began to sit on the roof outside our kitchen door in the morning. One day, I heard a persistent tapping on a skylight in our family room. The young hawk was walking on the glass and pecking with his beak. Right below the skylight sat my laundry basket with bright red towels on top. Perhaps, he was confused by what he saw but not reach.

Have you felt that way? Frustrated by world events yet powerless to act? Unable to offer words of sanity and comfort? Perhaps you feel your prayers bounce off the ceiling without being heard. Confusion. Doubt. Fear. Questions. Hopeless. Helpless. Alone.

Have you felt that way? Frustrated by world events yet powerless to act? #hopelessness #helplessness #powerless Click To Tweet

When God Seems Silent, We Can Be His Hands and Feet

Just as the young hawk couldn’t understand what he saw, we’re powerless to trace God’s hand in the events of our world. It’s not easy to trust and never question the wisdom of God. Yet, He never promised freedom from trials, but to go through them with us. If we fail to accept what God sends with trusting hearts, we refuse His greatest blessings. To hope in the face of the unknown enables us to believe Him and trust His word as never before.

Let God speak love through you. Be His hands and feet in a lost and fearful world. #Godislove #love #COVID19 Click To Tweet

Perhaps, like the hawk, we must move on from what we cannot understand and seek those things we can accomplish. We must trust God to control what we cannot. How can you reach out to those touched by prejudice, violence, tragedy, or virus? You can express thanks to law enforcement and first responders. Pray with and for those without hope, who turn to violence rather than God. Let God speak love through you. Be His hands and feet in a lost and fearful world.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. Isaiah 55:8 #God #wisdom #purpose Click To Tweet

© Norma Gail Holtman, June 1, 2020

About the author:

Norma Gail - AuthorNorma Gail writes Fiction to Refresh Your Spirit. Her contemporary novels, Land of My Dreams, which won the 2016 Bookvana Religious Fiction Award, and Within Golden Bands (releasing May 19, 2020), explore the theme of women whose faith triumphs over trials. A women’s Bible study leader for over 21 years, her devotionals and poetry have appeared at ChristianDevotions.us, the Stitches Thru Time blog, Inspire a Fire, and in “The Secret Place.” She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, Historical Writers of America, and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Norma is a former RN who lives in the mountains of New Mexico with her husband of 44 years. They have two adult children. To connect with her, you can follow her blog, or join her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Goodreads, BookBub, or Amazon.

 

 

 

 

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God’s Unique Plan: A Mother’s Day Retrospect

Posted by on May 12, 2020 | Comments Off on God’s Unique Plan: A Mother’s Day Retrospect

God’s Unique Plan: A Mother’s Day Retrospect

God’s unique plan for each life is what I celebrate on Mother’s Day. Two special women hold my eternal gratitude …

 

 

 

God’s Unique Plan: A Mother’s Day Retrospect

A 2MefromHim Devotional

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.” Isaiah 49:15, 16

God's Unique Plan scripture

God’s Unique Plan for Each Life

God’s unique plan for each life is what I celebrate on Mother’s Day. Though the observance comes once a year, two special women hold my eternal gratitude—the birthmothers of my adopted children. Without them, my life would be much poorer. I honor them throughout the year.

I honor my children's birth mothers throughout the year for the gift they gave... #MothersDay #birthmothers #adoption Click To Tweet

As an adoptive mother, I participate in an eternal and loving plan of God. I witness the miracle of my children’s unique genetic makeup influenced by non-biological parents chosen by the Father. With no blood between us, we are family.

God has a Unique Plan for Each Person

Our world no longer cares if unmarried women raise their children. Unfortunately, the idea of adoption isn’t always greeted in a positive way. Radical movements have convinced women it’s kinder to kill a child than offer a life with two loving parents. However, our Creator values each unique life he designs.

Adoption is so special to God that he uses it to describe his relationship with believers... #Godislove #adoption #salvation Click To Tweet

The recent outcry against abortion accompanies technology which reveals babies moving, stretching, and sucking their thumbs. Psalm 139 says, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made…” The psalmist goes on to speak of God’s handiwork as he forms a child and plans each life from the moment of conception.

Psalm 139:16 reveals God’s unique plan for each life. “…All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” What comfort to know that despite the circumstances of someone’s birth, no one is an accident to God. No one was unplanned. From eternity, God created each person for his purpose.

From eternity, God created each person for his purpose... #God #prolife #purpose Click To Tweet

God’s Unique Plan Includes Adoption

God likens his relationship with believers to that of an adopted child, “the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’” (Romans 8:15) Paul uses adoption multiple times to explain the intimate relationship of the Christian to the Almighty God.

 

God's Unique Plan

Mother’s Day lives in my heart as a memorial to the courageous and unselfish choice of two young women. My children are a unique creation of God, who granted them two loving mothers. Adoption is a reminder that we should cherish each and every life. To be a mother is a privilege to never take for granted.

Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Isaiah 49:15 #children #blessing #love Click To Tweet

© Norma Gail Holtman, May 9, 2020

About the author:

Norma Gail - AuthorNorma Gail writes Fiction to Refresh Your Spirit. Her contemporary novels, Land of My Dreams, which won the 2016 Bookvana Religious Fiction Award, and Within Golden Bands (releasing May 19, 2020), explore the theme of women whose faith triumphs over trials. A women’s Bible study leader for over 21 years, her devotionals and poetry have appeared at ChristianDevotions.us, the Stitches Thru Time blog, Inspire a Fire, and in “The Secret Place.” She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, Historical Writers of America, and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Norma is a former RN who lives in the mountains of New Mexico with her husband of 44 years. They have two adult children. To connect with her, you can follow her blog, or join her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Goodreads, BookBub, or Amazon.

 

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When God’s Perfect Peace Eludes Me

Posted by on Apr 28, 2020 | Comments Off on When God’s Perfect Peace Eludes Me

When God’s Perfect Peace Eludes Me

When perfect peace eludes you, where do you turn? In these days of home quarantine, social distancing, job loss, a divided country, and general unrest, it’s easy to lose my focus on the One who promises perfect peace.

 

 

 

When God’s Perfect Peace Eludes Me

2MefromHim Devotionals

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Isaiah 26:3

When perfect peace eludes you, where do you turn? In these days of home quarantine, social distancing, job loss, a divided country, and general unrest, it’s easy to lose my focus on the One who promises perfect peace.

When God's Perfect Place Eludes Me scripture

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Isaiah 26:3 #peace #Godisgood #COVID19 Click To Tweet

God Reveals Perfect Peace

I gaze out my window at the quiet mountain scenery, where birds soar on the breeze, and patches of snow linger on the tallest peaks. What a picture of perfect serenity! My heart slows after fluttering with unrest while I prayed over situations that distress me. My breathing evens. Tense muscles relax. Nature can offer a glimpse of God’s perfect peace.

When God's Perfect Peace Eludes Me 1

Job 37:7 says, “So that all men he has made may know his work, he stops every man from his labor.” God never intended that we should live in stress and fear. When he is my light and salvation, the stronghold of my life, my refuge and strong tower where I can run for safety, I have nothing to fear. Therefore, when I feel a sense of unrest, it alerts me to the fact that I’m not resting in God. I need to cease my labor and concentrate on him.

When I feel a sense of unrest, I need to cease my labor and concentrate on God #stress #Quarantinelife #Godislove Click To Tweet

When God’s Perfect Peace Eludes Me, I’m Captive to Unsettling Thoughts

In reality, perfect peace has eluded me for a long time. Perhaps like me, you’re working your way back to that place of shelter and safety. Dissension in family relationships, life-altering changes, deaths, and my own tendency to fear traps me in a place of unrest, focused on people and circumstances.

When God's Perfect Peace Eludes Me 2

However, even though I spend time in God’s word, if I don’t let his words sink deep into the soil of my heart, they die like flowers in drought. Rather than standing steadfast, I’m captive to every unsettling thought that enters my mind. Can you identify?

Even though I spend time in God’s word, if I don’t let his words sink deep into the soil of my heart #scripture #meditation #faith Click To Tweet

When God’s Perfect Peace Eludes Me, I Need to Remember Who Holds Me Safe

Sometimes I feel like a sheep while a wolf stalks nearby. Yet, Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Isaiah 49:16 tells me, “See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.” Jesus echoes the same thought in John 10, where he says that no one can snatch me out of the Father’s hands. Don’t you love the imagery of being held safe, like a little bird in the hands of God?

When God's Perfect Peace Eludes Me 3

I long to abide in Jesus so deeply that nothing causes my trust to falter. Therefore, if I must return to God’s word time and again throughout the day, I will do so. My place of refuge is safe in the Father’s hands. Will you try that this week when fear threatens?

My place of refuge is safe in the Father’s hands #security #JesusChrist #hope Click To Tweet

© Norma Gail Thurston, April 25, 2020

About the author:

Norma Gail - AuthorNorma Gail writes Fiction to Refresh Your Spirit. Her contemporary novels, Land of My Dreams, which won the 2016 Bookvana Religious Fiction Award, and Within Golden Bands (releasing May 19, 2020), explore the theme of women whose faith triumphs over trials. A women’s Bible study leader for over 21 years, her devotionals and poetry have appeared at ChristianDevotions.us, the Stitches Thru Time blog, Inspire a Fire, and in “The Secret Place.” She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, Historical Writers of America, and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Norma is a former RN who lives in the mountains of New Mexico with her husband of 44 years. They have two adult children. To connect with her, you can follow her blog, or join her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Goodreads, BookBub, or Amazon.

 

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