blessing

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Miracle Worker

August 27, 2022September 7, 2022 krisshetter

²³The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. Revelation 21:23

Father in Heaven, you are a God of miracles. You bring light when I am in darkness through your healing powers and in ways I can never fully understand. Help me to see even the tiniest miracles that you perform throughout my day so I can lift up my voice in glory to You. Amen

If you were asked if you believe in miracles, what would you say? Your answer would probably depend upon how you define a miracle. Some might call it a rare event. What if instead, you changed your perspective and recognized that God works miracles in our lives every single day?

A standard definition of a miracle is “an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs.” And again, how would you define “extraordinary?” As I’ve grown closer to God and understanding His ways, my view of the world has certainly changed. When seen through the lens of creation being the work of God, we can find any number of impossible things made possible.

³⁷For nothing will be impossible with God.” Luke 1:37

I’ve been blessed with being pregnant and giving birth twice. Each time I marvelled at what was occurring in my body. A tiny human being built from microscopic pieces of the universe in a body that itself is the perfect factory for human creation. The parts all fit perfectly, just about every single time for thousands of years, millions upon millions of instances. You don’t need to know statistics to grasp how impossible that should be.

Many say “that’s just science.” Of course it is! Science is the study of God’s amazing work – where the impossible happens all the time. But let’s set human biology aside. I can state for a fact that miracles happen regularly because I have experienced them. Oh, if you had only known me 30, 20 or even just 10 years ago. You wouldn’t have seen Christ in my life. You would have seen a woman desperate for peace. Longing for joy. Fearful of not being loved or appreciated. A couple of years ago, a friend who has known me for some time commented how she could now see the work of Jesus in me. Truly a miracle. I’ve seen the same work in a few friends. Ones I thought would never change. And the change that has occurred is one that only the hand of God could’ve accomplished.

When you think “miracle” do you only think of cancer being healed? A death avoided? A financial windfall? If so, you need to rub the scales from your eyes. Just the fact that the sun rose again today was God’s miracle of creation. His glory is revealed in so many ways. Some include our continuous acts of human creation. While other times through the medicines He has placed here for us to “discover.” His miracle work is revealed each time a sinner recognizes their sin and asks God to change her and He does. And yes, whenever we are blessed financially when we need it most.

Friend, God’s glorious miracles are at work right now in your life. Like our future Eden, He doesn’t need any outside source to cause the light to shine because He makes impossible possible.

Open Communication

August 26, 2022September 7, 2022 krisshetter

“Then Moses said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded you to do, so that that the glory of the Lord may appear to you.” Leviticus 9:6

Holy God, it amazes me that you, in your infinite and powerful ways wants to talk to me. That the God of the universe wants me to come to you each and every day with my needs and my fears. Today I come to you with praise and thanksgiving that you love me so much. Amen

I heard a description of an early “church service” the other day. The first half was open to anyone and featured scripture reading and the teaching of the gospel. Then the pastor would call out, “the doors, the doors” and it was the message to those who were not baptized or confessed believers to leave. The doors would then be closed and the second half of the service commenced. This is when the holy gift of communicating with God began. The church membership would have an “upper room” type meeting with breaking of bread and prayer to the Most Holy One.

What I like about this is that shows reverence to the second greatest blessing God bestowed on us (the first being Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins) – a loving, two-way path communicating with God. A gift given to believers by Jesus and spurred on by the Holy Spirit that lives in the children of God. I’m not suggesting only believers should pray, it’s just an acknowledgement of the seriousness of this gift we’ve been given.

In the Bible verse today, we see the seeds of God’s desire to communicate with us in the priestly ministry of the ancients. God spoke through Moses on how to address Him through sacrifices and other holy activities. He tells the priests in training that when they take these steps, they will see God’s glory revealed to them. The same is true with the gift of prayer.

“One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” Luke 11:1

The disciples, just as in Moses’ day, desired to learn how to communicate with God. How to open up the heavens so they could see the glory of the One Almighty. And so Jesus taught them the prayer I mentioned yesterday, what we call “The Lord’s Prayer.” It starts with reverence, placing God in our hearts and minds rightly where He belongs. It moves on to acknowledging God as the provider of all our needs and our submission to Him. We then ask for forgiveness and to forgive others. And finally for daily guidance.

The gift of prayer is God’s message to us that we are not believers of a god who is unable to do all things, or a god who can’t be trusted, or a god to whom we need to beg to hear us. Before we pray we need to be fully informed of how we view Him. If we don’t believe He is merciful then we might believe He will punish us if we bring our sins to Him. Our prayers should always include a request for wisdom about Him so that when He answers our prayer – which He always does – we will understand the answer and see the glory in His ways.

Today, I want to leave you with this beautiful prayer from King David showing us how to glorify and praise God in all His magnificent ways.

Psalm 63

¹You, God, are my God,
    earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
    my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
    where there is no water.

²I have seen you in the sanctuary
    and beheld your power and your glory.
³Because your love is better than life,
    my lips will glorify you.
⁴I will praise you as long as I live,
    and in your name I will lift up my hands.
⁵I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
    with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

⁶On my bed I remember you;
    I think of you through the watches of the night.
⁷Because you are my help,
    I sing in the shadow of your wings.
⁸I cling to you;
    your right hand upholds me.

⁹Those who want to kill me will be destroyed;
    they will go down to the depths of the earth.
¹⁰They will be given over to the sword
    and become food for jackals.

¹¹But the king will rejoice in God;
    all who swear by God will glory in him,
    while the mouths of liars will be silenced.

Let’s Eat

August 11, 2022August 24, 2022 krisshetter

“So, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”  1 Corinthians 10:31

“Blessed God, we praise You for who You are. You are the God who cares for our needs. We see this meal before us as a demonstration of Your wonderful grace to us. We glorify You for the day we have had. Thank You for the family gathered here and for every blessing we enjoy. Amen.”

When my kids were little we started praying at dinnertime. We found a simple prayer that they could take turns saying. “God is great! God is good! Let us thank Him For our food. Amen.” It was an easy way to add glorifying and thanking God into our daily lives. The problem was it became rote. After awhile, there was no feeling, personalization or even love behind the prayer. It was just something we did – quickly – so we could start eating. For some of us we never even pray before meals. Or we pray only during certain meals. But Jesus gave thanks at every meal, glorifying the Father for being a provider of needs.

^“30When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them.” Luke 24:30

The beauty of this scripture is what came next. You see, the disciples had been walking along with the risen Jesus chatting with him, not realizing who he was. For whatever reason they urged this stranger to come stay with them and join them for dinner. After they gave thanks and broke bread, “…their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him.”

It wasn’t until 2020, when the Covid pandemic hit that the love and glorifying act of praying before meals finally sunk in for me. Each evening when my husband came home from his job of caring for senior citizens exhausted, we decided to pray. Before dinner we prayed for anything good that happened that day, we prayed for help, we prayed for the health and safety of his employees and residents. We prayed for our leaders. We thanked God for providing. And my eyes were opened to Jesus.

“Lord God, not a sparrow is not known by You. Not a lily is not clothed by You. You know what we need, and we are thankful that You have provided the meal set here for us. Keep us from worrying about tomorrow but to be grateful for what You have provided us this day. Amen.”

A friend of mine has encouraged me to start praying before every meal. Even yes, in public, which in the area where I live you just don’t see much. Friend, at mealtimes we can see the obvious work of God in our lives. Whether what’s on our plate is a feast or just enough to sustain us for one more day – we need to give all glory to Him who provides.

The prayers from today’s post came from https://connectusfund.org/25-beautiful-prayers-for-meals where you can find more prayers for meal times. But I encourage you to just talk with God before you eat, having it come from your heart.

bible study, Christian, Christian Church, christian encouragement, Faith, Jesus Follower, Transformation Prayer, Uncategorized

A Mustard Seed

January 25, 2021January 15, 2021 krisshetter

Do not repay evil with evil 
or insult with insult. On the 
contrary, repay evil with blessing, 
because to this you were called 
so that you may inherit a 
blessing. 
1 Peter 3:9

A prayer to be a blessing to those around me and my community

Holy Spirit I get so wrapped up in my everyday problems and to-do lists I forget to pause and look at the world around me. I rush out in my car and don’t stop to say “hi” to my elderly neighbor. I see the trash someone has left behind at the nearby lunch table and I assume someone else will pick it up. I watch the mother with two kids struggling to get her groceries in the car and I think, “thank goodness that isn’t me.” Oh, how I know you keep whispering to me to stop and do your work. But I prioritize my list and sometimes you aren’t on it. LORD, I say I want to be a blessing to others and yet I let so many opportunities pass me by. Today, I will be that blessing. Today I will recognize the need to slow down, reach out, and do your work. I will be your mustard seed and help build your Kingdom into all it’s glory. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

One of my neighbors is a quiet, older gentlemen. He lives by himself in the largest house in our development. He and his old dog, Scooter, are fixtures in our community. And yet, most people probably don’t know that he supplies all the doggie poop bags for a dispenser in our neighborhood. For Christmas, he always gives me and my dog, Tucker, a box of our own doggie bags. You could say he’s in the dog poop ministry! An unlikely blessing to so many of us.

In the same way, let your 
light shine before others, 
that they may see your good 
deeds and glorify your Father 
in heaven.
Matthew 5:16

No matter how many Bible study groups I’ve been a part of or how many churches I have attended, the one thing about “ministry” people seem to fear is being called to give up all their possessions and move to the outback of Africa. And yet, Christ calls us to be a blessing starting in our own homes and neighborhoods. If all of us would just start there, imagine the transformation that would take place!

If you really keep the royal 
law found in Scripture, 
“Love your neighbor as yourself,”
you are doing right.
James 2:8

At the beginning of the Covid pandemic I was called to start what became The Joy Challenge. I invited my friends, family, Bible study groups, and neighbors to take part in a variation of Max Lucado’s effort to raise the joy level of 100 people over 40 days. About 20 people said, “yes!” It was fascinating to hear people struggle with the idea of being that tiny mustard seed who could affect others. Some said, “How can I do anything if I’m locked away in my house?” Others said, “But I don’t really know anyone.” While even others said, “I can’t afford to buy things.”

But the ideas began rolling in. Some started writing little notes to friends and neighbors. One lady painted smiley faces of all sorts on rocks and placed them in her yard. My walking buddy just started waving and yelling “hello” and “have a great day” to an endless supply of UPS, FedEx and Amazon drivers. Some had their kids write chalk notes out in front of people’s houses.

And me? I thought I had a great “in” on some toilet paper from China. When it arrived, the rolls were tiny travel rolls about 3” in diameter. After a good laugh I decided God wanted me to give these little rolls way so, I tied a note to all of them with a funny quote and randomly dropped them off at people’s doors along my walking route.

Months later one of those neighbors stopped me and said, “Aren’t you the lady that gave us that toilet paper roll? We saw you on our security camera! Thank you so much – we thought it was hilarious!”

It shouldn’t take a world-wide pandemic for us Christians to seek out ways to spread joy and be a blessing to our neighbors and our community. I’m re-committing myself, no matter the busyness of the day, to be on the lookout for ways to be someone’s blessing. It might mean I take an extra minute to roll my neighbor’s trash can in or I stop and pick up that plastic bag that’s rolling down the sidewalk. It’s a mustard seed. And I know each one I plant will help build His Kingdom.

If you want this too, add the prayer to your daily prayer list and watch and see how God works in your life!