Sunny&80The Keyless Keys (#jammed daily devo, day 234)
Posted on August 22, 2018
August #jammed: Reflecting on Grace.
Day 234: Invisible answers.
But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
“Mom!” my daughters squealed in the cold wind …
“Unlock the door! HURRY!”
Gone are the days when the mini-van door would begin to open as my kids raced to beat each other to their seats. Now, they have to wait for me to get to my door. Then, the sensor in my door handle picks up the key fab in my pocket, and let’s me unlock the door by pulling the handle. Once I pull my handle, the girls can open their doors.
Today’s verse reminds me of that new key.
When we give our lives to Christ, we are close to Him. He senses our hearts outside of His door, and the moment we utter belief in Him as our Savior all of the doors are unlocked. All of the hard places in our hearts are open and exposed and begin the life-long process of softening to be more like His.
“But Thank God!”We are cut into Christ’s victory when those doors swing open. And from that day forward, no key is needed. That’s it. Once a heart is unlocked, it’s open for good. Protected by Him, as the Spirit dwells in us. His lock on our lives cannot be picked, and we can never be snatched from His grip.
“Be strong and immovable…” And that’s possible, by the power we receive through the Holy Spirit when we accept Christ. It’s not a promise of easily perfected good behavior, it’s an assurance that He will hold us up on the last day.
“Work enthusiastically for the Lord …” “the joy of the Lord is my strength.” Working in the trenches of the world as the loving arms of Jesus is joyful work. There’s no “trying” to like what He’s called us to do. When we fall in line with His will for HIs life …it’s happiness as it was meant to be.
“Nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.” The payoffs aren’t always going to be seen here on earth. We may never know all of the ways our lives have touched others for Him. But when we continue to pursue His will for our lives day after day, we can be sure that He’s executing His specific purpose for our lives.
Father, Praise You for Your timing. Thank You for unlocking our hearts and calling us home. We confess our doubts and lack of faith, and pray that You sit down in the Word and send us out in action for Your will for our lives. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace!
#greatgrace17
Happy
Megs
Get the #jammed Daily Devo sent straight to your inbox each morning, by subscribing to Sunny&80.
The Bad Advice (#jammed daily devo, day 217)
Posted on August 5, 2018
August #jammed: Reflecting on Grace.
Day 217: Know when not to listen.
Why did I do that?
I know better.
That was embarrassing.
When will I ever learn?
We’ve all been there, and most of the time we land in these expressions because we entertained ones like these:
It’s OK!
Come on!
Don’t worry about it!
What’s it going to hurt?
Today’s verse reminds us to be careful who we listen to. It’s easy to be persuaded to do something we’re already tempted to do. Our flesh and the devil’s prodding mixed with bad influence and the wrong environment leave us living in regret.
God created us all equal, but when we accept Christ as our Savior, there is a big difference in conscious. Once we’ve walked with Him for a while, we know too much to enjoy going down old roads with dead ends. We pray not to be included, because when we are, we don’t trust ourselves in an environment where old habits can creep back in through the cracks.
The damage is not just in the embarrassment of acting in a way that does not honor God. We are forgiven, which is the very freedom this verse speaks of. God promises in 1John 1:9 that if we confess our sins He is faithful and forgives us.
But what about those that were watching?
If we’re not careful, we can make Christianity seem like a hall pass to do whatever we want, no matter what Jesus would do or God has to say about it. “Others with a weaker conscious” are libel to stumble, because they don’t know what we know. They don’t know Him like we do, so our confession makes no sense to them. At least, not the right kind of sense.
It’s important to mingle with all crowds, but never worth being in a situation where we might be tempted to misrepresent what it means to walk with Jesus.
Father, Praise You for knowing everything there is to know about us. Thank Your for providing a way out of situation that is too much for us to bear. Forgive us for thinking we can handle things that are beyond our human frailty to manage, and help us to bravely step away from situations and people that attempt to trip us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace!
#greatgrace17
Happy Friend-ing
Megs
Get the #jammed Daily Devo sent straight to your inbox each morning, by subscribing to Sunny&80.
The Keyless Keys (#jammed daily devo, day 234)
Posted on August 22, 2017
August #jammed: Reflecting on Grace.
Day 234: Invisible answers.
But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
“Mom!” my daughters squealed in the cold wind …
“Unlock the door! HURRY!”
Gone are the days when the mini-van door would begin to open as my kids raced to beat each other to their seats. Now, they have to wait for me to get to my door. Then, the sensor in my door handle picks up the key fab in my pocket, and let’s me unlock the door by pulling the handle. Once I pull my handle, the girls can open their doors.
Today’s verse reminds me of that new key.
When we give our lives to Christ, we are close to Him. He senses our hearts outside of His door, and the moment we utter belief in Him as our Savior all of the doors are unlocked. All of the hard places in our hearts are open and exposed and begin the life-long process of softening to be more like His.
“But Thank God!”We are cut into Christ’s victory when those doors swing open. And from that day forward, no key is needed. That’s it. Once a heart is unlocked, it’s open for good. Protected by Him, as the Spirit dwells in us. His lock on our lives cannot be picked, and we can never be snatched from His grip.
“Be strong and immovable…” And that’s possible, by the power we receive through the Holy Spirit when we accept Christ. It’s not a promise of easily perfected good behavior, it’s an assurance that He will hold us up on the last day.
“Work enthusiastically for the Lord …” “the joy of the Lord is my strength.” Working in the trenches of the world as the loving arms of Jesus is joyful work. There’s no “trying” to like what He’s called us to do. When we fall in line with His will for HIs life …it’s happiness as it was meant to be.
“Nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.” The payoffs aren’t always going to be seen here on earth. We may never know all of the ways our lives have touched others for Him. But when we continue to pursue His will for our lives day after day, we can be sure that He’s executing His specific purpose for our lives.
Father, Praise You for Your timing. Thank You for unlocking our hearts and calling us home. We confess our doubts and lack of faith, and pray that You sit down in the Word and send us out in action for Your will for our lives. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace!
#greatgrace17
Happy
Megs
Get the #jammed Daily Devo sent straight to your inbox each morning, by subscribing to Sunny&80.
The Bad Advice (#jammed daily devo, day 217)
Posted on August 5, 2017
August #jammed: Reflecting on Grace.
Day 217: Know when not to listen.
Why did I do that?
I know better.
That was embarrassing.
When will I ever learn?
We’ve all been there, and most of the time we land in these expressions because we entertained ones like these:
It’s OK!
Come on!
Don’t worry about it!
What’s it going to hurt?
Today’s verse reminds us to be careful who we listen to. It’s easy to be persuaded to do something we’re already tempted to do. Our flesh and the devil’s prodding mixed with bad influence and the wrong environment leave us living in regret.
God created us all equal, but when we accept Christ as our Savior, there is a big difference in conscious. Once we’ve walked with Him for a while, we know too much to enjoy going down old roads with dead ends. We pray not to be included, because when we are, we don’t trust ourselves in an environment where old habits can creep back in through the cracks.
The damage is not just in the embarrassment of acting in a way that does not honor God. We are forgiven, which is the very freedom this verse speaks of. God promises in 1John 1:9 that if we confess our sins He is faithful and forgives us.
But what about those that were watching?
If we’re not careful, we can make Christianity seem like a hall pass to do whatever we want, no matter what Jesus would do or God has to say about it. “Others with a weaker conscious” are libel to stumble, because they don’t know what we know. They don’t know Him like we do, so our confession makes no sense to them. At least, not the right kind of sense.
It’s important to mingle with all crowds, but never worth being in a situation where we might be tempted to misrepresent what it means to walk with Jesus.
Father, Praise You for knowing everything there is to know about us. Thank Your for providing a way out of situation that is too much for us to bear. Forgive us for thinking we can handle things that are beyond our human frailty to manage, and help us to bravely step away from situations and people that attempt to trip us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace!
#greatgrace17
Happy Friend-ing
Megs
Get the #jammed Daily Devo sent straight to your inbox each morning, by subscribing to Sunny&80.
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