Psalm 139:9-10

 

If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.

Psalm 139:9-10 ESV

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Join me this week in praying for those who are traveling this summer. Pray that people are careful and safe. Pray for patience, kindness, and tolerance. We've all been cooped up for a long time, and sometimes it's easy to let our emotions get the best of us. Please pray for peace and love.

I'll post daily reminders on:

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God goes before us

 

I've probably shared this before--stop me if you've heard it--but I read Exodus several times and angrily wondered how they could behave so badly when God is right there traveling with them, living among them. Surely they realized that He knew everything they did and heard everything they said. How could they have the audacity to complain when God provided everything they needed, when He saved them from slavery?

     I don't know how many times I read Exodus, and wondered all of those things before I realized,...nothing has changed. I'm no better than the Israelites. God is right here traveling with me, living within me. He knows everything I do, say, think, and feel. He provides me with everything I need and even saved me from a life of slavery to sin. Yet, I have the audacity to complain.

     Driving home from Michigan seemed to take forever. I just wanted to get home, but it was like the harder I pressed, the more obstacles appeared. There was construction, accidents, heavy downpours that made it impossible to see past the nose of my car. None of us felt well. We were exhausted and grumpy. Yet, as soon as we got home, it was as if all was well. 

     Can you imagine how the Israelites felt, traveling for 40 years and just wanting to get home? I empathize with them, especially knowing that the adults never made it to the Promised Land. However, it was because of their lack of faith in God, Who was visible before them the whole journey, Who parted the Red Sea, Who fed them and sustained them. I imagine they hurt God over and over again. 

When I think of how God sustains me and takes care of me, I am in awe of Him. I know I am blessed. He has revealed Himself to me, yet time after time, I don't reciprocate with the unwavering faith that He deserves. I will continue to work on this.

And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.

Exodus 13:21 ESV

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Join me this week in praying for those who are traveling this summer. Pray that people are careful and safe. Pray for patience, kindness, and tolerance. We've all been cooped up for a long time, and sometimes it's easy to let our emotions get the best of us. Please pray for peace and love.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

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Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

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Psalm 121:8

 

The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

Psalm 121:8 ESV

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Join me this week in praying for those who are traveling this summer. Pray that people are careful and safe. Pray for patience, kindness, and tolerance. We've all been cooped up for a long time, and sometimes it's easy to let our emotions get the best of us. Please pray for peace and love.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @7DegreesOfMe
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #bibleverse #bible #walk #vacation #travel #plans #journey #wisdom #guidance #prayer 

The best laid plans

 

As my vacation winds down (thank goodness), I battle with the question, "Was it a good vacation or a bad vacation?" I honestly don't know. The best answer is, "It was a vacation." For that, I'm thankful. 

The glass-half-full part of me looks at the fact that I got to spend quality time with my family. I got away from work for a week (except for a few minutes of emails). I got to visit a part of the U.S. where I've never been before, and it was beautiful (see the above photo). 

     The planner in me, however, has several complaints. The most frustrating of which was the weather. I tried to pack for all of the different seasons that can happen within one week in Michigan, which is really similar to the ever-unpredictable Ohio weather, but I missed the mark. 

     Yesterday it was 58 degrees out, with a windchill of 54. It rained and rained and then rained some more. The wind blew so hard that the umbrellas were useless. Of course, that was the day we had to take the ferry back to Mackinaw City, so we were drenched, and our luggage was moist and it just felt like we would never be warm or dry again. When we got to our room, we turned on the heat. I should add that the day we took the ferry to the island it also rained, but it was nowhere near as cold out.

     I've been so out of touch spiritually this week that these types of situations remind me that I should have been talking to God regularly about my plans instead of going off on my own without Him. It would have made a difference, I believe. All of this reminded me of the passage in James:

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 

As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

James 4:13-16 ESV

     Not to say that it's the equivalent of making a life-changing plan without Him, but still, things just tend to work out better when we involve our Father in our plans. I don't think one single plan has worked out the way I intended it to this week. Everything's fine, but maybe if I had prayed for guidance or wisdom, I would have packed a sweatshirt. 

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Join me this week in praying for those who are traveling this summer. Pray that people are careful and safe. Pray for patience, kindness, and tolerance. We've all been cooped up for a long time, and sometimes it's easy to let our emotions get the best of us. Please pray for peace and love.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @7DegreesOfMe
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #bibleverse #bible #walk #vacation #travel #plans #journey #wisdom #guidance #prayer 

Everything Has Its Time

 What do you see?

I just love the above image by Ajay kumar Singh, so I wanted to find a place for it here.* It's titled "Love Our Planet" but I get so much more out of it than that. I see that we're just visitors on this planet and in this life; in essence, we're just passing through on our way to our eternal home. I see the vastness of God's creation and how small we are in comparison. I see that He made the stars and planets and mountains and fields for our enjoyment; so that we can see His presence, His majesty and power and glory all around us, every single day. I see that He made light and darkness to show us the polarity of good and evil.

     All of this made me think of God's Sovereignty over all things and His perfect timing. And that, made me think of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, which in 'turn' (pun --->) made me think of "Turn, Turn, Turn" by The Byrds. Below, you'll find a video with the bible references as subtitles. 

To everything there is a season,

A time for every purpose under heaven:

A time to be born,

And a time to die;

A time to plant,

And a time to pluck what is planted;

A time to kill,

And a time to heal;

A time to break down,

And a time to build up;

A time to weep,

And a time to laugh;

A time to mourn,

And a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones,

And a time to gather stones;

A time to embrace,

And a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to gain,

And a time to lose;

A time to keep,

And a time to throw away;

A time to tear,

And a time to sew;

A time to keep silence,

And a time to speak;

A time to love,

And a time to hate;

A time of war,

And a time of peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

*I downloaded it from a free (& royalty-free) image sharing website, Pixabay. 

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Please join me this week in praying for those who are grieving the loss of a loved one. May they find comfort in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and may they rest in God's sovereignty over all things.

I'll post daily reminders on:

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#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #grief #time #sovereignty #GodsPlan #planet #universe

Rivers in the desert

This year, when the ball drops and the clock strikes twelve, we'll rejoice like never before for having survived a year like none other. Because we are God's children, we have the assurance of knowing that whatever 2021 brings, we'll persevere, adapt, and continue to praise God, our Father who loves us and cares for us.
     This is Google's 2020 video. I love that the word most searched for was "why". To me, that says that people are searching for something deeper, and it's my prayer that maybe in that search, they'll find God.

Google - year in search 2020

As we get ready to say goodbye to 2020, let go of any ill-will and focus instead on the road that God is laying out before us. Through Him, all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26b)

 

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. 

Behold, I am doing a new thing; 

now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? 

I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

Isaiah 43:18-19 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for the new year. Pray for physical, mental, and spiritual healing. Pray that through the turmoil, we will see an unprecedented number of people come to know Jesus and that God will be glorified through it all. Pray for the Church to be united and of one mind so that non-believers may see the peace and hope we have in Jesus.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

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Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #Jesus #NewYear2021 #new #hope #God #sovereignty #perservere #survival #plan

A future and a hope

 

Each year I write about the coming new year, usually choosing a theme instead of a resolution. I don't always post these to my blog, because sometimes I don't finish writing it, or sometimes I finish writing but just don't get around to posting it. For 2020 I had trouble settling on a theme and wrote about a couple of ideas but never finished them. Then, March came and blew everything out of the water anyway. There was no way I could have planned for that, and definitely no way I could have adhered to any pre-2020 "ideal" of how I should handle such a tumultuous year. 

     As of this writing, there have been 19.1M cases of the virus in the U.S. and 333,000 deaths. There have been 80.7M cases worldwide and 1.76M deaths. Countries all over the world have had to be in lock-down to slow the spread of this virus. Economies have tanked. Unemployment has soared. Businesses have gone under. Hospitals and funeral homes are overwhelmed. 

     In our country alone, we've seen division and violence like never before. People are getting killed for asking customers to wear a mask. Health and political officials are receiving death threats for doing their jobs. I never thought I'd see and hear the things that have transpired this past year in a country like ours. If I weren't a child of God, I honestly don't know how I would have survived the year.

     I haven't settled on my theme for 2021 but someone said that the word for 2020 should be "perseverance," because even with everything I stated above and all of the things I didn't include (aka Australian bush fires, Black Lives Matter protests, the explosion in Beirut, murder hornets, West Coast fires, Nashville explosion, etc...) we're here, doing the best we can, adapting day to day, and praising God for His sovereignty through it all. 

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, 

plans for welfare and not for evil, 

to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for the new year. Pray for physical, mental, and spiritual healing. Pray that through the turmoil, we will see an unprecedented number of people come to know Jesus and that God will be glorified through it all. Pray for the Church to be united and of one mind so that non-believers may see the peace and hope we have in Jesus.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #Jesus #NewYear #2020 #2021 #new #hope #God #sovereignty #perservere #survival #plan

Assurance of Guidance

 

This is another one of my favorite assurances (they're all great)! I trust in it almost daily. The days I don't utilize this gift from God are definitely more troublesome than the days I do.

The best verse to give us this assurance (IMO) is my life verse:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding;

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall make straight your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV

Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,

“This is the way, walk in it,”

Whenever you turn to the right hand

Or whenever you turn to the left.

Isaiah 30:21 NKJV

A man’s heart plans his way,

But the Lord directs his steps.

Proverbs 16:9 NKJV

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

I will guide you with My eye.

Psalm 32:8 NKJV

I don't remember if I read it somewhere or if it was part of a sermon, but the point was to make a practice of asking each morning for the Lord to guide your steps, actions, words; to ask that He use us to accomplish His will each day. If you think of it and/or feel up to the challenge, let's start our day off, right now with this prayer and see what happens.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

James 1:5-6 NKJV

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Please join me this week in praying for the unsaved that they may come to know the hope and assurance of a loving and merciful Father, of Christ Jesus who bore our sins on the cross that we may have eternal life. Pray for those who are fearful and anxious, that they may find peace and joy in Jesus. Pray for the lost that the Good Shepherd will call them to Him. And finally, pray for the opportunity, and then the words and encouragement to share our testimonies, our assurances as followers of Christ Jesus.

 

I'll post daily reminders on:

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God's wisdom for us

But, as it is written, 

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, 

nor the heart of man imagined, 

what God has prepared for those who love him”—

1 Corinthians 2:9 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for today; asking the Father what His will is for us for this day. Let's also pray to keep what's most important always at the forefront of our thoughts and actions. Pray for boldness and encouragement to be Christlike in all that we do and His image-bearer to everyone He sends our way.

 

I'll post daily reminders on:

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We are a mist

The passage below is about making plans separate from God. I came across a quote from Charles Spurgeon about this: "There are two great certainties about things that shall come to pass - one is that God knows, and the other is that we do not know." 

      Things to contemplate/meditate on: why don't we think to check in with God more often? Pride? Independence? Or we just don't think about it? How can we be more mindful about including our Father in all aspects of our lives?

 

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

James 4:13-17 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for today; asking the Father what His will is for us for this day. Let's also pray to keep what's most important always at the forefront of our thoughts and actions. Pray for boldness and encouragement to be Christlike in all that we do and His image-bearer to everyone He sends our way.

 

I'll post daily reminders on:

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Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

Do not be afraid

Have I not commanded you? 

Be strong and courageous. 

Do not be afraid; 

do not be discouraged, 

for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:9

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Let's pray for someone we know who is facing a life change, moving on, or moving forward. I'll post daily reminders on:
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instagram @archadia27
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Gifts from above

Every good and perfect gift is from above, 

coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, 

who does not change like shifting shadows.

James 1:17 NIV

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Let's pray for someone we know who is facing a life change, moving on, or moving forward. I'll post daily reminders on:
twitter @7DegreesOfMe
instagram @archadia27
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Don't be anxious

Whenever you're facing a major decision, I urge you to pray about it. God will answer.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, 

with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, 

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

Philippians 4:6-7

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Let's pray for someone we know who is facing a life change, moving on, or moving forward. I'll post daily reminders on:
twitter @7DegreesOfMe
instagram @archadia27
facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

A Time for Everything

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die, 

a time to plant and a time to uproot, 

a time to kill and a time to heal, 

a time to tear down and a time to build, 

a time to weep and a time to laugh, 

a time to mourn and a time to dance, 

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, 

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, 

a time to search and a time to give up, 

a time to keep and a time to throw away, 

a time to tear and a time to mend, 

a time to be silent and a time to speak, 

a time to love and a time to hate, 

a time for war and a time for peace. 

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

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Let's pray for someone we know who is facing a life change, moving on, or moving forward. I'll post daily reminders on:
twitter @7DegreesOfMe
instagram @archadia27
facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

Seen or unseen

I've read these verses several times over the years but still, this morning got something different from them. It probably has to do with reading scripture in light of what's happening in life at this moment. That's how we find answers to life's questions. God reveals Himself through His word.

Therefore we do not lose heart. 

Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory 

that far outweighs them all. 

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, 

since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

"what is seen is temporary..." This makes me think of the past and the present. What's already happened is in the past; it's gone and we can't get it back, but there are times I long to go back in time and take a different path only to realize that a different path would alter so much more than the one thing I want to change. I need to let the past go and the events and decisions. Whatever choices I made back then or even just moments ago, God used to set me on the right path - the path that leads to Him and to my purpose in life.

"what is unseen is eternal..." The future is timeless. Christians have (literally) forever. We may shed this body today or tomorrow but we will live on. Instead of dreading or being anxious about the future, the unknown or unseen, we can delight in knowing that we're doing what we're supposed to be doing and that God will guide our way if we ask.

So, change or moving on doesn't have to be looked at with trepidation. It can be a wondrous opportunity that God has presented to us which is for His purpose.

My life verse is a reminder to leave it up to Him and not to worry about what choices I make if I make those choices by consulting Him first.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding;

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall direct your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV

Let's pray for someone we know who is facing a life change, moving on, or moving forward. I'll post daily reminders on:
twitter @7DegreesOfMe
instagram @archadia27
facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

Everything will be okay

I believe that everything happens for a reason and that reason is in keeping with God's plan for us. It may take months, years or even a lifetime for a person to be able to see how God guided his/her life; all of the accumulated steps that were necessary to reach the person's destiny. It's difficult to be patient. It's difficult not to worry about the future. We want assurance that everything will work out. So, here it is:

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, 

“plans to prosper you and not to harm you, 

plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

Whatever change you're going through: moving, starting a new career, going back to school, dealing with an illness, ... trust in the Lord. He will never leave you nor forsake you.

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Let's pray for someone we know who is facing a life change, moving on, or moving forward. I'll post daily reminders on:
twitter @7DegreesOfMe
instagram @archadia27
facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

The path of the wind

As you do not know what is the way of the wind,

Or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child,

So you do not know the works of God who makes everything.

Ecclesiastes 11:5 (NKJV)

The Scriptures will be fulfilled

Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?” Matthew 26:52-54 ESV

God's Kingdom

And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will

set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, 

nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. 

It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and 

bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,

Daniel 2:44 ESV 

Hallelujah and PRAISE THE LORD for this promise!!!

Only justice you shall follow

Our government has a duty to us:

“You shall appoint judges and officers in all your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality, and you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous. Justice, and only justice, you shall follow, that you may live and inherit the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 

Deuteronomy 16:18-20 ESV