“Those who are wise will shine like the bright expanse of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” —–Daniel 12:3
You may think of a million people more equipped than you to accomplish the call God has on your life, but God is calling you to RISE UP because It is Your Time to Shine!
Christmas Cover Girls Bethany Jett and Michelle Medlock Adams (bethanyandmichelle.com) give us Platinum Faith perspective.
I REMEMBER PLAYING THE “WE’VE GOT-FIVE-KIDS” VERSION OF THE GAME “CLUE.” Who did it? Never just a whole lot of doubt there: It was the toddler—in the family room—with a permanent marker.
We held our things and furniture and carpets and walls all pretty loosely in the days of raising kids, though it was still tough not to get just a little bent out of shape when yet another lamp would bite the dust. It still amazes me that no one knew who broke it or how it happened. Except that I do doubt.
And it wasn’t just the kids doing the demolition. One time a kitten clawed his way from floor to ceiling on my newly painted wall. He was halfway down again before I pulled him off. I’m pretty sure I saw his life flash before my eyes. Is that a thing that can happen? Because I might’ve seen it nine times.
On the spiritual side of life, I have room for even fewer doubts.
Believe it or not, doubt is much more destructive than five kids and a cat. It has a way of grabbing onto our joy and fruitfulness and sort of clawing it up from floor to ceiling.
The enemy wields doubt.
He’s been effectively using it as a weapon since the fall of man. As a matter of fact, it was his weapon of choice in the initiation of the fall in the first place.
In other words, it would be nice if God would share His insights about all that concerns me and those I love. I’d love to see His bullet points about how these difficulties will eventually turn out, but like everyone else, God keeps me in the dark.
One of the most significant issues we have is a tendency to approach online reach with a have-to-do, legalistic mindset. Truthfully, because successful social media is all about relationship building, it works best when we treat it as an exercise in faith.
When we get caught up in numbers and percentages, we lose our way.
Instead, we must remember that those we interact with are not numbers; they’re people.
If we begin to judge our effectiveness, the worth of what we have to say, by numbers, we’ve lost our way.
It’s hard and difficult to admit, but even in your pursuit and persistence, you still may not succeed initially or on the next try. And you know what? That’s ok.
I hope every family who reads this devotional thrives more, bonds more, serves more, and learns more about themselves and God.
“AS WE WERE GROWING UP, THERE WERE TRAGEDIES THAT MY GRANDFATHER, THE FIRE CHIEF, HAD TO DEAL WITH— BUT COULDN’T TALK ABOUT. I remember the silence after the night that my grandfather responded to an accident that killed one of my friend’s parents. Because I couldn’t talk to my grandfather about my feelings, I did talk to God. But still, my fear was a lot for me, or for any child, to process,” says veteran author and speaker Karen Whiting.
Her memory of her longing to explore her feelings as a child is what inspired Karen to open the conversation about the importance of service careers as well as the unique needs of first responders and their families in her 26th book—52 Weekly Devotions for Families Called to Serve.
YES, EXPOSED. EMBARRASSED. EXTREMELY VULNERABLE. Has something happened, shattering the world around you, shaming you as your life is exposed for all to see? Do you feel humiliation as others freely comment on your misfortune, both publicly and privately?
Yeah, me too. I lost a son to drugs and alcohol. I did not lose him in a way that others would call honorable — serving his country — or in a way that others would say was unpreventable — to some horrid disease. Yet I lost him, and I know what it feels like to grieve over a lost child.
I was heartbroken and ashamed. Rearing children to adulthood, addiction-free, and having them proclaim Jesus as Lord defined successful mothering to me. And I’d failed. Miserably. I felt exposed. Why?
“What do I know?” I asked myself when the thought of writing for publication was a mere seedling. Then it dawned — I knew the importance of living from the truth of who God is.
Gaining that knowledge came with a steep learning curve. It began in a Nepalese village where I spent the first two years of my marriage. My husband, Gene, worked as a civil engineer on a hydroelectric power project, and I taught basic health care. Electricity and indoor plumbing didn’t exist in our wee mud and rock dwelling.
Unfortunately, spiders, scorpions and snakes did. So did culture shock and fear — specifically the fear of death by tropical diseases and receiving unwanted visitations by aforesaid critters.
I AM LIKE A PRAYER INVESTIGATOR. I HAD TO BE BECAUSE I HAD A MOUNTAIN TO MOVE. After a violent car crash put my 18-month-old baby into a coma, I needed to know what it would take to touch my daughter through the power of prayer. Since that fateful day, I’ve made it my mission to understand prayer. I’ve spent hours scouring the Word to discover and understand the prayer secrets it contains, and most importantly, I’ve prayed. I’ve battled. I’ve contended. I’ve sought God. I’ve claimed promises, and I’ve prayed through roadblocks.
I’ve experienced breakthroughs and felt the heartache when God says no. I’ve worked with prayer teams and prayer partners, fought the enemy and prayed with countless people. And yes! I have seen God move. I have seen God answer prayer.
In my new book, When You Need to Move a Mountain, I share what I’ve learned to help readers not only become a person of prayer, but a person who can use prayer to reverse the works of the enemy, to save lives, to be blessed with provision and to flow into God’s best for their lives.
JENNIFER KENNEDY DEAN 1953-2019 We grieve the passing of well-loved author and speaker Jennifer Kennedy Dean. Her many books became classics as soon as they were published. Her passion for the Word, for prayer, for her family and friends, and her impact on the Kingdom will live on.
