My Border Collie, Queen Esther, is just about as handy as a GPS if she’s been to the destination at least once. The closer we get to where we’re going, the more hyper she becomes. The backseat of my car may as well be a treadmill. In fact, if I’m on the phone, I usually have to hang up because the person on the other line becomes too distracted to talk.
What is that?
My dog. Sorry. She’s a little over excited.
Is she hurt?
No. She’s happy.
What does she want?
Out!
She jumps from window to window and commences – not to bark exactly – but to yelp. I constantly insist to Keith that I have the gift of interpretation for the tongue Queen Esther speaks and, when we’re coming up on our destination, I am absolutely sure of what she’s saying: Let me out of this car so I can run the rest of the way!
Right about now, you’re the Queen – the real kind and not the canine variety – and it’s the perfect time to start your happiest yelping. You can see from the view out of your window that we are almost to our destination and, after a whole lot of hard work, I hope everything in you is hyping up and hollering, Let me out so I can run the rest of the way!
Good grief, you’ve been fantastic. I cannot recall ever having a higher percentage finish out the year. I’d have to check past years to confirm that but I don’t remember ever having a more active group from start to finish. I wish you were sitting right here with me in my chilly den in front of this fire and we could talk face to face instead of line to line.
Our heater is out and it is just about as cold in Houston as it gets most winters. We’ve already had the repairman out for hours but he’s been unable to fix it and advised us to call our builder. He thinks it’s a malfunction in the unit. You have to write an email request to the builder for a repair and we haven’t heard back from them yet so it could be a frosty few days. I just worked out on my elliptical with a jacket on if that tells you anything. I don’t mind so much though, as long as it’s fixed pretty soon. It’s gorgeous outside and I love sitting by a fire anyway. The part I don’t like is that Jackson and Annabeth’s room at my house is like ice and they really can’t even play in it right now when they come over. No worries, though. I expect it to be repaired surely by the first few days of this week.
If you were here, I’d also serve you up some cinnamon rolls in about an hour. I made homemade rolls for our Thanksgiving feast and I almost always roll out cinnamon rolls with the leftover dough several days later. They’re rising right now under some lights in the only warm end of my house.
Some of you are observant enough to ask me if I pulled two of them off the one pan and ate them raw because of those 2 circles of flour. No, I didn’t – though I was tempted – but I did peel them off and put them on the second cookie sheet because the 3 rolls that wouldn’t fit on the first pan looked so lonely over there. My cold house is going to smell like heaven in a little while. Sometimes I make a thick butter icing but, really, I prefer a thinner glaze made of powdered sugar, vanilla and a tiny bit of half and half. Too much icing takes away from the homemade flavor of the rolls in my opinion.
The inevitable question I get at a time like this is, “Do you always eat like that?”
Lord have mercy, no. But, Girlfriend, it’s a holiday.
I could make you hot tea or coffee to go with yours, depending upon your preference, and we’d chat a while and then we’d trade our 23rd verses.
My selection came up in my devotional this morning and catapulted me into prayer. I’m actually memorizing the 2nd chapter of Colossians right now but sometimes the section I’m working on next is too awkward out of context to post as an SSMT verse. For instance, if Colossians 2:21 were next, imagine this as my SSMT selection: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!” See? Awkward. So, if I’m in the middle of a long portion, I usually go off road for SSMT and select a verse that is more user friendly so that women who are drawing a blank on their choices can go with me on mine if they wish. Here goes:
Beth, Houston. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8 ESV
The second half of it drew me into intercession. It does not say that the reason the Son of God appeared was to deny the works of the devil. It does not say that the Son of God appeared to downplay the works of the devil. It does not say that the Son of God appeared to decrease the works of the devil. It says He appeared to DESTROY the works of the devil.
So I started pinpointing some areas around my life and the lives of my family members and loved ones where the enemy is rearing up his ugly head. And with great joy and a sense of victory in my chest, I thanked Jesus for coming to destroy his works and asked Him to demonstrate that destruction right before our eyes in those areas. We know that “the ancient serpent, who is the devil” will not be completely bound until the Kingdom of the living Christ comes in its fullness and His throne is established right here on earth. At that time, the prayer we’ve prayed more than any other will finally be fulfilled: Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
But, until then, we are meant to experience stunning victories where we see living, breathing evidences that the enemy has been overcome. We’re meant to give the devil a taste of what he will experience in the Kingdom when he is bound for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:2)
Let’s not let him off the hook. Let’s remind our enemy every single day that he is not only defeated. His works are destroyed in Jesus’ great Name.
You, my dear sister, are a great privilege to serve. Walk strong with your God, young lady. Ask for a fiery faith to believe Him and for eyes to see His works manifested right here on this ailing planet. Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)Â
Let’s toast to that.
Tags: Scripture Memory 2013
Kathy, Festus MO And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. (Hebrews 11:6 NLT)
You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people put a lamp under a bowl. Instead they put it on a stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in Heaven.
Matthew 5:14-16
Elise–Newark
Kay, Tucson, AZ Psalm 28:7 (NLT)
“The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me and my heart if filled with joy.”
Jane from Calgary, Alberta
“I know that my redeemer lives,
and that in the end he will stand on the earth.” Job 19:25 (NIV)
Kristin, Carlsbad, CA “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.” Psalm 42:1 NIV
For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. romans 8:29 NKJV
Deborah from Calgary, Canada. Psalm 116:1-2(NIV)
1 I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry for mercy.
2 Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.
My small group and I will be memorizing…
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
1 Peter 2:9 NIV
Awesome Verse!!!
Ashley Pointer from Spring, Texas
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6 NIV
Fort Worth, TX
“Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.” Proverbs 3:3 NASB
Melanie – Decatur, AL
Deuteronomy 31:8 NAS
“The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
Cindy, Beaumont TX: how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him. Hebrews 2:3 NKJV
Tshaka; Belgium; Wise people treasure knowledge, but the babbling of a fool invites disaster.
Proverbs 10:14 NLT
Cindy, living in Cochem, Germany: Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Proverbs 31:30 (ESV)
Karen, from Dallas, TX:
Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
2 Corinthians 1: 21-22
Deb in Windsor, CT:
“Those who trust in themselves are fools, but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe.” – Proverbs 28:26
Angie
Anniston, Alabama
“I pray that the eyes of my heart may be enlightened in order that I may know the hope to which He has called me, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people, and His incomparably great power for those of us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength.”
Ephesians 1:18-19, NIV
Jennifer Otisville, MI – Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8 ESV
Mitzi from Midland
Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. Psalm 86:11 (NIV)
Diane Jackson, Wood River, IL – And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. John 6:35 (NKJV)
Roxanne
Hummelstown,Pa
Psalm 61:3 KJV
For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.
Sherry, Winston-Salem, NC
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.
Romans 8:18
HCSB
Susan from Clinton, MS
You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Psalm 16:11 NIV
Lezli Oklahoma City
Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8 ESV
Sue
Carmel, IN
And to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:19 NIV 84
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” (Romans 8:35, 36 NIV)
Evansville, IN
“Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.” 2 Timothy 2:25-26
Come let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before The Lord our maker.
Ps 95:6
Beth, Fountain Inn, Eph 1:14 ESV
who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of His glory
Pam Bryant
Kountze, Tx
All things were made through Him and without Him nothing
was made.
John 1:3 NKJV
Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8 ESV
Paula, from Maine
All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that The Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord’s and he will give all of you into our hands. 1 Samuel 17:47 NIV
I love the word “all.” He doesn’t leave anything undone.
Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
1 John 4:4. ESV
Bernadette. Mtn home AR. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed giving thanks to His God just as he had done before. Daniel 6:10. NIV
Missie, Marble Falls, TX
“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” Colossians 3:2 ESV
Beth, London, U.K. “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” (1 John 3:1, NIV)
Anna – Conroe, TX
As it is written: ‘I have made you a father of many nations.’ He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.
Romans 4:17 NIV
Kim Rushville, Ohio
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 ESV
Jo Ann Julia, Columbia, Missouri
Psalm 34:8-9 Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Fear the Lord, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing. (Psalm 34:8-9 9 NIV
Madeleine,Corrales:I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and fortress,My God in whom I trust.Psalm 91-2 Nov.
Betsy, Lincoln Park
“With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.” Psalm 91:16 NIV
“Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”
Hebrews 9:12 KJV
debbie jo, greenwood, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, Who is in you, Whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” I Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV)
Beverly, Pearland,TX
Isaiah 33:2 NIV
O LORD be gracious to us;
we long for You.
Be our strength every morning,
our salvation in time of distress.
You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you.
Isaiah 26:3 NLT
Dawn, West Monroe, LA
“Apply your heart to instruction & your ears to words of knowledge.” Proverbs 23:12 NIV
Mary S
Houston, TX
Psalm 77:17 NIV
The clouds poured down water, the skies resound with thunder; your arrows flashed back and forth.
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever. Isaiah 40:8 NIV
Lisa Walden, Grand Prairie Tx
Philippians 1:27 NIV
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel
Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to DESTROY the works of the devil. Jn 3:8 ESV