Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:1
Stand fast… stedfast… half of this year’s word God gave me to concentrate on for 2023. Cara Whitney points out that wild horses seem to be free, but horses need help from humans to survive. Humans living without Jesus think they’re living free, but looking for love and provision in all the wrong places is not freedom. Knowing Christ frees us from the law of sin, death, and lack. God’s freedom offers us what we long for: unconditional love, purpose, and meaning. The yoke of Jesus is light, freeing, easy when you walk with him. Our adversary, the devil, is a hard taskmaster. Our selfish, fleshly nature is no better. Let’s surrender daily to our Lord and walk in true freedom.
9. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10. who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.
11. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing. 1Thessalonians 5:9-11
Uta Milewski titled today’s devotion, Courage. God sad he’s done his part, so whether we live or die, we live together with Jesus. Praying in the Spirit builds us up so we can encourage each other. Praying in tongues, even for a short while each day, results in big change over time. Join in and see how you will become a source of courage for others, participating in the Kingdom of God. This explains what’s happening in my life these days!
12. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. 13. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. 2Timothy 3:12-13
As I’ve said, my first book, Musings Along Life’s Journey, is available for purchase. It is not without persecution… let me explain. I have been working with my publisher and librarian to schedule a date to promote my book. The date has changed three times, my book printing being delayed. My books came in God’s Kairos time, my second word for 2023. This brought the first snag, not enough time for the library trustee board to read my book before promoting the event. I immediately signed a book for each of the 9 trustees, thanking them for being my pre-readers. I checked in with the librarian about a week later to set another date. She said she’s not gotten my book to all the trustees yet. Also, she is not allowed to use the library name for any promotional materials if it’s a Christian book or church event. I could see if the person scheduling the community room would let me schedule, then she could do the promotion without the library name on it.
The second glitch was that my Facebook account got scammed, and when I tried to log in, the password I’d recently changed, due to another scam, was rejected. After going through Facebook security measures, I was totally locked out. So, I made a new page. In my first post, I told how privileged I was having my Facebook scammed and blocked just when I was promoting my Christian book. Several people commented, giving links to use to unlock my original account. My so, Chris, messaged me not to click on any of them, they’re scams! So, if you’re friends with me on Facebook and get a friend request from me, it’s legit! Look for the selfie of me with Joyce from Tanzania on the profile.
I’ve been playing phone tag with my publisher, Sabrina Adams, for a week. I finally got her on the phone. She’s in the hospital, and they’ve found cancer has spread throughout her body. Last week, she told me that on the way to her treatment for the first cancer, she was ready to give up. In a vision, God told her she had two choices. He could end this and take her to heaven, or he had a mandate for her to start a publishing company named Zoe Life and publish Christian books for His glory. We’ll, you know which she chose. In the middle of publishing my book, her breast cancer was reoccurring, and she had a radical mastectomy. She refused chemo but agreed to radiation. She went for treatments for about a month, but chose to quit because it was taking so much out of her. Join me in praying for a miracle, complete restoration of her health!
For such a time as this! Keep tuning in to my musings, I will be making dates for signing events and will keep you posted. You can purchase my book, Musings Along Life’s Journey, at http://www.zoelifebooks.org, and if it still says, “Coming Soon,” ignore it because you can still order my book there.
What a beautiful surprise it was yesterday to have sun and sixty degrees! It was nice to spend some time outside planning projects for the coming season. This leads me to think that the Lord talks a lot about springtime and harvest. Our heavenly Father is all about planting, watering and reaping. In every area of life we are planting seeds, tending them, and working toward an abundant harvest. As the apostle Paul said:
The assignment was to summarize these verses in our own words. Here is what I wrote, including verse 4. “Dear Sister, consider all troubles to be an opportunity for great joy! Lord, my endurance has a chance to grow and I learn patience when my faith is tested. If I let these troubles teach me patience, I will become perfected and complete in Christ Jesus and will need nothing.” I like this harvest goal! When Christ Jesus comes into your heart, the fullness of God-Father, Son, and Spirit-live inside you. This means all the fruits of the spirit, gifts of the spirit, love of God in Christ and all other things needed for godly living are inside you. As we grow in our relationship with the Lord, we access more; sowing and reaping. In the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he explains how the grace of God works and how Christ works in us.
Musings along life's journey 