And That Is What Happened

As I recently read the story of creation, there were a couple of phrases that I noticed which repeated several times.

The first phrase was “God said….”.

The second phrase was “And that is what happened.”

These phrases occurred in conjunction with each other six times in the short segment I was reading, I think He wanted us to get the concept from the get go that His words happen.

Whatever God says, whether it be “Let there be light” or “It is Finished”, cannot be wrong. It cannot be wrong because of the nature of who He is. He is 100% complete, 100% pure, 100% truth, 100% holy, therefore, there is no way that error can come from His mouth. There is no way that what He says won’t happen.

Do you get how astounding that is?

We all have rubbed shoulders with people who say one thing and do another. For example, you have been planning a party for a few weeks and are inviting several friends who have told you they will be there, but when the day arrives, most of them cancel. Or you’ve taken on a big project and people have told you they will help you, only to find 3 people to actually execute the task – me, myself, and I. Many times the situation can’t be helped, and many times it can. Sometimes the value of our word has “lost its value” because what we have said never came to fruition.

It can NEVER be that way with God.

Here’s a familiar scripture, but read it with fresh eyes -

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth, and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:10-11 NLT

Matthew 25:35 says this about His words:

“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” NASB

Shall not – not might not, not probably won’t. Shall not. His words will never be sent out in vain, His words will never disappear. His word accomplishes things and they are forever. Which is why we need to know those words. Don’t forget to let me know if you are interested in the scripture memorization. We will start soon!

Father, I pray for a hunger and thirst to know your word and hide it in my heart like never before. May my appetite for your instruction be ravenous and make my mind and spirit like a sponge to absorb them. Father, I pray that the words are living in me, not mere knowledge, words that I will use every day of my life to live according to your will and to rest in your power and not my own abilities.



Royal Princess Daughter Of The King

PS:  My friend, Whitt Madden, of Be The Domino Ministries, has a great website bethedomino.org.  He has many resources, devotionals, and ideas on how to have a domino effect on the life of someone else for the Kingdom outlined on his site.  Whitt is featuring a story about Beyond Sunday Morning today, and I know he would love for you to jump over to his site for a visit and look around.  Ladies, I highly recommend you show his website to your husbands as a place to go for daily encouragement and direction.  I would be honored for you to read about Beyond Sunday Morning while you are there.

Testify Tuesday

It's Testify Tuesday again! Testify Tuesday is a chance for you to share with us where you have seen God in action lately. I'm excited to hear your stories.

Speaking of stories, I have a Testify Tuesday story to share with you. As many of you know, my husband has been gone to some of the most devastated parts of Haiti on a mission trip. One night while he was away, the girls and I were praying for him and for the rest of the mission team. We prayed for the people of Haiti that they would encounter, we prayed for divine protection, health, and safety for the team, but we specifically prayed something about my husband, Todd.

We prayed that God would show them His love and use Todd to do it.

And He did.

The next day Todd traveled with the mission team to a village where people live in tents. They took household supplies, etc to the people in the village and a crowd began to form. The mission leader noticed the crowd and asked Todd to give a message to the people. For those of you who don't know my husband, he is very much a planner, so preaching a message without a moment's notice was challenge for him.

A challenge with reward beyond measure.

Todd is in the red hat standing on the back of the truck.

As my husband told me this story in tears, I asked him, "Well, what did you tell them?"

"I told them how much God loves them, and that He hadn't forgotten them. It was an amazing opportunity."

Remember that prayer we prayed?

What an answer!

That's my Testify Tuesday - what's yours?




Royal Princess Daughter Of The King

PS - Did I mention how proud I am of him?

The Measures He Will Go To

As I write today’s post, it is New Years day. My husband bought me a new Bible for Christmas. It is the One Year Chronological Bible and I have been looking forward to getting into this one because of how it is arranged. Yes, you read through the Bible in a year, so it won’t replace my study Bible, however, the scriptures are arranged chronologically in the order that they were written making it easier to see it all how it happened. Since it is New Year’s Day, it was time to start reading and I was excited to dig in and learn something new from God’s word.

Let me set the scene for you. It’s a Saturday morning, the house was miraculously quiet. I’m sitting in my favorite corner of the couch with my knees all bent up. My Diet Dr Pepper sitting on the table next to me. My journal, my Bible, and my pen are all sprawled out, the Bible on the arm of the couch and my journal and pen on my lap. Then to make things more perfect, the fireplace kicks on making it all the more cozy. I was just about to settle in for a feast from the Father……..

And I was interrupted.

Not by the kids.

Not by the telephone.

No – interrupted by my dog.

No, she wasn’t barking. She wasn’t whining. She didn’t need to go out. Just seconds earlier she had been snoozing over on her favorite spot on the couch, then, as if cued from some where, she gets up and moseys in my direction. I had just began my reading in my Bible as she steps up onto my leg, turns a few circles, as making a nest, and lays down. Yes – lays down, head and all, - right on top of my pen and journal just like they weren’t there. Now let me make something clear, not tooo many days ago my precious pooch was having some arthritis problems and wouldn’t even walk, much less climb upon my lap to lay uncomfortably upon my journal and pen. Now, I’m not saying my pooch was possessed by the enemy but I thought…..

The measures the devil will go to keep us from studying God’s word.

Ugggh!

I gently, yet with pursed lips, moved my pooch from her perch and pressed on, as my oldest child cracked up, laughing hysterically at what had just happened.

The enemy does not want us to study God’s word, much less apply it, and will do whatever he can to keep us from knowing it, which fuels my fire to know it more. I believe God’s word is still alive and active and it is important that we know it, which brings me to my next topic –

Is anyone up for memorizing a few verses this year? I know I am. I was thinking on memorizing 2 per month, so that we can really learn them, not just cram them in only to forget them later like a high school history test!

If you are interested in memorizing a few scriptures with me to add to your arsenal against the enemy, please post a comment to let me know, or you can email me at beyondsundaymornings@gmail.com .

Looking forward to LOTS of responses!

Happy New Year!




Royal Princess Daughter Of The King