Where Is God? Sunday Glimpses

Lord, You've reminded me of the cross all day. Forgive me for taking it for granted. Forgive me for not remembering the great sacrifice You made for me - the great outpouring of Your love. You are wonderful, Lord. Because of You I have hope. Because of You I have peace. Because of You I will never walk alone or be in need...all because of the cross. Your love for us is beyond comprehension. Open the eyes of our hearts to know and understand how much You love Your children. Lord, so many feel alone and afraid today. They feel unworthy of Your love. I ask that You open their ears to hear Your sweet whispers of love. Make them aware of the tug You've placed upon their heartstrings, drawing them to You. Let them know Your unconditional love. Heal their broken places. Wipe their tears of affliction, their tears of overwhelming sorrow and replace them with the peace that passes all understanding. Thank You Lord. Thank You for showing Yourself strong on their behalf today. You are an awesome God. We love You.
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Tweetables to Encourage Others

WHERE IS GOD? SUNDAY GLIMPSES Are you struggling to find God in your circumstances? (Click to Tweet)

Lord, because of You I have hope, I have peace. Because of You I will never walk alone. (Click to Tweet)

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Please don't carry your burdens alone. I would be honored to pray for you. You may contact me at nan@jubilantlight.com

Scriptures of Encouragement ~ What Does Love Look Like?

The wind blew ferociously while the dark clouds tumbled through the sky. Patches of stubborn blue quickly lost ground against the approaching storm, surrendering their signs of early spring to the angry cold front bearing down with winter's scorn.

I stopped. Looked. And listened.

Photo Credit: www.weathermania.net

Gale-force winds howled, rushing past me to impact the pine grove up ahead. Branches swayed, bending from the power that surged through them. Dry, brittle pine needles swirled across the road. I realized that this wind - this power - arrived before the storm. It was the leading edge of the cold front that is set to bring snow and ice to our mountains in several hours.

This realization caused me to think about the Lord.

I thought about how He knows about the impending storms long before we do. I thought about how swift and ferocious is His response to His child in need.

Consider this:

"I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies...In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry came before Him, even to His ears.

"Then the earth shook and trembled...He bowed the heavens also, and came down with darkness under His feet. And He rode upon a cherub, and flew; He flew upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness His secret place; His canopy around Him was dark waters and thick clouds of the skies...

"He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support. He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me." ~ Psalm 18: 3,6,7a, 9-11,17-19

Powerful, isn't it? Humbling...comforting. Totally amazing.

And to think that nothing can separate us from His powerful, ferocious love.

Nothing.
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Tweetables to Encourage Others

If you're in a struggle, @NanJonesAuthor gives insight to what love looks like. (Click to Tweet)

The Lord's response to His child in need is swift & ferocious. (Click to Tweet)


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Father, I'm amazed at the power of Your love. Awaken our hearts to understand how much You gave that we might know Your love. I take such comfort in the knowledge that when I cry out to You, You respond with power and immediacy. You are the Mighty God, the Maker of heaven and earth. Nothing is too difficult for You. Thank You for Your love, Your Presence, Your shelter and care. I pray for the one that is struggling today. Open their eyes to see You in their midst working everything together for their good. Encourage them, Lord. Please reveal Yourself to them in very personal, tangible ways. We love You, Lord. Blessed be the Name of the Lord.
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If you received Morning Glory via email, please visit the Morning Glory  page for a special blessing. Do you remember the song, "Through It All" from the 70s? Andrae' Crouch sang it back then. Good stuff, huh? I found a video of the clown ministry from Multitudes Church acting this song out in mime. It's very simple and very powerful.

Scriptures of Encouragement ~ After the Travail

Listen carefully. Can you hear it? Nature is groaning in travail for the birth of spring.

Naked branches continue their stretch toward heaven. Silent on the outside. Joy bubbling on the inside. Their stretch never ceases, even during the harshest winter storms. Persistence. Endurance. Patience. Tiny buds of life press against the charcoal tips waiting expectantly for the perfect moment - the God ordained moment to break forth.

I wonder if nature ever grows weary while it waits for spring.

Or does it rest in the knowledge that without the winter there could be no spring?

"For as the earth brings forth its bud, 
 As the garden causes the things 
          that are sown in it to spring forth, 
So the Lord God will cause 
 righteousness and praise
          to spring forth 
before all the nations." 
          ~ Isaiah 61:11

The Lord God WILL cause righteousness and praise to spring forth. He will. He promises. After the travail. After the endurance. The rest. The trials that howl against the soul seeking to topple like a forlorn naked tree on forest edge. Yes, the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth. 

And when He does it will be glorious.

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Tweetables to Encourage Others

I wonder if nature ever grows weary while it waits for spring. (Click to Tweet)

Rest in the knowledge that without the winter there could be no spring. (Click to Tweet)



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If you received Morning Glory via email, please visit the Morning Glory page. I'm featuring Meredith Andrews singing, "Not For A Moment". This is a fabulous song that reminds the child of God that the Lord will NEVER forsake us. Not ever.

Where Is God? Sunday Glimpses

Father God, Hold me close. Let me drink of Your living water, let me taste of Your grace - Your amazing grace. Awaken my heart to understand how precious and how powerful is Your grace. I want to take hold of it, to walk in it, to live in its safe haven. Your grace makes me whole. Your grace draws me to You, Almighty God. That in itself is amazing. How can it be that You know me by name, that you know every moment of my day? How can it be? Thank You for Your grace. Thank You for Your love, Your mercy, Your faithfulness. Thank You for opening my eyes to see. You are Wonderful, Lord. I love you.
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Tweetables to Encourage Others

Where Is God? Sunday Glimpses (Click to Tweet)

Lord, let me drink of Your living water, let me taste of Your grace. (Click to Tweet)

Your grace makes me whole. Your grace draws me to You, Almighty God. (Click to Tweet)

Lord, thank You for opening my eyes to see. (Click to Tweet)

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Are you burdened? Do you need someone to pray for you? I would be honored. You may contact me at nan@jubilantlight.com

Scriptures of Encouragement ~ You Are My Strength

I lay crumpled in a hot mess of fatigue and pain. Fibromyalgia was fighting for dominance in my body - has been all week. Even now, several hours later, my brain feels like mush. My thoughts are all adrift and wayward. All I want to do is vegetate under a warm blanket and sleep.

But I will not surrender. Respect the fibro? Yes. But surrender? No. I refuse.

Photo credit: Lipetskikh Vladimir

As I lay in bed willing myself to get up, I kept thinking of God's promise to be our strength when we are weak. I thought of His promise in Exodus 33:14, "My Presence will go with you and I will give you rest." I begged the Lord for greater understanding.

Press into Me, Nan, He said in a sweet whisper. Press in. Seek Me and the rest will come. Seek Me and you will find strength. Seek Me and you will find refuge from the battle. Seek Me and you will find Me. I am your strength when you are weak.

I closed my eyes and quietly spoke the name of Jesus. I imagined Him standing with arms outstretched, searching my eyes for recognition, softly speaking my name. In my imagination I ran to Him. He wrapped me in His arms, held me close - close enough to hear the soothing beat of His heart. I pressed into Him and allowed Him to catch me from falling. My body relaxed. My mind stopped its racing as I realized that beneath me were the everlasting arms of the One I love, of the One that will never fail me nor leave me.

"And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens." ~ Hebrews 11:32-34

Through faith.

Out of weakness they were made strong.

For it is in my weakness that I press into Him, lean on, rely on, and depend on Him. In weakness my impossibles meet His possibles, my frailties meet the magnitude of His might.

In my weakness He offers the Living Water that flows from His hand into my heart bringing strength, peace, clarity of mind, and joy unspeakable.

Yes, God is faithful. In my weakness I am made strong by His love.

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Tweetables to Encourage Others

In weakness our impossibles meet His possibles, our frailties meet the magnitude of His might. (Click to Tweet)

In my weakness I am made strong by His love. (Click to Tweet)

Beneath me were the everlasting arms of the One I love. (Click to Tweet)



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If you received Morning Glory via email, please visit the Morning Glory  page to enter a time of worship as Hillsong sings, "You Are My Strength".

Scriptures of Encouragement ~ The Lesson of Black Walnuts

Dotting the country roadside were little holes dug in the carpet of pine needles. Curiosity struck. Ya never know what kind of critters Blue and I might come across on our daily walks. These landscape dimples were like pockets - dark and contained with fairly neat edges. About the size of an egg. I asked Blue if he knew what they were and, of course, he cocked his head and gave me that look that clearly says, "You're weird, momma." But he did wag his tail as he communicated my weirdness. **wink**

I heard some scratching noises just ahead of us. Something gray flittered in the pine carpet, then darted across the mountain lane. A bushy tail exploded with excitement. Wide eyes and plump cheeks told the rest of the story.

It was a squirrel harvesting his stash of black walnuts.

How did he know where each walnut lay? Certainly, he stored these life-sustaining nuggets for the long winter ahead, but, on this day did he know an unexpected winter storm was on the horizon because of the roller-coaster called March?

Lately, many of us in the Body of Christ have been on a roller-coaster called life. Life is always filled with ups and downs, for sure, but anybody out there think it's been a bit extreme lately? I know, right? There's a whole lot of shaking going on and a whole lot of lessons being learned.

I'm learning a lesson of black walnuts. Sortof.

I'm learning to stash scriptures in my heart and mind so that when the days of reckoning come (and the days of wrecking) I'm prepared. I know where they're hid and I'm disciplining myself to fetch them long before the storm hits.

Some of my favorite hiding places are: 

Psalm 91:1-2 ~ "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust."

Psalm 91:14-15 (insert your name here) ~ "Because [Nan] has set her love upon Me, therefore I will deliver her; I will set her on high, because she has known My name. [Nan] shall call upon Me, and I will answer her; I will be with her in trouble; I will deliver [Nan] and honor her."

2 Chronicles 16:9 ~ "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him."

Isaiah 30:21 ~ "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."

Romans 8:38-39 ~ "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which in in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 8:31 ~ "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?"

Daniel 10:12 ~ "Then he [the Angel of the Lord] said to me, 'Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words.'"

The squirrel raced up a tree to hunker down with his treasure. Safe. Secure. Well fed.

That's my plan the next time a storm hits. I'm gonna hunker down with my treasure.

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Tweetables to Encourage Others

Are you trying to survive a storm? @NanJonesAuthor offers some insight. (Click to Tweet)

"I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge & my fortress...~ Psalm 91:2 God is a sure place in the storm. (Click to Tweet)



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If you received Morning Glory via email, please visit the Morning Glory  page. I found a really cool song by Sara Groves titled, "The Word". I had never heard it before. I think you'll enjoy it. Bless you my precious friend.

Where Is God? Sunday Glimpses

Lord God, You are such an awesome God! You amaze me with Your faithfulness. Teach us to fully release our burdens to You knowing that You hear Your children when we cry out to You. Teach us to pray expectant prayers laced with thanksgiving and assurance. I have learned that You respond to our heart's cry like a Father drawn to the needs of his son or daughter. It's incredible! We can stand on Your promises to hear us and to move heaven and earth to respond. Lord, that's where the peace comes in, isn't it? The peace comes when we learn that You are indeed God and if You are God then nothing is too difficult for You..AND that Your heart is turned towards Your child. Wow! What a comfort that knowledge is. Open our eyes to see You in our midst. Awaken our hearts to understand Your love and tenderness towards us. Thank You for Your peace that surpasses all understanding. I pray for the one who needs to know Your peace today. Wrap them in the light of Your presence. Hold them close. I ask that You give them the image of You reaching into their tangled heart and drawing the burdens from them. Allow them to feel that release - the chains breaking as You intervene. Thank You for Your mercy. You are a great God. We love You, Lord and we give You praise.
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Tweetables to Encourage Others

Lord, grant us the image of You reaching into our tangled hearts & drawing the burdens out. (Click to Tweet)

The peace comes when we learn You are indeed God & because You are God, nothing is too difficult for You. (Click to Tweet)

Where is God? Sunday Glimpses (Click to Tweet)

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Please do not carry your burdens alone. I would be honored to pray for you. You may contact me at nan@jubilantlight.com