Praise Report!

So I briefly mentioned in the last post about the upcoming homeless blessing bag drive we are doing. I just wanted to share how faithful God is….a good friend on mine and sister in Christ has made a generous donation! We already have adult and kid toothbrushes, but now thanks to her we will have floss, toothpaste, razors and combs that are being ordered off Amazon and shipped to us!

Here are the words she used when making the donation: “Well, I know God will take care of us, so if I can help some one else even if it leaves me with a dollar in my account, I know God will provide “

Talk about encouragement!! That is some faithful giving and it will go a long way to share the gospel in the homeless community locally.

If you feel led to give to this cause, Amazon and other sites have tons of items in bulk for inexpensive prices that will be used to minister to the homeless in the name of Jesus.

Here are the items she is donating for this cause as an idea for you to look at:

You can contact us for where to send the items. If you do not wish to give to this, I encourage you to give to SOMETHING! Not just to your local church, give to others.

God Bless!

-Miranda Embry

Praying Psalm Passages

I decided to open up to the book of Psalm yesterday and start reading. I began in Psalm 23 and ended at Psalm 30. God never ceases to amaze me with how on time He is. I marked up the below passages and combined them to read together as a prayer. Collectively these passages read like a powerhouse of adoration, dedication and thanksgiving to Him. I hope they speak to you as they have to me!

-Miranda Embry

Psalm 23:6

6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me

all the days of my life,

and I will live in the house of the Lord

forever.

Psalm 25:4-5, 15, 21

4 Show me the right path, O Lord;

point out the road for me to follow.

5 Lead me by your truth and teach me,

for you are the God who saves me.

All day long I put my hope in you.

15 My eyes are always on the Lord,

for he rescues me from the traps of my enemies.

21 May integrity and honesty protect me.

for I put my hope in you.

Psalm 27:1, 4-6, 11, 13-14

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—

so why should I be afraid?

The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,

so why should I tremble?

4 The one thing I ask of the Lord—

the thing I seek most—

is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

delighting in the Lord’s perfections

and meditating in his Temple.

5 For he will conceal me there when troubles come;

he will hide me in his sanctuary.

He will place me out of reach on a high rock.

6 Then I will hold my head high

above my enemies who surround me.

At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy,

singing and praising the Lord with music.

11 Teach me how to live, O Lord.

Lead me along the right path,

for my enemies are waiting for me.

13 Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness

while I am here in the land of the living.

14 Wait patiently for the Lord.

Be brave and courageous.

Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

Psalm 28: 6-7

6 Praise the Lord!

For he has heard my cry for mercy.

7 The Lord is my strength and shield.

I trust him with all my heart.

He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy.

I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.

Psalm 29:1-2, 11

1 Honor the Lord, you heavenly beings;

honor the Lord for his glory and strength.

2 Honor the Lord for the glory of his name.

Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.

11 The Lord gives his people strength.

The Lord blesses them with peace.

Psalm 30: 10-12

10 Hear me, Lord, and have mercy on me.

Help me, O Lord.

11 You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.

You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy,

12 that I might sing praises to you and not be silent.

O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!

(All verses are in the NLT)

Prayer for use Before Reading God’s Word

Heavenly Father, I want to come to You now before I read Your Word and ask that as I read You would impart Your spiritual wisdom and understanding in me so that I may grow to know You more.

Lord I pray that Your Holy Spirit would bring revelation to the things that You desire from me that I may be a constant vessel for You.

As I read and study Your Word, may I remember that it is through Your Word that I know what it means to follow Jesus and to live a life that glorifies You.

Help me to gain insight into teaching and instruction that all my steps would be guided by You.

Father, I pray that everything I do would be done to Your glory.

I know that it is only through the reading and studying of Your Word that I am able to focus on the pure and lovely things of heaven and am able to truly live.

Let Your Word be a light to my path and let it be a convicting force in my daily walk.

I pray that You would open my eyes to see the glory that is in Your Holy Scriptures so that I may have the endurance to remain steadfast.

I pray that the gift of discernment and revelation would be imparted in me as I study the Scripture so that I may know Your perfect will for my life.

In the might name of Jesus I pray, AMEN!

Derived from: Col. 3:17, Col. 1:9-14, 2 Tim.3:15-17, Psalms 119:105, Matthew 4:4, Romans 15:4, Heb. 4:12, John 1:1, Job 23:12

Miranda Embry

(we do not own the rights to this pic)

Devotional on Joyful Working

I am sure most of you are familiar with the references in the bible where we are to work as through we are working for the Lord in whatever we do; but have you ever really thought about what that looks like? What that means? How it applies to your own life? These were things I had overlooked or not allowed myself to take in the full scope of meaning. So I began to ask myself; where do I work?

1. My paid job
2. At home as a mom, wife, cook, maid, etc.

It has been easy to relate this working to my job, do my best, present myself as a witness for Christ, be appreciative and thankful that I am employed, and the list goes on. But I never thought about my second job in this respect. So here are 4 verses, all linked to working for the Lord that when I read them that “ah-ha” moment hit about my at home duties!

Colossians 3:17

And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Colossians 3:23

Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.

Ephesians 6:7

Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.

Proverbs 31:27

She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness.

Reality hit. Working as though for the Lord includes scrubbing toilets, doing dishes, folding laundry, scooping dog poop, changing diapers, cooking dinner…. Do I act the way these verses say I should as a Christian? NO! I grumble, whine, and complain…I procrastinate, avoid, and even get resentful at times. What a hard pill to swallow right!? How will ever be able to do the chores I dislike the most without the fleshy negativity? How can I have enthusiasm in all this? The answer is simple and found in yet another verse: Philippians 4:13 “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”

Are you struggling with enthusiasm in your paid job, home job, or any other task or duty in your life? We all do; it’s part of our fleshy, selfish nature. We can work on this by first recognizing it, then repenting and praying about it, and last by changing it. This begrudging attitude is a heart condition. As with any other measures of the heart, Jesus can and will work through us if we allow Him to. I still do not like cleaning toilets, but it is much better for me to remain positive and joyful than sour and bitter. When I focus on the good, it makes the bad a lot less noticeable.

Miranda Embry

Bible Study on Adultery

Are you committing adultery? Your first response will likely be: “of course not, I have never been unfaithful to my spouse,” or if you are single perhaps “nope not me I am not married.” Either way, whatever your response it doesn’t really matter. I am speaking on a different kind of adultery- spiritual adultery.

We are considered the bride of Christ. He is to be first and foremost in our lives; above our spouse, above our kids, above our jobs and our worries…is He first in your life or are you putting something else first? Whatever we put before God is an idol; it becomes in essence a God. The first and foremost in our lives is what we cling to, rely on, and pursue most intently. If this is not God, then you are not being faithful.

What does the Word say?

Exodus 20:3 (NLT) “You must not have any other god but me.”

Exodus 34:14 (GWT) “Never worship any other god, because the LORD is a God who does not tolerate rivals. In fact, he is known for not tolerating rivals.”

Matthew 22:37 (NLT) “Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.”

Think about what Jesus said in Matthew for a moment. If there are people or things that you have placed before God, then you cannot adhere to the most important command we are given. It is impossible! To love God first in our lives means we have to rely on Him, we have to die to ourselves daily, we have to crucify our cares and our sin to follow Jesus. What is the predominance of your thought? You can quickly tell if God is first based on this alone. Do you think more about your spouse, your kids, yourself…or do you think more about your relationship with Jesus and ministering to others?

No one is perfect, we all know that. But the point of being a Christian is to try daily to be Christlike. Jesus is our example. If we are avidly seeking His will above all else, and we are faithful in our marriage to Him, the rest of our lives will fall into place!

Proverbs 3:5-6 (HCSB) “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding;
⁶ think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths.”

Search your hearts today, as I have to do every day. Who or what is first in your life? If it isn’t God then repent, ask for help, and commit to living for Him. He will guide you and take care of the rest of your life, put your trust in Him and experience freedom. He must be our first love!

Miranda Embry

Bible Study: Pitfall of Distraction

In the age we are living in it seems there is nothing but distraction. Our focus changes from one thing to the next to the next, never fully resting for a period of time. This is a huge issue in the church today. Satan uses distraction to get our focus off of Jesus and on to anything else that comes along. When I think about what distraction really is, to me it is a spiritual malady, a demonic influence to cause separation from our walk with God.

Every night when I am saying my prayers, random thought after thought pops up and off my mind goes on bunny trails… I have to constantly repent, rebuke, and resume my praying. Truth be told, distraction comes easier than intent focus on God. It takes work to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. It goes against our flesh to focus.

Definitions of distraction:

1. a thing that prevents someone from giving full attention to something else
2. extreme agitation of the mind or emotions

What does the bible say about distraction?

Proverbs 4:25-27 (NLT)

25 Look straight ahead,

and fix your eyes on what lies before you.

26 Mark out a straight path for your feet;

stay on the safe path.

27 Don’t get sidetracked;

keep your feet from following evil.

Luke 10:38-42 (NLT)

38 As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”

1 Corinthians 7:35 (NLT)

35 I am saying this for your benefit, not to place restrictions on you. I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible.

Each of these verses offers powerful insight into the pitfall of distraction. In Proverbs we are warned not to get sidetracked from walking with God which will lead to evil. In Luke we are shown that when we focus on the details of life too much we miss the focus of who is life, Jesus. In 1 Corinthians we are told that when we are given ample amount of instructions it is not to hurt us, but to help us fix our eyes on serving the Lord.

We are a society that is so consumed with what’s next that it is virtually impossible to stay in today. Our minds are trained to move so quickly, taking in only partial information, and focusing on an end rather than the means to the end. As Christians it is our duty to slow down and truly walk with Jesus. Our focus should be on serving Him and reaching the hurt and dying world. Our prayer life and bible studies shouldn’t be a hurried time where we block a few minutes to devote to God; we need to make our devotion to Him first and slot out time for everything else afterwards.

I have noticed this in my daily life just how easy it is to focus on the bills, the work, the TV shows; everything that could take me away from doing what it is I am called to do in the Lord. I am called to prayer, to reading and meditating on His word, to serving and loving others, to share the message of Jesus; if I am focusing on the distractions of life, how can I do these things? Another verse that I have to cling to when I find myself in the pitfall of distraction: Matthew 6:33 (NLT)- “33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Worry, stress, doubt, etc. etc….these are all signs not only of distraction, but of lacking trust in the Lord. We are called to trust Him, Proverbs 3:5 (NLT) clearly relays this message: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.” Trust is another principle we are called to do, when we do not trust in Him that is sin!

This is all well and fine, but how to we break the influence and trap of distraction so that we can put our focus and trust in God?

REPENT OF DISTRACTION, REBUKE THE DEVIL, READ THE WORD, PRAY INTENTIONALLY, GET OUT OF YOURSELF AND HELP SOMEONE, SACRIFICE YOUR SELFISHNESS!

1. Romans 12:1 (NLT) “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.”

2. Luke 9:23 (NLT) “Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me.”

3. Luke 12:30 (NLT) “These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs.”

4. Matthew 10:38-39 (MSG) “If you don’t go all the way with me, through thick and thin, you don’t deserve me. If your first concern is to look after yourself, you’ll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you’ll find both yourself and me.”

5. James 4:7 (NLT) “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

6. 2 Chronicles 7:14 (AMP) “14 If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, pray, seek, crave, and require of necessity My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.”

7. 2 Corinthians 4:5 (NLV) “5 We do not preach about ourselves. We preach Christ Jesus the Lord. We are your servants because of Jesus.”

8. Joshua 1:8 (NLT) “8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.”

All of the answers to this question, and any other question can be found in the word of God. It is our instruction manual, our tangible guide on earth to lead us in righteousness; it is a visible manifestation of our invisible God. I challenge you today to look at your life and take an honest self-appraisal. Where are the areas of distraction that need to be surrendered to God? What areas are hindering you from freedom in Jesus? Pray and ask God to reveal these shortcomings. Rebuke the devil and stand firm in the word of God. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you strength to overcome distraction. It will likely not be an instantaneous change, but when our fallacy is brought to light it begins the healing process and revelation to avoid falling in the trap again.

Miranda Embry

Devotional: The Serenity Prayer

This prayer is near and dear to my heart. For those of you who have read my bio, you know that I have battled addiction. The serenity prayer was something that I was taught early on in sobriety and it helped me to gain my footing back into prayer. For a long time I only knew the first two verses, but when I learned the whole prayer it became one of those life changing affirmations, it became a part of me and it still is today.

We can take a lot from this prayer and as you read it I hope it will minister to you the way that it has to me. As you read it today, really consider each verse; determine how it applies to your life and ask God to move. My favorite saying: “Prayer Changes Things.” Enjoy!

GOD, grant me the serenity
to accept the things
I cannot change,

Courage to change the
things I can, and the
wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardship as the
pathway to peace.

Taking, as He did, this
sinful world as it is,
not as I would have it.

Trusting that He will make
all things right if I
surrender to His Will;

That I may be reasonably happy
in this life, and supremely
happy with Him forever in
the next.

Amen

Miranda Embry

Sneak Peek into eBook in the works!

I am in the process of writing my first book and thought I would share a sneak peek on this page. It is a 31 day reading plan based on Proverbs that will cover a chapter, a key scripture study, an action item, and a prayer each day.

I am hoping to have this released by Christmas!

Here is a tiny piece of the work in progress. This has not been edited and is still raw but I wanted to share with you all regardless!

Daily Study

Proverbs 1:7 (NLT) “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.”

What does it mean to fear the Lord? Aren’t we taught as Christians not to have fear but instead to have faith in the Lord? Yes we are; but this is a different type of fear. This fear is not one of terror but of love, respect, appreciation and reverence towards God. It is absolutely necessary to have this fear if we are going to grow in wisdom and understanding. This reverent fear of our Lord is the very foundation of the ability to understand spiritual principles and divine revelation. A spiritual principle may be something as simple as understanding how a parable that Jesus taught relates to us as a Christian. For instance, when Jesus is sharing about the parable of the sower in Matthew 13, to the unsaved this would seem foolish and they would likely miss the point or derive from it something other than what Jesus intended. The word of God tells us that unless you have the Spirit of God in you it is not possible to understand the truths that are revealed through the word of God (1 Cor. 2:14). These truths are necessary to move from knowledge to wisdom.

Miranda Embry

Devotional on Showing Love to Others:

As I was getting my boys ready for school this morning my oldest son reminded me that we needed to pray. We pray every morning before the boys get on the school bus.

One of the things we always ask for is for others to see Jesus in us. My younger son asked me today why I always pray for that.   And I thought for a brief moment “God give me the words to explain this.” The bible commands us to live a godly life.

I quickly grabbed my bible and read Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

I explained to my boys that for them, that could mean simply being nice to fellow student that is not in the “in” crowd, helping out a teacher or peer, or just simply just letting someone know that you care about what’s going on in their life. As the boys were leaving I gave them a challenge. Start a conversation with someone that you have never spoken to… and let them know you care.

Let that be our challenge not only today, but every day.   Go speak to that co- worker that is typically rude and seems always in a bad mood.   Let them know you care. You may be the only bright light in their life.   Love others that seem unlovable.   Jesus loves everyone… even though we don’t deserve His love.

My prayer for you today is let others see Jesus in everything you do.   You never know whose life you just might change.

Celena Keel

Bible Study: Shine Bright

I found this awesome site yesterday when I did not have my paper bible handy, that every time you refresh the page it gives you a random bible verse; the techy “pray and flip” method (dailyverses.net/random-bible-verse)! Today my verse was Luke 8:16- No one lights a lamp and then covers it with a bowl or hides it under a bed. A lamp is placed on a stand, where its light can be seen by all who enter the house; what an awesome way to start the day!

As soon as I read this verse I was inspired by it as a topic for today. That precious light of God that comes from having a relationship with Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit is in each of us on the day of salvation. It is our duty as Christians to let that light shine bright! Matthew 5:16 says-“ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven”; these words were spoken by Jesus Himself!

So just what does it mean to let your light shine bright? This light we are referencing is Jesus and Jesus is life. John 8:12- Then spoke Jesus again to them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. Walking in the light is walking in the life that Jesus died for us to have, it is the shining of our faith to a hurt and dying world, and it is our witness to righteousness. Our light is the new life of a Christian. Ephesians 5:8-10 is the perfect example of what it means to have the light of Christ: “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light— for the fruit of the light results in all goodness, righteousness, and truth—discerning what is pleasing to the Lord.” You will know when your light is shining bright because the fruits of a life lived in the Spirit will be evident in your life. Refer back to verse 9 of Ephesians 5: “goodness, righteousness and truth”; these are a product of being children of light. To take it further let’s read Galatians 5:22-23- “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”

Our understanding of spiritual truth comes from continued perseverance in our faith and the more we grow the more will be revealed. We will all struggle (Romans 8:23- For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard) but our struggles do not hide this light. Our light is hidden when we are not seeking the Lord, growing in our faith, reading-praying-praising. If we are actively seeking Him there is no way that our light can be hidden!

This light, this life that is pleasing to the Lord and reflects His ways are critically important as a Christian. We may be the only bible some people see and our lives are to reflect Jesus. We are called to be Christ-like. We are called to a Great Commission (Matthew 28:19a- Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations…) and part of this process is allowing the light of Jesus shine bright.

Miranda Embry

This Little Light Of Mine Hymn

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Won’t let Satan blow it out.

I’m gonna let it shine.

Won’t let Satan blow it out.

I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Let it shine til Jesus comes.

I’m gonna let it shine.

Let it shine til Jesus comes.

I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Hide it under a bushel – NO!

I’m gonna let it shine.

Hide it under a bushel – NO!

I’m gonna let it shine, Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Let it shine over the whole wide world,

I’m gonna let it shine.

Let it shine over the whole wide world,

I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

NOTE: This is a mini-study on basic principles, more in-depth studies geared to mature Christians are available upon request