Posted by: Administrator | January 7, 2026

Press Pause

Press Pause
Discover God’s Faithfulness
by Brenda D. Flowers

…let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, …Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, …(Hebrews 10: 22a, 23-24, NKJV, consider reading all of Hebrews 10 for context)

My fourth grade grandson told me recently that his teacher says, “Press pause” when she wants him and his classmates to stop what they are doing to listen to her directions or instructions. When I taught, I used other methods to get my students’ attention, but I think saying this simple command is a great way to get the attention of this computer literate generation of children.

“Press pause.”

Those words kept coming to mind as I prepared to write my post for the new year. I realized it was important for me to pause to listen to God’s voice of direction.

Quiet time periods alone with God allow us time to recalibrate our lives. God’s guidance is key for us to move forward in His will.

At the end of each year, since the beginning of this website, we who post monthly have paused to intentionally seek God’s direction regarding what theme or key word God wants us to focus on in our writing for the coming year.

 As I think back over the years, I recognize God’s faithfulness not only in giving us a key word, but also His faithfulness in helping each writer to know what to write about that topic each month. You may want to look back at our past posts to read the messages God gave us to share.

As we have paused to press in close to God to hear what He wants us to write, we have been blessed and our prayer is that our writing will continue to encourage many people this year and in the future.

I am excited to share that this year, we will be writing about the word, “Faithful.”

What new nuggets of truth will God reveal to us this year? Let’s discover them together. We can trust that God who is faithful will bless our time together.

Prayer:

Lord, I’m excited as I think about Your faithfulness and how we can trust You to guide us in this new year in discovering more about the word, “Faithful”. As we pause from our busy lives to press in closely to You, to listen to Your voice in still quiet times, may we hear clearly Your guiding words. May our time listening, journaling, reading Your Word and applying what You teach or show us be an offering of praise to You. Thank You for sending Holy Spirit to help us to be more and more like Jesus. In Jesus’s mighty name I pray.

1 Comment

Posted in Faithful | Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Posted by: judyhitson | December 19, 2025

Holy, Holy, Holy

Holy, Holy, Holy
by Judy Hitson

Revelation 4: 8b NKJV “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was, and is and is to come.”

Come let us worship Him, our eternal God who always was, always will be and always remains the same. These underlined words I learned as a child and thought of as I read our verse, Who was, and is and is to come.
Our God is unchanging.

Revelation Chapter 4 is from The Throne Room of Heaven. In verse one, we read a voice saying, Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this. Yes let us worship our holy God who sits on the throne. In verse 11 we read: You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.

How wonderful it is to receive revelation and understanding as we read, study and meditate on God’s Word, the Bible. The Holy Spirit highlights all God wants us to see and understand about Him and what He is saying to us in personal ways to live Christ, day by day, moment by moment.

As we close this year, 2025, on holiness, let us bow down and worship the Lord, our God, who sits on the throne in heaven and waits to return for us who wait for His appearing.

Christ has come and we celebrate His first coming each Christmas as Christians. Yet in this world, we see parades and programs present Santa Claus, rather than Christ. Times have dramatically changed since I was a child. I remember Christmas parades when choirs sang of Jesus’s birth and floats presented the live Nativity scene of Bethlehem. Only in our churches do we see the birth of Christ presented and displayed. In our Malls, I remember Christmas season was the only time I heard Christmas carols to sing of Christ’s birth. I remember the transition to only secular Christmas songs and no longer the Christmas carols of old sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. I was grieved when this occurred, sad that the light of the world, Jesus Christ, was being snuffed out by secularism. Prayer: Father in heaven, let the church bells ring and help us who know the true meaning of Christmas share the Good News of Jesus Christ who was  born of a virgin, named Mary. Praise and thanksgiving for sending Him to be the Savior of the world. Thank You Jesus for dying on a cross to save us from our sins and receive eternal life. Help us to share Your resurrection, Jesus, and Your 2nd Coming as we wait for Your return. In Your name Jesus.  Amen.

Leave a Comment

Posted in Holiness | Tags: , , , , , , ,

Posted by: Administrator | December 5, 2025

Receive God’s Holy Gift

Receive God’s Holy Gift
by Brenda D. Flowers

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! (2 Corinthians 9:15, NKJV)

Since I was a child,  I have loved the time period between the holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas, especially the festive times with family and friends singing carols.

As a little girl, I remember my excitement and anticipation of what gifts I might receive on Christmas morning. When I saw a gift exquisitely wrapped with my name on it, I was thrilled with wonder regarding what might be inside. It was very difficult for me to wait until Christmas morning to open my special present.

Think back to times in your life when you saw a beautifully wrapped package and wondered what was inside. It’s possible, though, some of you don’t recall a time like that. Maybe when you think back over your life, you don’t recall fun family times or times of joyful anticipation.

As I write this post, I feel sensitive towards you and others who may be crying inside, longing for someone to care enough to give them a wrapped gift.

I have wonderful news for you and them.

Someone has prepared the best gift one could ever receive.

God Himself. God has given all humanity the opportunity to have a restored relationship with Him.

His gift is even greater than we can imagine! We who receive His amazing gift will unwrap it all of our lives.

When we receive His gift of grace, His Son, Jesus Christ, we are given the way to eternal life. When we accept God’s love gift, we are indwelled by His Holy Spirit. We are immediately changed and yet we are also in the process of being changed. We who receive God’s love gift are in the process of being changed to be holy as He is holy. What an indescribable gift!

Christ Jesus is the gift who keeps on giving. 

As I meditate on the scriptures that tell of God’s gift to us, I feel like I am continually unwrapping His present to me.

To me, His sweet presence in each present moment is the best present of all.

Wonder with me:

How will our world be impacted if we truly receive God’s gift to us and live for Him?

One of my favorite promises in the Bible is this truth:

…Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1: 27b, NKJV)

1 Comment

Posted in Holiness | Tags: , , , , , , ,

Posted by: judyhitson | November 28, 2025

Highway of Holiness

Highway of Holiness
by Judy Hitson

Is. 35:8a NKJV  A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.

The highway of holiness is not a road to travel on but is a way of life. Jesus said to him(Thomas, one of His disciples), “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me, John 14:6.
God disciplines and trains us to share in His holiness, Heb. 12:10. We have a choice to follow the Lord or to go our own way.

In Is. 35, we read of the future glory of Zion. We have so much to look forward to when we choose to follow Jesus Christ as our Lord and our God. Let us choose to be holy, that is set apart for the Lord’s purpose. Let us choose to be pure and unstained by the world. We have the privilege now to taste God’s glory.

Zion is the city of God, Heb. 12:22 NKJV and is also called, the city of David, 1 Kings 8:1. We read about the New Jerusalem, a new heaven and new earth, a time when all things are made new, Rev. 21:1-5.

Until then, let us choose a life of holiness to the Lord and be blessed to walk on the highway of holiness, living a righteous life, pleasing the Lord.

Take time to consider some factors of what this future glory of Zion entails according to Is. 35 NKJV:
…..the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose…………even with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given it, the excellence of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the LORD, the excellency of our God.
Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.
Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear!
…your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you.”
…the eyes of the blind shall be open, the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
…the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing,
…waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.
The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water;
A highway shall be there…..called the Highway of Holiness.
The unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for others.
Whoever walks the road, although a fool, shall not go astray.
No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beasts go up on it;…….
the redeemed shall walk there, and the ransomed of the LORD shall return,
and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Lord, help us follow You and walk in Your ways until You come. Amen.

Leave a Comment

Posted in Holiness | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by: Administrator | November 12, 2025

Holy Supplications

Holy Supplications

by Brenda D. Flowers

“…Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord’s sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate. O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name;  for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of your great mercies. O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.” (Daniel 9: 17-19, NKJV)

 This fall, I have been reading and studying the book of Daniel alongside other women who attend Bible Study Fellowship. On Wednesday, I serve by co-teaching a class of sixteen preschoolers (mostly two year olds).

  Our most recent lesson was entitled “Daniel’s Prayer” based upon Daniel 9. In verses 3-13, one can read the longest prayer in the Old Testament, the prayer of faithful Daniel.

In this prayer, Daniel humbly confesses his and his nation’s sins and he acknowledges and praises his God, the God of the Bible.

What a blessing it has been to get to share God’s Word with these dear children. Here are the truths, I had the privilege of teaching the preschoolers recently from Daniel 9:

“God’s Attribute:  Accessible (God is always ready to listen to us.)”

“Main Truth: God hears His people pray.”

 As I studied Daniel’s prayer and the key concepts to be taught to the preschoolers, I questioned myself, “ When I pray, do I reverently and humbly approach God, giving Him the respect and honor He deserves? Do I acknowledge His character? Do I trust Him with my whole heart, remembering how He truly is with me and recalling the many times He has helped me?

After praising and acknowledging the sovereignty of God, do I present my supplications, my requests, my cares with the belief that my Heavenly Father who sent Jesus to take all my sins and griefs, loves me, hears me and will answer me in the way that is best?

Or do I start my prayer time, with my supplications, my prayer requests, like a selfish immature child crying to get what she wants even though what she wants may not be good or really needed?”

  By digging deep into the book of Daniel from the Old Testament of the Bible, I have been intrigued by his amazing life of devotion to God and how God blessed him through many trials. God answered Daniel’s holy supplications, in powerful ways.

I am thankful Daniel trusted and obeyed God. I am thankful for His holy supplications and the wise model he set for how to pray.

Daniel obediently wrote down the words God told him to write and God’s Word speaks to us today.

When we trust God wholly with our supplications and when we persevere through trials with God’s help as Daniel did, we can trust we too will receive our blessed hope of eternal life in Glory. 

Prayer:

Thank you, Lord, for the revelation and understanding gained through reading Daniel’s holy supplications. Please teach us, Lord, to pray as Daniel prayed with the assurance You hear and answer our prayers. In Jesus’s name, I pray. Amen

Leave a Comment

Posted in Holiness | Tags: , , , , , ,

Posted by: judyhitson | October 27, 2025

Holy Habitation

Holy Habitation
by Judy Hitson

Exodus 15:13 NKJV You in Your mercy have led forth The people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength To Your holy habitation.

How beautiful to consider God in His mercy leading us, His redeemed people; guiding us in His strength to His holy habitation. I believe He calls us to create a holy habitation on earth, following His example.

Is your home holy to the Lord?

That question brings mixed emotions to my heart with conviction. On one hand, we have peace in our home where family gathers with laughter and fellowship. Sometimes we have times of serious conversations and prayer. These times are holy to the Lord. God has brought many changes in our home since I was born again for which I am eternally grateful.

For our home to be a holy habitation to the Lord, I see areas of needed change. For example, when our buttons are pushed, may we mature in Christ to respond with God’s love and kindness,   not react in anger or fear. With television programs we watch, I confess the lure to secular shows that are entertaining. Are these holy to the Lord? That is the question to ask with our selections as well as our conversations with those who come to our home.

As I consider what holy means, to be pure and unstained by the world, I think of Col. 3:2 NKJV Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth; Ps. 46:10 Be still and know that I am God…

Oh my! Conviction on my heart nudges me to change some habits in our home. It brings to mind a word the Lord spoke to me from 1 Thess. 1:9 NKJV. That is to “turn to God from idols to serve the living and true God.” At that time, the Lord convicted me of food idolatry, especially sugar. There was a time our youngest daughter in law offered to go through our food supply and get rid of unhealthy foods. I did not comply.

As I write this devotional, I see television is an idol in my life.

Are there areas in your life that come to mind for your home to be a holy habitation?

Prayer: Lord make ways for us to change bad habits to make our home a holy habitation pleasing to You. Amen. 

Leave a Comment

Posted in Holiness | Tags: , , , ,

Posted by: judyhitson | October 15, 2025

Holy Ambassadors

Holy Ambassadors
by Brenda D. Flowers

Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God was pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:20-21, NKJV)

During a recent fall break vacation, I finally had some time to relax and read a book. Before traveling,  I grabbed a book off my bookshelf,  one my sister had given me several years ago. I wasn’t sure why I felt impressed to grab that book but once I finished reading it I knew.

The book was Unlocked, They looked for a miracle and found it in a song, by Karen Kingsbury, a New York Times bestselling author well known for her inspirational books. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2010)

 As a former special education teacher, I was intrigued by the title and the storyline centered around “unlocking” a young man, a senior in high school who was diagnosed as having Autism when he was three years old. As I read the book, however, I realized Mrs. Kingsbury had woven a beautiful story testifying of God’s grace and ability to free us all from our sins and entrapments.

Since Charlie Kirk’s passing on September 10, 2025, I have been meditating on the importance of faithful living and how we, as followers of Christ, are called to be ambassadors for Him. Charlie’s life, although I never met him, has impacted me and my desire to live for God.

And now I realize Karen Kingsbury is another ambassador for Christ who has impacted me. Her writing and life testifies of the Lord. I too want to be a writer who will testify of God’s grace to impact people for Him.

As I think back over my life, I realize there have been many other holy ambassadors God has used to help me on my journey of faith.

During the winter of 1976, God used several young women on my hall at the dorm of George Peabody College of Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee to share their testimonies of faith and to invite me to a Campus Crusade outreach. The night of that event, January 21, 1976, was when I rededicated my life to the Lord Jesus. I experienced God’s holy presence as I was unlocked by His Spirit.

In this post, I want to thank all the people in my life who have served as holy ambassadors for Christ sharing their faith with me.

Are there people in your life who have impacted your journey of faith? 

Heavenly Father, thank you for Your great love and for using Your faithful ones to impact my life. May I be a holy ambassador for You. In Jesus’s mighty name I pray. Amen

Leave a Comment

Posted in Holiness | Tags: , , , ,

Posted by: judyhitson | September 26, 2025

Holy Temple

Holy Temple
by Judy Hitson

1 Cor. 6:19 NKJV Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

Wow! Think about it Christian, that your body is a temple of God’s Holy Spirit.

What comes to mind as you think about that?

For me, it is convicting and revealing my need of change. Although I pray to be filled, anointed and empowered by the Holy Spirit, the desires of the flesh lure me at times to veer off God’s ways. There have been many changes in my life since I received Christ as a born again Christian that I will be eternally grateful for. Yet after 45 years, there are still areas I struggle with in my life.    

Being in my latter years, I confess there are still some guilty pleasures I enjoy from junk foods to watching some secular programs on TV. I hear my youngest son say, “Mom, I can’t believe you watch that!”

The Lord prompted me to memorize the following verse one day during my quiet time and it struck my heart to the core. My need is to hear and consider what the Lord is saying to me in personal ways for my life.

James 1:21 NKJV Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

That verse brings to mind, 1 Peter 1:9 NKJV receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.

Think about the end of our faith as the salvation of our souls, our mind, will and emotions. That is my desire but I see that I have a long way to go. The way I see it from the Bible, we receive Christ in our spirit when we are born again and as we mature in our faith, we pray and long to be filled with the Spirit, filling our spirit and soul. Praise God for the Holy Spirit who gives us life to live Christ with our body as a holy temple.  

This morning as I was writing this devotional, the following verse seemed perfect for our closing prayer:

2 Cor. 7:1 NKJV Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Leave a Comment

Posted in Holiness | Tags: , , , , , , ,

Posted by: Administrator | September 12, 2025

Holy Thinking

Holy Thinking
By Brenda D Flowers

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (2 Corinthians 5:17, NLT)

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God— this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2, NIV)

Have you ever experienced a battle in your mind, a time when you were struggling to enter into God’s rest and peace?

Although I have been a Christian for almost fifty years, I still have times when I have thoughts I know are not in line with God’s will, often these are worry or fearful thoughts. Other times, I experience unrest knowing God is trying to get my attention. 

Sometimes, I wake up in the middle of the night, unable to get back to sleep. This happened to me a few weeks ago. 

The next day, I thought about my restless night and recorded this experience in my prayer journal. As I took my thoughts to God in prayer, I thought about how Jesus often got up in the dark to spend time with His Father in prayer. He modeled what to do. 

When I was younger in my faith, I often allowed negative unholy thoughts to overcome me. But as I have matured in my faith, I now stand on the promises of God and the truth that I live and move and have my being in Christ. Holy Spirit helps me to be an overcomer. 

I believe I have the mind of Christ. I am not who I once was. God is at work in me by His Spirit and I can have His holy thinking. 

Here are promises I stand on: 

Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. (Psalm 62:1, NIV) 

The LORD is my light and my salvation-whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1, NIV)

I realize I have a choice to: 

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (Col 3:2, NKJV) 

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Phil. 4: 8, NIV)

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. (1 Peter:  6-7, NKJV)

If I am feeling continued unrest, I intentionally ask God to help me to know what He is saying to me. Sometimes, He has awakened me to intercede for other people. At times, He wants me to be still and allow Him to search my heart and cleanse me. Or He may just want to spend time in fellowship with me in the stillness of the night. 

 Holy Spirit is my Comforter and Constant Companion, God’s gift to me to help me know God’s will and think Holy thoughts. 

Praise the Lord! 

Let’s join our hearts in faith and worship as we trust that Jesus Christ sent Holy Spirit to us as a gift so we may truly know the will of God and can be victorious in our thinking. 

Leave a Comment

Posted in Holiness | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by: judyhitson | August 19, 2025

Holy Counsel

 Holy Counsel
by Judy Hitson

Romans 7:12 The Message
But the law code itself is God’s good and common sense, each command sane and holy counsel.

God’s law sets the standard. Only by the Spirit of God can we meet that standard little by little, Ex.23:30 NKJV Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land.
Deut.7:22 NKJV And the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you little by little; you will be unable to destroy them at once, lest the beasts of the field become too numerous for you.

God will take care of us as we trust in Him. Did you notice that it is the Lord who drives out our enemies before us little by little? As we rely on Him, put our trust in Him, He fights our battles. He will lead us in His ways and comfort us with His counsel which is holy.

We read in Is.9:6 His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor…. As we spend time in God’s word and prayer, wait in His presence to hear Him speak words of life and live a holy life unto Him, we receive holy counsel which is wonderful.

God’s law is holy, righteous and good. Rom.7:12 ESV So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. :14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin.
By the Spirit, as born again Christians, through the holiness of God, we can overcome sin. The Holy Spirit resides in us to give us life, 2 Cor.3:6; John 6:63.

The holy counsel of God in my own life has varied:

1. In times of personal communion with Him during Bible reading and prayer, words would leap off the page revealing God’s way for my life.
2. In small group Bible studies, I would ponder in my heart the Scriptures we studied and God’s word would come alive for me to apply in my life.
3. Personal testimonies of others as well as many Christian books touched my heart in regards to my own circumstances.
4. There was a Bible verse on the roof top of an old barn that I saw as our family once traveled in east Tennessee. Knowing the Holy Spirit was speaking to me, I asked my husband to stop to take a photo of it.
5. There have been billboards with Bible quotes that God caught my attention through the years; they were “Now words” He spoke to me regarding current situations in my life at the time.
6. The Lord blesses me with His holy counsel through pastor sermons from God’s word.
7. Through Christian ministry for deliverance and inner healing.

In each of these examples, they aligned with God’s word and I discovered that is the key for the holy counsel of God.

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for Your holy counsel for us in personal ways to help us follow You Jesus day by day, even moment by moment. Amen.

1 Comment

Posted in Holiness | Tags: , , , , , , ,

Older Posts »

Categories