Posted by: Administrator | September 8, 2024

Grace to Testify

Grace To Testify

by Brenda D. Flowers

My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge. With the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD I will come; I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.  (Psalm 71:15-16, ESV) 

And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. (Acts 4: 33, ESV)

Each day for 33 days this summer, during my personal quiet time of Bible study and prayer, I spent part of that time reading personal testimonies of Olympic athletes (found in the Bible App devotional, “Struggle and Triumph:  Olympians’ Stories”).  Each story I  read touched my heart and challenged me to persevere in my personal faith “race”. Their words of tested faith also encouraged me to share my story of God’s intervention in my life with others.

At my church each week, a member gets to testify about their faith journey and how God has answered prayer or helped in some way. I had the opportunity to share recently. 

As I prepared to tell about how God had answered my prayers and how he had helped me, I thought about how the apostle Paul had written his letters testifying of God’s intervention in his life, too. When he wrote his letters to the churches, he challenged the followers of Christ in his day to continue testifying of God’s goodness and His great love. 

 Luke, a physician who traveled with Paul the apostle, recorded these words of Paul, “But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” (Acts 20:24, ESV) 

Laura Story (laurastorymusic.com) is a worship leader and Christian Songwriter and Recording Artist who sees the importance of testifying of God’s intervention in her life. She does so through the words of her songs and by sharing her story on-line and in person. Several years ago, I heard her speak at a women’s conference at a church in Tennessee. There she spoke about how each of us has a special story to tell. We are a part of God’s story. I purchased a T-shirt her team was selling that day. On the shirt are the words, “He’s the God of every story” When I wear this shirt, I am reminded of the great value of tested faith shared in one’s testimony.

God gives us the gift of testimony so we may share it.  

Have you recently opened one of God’s gifts by hearing someone’s testimony?

I try to do so daily. 

     One of the leaders of the organization Bible Study Fellowship recently shared on a Leadership training video, “ “Everything we do (in BSF) is by His grace and for His glory.” 

That challenges me as I step into a new season as a wife, mother, grandmother of five grandsons, sister, cousin, aunt, neighbor, friend, mentor and co-laborer in the body of Christ as children’s leader at BSF, a homeschool teacher for three of my grandsons and a writer called to write to testify of God’s goodness. 

That is my mission statement to glorify God with my actions and words. I’m trusting God to give me the grace to help me in my story. 

We all have a purpose in God’s great story!

Lord, may we devote ourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And may we see our part in Your story. May we trust You to give us the grace to testify of Your goodness. May we remember to pray for our country’s leaders, spiritual leaders and mentors. Please open doors for our messages of tested faith to touch many lives for Your glory. In Jesus’s victorious name, we pray. Amen

Leave a Comment

Posted in Grace | Tags: , , , ,

Posted by: judyhitson | August 26, 2024

The Grace of a Solitary Place

The Grace of a Solitary Place
by Judy Hitson

Mark 1:35 NIV Very early in the morning while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

Soon after coming to know the Lord, I learned the importance of having a quiet time each morning in a quiet place. My heart leaped when I read this pattern of Jesus in Mark 1:35 and of David in Ps.5:3 NKJV My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You and will look up.

This pattern is essential in my life. That is to start each day with the Lord in quiet time in a solitary place. Last month I wrote, The Grace of Worship and see the next step of going to a solitary place in the
presence of God to hear His voice and follow Him is huge! A title of a booklet I treasure comes to mind, My Heart Christ’s Home. I’ve searched but cannot find it but sense the Lord has something He wants to say to me. Perhaps it is just the title. Think about it, “My Heart Christ’s Home.”

Do you practice this grace each morning of going to a solitary place to be with the Lord in prayer?


Take the time. Practice this discipline. It is worth it, for the Lord is worthy. The grace of a solitary place blesses us to grow to the full measure of Christ. How? By investing time with the Lord in prayer, in His
Word, in His presence and receive His power to live in the Spirit receiving His words of life to live Christ.
I think of Paul’s words in Phil.1:21 NKJV For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Yes, the best is yet to come when we are absent from the body and present with the Lord.

Our time on earth is just the beginning to establish and practice a quiet time with the Lord on this side of eternity. As we start our day in a solitary place in the presence of God, we develop an intimate love
relationship with Him through Jesus Christ by His Spirit. We learn to pray without ceasing, like breathing. We learn to practice the presence of God, knowing in Him we live and move and have our being.

Prayer: Thank You Lord for Your example while living on earth, leading us to get up in the early morning to go to a solitary place to pray with our Father in heaven. Amen.

2 Comments

Posted in Grace | Tags: , , , ,

Posted by: Administrator | August 12, 2024

Grace to Find the Way

Grace to Find the Way
by Brenda D. Flowers

Show me the right path, O LORD; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I hope in you…The LORD is good and does what is right; he shows the proper path to those who go astray. (Psalms 25:4-5, 8 NLT)

Recently, my son shared with me an experience he had that l believe God wants me to share with you.

It happened one hot summer evening. My son decided to go jogging on some unfamiliar trails in a densely wooded park. It was late in the day when he started down the trail.

As he was jogging, he veered from one trail to another, and was enjoying the solitude and beautiful forested setting.

Yet, he wasn’t aware how low the sun was in the sky.

When darkness fell quickly, he realized he couldn’t see the path to get back to his car. He didn’t know which way to go.

He was lost!

He thought to himself, I need to find the road to get back, yet he didn’t know which way to go to get to the road.

It was then that he prayed for God’s help.

He jogged quickly in the direction he felt impressed to go, surefooted, although the trail was getting darker and darker. He rejoiced when he found a road and realized it was leading him to a neighborhood.

But when he finally reached the neighborhood, he still needed guidance to know which house to approach. Most of the houses were dimly lit because by then it was very late.

Who would be willing to help a lost stranger who was dripping in sweat at such a late hour?

Again he prayed and in the distance he saw a brightly lit house. Bravely, he knocked on the glass door and was greeted warmly. There a kind family was willing to open their glass door to him and believed his story.

The dad empathized with him by sharing how he too had gotten lost on the park trails at night. He willingly drove my son back to his car at the trailhead’s entrance. My son was impressed by the man’s kindness.

As my son told what had happened, he shared how he believed God had helped him in his time of need by leading him to the right person to help.

This story reminds me that we all will have times in our lives when we may veer off the path God intends us to be on. Yet, if we wake up to this realization and reach out to Him, God is faithful to help us. His grace is sufficient in our times of need.

God’s Word says,

 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4: 16, NKJV)

Do you recall a time when God has helped you when you were lost? Let’s share our stories and impact those around us as we give God the glory for His grace and guidance.

LORD, as the psalmist shared You are good and You do what is right. You show us the proper path when we realize we have gone astray and seek You for help to get on the right path. Thank You for the many times You have helped me. I acknowledge Your guidance and great grace. Thank You for helping me to know The Way.

Leave a Comment

Posted in Grace | Tags: , , , ,

Posted by: judyhitson | July 24, 2024

The Grace of Worship

The Grace of Worship
by Judy Hitson

Psalm 22:27 NKJV All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before You. 28 For the kingdom is the LORD’s, and He rules over the nations.

Hang on Christians! Don’t give up but give all your concerns over to the Lord. We have so much to look forward to, like this time we read of when all the ends of the world remember and turn to the LORD and all the families of the nations worship before Him.

Reading through all of Psalm 22 we see the suffering, praise and posterity of Jesus Christ as Messiah.

What a contrast this is to think about with the decline of the world we are experiencing at this time of history. Yet it gives hope for how wonderful the new heaven and the new earth will be at the second coming of the Lord.

Now to think about the grace of worship, it is a beautiful thing. How could we worship except for the grace of God?! It is a wonderful spiritual fulfillment to embark in the grace of worship. For the Lord is worthy. As we read in Ps. 22:28, “the kingdom is the LORD’s, and He rules over the nations.”

I am thankful for God’s grace and mercy extended to me through my life. That is His great salvation, deliverance and healing.

Just the title alone of this devotional melts my heart!

Worship to me is drawing near to God, soaking in His presence in the Spirit who gives life. I think of
John 4:24 NKJV, God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.

This is all by God’s grace.

Looking up the word grace on Dictionary.com, the Theological definition is “the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God.” How precious to see this facet of God’s grace available to us. Let us practice the grace of worship.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us as Your people to occupy until You come and worship You in the beauty of holiness as You exhort us in Your word. (Ps.29:2, Ps. 96:9)

2 Comments

Posted in Grace | Tags: , , , ,

Posted by: Administrator | July 11, 2024

Grace to Proceed in Trust

Grace to Proceed in Trust
Receive God’s Favor on Life’s Journey
By Brenda D. Flowers

Psalm 84:5, 11-12 NKJV
5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
Whose heart is set on pilgrimage…
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
The LORD will give grace and glory;
No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly.
12 O LORD of hosts, Blessed is the man who trusts in You! 

This summer, I am participating in a small group Bible study, focusing on the Psalms. A new friend, Cynthia, graciously invited me to join her and several other women in her home each Friday morning. By God’s prompting, I decided to attend.

Cynthia is leading the group as we journey more deeply into God’s Word. We are hungry to know the truth of God’s Word and to faithfully apply it in our lives. We want to grow in community to encourage each other as we pray for each other. I did not know any of the other women in this group until we started gathering together. But immediately I felt a unity of the Spirit. 

I see in God’s Word that God wants us to be on pilgrimage with Him and others. We are on mission as His faithful followers.

 When on earth, Jesus modeled His dependence and trust of His Heavenly Father.

As we are studying the Psalms in more depth together, we are realizing how Jesus and his disciples would have known the original lyrics and melodies of these songs and most likely would have sung them together as they were traveling.

Can you imagine Jesus and His disciples singing the words of the Psalms as they walked on paths to future destinations?

“O LORD of hosts, Blessed is the man who trusts in You!”

 Can you imagine how His disciples’ faith grew as Jesus shared stories of God’s faithfulness?

Jesus often quoted God’s Word to His disciples. He was led by His Father to share Truth with them.

Jesus knew His disciples would need help to live purposely with Him. He sent the Holy Spirit to help them stay on His prepared path for each of them.

By the gift of the Holy Spirit, we have God’s grace to live on mission with Him, too. We may endure hardships, but we can trust He is with us. We can proceed forward in our life, experiencing God’s favor and many blessings.

Father in heaven, I want to learn and grow to be more like Jesus, being on mission with Your guidance. Thank You for these readers. I trust You to give us Your grace, Your favor, as we step forward in faith on life’s purposeful pilgrimage. Thank You, Jesus, for showing us the way.

Leave a Comment

Posted in Grace | Tags: , , , ,

Posted by: judyhitson | June 24, 2024

The Grace of Joy

The Grace of Joy
by Judy Hitson

Acts 20:24 NKJV But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

Bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit let Paul know chains and tribulations await him, read:
Acts 20: 22-23 NKJV. These are the things Paul meant when he said none of these things move him.

Can you imagine?

Wow! Only by the power, love and sound mind of God’s Spirit can Paul or anyone else put Christ first to finish their race with joy while awaiting chains and tribulations.

This reminds me of Jesus in Hebrews 12:2 NKJV looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Joy is a choice. The question is: Will I consider it all joy when I encounter various trials? We read about this in James 1:2-3 NASB Consider it all joy my brothers and sisters when you encounter various trials,
knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

If we choose joy in our trials and tribulations, we will be following in the steps of Jesus and as we read in our verse today, we will also follow in the steps of Paul.

Consider the grace of God you’ve experienced in your life. Have you thought about sharing these experiences as the gospel of grace? We often hear the gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ or of the gospel of the kingdom of God. Our verse today gives us the perspective of grace in sharing the gospel. It is the good news of Jesus Christ in our own personal lives as born again Christians led by the Holy Spirit to give glory to Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

In my personal life, God has surely extended His grace to save me from my sins and fill me with His Holy Spirit to give me life to live Christ.

Closing Prayer: Father in heaven, thank You for Your grace, that is Your great love, giving Your only begotten Son Jesus Christ that we may believe in Him and have eternal life. For us who believe, I pray You grant us the power, love and sound mind of Your Spirit to choose joy in our trials realizing it is a test of our faith. Amen.

Leave a Comment

Posted in Grace | Tags: , , , , ,

Posted by: Administrator | June 11, 2024

Grace and Peace from God

Grace and Peace from God
by Brenda D. Flowers

Grace to you and peace from God Our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  (2 Thessalonians 1:2, NKJV)

Do you have any letters or cards you have received that you treasure? I do. In fact, I have special boxes where I keep these treasures.

Why keep these letters and cards?

I guess I’m sentimental. But I believe the reason I keep these “treasure boxes” filled with letters and cards is because of the messages hidden within them.

The words encourage me. As I read the words, I recall special memories or people. The words, especially the handwritten messages, also give me inspiration, hope and love.

Even after reading only a few of them, I feel energized to share more with others so they too may be encouraged and blessed as I have been.

I love that the Bible includes the letters of people of faith who had first-person encounters with Jesus after His resurrection.

The Bible to me is a treasure book or love letter. I can read over and over the inspired words of God and be encouraged.

I notice that the writers of the letters in the New Testament (Paul, Peter, John and others) often included the statement “grace to you and peace from God” (or similar wording) somewhere in the greeting, body or closing of their letters.

For example, when Paul wrote his letter to a predominantly Gentile audience in Rome, he was inspired to write:

To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1: 7,  NKJV)

 Grace and peace are like book ends to the glorious life we can experience in Christ.

The writers of the epistles, under the direction of Holy Spirit, wanted us to know this truth.

I encourage you to read through the letters in the New Testament and jot down key messages about God’s grace and peace that comfort and inspire you.

You might want to keep these special love messages from God in a treasure box or journal to recall and share.

I am excited to see how God uses the letters in the Bible to encourage us to live for Him. May our lives exemplify His grace and peace and inspire others to trust Jesus Christ for resurrection life, giving Him glory.

Leave a Comment

Posted in Grace | Tags: , , , ,

Posted by: judyhitson | May 29, 2024

The Grace of Inheritance

The Grace of Inheritance
by Judy Hitson

Acts 20:32 ESV And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

Grace truly is God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.

He suffered, died and was buried for us as sinners to save us from our sins and He was raised from the dead to give us eternal life with an eternal inheritance and eternal rewards. In our key verse we read that God gives us the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. When we are born again of the Spirit at the second birth, we receive salvation. Sanctification, is a process of maturing in Christ.

As for inheritance, we find in Gal. 4:7 NLT Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are His child, God has made you His heirs.

How wonderful that God has given us so great a salvation to be His children adopted into His family and make us His heirs.

I don’t know about you, but for me it is difficult to grasp being joint heirs with Christ, Rom. 8:17. Yet it is true for it is the word of God.

How then shall we live in light of this truth?

I hear, “All that is mine is His and all that is His is mine.”

Let us walk in the reality of the grace of our inheritance and have the assurance of the authority we have in Christ when we pray, live and minister to those in need. For example, consider deliverance and healing, mercy and compassion, protection and provision and more.

 Remember Christ in you the hope of glory, Col.1:27. Let us walk in the reality that Christ is our Blessed Assurance. Perhaps you are and experience the fruit of your labor. In that case, I applaud your maturity in Christ.

For me, I see it is a progression step by step in the Spirit and by the Spirit giving us life to live Christ who is our inheritance (Lam.3:24; Ps.16:5). As we stand on the promise of God’s inheritance as His children, we can experience the blessing of the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control, Gal. 5:22-23.

In 2020, we wrote on the topic of inheritance. If interested, check ChristianWritersCircle.com and look back at the writings that year.

Prayer: Thank You Lord for the blessing of Your grace of inheritance for us who are sanctified.

Leave a Comment

Posted in Grace | Tags: , , , , ,

Posted by: Administrator | May 15, 2024

A Place to Find Grace

A Place to Find Grace
by Brenda D. Flowers

15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 
16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4: 15-16 NKJV)

Have we fully grasped what Jesus accomplished when He came to earth, lived a sinless life and died on the cross? His broken body and blood sacrifice paved the way for us to have restored relationship with our heavenly Father, extending to us His mercy and grace through Jesus Christ.

 At the time of Jesus’s death, the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom. God was making it clear to all the people who observed this miraculous event and to us in the gospels that no longer was it necessary for God’s people to go through a regular priest to have access to God. 

Jesus Christ is the Mediator of a better covenant. 

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 2:5, NKJV)

May we fully believe and understand that we may come boldly to God’s throne of grace because of the work of Jesus Christ. 

When we spend time in communication with God through prayer, we receive grace for our daily living. Grace is the power, the desire and the working of God’s Spirit to do God’s will in our lives. 

When a person yields his sinful life to God, fully trusting in Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth and the life, he is saved through the power of God’s Holy Spirit at work in him. 

But beyond our initial salvation, God gives us grace to live life victoriously each day as we rely on Him. 

Lord, may we surrender the throne of our lives, our control, to You. You love us and provide the help we need to live abundant lives standing for Truth. Thank You, Jesus, for being the way, the truth and the life. As our Great High Priest, we can trust You to intercede for us and to give us the grace to live to give You glory.

What a joy it is to enter into Your presence, Lord, which is the place where we find grace.

Leave a Comment

Posted in Grace | Tags: , , , ,

Posted by: judyhitson | April 22, 2024

The Grace of Deliverance

The Grace of Deliverance
by Judy Hitson

Romans 7:6 NKJV But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

I grew up hearing and believing the Gospel. That is the Good News of Jesus Christ.

The problem I had was being taught faith in Jesus Christ through good works. That may come under the category of a false gospel. Do you think?

All I knew was being steeped in the doctrine of a particular denomination. This caused me to miss the  true gospel which is to “believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved…” Acts 16:31.

When it came to the Bible, it was a Holy Book for the church leaders to read and explain.  At the time, it wasn’t a book we were encouraged to read on our own. 

I was taught rituals to follow and prayers to memorize. It was like following the law, not learning about grace and the love of Christ.

Praise God, after being born again when I was 36 yrs. old, He brought Christian women in my life. They invited me to a weekly prayer group in a home, took me to a Women’s Christian Bible Conference and asked me to join a weekly Women’s Bible Study. After a few years of growing as a woman of the Word, I learned of a woman teaching on Deliverance and Healing at a church. The teaching and her testimony brought me to tears. Though I was learning to walk with Jesus, I felt like Lazarus coming out of the grave with grave clothes to remove. The teacher had an invitation for prayer. I couldn’t go forward fast enough wanting her to pray for me.

I won’t go into detail of this experience except to say when she prayed for me it was like she read my mail. No one ever prayed for me like that. She took authority against religious spirits and invited the Holy Spirit to minister life to me and freedom in Christ. When I left the church that day I was free in Christ’s love and life in His Spirit. Instead of following church rules and regulations, I learned to practice the presence of God where there is fullness of joy, Ps. 16:11.

Prayer: Thank You Lord for the ongoing ministry of Deliverance to deliver us from bondage and set us free in Christ. Amen.    

Leave a Comment

Posted in Grace | Tags: , , , ,

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »

Categories