Shirlee Abbott

Serendipity? Or Divine Intervention?

Posted on March 7, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

Serendipity — unexpectedly happy findings; wonderful discoveries.

My Bible study overflows with serendipity:

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 (MSG)
No one’s ever seen or heard anything like this,
Never so much as imagined anything quite like it—
What God has arranged for those who love him.

But you’ve seen and heard it because God by his Spirit has brought it all out into the open before you.

The Spirit, not content to flit around on the surface, dives into the depths of God, and brings out what God planned all along.

Delightful discoveries in God’s Word … thanks to the divine intervention of the Spirit.

Posted in Constructive Thought | Tagged 1 Corinthians 2:9-10, Bible study, Holy Spirit, serendipity | Comments Off

Morning Prayer: Thank You

Posted on March 6, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

Good morning, Lord. Thank You for watching over me last night. Thank You for guiding my comings and goings today. Thank You for ordaining all my days before one of them came to be (Psalm 139:16). Thank You for eternal life in Your presence. Thank You for Your death and resurrection.

Posted in Morning Prayer | Tagged gratitude, morning prayer, Psalm 138:16 | Comments Off

Fate? Or Divine Intervention?

Posted on March 6, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

Fate.

People use the term to describe an unavoidable outcome.

Left to fate, we are without hope. With divine intervention, our outcome will be glorious. Per Jesus’ prayerful words:

John 17:24 (NLT)
Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!

Not fate. God’s intervention.

Posted in Constructive Thought | Tagged divine intervention, fate, John 17:24 | Comments Off

Morning Prayer: Here and Now

Posted on March 5, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

Good morning, Lord. How often have You directed events to bring me to this place at this time? It’s no accident of nature, no coincidence, no mistake. This has been Your plan from the start. You have put me here, like Queen Esther in her day, “for such a time as this” (Esther 3:14).

Now Lord, what is it You want me to do?

Posted in Morning Prayer | Tagged coincidence, for such a time as this, here and now, morning prayer | Comments Off

Coincidence? Or Divine Intervention?

Posted on March 5, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

Acts tells how the treasurer from Ethiopia met Philip on the road. I wonder if the Ethiopian thought it was a coincidence.

Scripture tells us it was no coincidence — it was divine intervention.

Acts 8:26 (NLT)
As for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to him, “Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.”

A coincidence is when two unrelated evets happen at the same time, seemingly by chance. Philip and the Ethiopian met, not by chance, but by divine appointment.

How about you? Any divine appointments lately?

Posted in Constructive Thought | Tagged Acts 8:26, conicidence, divine appointment, divine intervention, Philip and the Ethiopian | Comments Off

Morning Prayer: Divine Intervention

Posted on March 4, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

Good morning, Lord. Thank You for the many times You intervene on my behalf. Sometimes I’m relieved, sometimes I’m frustrated, and sometimes I don’t even notice. But You notice it all, and You watch over my every move. You know when I come and go (Psalm 139:3).

You are my Protector, my Teacher and my Guide — past, present and future — and I am grateful.

Posted in Morning Prayer | Tagged divine intervention, morning prayer | Comments Off

Luck? Or Divine Intervention?

Posted on March 3, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

This week’s sermon focused on Old Testament Jonah — the guy God told to go to Nineveh, the guy who got on a ship going the opposite way. On the ship, in the middle of a great storm, the sailors cast lots to find the person responsible for the storm. Thus Jonah’s secret became public. Bad luck, or divine intervention?

The sailors threw Jonah overboard. The result: Jonah, the sailors and the people of Nineveh all got right with God.

No question — divine intervention.

Posted in Constructive Thought | Tagged divine intervention, Jonah, luck | Comments Off

Morning Prayer: The Cross

Posted on March 1, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

Good morning, Lord. In our churches, with their polished and lighted crosses, it’s easy to forget the ugliness of Your cross. Forgive me for my lopsided focus: seeing Your love and forgetting Your holiness, seeing the empty tomb and forgetting the cross, feeling the joy and forgetting the pain.

Teach me to own up to my sin and appreciate the enormity of Your sacrifice.

Posted in Lent, Morning Prayer | Tagged morning prayer, sacrifice, the cross | Comments Off

Lenten Bliss

Posted on February 29, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

“What wondrous love is this
that caused the Lord of bliss
to bear the dreadful curse
for my soul, for my soul.”
Christian folk hymn, 1800s

Bliss — perfect happiness, complete joy.

Jesus, the “Lord of bliss,” went through the opposite of bliss … for you, for me.

Posted in Lent, Timeless Wisdom | Tagged bliss, Lent, Timeless Wisdom, wondrous love | Comments Off

Morning Prayer: Pardon and Sanctify