When Innocent Thoughts Become Demanding Dictators

Posted on February 27, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

 

I read the Proverbs 31 Ministries devotional every morning. Today, they’re featuring a devotional I wrote. You can read it here,

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Morning Prayer: Amazing Love

Posted on February 27, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

Good morning, Lord. You oversee the universe, and You pay attention to my every thought. You keep this planet spinning on its axis, and You watch over my every step. You spoke the sun, moon and stars into existence, and You speak into my heart. You love the world, and You love little ol’ me. Amazing love!

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Lenten Love

Posted on February 27, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

“Was it for crimes that I have done,
he groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! Grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!”
Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed
Isaac Watts, 1702


John 15:13 (NLT)
There is no greater love than to
lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

No greater love, amazing love!

 

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Morning Prayer: Faith

Posted on February 26, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

Good morning, Lord. I’ve been through many Lenten seasons in my life, and I can’t imagine how I would get through a day without You. Your ministry, death and resurrection are integral to my own story: I am loved, saved, protected and guided by You, and for that I am truly grateful. As a song says, “no turning back, I’ve come this far by faith.“

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Lenten Music

Posted on February 25, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

From childhood to the present, I’ve heard and sung old hymns over and over. The first few notes or words can bring the whole hymn to mind. This week I’ll be highlighting the music of Lent–that is, some of the hymns that float through my head as I ponder Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.


Guilty, helpless, lost were we;
blameless Lamb of God was he,
sacrificed to set us free:
Hallelujah, what a Savior!
Man of Sorrows, What a Name
Phillip P. Bliss, 1875

We are free in Christ.

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Morning Prayer: Restore My Soul

Posted on February 23, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

Good morning, Lord. When I break something, it’s usually a mistake. But when You break my rebellious, stubborn, hard-hearted spirit, it is good. So break me, O God! Sweep away the remaining chunks of pride, bitterness and defiance. Clean me, make me better, restore my soul.

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Lent: Broken by God

Posted on February 23, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

 

Lent brings to mind Christ’s sacrifice — His body broken for us.

What do we sacrifice for Him?

 

Psalm 51:17 (NLT)
The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. 

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit … That is humbled under a sense of sin; has true repentance for it; is smitten, wounded, and broken with it, by the word of God in the hand of the Spirit, which is a hammer to break the rock in pieces.”
John Gill, 1697-1771
Exposition on the Old Testament

Broken to bits … by the hammer of God’s Word.

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Morning Prayer: Resisting Temptation

Posted on February 22, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott


Good morning, Lord. Why is it that temptation rears its nasty head just when I think, “I’m good”? I know, the enemy wants to get me off track, to put an end to my progress. Forgive me for giving in so easily.


Dear God, give me the wisdom to be prepared for temptation, and grant me the self-discipline to respond by looking to You. Teach me to respond as Jesus did, by standing firmly in the truth of Your Word.

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Lent: Facing Temptation

Posted on February 21, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

 

The 40 days of Lent remind us that Jesus was tempted.

 


“Jesus Christ was just beginning his public ministrations. As one saith, “So long as Jesus Christ had nothing to meddle with but the chips in his father’s carpenter’s shop, the devil never tempted Him, but now that He was beginning to proclaim glad tidings to the poor, the devil attacked Him.” … Satan will find some extraordinary means of tempting him whom God puts upon extraordinary service.”
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
“Tempted of the Devil,” 1864

Serve God, proclaim the gospel, and don’t give in to temptation.

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Morning Prayer: Better Things

Posted on February 21, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

Good morning, Lord. Teach me to make room for better things by giving up foolish things. Teach me to let go of gossip and replace it with encouragement, to swap out thoughtless snacking for mindful appreciation for tastes and textures, coveting for contentment, endless scrolling though social media for Bible study, criticism for prayer.

Teach me self-discipline, in Jesus’ name.

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