"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion — to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair."~from ISAIAH 61 Bible verse for this Blog

APOLOGY to READERS who followed a SEARCH to HERE & didn't find it

On July 18, 2017, I drafted almost 3000 blog posts that I had published since 2008 when I began blogging, rather than edit each one. So if you clicked here from somewhere else and ended up with the post unavailable or error, I am sorry but this is why. It'd be too much work for me to go back and fix them. There's an explanation on 7/19/17 as I'm still learning.

Sunday, April 9, 2017

SOS ~ "YOU ARE FREE" 3 (now also 4, 5, 6)

 UPDATE (4-23-17) now WEEK 6 (scroll to below)
{right now this is here, but it will be moved back to 4-9-17}



... when I published this back on 4-9-17 and knew it was Holy Week, I should have also let you know that I would not be finishing this along with the current Faith Gateway Online Bible Study group, but at a later date - because I know that I need to, that I still am not FREE in any stretch of the imagination as I should be, but know the freedom I am so richly blessed with, comes only through Jesus Christ, and actually right where we are in this study, is right where the 'rubber meets the road' and I should be digging in deeper, pressing into this study even more, not just this week, but the next and probably the rest. 

However, as I've mentioned after Resurrection SONday, I had already planned and signed up for "REDEEMED..." by Angela Thomas-Pharr with LifeWay Women - it just seemed to be so timely, when I started 2017 with the 40 days of Prayer that was part of this, and what could be better than being "Redeemed" after celebrating Christ's Resurrection ... so, for this study, "You are Free", I will just be adding the links for each week to FaithGateway OBS and returning to finish the rest of the book, study guide and excellent, personal videos with Rebekah, at a later date, through Study Gateway. Weeks 4-6 are at the end. My apologies for dropping this midway! This is such a great study to not complete so I will!

Image result for you are free rebekah lyons

Continuing with 
Session 3

WEEK 3
April 9-15

"FREE TO BEGIN AGAIN"
Chapter 7

READING Chapters 7 and 8 in the book

Study Guide p. 51-56 after viewing video
Group discussion p.57-59  
Personal Study p. 61-70

and
"Free to Wait"
Chapter 8


you can catch it all over at
Faith Gateway

Online Bible Studies
with Laurie McClure
and
Rebekah Lyons
and her newest book (above)


Scripture of the Week

If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” - Psalms 139:9-10

Psalm 139:7-10, John 14:23, Genesis 12:1-9, Isaiah 40:10-11


DISCUSSION QUESTIONS to Reflect and Comment if you choose:

Q1. Tell us about a time when you had to begin again- either in a relationship or a job or another city, or something else. What do these verses say about God’s presence during such times? 

Q2. Where in your life is God asking you to begin again now?



Prayer for the Week (by Laurie McClure at FaithGateway OBS)

Jesus, You are the One who ordains new seasons for us. You appoint the new beginnings. And, You come with us and You even make Your home  with us when we choose to love You and live in obedience. We believe You. Help us in our unbelief. Help us to lean on You through struggles and through seasons of blessing. We love You, Jesus! Amen.

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Previous Schedule:


Session 4


Session 5



SPOT ON

You Are Free Study Guide on pages 89-97
Read Chapters 11-12 optional in hard copy of "You are Free" book

Scriptures for this Week
“Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.” - Psalms 126:5

Other Scripture Readings: 
2 Timothy 1:7, Psalm 126:2-6, Ecclesiastes 3, 1 Corinthians 3:6-9



CURRENT
Session 6
"Free to Set Free"

[image credit: Faith Gateway]

once again
Laurie McClure
has covered this so well

Scriptures this Week
  • 1 Corinthians 13
  • Galatians 5:1
  • Proverbs 3:5-6
  • John 8:36
  • Matthew 20:29-34
  • Revelation 12:11
  • Isaiah 51:15-16

Prayer for the Week

Jesus, thank You for the freedom that You came to bring. Thank You that You woo us out of the damage we cause ourselves and the wreckage done to us. Thank You that You put friends in our path who love You and who have been through it before. Thank You that You put friends in our lives who need to hear what we’ve learned about You along the way and need to be loved on by us. What a privilege! We love You, Jesus! Amen.


  • Recap Week: May 7-13





{some links may not work if it no longer is that week, but may during recap week}




Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Make "A Spectacle of Glory ..."

your must
READ
for this season or this year
(or your chosen devotional for next year)


[I have two really excellent books that I've been reading and need to review for they both are long overdue. This is one of the two that I'm reviewing now because I believe it would make a perfect gift - for (Easter) Resurrection SONday for yourself or someone special - or for anytime of the year, all year.]

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A Spectacle of Glory
God's Light Shining through Me Every Day
by Joni Eareckson Tada with Larry Libby 

... is truly a "spectacle" of God's glory daily, as a 365 day devotional in a compact, small sized book, with just the right amount of reading each day, written by an inspirational author and person that could not be better suited to share "God's Glory" - Joni Eareckson Tada, whose very life shines the glory of God and she gives us uplifting encouragement each day in how we too can reflect "God's Light Shining through ..." us. (if you don't know Joni Eareckson Tada, you could read a brief bio or just this part of the book description says enough to more than qualify her): 

"After nearly 50 years of living as a quadriplegic, and dealing with chronic pain on a daily basis, Joni has learned firsthand the importance of glorifying God through the toughest of situations." 

Yet not once have I ever read anything where Joni writes with any sense of self-pity and truly does minister through her devastating tragedy to so many others, able and not-so-abled earthly bodies, are touched through "Joni & Friends" - her ministries. Joni has moved positively to change what might have destroyed her, into many ways to glorify God, even when the days have been extremely challenging ... check out Joni's Corner to sample this or read on her blog. So this book is written from someone who truly understands what suffering is and how to seek God and stay close in the midst of hard times.

In this new book, each day's short devotional lesson is packed with godly wisdom through living experiences, starting out with a snippet of what to read in God's Word (recommended to have your Bible nearby to read in context and completely) - yet at times, this scripture is shared within her one page devotional, ending the devotional with a beautiful prayer (or prompt to further pray), which is always my favorite kind of daily devotional, when they contain prayers - a big reason for me to choose a devotional as well as the topics covered and this one covers many but the primary one being this:

"... The Bible spells it out plainly: God created you to showcase His glory—to enjoy it, display it, and demonstrate it every day to all those you encounter." ~ from the Book Description

In this day of high accessibility to having a book immediately as an e-book, I encourage you in this case (as I chose to review this book for this reason) to acquire the actual hard copy ... because it's one of those "treasures" to behold in your hands. From the moment it arrived, I appreciated this gift daily! The precious cover, [not just the glorious image chosen for this cover - the one above hardly does it justice] is one of those soft textured matte finish that you just love to hold. The 400 pages are compact, and so this (4 X 6 X 1 in.) book would fit nicely in most purses, making it easy to take with you daily, and have with you for those moments you can catch a little to read as you wait, or when you're in need of some encouragement.

Joni has a wonderful way of writing to inspire and encourage you! Her insights are practical, real and meaningful. I kept reading through this, as you would a daily devotional, hoping that I might find one day that would stand out to share as my favorite, or the best, however I found that each day was, for that particular day - the best, and that devotion truly did make any ordinary life or maybe complicated one, not too small or big, not so insignificant for that one day - more, setting the stage for you to glorify God, with a new how-to-motivation. If Joni Eareckson Tada can remain and face each day positively as one more opportunity to be "a spectacle of glory" chosen by God, then reading these devotionals daily will further me and enable me to focus on just how much our Heavenly Father cares and loves me and you too, showing us that we can live as a "spectacle of His Glory", being a light that draws others out of their darkness, or even us - out of our dark moments into God's Light and Glory - even if it's just for the short time we read a page in this sweet, glorious daily dose of this book. "A Spectacle of Glory..." does lift your spirit to new heights of confidence in our wonderfully sovereign God," which is Joni and Ken, her husband's prayer.

I will continue reading this treasure daily and highly recommend (with 5 stars) as a choice for a yearly devotional, a sweet gift for someone dear (even yourself) or especially for someone dealing with hard times in need of an encouraging daily word - just the right morsel for each day. The only drawback may be that you may like to have a Bible accessible while reading the devotion daily since only the scripture text is named above with the date. It would also have been nice to have had all those scriptures indexed in the back of the book also with the date (which is what I am doing as I read). I find it a simple delight to reach for this book each day and receive a glimpse of God's Glory knowing that God's purpose is for me to "showcase His Glory" to enjoy it, display it, and demonstrate it every day to all those you encounter."


Disclosure: I received this book free from BookLook Bloggers and Zondervan, in return for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the  FTCommission’s 16 CFR, Part 255
  
YOU KNOW I CHOOSE THE BEST BOOKS TO REVIEW
and
I'M SO THANKFUL to RECEIVE 
EACH ONE!


They are gifts to myself and I appreciate so much being given them.
Receiving them when I'm doing Online Bible Studies however some times
prevents them from being read and reviewed in due time but I do hope
this is in enough time for you to get and enjoy.


My YouVersion reading plan for this full year had this prayer for Day 93 of 365 that goes with this book and this day that I chose to finally post this: 
"Jesus, I cannot in my wildest imaginings know what glory You have in store for Your followers. I can only thank You for Your gracious generosity. Amen.



To my faithful visitors;
all of you who spend your valuable time here with me
I do appreciate you so much!

Thank you for taking your time to visit!

Love, Sweet blessings & Hugs!

DIOS TE BENDIGA
GOD BLESS YOU

always

Peggy