With the New Year just a short distance behind us, I thought it might be good to share a reminder in today’s Victory Call. The simple reminder is this: resolve to live in today—not tomorrow and certainly not yesterday—TODAY!

This is the day that you are in—LIVE IN IT!

One of my Facebook friends, Timothy S. Shorey, is a pastor whose typical post is truth-filled. One of his posts prompted the above statement. Read on to glean more from his wisdom:

His post was titled: Time Lesson-Resolutions for the New Year—and Every Day in It
…By God’s grace and for God’s praise, let’s resolve to:
Remember yesterday, but don’t romanticize it.
Seize today but don’t cling to it.
Live for tomorrow but not in it….

He goes on to share deep truths from Scripture that we would do well to ponder and remember.
“I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes I will remember your wonders of old.” Psalm 77:10
“Say not ‘Why were the former days better than these’ for it is not from wisdom that you ask this.” Ecclesiastes 7:10
“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might.” Ecclesiastes 9:10
“I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:12-13
“The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” Ecclesiastes 12:13
“One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind, and straining forward for what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13

Dear sisters, the best way to live TODAY is to remember the Word of God. Though written so very long ago, it never ceases to be life and health for us in our today. Apart from it we cannot and will not live as well as we could today.

So, the encouragement I leave you with today is drink well and eat well of the water and meat of the Word of Life. Then go and be in your day for the glory of God.

Stephanie D. Paul

Stephanie serves as part of the Addiction Recovery Team at America’s Keswick as Director of Women of Character. She has been married for over 30 years to Sesky Paul who is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy. They have two grown children.
Her single focus in ministry at Keswick is to image Christ in grace and truth to wounded and hurting women, encouraging them to make Jesus the truest Lover of their soul and the One in whom all hope lies.

Trust in Jehovah with all thy heart, And lean not upon thine own understanding: In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he will direct thy paths. — Proverbs 3:5-6

The other day during youth group, we discussed how Jesus is our ultimate champion and advocate. But sometimes in the midst of a hard time we “forget” who He is to us and choose to take matters into our own hands, using worldly devices (mean words, vindictiveness, cheating, etc.) to fight our battles rather than trusting and obeying God’s Word.

So I posed the question: What does it mean if we forget who Jesus is to us?

Most of the young people in the group said,

“Well, we are human and that happens.”

“We aren’t perfect.”

Which seem like perfectly rational, honest responses, right?

Then, one young man, who doesn’t attend church regularly and on some occasions has demonstrated great irreverence for God, gave the most profound answer.

He quietly stated, “It means He’s not truly in our heart because you don’t forget something that is.”

Simple…Powerful.

In other words, our ability to disobey His instructions, lose our tempers, be selfish, go ahead of God’s pace, or to just “forget” who Jesus is to us, simply means we aren’t as surrendered and in love with God as perhaps we might have thought. As a responsible wife and mother, I don’t “forget” my husband and daughter because I’m having a bad day. So how then do I “forget” the God of the universe?

I make a choice. I choose not to love Him.

I believe it’s tragic when I “forget” God in my situation. Jesus is not our last resort. He’s our primary resource.

If we can forget and choose not to love God, even for a moment, perhaps we should examine our hearts and ask for help in loving Him. It’s not something to beat ourselves up about, but we shouldn’t be so cavalier to respond with a stock answer, “I’m human!” Yes, we know that. But through these situations, God allows us to see the condition of our heart towards Him. Let’s not so easily dismiss the invaluable revelation He is giving us. He is calling us to holiness, not lip service!

So I am asking, how is your love for Him? If you have forgotten Him recently, simply acknowledge it and ask for help in your capacity to love Him. He will not withhold His help and mercy from you. We are to give Him our whole heart, not just a part, for here is His promise to us in Isaiah 49:15-16:

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.”

Diera Mendez
Diera Shaw-Mendez is a minister and youth leader at New Beginnings Worship Center, Pennsauken, NJ, and works full-time for an educational nonprofit in Philadelphia. She is wife to Chaplain Juan Mendez and mama to Olivia Joy. She spends her “spare time” running an online invitation design shop on Etsy and write occasionally for her personal blog, With Style, By Grace. Diera is a God-fearing, Starbucks loving, tech junkie (…in that order!) who simply wants to inspire women to invest in THE beauty that never fades!

I heard a great message today from one of my favorite teachers, Dr. Robert Heidler from Glory of Zion in Texas. Dr. Heidler spoke about the Hebrew month of Adar. As I have shared in the past, it is a joy to me to look at each Hebrew month along with its meaning, and the associated tribe. In this month of Adar the Jewish people will celebrate the Feast of Purim. You can read all about the reason for that feast if you read the book of Esther.

The month of Adar is a month to rejoice!! After this icy, cold, dark winter I think we are all ready to for some rejoicing, again I say, rejoice!!

If you look up in your Bible Concordance the words “rejoice, joy, and gladness” you will find plenty of Bible verses supporting the truth that God wants us to rejoice. Here are just a few:

Ps. 5:11 “But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name be joyful in You.”
Ps. 126:2-3 “Then our mouth was filled with laughter, And our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, ’The Lord has done great things for them.’ The Lord has done great things for us, And we are glad.”
1 Chron. 16:10 “Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord!”
Phil. 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!”

We are even told in the Word that to be joy filled is good for our health in Prov. 17:22 “A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.”

The Bible says we will have joy as we:
1. Celebrate Sabbath (Is. 56:6-7)
2. Celebrate Biblical Feasts (God calls His people to feast throughout scripture. God’s people love to come together to celebrate, eat, praise, fellowship.)
3. Forgive (Matt. 6:14)
4. Stop worrying (1 Peter 5:7)
5. Choose to praise God joyfully. (Ps. 103)
6. Be filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18)
7. Spend time in His presence. (Ps. 16:11)

You and I are not dependent on circumstances or stuff to find joy. Let’s recapture JOY this month. Thank God for the people who love you. Thank God for the blessings in your life. Thank God for the victories in your life. Thank God, He will never leave you or forsake you.

Rejoice again I say rejoice!!

Patricia L. Wenzel
Woman of Character Graduate

Scripture from New King James Translation.

I may be tempted to gossip.
I may be tempted to shade the truth.
I may be tempted to be annoyed.
I may be tempted to argue.
I may be tempted to think I am always right.
I may be tempted to give the cold shoulder.
I may be tempted to complain.
I may be tempted to sulk.
I may be tempted to whine.
I may be tempted to be angry.
I may be tempted to be fearful.
I may be tempted to grumble.
I may be tempted to ignore.
I may be tempted to feed my sorrows.
I may be tempted to promote myself.
I may be tempted to feel badly about myself.
I may be tempted to worry.
I may be tempted…. But temptation has no power over me that I don’t give it. Temptation is only a suggestion, a strong, powerful suggestion, yes, but because of the cross, I can say no.

No, I will not gossip.
No, I will not shade the truth.
No, I will not be annoyed.
No, I will not argue.
No, I will not think I am always right.
No, I will not give the cold shoulder.
No, I will not complain.
No, I will not sulk.
No, I will not whine.
No, I will not stay angry.
No, I will not be fearful.
No, I will not grumble.
No, I will not ignore.
No, I will not feed my sorrows.
No, I will not promote myself.
No, I will not feel badly about myself.
No, I will not worry.

Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:11

Blessings,
Diane

Diane Hunt is part of the Development and Addiction Recovery teams at America’s Keswick. In addition to being a Biblical Counselor, she is a Women’s speaker for retreats, conferences and events. She is a regular writer for Victory Call and one of the authors of Crossing the Jordan Bible Study. She has been married to her husband John for 30 years. She has 2 adult children, 4 grandchildren, 3 adult step-children with 7 grandchildren making 11 in all. She delights in reading and teaching, but mostly in laughing at the funny things her grandchildren say and do.

A recent Facebook post from Pastor Tim Shorey caught my eye:
“Saw something amazing today. A guy whose life is encountering massive change, huge disappointment, real loss, and a confusing future. There were tears but there was a fighting for faith and resolve to keep his eyes on the Father. Nothing fake. No clichés. Just real faith in a fallen world. Proud to call him ‘brother’.”

As my heart and prayers go out to this man I do not know, Pastor Tim’s phrase “fighting for faith” struck me. Faith is easy when things are smooth sailing. It is easy to believe there is a gracious and good God when life is good and things are going our way. But, in every person’s life, there are trials, difficulties, tragedy, suffering, sadness, unknown futures, and unwanted news. It may be due to ill health, death, wayward children, rebellion, financial setbacks, bankruptcy, divorce, affairs, fear, pain, loss, and the list goes on and on.

In THOSE moments faith is not so easy. Though we know in our heads that God is good and gracious, in the midst of our pain Satan is putting forth his best effort to rip our faith away. Some days, or even weeks or months, we have to fight for faith. Fight with all that is within us to keep believing God is good, gracious, faithful, kind, sovereign, purposeful, loving and ever present.

In saying we must fight with all that is within us I know it is not only our fight but also the fight of the Holy Spirit Who never leaves us to fight alone. When the tunnel is dark and you, with outstretched neck, are straining to see the light at the end of the tunnel, be assured the Light is not at the end of the tunnel but with you in the tunnel. Fight to BELIEVE it is true when all you SEE is darkness.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1-2

Fight, sister, fight for real faith in a fallen world.

Blessings, Diane

Diane Hunt is part of the Development and Addiction Recovery teams at America’s Keswick. In addition to being a Biblical Counselor, she is a Women’s speaker for retreats, conferences and events. She is a regular writer for Victory Call and one of the authors of Crossing the Jordan Bible Study. She has been married to her husband John for 30 years. She has 2 adult children, 4 grandchildren, 3 adult step-children with 7 grandchildren making 11 in all. She delights in reading and teaching, but mostly in laughing at the funny things her grandchildren say and do.

I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help?
My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.
Psalm 121:1-2 NKJV

As a Pastor recently gave a benediction he said to the church;
“Now with your head raised…look up and receive the blessing…

Numbers 6:24-26 New King James Version (NKJV)
“The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”

As a mom, it made me think how many times I’ve held my child’s face in my hands as he looked up toward mine. The image of it is burned into my heart and mind. Imagine how the Lord feels when we lift up our eyes and face heavenward toward His. Can you feel His hands clasping your face in them as a loving father would? Try- look up, take a deep breath, and know He holds you in the nail-scarred palms of His hands. Truth.

Be blessed…
Dina

“Gospel Clarification: True saving faith in Jesus is not merely trusting His mercy to forgive me when I mess up. It is surrendering to His Lordship in obedience to His law through the enabling of His Spirit, so that I mess up less and less with each new day. It’s believing the Savior, not just for mercy but for transformation.” ~~Timothy M. Shorey

Though I am compelled to write for this devotion, the truth is, I am empty of anything to say. However, in spite of that, what God is doing in the midst of this is leading me to glean from others.

So dear ones, I am sharing this for your good edification and gleaning. I hope and pray that there will be much of value for your souls and spirits.

God’s grace and peace to you…

Stephanie D. Paul

Stephanie serves as part of the Addiction Recovery Team at America’s Keswick as Director of Women of Character. She has been married for over 30 years to Sesky Paul who is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy. They have two grown children.
Her single focus in ministry at Keswick is to image Christ in grace and truth to wounded and hurting women, encouraging them to make Jesus the truest Lover of their soul and the One in whom all hope lies.

Remember when you were a kid and you would walk through the woods and fields and come home with burrs in your socks, clinging to your pants and hanging on your sleeves? They were difficult to disengage from whatever they attached themselves to. As you released one part of the burr from your sock, another part got stuck. Sometimes they would prick your finger as you tried to remove them.

It occurred to me one day that often times we gather burrs as we wander through life. As we journey through our hills and valleys we may gather burrs and over the years we may gather a lot of burrs. It may get to the point that when we look in the mirror – what do we see? Burr lady. There are so many burrs we can’t see our clothes or our faces. What can we see? Burr lady.

What is my point you ask?

I meet a lot of people in the course of counseling who have lost sight of who they are in Jesus Christ. They have wandered through the path of life and gathered lies about who they are. “I am useless. I am stupid. I am not worth anything. I can’t help the way I am. God loves others just not me. I’m not smart enough. God can’t forgive me.” The list goes on and on. These lies cling to us like burrs to our socks. They are difficult to get rid of. When we look in the mirror who do we see? We see who we have come to believe we are, NOT who Jesus Christ made us to be.

To truly walk in freedom we need to remove these burrs one by one until we can see ourselves clearly. We need to identify the lies we believe, challenge them with the truth of God’s Word and then choose to believe it. It sounds a lot easier that it is. If we make a choice to stop living as if the lies are true and start living as if the truth is true, there will be transformation and freedom.

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:32

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17

Are you tired of burr lady? Choose truth, God’s truth, whether it feels true or not.

Blessings, Diane

Diane Hunt is part of the Development and Addiction Recovery teams at America’s Keswick. In addition to being a Biblical Counselor, she is a Women’s speaker for retreats, conferences and events. She is a regular writer for Victory Call and one of the authors of Crossing the Jordan Bible Study. She has been married to her husband John for 30 years. She has 2 adult children, 4 grandchildren, 3 adult step-children with 7 grandchildren making 11 in all. She delights in reading and teaching, but mostly in laughing at the funny things her grandchildren say and do.

I’ve been reading through Proverbs and came across a few verses that kind of “stuck out” to me.

Proverbs 21:9 & 25:24 “Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.”

Proverbs 21:19 “Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and ill-tempered wife.”

Proverbs 27:15-16 “A quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping on a rainy day; restraining her is like restraining the wind or grasping oil with the hand.”

Yikes! Those are some pretty harsh words. I certainly hope my husband never has times when he would rather be living on a corner of our roof or in a desert.

I don’t know about you, but it can be easy for me to resort to being “quarrelsome,” or an even harsher word – “nagging,” if I feel that I am not being heard. But, contrary to what our natural instincts may tell us, repeating ourselves again and again does not necessarily mean we will be heard; in fact, we are probably heard less.

“Quarrelsome nagging, a steady stream of unwanted advice, is a form of torture. People nag because they think they’re not getting through, but nagging hinders communication more than it helps. When tempted to engage in this destructive habit, stop and examine your motives. Are you more concerned about yourself – getting your way, being right – than about the person you are pretending to help? If you are truly concerned about other people, think of a more effective way to get through to them. Surprise them with words of patience and love, and see what happens.” 1

Proverbs 10:19 says “When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.” Too many words can get us into trouble. Sometimes, it is better to say less, or maybe even nothing at all, but rather bring the matter before the Lord in prayer, and leave the results with Him.
In order to know what to say, when to say it, how much to say, and when not to say anything, we need to be in tune with His Spirit. I often remember the phrase that DeEtta taught me – “pause and pray.” Take a moment to stop and pray and ask the Lord for wisdom before we speak. And, may we strive, by God’s grace, to be like the Proverbs 31 woman who “speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue” (vs. 26).

Stacey Poplawski
WOC Graduate
1 Life Application Bible – NIV by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (c)1991

I was reading a devo today from around Christmas time and my heart was so lifted up that I paraphrased it just a bit to share as a word of encouragement with my husband. Here it is for you:

“Have a mighty day!”
“Have a powerful day!”

Our hope is alive because 2000 years ago, Jesus Christ left His throne in heaven, was born of innocence, lived a perfect life, suffered and died for our sin, and defeated death in when He rose from the grave. This is surely “good news of great joy!” (Luke 2:10)

Celebrate today in His strength, in His peace, and in His joy. God make you mighty, dear ones!

Ponder this:
“What do you need to be mighty in this [Christmas] season? Forgiveness? Grace? Understanding? Patience? Is there something that is causing you to be fearful, discouraged, or upset?”

“Pray about it right now and ask God for His strength to meet you in your weakness.”

Let’s Pray:
“Lord, You are mighty and powerful. No matter what I face, I want to walk in Your might instead of my weakness. Help me to remember that Your Word says: “Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”