Mornin' SunShine

Monday, January 7, 2013

Genesis 7:24-8:1

Happy Monday, everyone! :)

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Genesis 7:24-8:1

And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days.

But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.

The water "prevailed" for a time; from the outside looking in, it looked as if the water was winning, was "in charge". But God was in control the whole time!!

I'm reminded of John 1:5--"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

Sometimes, looking at this world, whether watching the news or just watching the lives of those around us, it can seem like the darkness is winning. But the truth is this: the darkness has not and CAN not overcome the Light--Jesus.

Father, thank You for the reminder that You are sovereign, even when there is darkness all around. It may have a time, but in the end You always win!!!

May the Lord bless you as you walk in the confidence of His overcoming Light!

Dancing in the rain,

Haley "SunShine" Miller

"Exhort one another daily while it is called 'Today'" (Hebrews 3:13)

Mornin' SunShine Website

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Friday, January 4, 2013

Psalm 3

Good morning, all!
Our day here in San Angelo is starting out sparkling white, with a fresh new layer of snow on the ground. We are all quite excited! There's just something about snow that makes the world seem like a whole new place. I pray that your day would be filled with sweet blessings that make your world seem like a whole new, amazing place because you see it through the lens of a new, deeper love for our Jesus!
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Psalm 3:5-7
I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! For You strike all my enemies on the cheek; You break the teeth of the wicked.

I started to type out all of Psalm 3, because the whole thing is just David rejoicing and resting in victory that has been given to him by the Lord. I used to find myself sort of skimming through verses/Psalms like this because I would think, "I don't really have any enemies." But recently, the Lord has been impressing on me that I do have enemies: Satan, sin and self. All of which would just love to destroy me, but over all of which Jesus has already won the victory! He fought for me and won on Calvary; so why does it often seem as if I live in defeat? The battle is over and He is the Victor, but sometimes I don't live like it.
I love the end of verse 7: You break the teeth of the wicked. Since the Bible describes Satan as a "roaring lion", the picture I get here is a big, old, nasty lion--with no teeth! He may be roaring, and he may be mean-looking, but he can't actually do anything when I'm living in the power of Jesus Christ and the victory He has already won! Sin has no power in my life, Satan has no ground to stand on, and self is a defeated enemy through my Jesus...now that's worth celebrating! :)

Jesus, thank You for the victory You have won for me! Help me to live and walk in it daily, every moment!

May the Lord bless you richly as you live in the victory He has already won for you!

Dancing in the rain,
Haley "SunShine" Miller
"Exhort one another daily while it is called 'Today'" (Hebrews 3:13)
Mornin' SunShine Website
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If this e-mail was forwarded to you and you would like to receive the Mornin' SunShine e-mails on a regular basis yourself, you can e-mail me at mornin_sunshine@psalm686.com with "subscribe" in the subject line. If you would like to unsubscribe, just e-mail me at the address above with "unsubscribe" in the subject line and I will take you off the list.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Genesis 2:3, Hebrews 4:9-13

Good morning, everyone! :)
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Genesis 2:3
So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all His work that He had done in creation.

God's rest is, evidently, holy; a sacred thing. It is not meant to be just thrown around, given indiscriminately to whoever. There are prerequisites to sharing in His rest. I'm reminded of Hebrews 4, the chapter that speaks of the rest God offers His people and how the Israelites (the first intended recipients of this promised rest) failed to enter it because of disobedience.

Hebrews 4:7, 9-13--"Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts...So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account."

So then how do we enter this rest? It's simple, really: through obedience. We must be open to hearing and heeding His voice, and we must be willing to open ourselves up to the sword of His living, active Word. It is a predetermined "yes" to God--whatever He may ask of me, whatever He may reveal to me through His word that needs to change in my life, my answer to Him is "yes". That is where I live in the holy rest of God--in faithful, surrendered obedience to Him.

Father, I am only truly at rest when I am surrendered to You! I choose now that my answer to You will always be "yes"...wherever You lead, whatever You ask: yes! I love You!

May you find that sweet, holy rest of faithful obedience to the Lord!

Dancing in the rain,
Haley "SunShine" Miller
"Exhort one another daily while it is called 'Today'" (Hebrews 3:13)
Mornin' SunShine Website
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If this e-mail was forwarded to you and you would like to receive the Mornin' SunShine e-mails on a regular basis yourself, you can e-mail me at mornin_sunshine@psalm686.com with "subscribe" in the subject line. If you would like to unsubscribe, just e-mail me at the address above with "unsubscribe" in the subject line and I will take you off the list.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Genesis 1:1

Happy New Year, y'all!!

I know...it's been forever since I sent out a Mornin' SunShine e-mail. If you're no longer interested in getting these, you can simply reply to this e-mail with "unsubscribe" in the subject line and tell me that. I promise to not be offended. :) I do apologize for how long I've been MIA! I don't promise to suddenly have my life sufficiently figured out and straightened out to be back to doing this every day, but I am going to try. Thank you all for your patience!

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Genesis 1:1

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

"In the beginning, God..."

Because God always has been and always will be, He knows the end of the story from the beginning. Not only that, but He knows my story, specifically, from beginning to end. And He knows exactly how my story fits into the story He is weaving throughout the world! Somehow, that is so incredibly comforting. I can't see clearly 2 or 3 years down the road, but not only does God know what's coming next, He knows the whole thing and is working out every detail to create beauty and bring glory to His name.

Father, what trust this thought inspires! I can safely let go of my little life, placing it in Your hands, knowing that You see the whole thing and You are writing the story of my life to its end with grace. Thank You!

As the page turns and a new year starts, may you be encouraged by knowing that God knows the story of your life and He is at work in it!

Dancing in the rain,
Haley "SunShine" Miller
"Exhort one another daily while it is called 'Today'" (Hebrews 3:13)
Mornin' SunShine Website
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If this e-mail was forwarded to you and you would like to receive the Mornin' SunShine e-mails on a regular basis yourself, you can e-mail me at mornin_sunshine@psalm686.com with "subscribe" in the subject line. If you would like to unsubscribe, just e-mail me at the address above with "unsubscribe" in the subject line and I will take you off the list.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Romans 6:8-13

Happy Monday, everyone! :)
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Romans 6:8-13
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over Him. The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.

My favorite part of these verses is "the life He lives, He lives to God." And this is the life I am called to live!! A life with "every part" of me surrendered to God--where my heart, mind, body, all I am and all I "own" are completely His! Somehow the thought of such a life is both exciting and overwhelming...but then this life is only possible by the Holy Spirit; my one responsibility is simply to give myself away to Him; the rest is up to Him!

Father, I give You my life--all that is "me" or "mine" is Yours! What You do with it is completely up to You.

May the Lord bless you as you live your life to Him!

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Hebrews 12:26-29

Morning, everyone! :)

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Hebrews 12:26-29

At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, "Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." This phrase, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.

The "at that time" phrase is referring to when God appeared to the Israelites at Mt. Sinai, and the earth shook and the people were so afraid they begged Moses to go up to God so they would not hear His voice thunder anymore. (Exodus 19-20:21)

Shaken is not usually a state we desire to be in, but God's promise here is somehow so sweet. He yearns to shake us, not for the sake of disrupting our lives, but so that the "shakeable" things in our lives might be removed to reveal the unshakeable things. I find it interesting that these verses are shortly followed by Hebrews 13:8--"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Jesus is the one unshakeable reality in our lives. He is "the kingdom which cannot be shaken" that we have received. He is the reason we worship God from the overflow o a grateful heart. And He is Who we can cling to when our world is shaken!

Jesus, You can shake me to the core, until all I have left is You--it will be ok. You are the only constant in my life; no matter what, You never change! Thank You for this amazing faithfulness that is the foundation and theme of my life!

May the Lord richly bless you as you live a life built on the unshakeable foundation of His faithfulness!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Exodus 2:21-22

Good morning, y'all!!

I know...it's been forever since I sent out a Mornin' SunShine e-mail. If you're no longer interested in getting these, you can simply reply to this e-mail and tell me that. I promise to not be offended. :) I do apologize for how long I've been MIA! I don't promise to suddenly have my life sufficiently figured out and straightened out to be back to doing this every day, but I am going to try.

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Exodus 2:21-22

And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah. She gave birth to a son, and he called his name Gershom, for he said, "I have been a sojourner in a foreign land."

Moses understood the reality of life: we are not made for this world. We live here. We grow up, marry, have children, laugh and cry here. There is a part of us with a vested interest in this world, but ultimately we are all Gershom: a stranger here. This is not our "forever home"; those of us that have trusted Christ as our Savior have a heavenly citizenship. So shouldn't that affect our lives? Shouldn't we hold earthly things more loosely, clinging to the Unchanging, Everlasting God? Shouldn't we be a little more focused on what matters for eternity, not so much what I want right at this moment?

Father, give me the grace to hold this world loosely; to live as a sojourner in a foriegn land. Help me to keep one foot in eternity and my focus on You!!

May the Lord richly bless you as you live with a gaze fixed on your forever home!