Thankful for everyone that continues to give to Rays of Sunshine Inc. Your giving spirit makes it possible to help kids near and far each month. We pray that God blesses you with an abundance of joy.
I thank my God every time I remember you. Philippians 1:3
Listen, you’ve got to stop worrying if people are going to think you are posting too much about Jesus.
If they feel that way then they are the one with the issue – not you.
If you feel that little nudge to post something then you better post it. That one post may be an instrumental piece of the change that someone is longing for in their life.
Just one person.
And guess what? They may not even click that little like button. They may never message you and say because of that post …
It’s not about the likes, and it’s not about the thank you.
It’s about spreading the gospel.
It’s about obedience.
Post about Jesus, y’all.
Testify.
Share His story.
It’s what He told us to do.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Romans 1:16
The burden of my heart right now is for families to experience the presence of God in our homes and not just wait for Sundays to come around to experience His presence.
I’m talking about the presence of God that brings transformation right in your home.
This will take stewarding it well in an atmosphere that is pure and holy. This is an invitation.
“Lord, when you said to me, “Seek my face,” my inner being responded, “I’m seeking your face with all my heart.”Psalms 27:8 TPT
Seek: to find something, to look for intently (with earnest & eager attention)
With the seeking of His presence comes purity & holiness. Purity and holiness isn’t something that just comes when you work really really hard at it. Yes, we strive to remain holy by protecting what’s in us but protecting what’s in us happens when we seek His face. Purity and holiness come when we are seeking the face of the one who is pure and holy.
His presence brings freedom so it drives out the sin and bondage holding us to the impure and unholy things.
“Now, the “Lord” I’m referring to is the Holy Spirit, and wherever he is Lord, there is freedom.” 2 Corinthians 3:17 TPT
“Wherever He is Lord…”
So as we begin seeking him, those impure things begin leaving our homes, therefore the presence of God can stay and dwell.
We can’t look at the face of God and impure things at the same time. One or the other will leave. Seeking looks like intimacy. It’s searching Him out, finding out all that you can about Abba & in return opening yourself up for Him to do the same.
Intimacy is: in to me you see. It’s being totally vulnerable with the father.
True openness and vulnerability with the Father breaks bondage and brings freedom.
Stewarding the presence of God in our homes means no more bondage, which causes healthy families and healthy families make up a healthy church! Once we get free of all the junk & bondage, it becomes really easy to steward His presence in our homes.
Intimacy with The Father allows me to know where I stand with Him which destroys any intimidation that tries to come when stewarding His presence. It’s gets rid of the “I’m not enough, I’m not worthy enough” mindset. Intimacy allows me to know I’m righteous, I’m in right standing with God right now.
“For God made the only one who did not know sin to become sin for us, so that we who did not know righteousness might become the righteousness of God through our union with him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21 TPT
Once I know that & it gets in my heart, I can easily steward His presence with confidence. Then, I get to teach my family how to do the same. Healthy families steward the presence of God together. This destroys division & brings total health & wholeness. We also steward his presence well by not allowing negativity, ungratefulness, or complaining in our home.
“He makes me lie down in [fresh, tender] green pastures; He leads me beside the still and restful waters. [Rev. 7:17.] He refreshes and restores my life (my self); He leads me in the paths of righteousness [uprightness and right standing with Him–not for my earning it, but] for His name’s sake. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my [brimming] cup runs over.” Psalm 23:2-3, 5 AMPC
Some of us have been so busy looking at what’s going on around the table, that we’ve forgotten a feast has been prepared for us with the Father. Feasting with the Father causes everything around the table to become less important & a lot smaller. When I seek & feast at the table He’s prepared in my home, my home becomes a place of peace & rest. Your home becomes a place where you’re refreshed & rejuvenated. It becomes a place that righteousness is found.
Because the presence of God is stewarded & the Holy Spirit is free there, Galatians 5 takes place within you & your home.
“But the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions: joy that overflows, peace that subdues, patience that endures, kindness in action, a life full of virtue, faith that prevails, gentleness of heart, and strength of spirit. Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless.” Galatians 5:22-23 TPT
Your cup now runs over & you have ALL that you could ever need to give to your family, church, community, & yourself…all because you steward the presence of God well within your home.
As we walk through life, people move in and out of our circle. God uses our circumstances to teach us to be like Him, even in a loss.
1 Peter 5:7 – Cast all your cares on Him for he cares for you.
★ Difficult times make us want to give up
★ Giving up is a result of anxiety
★ Anxiety can be a result of broken trust
★ Broken trust leads to lack of forgiveness
Difficult time in my life: Losing someone close to me because of their own brokenness.
● How do you help? You can only give them God’s protection by showing them. You can’t make the situation go away.
○ They may not want help. They may choose to be distant, which causes you hurt.
●This makes it hard to forgive the toxic friendship or relative.
○ Later, you will realize that sometimes being distant is better. Sometimes people come in seasons to help us,
Sometimes it is to help them. If a person chooses to grow apart, just trust in God that you have made some difference in their lives.
★ This is why 1 Peter 5:7 is so important. Cast all your cares because God does care for us. We know that in difficult times, He will take care of us.
Testimonies are ugly man.
Hear me out.
They involve mistakes.
And sin.
And other people.
They involve hurt.
And fear.
And evidence of the humanness that resides amongst us all.
But testimonies are beautiful.
They involve redemption.
And forgiveness.
And grace.
They involve hope.
And love.
And evidence of God’s spirit that resides amongst us all.
Don’t be scared to share your testimony.
It’s yours.
But it’s also God’s.
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
The past few weeks of my life have been filled with joy, exhaustion and peace. Sounds pretty nice, but none of these feelings came from myself or what took place. They came as the consequence of the growth in my faith.
At the start of the school year, I made a promise to God that I would become a mentor to some of the new kids coming to our youth group. This was a promise to try to be a mentor as Paul was to Timothy. I targeted a friend group of 7th and 8th grade girls to start a small group. We talk about our week, the lesson, share prayer requests and pray for each other. As you can imagine, a room full of junior high girls can get crazy sometimes, but they honestly have been a great representation of what growing faith should look like. We are a group of ten to fifteen girls, sitting in a room, talking to and about Jesus.
One random Wednesday night, one of the girls spoke up and said she was struggling with reading her bible and praying. Without hesitation, they started coming up with bible study topics, books of the bible that were good places to start reading and even tips on how to stay focused while praying. I was taken aback a little because I did not expect for this group of young teens to be so ready and excited to help a sister grow her faith in Christ. The only thought that ran through my mind was, “These seventh grade girls are so hungry and fired up for the Lord…I want to be like them.” These girls encouraged me to improve my faith simply by growing their own and God used them to inspire today’s devotional. It’s funny how the mentor to mentee relationship works!:)
So my question today is what are you doing, not only as part of a group, but as an individual to grow your faith and get closer to Christ?
God grabbed my attention this week with Proverbs 13:20 – “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” We as teachers, leaders, mothers and friends should always pursue growing our faith. We should look for the opportunity to walk with the wise and to become the people who are walked with. Seek out those who will encourage and support you, nurturing your growth.
As leaders, we are heard, watched and observed at all times. Our lives and actions provide examples and outlines that impact the growth in our sister’s faith. So what do your actions and words say about your faith? Are you a sister that is wise or a fool?
Growing faith requires investment, commitment and determination. My encouragement to you is to not let the fear of, as my coaches say, “putting in the work” diminish your desire to grow your faith. A phrase my parents and I always use is, “when you pray for a hole and God gives you a shovel, don’t be afraid to get some calluses.” In other words, if you want to grow your faith and God gives you a time to pray or a time to read His word, use it to the fullest!
No matter what your age, no matter where you are in your faith walk, we are called to continue to grow in our faith. Even more we should strive to help our sisters in Christ to grow their faith as we all walk this road together.
Are happiness and joy the same? The answer is a big “NO”!! We often get the two confused, but they come from completely different places.
Happiness depends on what happens, in other words our circumstances at the moment. It is an external feeling that can leave just as quickly as it is felt. Joy is internal, it comes from deep within our spirit, from the Lord, and is ours forever.
“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.” John 15:11
One of the most important ways to have this complete joy is to have an attitude of full surrender to God. The closer our relationship with Christ the more our joy increases. He gives us the power to rejoice even when our circumstances aren’t what we would want.
If we are seeking God and praising Him during our trials, burdens, sorrows, losses, sicknesses etc., He provides us with the strength to endure. We may not always carry the smile that comes with happiness, but our spirit can be content and at peace in knowing that He watches over us and helps us during these moments in life.
“Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10
As christians we have a forever joy in our spirit, so the devil wants nothing more than to steal our joy in every circumstance. We have to stay alert and remember our attitude of praise and thankfulness will help us fight the urge to give up and give in. That is why we must make sure we are in close fellowship with the Lord at all times.
Our sin can also steal our joy. When we fall into a sin it causes a division between us and God. That is where our obedience to the Lord comes in. Be aware if you start to feel your joy slipping.
Have you neglected time with the Lord? Is your focus on things of this world? Is there a sin you don’t want to let go of? Ask the Lord to show you what is causing you to lose your joy, then ask Him to help you overcome the obstacle and to restore your joy.
“Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” Psalm 51:12
We can have joy everyday in every circumstance just by remembering our joy is in our salvation. What is more wonderful, as christians, than rejoicing in the hope that our names are written in Heaven? We can have full confidence in God’s word and pass that on to others. The joy of our salvation gives us the opportunity to win people to Jesus. It is proof that what we have is real and that it satisfies, praise God!!!!! The Lord rejoices in every sinner saved, Hallelujah!!!!!
“In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:10
Here ya go. If I need to fix anything let me know. Also, here’s a bio update to look more like everyone else’s.
Hi, I’m Tracy Baker. I was born and raised in Kountze, Texas and I’m still here living the dream. I love Jesus, I’m a wife, mom, GIgi, retired teacher/coach and have been a business owner alongside my husband for 23 years. All Glory to God.
For Rays of Sunshine 11/8
Years ago In a women’s Sunday School class we were discussing women in the Bible and how Jael killed Sisera with a tent peg (Judges 4:19). We made jokes that we should keep a tent peg in our purse for emergencies. Recently the Lord showed me that a tent peg is so much more.
(Zechariah 10:4) From them will come the cornerstone, From them the tent peg, From them the bow of battle, From them every ruler, all of them together. ( NASB )
After I read that verse that I know I’ve read before, the Lord stopped me in my tracks. Tent peg. I’ve always heard Jesus referred to as a cornerstone and I get it, vaguely. I don’t use cornerstones, my house doesn’t have one, so to me it’s just a general reference.
A tent peg is a different story. I’ve dealt with those firsthand. If you have every fought with a tent and lost then you get it. Or, if you ever left the bag with the stakes or pegs at home you get it. Without the pegs you just have a hot mess, but when you put those pegs in the corners and at the end of the guidelines you have a stable and secure shelter.
That’s a great analogy for a life with Christ. When we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior He brings stability and peace. We can rest in the fact that we have a security we can count on. Storms can blow and our little tent of life may sway a bit, but Jesus our tent peg always holds firm.
If you are on the outside looking in and wondering how this can be true, I pray you seek Jesus out today. He is right there waiting for you to come to Him.
Jesus didn’t give up on you, so you can’t give up on Him or anyone else.
I mean can you even imagine if Jesus were to stop? What if He didn’t die for you? What would you be doing now?
Think of every time you get mad at someone or something. You get really mad, maybe even say a few mean words. Maybe you even give up on them because of what they did. That person kept on doing the same thing that hurt you over and over again. But instead of forgiving and loving them, you just give up.
Guess who doesn’t do that? Jesus.
He didn’t give up on you. You keep on disobeying, you keep on not listening. But Jesus never gave up on you. Even when it hurt Him so badly He kept loving you.
So think of that everyday. Don’t give up on someone when they keep on hurting you.
Because where you be if Jesus gave up on you?
Romans 3:23, “ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Hebrews 13:1, “keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.”
Just keep on loving like Jesus.
When Maverick was in second grade one of his friends came over to stay the night. At dinner we started talking about how Maverick would soon be baptized.
And in that moment God gave me a good ol’ reality check.
The friend asked what the word baptized meant. I remember being truly shocked. I didn’t let him know that, but I was. How did someone that grew up in America not know what baptism was – let alone someone that grew up in the Bible-belt? It just wasn’t something I could wrap my feeble, little mind around.
I then sat in awe listening to my second grade son witness to his sweet little friend.
Proud mom moment.
But I couldn’t let it go, y’all. I still can’t. God knew I needed that sweet kiddo to ask me that exact question on that exact day so that I would always remember. So that I would always remember not to take “knowing” for granted.
Not everyone has a grandma and a grandpa that takes them to church.
Not everyone has a momma and a daddy that play praise and worship music on the radio.
Not everyone hears the story of Jesus’ birth on Christmas Eve.
Not everybody.
But that is the reality for somebody.
We need to be mindful.
We need to be understanding.
We need to be considerate.
We need to be ready.
We need to remember that not everyone knows the same theological language that we’ve been taught since we were knee high to a grasshopper, but everyone does know what love is – and that’s a language that we can speak out loud to everybody – everyday.
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. 1 Peter 3:15
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