Grandma's Gleanings: A Daily Devotional

Grandma’s Gleanings

A Daily Devotional

Joyce H. Pomp

Copyright © 2012 Joyce H. Pomp

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

WestBow Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1-(866) 928-1240

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4497-6609-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-6610-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012916255

WestBow Press rev. date: 9/5/2012

Contents

Acknowledgements

Happy New Year

Gleanings For January 2 Jesus Is All We Need

Gleanings For January 3 Encouragement In Prayer

Gleanings For January 4 Types Of Prayer

Gleanings For January 5 Prayer Of Worship & Praise

Gleanings For January 6 Worship, Devotion, Truth & Joy

Gleanings For January 7 Our Life Hidden In God

Gleanings For January 8 Prayer Of Praise

Gleanings For January 9 Praise Brings Victiory

Gleanings For January 10 Consistency In Worship & Praise

Gleanings For January 11 United Prayer

Gleanings For January 12 We Are Family

Gleanings For January 13 Our Great I Am

Gleanings For January 14 Helps For Effective Prayer

Gleanings For January 15 Casting All Your Cares On The Lord

Gleanings For January 16 Don’t Worry

Gleanings For January 17 Prayer Of Agreement

Gleanings For January 18 More About Prayer Of Agreement

Gleanings For January 19 Private Prayer

Gleanings For January 20 Personalize God’s Word!

Gleanings For January 21 More Personalized Word

Gleanings For January 22 Particular Or Desired Prayer

Gleanings For January 23 Our Beginnings Are In God

Gleanings For January 24 In God’s Image

Gleanings For January 25 Living In The Blessing

Gleanings For January 26 The Fall Of Mankind

Gleanings For January 27 Faith Confession From Genesis

Gleanings For January 28 God’s Supreme Revelation – Jesus

Gleanings For January 29 One In Christ Jesus

Gleanings For January 30 Good News

Gleanings For January 31 God’s Mercy And Grace

Gleanings For February 1 God Fulfills All His Promises

Gleanings For February 2 Knowledge Puffs Up; Love Edifies

Gleanings For February 3 Great Is The Lord

Gleanings For February 4 You Are Blessed!

Gleanings For February 5 God’s Mercy And Grace

Gleanings For February 6 Patriarchs Who Lived Before Noah

Gleanings For February 7 Noah Found Grace In The Eyes Of The Lord!

Gleanings For February 8 Noah Trusted God

Gleanings For February 9 We Are To Be Living Sacrifices

Gleanings For February 10 Dead To Sin; Alive To God

Gleanings For February 11 God Knows Us Personally

Gleanings For February 12 Made In God’s Image

Gleanings For February 13 God’s Covenant With Mankind

Gleanings For February 14 God Loves You

Gleanings For February 15 God Provides

Gleanings For February 16 Obedience

Gleanings For February 17 Pleasing God

Gleanings For February 18 The Lord Speaks To Abram (And To Us)

Gleanings For February 19 Communion With God

Gleanings For February 20 Words Of Life

Gleanings For February 21 Our Thoughts Are Important!

Gleanings For February 22 The Faith Of Sarah

Gleanings For February 23 Truths We Can Learn From The Life Of Abraham

Gleanings For February 24 Faith And Our Words

Gleanings For February 25 Words

Gleanings For February 26 Cold Weather

Gleanings For February 27 Cloud Of Witnesses

Gleanings For February 28 Looking To Jesus

Gleanings For February 29 Leap Year Day

March 1 God So Loved

Gleanings For March 2 Living Water

Gleanings For March 3 Eternal Life Can Be Yours

Gleanings For March 4 Sonship Through His Spirit

Gleanings For March 5 True Worship

Gleanings For March 6 We Are One In Christ

Gleanings For March 7 Miracles Should Produce Faith

Gleanings For March 8 We Keep On: Looking To Jesus

Gleanings For March 9 Feeding The Multitudes

Gleanings For March 10 I Am The Bread Of Life

Gleanings For March 11 Temptations Of Jesus

Gleanings For March 12 To Believe—That Is Our Work

Gleanings For March 13 Bread Of Heaven

Gleanings For March 14 Communion With The Father

Gleanings For March 15 Walk On Water

Gleanings For March 16 Who Is Jesus? – Heavenly Bread

Gleanings For March 17 Who We Are In Christ?

Gleanings For March 18 Jesus, Our Light

Gleanings For March 19 Jesus – No Condemnation

Gleanings For March 20 Healing – A Work Of God

Gleanings For March 21 Jesus = The Door

Gleanings For March 22 Jesus – The Good Shepherd

Gleanings For March 23 Jesus – The Son Of God

Gleanings For March 24 God’s Word Is Eternal

Gleanings For March 25 More Faith Confessions

Gleanings For March 26 Jesus – Resurrection Life

Gleanings For March 27 Jesus – The Way, Truth, & Life

Gleanings For March 28 Jesus – The True Vine

Gleanings For March 29 Holy Spirit Our Counselor

Gleanings For March 30 A Servant Heart Is Good

Gleanings For March 31 Eternal Life

Gleanings For April 1 Jesus Prayer (For Us)

Gleanings For April 2 True Humility

Gleanings For April 3 Love One Another

Gleanings For April 4 To Know Jesus Is To Love Him

Gleanings For April 5 Love – (Needed For) The Greater Work

Gleanings For April 6 It Is Finished

Gleanings For April 7 Be Prepared!

Gleanings For April 8 Victorious Living

Gleanings For April 9 Resurrection Day

Gleanings For April 10 Love And Gratitude To God

Gleanings For April 11 In His Presence

Gleanings For April 12 Jesus Our Righteousness

Gleanings For April 13 Holiness

Gleanings For April 14 Message Of The Cross

Gleanings For April 15 We Are Redeemed

Gleanings For April 16 Complete Redemption

Gleanings For April 17 God’s Wisdom

Gleanings For April 18 Choose Life

Gleanings For April 19 You Can Be Blessed

Gleanings For April 20 Jesus Is Revelation

Gleanings For April 21 Revelation Of Jesus Christ

Gleanings For April 22 More Revelation Of Jesus

Gleanings For April 23 A Personal Testimony

Gleanings For April 24 (Some) Names Of God

Gleanings For April 25 Jesus – Our Light & Salvation

Gleanings For April 26 The Living Word

Gleanings For April 27 Psalm 37

Gleanings For April 28 Trust In The Lord

Gleanings For April 29 True Joy

Gleanings For April 30 Why Not Now?

Gleanings For May 1 Our Heart – Christ’s Home

Gleanings For May 2 All Glory To God

Gleanings For May 3 Dunamis -- Power

Gleanings For May 4 National Prayer

Gleanings For May 5 Prayer & Praise

Gleanings For May 6 No Condemnation

Gleanings For May 7 Be Encouraged

Gleanings For May 8 God’s Family

Gleanings For May 9 A Book Of Remembrance

Gleanings For May 10 Ordered Steps

Gleanings For May 11 God Is Faithful

Gleanings For May 12 Lessons From Nature

Gleanings For May 13 Don’t Worry

Gleanings For May 14 Blessed - Happy People

Gleanings For May 15 Gospel Power

Gleanings For May 16 Praying For Others

Gleanings For May 17 Trust And Obey

Gleanings For May 18 Walk In God’s Love

Gleanings For May 19 Faith

Gleanings For May 20 We’ve Been Redeemed

Gleanings For May 21 Pray – Don’t Be Critical

Gleanings For May 22 God Is Good

Gleanings For May 23 Justified

Gleanings For May 24 What Are You Speaking?

Gleanings For May 25 Empowered By Faith

Gleanings For May 26 We Are Blessed

Gleanings For May 27 Salvation: A Free Gift!

Gleanings For May 28 Let Us Have Peace

Gleanings For May 29 Rejoice In Tribulation

Gleanings For May 30 Remembering

Gleanings For May 31 Much More

Gleanings For June 1 Reign As Kings

Gleanings For June 2 Psalm 119

Gleanings For June 3 More From Psalm 119

Gleanings For June 4 The Joy Of Forgiveness

Gleanings For June 5 Talk To Yourself

Gleanings For June 6 God Is With You

Gleanings For June 7 Kindness

Gleanings For June 8 Practical Lesson

Gleanings For June 9 Never Again

Gleanings For June 10 Wisdom

Gleanings For June 11 We Have A Choice

Gleanings For June 12 Jesus; Our Anchor Of Hope

Gleanings For June 13 Valuable Lesson

Gleanings For June 14 Continue To Stand

Gleanings For June 15 Lesson Learned—Also Victory

Gleanings For June 16 Good Confessions

Gleanings For June 17 More Proverb Confessions

Gleanings For June 18 More Truth From Proverbs

Gleanings For June 19 Communing With God

Gleanings For June 20 Pray For Your Friends

Gleanings For June 21 The Gate Of Praise

Gleanings For June 22 Trust The Lord For All Things

Gleanings For June 23 The Preeminence Of Christ

Gleanings For June 24 Trusting Christ

Gleanings For June 25 Gratitude

Gleanings For June 26 Liberty

Gleanings For June 27 Pentecost

Gleanings For June 28 God’s Eternal Word

Gleanings For June 29 Wholeness

Gleanings For June 30 God’s Strength

Gleanings For July 1 Total Trust

Gleanings For July 2 Time With The Lord

Gleanings For July 3 Attitude

Gleanings For July 4 Independence Day

Gleanings For July 5 Come To Jesus

Gleanings For July 6 We Are God’s Family

Gleanings For July 7 More Faith Confessions

Gleanings For July 8 Good Conduct

Gleanings For July 9 Representatives Of God

Gleanings For July 10 Repentance

Gleanings For July 11 Living Stones & Holy Priests

Gleanings For July 12 The Joy Of The Lord

Gleanings For July 13 Jehovah Sabaoth

Gleanings For July 14 Joy Comes In The Morning

Gleanings For July 15 Revival Prayer

Gleanings For July 16 God’s Power In Us

Gleanings For July 17 Pray The Word

Gleanings For July 18 Called By God’s Grace

Gleanings For July 19 Redemption Is Ours

Gleanings For July 20 You Are Free

Gleanings For July 21 No Self Boasting

Gleanings For July 22 Personalized Promise Bible

Gleanings For July 23 More Confessions From Galatians

Gleanings For July 24 Vision From God

Gleanings For July 25 Sabbath Rest

Gleanings For July 26 Are You Faithful?

Gleanings For July 27 Bless The Lord

Gleanings For July 28 An Audience Of One

Gleanings For July 29 God’s Treasured Possessions

Gleanings For July 30 God’s Word Is True

Gleanings For July 31 Honor Your Mom

Gleanings For August 1 Love Never Fails

Gleanings For August 2 Hear And Do

Gleanings For August 3 The Secret Place

Gleanings For August 4 More Thanks-Living

Gleanings For August 5 Haggai & Zechariah

Gleanings For August 6 Fulfilled Prophecies

Gleanings For August 7 Blessed To Be A Blessing

Gleanings For August 8 Jesus Is The Vine

Gleanings For August 9 Lord, We Worship You

Gleanings For August 10 God’s Word Can Be Trusted

Gleanings For August 11 Jesus – The Anointed One

Gleanings For August 12 More From Zechariah

Gleanings For August 13 Malachi

Gleanings For August 14 Hope – Not Hope So

Gleanings For August 15 Joyful, Confident Hope

Gleanings For August 16 Choose To Rejoice

Gleanings For August 17 Christ In You

Gleanings For August 18 Draw On God’s Grace

Gleanings For August 19 I Am The Lord, I Change Not

Gleanings For August 20 God’s Covenant Love

Gleanings For August 21 Shalom – Nothing Missing

Gleanings For August 22 God’s Children Make Him Rich

Gleanings For August 23 Only By Grace

Gleanings For August 24 Christ – Our True Peace

Gleanings For August 25 Solid Ground

Gleanings For August 26 God’s Love = Redemption

Gleanings For August 27 Take Your Place

Gleanings For August 28 Stay Connected To Your Source

Gleanings For August 29 Don’t Have A Pity Party

Gleanings For August 30 Lay Down My Rights

Gleanings For August 31 Keep On Learning

Gleanings For September 1 Hope & Vision

Gleanings For September 2 Restoration

Gleanings For September 3 Amos, Obadiah & Nahum

Gleanings For September 4 Care About Others

Gleanings For September 5 Devoted To God

Gleanings For September 6 Agape Love

Gleanings For September 7 Walk In The Light

Gleanings For September 8 Walk In Wisdom

Gleanings For September 9 Jonah

Gleanings For September 10 Micah

Gleanings For September 11 Who Are You?

Gleanings For September 12 Love – The Cover For God’s Armor

Gleanings For September 13 Spiritual Warfare

Gleanings For September 14 Stand Strong

Gleanings For September 15 Praise

Gleanings For September 16 Completing Micah & Habakkuk

Gleanings For September 17 Fellowship With God

Gleanings For September 18 Jesus Is The Vine

Gleanings For September 19 Jesus Has Given Us Authority!

Gleanings For September 20 Mission Possible

Gleanings For September 21 God Loves You

Gleanings For September 22 Under The Shelter

Gleanings For September 23 The Lord: Our Refuge

Gleanings For September 24 Promises From The Prophet Isaiah

Gleanings For September 25 Be Kind

Gleanings For September 26 Good News

Gleanings For September 27 Grow Up Spiritually

Gleanings For September 28 Invest In Your Spiritual Future

Gleanings For September 29 Confess God’s Love

Gleanings For September 30 Shaloam – Perfect Peace

Gleanings For October 1 Faith Confessions

Gleanings For October 2 Think About His Love

Gleanings For October 3 Strong Foundation

Gleanings For October 4 Jesus Won The Victory

Gleanings For October 5 Jesus: Divine & Human

Gleanings For October 6 Pay Attention

Gleanings For October 7 Faith Confessions

Gleanings For October 8 Faith Confessions

Gleanings For October 9 Jesus - The Second Adam

Gleanings For October 10 The Word Is God

Gleanings For October 11 Who Is God?

Gleanings For October 12 Faith Versus Doubt

Gleanings For October 13 Hoop-A-Kooa

Gleanings For October 14 Faith Confessions

Gleanings For October 15 Faith Confessions

Gleanings For October 16 God’s Way

Gleanings For October 17 Lesson From Life Happenings

Gleanings For October 18 No Fear In Love

Gleanings For October 19 Good Thoughts Produce Good Character

Gleanings For October 20 Words That Bless

Gleanings For October 21 Faith Confessions

Gleanings For October 22 Faith Confessions

Gleanings For October 23 Our New Nature

Gleanings For October 24 Necessary Power

Gleanings For October 25 Virtue

Gleanings For October 26 Knowledge

Gleanings For October 27 Self Control

Gleanings For October 28 Faith Confessions

Gleanings For October 29 Faith Confessions

Gleanings For October 30 Patience - Longsuffering

Gleanings For October 31 Godliness / Piety

Gleanings For November 1 Brotherly Love

Gleanings For November 2 Christian Love

Gleanings For November 3 Knowing Jesus

Gleanings For November 4 Faith Confessions

Gleanings For November 5 Faith Confessions

Gleanings For November 6 True Hope

Gleanings For November 7 Love Seals Our Hope

Gleanings For November 8 Cast Your Cares On Jesus

Gleanings For November 9 Condition For God’s Protection

Gleanings For November 10 God Watches Over You

Gleanings For November 11 Faith Confessions From Jeremiah

Gleanings For November 12 Faith Confessions

Gleanings For November 13 God’s Grace Through Jesus

Gleanings For November 14 God’s Idea

Gleanings For November 15 At One With God

Gleanings For November 16 Renew Your Mind

Gleanings For November 17 Children Of God

Gleanings For November 18 Faith Confessions

Gleanings For November 19 Faith Confessions

Gleanings For November 20 The Joy Of The Lord

Gleanings For November 21 Rejoice Evermore

Gleanings For November 22 Rejoice

Gleanings For November 23 Blessed Thanksgiving Day!

Gleanings For November 24 A New Day

Gleanings For November 25 Faith Confessions

Gleanings For November 26 Faith Confessions

Gleanings For November 27 God’s Word – A Safe Guide

Gleanings For November 28 God’s Word – It Is Alive

Gleanings For November 29 Discovering The Blessings

Gleanings For November 30 The Lord: Our Strong Tower

Gleanings For December 1 Facts & Truth

Gleanings For December 2 Faith Confessions

Gleanings For December 3 Faith Confessions

Gleanings For December 4 The Word’s First Proclamation Of Messiah

Gleanings For December 5 Promises Of The Coming Messiah

Gleanings For December 6 Jesus The Prophet Of The Greater Covenant

Gleanings For December 7 The Messiah Becoming A Man

Gleanings For December 8 Christ Birthed By A Young Virgin Woman

Gleanings For December 9 Faith Confessions

Gleanings For December 10 Faith Confessions

Gleanings For December 11 The Scriptures And The Spirit Of Prophecy

Gleanings For December 12 True Prophesy

Gleanings For December 13 The Promised Messiah

Gleanings For December 14 God’s Word In Our Lives

Gleanings For December 15 We Can Have Confidence!

Gleanings For December 16 Faith Confessions

Gleanings For December 17 Faith Confessions

Gleanings For December 18 Let God Love You

Gleanings For December 19 God’s Light

Gleanings For December 20 Whiter Than Snow

Gleanings For December 21 An Unforgettable True Story

Gleanings For December 22 Eternal Destiny

Gleanings For December 23 Faith Confessions

Gleanings For December 24 Faith Confessions

Gleanings For December 25 Blessed Merry Christmas Day!!

Gleanings For December 26 Share God’s Love

Gleanings For December 27 Fruit Not Works

Gleanings For December 28 Our All-Sufficient God

Gleanings For December 29 Be A Blessing To Others

Gleanings For December 30 Faith Confessions

Gleanings For December 31 Faith Confessions

Acknowledgements

Gratitude goes to my Heavenly Father who gave me life through loving parents. Jesus became my Lord at an early age as they demonstrated God’s love through the strong faith they themselves experienced.

Ephesians 3:14: For this reason I bow my knees to the Father from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.

Grandma’s Gleanings is dedicated to my wonderful husband who moved to his heavenly home in April of 2004. We shared over 50 special years together and the Lord blessed us with five precious children. To each of them and their loving spouses I say Thank You for the constant support you are in my life. I consider each of the spouses children-in-love (not in-law). The Grand and Great-grand children are a delight in my life. When we have a family gathering we number, at the present time, 35—there are more great-grands on the way.

Many people have touched my life – special friends, relatives and those who were a part of the communities Jerry and I were privileged to serve while active Pastor. To each one of you: Thank you for planting life seeds that have become a part of this book of devotions.

Special Thanks goes to my daughter Christine. She and her family got me started using a computer. Her help in the preparation for publishing leaves me without adequate words to express the gratitude I feel. Also, thank you Joan (daughter-in-love) for being available for those times I needed technical help with computer glitches. Thanks also to the WestBow Press workers. You were a big help to me.

To see my children and grandchildren all serving the Lord brings much joy to my life as well as gratitude to God. The cover for this book was designed by one of my granddaughters: Faith Pomp. Special thank you Faith!

Happy New Year

For whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:13

Today people everywhere are gathering together to celebrate the first bright moments of the New Year. will serve only as a dim reminder of loneliness and loss. It will simply mark the beginning of another year of failure.

That is a quotation from the Devotional Book entitled Faith to Faith A Daily Guide to Victory written by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland. It is an excellent book, I highly recommend you purchase a copy and read it every day of the year. You can inquire at the TCC Office for more information about it if you are interested.

The devotional continues to comment about the fact that many people put on a happy face while inside they are carrying a heavy load---the load could be guilt or it could be sorrow" caused by various things that happened throughout the past year. People, who read Grandmas Gleanings, have been told about the Good News of the Gospel. We have shared that the news is GOOD because the TRUTH, which is the Word, goes to the SOURCE of any problem someone might encounter.

When you have a need, a good question to ask yourself is: What is my relationship to the God Who created me? (He is the God of the Bible.) If you have not heard the message of what is a relationship with Jesus? The answer is: It begins with the words you speak:

Romans 10: 9 tells us: "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." The way to receive Eternal Life is not difficult---all it takes is a yielded heart; Jesus has paid the price for eternal life for you. When you choose to say yes to His invitation, you will find a new peace enters your life. You will agree with the hymn writer who wrote:

What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought,

Since Jesus came into my heart!

I have light in my soul for which long I have sought

Since Jesus came into my heart!

I have ceased from my wandering and going astray,

And my sins which were many are all washed away,

Joy floods over my soul like the sea billows roll,

SINCE JESUS CAME INTO MY HEART!!

That is an old song but the message is true. Someone once said: My soul is restless until I find REST in Jesus. If you have never given your life to the Lord—start this brand New Year, right---turn the reigns of your life over to Him. You will never regret it. The result of that decision will be:

THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH!!

Gleanings for January 2

JESUS is ALL WE NEED

Hebrews 10: 14: By one offering He has perfected forever them who are being sanctified."

First Corinthians 1: 30, 31: But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, Who became for us WISDOM from God---and RIGHTEOUSNESS and SANCTIFICATION and REDEMPTION---that, as it is written, the person who glories, let that person glory in the Lord.

In our devotion yesterday we encouraged anyone who had not made Jesus the Lord of his or her life, to make that commitment the very first day of the New Year. If this is something that you decided to do, it is important for you to grow in faith. This is a need for anyone---even people who made that decision many years ago.

The scriptures printed above are good reminders that we receive salvation because of what Jesus has done. Once we realize that JESUS is our wisdom righteousness sanctification and redemption we will sense a new measure of joy flowing through our lives.

Wherever the joy of God is not present, the death sentence is still in effect. That is a quotation from the devotional book: My Utmost for His Highest. Pretty strong words—would you not agree?

The phrase with which we close each Grandmas Gleanings: The joy of the Lord is your strength is more than just a cliché---a nice way to end a devotional. It is taken directly from God’s Word. You will find it recorded in Nehemiah 8 verse 10.

The words were spoken by Ezra after he had read the law of God from the light of day until midday to a public gathering in Jerusalem. (He did this while the people were standing!!) They had come out of captivity and had not heard the Word for years.

Notice the setting: Verses 9 and 10: "And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people,: This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn nor weep. For all the people wept when they heard the words of the Law.

"Then he said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared, (they were to be mindful of others—as we also should be!) For this day is holy to our Lord. DO NOT SORROW, for THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH!"

In the 11th verse, the Levites (who were the teachers) again exhorted them: Be still, for the day is holy, DO NOT BE GRIEVED. As you continue reading the chapter you find that the people got the message they went their way REJOICING!!!

Salvation has been bought and paid for! It is meant to bring HOPE. It will do just that as we cast our cares on the Lord: He TRULY CARES FOR YOU!! And since His Grace is sufficient for all your needs, the truth we close this meditation with can be yours---every day of your life:

THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH!!!

Gleanings for January 3

Encouragement in PRAYER

First Timothy 2: 1 – 6: "Therefore I encourage first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all people, for kings and all who are in a prominent place that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.

"For (praying in that manner) is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, Who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. There is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, Who gave Himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time."

It seems that too often we put ourselves first when we pray. It’s possible that is ONLY as far as we get---just praying for our own personal lives and needs. In the scripture above, Paul gave Timothy some clear instructions about prayer.

Praying for those in authority touches our life in many ways. Intercession for our nation should be a big part of our daily prayers. God is concerned about us, and also whether the leaders we have chosen are people who will acknowledge Him in the decisions that they make.

Throughout my growing up years, in the month of January, our church devoted special emphasis to corporate prayer. Often we held special meetings every night (sometimes all day) during the first week in January. Making time for those meetings could well have been inspired by the text we have chosen for today’s devotional.

When Pastors and leaders in a church encourage their people to follow the teaching recorded in this passage, I believe the result will be a healthy, growing congregation; they will be a people who want to share with others who are in need, as well as just telling the Good News the Gospel presents. When prayer is sincere it will produce fruit in our life---the kind that we find in the life of Jesus. He is not only our Savior but we should let Him be an example for each of us to follow.

Somebody did a golden deed, Proving they were a friend in need;

Somebody sang a cheerful song, brightening the sky the whole daylong.

Somebody made a loving gift; Cheerfully tried a load to lift;

Somebody told the love of Christ.

Told how His will was sacrificed. Somebody filled the days with light,

Constantly chased away the night; Somebody’s work bore joy and peace

Was that somebody you?

Each of us must answer that question for ourselves. We need not rely on our own ability to live in such a way, we have the power of the Lord living within us---He is the One who will direct us to do the things He wants u to do---if we will ASK Him. I promise you, as you think about OTHERS, you will find:

THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH!!!

Gleanings for January 4

Types of Prayer

Ephesians 6: 18 NKJV: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful… Prayer is such a vital part in the life of someone desiring to grow up spiritually. The verse we are thinking about today comes directly after this exhortation: Put on the WHOLE Armor of God (See verses 10 – 17). Prayer IS a spiritual warfare!! God’s Word is our chief weapon for victory over the enemy and Prayer activates the Word!!

We should be aware that there are various types of prayer. Moffat translates the verse like this: Praying with all manner of prayer and someone else puts it like this: Praying with all kinds of prayer."

Some of the types of prayer are:

(1) Prayer of Petition (2) Prayer of Consecration

(3) Prayer of Worship & Praise (4) Prayer of Commitment

(5) United Prayer (6) Private Prayer (7) Prayer of Agreement and

(8) Prayer of Importunity—which means special demands or requests.

As you think about that list, it will be easy for you to understand that there are different rules for praying these prayers, even as there are different rules for games that are played. Pastor Kenneth E. Hagin, says this about all kinds of prayer:

A visitor from Europe was taken by his host to see a baseball game in New York City. He didn’t know much about the game, as it was not played in his country. He couldn’t understand some of the rules that were used so he asked lots of questions. We may have questions spiritually in regard to the different kinds of prayer; so different rules apply in each case. Using the wrong rule can be confusing. With the Prayer of Petition, which is by far the most frequent prayer of most Christians, we should pray the prayer of FAITH. (See Mark 11: 24) You must believe you receive. Jesus is concerned about everything that touches our lives (especially when we choose to do His will.) He has made provision for us. III John 1:2 says: I wish above all things that you will prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.

For the Prayer of Consecration and Dedication, a good example is Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (See Luke 22:42) He wanted to do the Father’s Will so He prayed, if You are willing…nevertheless not my will… It was not a prayer to get something "or to change" something. It was a prayer of Consecration.

When we consecrate our lives for God’s use, we pray, if it be Your Will. When it comes to receiving from God and we know God’s Word agrees with it, we do not add that phrase; we already know it is His will that our needs be met.

THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH!!!

Gleanings for January 5

Prayer of Worship & Praise

Isaiah 12: 1 -6 the New Berkeley Translation: In that day you will say, I will give thanks to You, O Lord, for though You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away and You comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation: I will trust and not be afraid, for JEHOVAH, THE LORD, is my strength and my song; yes He has become my salvation."

With joy therefore, will you draw water from the fountains of salvation, and you will say in that day, Give thanks to the Lord; call upon His name! Make known His doings among the nations. Proclaim that His name is exalted!

Sing to the Lord, for He has wrought glorious miracles; let this become known through all the earth. Cry out and shout joyfully, you residents of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

For the prayer of Worship and Praise, we could have chosen any number of scripture verses. The book of Isaiah is especially precious to me so I chose a favorite verse from that book. I believe we can find many of the ingredients that will help us have true worship and praise.

It begins with thanksgiving even though the author felt like God had been angry with him; he knew God well enough and was sure that comfort was ready and waiting for him to receive as he went to the Lord in prayer.

His salvation was also acknowledged, along with a confidence that he could TOTALLY rely on his God because HE was (in Hebrew, YAH) JEHOVAH, THE LORD, in WHOM, he put his trust. Jehovah was his strength and his song.

Notice next, it was "with JOY’ that refreshing was to be part of his life. Along with his joy, more thanks broke forth from the writer’s pen. Then it was time to share the wonders of the personal God, Who was being addressed, making certain that the Name of the Lord was being EXALTED.

The author ends this chapter by bringing out more ways to express worship and praise: he mentions: SING, CRY OUT, SHOUT JOYFULLY in order to "let (the wonders of God) be known through all the earth."

There can be no doubt about TO WHOM the worship and praise of Isaiah was being directed! This should be a good example for us in our private time and also in the corporate times of worship.

It is very easy for us to center on ministering to one another when Christians meet together. That is important, but ministering to THE LORD should be our number ONE priority. As we put HIM first in everything we do, our ministry for one another will become even more fruitful.

Meditate on Isaiah the 12th Chapter today---as you WORSHIP and PRAISE the Lord you will find:

THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH!!!

Gleanings for January 6

Worship, Devotion, Truth & Joy

Isaiah 12: 3 & 4: NKJV: Therefore with JOY you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And in that day you will say: Praise the Lord, call upon His name; declare His deeds among the peoples, make mention that His name is exalted."

John 4: 10 & 14: NKJV: Jesus said to her, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, Give Me a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you LIVING WATER.

But whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give, will never thirst. But the water that I shall give will become in (that person) a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.

Almost a week has gone by since the New Year began—it is my plan for the coming year to include two more devotionals that will complete the week; previously the Gleanings were only for the weekdays. I trust the added devotions will be a blessing to all who choose to read them.

I have chosen to add a New Testament reference to the verses from Isaiah that we wrote about yesterday. Notice the reference Jesus makes to the water He had to give. As you read the incident in John the 4th Chapter, see how the conversation He had with the Woman who had come to get water from a well, turned from the subject of water to a discussion about worship.

Please read John 4 Verses 1 – 24 to get a complete picture of this important event in the life of Jesus while He was on earth. Verses 23 and 24 give us insight about the thoughts Jesus had in regard to worship:

"But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." That kind of worship calls us to be devoted to TRUTH.

The following is a quotation from a section in my Bible called Truth in Action:

"John’s Gospel introduces the Holy Spirit as the key to a truly dynamic devotion to God. It anticipates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit Who will become the very energy of the believer’s devotional life.

The Holy Spirit will maximize PRAYER and WORSHIP, minister through the Lord’s Supper, and enable believers to continually draw strength for their lives from Jesus Christ Himself."

Commit yourself to be diligent to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth—and in the beauty of holiness. As you do that, your heart will be filled with PRAISE and I know that

PRAISE

will bring an eruption of JOY and you will find:

Nehemiah 8:10:

THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH!!

Gleanings for January 7

Our Life Hidden in God

Revelation 5: l3, 14: NLB: Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever. And the four living beings said, Amen! And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped God and the Lamb."

Colossians 3: 3 NKJV: For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Colossians 1: 27 NKJV: Christ in you, the hope of glory.

I John 1: 7 NKJV: But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

Our thoughts this week will continue to be centered on PRAYER and the different kinds of prayer that are mentioned in the scripture, one type is WORSHIP. TRUE WORSHIP comes when our lives are completely enter-twined with God.

This means we will want to choose to walk in HIS LIGHT; the kind of light that leads us to TRUTH. It also means that we must come to KNOW (not just head knowledge but TRUE HEART relationship with) the ONE WHOM we worship.

Strongs’ Concordance gives this definition of WORSHIP: To prostrate oneself, bow down, do obeisance, show reverence, do homage, worship, adore.

The verse in Revelation that we quoted, records that the twenty-four elders were worshiping as they blessed the Lord and brought glory to the Lamb Who was slain before the foundation of the world.

We who are still on this earth have not yet come into that full understanding of WHO our God really is but as we continue to read THE WORD and ask the Holy Spirit to help us, our understanding of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit will keep on growing.

I believe when we unite with other Christians and enter into true worship and praise, often the Presence of the Lord will become very evident—it is at those times a person may choose to prostrate and bow down before Him in worship and adoration.

The last verse we listed today encourages us to walk in the light as HE IS IN THE LIGHT; He, Jesus, is not only IN the light but HE IS the TRUE LIGHT WHO desires to bring unity and an atmosphere which will bring about a manifestation of God’s Presence among us. Jesus prayed for that unity in:

John 17: 20, 21: "I pray for those who will believe in Me through their (the disciples) word; that they all may BE ONE, as YOU Father are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be ONE IN US, that the world may believe that You sent ME."

Understanding the truth of that verse will help us to know:

THE JOY OF THE LORD IS OUR STRENGTH!!

Gleanings for January 8

Prayer of Praise

Acts 16: 25--28 New Berkeley Version: "About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God and the prisoners were listening to them. Then suddenly a tremendous earthquake occurred which shook the prison to its foundations. At once all the doors sprang open and everyone’s chains fell off.

When the jailor awoke and saw the prison doors standing open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul called out loudly, Do not harm yourself, for we are all here."

Verses 22 through 24 of Acts 16 tell us that Paul and Silas had been beaten, their feet were fastened with stocks and they were thrown into prison. In the midst of that situation, what did they do??

They prayed and sang hymns they did this so loud that all the other prisoners could hear them!! Their attitude could have been one of self-pity. They had been preaching the good news of the Gospel before they were arrested so, why did this imprisonment happen to them? (Ever ask a question like that???)

What would your response be if you were treated unjustly like Paul & Silas were treated? If you have been faithful in daily worship and praise to our God, I believe whatever you have put into your heart, will come out of your mouth.

Trouble is bound to come to any one of us—we may wonder why things happen as they do, we can look to people, but their answer may not be the one we are looking for; THE WORD OF GOD IS AN EVER PRESENT REALITY!! That Word WILL have an answer for any problem that can come into our lives. As we Trust and Obey and BELIEVE what the Word tells us; then, as we remain patient and continue to PRAISE THE LORD, we can be assured that HIS WORD will not fail!!!

A definition for the word patience is, "being consistently the same all the time." In other words, no matter what the circumstances, our lives are firmly anchored in the God Who created us---as we stay in close fellowship with Him, through Praise and Worship, we will be sheltered under His umbrella—no matter what situation we find ourselves confronting. See Psalm 91 verse one.

Paul & Silas were delivered from prison, plus, they were able to bring the message of salvation to the jailer and his family; being consistent to the way they had conducted their lives, before they became prisoners, was a major factor as they saw victory over the circumstances they found themselves to be in.

Let us be encouraged and keep our eyes on JESUS, Who is our Source of our strength. He lives right inside us! He is ready to help whenever a time of testing comes to us. Remember, deliverance came for the apostles while they were praising God.

THE JOY OF THE LORD IS OUR STRENGTH!!!

Gleanings for January 9

PRAISE BRINGS VICTIORY

IIChronicles20: 22 NewBerkeleyVersion

"Jehoshaphat stood to say, ‘Hear me,

O Judah and you residents of Jerusalem! Trust in the Lord your God, and you will be established. Trust in His prophets, and you will be successful. He took counsel with the people, appointing those who were to sing to the Lord and those who were to give praise in the beauty of holiness as they advanced in front of the troops saying, ‘Praise the Lord, because His loving kindness is everlasting.’ When they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah, and they were beaten.

Again today we are bringing out the truth that PRAISE and WORSHIP are key factors as we battle any enemy we may face. This Old Testament event is a good counter-part to the message in the Gleanings we shared yesterday.

The army of Judah was no match for the countries who were about to attack them. The King of Judah knew where his Source of strength was, as he went to prayer, this was the answer that came: Verse 15: The Lord says to you: Be not afraid, neither be discouraged on account of this great horde, for the battle is not yours BUT GOD’S."

Then verse 17 adds: "You will not need to fight in this; just hold your place, STAND STILL, and see the victory of the Lord, HE is with you!"

WOW! That had to have taken faith. Notice the response from the king and the people: Verse 18 & 19: "Then Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the residents of Jerusalem fell before the Lord to WORSHIP the Lord. The Levites and the sons of Korah arose to PRAISE THE LORD, the God of Israel, with a VERY LOUD VOICE."

As you continue reading Chapter 20 you will find that the Lord caused the enemy to begin fighting one another. The effect of the victory brought this response from other nations: Verses 29 & 30: "Again the awe of God came over ALL THE KINGDOMS of the lands when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. The kingdom of Jehoshaphat had peace, for his God gave him rest on all sides."

HALLELUJAH!! When our God gives us the victory, we have PEACE!! Last month we set aside a day to remember the Birth of Jesus—THE PRINCE OF PEACE! The message the Angels proclaimed on the night Jesus was born is still very much alive today. We need that peace today!!

As we WORSHIP and PRAISE our Triune God, we tap into the Well of victory that brings peace.

Proverbs 10:11 says: "The mouth of the righteous is A WELL OF LIFE."

That well will produce "rivers of living water" (John 7: 38 & 39).

THE JOY OF THE LORD IS OUR STRENGTH!!!

Gleanings for January 10

Consistency in Worship & Praise

"Luke 24: 51 – 53 NKJV: While He (Jesus) blessed them, He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. And they WORSHIPED Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple PRAISING and BLESSING God. Amen.

We who are alive today can look to the early leaders, who are good examples of people who began Christian fellowships, (churches) after Jesus left this earth (bodily) and ascended into heaven. The following account from the book of Matthew gives us more teaching about the day Jesus ascended into heaven:

"Matthew 28: 16 – 20 NKJV: "The eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him, they WORSHIPED HIM; but some doubted.

And Jesus came and spoke to them saying: All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.

Did you notice as you read Matthew’s account, that along with people who worshiped Jesus, there were those also, who doubted? Human nature has not changed over the centuries; it seems there will always be doubters besides those who desire to truly WORSHIP. I trust that the scriptures we have been sharing the last few days are some that inspire you to be a "worshipper.

After the disciples watched Jesus return to heaven, they went back to Jerusalem with hearts full of praise and thanksgiving to God. Acts 2:46-47 tells us:

And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat (food) with gladness and singleness of heart, PRAISING GOD, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

As you read about the consistency of these early Christians, I trust you catch how important it is that we DAILY, make it a part of our lives to WORSHIP AND PRAISE. Please don’t wait until a crisis comes into your life and then go and look for your Bible so you can find a scripture to help you through the storm.

We know the early church turned the world upside down. Signs and miracles followed those who were believers and this happened because they had fellowship DAILY with the Lord and also with others who were like-minded.

Open your heart to receive the blessings that are waiting for you as you become consistent in WORSHIP AND PRAISE!

THE JOY OF THE LORD—will then be---YOUR STRENGTH!!!

Gleanings for January 11

United Prayer

Acts 1: 12 – 14, Selected portions from the NKJV: "Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet…and when they had entered, they (the disciples) went up into the upper room where they were staying.

These all continued with one accord (with one purpose and mind) in prayer, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus and with His brothers.

There is power in UNITED PRAYER! As Peter and John were about to enter the temple (through the gate called Beautiful), they saw a man begging alms. A chorus children sing in Sunday school says:

Peter and John went to pray; they met a lame man on the way. He asked them for money but they replied: Silver and gold have we none, but such as we have, we give thee; in the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth: RISE UP AND WALK. The result was: He went walking and leaping and praising God.

That miracle caused quite a STIR among the people and Peter and John were brought before the priests and elders who promptly put them in prison.

The next day when the rulers examined the evidence they could not deny that a miracle had taken place so they let them go free with the warning that they were NOT to preach or teach in the name of Jesus anymore.

Acts 4: 23 – 30 tells of their response:

They went to their own people and reported all that had been said to them. So when they heard that, they RAISED THEIR VOICE TO GOD with ONE ACCORD and said: Lord, You are God Who made heaven and earth and the sea."

(Verses 25 through 28 quote what David had written in Psalm 2) then the people continue: Now Lord, look on their threats and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your Word, by stretching out Your hand to heal and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.

Verse 31 gives the answer to that prayer: And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with BOLDNESS.

The disciples did not allow warnings of a threat of imprisonment to deter them from continuing to speak the word of God with BOLDNESS. Hallelujah!! We have been shown how the early Christians were faithful in praise and worship; we can also learn from them that we need not back down when we are challenged by others to be quiet about sharing our faith.

Acts 5: 29 tells us: "But Peter and the other apostles answered, they said: We ought to obey God rather than men. Good advice that will help us to know:

THE JOY OF THE LORD IS OUR STRENGTH!!!

Gleanings for January 12

We Are Family

Ephesians 1: 4 – 8 NLB: "Long ago, even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave Him great pleasure.

So we praise God for the wonderful kindness He has poured out on us because we belong to His dearly loved Son, and our sins are forgiven. He has showered His kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

Yesterday our Gleanings Devotional centered on United Prayer. As I write this message, (2006) it is a few days before Christmas Day. Wednesday evening, my children and I, along with all their children (and spouses) plus my Great grand child experienced the special privilege of going to two different Nursing Homes for Christmas Caroling.

We numbered 29 people in all. (The son and his family who live 150 miles from here couldn’t be with us, we will see them on New Years Eve.)

Why am I telling you about our special family time? Because, I believe, that in order to have United Prayer in a congregation, there must be unity in the families that make up the church.

A congregation is made up of many units—it is important for us who are blessed to have family living close, that we INCLUDE the individuals who may be alone.

This was one reason we visited the Nursing Homes. The people we know, who are in the Homes we visited, have no family living near here. One of the friends we visited has NO living relatives in the area.

Seeing smiles on the faces of, not only our friends, but the other residents of those homes as well is a picture that will stay with me for a long time. It blessed us to watch many of them sing the verses of the carols they knew. The people especially enjoyed the younger children and of course Baby Joy. (It is her 6-month birthday on the day I write this.)

You will notice the scripture we began with today tells about God’s wonderful plan, from eternity, which was: to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ! For me, those are shouting words—my heart leaps inside me when I think about God’s Eternal Love!! It is the very life of the Gospel Message. It is His love that draws people unto Himself.

The New Year has really just begun—we can put behind us any of the regrets from the past year that might be trying to steal our joy. Let the wonderful message of Christmas continue to be a part of your life every day this year. As you do, you will find yourself to be one of the people who encourage others in united prayer, with and FOR people who are needy and looking for someone to be their friend.

May God’s Love fill your heart!! As you allow Him full reign in your life, you will be sure to know:

THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH!!!

Gleanings for January 13

Our GREAT I AM

Exodus 3:14 NKJV: And God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM"

John 8: 28a NKJV: Jesus said, ‘When you crucify the Son of Man, then you will know that I AM HE, and that I do nothing of Myself.

John 8: 58 NKJV: "Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.’

My prayer today is that you will get a renewed (or possibly, a deeper sense) of understanding about the PERSON WHOM it is we are addressing when we pray. I know that this is something I have written about before, but as I was doing some editing of the devotions dealing with the different kinds of prayer, the thought renewed understanding of Who God is was very strong in my spirit.

What we believe about God will make all