Penny J. Johnson's Blog, page 106

One Good Thing Every Day: December 29, 2013

Christmas lights may be removed from tree boughs and stored until next year. But, the Advent lights of Christmas–Hope, Peace, Joy, Love fueled by Faith–may remain within our hearts throughout the days ahead. May these verses illuminate 2014′s journey.

 

Psalm 40:4 NASB

How blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust,

And has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.

Psalm 56:3-4 NASB

When I am afraid,

I will put my trust in You.

In God, whose word I praise,

In God I have put my trust;

I shall not be afraid.

What can mere man do to me?

Isaiah 26:3-4 NASB

“The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace,

Because he trusts in You.

“Trust in the Lord forever,

For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock.

Psalm 62:8 NASB

Trust in Him at all times, O people;

Pour out your heart before Him;

God is a refuge for us. Selah.

 

 

One Good Thing Every Day: December 28, 2013

Psalm 46:1

God is our refuge and strength,

an ever-present help in trouble.

 

Psalm 89:15

Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,

who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD.

One Good Thing Every Day: December 27, 2013

Isaiah 64:4

Since ancient times no one has heard,

    no ear has perceived,

no eye has seen any God besides you,

    who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.

John 15:5

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Psalm 36:9

For with you is the fountain of life;

    in your light we see light.

One Good Thing Every Day: December 26, 2013

1 John 4:15-18 NIV

If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

 

Psalm 13:5 NIV

But I trust in your unfailing love;

    my heart rejoices in your salvation.

One Good Thing Every Day: December 25, 2013

2 Corinthians 4:6 NIV

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

 

Philippians 2:6-7 NIV

Who, being in very natureGod,     

did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 

 rather, he made himself nothing    

 by taking the very natureof a servant,     

being made in human likeness.

 

Luke 2:13-14 NASB

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

One Good Thing Every Day: December 24, 2013

Psalm 90:2 NIV

Before the mountains were born     

or you brought forth the whole world,     

from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

 

Colossians 3:15 NIV

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

One Good Thing Every Day: December 23, 2013

Romans 8:32 NIV

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

One Good Thing Every Day: December 22, 2013

John 1:14 NIV

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

2 Peter 1:19 NIV

We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

Love–the coveted desire of every heart–is often sought blindly while stumbling through this world’s darkened room on a quest for a long-ago-lost possession. This seeking goes by feel, grasping onto anyone and anything that might be the true article. But, when eyes open wider and adjust within life’s dimness, false Love reveals, bringing disappointment and betrayal.

Now sounds a newborn’s cry in the distance. Then, a star–the most brilliant of the night lights–casts an unexplainable glow. The call is compelling, the sight beckoning. Following the beacon leads to a stench-ridden stable. A couple crouches in the corner near a crude, hay-filled manger. Inside rests a child, a hidden wisdom in his eyes. Instantly, Emmanuel’s True Love permeates life’s darkest chamber–the heart.

One Page at a Time: Sorting It Out

I am sorting poems today. I try not to think of this as sorting socks–looking for sets, tossing out ones with holes, bothered by the ones still dingy-gray, wondering what to do with those left and unmatched.

Better to think of it as sorting through heirlooms and photographs–recalling forgotten faces, reclaiming failures as successes, revising memory for clarity, retrieving what has been lost.

One Good Thing Every Day: December 21, 2013

Psalm 63:2 NIV

I have seen you in the sanctuary

    and beheld your power and your glory.

 

About this time every Christmas, I feel exhausted. Have I gone to all the places I need to go? Do I have all the purchases to fulfill the needs of others? What have I forgotten?

Invariably,  I have forgotten something–Joy. Hope begins the season, Peace remains a longing, Love remerges by Christmas Eve, and Faith retains into the New Year. But, Joy gets squeezed out in the middle. Add stress, fatigue, illness, and annoyances to the Christmas list of unchecked items, and Joy seems extinguished. Unless I remember Joy is that hidden ember in the ashes. Joy rekindles hope and peace. It reignites to reveal Love and Faith. Therefore, I poke my weary self to keep watch on the glow of Christmas Joy shining through the verses shared this week.

 

Romans 15:13 NIV

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

Ecclesiastes 4:12

Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

 

James 1:2 NIV

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds.

 

Psalm 150:6 NIV

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord.

 

2 Corinthians 4:17 NIV

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

 

Isaiah 30:20-21 NIV

Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

 

Psalm 92:1-5

It is good to give thanks to the Lord

And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;

To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning

And Your faithfulness by night,

With the ten-stringed lute and with the harp,

With resounding music upon the lyre.

For You, O Lord, have made me glad by what You have done,

I will sing for joy at theworks of Your hands.

How great are Your works, O Lord!

Your thoughts are very deep.