Mornings with Jesus 2020 Quotes

“Stillness and rest, I’m finding, are not the same thing but are close cousins. In my case, the call to stillness came first. I had to carve out time to be still to hear and fully understand the invitation to rest. In my case, rest is not about spending more time relaxing or having fun. It’s a state of mind that informs my very being. Rest means that no matter what’s going on, I’m trusting Jesus is ordering my steps, solving my problems, providing, refining me—lovingly, completely, and right on time. It mostly feels like going with the flow, enjoying my life. Yet neither stillness nor rest is passive. They both depend entirely on the intimacy of my relationship with Jesus—a level of intimacy that, as with any relationship, comes only with time, nearness, and attention to Him.”
― Guideposts, Mornings with Jesus 2020: Daily Encouragement for Your Soul

“C. S. Lewis said, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.”
― Guideposts, Mornings with Jesus 2020: Daily Encouragement for Your Soul

“As followers of Jesus, we aren’t immune from loss and grief. Circumstances may move us far from our family and friends. Even more painful, those we are close to may go to heaven. We miss them, and it hurts. But Jesus reminds us that these partings are temporary. In the face of eternity together, these times of separation are brief. We may grieve, but not as those who have no hope. We’ll be able to join Jesus and our loved ones soon. What a reunion that will be! —”
― Guideposts, Mornings with Jesus 2020: Daily Encouragement for Your Soul

“ARE YOU GETTING ENOUGH SUNSHINE?” my doctor asked. He may have noticed my I-work-at-my-desk-all-day pallor. “I work at my desk all day,” I told him. “But I take vitamin D supplements.” He looked at my lab results. “Your calcium is on the low side of normal. Are you eating enough dark greens?” “Not to worry, Doctor. I’ll take a calcium supplement, or two.” This is how the appointment progressed in my mind as I prepared for my annual physical. I was compiling the list of medications and supplements, conscious that I was supplementing much of what the human body can normally get from a healthy diet and ten minutes of fresh air a day. How often do we try to do the same with our spiritual health? We depend on supplements—someone else’s insights, Sunday’s sermon, a brief nugget heard on the radio—as our entire spiritual intake for the week. We lean on supplements rather than a rich diet of daily Bible reading, prayer time, and reflection with Jesus. Jesus no doubt carried on a perpetual internal conversation with His Father, but He still stole away by Himself for extended times of prayer. He said we should “abide” in Him (John 15:7, NKJV), which seems more like a meal than a quick snack, doesn’t it? —CYNTHIA RUCHTI”
― Guideposts, Mornings with Jesus 2020: Daily Encouragement for Your Soul

“Jesus was never afraid of a person’s honest questions or doubts. They didn’t make Him defensive. His response to Nathanael was like it later would be to Thomas. I see you. Now come and see me. Jesus knew the antidote to doubt was to invite the doubter in.”
― Guideposts, Mornings with Jesus 2020: Daily Encouragement for Your Soul

“God knows our weaknesses, so He sends the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and help us live that new life. Slowly but surely, the Spirit transforms us. He makes us more and more like Jesus as we give Him control over our thoughts and desires. He develops in us godly characteristics such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22–23). He teaches, equips, and empowers us to say no to temptation and yes to following Jesus.”
― Guideposts, Mornings with Jesus 2020: Daily Encouragement for Your Soul

“SATURDAY, APRIL 4 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9 (NIV) WRITING IS MY CALLING. EVEN without compensation, I would write. My latest book explores the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I wrote the first draft in 2005. Countless editors rejected it. Over ten years, I rewrote the manuscript no fewer than eight times. Each new revision was denied for publication. As an orator and Bible scholar, Dr. King said, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” I was tempted to quit on many days as my manuscript received mountain-high rejection notices. Isaiah’s words comforted me, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31, KJV). Ultimately I did not quit or cave to self-defeat, and my book was finally published in 2018. The decade that I spent revising the text proved to be a priceless exercise in learning patience and sharpening my writing skills. My dream was deferred, but it was not denied. And here is a spiritual nugget that was gleaned from my ten-year writing journey: The soul will grow weary when it toils toward an unseen promise. Yet, as I labor to attain the vision that I hold for myself, the Spirit of the Lord strengthens my heart and emotions as I press ahead. What are you laboring to achieve? If you refuse to quit, Jesus will touch you with His unwavering perseverance. Despite what happens in the process, never give up on yourself. Press onward. Jesus will bring you to a successful finish. —ALICE THOMPSON”
― Guideposts, Mornings with Jesus 2020: Daily Encouragement for Your Soul

“Jesus, of course, the only One to fulfill the law perfectly. He reminded the Pharisees, and He reminds us, that when we feel overwhelmed by commands and rules, we can come back to the core truth. Our God wants to be in relationship with us. Because of Jesus, that relationship is restored. We never go wrong when we pour our heart, soul, and mind into love for our Lord.”
― Guideposts, Mornings with Jesus 2020: Daily Encouragement for Your Soul

“The Pharisees had over six hundred regulations and argued endlessly about them. The ceremonial laws became more burdensome and controlling. The notion of living every moment of the day in relationship with God was often lost along the way.”
― Guideposts, Mornings with Jesus 2020: Daily Encouragement for Your Soul

“When inspired to correct your spouse, kids, or friends, ask, “God, does this bother You or just me?”
― Guideposts, Mornings with Jesus 2020: Daily Encouragement for Your Soul

“She’d pause and ask, “God, is this bothering You or just me?” In other words, does this behavior, choice, activity, bother You or just me, Lord? Now I ask myself, Does it matter if my older boy wears flip-flops to church? Does Jesus care if his clothes don’t match? Is Jesus concerned that Isaac plays with a toy in an unconventional way? How much correcting and relentless nagging could I avoid if I asked this simple question and humbly listened for the answer?”
― Guideposts, Mornings with Jesus 2020: Daily Encouragement for Your Soul

“This, I thought, is what it is like to follow Jesus. He offers a structure, open to the heavens, framing my pathway home in a way that adds clarity, beauty and a hint of majesty. But He still allows room for the natural growth already in progress. It’s all about the on-the-way-there moments. Around every corner, even in the aspects of our lives that are most ordinary and familiar, we may come upon surprise and delight—as if Jesus is smiling and saying, “Thanks for following Me!” —ELIZABETH BERNE DEGEAR”
― Guideposts, Mornings with Jesus 2020: Daily Encouragement for Your Soul

“This is the day that the LORD has made. Let us rejoice and be glad today! Psalm 118:24 (NCV)”
― Guideposts, Mornings with Jesus 2020: Daily Encouragement for Your Soul

“According to custom, the ashes used to form a small cross on the forehead of the repentant are created from incinerated palm branches from a Palm Sunday service. The hosannas—“Blessed is He who comes in the Name of our Lord”—had turned to cries of “Crucify Him” days later, leading to Jesus’s death on the cross, which culminated in His conquering death and rising to new life. The cross made of ashes is a small symbol with layers of meaning as we follow Him on a forty-day path toward the reason for our hope—Resurrection Sunday. —CYNTHIA RUCHTI”
― Guideposts, Mornings with Jesus 2020: Daily Encouragement for Your Soul

“This year I have been learning that when we follow Jesus, “new” is a big part of what we sign up for. In the words of a leader in a volunteer corps that I joined in my twenties: “Jesus wasn’t crucified because the good news was good. He was crucified because it was new.” New isn’t just different, it can be disorienting and scary. Not just for you when you step into the challenge of the new, but for those around you who don’t know what to expect.”
― Guideposts, Mornings with Jesus 2020: Daily Encouragement for Your Soul

“Better still, the Bible ends with an offer of grace. The very last line, Revelation 22:21 reads, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen” (NKJV). We are alive by the grace of God through Jesus, so we should be willing to give grace to others when they don’t live up to our expectations. We will never live up to Jesus’s expectations and that’s why we need His grace that abounds for us more and more every day. —”
― Guideposts, Mornings with Jesus 2020: Daily Encouragement for Your Soul