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WestBow Press - Gwendolen Henry

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106 pages

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This collection of devotions invites you to build a daily relationship with God and cast Jesus as the main character in your life, developing a personal connection that will deepen over time.

Imagine it’s the first century. You’re in your own home, when suddenly a mob of self-righteous, angry men storm inside. You know why they’ve come. They grab you, drag you through the streets, and throw you at the feet of a controversial new Teacher. You know you’re guilty—by law. Surrounded by pious religious leaders glaring down in disgust, you lower your gaze to the ground. Ashamed and terrified, you hear one of them say three words that will sentence you to death; “caught in adultery.” Your body shakes and you begin to sob uncontrollably. Then one among the mob asks of the Teacher, “But what do You say?” And now you wait. [Enter Jesus]

Do you struggle with fear, anxiety, hopelessness, and sin? Have you tried to change but just can’t seem to do it? Amid the turmoil, do you long for inner peace and joy? Welcome to the party, where we are all in different boats being pummeled by the same stormy uncertainties of life.

[Enter Jesus] presents a series of forty-nine thought-provoking devotions written by someone who simply wanted to discover who the God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit of the Bible really are—not just who she thought They were.

This collection of devotions invites you to build a daily relationship with God and cast Jesus as the main character in your life, developing a personal connection that will deepen over time. So, prepare for a change. One that only the Creator of the universe can bring.

Sujets

Religion

Christianisme

Christian Living

Inspirational

Philosophie et théologie

Women

Jesús de Nazaret

Devotion

Jesus

Woman

The Women

Jésus de Nazareth

Informations

Publié par	WestBow Press
Date de parution	18 octobre 2022
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781664277656
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0200€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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[ Enter Jesus ]

49 DAYS FINDING PEACE, HOPE, JOY, & TRUTH IN THE SAVIOR

Gwendolen Henry

Copyright © 2022 Gwendolen Henry.

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 author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.westbowpress.com
844-714-3454

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 Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture marked (NKJV) taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (GNT) are from the Good News Translation in Today’s English Version- Second Edition Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.

Scripture marked (KJV) taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

ISBN: 978-1-6642-7764-9 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-7763-2 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-7765-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022916647

WestBow Press rev. date: 10/18/2022
CONTENTS
Dedication
Introduction

Day 1 No Beauty
Day 2 Stones, Rocks, and Hard Places
Day 3 Supernatural Peace
Day 4 The Big Picture
Day 5 The Heart’s Desire
Day 6 Hypocrites
Day 7 Bring It On!
Day 8 Barriers
Day 9 Whose Will?
Day 10 Restraining Power
Day 11 Permission to Rest
Day 12 Precious in His Sight
Day 13 Why?
Day 14 Rocky Roads
Day 15 Hedges
Day 16 Obedience
Day 17 Hope
Day 18 Truth or Perception?
Day 19 Liar, Lunatic, or Legit?
Day 20 Doing a 180
Day 21 The Ultimate Race
Day 22 Resistance
Day 23 T’anks for Helping Me
Day 24 Sovereign and in Control
Day 25 Gravity
Day 26 What You See Is What You Get
Day 27 Fasting
Day 28 Secrets, Deception, and Lies, Oh My!
Day 29 Suit Up! (Part 1)
Day 30 Suit Up! (Part 2)
Day 31 Loving Correction
Day 32 Missed Opportunities
Day 33 Appearances and Entanglements
Day 34 What’s in a Name?
Day 35 Stay Focused
Day 36 A Good Father
Day 37 The Lord Is My Shepherd
Day 38 Valuable
Day 39 Jonah
Day 40 Pants on Fire
Day 41 Words
Day 42 Feeling Separated
Day 43 By Their Fruits
Day 44 I Messed Up
Day 45 Astounding Love
Day 46 Blessings
Day 47 PSA
Day 48 Husbands and Wives
Day 49 Prophecies Fulfilled

Closing Words
DEDICATION
This devotional is dedicated to my family: to my daughter and son, who gave me the most important job in the world; my husband, my true love and helpmate; my grandchildren, for keeping me young and filling my heart with more joy than I thought possible; my mom, a godly example of serving others; my brother and friend, of whom I am so proud; my mother-in-law, who has always treated me with kindness; and my friends and former work family, whom I value, cherish, and respect more than words can express. Most of all, I dedicate this book to Jesus, my Savior, who no longer has a supporting role but is front and center in my life story.
INTRODUCTION
On April 25, 2019, I was confronted with a bizarre “did you know?” statement regarding the apostle Paul. Although it’s practically unheard of, I was rendered speechless. Certain the information was false but unable to provide a fact-based comeback, I prayed for the Lord’s guidance. After a sincere plea for Him to reveal who Paul really was, the answer was literally provided to me in black and white. The following day, I picked up my Bible, which was still open from the night before. It was not, however, open to where I’d left it. My eyes fell to the lower right-hand portion of scripture, and there was the answer to my question, in dramatic here it is fashion. My prayer wasn’t answered by a thundering voice from above, but it was answered—through God’s existing word. This set me on a path to discover who God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are. Not who I thought they were, but the God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit of the Bible.
When deciding upon a title for this devotional, I imagined writing a movie script—a chaotic, action drama. With each character’s life in turmoil, the movie would need a powerful, commanding protagonist to sweep in and save the day. While researching stage directions and drama phrases, I was drawn to the term Enter, a stage direction indicating the introduction of a character onto the scene. So here we are, struggling in a hectic world, feeling exhausted and alone, at our wits end, nowhere to turn, thinking all is lost, when suddenly—[Enter Jesus].
Each one of these forty-nine devotions is personal. You could say I wrote them for myself as I studied specific topics. Although we each have unique stories, we share similar experiences of fear, doubt, anxiety, and hopelessness. God never intended for us to face these challenges alone. He wants to be our “refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). He doesn’t want us to call upon Him only in times of despair. He wants a daily relationship with us. Jesus wants to be front and center, the main character in our lives, and to develop a personal connection with us that will deepen over time.
I’m so thankful the plea of this profoundly flawed, overreacting micromanager was heard. Since that day, the Holy Spirit has been softening specific areas of my life that were once hardened, and things that used to anger me now cause genuine sorrow. But, unfortunately, this means I cry a lot more.
I sincerely pray that everyone who reads this devotional is blessed, strengthens their faith—and maybe laughs just a little.
All biblical citations are from the New King James Version unless otherwise noted.
He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.
(Isaiah 53:2)
NO BEAUTY
I ’m going to be honest—I prayed for beautiful children. Stay with me, and don’t judge just yet. I was a late bloomer and an unattractive child. Lest anyone think I exaggerate, my fourth-grade yearbook photo had me styling a pair of silver stop-sign glasses, jagged bangs, and an uneven mullet-style haircut that would bring tears to the eyes of Billy Ray Cyrus. When I found out I was pregnant with a little girl my prayer for beauty was reflexive. I couldn’t bear the thought of someone making fun of her the way others made fun of me. So retrieving this memory of my teenage daughter from one of those tightly sealed compartments of whatever makes up my brain is painful.
She was thirteen years old and sobbing. This time the tears were because her naturally curly hair, which nobody else had, wasn’t pretty enough . As she cried, I thought, How is it possible for anyone to make this child feel not beautiful? She is quite literally beautiful, inside and out, with a heart as big as the world. And though God had answered my prayer, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And on that particular day the beholder was a thirteen-year-old boy.
I may not have said it then, I don’t remember, but I’d said it before. As a parent, you’ve probably said it—or perhaps it was said to you: it’s what’s on the inside that counts. When we tell our children, or anyone else, that loyalty, character, and kindness are more important qualities than physical beauty or popularity, why should they believe us? In their mind, in their world, at that moment, all they know is they are being made to feel less than .
Once I became a mother, finally having realized my worth was found in the One who created me, teaching and exemplifying kindness to others was a parenting priority. The lemons I had no control over as a child were used to make lemonade; God took something bitter and turned it into something sweet and purposeful, albeit twenty years later. Although I eventually came out stronger on the other side, tragically, far too many children and young adults do not. Bullying has metastasized from school hallways and locker rooms to social media. Cowards armed with a keyboard viciously inflict harm, which I, as a young mother, could not have imagined in my worst nightmares.
[Enter Jesus]
In the focus verse, the prophet Isaiah foretold the coming of the Messiah and wrote that He would have no beauty . For just a moment, think about those two words and what they really mean—Jesus was plain and there was absolutely nothing physically compelling about Him. So what was the deal? How did this unassuming man convince twelve others to turn their lives upside down and follow Him? What made thousands of people drop what they were doing and sit on a hillside to hear Him speak? How did