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KINDLE BOOKS

Recently finished a new Kindle entitled “Genesis & Discrimination”. It is a very powerful collection to challenge your thinking. Also, consider: Secrets of a Deeper Life in Christ , A Missing Psalm, Forgiveness. I hope putting these together in this new format will be a blessing to many more & will help support this ministry.

By Email Too

The WeakDay Devotion originated as encouragement for a dear friend who was having difficulties with her job.

It is especially for my family, firends, business people, students, pastors, teachers and a myriad of pre-, new and long-serving Christians who want more Scripture with their devotion than many of the regular devotionals offer. it is also written to be short so you can get on with your day, but filled with a new idea from God's Word that is practical and applicable. You can also have it sent directly to your email box every day - just send me an email (DarleneRichard@gmail.com) and I will add you to the distribution.

Monday, June 19, 2023

Who Started This?

Click the image or the link or

Copy and paste the link into your browser

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ly7xKZ43M4&t=2s

Or search YouTube for ‘John MacArthur Reads

Psalm 37 from the Legacy Standard Bible

By Legacy Standard Bible (7 min 58 sec)

“Do not fret because of evildoers, be not envious toward wrongdoers. For they will wither quickly like the grass and fade like the green herb. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

“Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your judgement as the noonday.” Psalm 37:1-6

These six verses are what started this series – that promises always have conditions. Over my lifetime in the Lord, it has always surprised me when someone sort of uses the Lord as a ‘touch stone’ or ‘wish star’ or ‘vending machine’ and only ‘call Him up’ in prayer when they need something.

Considering the Lord as a ‘soft touch’ because, obviously, if He would do all the stuff with His Son because He loved us, He would want everyone to have everything that would satisfy every desire of their heart.

But our hearts are wicked and greedy, even when we do not see it. God’s promises are true, they always have conditions and are always answered with either a ‘Yes’, ‘No’, ‘Another way’ or ‘Wait’. And all He does, He does for our good and His glory. We just can’t see all He sees or know all He knows.

Trusting Him with His perfect timing and His compassion is not easy. I find looking back over the events and wants of my life and how they are fulfilled helps me. What about you?

Take care with love, especially His, Darlene (who still prays for you daily)

PS: Find my statement of faith: https://especiallyhislove.blogspot.com (where you will also find a series of beginner Bible studies to share). You can easily find the WeakDay Devotion online by doing a Google search for ‘WeakDay Devotion’. (Also, there is an android ‘Google Blogger’ app you can download to read them on your phone. Not sure about Apple.). For the books, go to Amazon books.

NEW PRAYER REQUESTS (any updates?)

· Paul – please pray for him – there is still no word on the job he has applied for (after more than ten years without work). Pray the Lord allows him to finally land a role and that the Lord helps him re-enter the work world easily -- if it is His will.

· Wayne B – is slowly losing his beloved wife, Lyn, (diagnosed with frontal temporal dementia three and a half years ago). She has been in care since May of 2020 but recently had a succession of falls and is now in a psycho-geriatric facility. She sometimes knows who he is but is no longer able to respond. Pray for comfort for Wayne as he deals with this difficult situation.

· Jen – lost her only sister and still needs your prayers to get through this difficult time and pray her health remains good.

· Demi and John – one evening he went out his backdoor to run an errand and was attacked by someone with a knife who stabbed him several times (one pierced his heart). He has recovered physically, but please pray for him and his wife as they pull their lives together – that they might find the Lord in all the chaos left behind.

· Peggy – a dear friend and colleague of my sister-in-law who has been battling with cancer in her neck for years. Her new oncologist has noted the cancer is getting worse, she was hospitalised for combined chemo and radiation. It has burned her and she is having difficulty swallowing.

· Barbara – the beloved wife of my brother (who recently passed) – thank you for praying for her (and for me as we are both struggling with the loss of Tim). Please pray God places people in our paths who will help us with all the things He knows we need help with. Pray for Barb’s peace and protection at night.

· Joni – a long-time friend who is wandering through the challenges of cancer treatment. Pray for her health carers and for her strength and all the adjustments she must now make during her recovery.

· Jake – No news about Jake, a friend of my brother, also living with COPD (emphysema) and heart problems. Please pray for his daughter, Tiffany and for other friends and health carers to help him through his health journey.

· Ian – continue to pray that his desire to grow his understanding and effectiveness with personal evangelism is fulfilled.

· Peyton and Carter - Grandchildren of Jeff and Rachael. Payton, their eldest granddaughter is now a senior in university. Carter, their son is now a freshman in college. Both are exceptional students and love the Lord. Pray they are not distracted by worldly things, that the Lord watches over and protects them, that they continue to do well in their studies and that their love of the Lord increases daily.

· Callilah- a lost child. Pray in thanksgiving that the Lord is softening her heart and that the Lord has placed Patti just where she needs to be. Pray for Patti’s safety and patience.

· Sarah and Andrew – he left his job, and she has gone to work in a new and exciting role. Pray for this precious Christian couple that they focus on family balance to the glory of the Lord.

· Megan (for emotional healing) and Scott, her husband (for patience and wisdom) and wisdom for his sister, Clare, as she seeks to support them through troubled times.

· UPDATE - Sue and Rob – took time for a holiday and left Luke in their home while away. They are returning soon. Please pray Luke has awakened to his need to grow up and leave Sue and Rob’s home. Most of all continue to pray for his salvation.

· Christine – give her strength as she journeys to heart-healing and pray her husband gives his heart to the Lord.

· UPDATE - Bettina – continue to pray for her as she grows into a new phase of her life in the Lord. Pray each of her five married daughters, their spouses and her 18 grandchildren grow to love and follow the Lord Jesus Christ.

· Robin – lost her beloved mother (was 93 years old), please pray for strength and healing for her as she navigates through this time of mourning and for her daughter who is comforting her.

· Pray for true, Christ-centered revival in America.

Pray for those in full-time service

Pray the Lord uphold our Christian leaders – that they never compromise God’s Word and remain bold and courageous in the face of evil. Pray for their wisdom, safety, ingenuity, strength and for their families.

Pray for those with ongoing health concerns

Many of us have family, friends and loved ones with fragile health. Pray God takes special care with them and protects them in practical ways and that the Lord will have mercy on them.

Pray for the World

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Background of WeakDay Devotions

Over eleven years ago a dear friend couldn't find a job. She's brilliant, skilled & experienced -- but simply couldn't find a position to suit her. After about eight months of struggling & searching, she was hired to work with the Sydney Olympics but six months later the role turned feral. She was discouraged as she pulled herself into work each morning.

Then it became apparent they were trying to "move" her out. She struggled. At least once a week she would be on the phone to me or be sitting on my balcony talking/crying her heart out. I found myself being a sort of Christian coach/mentor for her.

One morning after my quiet time, something I learned seemed relevent for her, so I shared it with her in an email. She wrote back that it indeed helped. Next morning the same thing happened. Again the Lord used it to encourage & strengthen her. The next morning nothing seemed good to send, but I searched till I found something I hoped would strengthen her. The Lord used it. Each week day morning from then on I would get up early & write her a note of encouragement.

A month went by & another friend sent me an e-mail expressing their own frustration with a work situation. I sent them a copy of the e-mail I'd sent my friend that very morning. They were encouraged & asked me to include them each morning. After a couple of weeks both wrote to me to say they'd been sending the email to others & would I just add theses new names each morning. They also suggested I ask others if they'd like to be included. I did & many asked to receive it. One day, I was asked to do a radio interview with Gordon Moyse ("An Ordinary Christian"). He had heard about the morning "WeakDay Devotions" & wanted his listeners to know more about them.

Almost every week day morning since that first e-mail, I've written a fresh word of encouragement for (by now) an untold number of people around the world. It was originally mostly business oriented, but has grown to be more general in nature with Christian business people knowing it is the little personal details of their walk that need a boost anyway.

Within the distribution list now are Christians or pre-Christians (Catholic & Protestant), some are Jewish, some have not made a decision about what they believe, yet. There are several pastors; a Catholic priest, a Jewish teacher and a Christian Web page creator (and pastor) who distributes select ones to his readership. There’s even a pastor in the USA who uses them as part of his daily radio program.

Many who receive them forward them to others & they ricochet around the world. They're used as morning devotions between friends at work in the USA, Argentina, the Philippines, New Guinea, Hong Kong & places I don't even know about yet.

The Lord is using these meek & meagre "presents to Him" for His own purposes in the lives of others & I'm constantly surprised & humbled at the encouragement I've found in my own personal time with the Lord because of their ministry to me!

If you'd like to have them emailed directly to you each day, just send me an email. I'm open to comments, suggestions & criticisms.

Again, it's almost always only one screen long, so you don't have to take too much time with them, they always come marked "Urgent" so they can be found more quickly. Finally, the distribution list is "blinded" so everyone's privacy is assured (although I pray for everyone I send to & know them all much better now).

Every day is different, some days are very short -- sometimes only one verse or two, but there's always a Bible verse (I always use the New American Standard Bible translation, unless otherwise indicated). There are also times when there is a suggestion for something special as an assignment. I've also written a variety of series, such as: The Ten Commandments, Forgiveness, How to Know God's Will, Fasting, Unmet Needs, etc.

Stay close to His Word.
Your servant and friend in Christ.... Darlene

The First Devotion

"And those who know Thy name will put their trust in Thee; for Thou, O Lord, hast not forsaken those who seek Thee." Psalm 9:10

From George Muller's Autobiography:

"I saw more clearly than ever that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not, how much I might serve the Lord, how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished.

"The first thing I did, after having asked in a few words the Lord's blessing upon His precious Word, was to begin to meditate on the Word of God; searching, as it were, into every verse, to get blessing out of it; not for the sake of the public ministry of the Word; not for the sake of reaching on what I had meditated upon; but for the sake of obtaining food for my own soul. The result I have found to be almost invariably this...that after a very few minutes my soul has been led to confession, or to thanksgiving, or to intercession, or to supplication; so that though I did not, as it were, give myself to prayer, but to meditation, yet it turned almost immediately more or less into prayer."

Have a wonderful day resting in Him....love, your servant and friend in Christ...D

Another style: The Princess & the Pea

[Jesus teaching] "'And why do you look at the spec that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?'" Matthew 7:3

"For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all." James 2:10

"So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. Behold, how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!" James 3:5

"Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all other seeds; but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.'" Matthew 13:31-32

Ever notice how it's the little things that get under your skin and grow out of perspective? Think of the time you spend looking for a misplaced file or phone number. What about when you're late and get a red light or someone pulls out in front of you in traffic. Or how about when you get a paper cut or have a hang nail? How about forgetting someone's birthday or when you lose your glasses or keys? Any of these things can make us "lose our cool". As Christians we must be ever vigilant to how the little things can stumble our walk and witness with Christ.

It reminds me of the fairy tale of the Princess and the Pea (where a prince looked for a gentle and delicate princess to help rule his kingdom. He arranged a test of all the fair maidens. He had a stack of mattresses placed one on top the other and each "princess candidate" was invited to spend the night in the castle. The Prince became discouraged because no one seemed to respond to the test until one morning a lovely woman complained she could not sleep, as the mattress was too lumpy. Unbeknownst to her (and all the other candidates) the Prince had placed a single pea under the bottom mattress. No one else had been sensitive to the little things. Of course they lived happily ever after. In our Christian walk we need to be that sensitive to the little things that stumble us! Take care, your servant and friend in Christ – Darlene

A WeakDay Devotion

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