Category Archives: Faith

Quiet Times Podcast: Teach Me to Pray

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In the Old Testament, we find that God is in regular conversation with His people. Did you know that conversational prayer entailed the events of the day and seeking God’s will for the future? In these conversations with the Creator, we find the believers seeking to unite His will and the will of the nation with God’s will; God’s people tuned into Him, listening for His direction.

Could you imagine what our country would be like if we were doing that? God’s heart is for us to talk to Him and there are different ways to do that.

There are different ways to pray. I believe that the first step is recognizing our weakness and inability to make anything happen. And the next step is to cry out to the One who is so big that Scripture says He puts His feet on the earth as if it was a footstool. After that, the next step is to enter the gates heaven with thanksgiving and enter His courts with praise, meaning we approach God with a mind and heart that is positioned in humility.

I love Oswald Chambers’ daily devotionals My Utmost for His Highest; it has been a teaching tool for me for years. On the devotional pages for March 30th, he writes, “The reason many of us leave off praying and become hard toward God is because we only have a sentimental interest in prayer.”

It sounds right that we say we pray: we read books on prayer that tell us that prayer is beneficial, that our minds are quieted, and our souls are uplifted when we pray. But Isaiah implies that God is amazed at such thoughts of prayer.

I think it’s appropriate to do something that I normally don’t do, and that is to end in a prayer with you. So, if you have a moment, just bow your head and let’s ask the Lord to help us.

Lord, help me to be patient as I learn to pray. Help me to learn more about Your grace as I wait on You. Lord, may it be in prayer that I gain a deeper understanding of Your character, and the holiness required to see You, and what heaven itself might look like. Who can ascend to Your holy hill?

Your Word says that the one whose walk is blameless, and does what is right, will ascend. It is the one who speaks truth from her heart and has no slander on her tongue.

Oh, Lord, make me holy, even as You are holy.

For Such a Time as This

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Have you ever struggled with fear?

Esther enters the Bible and enters history during the reign of King Ahasuerus, when the Persian Empire was at its peak. Esther’s challenge was to serve God in challenging circumstances. Now, Esther – as well as all the other women who were being considered to be King’s wife – knew that Ahasuerus was a fearful man and he had a lot of power. Esther had a lot of reason to be full of fear!

But the Bible mentions two different types of fear: the first type is beneficial, and is to be encouraged, and that is the fear of God. The Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The second type of fear is detrimental and it is the kind that we need to overcome: it is the fear of man. The first type of fear brings with it blessings and benefits, and is the beginning of wisdom and leads us to understanding.  

In Psalm 111:10 we read that wisdom and our faith in the Lord leads us to understanding. The Bible says in Proverbs that only fools despise wisdom and discipline. And the fear of the Lord leads to light, rest, peace, and contentment in Proverbs 19:23. Proverbs 14:27 says it is the fountain of life and it provides security and a place of safety for us. We can see how fearing God can be encouraged, but fearing man is not beneficial at all. This is the spirit of fear that is mentioned in 2 Timothy 1:7 where we read “For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind.” A spirit of fearfulness and timidity does not come from God. If you’re wrestling with the fear of man today, ask the Lord to take it from you. And as we learn more about Esther this week, you will discover as you give your fears over to the Lord, He will replace those fears with faith.

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Heidi St John Firmly Planted Family Devotional For All Ages

Mining God’s Word for Truth

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Have you ever wondered how capable your children are at recognizing the truths of God’s Word? The truth is, your children can take in the length and depth of the Gospel. The God News of Jesus Christ.

In Deuteronomy 6, verses 5 through 9 we read, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give to you today are to be upon your hearts, impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home, when you walk along the road, and when you lie down. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates”.

The truth is, you cannot make your children love the bible. But you can acquaint them with it. You can ground them in the knowledge of God’s Word.

I want to encourage you today, before you pick up a single thing to study with your children, pick up the Word of God. Honor the study of God’s Word above every other subject in your home. All other books take second place to what God has written in His Word for your children and for you.

It’s interesting to note that even though there are many things that change around us, God never changes. His truth’s never change. I have always been amazed to see writings from others who have gone on before me – including my grandparents. They recognized what God was doing around them. Nearly 80 years ago, the issues they were dealing with are the same type of things that are playing out today. We want our children to stand firm in the culture that they are living in. Honor the reading of God’s Word. You can mine God’s Word for truth with your children. While we can’t make our children love the bible, we can offer them a cool drink of water from God’s Word. We can make the study of God’s Word appealing to them.

This is one of the reasons we began writing the Firmly Planted Bible Study materials. We recognized the need to study God’s Word with our kids and we recognized the preciousness of scripture.

Impress God’s Word upon the heart of your child today.

Heidi St John Firmly Planted Family Devotional For All Ages

Faith for the Fight

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Good morning, precious moms.

As I write this today (Tuesday, October 22, 2013) my palms are sweaty and my heart is racing—because I’m facing my own battle.  Tomorrow, I will have surgery to address some major health issues, and one surgery includes a hysterectomy.  I wrote about the initial diagnosis a few months ago.  You can find that post here. Four doctors have all told me the same thing: this is the best course of action at this time.  At some point, a decision has to be made.  And we have prayerfully made it.

My husband and I took a few days off to be quiet together these past two days.  We talked about our years of having children—and rejoiced over the gifts God has blessed us with.  We marvel, frankly that my body has held up so well.  🙂  Jay says I’m held together by “duct tape and bailing wire.”  I love that man.  I held on tight to his hand as we walked and talked, but still, I battled fear of the unknown.  Fear is a crippler. A thief.  Fear is NOT from God.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7

Today, I find myself running to God’s Word again.  As I pray, I am reminded of the struggles facing others around me, and of my own frailty.  I say out loud:  “God.Is.Faithful!” While satan would have us feel defeated and afraid, God would have us at peace.

 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  John 14:27

My devotion today was recorded several weeks ago, in anticipation of my being “out of commission” for a while.  As I listened to it today, tears ran down my face—because even before my surgery was scheduled, God was preparing my heart through Gideon’s story of struggle and faith.  I especially loved God’s tender heart toward Gideon’s doubt and fear.

Are you struggling with a fearful situation like the story I’m reading about Gideon today?    If you are, remember that nothing we encounter escapes God’s tender care.  He never sleeps. The Bible says He even cares about the sparrow.

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”  Matthew 10:29-31

Can you imagine? The God of the universe—cares about us!  He is trustworthy.  He is good.  He is the ultimate healer.

Trust Him with me today, busy mom.

I do covet your prayers for the next few days.  My surgery will be tomorrow (Oct 23)  at 2:30 p.m. pacific.

—-Quiet Times for Busy Moms—-  Faith for the Fight

I want to go back for a few minutes today to the book of Judges, chapter seven.  I’m not going to read the whole thing to you, so if you’d like, you can read the story here, or you can open your Bible to Judges 7 and read the story of the battle that Gideon fights against the Midianites. As you read, you’ll discover that Gideon wins the battle with only 300 men.

This is my point: there is no battle so big that God is not able to fight it for us on our behalf. Gideon started with a bazillion men and God pared his army down to just 300 men and Gideon still won the battle!  It’s as if  God was saying, “I’m trustworthy!”

I love that God didn’t get angry at Gideon’s lack of faith, but He encouraged him by giving him access to the thoughts of his enemy. God is after your heart, busy mom–so you really can live the big assignments to Him.  He’s trustworthy.  He’s proven Himself, over and over again. At the end of the day, we either trust Him, or we don’t. We’re either like Gideon or we’re not.

Today, whatever circumstance you’re facing, whether it’s a financial difficulty or a struggling marriage or a struggle with a particular child or a big decision that you have to make, you can trust your decisions, your marriage, your finances, your children to the living God.  He is trustworthy.  He’s proven Himself before and He’ll do it again. You can trust Him.

In His Grasp,
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Heidi St John Firmly Planted Family Devotional For All Ages

Step Out in Faith—Let Go of Fear

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We’re going to continue today in Judges chapter six.  I’m going to go ahead and skip towards the end of the chapter.

I’d really love to hear what you’re learning about your walk with the Lord as we go along.  Something I have learned over the years when in comes to Bible study is that our children, starting in about 3rd grade, are very capeable and studying the Bible right along with us.  I want to encourage you to give your children a journal and allow them to write what they see God doing in their own lives and what God is teaching them. It’s amazing how the Lord will speak to your children—so don’t be afraid to dig into the Bible with your kids.  🙂

So let’s pick up our study of Gideon today:

36 Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised— 37 look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.” 38 And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.

39 Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground be covered with dew.” 40 That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.

Now, many Bible scholars will criticize Gideon for putting out a fleece, and you might hear people say, “It’s not right to test God or ask for signs when we’re trying to make a big decision,” but I tend to see it a little differently. I think it’s amazing to watch God’s response to Gideon—and I find it hard to criticize him for his lack of faith… because God didn’t criticize him.

Keep in mind that Gideon had been living in a time of idolatry and he didn’t know very much about the living God.  Just hours before, a terrified Gideon had been hiding in a winepress, and it was a huge step of faith for him to follow God in this way—just considering obedience to God was testing what he had seen all around him!

Here’s what’s amazing though: God trusted Gideon enough to listen to his questioning and to take him seriously. God was patient. He did not get angry because Gideon wanted a “fleece.” So what do we mean when we say that Gideon “put out a fleece?” Basically, Gideon was asking for a miracle, a sign from God.

It is sometimes difficult to know what the will of God is.

If you’re struggling to know the will of God in your own life, here are a couple of “tests” that my my husband and I have used over the years to help us discern God’s will.

  1. The basis for all the decisions that make, the guidance for all the decisions we make should be found in the Bible. God is never going to ask you to do anything that is contrary to His Word.  If the decision we’re trying to make does not conflict with God’s Word, we move on to the next step which is to decide to obey God’s voice, regardless of the cost.
  2. We begin to pray about the decision more intensely, realizing that sometimes,  God will ask us to do difficult things and it will require sacrifice on our our part.

More often than not, following God requires that we step out in faith, and that we let go of fear. I love the story of Gideon, because God used Him in such a miraculous way, and we’ll see that again next week as we move into chapter 7.

As you begin to walk more closely with God and to read your Bible more, be listening for that “still, small voice,” because God wants to talk to you.  We serve a God who wants to have a personal relationship with you. The more time you spend Him, the more you will see how closely He desires to walk with you.

Walk with God, busy mom! Listen for Him.  Dig into His Word—get to know Him better.

Heidi St John Firmly Planted Family Devotional For All Ages

Leave the Big Assignments to Him {Part 2}

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I’m in the book of Judges again today.  So pick up your Bible and open it up to Judges 6.  Yesterday, we talked about the fact that God was asking Gideon to lead an army.  Gideon was sure a a few things; first, he wasn’t even sure it was God who was asking him to take on this huge task, and then, he wasn’t sure if he could do it!  Can you relate?

Does that remind you of anyone else we’ve heard about in the Bible?  Many of the Bible’s main characters, not the least of which might be Moses…

The Bible is so rich with examples of people just.like.us. It’s interesting to follow the story of Gideon and to see how he responds to the Lord, so let’s go back to verse 16 in Judges chapter 6:

16 The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”

17 Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.18 Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.”

And the Lord said, “I will wait until you return.”

19 Gideon went inside, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah[a] of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.

20 The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so. 21 Then the angel of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of the staff that was in his hand. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the Lord disappeared. 22 When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”

23 But the Lord said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.”

24 So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

It’s wonderful to notice that God did not lose patience with Gideon.  Even though Gideon doubted Him, even though he did not obey the first time, God understood his heart, and He did not lose patience with Gideon.  God has something that He wants us to do.

The Bible says that while man looks on the outward appearance, God looks on the heart. So as you go about your day today and you think of all things that you have to do, remember that God is looking at your heart.  He’s not asking you to be perfect, or to follow Him perfectly, and tomorrow we’ll see yet another opportunity that Gideon has to follow the Lord and another example that he chooses to ask the Lord for a sign.  Join me tomorrow as we continue in Judges chapter six.

Heidi St John Firmly Planted Family Devotional For All Ages

Leave the Big Assignments to Him {part one}

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Hi moms!  I’m going to try something a little different this week, and encourage you to do a little bit of reading on your own.  I’d like to take you through the story of Gideon for the next couple of days—it’s a story of faith that will encourage and inspire you.

Take a look at this passage:  Judges chapter six.  I’ll read a little bit for you on the podcast, but I’d like to encourage you to read the chapter on your own if you get the opportunity.  It’s interesting to note that in the beginning of Judges chapter six, we see that again, the Israelites did evil in the sight of the Lord.  Again.

I love to read the Old Testament to our children because there’s so much that the kids can learn from watching how the Israelites followed God and didn’t follow God, and what the consequences were for.  Because really, the players have changed, but God hasn’t changed. His Word and His law is still the same.

So, here we find that the Israelites are in trouble again.  Have you ever felt that way?  (I have!)

11 The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites.12 When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”

13 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

14 The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

15 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”

16 The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”

17 Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. 18 Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.”

And the Lord said, “I will wait until you return.”

I can’t believe how Gideon argues with the Lord!  It’s fascinating to see God’s patience with us, and love for in this situation, isn’t it?  It’s also interesting to note that God sent a messenger to Gideon and yet Gideon believed that he needed proof of God’s call on his life in order to lead Israel. He said, “My family is the weakest in the tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least!”

You see, Gideon recognized his own weakness,  but God uses ordinary people whose hearts are to serve and obey Him.

If your heart is to serve and obey the Lord, He will use you! He has a plan for you and a purpose for your life, just like He had for Gideon.  Tomorrow, we’re going to keep talking about Gideon, so take a moment, open your Bible, and read Judges, chapter six.

Heidi St John Firmly Planted Family Devotional For All Ages