One in Three

“Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory  of the Lord is risen upon you….Lift up your eyes all around, and see: They all gather together, they come to you; Your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be nursed at your side.  Then you shall see and become radiant, and your heart shall swell with joy.”  Isaiah 60:1, 4-5

Father, we ask for Your glory to rise on the ministry of Deeper Still so that You may be glorified.  Lord, I pray that we would arise and shine and lift up our eyes.  We thank You that you are bringing Your sons and daughters with abortion wounded hearts from afar into Your loving arms and care to find freedom and healing in You.  May they then also become radiant and their hearts swell with joy.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Statistics reveal that approximately one in three women will have an abortion.  Think of this—when you are praying these prayers along with us for freedom and healing for those with abortion wounded hearts, you are praying for every third person you will see today.

 

This statistic also includes men.  For every woman with an abortion wounded heart, there is also a man attached with a wound of his own.   This statistic is staggering when considering the gravity of one in three people being held captive by the sin of abortion.  One in three people feeling enslaved, bound up, and unable to fulfill the call of God on their lives due to wrestling with lies of unworthiness, shame and guilt.  One in three robbed of their full potential in Christ, not because of what they did, but because of misguided thoughts of forfeited destiny.  God needs His sons and daughters free.  He needs them to step out on the water in faith, to run to Him with open arms, and do the work He has called them to do. 

God is waiting for His children to be healthy, healed, and whole.  He needs them.  The world needs them.   Oh, there is so much at stake here.  Thank you for praying for the one in three today.  Your prayers are impacting the world. 

As mentioned above, for every woman with an abortion wounded hearts, there is a man with an abortion wounded heart as well.  There is a retreat coming up at the end of April, the 25th-27th in the Knoxville, TN area.  If you know of any men who need healing from a past abortion, there are still spots for men.  Please go to www.godeeperstill.org for more information.  Don't hesitate or delay!  It is only about 1 week away!   

Ebenezer Stones

“Faithful is He Who is calling you [to Himself] and utterly trustworthy and He will also do it [fulfill His call by hallowing and keeping you].”  1 Thessalonians 5:24 (Amplified Bible)

Father, we thank you that You are faithful and utterly trustworthy.  Thank you that You will fulfill Your call for Deeper Still and that You keep Deeper Still Team Members in Your loving care and protection. We remember and thank You for Your faithfulness. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

1 Samuel 7: 12-14

12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen[a] and called its name Ebenezer;[b] for he said, “Till now the Lord has helped us.” 13 So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14 The cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath, and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites.

God is always faithful.   Samuel set a stone up as a reminder to the Israelites of the Lord’s faithfulness.  He called the stone, “Ebenezer”, which means, “the rock of help” and then declared, “Till now the Lord has helped us.”

 

The Lord subdued Israel’s enemies and delivered His people.  We can be assured that the Lord will subdue the enemy and deliver His sons and daughters.  He has been faithful in the past and He will continue to be faithful in the future.  He will do what He has said He will do.  He will fulfill the call and do it, we just need to trust.

 

As new chapters of Deeper Still are being started, let us remember God’s faithfulness in the past and expect His continued help moving forward.  He who has called us, is also faithful to do it. 

Below is another Ebenezer Stone from the Illinois Deeper Still Chapter, a barn board  beautifully displaying God’s faithfulness.  

Please pray for the Illinois retreat this weekend!  It is April 4-6^th.   Thank you so much for your prayers!!!  

Provision

“v. 5 Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the Lord: gold, silver, and bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet thread...v. 10 all who are gifted artisans among you shall come and make all that the Lord has commanded…v. 21 Then everyone came whose heart was stirred and everyone whose spirit was willing and they brought the Lord’s offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments.” Exodus 35:5, 10, 21

Father, we thank you that you provide skilled artisans with willing hearts to bring their gifts and talents as a beautiful offering to You in the ministry of Deeper Still.  Father, thank you for their hearts being stirred so that these gifts can be used in Your service.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

I was overwhelmed when I read over the prayer of provision list for Deeper Still.  On this list were the verses above plus some others from Exodus 35 and 36.  The reason my heart was in awe was because of a skype conversation the day before.    In this conversation, Judy Townsend had shared about how God was providing for every need for the Deeper Still Illinois Retreat and in some pretty crazy ways!

 

She explained how when they needed a “Mother Mantle” ( which is a very heavy and ornate cape-like garment), to place over the ladies who attend the retreat as a symbol of restoring their “Mother Mantle”,  that someone who was a Renaissance costume designer showed up and willingly offered to create it for them.  Now, I am not sure how abundant Renaissance costume crafters are in Illinois, but I don’t know very many in Tennessee (actually, I don’t know of any!)!

Then, Judy went on to share how God provided pottery jars to give to the ladies as a reminder of God’s love and care and how He keeps our tears in a bottle (Ps 58:6) and is close to the brokenhearted.  Apparently, a person who has a degree in Pottery (who knew one could get a degree in Pottery, right?) offered his talents to make these tear jars.

And then she shared how a team member had taken some old wood from an abandoned barn and how God used several people to transform these broken and damaged pieced of wood into beautiful works of art to display at the retreat.  Below is a picture of one of these barn boards.

Isn’t it amazing how God transformed what the world would consider rubbish or garbage and turned it into a beautiful work of art?  It is such a visual representation of what God does in all of our lives.  He gives us beauty for ashes, He restores the broken and makes all things new.  Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom indeed! 

God is just too much!!  He continues to overwhelm me with His goodness and provision .  I hope these examples today encourage you in how He is interested in the smallest and intricate details not only for Deeper Still, but also in your life.

Thank you for your continued prayers!  He hears and He answers. 

Beauty in Waiting

“Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.  For our heart shall rejoice in Him.  Because we have trusted in His holy name.  Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, Just as we hope in You.”  Psalm 33:20-22

Father, our soul waits for You.  Lord, we thank You that You are Deeper Still’s help and shield.  Our hearts rejoice in You.  We trust in Your holy name.  We ask for Your mercy to be upon Deeper Still for we hope in You and wait on You.  We ask for You to bind the team members of Deeper Still together as we wait and trust and hope in You.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Today’s devotional is inspired by the Head of the Illinois Deeper Still Chapter, Judy Townsend, and Deeper Still worship leader Kay Smith. 

“Our soul waits for the Lord.”  “Wait” in this passage comes from the Hebrew word chaka, and according to Strong’s, its primary meaning is to tie or bind together like a cord. 

Therefore, to wait is actually to bind together like a cord.  As we wait on the Lord, we are tied to the Lord and He is tied to us.  He won’t let go.  He has us.  We just need to trust and wait.  He will act. 

This is so beautifully applied to the Deeper Still team.  As a team, we WAIT with arms locked, woven into the Cord as the source of our strength and endurance. As we wait completely bound and secure in the Cord of our Savior, we can be OPEN to see how He moves and move with Him, completely unified in Him.  

As we all move together in one cord, He uses all of our unique stories of redemption in order to sew a tapestry together that is beautiful AND SO FULL OF HIM!!

We just need to wait and be open to His moving.  He is making something beautiful. 

The first Deeper Still of Illinois retreat is coming up in just a couple of weeks, April 4-6!  Please be in prayer for this new territory of Deeper Still!  Thank you for your prayers!!!

My Banquet Escort

“He escorts me to the banquet hall; it is obvious how much He loves me.” Songs 2:4

Dear Heavenly Father, as You know, the Deeper Still Fundraising Banquet is a week away.  Father, we thank You that You escort us to the banquet hall.   This banquet is Yours, to honor You.  We ask for Your loving presence to be conspicuous and for Your anointing to be palpable at the banquet.  We ask for your hand of protection over all attending.   We pray for everyone who should to be present to come so they can hear the message of freedom, and that the financial goals would be met and exceeded to further that message.   We pray that it would be obvious to every guest how much You love them. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

There is a banquet that occurred 465 years before Christ.  In this banquet, a very brave young woman named Esther asked for her life and the lives of her people to be spared.  Her entire race was sold and scheduled to be annihilated (Ester 6:4).  She boldly went before her king's throne and found favor that eventually led to the saving of her people.

“And on the second day, at the banquet, the king again said to Esther, “What is your petition, Queen Esther?  It shall be granted you. And what is your request, up to half the kingdom? It shall be done.”  Esther 6:2

Esther, no doubt, had an unseen Escort into that banquet long long ago who revealed His love for her and His people time and time again.

His presence at the banquet gave her strength to valiantly make her petition. 

A worldly king was eager to grant the petition of his bride.  How much more will our Heavenly King grant the petitions of His bride, especially when it comes to the saving of His people and rescuing them from captivity.  Our King is eagerly awaiting our petitions.

 

 Our Heavenly King is asking us today, “What is your petition?”

 

“Oh King, we ask for our people, Your people, to be set free. “

   

Thank you for petitioning on behalf of Deeper Still. 

Higher Rock

“Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer.  From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.  For You have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy.  I will abide in your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings.”  Psalm 61:1-4

Dear Heavenly Father, we cry out to You.  Lord, when the Deeper Still Team is overwhelmed with the great work You have entrusted to them, lead them to the Rock that is higher.  I pray the Deeper Still Team members would keep their focus on the Rock.  Thank you for sheltering Karen, the Deeper Still staff, and team members, thank you for keeping them safe under the shadow of Your wings.  In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.

I had full intentions of turning to Psalm 91 this morning.  However, in the fogginess of my morning mind, I flipped to Psalm 61.  While I realized I was on the wrong scripture, I thought I would read it in the slight chance it wasn’t the haziness of my mind that led me there.

 

I don’t know about you, but there are times when my heart is overwhelmed.   There are times I feel like I am in the deep flailing about looking for someone to rescue me.   When we cannot touch the bottom of the watery depths, and the waves begin crashing around us overwhelming our strength, we become desperate for something to hold onto and climb upon out of the tumultuous terrain.

We need a Rock that is higher, a Rock we can climb on out of the crushing current that fights to keep us overpowered by its oppressive force.  The Rock is a refuge, a strong tower that protects us from the enemy.  We are safe on the Rock.  In the shelter of His wings, we can find rest.  He is there to lift us up out of the depths and place on safely on His Firm Foundation. 

May your heart rest upon the Higher Rock today. 

All That! (And a Bag of Chips)

 “Now may the God of peace—who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with His blood—may he equip you with all you need for doing His will.  May He produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to Him.  All glory to him forever and ever! Amen. “ Hebrews 13:20-21

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for equipping Deeper Still with all that it needs for doing Your will.  We ask for you to equip the Deeper Still in all ways by Your Almighty Power.   May You produce in Deeper Still, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to You.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

The writer of Hebrews goes to great lengths to remind those listening Who their God is.  Let’s break each piece down to see what the author wanted them to know. 

“God of peace” – peace is derived from its original Greek translation “ eirene”.  It means He is a God of security, safety, prosperity, and felicity.

“Who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus”—All powerful and mighty!

 

“The great Shepherd of the sheep”—Watches over and protects us, leads us and guides us.  

“ratified an eternal covenant with His blood.” –Loves you so much that He died for your salvation and You are His under the new covenant, which is eternal!

    

The author was saying THIS GOD, who is all that (and a bag of chips, I might add!), will equip you with everything you need to do His will.  And it is through the power of the Lord Jesus Christ that He will produce in you every good thing that is pleasing to Him! 

Halleluiah it is through the power of Jesus! 

I know there have been many times when I have wondered how in the world God was going to produce anything good and pleasing to Him out of me.  I fail.  I fall short.  I don’t have it all together, BUT I know the One who does and it is through His All Mighty Power (which was well-described in the verse prior!) that He will accomplish every good work! 

Thank you Jesus for equipping us with everything we need through Your power and Mighty Name!  Amen!