bouquet by Ambience Florist

 The disciples on the road to Emmaus saw Jesus, talked with Jesus and ate with Jesus but did not recognize Him in His resurrected body until He broke the bread. At the wedding of Cana in Galilee, He revealed His glory to the disciples after turning the water to wine. The bread and the wine are symbols of Eucharist, a celebration of  thanks chosen in the face of suffering. Ann Voskamp, in her book, One Thousand Gifts, describes the miracles that happen when we recognize God’s revelation around us and in us and truly give thanks.- Teresa

Psalm 100

1Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
3 Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;[a]
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
5 For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

This oak tree must have established a tremendous root system to survive the years of drought. When God teaches… disciples… disciplines us, it’s because He wants us to stand strong for Him. Drink deeply of the promise that we are His heritage on earth. In the end, He will not abandon us but assures us of our place in His loving family that begins with eternal life through Christ Jesus. #foundahome- Teresa

Psalm 94:12-19 (ESV)12 Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord,

    and whom you teach out of your law,

13 to give him rest from days of trouble,

    until a pit is dug for the wicked.

14 For the Lord will not forsake his people;

    he will not abandon his heritage;

15 for justice will return to the righteous,

    and all the upright in heart will follow it.

16 Who rises up for me against the wicked?

    Who stands up for me against evildoers?

17 If the Lord had not been my help,

    my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.

18 When I thought, “My foot slips,”

    your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.

19 When the cares of my heart are many,

    your consolations cheer my soul.

 Have you ever considered a field full of wildflowers as an inheritance? Joshua died and was buried in a place like that. Interestingly, Joseph was also buried in his inheritance (Shechem) where he never rested until finally laid to rest (since he worked his whole life in Egypt). Wherever God has provided as your inheritance will be a place of true rest! In the meantime, His kingdom come and His will be done is the theme of our lifesong as we trust His glorious purpose for our lives. -Teresa

Joshua 24:29-33 (ESV)

After these things Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being 110 years old. 30 And they buried him in his own inheritance at Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash.

31 Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua and had known all the work that the Lord did for Israel.
32 As for the bones of Joseph, which the people of Israel brought up from Egypt, they buried them at Shechem, in the piece of land that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money.[b] It became an inheritance of the descendants of Joseph.
33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died, and they buried him at Gibeah, the town of Phinehas his son, which had been given him in the hill country of Ephraim.

 Hope gives us reason to hang on. Hope deferred make us heart sick. Love fills the gap of hope deferred! Why did the people hang onto Jesus’ every word? Why do we hang onto His word? His truth proclaims how valuable we are to Him. His truth tears down “man-made” religion that lends to consumerism in the world system. Time to stop consuming and start experiencing God’s love. – Teresa

Luke 19: 45-47 ( ESV)

45 And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, 46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”

47 And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, 48 but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.

  
Feeling protected, we will flourish under His rule and reign. The flowers bloom in a nurturing environment how much more will we who trust in the Lord of the heavenly host! #mightywarrior-Teresa

Psalm 84: 11,12 (ESV)
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

    the Lord bestows favor and honor.

No good thing does he withhold

    from those who walk uprightly.

12 O Lord of hosts,

    blessed is the one who trusts in you!

 This chapter of Luke begins with accusations against Jesus. Although they accused Him of joining demonic forces to cast out unclean spirits they in fact were “sign seekers” not God followers. When we let our lives shine for Him, He gives us reason to rejoice in the relationship of His presence with us. He is the light of life (#John 8:12)! – Teresa

Luke 11: 33-36 (ESV)
33 “No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. 35 Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. 36 If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.”

 Although many prophets are known to be self-proclaimed, there is One who was not only prophesied by Moses but validated by God the Father. What greater witness do you need than God declaring Jesus as His Son!! – Teresa

 Deuteronomy 18:5-22 (ESV)

5 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— 16 just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ 17 And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 19 And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. 20 But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or[f] who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’ 21 And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’— 22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.
Luke 9: 28-50 (ESV)

28 Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure,[a] which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33 And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. 34 As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One;[b] listen to him!” 36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.