Preparing for Easter ~ Blessing

God, mark us with grace and blessing! Smile! 

Psalm 67:1 The Message 

Just as we use the ashes to symbolically mark ourselves as 'sinners in need', grace is the gift that marks the believer. It is His great blessing on humanity. Grace is from God through Christ, a priceless gift that cannot be bought, a provision undeserved. Is your mark of grace and blessing visible?

Our sacrifice of praise ~
Smile! Let God's blessing be known. ~dho

All rights reserved ~ used with permission of the author

Copyright 2010 by Donna Oswalt

breathing room for my soul

For more information about this ministry visit ~

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"May you be blessed by the Lord Who loves you best!”

Preparing for Easter ~ Praise

3rd Sunday in Lent ~

Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise... then the peace of God will be with you.
Philippians 4:8-9 NLT

We are constantly surrounded by the opposite of what the Scripture calls us to keep in our minds. The world is full of the lure of thoughts that are false and reckless, against God and tainted, ugly and lacking merit. There are so many unworthy things that catch our attention or capture our time. Chaos thrives in these things ~ not peace. You will not find God in these places ~ unless He is reaching through for a lost soul. Even then, He is far above the ugly and dark; He is Beauty and Light. God is peace.

The commentary of the Transformation Study Bible offers these thoughts:

The Christian who fills his heart and mind with God's Word will have a "built-in radar" for detecting wrong thoughts. . . Right thinking is the result of daily meditation on the Word of God. (Philippians 4:8 commentary)

Our sacrifice of praise ~
Whatever is worthy of praise, meditate on these thoughts of Beauty and Light. ~ dho 

All rights reserved ~ used with permission of the author

Copyright 2010 by Donna Oswalt

breathing room for my soul

For more information about this ministry visit ~

MangroveMinistries.org

LIKE Mangrove Ministries on Face Book

"May you be blessed by the Lord Who loves you best!”

Preparing for Easter ~ Satan

When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left [Jesus] until an opportune time.
Luke 4:13 NIV

This is not the devotion I wrote yesterday - it is gone, apparently did not "publish" as usual. I did all the same things but today as I started to write for Sunday, I noticed that Saturday's was not published. Thinking I had made an error, forgetting to click "publish," I checked. Saturday's devotion was simply not anywhere to be found.

As I have been writing as the Spirit leads, I could not even remember what I wrote yesterday morning. Looking through my scant notes revealed no clues. The NLT translation says that the devil left until the next opportunity came. If you are surprised that the devil still acts to disrupt and hinder, attempts to destroy the work of God, think again.

The world would say "it was just a computer glitch" or "you must have made an error" - that's the reason it did not publish. Perhaps those things are true; yet, the devil's ways are sometimes crafty and sometimes just annoying. So, I salute the efforts of darkness lest I forget they exist and have weapons to do battle everyday, BUT I worship the LORD God who is all powerful and everlasting!

Our sacrifice of praise ~
Do not be caught unaware! Worship the power of the Living God even DURING the next opportunity of evil. ~ dho

All rights reserved ~ used with permission of the author

Copyright 2010 by Donna Oswalt

breathing room for my soul

For more information about this ministry visit ~

MangroveMinistries.org

LIKE Mangrove Ministries on Face Book

"May you be blessed by the Lord Who loves you best!”

Preparing for Easter ~ Prayer

Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; . . . strengthen your brothers.
Luke 22:31-32 NASB

These words were spoken by Jesus to Peter, after telling Peter that he would deny Him three times. Jesus knew the trouble that was imminent, that Satan was lurking and using everyone he could to help hinder Jesus. Satan underestimated the power of God because there is no power greater. Jesus prayed for Peter, and still intercedes for believers today.

Prayer is the breath of life to our soul. Mother Teresa

Our sacrifice of praise ~
Thank Jesus for praying for you, for breathing life into your soul. ~ dho

All rights reserved ~ used with permission of the author

Copyright 2010 by Donna Oswalt

breathing room for my soul

For more information about this ministry visit ~

MangroveMinistries.org

LIKE Mangrove Ministries on Face Book

"May you be blessed by the Lord Who loves you best!”

Preparing for Easter ~ Worship

It's who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That's the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before Him in their worship. God is sheer being itself - Spirit. Those who worship Him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration."

John 4:23-24 The Message

God created each of us; in our own individual and unique ways, we are to worship Him. 

Our sacrifice of praise ~

Worship God - in your own ways - with your very being - simply and honestly. ~dho

All rights reserved ~ used with permission of the author

Copyright 2010 by Donna Oswalt

breathing room for my soul

For more information about this ministry visit ~

MangroveMinistries.org

LIKE Mangrove Ministries on Face Book

"May you be blessed by the Lord Who loves you best!”

Preparing for Easter ~ Compels

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Colossians 3:12 NASB

God chooses to love us, and when we choose to love Him, He gives each of us a new wardrobe to wear ~ heart of compassion, gestures of kindness, attitudes of gentleness, and efforts of patience. God wraps us in a robe of righteousness; such love compels a response.

"Such love constrains me to answer His call,

Follow His leading and give Him my all."

hymn Living For Jesus by Thomas Obediah Chisholm

Our sacrifice of praise ~
God's Perfect Love overwhelms the soul; respond to the Spirit's calling, as His holy and beloved. ~dho

All rights reserved ~ used with permission of the author

Copyright 2010 by Donna Oswalt

breathing room for my soul

For more information about this ministry visit ~

MangroveMinistries.org

LIKE Mangrove Ministries on Face Book

"May you be blessed by the Lord Who loves you best!”