"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion — to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair."~from ISAIAH 61 Bible verse for this Blog

APOLOGY to READERS who followed a SEARCH to HERE & didn't find it

On July 18, 2017, I drafted almost 3000 blog posts that I had published since 2008 when I began blogging, rather than edit each one. So if you clicked here from somewhere else and ended up with the post unavailable or error, I am sorry but this is why. It'd be too much work for me to go back and fix them. There's an explanation on 7/19/17 as I'm still learning.

Sunday, June 23, 2024

JUNE One Word Focus - 4 PACE

For the month of June, these will be the 4 One Words for us to "Focus" on:

June 2nd

June 9th

June 16th

June 23

Interesting combination!

<>

[image credit] besides Ralph Waldo Emerson


This week I was going to just flip-flop the order, 

starting with the most recent

One WORD

PACE

but if you've already been keeping the PACE 

with the previous first 3 One Words

there's no need to scroll this week.

You can just click on the One Word above, 

which should be linked to that post

meanwhile keeping only the

PACE

right here, right now

with much

GRACE

 from His aMazing Grace

<>

So

this Week, we'll just


FOCUS

on

PACE

[leaving the other One Words behind]

looking at this week's devotional verse from

1 John 2:5-6 ESV

"... whoever keeps His word, in Him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in Him: [6] whoever says He abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked. 1 John 2: 5-6 ESV

or as a new translation shares this:

"But for those who walk in His message, Creator’s love has found its true meaning and purpose. The ones who say they are in harmony with the Great Spirit must walk in the footsteps of Creator Sets Free(Jesus). This is how we know we are living in harmony with Him."

from First Nations: First Letter from He Shows Goodwill 2

recently introduced to me from💚a very special friend😉

so I just had to share!

I think First Nations would like the Emerson quote on nature

as we "live in harmony with Him"

<><><>

The other Scriptures for this week's devotion include:

1 Peter 2:21 ESV; Proverbs 4:25 ESV;
Hebrews 12:1 NLT; 2 Thessalonians 3:16 NIV

There are not as many verses as previous weeks containing the One Word: PACE this week. One of my sources listed 21 verses. Bible Hub's Topical search has almost that many definitions for PACE (and an error on their first occurrence listed which should read "peace" not "pace")

The author shares the One Word: PACE a few times as we "run the race" and keep the PACE like Jesus "as He walked the earth, He allowed His PACE to ebb & flow" {I like that and the next statement too} - so besides that one, I've only chosen one other to share as we catch His PACE - some good advice from Cleere Cherry Reaves:
 
"Let's slow our PACE so that we can walk in peace and prioritize what actually matters."

The FOCUS TIP includes this by suggesting 

we remember the One Word: PACE

"and ask God to help us to walk in peace"

instead of running full speed at a faster PACE, let's slow it down

as Scripture tells us to "run the race" - and as the Olympics is kicking off

reminding us to "stay in our lane" and not get "our focus off the One 

we are running toward."

In life's marathon, we need to be sure we hand off our baton to our team,

keeping the flame of Jesus' Good News passed on to the world

and from generation to generation.

"Jesus, determine my PACE and guide my feet. Amen"

Yes, Lord Jesus

with You as my focal point - my eyes fixed on You,

I know You will set my PACE correctly to run the race

still before me so that it will complement,

not compete with Your purposes

and I will live at peace

with that PACE

🙏


just like runners set their 

PACE

for each race

teach me to set a PACE with my spiritual practices

to create a deeper walk with You, God!

I want to set my PACE to finish strong

in Jesus' mighty Name



I'm not sure of the drift of this week's devotional yet

but perhaps God will lead me back here

to pick up the

PACE

To the People of the Tribes of Wrestles with Creator 12:1 (FNVNT)

"We are surrounded by a great cloud of truth tellers who have shown us what it means to trust the Great Spirit . So let us lay to the side everything that weighs us down and the broken ways that so easily wrap around our legs to trip us . And let us run as if we are in a long-distance race, setting a steady PACE and heading toward the goal."


Thank you First Nations

for sharing Hebrews 12:1 so beautifully

and with such wise words.


<>

LOOKING AHEAD

Next Sunday, June 30th

can be another break for us with

FOCUS

unless you choose to be

"taking inventory"

on each of these 4 One Words

found on pages 95 & 96

in the book

<>

See you on July 7th (6 pm)

unless you're still celebrating the

4th of July!
💙💗💙

(and then you can catch the blog post any time that week)




2 comments:

  1. I like how he author likens our journey of life as a marathon and not a sprint. In my younger years raising children, I felt like I was at a sprint just trying to keep up with everything including my spiritual life. As I’ve gotten older, the parallel of physically walking slower has influenced my spiritual life. Reading more of God’s word for the sake of volume has moved to deeper understanding and dwelling in His presence for a more intimate relationship. The “sprint” to read as many devos as possible in the shortest amount of time has grown to seeking what the Lord wants me to know at this moment....this day....week...month...even if it means reading one passage of scripture for a whole month or longer and praying for wisdom and clarity in the “marathon”.

    The author also explains the difference in “urgency” and “hurry” in a way that really made me think.
    “Urgency awakens the soul, requiring the person to be accountable to live in a way that reflects the truth they well know. Hurry confuses the soul, alerting it to the fact that time is of the essence but providing no clarity about which direction to run.” Amen! May we remain urgent in our work for the Lord but not in such a hurry that we miss out on what He wants us to see and do!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wonderful concluding statement! This entire comment is such a blessing & as I emailed you an exceptional example from your own personal life experience - worthy of writing this as a blog post as has always been one of your strong gifts! I appreciate you sharing your own & the author's points that stood out for you & connected! How wonderful it is to study & read together, sharing our journey, our insights & such wisdom, sis from you - indeed a treasure we've been given.

      Delete

Bless you for your visit and encouraging words! I thank you and I am humbly blessed by YOU and the time you spend with me... Peace, "Mazmagi" Peggy


To my faithful visitors;
all of you who spend your valuable time here with me
I do appreciate you so much!

Thank you for taking your time to visit!

Love, Sweet blessings & Hugs!

DIOS TE BENDIGA
GOD BLESS YOU

always

Peggy