My Morning Prayer: Redemption

My Morning Prayer: Redemption
-Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow

 

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my [firm, impenetrable] Rock and my Redeemer (Psalm 19:14 AMPC).

Father, thank You for Your redemption. Jesus, thank You for being my Redeemer. Holy Spirit, thank You for Your redeeming work, for Your holiness, and for conforming me to the image of Jesus Christ. I cannot thank You enough, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for turning the ashes in my life into something beautiful. I stand amazed at the wonders You continue to do in me by Your grace, and for the transforming miracles that I experience because of Your daily mercies. I trust in You to use every trial in my life for the good. May the beauty of Jesus continue to be seen in me. Amen.

©2023 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Photo by Marina Bromley, used with permission. All rights reserved.

#redemption #mymondayprayer #meetinginthemeadow #roylessin #marinabromleyphoto #aplaceathistable

God Words: All

God Words: All
-Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow

For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen (Romans 11:36 NKJV).

 

‘All’ is a very big, little word.

God is all.

God is not partially God. He is all of God that God could ever be. God’s nature, character, and attributes are all complete, full, and without flaw or limits. He is all in all.

Scripture tells us many things about who God is—God is love, He is good, He is holy, He is true and just to name a few! God doesn’t have each of the these attributes, He is each of these attributes.

God is not partially love, partially good, partially holy, or partially true. He is all of each attribute He possesses.

Think of it, God loves you. He doesn’t love you a little bit, and He doesn’t love you a lot. God loves you with all the love that love can love. God couldn’t love you any more than He does right now.

It is only the all of God that can be to you all you need, all the time.

Lord of all—

All grace.
All sufficiency.
All supply.
All joy.
All wisdom.
All knowledge.
All hope.
All goodness.
All mercy.
All comfort.
All strength.
All blessings.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever…one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all (Ephesians 3:20, Ephesians 3:21, Ephesians 4:6 NKJV).

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#godwords #all #roylessin #meetinginthemeadow

©2023 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Photo by Marina Bromley. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

Hospitality, Part 8

Hospitality, Part 8
-Char Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow

Do we remember that gentleness is a fruit of the Spirit? How about within our home?  We may think of ministry as being ‘out there’ somewhere but in our calling to hospitality it brings it to right where we live.  Many times I have needed to apologize to my family for a wrong attitude. I do not want the Holy Spirit to be grieved. I love living in the peace of God rather than the heaviness of pushing my selfish ways. Yes, it affects everyone within the home.

Gentleness is so healing and so pleasant as it fills us in our attitudes and deeds. I love being a vessel of gentleness rather than a vessel of harshness.

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control... (Galatians 5:22-23 NLT).

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Char Lessin was raised on a Minnesota farm and grew to love the Lord at a young age. She and Roy met while they attended Bethany Fellowship in Bloomington, MN and early in their marriage they served together as missionaries in Mexico and Puerto Rico. She continues to serve the Lord through their home in NW Arkansas, ministering to the people that the Lord brings to her.

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#hospitality #charlessin #meetinginthemeadow #asuntothelord #mrsroylessin #fruitofthespirit

©2023 Roy and Char Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Photos by Grace Nast, Marina Bromley, used with permission. All rights reserved.

My Morning Prayer: Actions That Speak Good Things

-Roy Lessin and Marina Bromley

 

Actions that Speak Good Things
-Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow

You are the salt of the earth…. You are the light of the world (Matthew 5:13–14 AMPC).

In Matthew 5:13–14 Jesus tells His disciples that they are both the salt of the earth and the light of the world. They were not told to choose between the two. The difference between salt and light is significant. Jesus used salt and light as metaphors to help the disciples understand the importance of both their actions and their words.

When Jesus said to His disciples they were “the light of the world,” He was speaking about the power and impact of their actions upon the lives of others. When Jesus called the disciples “the salt of the earth,” He was speaking about the power and impact of their words upon the lives of others. May our actions and our words both be expressions of God’s heart.

My Morning Prayer
-Marina Bromley

Lord God, without us even asking, You have made us to be an extension of Your Salt and Light. You have equipped us to add Your Flavoring to the world around us, and to shine Your Light to illuminate and eliminate darkness. Sometimes we need to shine Your Light around our homes, our families, our neighborhoods, but sometimes You Light us up from the inside, to expose our hearts and minds. At those times we need to confess and be willing to eliminate actions that build a wall between us.

Please keep my God Flavoring salty, that I will continue to be used by You in building Your Kingdom. Make my words and actions worthy of You and Your Kingdom. I pray that Your Kingdom will come and Your will will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Your ways are always best, Lord. Help me to depend on You, trust You, and bring You glory. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

#prayer #mymondayprayer #devotion #saltandlight #godflavoring #roylessin #meetinginthemeadow

©2023 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Photo and prayer by Marina Bromley. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

God Words: Love

God Words: Love
-Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow

God is love (1 John 4:8).

Elizabeth Barrett Browning begins her sonnet How do I love thee? with these endearing words, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” She wrote these words because she was finite. She loved deeply, but not infinitely. Anything that can be counted has limitations.

If you asked God at this moment, “How do you love me?” His answer would be, “My love for you is unmeasurable; my thoughts toward you are innumerable.” God’s love for you is a love without limits.

In the early years of DaySpring we published a small stationery note. We put these words on the cover, “The Lord Brought You to Mind Today.” It quickly became a best seller. If the Lord sent you a stationary note today it would read, “There is never a day when you are not in My thoughts; never a time without my love.”

Everything about God is staggering! If we could encircle God in our thoughts we would be encircling the wrong god. Every name God has, and every attribute in His character will quickly bring us to the end of our vocabulary in attempting to describe Him.

Try and get your thoughts around someone who has no limits. Think upon this for a few moments and your brain will wave the flag of surrender. If God had limitations in anyway, at anytime, in anyplace, and in any situation, God would be finite.

Here are two amazing verses from the Psalms that point us to His infinite thoughts:

Many, O my God, are the wonders which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count (Psalms 40:5).

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand (Psalms139:17).

Your faith can put its arms around these verses and draw them close to your heart. You are in God’s thoughts!

What kind of thoughts does God have toward you?
Precious thoughts!
Good thoughts!
Right thoughts!
Gracious thoughts!
Caring thoughts!
Loving thoughts!
Father thoughts!

How many of these thoughts does God have toward you? More than can be numbered!

If you knew how many loving thoughts God has toward you today (not to mention your lifetime) you would be astonished.

Think of it this way…There are 200 billion trillion stars in the known universe. God’s thoughts are more than the stars. There are 7.5 sextillion grains of sand on earth. God’s thoughts are more than the grains of sand. How is that possible? Because God is infinite…His precious loving thoughts toward you cannot be numbered because they have no end.

“Our Father’s thoughts to us-ward are many. We only know a few of them, but they are flowing us-ward all the time.” -Amy Carmichael

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! (Romans 11:33).

Prayer: Thank you God that your thoughts toward me today are the thoughts of a loving, caring Father. I know your thoughts toward me tomorrow will not change. I put, and will keep, my trust in you alone.

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#godthoughts #godwords #love #roylessin #meetinginthemeadow

©2023 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Photo by Marina Bromley. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

Hospitality, Part 7

Hospitality, Part 7
Char Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow

 

I may be willing to pack my bags and go around the world to minister, but am I as willing to fetch my husband a cup of tea?

Sometimes it’s yes and sometimes it’s no.

I remember those times when the plea for Sunday School teachers would come and feeling guilty in not responding, yet knowing that the Lord had others for that and to be at rest where He had me. A need does not mean my calling—my calling is in His voice to me!

His peace and His approval are my greatest rewards in each day.

What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? (1 Samuel 15:22 NLT).

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Char Lessin was raised on a Minnesota farm and grew to love the Lord at a young age. She and Roy met while they attended Bethany Fellowship in Bloomington, MN and early in their marriage they served together as missionaries in Mexico and Puerto Rico. She continues to serve the Lord through their home in NW Arkansas, ministering to the people that the Lord brings to her.

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#hospitality #charlessin #meetinginthemeadow #asuntothelord #mrsroylessin

©2023 Roy and Char Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Photos by Grace Nast, Marina Bromley, used with permission. All rights reserved.

My Morning Prayer: Graciously Gracious

-Roy Lessin and Marina Bromley

Graciously Gracious
-Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow 

All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory (2 Corinthians 4:15 NLT).

God is not grudgingly gracious, He is graciously gracious. His grace brings Him great joy. You are saved by grace, transformed by grace, redeemed by grace, strengthened by grace, kept by grace, sanctified by grace, blessed by grace, have become an heir by grace, and have moment-by-moment access to God’s throne of grace. Grace is God’s free, flowing, flourishing favor. Grace brings to you the eternal riches in Christ and all that will remain forever.

My Morning Prayer
-Marina Bromley

Father God, Your grace is precious to me. As You pour it out over me, I receive it. Teach me not to hold on to it, but to share it with others with Your examples of kindness, joy, graciousness! Let me be saved, transformed, redeemed, strengthened, kept, sanctified, and blessed. As You giving me grace brings You much joy, help me to have that same reaction, being generous with the grace You have showered me with. I want to be an extension of Your grace to all those around me. In Jesus' Name, amen.

#mymondayprayer #graciouslygracious #godsgrace #meetinginthemeadow #erinstoryphoto #marinabromleyprayer #prayer

©2023 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Prayer by Marina Bromley. Photo by Erin Story. Used with permission, all rights reserved.

God Words: Power

God Words: Power
-Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow

 

Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen (Matthew 6:13). 

God has power. Absolute power. He has mighty power and authoritative power. He can do anything, at anytime, anywhere, as He wills. That kind of power, if it belonged to someone evil, would be terrifying. Thankfully, because God is love, He always uses His power in a good and loving way. Because God is also holy, He will always demonstrate His power in a righteous and just way.

God’s loving, good, holy, righteous, just power will always be against pride, will overcome evil, and righteously judge sin. Even though the world is filled with pride, with evil, and with sin, hope still remains. God’s judgments are being restrained by His patience, long-suffering, mercies and grace. Every repentant heart can still confess their sins and find forgiveness through the saving atonement of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, upon the cross.

How grateful everyone should be who has received forgiveness and salvation through Jesus Christ. It means that there is no power who can cancel what God’s power will do in your life! No one has the power to stop God from loving you, being kind to you, blessing you, or extending His favor toward you.

God’s will and God’s power are always in agreement. How sad it would be if God willed to bless you, care for you, provide for you, or to work all things together for the good in your life, but didn’t have the power to actually cause His will to be done.

Nothing is more powerful than-
The power of the gospel to save.
The power of the blood to cleanse.
The power of the cross to deliver.
The power of the truth to free.
The power of the Lord to transform.
The power of the Spirit to equip.
The power of the Christ to reign.

#godwords #godspower #power #truepower #roylessin #meetinginthemeadow

©2023 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Photo by Marina Bromley, used with permission. All rights reserved.

Hospitality, Part 6

Hospitality, Part 6
Char Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow

 

This is a high call and an honor. An ‘as unto the Lord’ attitude makes it a blessing for everyone. Peace and rest come as we walk in what He has for us. If we feel unsettled and unrest within then it’s a good thing to consider if we’re in a place that is not for us. It’s a restful place to do only what we are called to, but a restless place to try to fill someone else’s place. 

Do we understand the awesome place of keeping our hearts in right attitude before people and the Lord? Anger and resentment and jealousy, to name a few, can block the beautiful ministry of the Holy Spirit in our midst. I much more desire His way than my selfish way. It’s so much better. It’s so much purer. It’s so healing.  To have His presence fill our lives and our home is so much better than an atmosphere of strife or confusion or unrest.

Do not stifle the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19 NLT).

#hospitality #meetinginthemeadow #charlessin #mrsroylessin 

©2023 Roy and Char Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Photo by Marina Bromley, used with permission. All rights reserved.

My Morning Prayer: Precious Promises of Boundless Grace

By Roy Lessin and Marina Bromley

Precious Promises of Boundless Grace
-Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow

Consider these Scriptures that speak about the “much more” gift of God’s indescribable, overflowing grace toward you today.

Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? (Luke 12:24 NKJV).

If God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today, and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you, O you [people] of little faith? (Luke 12:48 AMPC).

For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life (Romans 5:10 NKJV).

My Morning Prayer
-Marina Bromley

Lord God, You so generously give us SO MUCH MORE in grace, in mercy, in love...and we would be crazy to refuse Your generosity. Help us to see Your gifts around us, expressed in the kindness of strangers through the power of Your Holy Spirit. Let us feel You at work in us, as You prompt and move and have Your way in our bodies and our lives. Let us not deny Your gifts of "much more" and teach us to express them abundantly and freely to others around us on Your behalf, that we might be generous in our giving of time, talents, resources, and love. We want to bring glory to You in our lives, our homes, our workplaces, and in our neighborhoods. All for You and Your Kingdom, God. In Jesus' name, amen.

#mymondayprayer #somuchmore #boundlessgrace #roylessin #preciouspromises #meetinginthemeadow #marinabromley #godsgifts

©2023 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Photo and prayer by Marina Bromley, used with permission. All rights reserved.

God Words: Sovereign

God Words: Sovereign
-Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow

God’s sovereignty rules over all (Psalm 103:19).

For God to be God He must be absolutely sovereign.

He cannot be sovereign in a limited way. Sovereignty means God is absolutely, in absolute control!

He is the supreme authority over all things. He rules and overrules. The victory He has won through His Son on the cross is secure and certain. All things are subject to Him who is above all.

All evil, sin, darkness, death, decay, and the devil are defeated foes. Though not fully seen yet, all things are under the feet of God’s Son. When all is said and done, God will have the final say. The kingdom of God will come to earth, for Jesus is the King of all kings. His reign, His rule, and His dominion will be everlasting. There will be final, complete, and perfect justice because God is perfectly just.

No noise, no matter how loud, can ever keep God’s voice from being heard; No power, no matter how strong, can keep Him from working out His plan.

No decree, no matter how binding, can upset His plans. No impostor will be able to deceive the One who knows the thoughts and intents of every heart.

©2023 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Photo by Marina Bromley, used with permission. All rights reserved.

#meetinginthemeadow #devotion #roylessin #godwords

Hospitality, Part 5

Hospitality, Part 5
-Char Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow

Living in the middle of nowhere on the edge of the Ozarks. That’s what we thought. Come to find out it was amazing how the area drew people to visit and live. One day while stirring a pot of soup on the stove, our phone rang and it was a friend from California traveling with his wife whom we had never met. They were wondering if they could come by for a visit as they travelled to a nearby city. One thing I have learned in the ministry of hospitality is how important it is to let the Holy Spirit be the Director of who comes.

It is an atmosphere of a home that people relax in and find it easy to open their hearts. It has been a privilege to sit around the table with a piece of pie before us sharing hearts and needs. What a joyous visit it was as we had the privilege to hear her heart pour out, another opportunity of hospitality.

When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality (Romans 12:13 NLT).

Char Lessin was raised on a Minnesota farm and grew to love the Lord at a young age. She and Roy met while they attended Bethany Fellowship in Bloomington, MN and early in their marriage they served together as missionaries in Mexico and Puerto Rico. She continues to serve the Lord through their home in NW Arkansas, ministering to the people that the Lord brings to her.

#hospitality #charlessin #meetinginthemeadow #asuntothelord #mrsroylessin 

©2023 Roy and Char Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Photos by Grace Nast, Marina Bromley, used with permission. All rights reserved.