Infinite Grace: The Devotional
272
Infinite Grace: The Devotional
272Paperback
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Overview
From all of your favorite Women of Faith(R)!
This lighthearted and inspirational collection of brand new devotions shares a message of grace with the warmth and wisdom fans have come to expect from Women of Faith(R).
- Boundless Grace offers a love that has no limits, a spacious freedom for the woman who trusts in the Lord every day.
- Unfathomable Grace reaches deep into the heart, showing that wherever you go God is always there ahead of you.
- Immeasurable Grace is the overflowing, never-ending fullness of life and joy kept in the heart of God for his children.
- Eternal Grace shelters us through the storms of life and walks with us even through the valley of the shadow of death.
Together, forty devotionals told in the authors' diverse voices give a compelling view of why and how we can find infinite grace in Christ.
Infinite Grace includes a special tribute section remembering Barbara Johnson. Sheila Walsh, Luci Swindoll, Mary Graham, Patsy Clairmont, Marilyn Meberg, Thelma Wells, Carol Kent, Sandi Patty, and others remind you that even if time is scarce in the busyness of life, God's grace never is!
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781400278183 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Nelson, Thomas, Inc. |
| Publication date: | 05/24/2010 |
| Pages: | 272 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.60(d) |
About the Author
Nicole Johnson, author of Fresh Brewed Life, has a uniquely creative voice. As an accomplished writer, speaker, and actor, Nicole has performed in thousands of churches and venues over the last twenty-five years, including more than a decade of touring with the national conference Women of Faith. Nicole lives in Santa Monica, CA with her husband and two children. Nicole writes regularly at www.nicolejohnson.org
Marilyn Meberg is a captivating speaker, a coauthor of various Women of Faith devotionals, and the author of "I'd Rather Be Laughing and Choosing the Amusing." She lives in Frisco, TX.
Sandi Patty is the most awarded female vocalist in contemporary Christian music history, with forty Dove Awards and five Grammy Awards. She was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2004 and named an Indiana Living Legend in 2007. She has released over thirty albums with over 12 million albums sold. Sandi was introduced to the world with her rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" during the rededication of the Statue of Liberty in 1986. Virtually overnight she became one of the country's best-loved performers. Sandi and her husband, Don, have been married for over 20 years and are a proud blended family, with eight children and three grandchildren. They currently reside in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. www.sandipatty.com
Jan Silvious has years of experience as a counselor and Bible teacher. She leads seminars for Moody's women's ministry, she has been a keynote speaker at Moody's Founder's Week, and she is a pre-conference speaker for Women of Faith. Her books include Understanding Women, The Five-Minute Devotional, Foolproofing Your Life, Moving Beyond the Myths, The Guilt Free Journal, and Look At It This Way. Jan and her husband, Charles, make their home in Chattanooga, Tennessee. They have three grown sons.
Luci Swindoll is author of Celebrating Life and a co-author of various Women of Faith devotionals. She has served as a business executive of Mobil Oil Corporation and as vice president with Insight for Living. She lives in Frisco, Texas.
Patsy Clairmont is a popular speaker, a coauthor of various Women of Faith devotionals, and the author of such best-selling books as "God Uses Cracked Pots" and "Sportin' a 'Tude." She and her husband live in Brighton, Michigan.
Thelma Wells is a popular author, speaker and businesswoman. As an African-American woman, Thelma was instrumental in bringing racial diversity to the Women of Faith conferences. Thelma has had her own television show, been an assistant vice president of a bank, and an inspirational public speaker/business consultant.
Carol Kent is the bestselling author of When I Lay My Isaac Down and Becoming a Woman of Influence. Carol is an expert on public speaking, writing, and on encouraging people to hold on to hope when life's circumstances turn out differently from their dreams. She speaks internationally on the subjects of her books. With vulnerable openness, restored joy, and a sense of humor, Carol helps people to discover the secret of maintaining an enduring faith in the middle of an imperfect world. She and her husband, Gene, live in Florida.
Sheila Walsh is a powerful communicator, Bible teacher, and bestselling author with almost six million books sold. She is the author of the award-winning Gigi, God's Little Princess series, It's Okay Not to Be Okay, Praying Women, Holding On When You Want to Let Go, and more. She is cohost of the inspirational talk show Life Today with James and Betty Robison, which is seen worldwide by a potential audience of over 100 million viewers. Sheila lives in Dallas, Texas, with her husband, Barry, and son, Christian, who is in graduate school.
Read an Excerpt
INFINITE GRACE
THE DEVOTIONALBy Patsy Clairmont Mary Graham Nicole Johnson Carol Kent Marilyn Meberg Sandi Patty Jan Silvious Luci Swindoll Sheila Walsh Thelma Wells
Thomas Nelson
Copyright © 2008 Patsy Clairmont, Mary Graham, Nicole Johnson, Carol Kent, Marlyn Meberg, Sandi Patty, Jan Silvious, Luci Swindoll, Sheila Walsh, Thelma WellsAll right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8499-1955-8
Chapter One
Grace That Knows No Limits Sheila WalshThe next day as the three travelers were approaching the town, Peter went out on the balcony to pray. It was about noon. Peter got hungry and started thinking about lunch. While lunch was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw the skies open up. Something that looked like a huge blanket lowered by ropes at its four corners settled on the ground. Every kind of animal and reptile and bird you could think of was on it. Then a voice came: "Go to it, Peter-kill and eat." Peter said, "Oh, no, Lord. I've never so much as tasted food that was not kosher." The voice came a second time: "If God says it's okay, it's okay." -Acts 10:9-15 MSG
When our son, Christian, was seven years old, he announced to his dad and me that he needed a dog. I was impressed with his choice of verb. As a child I told my mom that I wanted a dog and never got one. I now realize that it might have been as simple as my misuse of the English language! When I asked Christian why he needed a dog, his explanation made total sense to me. "Mom, I am an only child. I need someone to talk to." I reminded him that he had his dad and me to talk to, but Christian wisely replied, "No, I need someone to talk to about you."
So after some careful research, we added Belle to our family. Belle is a beautiful bichon frise with the huge plus that she does not shed. I used to have a golden retriever, and I could have stuffed cushions with the amount of fur he cast off daily.
Almost three years later, Christian announced that he was concerned about Belle. She seemed fine to me-perhaps a little overweight, but hey, I had no stones to throw. I asked him what he thought her problem was. "She's lonely," he said. "There's nothing worse than a lonely bichon." So Tink was added to our motley crew. She too is a bichon frise but from the French line as opposed to the American. Her fur is longer and silkier, yet it stays firmly attached to her frame, so all is well.
As far as I could tell, we were done. Belle no longer required therapy, and she and Tink get along fairly well. Like children they have very different personalities. Belle lives to please me, and Tink dances to the beat of "Wild Thing!" Peace appeared to reign, but life was about to take an unexpected twist in the road.
I was sitting in the departure lounge at Little Rock airport. The other Women of Faith speakers and I had just finished our first conference of 2007, and we were all exhausted. Most weekends we can't get a flight back to Dallas until Sunday morning, but we had all been able to get on the last flight out on Saturday night.
I was sitting on the floor talking to Luci when my cell phone rang. It was Christian. It was a poor connection, and I could only make out snippets of what he was saying. It sounded something like this: "Pet store ... Shivering ... Poor dog ... Dad said if you said ... Mom?"
I have no idea what I mumbled, but the minute I sat down on the plane, the picture became alarmingly clear. I hurriedly sent a text message to my husband, Barry: Please tell me we don't have another dog!
The reply came back: Yes we do, and his name is Trevor.
I quickly typed: What is he?
The response was: He is a Wiener dog!
My first thought of panic was replaced by a fond memory. When I was a little girl my father bought me a Wiener dog, but after my father became ill we had to get rid of her. Perhaps God is giving me back what I lost, I mused to myself in a sleep-deprived haze. Then I got home!
Whatever Trevor is, the word Wiener does not accurately describe his size. Salami perhaps, but not Wiener. He looks as if he is 10 percent Wiener and 90 percent Rottweiler. His paws are the size of dinner plates. After my initial shock at Trevor's unusual appearance, what was interesting to me was how Belle and Tink responded to him. They are very friendly dogs and normally love to meet up with dogs of all shapes and sizes, but they definitely gave Trevor the cold shoulder. They walked around him once or twice and then with a shake of their perfectly groomed heads left him in their dust. I hate to say it, but I have two bichon snobs-prejudiced pooches.
Two of the first sins of the fall of Adam and Eve were prejudice and separation. Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent. But the sin was more pronounced in their sons, Cain and Abel. When Cain compared himself to Abel and saw that God showed favor on Abel's offering and not on his, hatred began to grow inside him like a cancer. And like many cancers, Cain's hatred led to death-not his own, but the murder of his brother Abel.
There is something in our sinful brokenness that wants to compare ourselves to others and say who gets to be "in" and who is left out in the cold. Trevor received no points from the bichon frise judges, just as the Gentiles received no points from the Jews. During the time of Christ, there was no love lost between the Jews and the Gentiles. In some rabbinical writings, devout Jews actually believed that God allowed Gentiles to be born to fuel the fires of hell. Jews referred to Gentiles as "dogs." But because of the boundless grace of God, that was all about to change.
Peter was a changed man after the resurrection of Christ. He was bold and fearless as he shared the good news that Messiah had come and there was forgiveness of sins. He set out on a mission trip with John and saw God perform many miracles. Peter and John traveled to Samaria to join Phillip in the revival happening there, and in Joppa he saw Dorcas brought back from the dead. But God was about to prepare Peter for a whole new world.
In Caesarea lived an Italian centurion named Cornelius who feared God. One day an angel appeared to him and told him that God, in his boundless grace, saw Cornelius's heart and had answered his prayers. The angel told Cornelius to send for a man named Peter who was staying with Simon the tanner. At the same time as this was taking place in Caesarea, Peter was watching a movie sent from God on a rooftop by the sea in Joppa. In this vision Peter was asked to eat food that a devout Jew would never touch. The voice in Peter's vision told him that if God says this is okay, then it's okay. By the time Cornelius's messenger made it to Peter, the apostle's heart was ready to accept the invitation to come to Caesarea and share the gospel with the Gentiles.
God's boundless grace has no room for prejudice. Every man, woman, and child is made and loved by God. He sees no distinction between races and colors, wealth and poverty, the cultured and the coarse. I see no greater challenge extended to the church today than this: to share the boundless grace of God that knows no limits to everyone we meet.
Now, how do I get that across to Belle and Tink?
* * *
Lord, I admit that sometimes I turn a cold shoulder to people who aren't like me. Help me to view others the way you see them-as your precious and beloved creations. And give me opportunities today to share your boundless, limitless grace with everyone I meet. Amen.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from INFINITE GRACE by Patsy Clairmont Mary Graham Nicole Johnson Carol Kent Marilyn Meberg Sandi Patty Jan Silvious Luci Swindoll Sheila Walsh Thelma Wells Copyright © 2008 by Patsy Clairmont, Mary Graham, Nicole Johnson, Carol Kent, Marlyn Meberg, Sandi Patty, Jan Silvious, Luci Swindoll, Sheila Walsh, Thelma Wells. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Boundless Grace
1 Grace That Knows No Limits Sheila Walsh 1
2 A God Like This Thelma Wells 7
3 Flooded with Grace Mary Graham 12
4 God's Photo Album of Grace Nicole Johnson 18
5 A Dog Named Grace Jan Silvious 23
6 Off Your Rocker Luci Swindoll 28
7 An Unexpected Companion Carol Kent 34
8 Grace and Character Building Marilyn Meberg 41
9 All-Star Grace Sandi Patty 47
10 Make Space for Grace Patsy Clairmont 52
Unfathomable Grace
11 Dad's Final Flight Carol Kent 61
12 Glimpses of Grace Marilyn Meberg 67
13 Out of Egypt Luci Swindoll 73
14 Available Grace Sandi Patty 79
15 Always Welcomed Home Sheila Walsh 84
16 Words of Grace Patsy Clairmont 90
17 Quiet Grace Nicole Johnson 96
18 Amazing Grace Mary Graham 101
19 Mindful of Grace Thelma Wells 107
20 Grace Walking Jan Silvious 113
Immeasurable Grace
21 Missing Grace Nicole Johnson 121
22 Measuring Up Patsy Clairmont 127
23 A Matter of Perspective Carol Kent 133
24 An Unending Supply Sheila Walsh 139
25 Grace: Fullness of Life Marilyn Meberg 145
26 Many-Colored Grace Jan Silvious 151
27 Nudges of Grace Luci Swindoll 156
28 He Giveth More Grace Mary Graham 162
29 Resting in Grace Sandi Patty 168
30 Refining Grace Thelma Wells 171
Eternal Grace
31 Forever Grace Patsy Clairmont 179
32 Grace Beyond Rules Jan Silvious 185
33 Grace for All People Mary Graham 191
34 Sheltering Grace Marilyn Meberg 197
35 Grace Greater Than Our Sin Nicole Johnson 203
36 Marker Moments Carol Kent 209
37 Grace in Sickness and Death Thelma Wells 215
38 Grace for Eternity Sandi Patty 221
39 Mutual Grace Luci Swindoll 226
40 Grasp This Moment! Sheila Walsh 232
In Memory of Barbara Johnson
41 Barbara Johnson Mary Graham 239
42 Dear Barbara Patsy Clairmont 244
43 Barbara Johnson Marilyn Meberg 249
44 The Unforgettable Barbara Johnson Luci Swindoll 253
Notes 259