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Third Quarter Reads of 2025

Philippians 1:9-11 (AMP) And this I pray, that your love may abound more and more [displaying itself in greater depth] in real knowledge and in practical insight, so that you may learn to recognize and treasure what is excellent [identifying the best, and distinguishing moral differences], and that you may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ [actually living lives that lead others away from sin]; filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God [so that His glory may be both revealed and recognized].

The third quarter reads are still not as big as the first, but their content was very deep. I have counted and have already surpassed the number of books that I read last year. Along with my daily devotionals, I read chapters of the Bible at a time (sometimes up to five chapters). This quarter I read Jeremiah through the Book of Acts. If you have never read through the minor prophets in the Old Testament, I encourage you to do so. They really highlight the love that God has for His us. Now that I am reading the letters of Paul, they are something that I will probably read together next time as they have the same message to the church. Even in outright rebellion, He is looking and providing a way.

I did complete the 365 Daily Devotions from Psalms by Joyce Meyer, that I began last year. I also read ten books, four of which I purchased and read immediately (the books by John Bevere and Louie Giglio). I will give you an overview of three books, but here is my total list for this quarter:

  • The Treasure Principle: Discovering the Secret of Joyful Giving by Randy Alcorn
  • I am a Church Member by Thom S. Rainer
  • A Heart Ablaze: Igniting a Passion for God by John Bevere
  • Breaking Free: Discover the Victory of Total Surrender by Beth Moore
  • Good Morning Holy Spirit by Benny Hinn
  • The Fear of the Lord: Discover the Key to Intimately Knowing God by John Bevere
  • Goliath Must Fall: Winning the Battle Against Your Giants by Louie Giglio
  • Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table by Louie Giglio
  • Just Open the Door: How One Invitation Can Change a Generation by Jen Schmidt
  • Change Your Words Change Your Life by Joyce Meyer

Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table by Louie Giglio was a book that I bought this year and read almost immediately. Louie takes the 23rd Psalm and pulls out the verse, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” This is the position of this verse as looking at it from what we allow into our minds. How does God feed us? What is the Bread of Life that Jesus talked about? What we think on will affect us tremendously, not inviting the enemy to a seat at our table has to do with the battle of our minds. There are countless occurrences in the Bible of those who were faced with unfair trials physically and emotionally, from Shadrach, Meshack and Abendego to Paul and Silas. What did they keep before them? I read this verse in this book and when I go to it again in the Old Testament this quarter it has reminded me over and over to keep my focus on Him. When the enemy wants us to listen to lies of others not wanting to be a part or doing everything they can to sabotage, or just do not care about you, that will invite the enemy to your table. Anything that will distract you is the enemy at your table. Here is that verse: Though the fig tree does not blossom and there is no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive fails and the fields produce no food, though the flock is cut off from the fold and there are no cattle in the stalls, yet I will [choose to] rejoice in the Lord; I will [choose to] shout in exultation in the [victorious] God of my salvation! (Habakkuk 3:17-18) Even though…I will. That needs to be our stance. Not on the circumstance. I will still be joyful and glad because the Lord is my Savior.

A Heart Ablaze: Igniting a Passion for God by John Bevere. John Bevere is one of my favorite authors and speakers. If you have not downloaded their free app, Messenger X, I encourage you to do so. Podcasts, courses and books all right there ready for you to access, for free. This is my go to app at the gym. I picked up A Heart Ablaze and The Fear of the Lord at the same time. John uses the illustration of the Israelites coming out of Egypt in both books, but he gets really into the heart motives why God wants our hearts to be on fire for Him in A Heart Ablaze. There are many illustrations of how we want to live first place in our lives and call that God. Actually, it is little “g,” god. Here are some words from the chapter titled “Intentions or Desires?” “They had not separated themselves in their hearts from the world, which resulted in their inability to separate what was of the world and what was of God. If you desire both the world and the intimate knowledge of God, the image of God become distorted. You do not truly know Him; you know a different Jesus.” That is such a strong statement, “you know a different Jesus.” This is why it is so important that we check the rhema word (personal revelations) with the logos (the written Word of God). “Moses wanted God and would gladly pay any price to know Him. The children of Israel wanted what was best for them. If the benefit of walking in God’s ways was evident to their natural senses, they would gladly embrace it, but if it was not evident, they would gravitate toward what seemed best. To know God will always result in what is best for us, for God is perfect love. However, many times this knowledge will not be evident in the natural senses. Moses loved God for who He is; Israel loved God for what He could do for them. If what He was doing did not meet their desires, they moved toward what they deemed best.” This illustrates the church today; there is a dividing line. There are the true worshippers and there are those who profess Jesus, yet they are still self-seeking. Who do we want to be?

Breaking Free: Discover the Victory of Total Surrender by Beth Moore. This book published in 2000 and really digs deep of the importance of surrender to Christ. Nothing in it talks about self-importance, only that true healing comes from a place of surrender. I know that some may of cringed when you saw that I picked up a book by Beth Moore. I just did a shallow dive into what happened and hope that healing can come. Pride, as she talks about in this book, will only put us back into captivity. We have to take a stand against idolatry, and some of those can be our old belief systems. It is really important to read the Bible for yourself, and she says that over and over again. Her key verse is from Isaiah 61:1-3 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed and commissioned me to bring good news to the humble and afflicted; He has sent me to bind up [the wounds of] the brokenhearted, to proclaim release [from confinement and condemnation] to the [physical and spiritual] captives and freedom to prisoners, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance and retribution of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to grant to those who mourn in Zion the following: to give them a turban instead of dust [on their heads, a sign of mourning], the oil of joy instead of mourning, the garment [expressive] of praise instead of a disheartened spirit. So they will be called the trees of righteousness [strong and magnificent, distinguished for integrity, justice, and right standing with God], the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. (AMP) This verse is one I have almost committed to memory; it has come across my readings so much. The book points back to the reason we have been set free, why it is important for us to break free from bondages. It is all for His glory. Pride does not glorify God; it seeks to glorify ourselves. Surrender is the key to our freedom. “Freedom and lordship are inseparable partners in the believer’s life.” “Freedom becomes reality when we yield to the authority of God.” A lot of times we want God to remove the temptations from our lives, that we do not want to have to struggle with them any longer. We want to forget about the suffering. He wants us to lean into Him more, not try more. “God will not release us from anything that enslaved us until we’ve come to the mind of Christ on the matter. We will not be free until we adopt the mind of Christ in the matter that has enslaved us.” “We will think with the mental language we practice the most.” Surrender starts in the mind. This book is 47 chapters, but I was able to read two to three chapters a day and enjoy it.

I am writing this blog about books to encourage you to read. First and foremost, pick up your Bible and read it daily. I am not asking you to start with five chapters, start with one. Start with five verses if you must but start. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal His heart to you as you read. Do not skip over the minor prophets. God is not a God of wrath, but of grace and mercy. Yes, He is judge and He has come against the prideful. Humility is a position of the heart. We should not gloat at another’s misfortunes but should seek restoration. Jonah had an issue with that when God revoked the sentence on Ninevah because they turned their hearts back to God. Love always hopes. Obadiah is one chapter. Do you get bored reading the Bible? Ask God to help you with that. I went years without reading it and only doing the verses that accompanied my devotions. It was through my desire to surrender that I picked up the Bible to read. It was part of my quest to desire for more. I do not regret it, and you will not either.

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When fear comes knocking

Psalms 16:5 (AMP) The Lord is the portion of my inheritance, my cup [He is all I need]; You support my lot.

What happens when we are not certain of the future? I am not immune to the goings on in the world, even though I do not turn on the news (it’s mostly negative). I talk to people, not to take on their burdens, but to listen to how it is affecting them.

Galatians 6:2 (AMP) Carry one another’s burdens and in this way you will fulfill the requirements of the law of Christ [that is, the law of Christian love].

There is a right way and a wrong way to take on burdens. We could take on and we become anxious, fearful and even full of rage, that is the wrong way. The right way is to bring peace by aligning our thoughts and our words with Christ.

Matthew 11:28-30 (AMP)  “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation]. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls. For My yoke is easy [to bear] and My burden is light.”

What happens when fear creeps in because of what you are hearing? I need to know Who’s I am. I need to be rooted and grounded in the Truth.

About six and half years ago I was thrown into uncertainty. I lost my job without notice and without any prospects of another. There was a significant decrease in our income. I did start to drive for Uber during college gameday weekends. One thing we did not stop doing is giving our tithe. I could not see dishonoring God just because of the lot that I was currently in. The amazing thing was, I really did not need to be working in the traditional sense. I was needed elsewhere and just could not see it at the moment. If I had been where I was before, there would not have been anyone available to prepare for the transition our church was in. I would not have been able to meet with the wonderful people that I met during that time. The relationships I was able to develop helped us get to where we are now.

My husband and I went through a situation just recently where our friend pulled out of the business that we were in together. They did not quit; they just moved their business to do it on their own. Our expenses doubled without notice. Do you know what we did not do? Get mad and start slandering our friend. We could have questioned their intent. What looked like calamity in the moment could have caused us to get angry or even bitter. We kept our mouths off and still blessed our friend during the transition. We put them first. Why? We believed God already knew, really does anything surprise Him in what we do. Now on the other side, God knew we would be better than okay.

Psalms 23 (AMP) The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, to guide and to shield me],
I shall not want. He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still and quiet waters. He refreshes and restores my soul (life); He leads me in the paths of righteousness
for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the [sunless] valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort and console me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You have anointed and refreshed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell forever [throughout all my days] in the house and in the presence of the Lord.

Keep your mouth off of man. When we question the intent of whether people are for us, then we have stepped into the role of judge. We judge fruit, not intentions. We give too much power to the enemy when we always talk about the ways he is against us. He has no authority, unless you give it to him. What about governing officials? God never gives us allowance to dishonor them either. We are to pray for them. The Lord already knows. Who is your faith in? The moment that you have allowed it to rob your joy, is the moment that you have given in.

What happens with fear comes knocking? I think about James 1:2-4, “Consider it nothing but joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials. Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace]. And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing.” Practice one of my breath prayers, “I count it all joy.” I put my focus back on my Father. What if what looks like calamity actually brings you closer to the Father? What if it sparks a revival? That is exactly what happened with me six and half years ago.

My prayer for you today is taken from Colossians 3:15, “Let the peace of Christ [the inner calm of one who walks daily with Him] be the controlling factor in your hearts [deciding and settling questions that arise]. To this peace indeed you were called as members in one body [of believers]. And be thankful [to God always].” Let us continue to be thankful. We repent for our negative thinking and choose to count it all joy. Our trust in You. We choose love today. We choose peace today. We choose forgiveness today. We choose hope today. We choose joy today. In Jesus Name, Amen.

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Heart Check Moments Ahead

A couple of weeks ago we were doing a “Highlight Night” with our youth group. This is a night when we invite our youth to bring their Bibles and we all share scriptures that we have highlighted. Then if that scripture was something we want to highlight, we get a highlighter and highlight it ourselves. We ask them what spoke to them about that particular scripture.

One such passage was James 4:11 (NKJV) Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.

Such a strange scripture for a teenager to have highlighted, right? Our teens are looking at us. I used this opportunity to teach a little. I explained to the teens that the Book of James was a letter written by James to a group of Jewish converts to Christianity. That we can be just like this group if we do not keep our hearts aligned with Philippians 4:8 (AMP) Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things.

I did point out that, yes, we are known by the fruit that we bear. That although we are not of the world, we should not look like the world. I did remind them that the Jesus spoke to us about when we see a fellow Christian sin (Matthew 18:15). All of this is in love. One thing is we have free will.

Can we believe that God still changes hearts? Look at what Paul says in 1 Timothy 1:12-16 (AMP): I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has granted me (the needed) strength and made me able for this, because He considered me faithful and trustworthy, putting me into service (for this ministry), even though I was formerly a blasphemer (of the Lord) and a persecutor (of His church) and a shameful and outrageous and violent aggressor (toward believers). Yet I was shown mercy because I acted out of ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord (His amazing, unmerited favor and blessing) flowed out in superabundance (for me, together) with faith and love which are (realized) in Christ Jesus. This is a faithworthy and trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance and approval, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost (of sinners), Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example or pattern for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.

Can we believe that God still changes hearts?

Why did the verse our youth member strike a chord with me? Maybe they have had an experience like I did. Many years ago I was in an argument with a leader in our church. I forget what it was about, but their response was because I did not agree, and they were above me in leadership, that I was going to hell. Heart check moment! I told them I guess both of us were, since neither of us had worked out this love thing yet.

Let’s look at James 4:11 but in the Passion Translation: Dear friends, as part of God’s family, never speak against another family member, for when you slander a brother or sister you violate God’s law of love. And your duty is not to make yourself a judge of the law of love by saying that it doesn’t apply to you, but your duty is to obey it!

Brothers and sisters in Christ do not have to agree to show love. We violate love when we judge. Remember that tomorrow on election day and every day. I am not anxious about who wins. I have been anxious about how the “church” is going to treat one another. I have seen so many posts from both sides, by supposed followers of Christ, and it breaks my heart. You will be known by the fruit that you bear. Remember that. I care more about the unbeliever watching that my own rights!

Prayer for tomorrow: Father, let us see each other the way you see us. You said that everything is permissible for us, but not everything is for our benefit. It is through your drawing that we are lead to what is for our benefit. Let us be mindful of you tomorrow. Let us be mindful of the sacrifice your Son made. That we have a High Priest is able to sympathize and understand our weakness and our temptations, yet knowing what it is like to be human, did not sin. It is with great confidence that we approach your throne of grace. We have confidence and do not fear of what is to come. You can do the impossible within us! We praise and thank you in Jesus Name, Amen!