Welcome to Day 1 of Part 4‘s Chapter 1. Today, Bettie is bringing forward our first free will offering of acacia wood – incorruptible humanity in Christ Jesus. May you be blessed and uplifted, as Bettie shares the comfort and encouragement God gave her through His Word with us all. Open our hearts to receive Your Word to us today, oh LORD.

Some days the weight of my own humanity feels too much to bear. I am altogether aware of every shortcoming, every wound, and every stain. The trial has seemed to blaze a scorching onto my bare head, and I want to run for cover.

Perhaps you have felt the same?

If we could just hide away, somewhere dark and cool, find a cave in the midst of this desert, we think that we will be safe. Oh, but the enemy of our souls hides in…

Welcome to Part 3 ofArise and Shine: The Oil of Anointing. Today,Bettieis opening part 3 with a devotional, including a poem and Spirit-led song she was gifted, as she shares what God showed her about the process required to make the anointing oil and its connection to Christ’s labor of love and our response to that.

Join us in the coming days and weeks for the chapters and daily free will offerings connected to the Oil of Anointing. We will be posting these as the LORD leads us.

Have you seen the beautiful plant called “Crown of Thorns?” It is a reliable bloomer that keeps me going through the garden-less days of winter. But just because it’s reliable, doesn’t mean it’s boring. I am always moved by the beauty that rests alongside the pain of this plant. Thorns are jagged along the whole stem, with…

Welcome to Chapter 3 of Part 2. This week we are resting in the free will offering of gold: the perfection of Christ, the Living Word of God. Today, Anna is sharing an introductory post, as she reflects on how God compels us to bring forward this free will offering in Christ, through the shaking and refining fires He sends our way.

At the end of this introduction, you are invited to join Anna and Bettie in prayer. Each day, we will then also add a new free will offering of gold – poems, prayers and testimonies of praise and thanksgiving to our God. May each offering encourage you also to bring forward your own free will offering of pure gold in Christ Jesus.

Take a sacred offering for the Lord. Let those with generous hearts present the following gifts to the Lord: gold, silver, and bronze;Exodus 35:5

Welcome to Chapter 2 of Part 2 of Arise and Shine. Today, Anna is sharing an introductory post on the free will offering of bronze, including a prayer she penned together with Bettie and a link to a Michael W. Smith song.

Take a sacred offering for the Lord. Let those with generous hearts present the following gifts to the Lord: gold, silver, and bronze; Exodus 35:5

The bronze from the wave offering was 70 talents and 2,400 shekels. Exodus 38:29 NIV

The site Bible History tells us:

Welcome to Day 5 of Chapter 1 of Part 2 from Arise and Shine. Today, Bettie is sharing a personal story about prayer and God’s redemption. The devotional includes a beautiful prayer and a link to a song that communicates the beauty of God’s eternal redemption.

“I will restore to you the years
that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
my great army, which I sent among you.

“You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
and praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.

“You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.” Joel 2:25-27 ESV

In the wandering…

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out,“Ifanyonethirsts,lethimcometomeanddrink.John 7:37 (ESV)

Welcome to Part 2 of Arise and Shine: The Living Water of God. Today, Bettie is opening part 2 with a devotional, including a poem and prayer. She shares a personal testimony on the gift of God’s living water that washes us in the truth and grace of our God.

May God bless you richly today, as you sit at His feet with us to listen and drink deeply of His living water in your weakness and need. May God pour out rivers of living water in our midst, out of each of our hearts, as He awakens fresh faith in us, through the power of His living and active Word.

“Oh, Lord, I will never be washed clean enough!” The words escaped from my lips as yet another sore…

Welcome to Chapter 2 ofArise and Shine: Beloved, You are Mine. This week we invite you to join us, daily, in bringing forward the free will offering of pure white linen: the white garments Jesus has promised to clothe us in, as we overcome in His Name.

Today,Bettie Gilbertintroduces us to chapter 2 and the free will offering of white linen, as she looks at its function in the Old Temple. Through a personal story, she shares how Jesus showed her that this now mirrors Christ’s hemming in, as He lovingly invites us to be set apart unto Him to be clothed in His purity in our surrender to His beautiful purposes.

Exodus 35:5-6 Take a sacred offering for the Lord. Let those with generous hearts present the following gifts to the Lord:blue, purple, and scarlet thread; fine linen

Rev 15:6 And out of the temple…

Welcome to Arise and Shine: Beloved You are Mine. This is Chapter 1: A Dwelling Place of Part 1: The Bread of Life. You can choose to listen to the introduction (read by Anna Smit) and the opening prayer (read by Bettie Gilbert) in the two recordings below, or read on further below.

Have you ever noticed that God gathers us together in the most unlikely ways? Have you ever noticed that every way He sets us apart is His Way of joining us together in His suffering?

Sometimes, chronic illness or trauma can make us start to believe God has sidelined us, set us aside. It can even make us feel like we don’t truly belong in God’s family, or that we are second-rate citizens somehow. We can believe that God’s beautiful…