Abbie Coffey

Matthew 9:12 On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick." This verse is a good reminder for me as I head into the Advent Season.  Jesus came to save those who needed saving.  This Advent I want Jesus to show me those who are sick and shine through me to reveal Himself to them.  Often times we think of sickness as being visible, but so often this is not the case, especially in today's society.  Sickness is often not something we can see or something that is talked about.  As I journey through this season, I'm praying that God will put me in the path of those who need Him and that I pay attention to His prompting to bring Jesus to them.  I want to bring hope to those who are hopeless and joy to those who are joyless.  True hope and joy are only possible through Jesus.  Let's who Him to the world this Christmas season!

Father God, today I thank you for the way your Spirit leads me.  You have given so much to my life and my heart overflows with gratitude.  I pray that I can surrender all of my life that you may use me for the building of Your Kingdom.  May Your will be done throughout my life.  Amen.

Isaiah 49:13 Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the Lord comforts his people and he will have compassion on his afflicted ones. It amazes me how many times comfort is spoken of in the Bible.  This just tells me that none of us are immune from suffering.  What we allow God to do with that suffering is a different story.  Our own perception of needing comfort and compassion from God can cause problems with our acceptance of experiencing the Refiner's fire.  We must not see suffering as weakness, but rather as a way for God to show His power, grace and glory to those around us. When we surrender our suffering to Him, we will experience the fullness of the Refiner's fire, Jesus working in, around, and through us simultaneously.

Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." In thinking about Thanksgiving, I was drawn to the word blessing.  I have learned so much about that word this year.  I am now able to look at all of the parts of my life, happy moments, suffering moments, and all those in between and see how God blesses me in the midst of them all.  I now look at blessing as a nearness of God as the Spirit shapes my heart through people and circumstances.  God knows me so well and He knows the best way to reach my soul and grow me closer to Him.  This year has been full of difficult moments, but I cherish every single one of them because each of them brought me into a closer, deeper relationship with Jesus.  He is who makes my life worth living and He has proven that over and over again this year.  I am thankful for the blessings I have received this year through people and ci...

2 Corinthians 10:18 For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. This is just a good reminder to keep my pride in check.  I don't know that this has been an issue, but I feel that God sometimes gives us a little poke before we step too far.  Pride is an easy trap because I strive to do my best at all things.  I always recognize that it is through God that I achieve anything, but sometimes I am slow to articulate that.  Now is a time for reflection on those things that God has been working on and out in my life to make me the creation He created me to be.  I need to reflect on the calling I have received and how He is growing me to accomplish this calling, yet it is not me accomplishing it, but rather Jesus in me.  I notice often times that I have several moments a day where, when I look back on them, I had no clue what was going to happen.  Most of them work out for good and I learn something along t...

Galatians 1:23 They only heard the report: "The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy." Paul's conversion story is pretty incredible.  He went from persecuting Christians to being persecuted for being a Christian.  What made Paul change so drastically that he became what he was once fighting against?  He had an encounter with Jesus.  This is exactly what we need.  We need to meet Jesus in those moments when we are on our "road to Damascus".  We need Jesus to speak words of truth into our lives to turn us completely around.  We need to be in the presence of the risen Christ that we might be changed forever.  Even after accepting Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior, I still have times where I find myself on the "road to Damascus" and need a moment with Jesus to be changed by his presence in the midst of my own struggle with life.  And that's the beauty of having a living Savior.  We can meet ...

Jeremiah 32:40 I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. There is so much in this verse!  Everlasting covenant: Jesus has come for us and we are being transformed through Him.  It's interesting that God says He will never stop doing good to us.  I am right away taken to the pain and suffering that we experience and think "good?"  But there is so much good that we can get from all of the parts of our journey with Jesus as long as we are willing to open our hearts to His leading and transforming.  We are continually refined and that is a good thing.  The last portion stands out about being inspired to fear God.  I don't like that the word fear has a negative connotation in our culture.  Here it isn't a scare tactic, it is awe-inspiring, the reverent fear that sits back and looks on in complete amazement.  I don't know abou...

Ephesians 5:8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.  Live as children of light. The words that stand out to me here are "in the Lord".  When we live in the Lord, we live as children of light.  We allow Jesus to do His will in our lives and His will is goodness, righteousness and truth…light.  Here we come across that word surrender again.  When it comes to life in Christ, surrendering is always the hardest part.  We read in the Bible how we are supposed to live and we want to make those things our to-do list.  Living as children of light means living in the Lord, not making righteousness into a to-do list.  Righteousness comes through Christ in you.  That's it.  Simple, but not.

Thank you for… Jesus, family, friends, calling, passion, hope, joy, peace, love, change, words, health, happiness, gifts, talents, church, work, sadness, suffering, pain, time and the way that you use all of these things to bring me closer to you.  These are the true blessings of life. Amen.

2 Kings 2:11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. I don't have any profound words about this particular scripture.  I find the relationship of Elijah and Elisha to be very similar to that of Jesus and me (or any one of us).  Elisha does not want to leave his friend for fear that he will miss Elijah's last moment.  When asked if there was anything he wanted from him, Elisha tells Elijah that he wants a double portion of his spirit.  This happened once Elisha sees Elijah taken up.  We have the same thing happen with us and Jesus.  We receive a portion of His Spirit when we see accept His death in our place.  How often do I spend every possible moment with Jesus, trying to keep Him in my sight?  Maybe it's more that I don't keep my sight on Him and I need my viewpoint adjusted.  We must look for Jesus i...

Psalm 42:2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.  When can I go and meet with God? Some days this is my how I feel all day long.  I get to the end of my day and think, "Finally, I can spend time with one who cares about me." Today, however, I am recognizing that I continually meet with God throughout the day.  Jesus is with me constantly, yet how often do I forget to acknowledge His presence with me?  I am very aware of the Spirit being ahead of me and often pray on my way to different situations for Him to prepare the way.  It's the beside me part I forget about.  I will be more cognizant today of Jesus beside me and see where that leads my day.  I do still enjoy (and find it necessary) a nice quiet time with God, where I can be with Him and bask in His glory.  I need to see Jesus on the journey beside me at all times, as I know He is.

Romans 15:2  Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. This verse if my focus for today and just that.  My mind has been overwhelmed with thoughts of my job lately.  I was sent to read this verse, so I am going to spend time with God today reading and rereading this verse, to re-center my soul on my calling.  Thanks be to God for gently reminding me of who He created me to be.

1 Samuel 16:12 So he sent and had him brought in.  He was ruddy, with a  fine appearance and handsome features.  Then the Lord said, "Rise and anoint him; he is the one." This verse from David's anointing seems to be contradictory to what God tells Samuel in the verses before, "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."  God chooses David and you look at his description, which is all about his outward appearance.  I think this just confirms how upside down God can be at times.  After the statement about looking at the heart, you would have thought that his outward appearance wouldn't have been anything amazing.  However, an earthly king needs to be able to captivate his servants and David was able to do that.  David had several moments when he really should have been removed from the throne.  However, the people of Israel were enamored with him and David always made himself right with God.  This made him the...

Today I just have some thoughts I want to get down.  This morning I was feeling a bit sad, just one of those moments that come, and found myself thinking, "I don't want to lose this feeling."  I know it sounds odd.  You would think one would want to get over the grief as quickly as possible and move on.  I actually don't feel like what I am feeling is grief in my sad moments.  There is something very powerful that happens in those moments.  The Spirit brings a peace and steadiness to my soul that cannot be explained with mere words.  One must experience it to know it.  I want to be clear that this is not me wanting to wallow in my sadness either.  There is no self pity in those moments.  It is a time when God is able to come rescue my heart in a different way.  I can depend on only Him to heal my heart.  I love that time He and I have together, and I don't want it to go away.  I'm hoping that even as those sad moments get ...

Romans 12:12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. As I read chapter 12 today, this verse stood out to me.  I feel like with each part of our journey we go through each of these things, kind of like stages.  We may start joyful in the hope at the beginning of the journey.  Then, as the obstacles present themselves and time seems to slow to a crawl, we find ourselves needing patience in the affliction.  During this time we become prayerful and take our request, concerns, and hopes to God looking for relief from the journey. We may find ourselves back at joyful in hope at some point and so on.  I feel like this is a continual cycle for me in all aspects of my life.  Depending on the timing and the situation, I am at each one of these points in the cycle in any given circumstance.  This cycle works its way through every situation in my life on my journey with Jesus, and this is what a journey with Jesus is all about, walking wit...

Father, I am grateful for a week of new learning.  You have brought people into my world who have spoken truth and helped me grow even deeper.  I am thankful for the calling you have put on my life and the people you put in my path to ask the good questions that move me forward.  Lord, I do not know what is next, but I know you are already ahead of me and working out the details.  Father, give me peace in the waiting and hope for the journey.  In the strong name of Your son, Jesus, Amen.

Matthew 20:16 "So the last will be first, and the first will be last." Sometimes I take this verse too literal.  I don't think that was Jesus' intention at all.  I believe what he was saying is that the world is not at all like Heaven.  As a matter of fact, it is completely upside down and opposite of what our expectations are on earth.  This is important for me to think about.  What earthly expectations do I put on God?  How do I squelch God and my relationship with Him with my earthly expectations?  I just need to spend some time with these questions.  Lord, give me eyes to see Your Kingdom and wisdom to discern heavenly expectations.

2 Timothy 2:1 You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Today this is just a word of encouragement for me.  Every once in a while I read verses that lift my soul  on a particular day in a particular way.  This verse did that for me today.  I am reminded of the very specific grace that God pours out on us when we need it.  He gives us the strength we need through His gift of grace.  I know I forget to tap into the grace that lives in me through Jesus.  I think the biggest learning for me has been to lean on Jesus and let His grace fill me, carry me, and transform me based on what my needs are on any particular day.  I am so glad I have a Savior who knows me so well, that even before I ask it, He is ready to give it.  That is part of the beauty of the personal relationship that is Christianity.  We have the power of God at our disposal.  The difficult part is surrendering to that power so that we can fully li...

Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. The word "holy" stands out to me in this verse.  Paul writes with such authority here and calls it out.  Once we are living in Christ, we are holy through Him.  Therefore these characteristics we are called to have also come through Him.  I find it interesting that three of these five are part of the fruit of the Spirit.  That should be our next clue that in order to be clothed with these we must first be "clothed" in the Spirit.  This is a constant struggle for me.  I find myself trying to control my emotions about a situation in order to remain patient.  Or I try to control my thoughts and words in a different situation in order to show kindness.  I believe God is continually asking me to surrender these things over to Him.  When I do, I don't even think about trying to control anyt...

Romans 8:37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. What does it mean to be "more than conquerors"?  To conquer something means to overcome it, to defeat it.  It means you've won through force by your effort.  Paul says we are more than conquerors over sin.  What he meant was not that we have to overcome our sin, but rather that we have no need to defeat sin in our lives.  Jesus defeated sin at the cross, therefore our battle has already been won.  There is no need for us to conquer sin because the victory has been won and we get to claim the victory as our own.  Living in the victory of the cross is very different than living in the defeat of sin.  Living in victory means we focus on what is ahead of us.  We look to the glory revealed through the resurrection and face every day knowing we have a part in that glory.  If we live in the defeat of sin, we continually strive to overcome the sin in our ...

Ezekiel 37:14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land.  Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord. This is God's word through Ezekiel in the Valley of the Dry Bones.  There are a couple of thoughts that come to mind with this verse.  First, I have to admit that sometimes I feel as though I have dry bones.  I continue on my path and lose sight of the One who brings life. At times I am surrounded by things, people, or situations that suck the life out of me and I need the breath of life from the Spirit again.  It is a conscious effort for me to not involve myself in things that are life taking.  I make the decision to spend alone time with Jesus in order to experience His life giving power.  Second, one word in particular stands out to me in this verse.  It is the word settle.  It is speaking to me today of a peace and calm that is ahead.  Things ha...

Jeremiah 17:7-8 "But blessed it the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is  in him.   He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.  It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." I was led to Jeremiah 17 today and this is what stood out to me.  The similes God uses to describe our hearts and souls when we are connected to Him are beautiful pictures.  God desires to grow us deep in Him.  He desires that we drink from the living water of Jesus because when we do, we never experience the awful separation from Him again.  We are able to walk with God when all is well and when all is lost.  Living in the Spirit brings so much more to life than just everlasting life in Heaven.  Living in the Spirit brings a little bit of Heaven to us now.  Trust in Jesus for this and you will not be disappointed.

Father, let me focus on you.  May my mind be drawn to you that I may bask in your glory.  What would you like to tell me as I listen in the silence of the moment? … Thank you for your word.  Amen.

Ephesians 4:11-13 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. This was my section of scripture to ponder for today.  It provides me a time to reflect on the calling God has put on my life.  I have looked over my journey and the growing moments I have been given to mature my faith in preparation for what is ahead.  I pray that I may continue to grow and mature because I want to know the fullness of Christ in it's whole measure with all of my brothers and sisters in Him.  May the Lord make us one. Amen!

Genesis 32:28 Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome." I did not realize that the verses that are about Jacob wrestling with God refer to God as a man.  Without the heading from my Bible, I would be inclined to think it was just some random guy until He speaks these words from the focus verse and then Jacob responds by saying he "saw God face to face."  What is fascinating to me about this encounter is that it is like all other encounters with God in the Bible.  Whenever someone in the Bible comes into contact with God, visually, spiritually, physically, you name it, their lives are significantly changed.  In this case Jacob's name is even changed.  This is true to this day!  Whenever someone comes into contact with Jesus, their lives are changed.  If you've been changed by an encounter with the living Christ, have you ever asked what name He calls you by? ...

Psalm 13:5-6 But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.  I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me. I don't have words to express how much these words mean to me today.  You must read all of Psalm 13 to really gather their importance.  God's never ceasing love and support are overwhelming.  I am grateful for the way He works when we call on Him.  I am reminded of how important it is to speak to God the worries of my soul.  Sometimes I think that because He knows them, I do not need to tell Him.  The truth is that He wants us to speak it.  There is something healing about saying the words aloud.  I've experienced this many times, but I still needed the reminder to tell God what is on my heart.

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" - but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. The verse quoted from Isaiah is pretty magnificent.  We have no clue what God has in store for us, either on earth or in heaven.  We try to grasp at this but it is a mere wisp of the glory that awaits us.  This is a good reminder for me to be attuned to the Spirit in my life.  To slow down the day and pay attention to where He is moving and what He is saying through those around me, including my circumstance.  I am aware that God has plans and most of them are in place to grow me to a depth where the "still waters run deep".  A prayer for wisdom is appropriate on this day, along with a prayer for a glimpse of His vision.

Ecclesiastes 7:3 Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart. For more than a week, I have been really missing Mom.  I'm not sure what it is or why it is so apparent at this time.  We are just five months into this journey and maybe that's just it.  We are adjusting to life without her here and yet I feel as though we have not seen any significant change anywhere, other than that she is gone. (That's quite significant.)  What I mean is that I have not seen any change in the world around me, as I had hoped would happen.  I was hoping that God had some big plan He was working on and that this pain and sorrow would have lasting impact outside of my family.  Granted I am being changed and transformed by this suffering, but I want it to be for others as well.  I want others to know the nearness of God as we have gotten to know Him.  Having God be close does not remove the suffering, the hurt, or the sadness.  There i...

Job 14:15-16 You will call and I will answer you; you will long for the creature your hands have made.  Surely then you will count my steps but not keep track of my sin. I'm not sure if Job new he was prophesying what God was going to do, but to me, these verses seem to sing the Gospel.  I believe God does long for us to be the creation He made from the very beginning, which is why He sent His son Jesus to us.  Verse 16 is the one that catches me every time I think of my salvation.  God knows every step I could possibly make and every path that is available to me, yet He does not remember my sin.  He has blotted it out and He remembers it no more.  The fact that God knows my journey and has planned it perfectly is incredible, but He has not planned it with the sin in mind.  In Jesus I live as a new creation and He is so very freeing.  It is something I am still trying to grasp and understand to the fullest.  Today I was looking for a verse ...

Father, your works and deeds fill me with excitement for what you might have planned.  I pray for clarity of the promise that I am trying to discern.  I pray that your will would become very apparent in the days ahead.  I ask for your Spirit to move my heart to trust in your past works and deeds as a precursor of things to come.  Keep me patient in the days to come as I await your word.  Amen.