ThoughtSeeds

Jesus has authority over Satan and his demons, and they recognize Him and His authority. They are compelled to obey Him. Jesus grants this authority to us, as well, but it is not in our own strength that we can accomplish anything. It is only through Him and His authority -- His great strength and power -- that we are successful.

Did you know that the word 'author' is the root of the word 'authority?' Did you know that originally, one of the meanings of the word authority was "a passage of Scripture?" Jesus claimed to have all authority in heaven and on earth. What does that mean for us? Join me as we learn more about authority and what Jesus' authority looks like in our lives.

https://www.etymonline.com/word/authority#etymonline_v_18966
https://www.etymonline.com/word/author?ref=etymonline_crossreference#etymonline_v_18965
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/authority

After losing his wife to a prolonged illness, Reverend William Orcutt Cushing was soon after stricken with a creeping paralysis that left him unable to continue his ministry work. He asked God to still find a way to use him in some way, and in answer, God gave William Cushing hymns to write -- over 300 of them, in fact. One of them was "Follow On." Join me today to learn more about this hymn and the man who wrote it.

https://www.wholesomewords.org/biography/bcushing.html
https://wordwisehymns.com/2010/11/17/today-in-1911-flora-cassel-died/

Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James, and John by saying "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." These fishermen got up from their nets and their boats and they followed.

What is Jesus calling YOU to? What will your response be? Join me as we learn more about that today.

God says to follow Him -- to follow His ways, His commandments, His steps. He says "Hold fast to Me." What does it mean to follow the Lord our God, and how can we do that? Join me as we explore that in His Word today.

A nearly empty jelly dish sparked a thought in hymnist Grant Tullar, sending him off to the piano to write words and music to a hymn. The hymn didn't go over as well as he'd hoped at the evangelistic meeting he was part of that evening, and he resolved to revise it. The next morning, he received a packet of poems from Mrs. Carrie Breck, who often sent her many poems to hymn composers. In it, he found "Face to Face With Christ My Savior," and he realized it fit perfectly with the music he'd written the night before. Join me to learn more about this beautiful and uplifting hymn, and about meeting Jesus face to face.

https://believersportal.com/story-behind-face-to-face-hymn/
https://www.addeigloriam.org/blog/2013/face-to-face.htm
http://witandwisdom.org/archive/20070829.htm

In Exodus, we read that God would come and talk to Moses "face to face," like Someone talking to a friend. We can also have that face-to-face time, talking with God in that personal and intimate way.

What does it mean to have a face-to-face encounter with someone? What would it mean to you if that Someone was God Himself? Join me as we talk about Jacob wrestling with God through an entire night, and then realizing it was God. He saw God face to face. What happened during that time?

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/will-you-wrestle-with-god
https://news.stanford.edu/news/2012/december/infants-process-faces-121112.html

From the street corners of London where William Booth first began evangelizing to Stockholm, Sweden, where a young man's heart was turned from mocking scorn to repentance and salvation, the Salvation Army has had a part in countless souls won for Christ. August Ludvig Storm spent the rest of his life in the service of Jesus through the Salvation Army after his conversion at age 25, and he penned this poem for their publication "The War Cry." It was set to music and later translated into English, gifting us with the hymn we have today, "Thanks to God For My Redeemer."

https://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/history-of-the-salvation-army/
https://www.dagen.no/Ord-for-dagen/Hjertets_d%C3%B8r_%C3%A5pen_p%C3%A5_vidt_gap_for_Jesus%C2%A0-44292
https://barryshymns.blogspot.com/2017/11/thanks-to-god.html?m=1

"Giving thanks always and for everything . . ." Ephesians 5:20 gives us yet another reminder and command about being thankful in all circumstances. Can we really accomplish this? There are multiple Scriptures that give us hope in this! Join me as we discuss 2nd-century martyrs who gave thanks to God before they were executed, and what exactly they might have been giving Him thanks for.

http://www.shepherd.to/Persecution/martyr/early-church/twelve-martyrs.htm