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Daily Devotions of Ordinary People - Extraordinary God
Jody Neufeld is a courageous and faithful woman. My first encounter with Jody was in missions in Hungary through Pacesetters Bible School. I came to know a gentle and compassionate woman with a strong faith in God as she ministered to the orphans, the mission team, and her family. Jodyıs faith and compassion for the world are versed in her devotions. Her desire to better know Christ is witnessed in her narratives. Prior to publishing, Jody's devotions blessed me on numerous occasions. Her book, Daily Devotions of Ordinary People Extraordinary God, will speak to your heart and illumine your desire to better serve our extraordinary God.
- Doris Murdoch, teacher and missionary
As a busy pastor, one of the biggest temptations is to neglect my personal time with God. Jody's heart for God has picked me up more days than I can count, with practical and fresh insight into the grace and truth of God. I truly recommend this book for anyone in need of balance, renewal and wisdom in their walk with Jesus!
- Rev. Ted Wood, United Methodist pastor
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Men and Women
Young and Old
Spend Time Each Day with the Lord!
388 pages
19 special pages about "ordinary people" God has used
366 daily devotionals
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Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
things that we have heard and known,
that our fathers have told us.
We will not hide them from their children,
but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done.
Psalm 78:1-4 (ESV)
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Jody Neufeld shares from her heart "ordinary moments with an Extraordinary God". Upon her retirement from nursing and into ministry with her husband Henry, a Biblical teacher, Jody felt the Lord urging her to share a daily devotion with people she knew still in an outside workplace. "I know that when I was working in a hospital or a doctor's office or in homes delivering hospice care, I wish someone had sent me an email devotion each morning that would give me a focus and a lesson for the day." This ministry went from 12 people to hundreds and continues today.
Jody has three children: Janet and her husband, Chris Lister, who are associate pastors at Heartland Fellowship Church in Dallas, TX, John Webb who is a pitcher for the Tampa Bay DevilRays and his wife, Megan, who live in Phoenix, AZ, and James Webb, who loved to lead praise and worship and his work in marching band. James is now home with Jesus after battling cancer for five years. Currently, Jody has three grandchildren: Alex, Anna, and Jaxon. There are also 'children of her heart': Amy and Aaron Bergh, Brett and Shauna Ralston, Erin and Kyle McClelland, and Geoffrey and Liz Lentz.
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Jody Neufeld shares and teaches from a heart changed by the healing power of God. "I have experienced rejection and abuse in my life and made poor decisions that have life-long consequences but God was faithful and merciful in waiting for me to turn to Him." Here is a devotion example:
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To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
I grew up in the Midwest and learned about tornadoes. Now I've lived in Florida for over 20 years. I've learned a lot about hurricanes. A wind blowing at over 120 mph can drive a pine cone through my windshield or a pine needle into the trunk of a tree like it was an arrow! It's all about force.
'Grace' is about power but it's not about force. I don't think I can receive God's grace unless I want it. Grace is unconditional love. There is much speculation about this 'thorn' that Paul speaks about. It could be a physical condition or it could be a person or situation. Paul says he pleaded with God to remove the torment. He didn't ask - he PLEADED! God responded that HIS unconditional love was enough. ENOUGH - SUFFICIENT!!! ALL that Paul needed! If grace was what Paul needed, maybe the 'thorn' was a person or a situation involving a person or group of people. God says His 'unconditional love' was enough but would Paul be weak enough - OPEN ENOUGH - to let God's unconditional love fill him up so that he could receive the POWER of Christ's unconditional love. His 'grace'.
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved.
Ephesians 2:4-5
I was 'saved' because I was weak and so lost, having no where else to go and opened myself to receive only what God could give me - LIFE - ETERNAL LIFE! God could not force that unconditional love on me. I had to open the door and say, "YES! I want it!" So easy - yet, so hard, because it has nothing - NOTHING - to do with any worthiness or strength within me - it's about being too weak to do anything else!
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:14-16
The power of grace comes straight from the throne room of God. It is not a little gift or a cheap gift. I believe it is a gift of POWER that works MIRACULOUSLY every time! I open my arms WIDE because I need a lot of 'grace' today!
If you are interested in having Jody speak or offer one of her classes at your church, see Pacesetters Bible School classes offered by Jody Neufeld
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Other devotionals from Jody Neufeld
Jody's daily devotions go out via e-mail every weekday morning.
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|  | Energion.com Description: This is by my wife, so perhaps I'm not an impartial judge, but I think you could do worse than choose this book for next year's devotionals. Jody is challenging and practical. She's not afraid to attack issues head on. I strongly recommend this book. | | | Energion.com Author Page Energion.com Review Information provided by Energion.com (an Amazon.com Associate) where indicated and by Amazon.com.
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