Grace River Ministries

Grace River Ministries Grace River Ministries is here to help you experience God and get a true picture of who He is. Few bodies of water are more exciting than rivers. What’s yours?

The whole concept of Grace River Ministries came about as a response to what my husband, Chuck, and I have been experiencing for the last few years. God is taking us through some challenging and, at times, perplexing situations. Through it all, He is opening our eyes and our hearts to see and believe who He truly is. We have experienced a God of grace, a Loving, and Sovereign God who is revealing

Himself to us through a daily personal, loving relationship with Him. The name Grace River originated from Beth Moore’s “Breaking Free” Bible study, where she writes about the peace of God using the illustration of a river, a moving stream of water that can be very peaceful, and very treacherous. Whether our lives are going smoothly or we’re experiencing twists and turns and rolling over boulders and falls, God’s grace can keep us in His perfect peace. He has promised that He will never leave us! She says:

“To have peace like a river is to have security and tranquility of heart and mind while meeting many bumps and unexpected turns on life's journey through change.”

Every river has an upland source and an ultimate outlet. As it travels along, it grows from rain, melting snow and other streams and rivers joining it. As it continues on its journey to the sea, it nourishes all the vegetation along its banks, supplies water and refreshes all who come to it as it remains connected to its source. Likewise, peace like a river flows from a deliberate, continuous connection with our upland Source, Jesus Christ (John 15:4). And, just as rivers are fully dependent and connected to other bodies of water, we as God’s children must be connected to each other. Grace River wants to be a source of encouragement, a place where anyone can share their story and find their worth as a child of our loving Creator. Every river has a story. Chuck & Rosie O’Dell
Founders

06/02/2026

Today's Eternal Promise
June 2, 2026

“If anyone wants to be proud, he should be proud of what the Lord has done. It is not what a man thinks and says of himself that is important. It is what God thinks of him.” 2 Corinthians 10:17-18 (NLV)

Experiencing God Day-by-DayThe Terror of the LordDaily Devotional for June 2, 2026Knowing, therefore, the terror of the ...
06/02/2026

Experiencing God Day-by-Day
The Terror of the Lord
Daily Devotional for June 2, 2026

Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences. 2 Corinthians 5:11

The fear of God is the greatest deterrent for sin (Exod. 20:20; Prov. 16:6). Those who perceive God as a benevolent and gentle grandfather will treat their sin superficially. They will worship halfheartedly. They will live life on their own terms rather than God’s. But a reverent fear of holy God will dramatically affect the way a person lives. Even though Paul was an apostle of Jesus Christ, he feared God and knew that one day he would stand in judgment to give an account for everything he had done (2 Cor. 5:10).

Our world does not applaud fearfulness. We teach our children to love God, but not to fear Him. We want to present a loving and nonthreatening image of God to nonbelievers in the hope that Christianity will be more appealing to them. One of the great condemnations of our day may be that we have lost the fear of God. We promote Him as a “best friend” who saves us and “lives in our hearts,” but we do not fear Him.

It is true that we are God’s adopted children and that we are fellow heirs, even friends, with Jesus (Rom. 8:16-17; John 15:14-15), but we are not His equals. He has forgiven us, but we are still His creatures. He is God, and we are not!

If you find that you have become complacent with God’s commands and have become comfortable in your sin, you are completely isolated from God’s holiness. Take time to meditate upon the awesome holiness of God and allow the Holy Spirit to instill into your life a proper reverence for almighty God (Isa. 40:12-26). A deep sense of awe is essential to knowing God. – Henry Blackaby

www.blackaby.org

My Utmost for His HighestAre You Obsessed by Something?June 2, 2026 Daily DevotionalWho is the man that fears the Lord? ...
06/02/2026

My Utmost for His Highest
Are You Obsessed by Something?
June 2, 2026 Daily Devotional

Who is the man that fears the Lord? —Psalm 25:12

Are you obsessed by something? You will probably say, “No, by nothing,” but all of us are obsessed by something— usually by ourselves, or, if we are Christians, by our own experience of the Christian life. But the psalmist says that we are to be obsessed by God. The abiding awareness of the Christian life is to be God Himself, not just thoughts about Him. The total being of our life inside and out is to be absolutely obsessed by the presence of God. A child’s awareness is so absorbed in his mother that although he is not consciously thinking of her, when a problem arises, the abiding relationship is that with the mother. In that same way, we are to “live and move and have our being” in God (Acts 17:28), looking at everything in relation to Him, because our abiding awareness of Him continually pushes itself to the forefront of our lives.

If we are obsessed by God, nothing else can get into our lives— not concerns, nor tribulation, nor worries. And now we understand why our Lord so emphasized the sin of worrying. How can we dare to be so absolutely unbelieving when God totally surrounds us? To be obsessed by God is to have an effective barricade against all the assaults of the enemy.

“He himself shall dwell in prosperity…” (Psalm 25:13). God will cause us to “dwell in prosperity,” keeping us at ease, even in the midst of tribulation, misunderstanding, and slander, if our “life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). We rob ourselves of the miraculous, revealed truth of this abiding companionship with God. “God is our refuge…” (Psalm 46:1). Nothing can break through His shelter of protection. - Oswald Chambers

www.utmost.org

06/01/2026

Today's Eternal Promise
June 1, 2026 (Global Day of Parents)

“Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” Exodus 20:12 (NLT)

Experiencing God Day-by-DayFriends of GodDaily Devotional for June 1, 2026I no longer call you slaves, for a master does...
06/01/2026

Experiencing God Day-by-Day
Friends of God
Daily Devotional for June 1, 2026

I no longer call you slaves, for a master doesn’t confide in his slaves; now you are my friends, proved by the fact that I have told you everything the Father told me. John 15:15

You do not choose to be a friend of God. That is by invitation only. Only two people in the Old Testament were specifically described as “friends of God.” Abraham walked with the Lord so closely that God referred to him as His friend (Isa. 41:8). Moses spoke to God face to face as a man speaks with his friend (Exod. 33:11).

By His very nature God is a friend to us. He loves us with a perfect love and reaches out to us with salvation when we can offer Him nothing in return. It is quite another thing when someone has a heart so devoted to Him that God initiates a special friendship. David’s heart was totally devoted to God (1 Kings 11:4). Although David was not sinless, he loved God. David hated sin (Ps. 103:3); he loved to worship God (Ps. 122:1); he took genuine delight in God’s presence (2 Sam. 6:14); he loved to speak about God (Ps. 34:1); he was keenly aware of his transgressions (Ps. 51:3-4); and he delighted in offering gifts of song, thanksgiving, and praise, asking for nothing in return (Ps. 100). So closely did David walk with God that his words were on Jesus’ mind as He hung upon the cross (Matt. 27:46).

Jesus called His disciples friends. He said He would disclose to them things that the Father had shared with Him, because they were His friends. There developed such an intimate friendship between them that He would share what was on His heart with His friends.

If you cannot describe yourself as a friend of God, commit yourself to seek after God with all your heart. - Henry Blackaby

www.blackaby.org

My Utmost for His HighestThe Staggering QuestionJune 1, 2026 DevotionalHe said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?...
06/01/2026

My Utmost for His Highest
The Staggering Question
June 1, 2026 Devotional

He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" —Ezekiel 37:3

Can a sinner be turned into a saint? Can a twisted life be made right? There is only one appropriate answer— “O Lord God, You know” (Ezekiel 37:3). Never forge ahead with your religious common sense and say, “Oh, yes, with just a little more Bible reading, devotional time, and prayer, I see how it can be done.”

It is much easier to do something than to trust in God; we see the activity and mistake panic for inspiration. That is why we see so few fellow workers with God, yet so many people working for God. We would much rather work for God than believe in Him. Do I really believe that God will do in me what I cannot do? The degree of hopelessness I have for others comes from never realizing that God has done anything for me. Is my own personal experience such a wonderful realization of God’s power and might that I can never have a sense of hopelessness for anyone else I see? Has any spiritual work been accomplished in me at all? The degree of panic activity in my life is equal to the degree of my lack of personal spiritual experience.

“Behold, O My people, I will open your graves…” (Ezekiel 37:12). When God wants to show you what human nature is like separated from Himself, He shows it to you in yourself. If the Spirit of God has ever given you a vision of what you are apart from the grace of God (and He will only do this when His Spirit is at work in you), then you know that in reality there is no criminal half as bad as you yourself could be without His grace. My “grave” has been opened by God and “I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells” (Romans 7:18). God’s Spirit continually reveals to His children what human nature is like apart from His grace. - Oswald Chambers

www.utmost.org

05/31/2026

Today's Eternal Promise
May 31, 2026

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test my thoughts. Point out anything you find in me that makes you sad, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” Psalm 139:23-24 (TLB)

Experiencing God Day-by-DayTrusting God FirstDaily Devotional for May 31, 2026Thus says the LORD: "Cursed is the man who...
05/31/2026

Experiencing God Day-by-Day
Trusting God First
Daily Devotional for May 31, 2026

Thus says the LORD: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the Lord." Jeremiah 17:5

The Israelites of Jeremiah’s day believed they could trust in their army, the diplomacy of their king, and their foreign alliances to protect them from the powerful Babylonian empire. They gave lip service to their trust in God, but their actions showed where their faith really was: in their military and financial might. God spoke through Jeremiah to warn them that He would not bless those who trusted in anyone or anything instead of Him.

Placing your ultimate trust in anything other than God is idolatry. How can you know if your faith is not truly in God? Ask yourself these questions: Where do I turn when I experience a crisis? When I am hurting or afraid, to whom do I go? When I have a financial problem, whom do I want to tell first? Where do I seek comfort when I am under stress or discouraged? Could it be that you are saying you trust in God but your actions indicate otherwise?

God often uses other people as His method of providing for you. Be careful lest you inadvertently misdirect your faith toward His provision instead of toward the Provider. God may meet your need through your friends, but ultimately your trust must be in God.

The Israelites were so stubbornly committed to trusting in human strength instead of God that, even as the Babylonian army approached Jerusalem, they continued to desperately seek for a person, or a nation, or an army that could rescue them. They realized too late that they had neglected to trust in the only One who could deliver them. Don’t make the same mistake as the Israelites. Go straight to the Lord when you have a need. He is the only One who can provide for you. – Henry Blackaby

www.blackaby.org

My Utmost for His HighestPut God FirstMay 31, 2026 Daily DevotionalJesus did not commit Himself to them…for He knew what...
05/31/2026

My Utmost for His Highest
Put God First
May 31, 2026 Daily Devotional

Jesus did not commit Himself to them…for He knew what was in man. —John 2:24-25

Put Trust in God First. Our Lord never put His trust in any person. Yet He was never suspicious, never bitter, and never lost hope for anyone, because He put His trust in God first. He trusted absolutely in what God’s grace could do for others. If I put my trust in human beings first, the end result will be my despair and hopelessness toward everyone. I will become bitter because I have insisted that people be what no person can ever be— absolutely perfect and right. Never trust anything in yourself or in anyone else, except the grace of God.

Put God’s Will First. “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God” (Hebrews 10:9).

A person’s obedience is to what he sees to be a need— our Lord’s obedience was to the will of His Father. The rallying cry today is, “We must get to work! The heathen are dying without God. We must go and tell them about Him.” But we must first make sure that God’s “needs” and His will in us personally are being met. Jesus said, “…tarry…until you are endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). The purpose of our Christian training is to get us into the right relationship to the “needs” of God and His will. Once God’s “needs” in us have been met, He will open the way for us to accomplish His will, meeting His “needs” elsewhere.

Put God’s Son First. “Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me” (Matthew 18:5).

God came as a baby, giving and entrusting Himself to me. He expects my personal life to be a “Bethlehem.” Am I allowing my natural life to be slowly transformed by the indwelling life of the Son of God? God’s ultimate purpose is that His Son might be exhibited in me. - Oswald Chambers

www.utmost.org

05/30/2026

Today's Eternal Promise
May 30, 2026

“Praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! The Father is a merciful God, who always gives us comfort. He comforts us when we are in trouble, so that we can share this same comfort with others in trouble. We share in the terrible sufferings of Christ, but also in the wonderful comfort he gives.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 (CEV)

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Visalia, CA
93291

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