Austin Street Baptist Church

09/08/2026

Total Tuesday
Amen! Jesus, take the wheel, not just this morning, but all day, every day. May we deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and let Jesus steer our lives, decisions, and choices, for He alone knows the way.
📖✝️🙏🏽🧎‍♀️

Who Is Driving My Life?

I have been forced to ask myself a question that I cannot ignore: who is really driving my life? I like to think I am in control of my decisions, my direction, and my outcomes.

But the truth is, control is often the very thing that competes with my surrender to God.

There is something deeply unsettling about the idea of letting go of control. I feel it in everyday moments—when plans change, when conversations don’t go the way I expected, or when God asks me to trust Him in areas where I would rather hold the wheel tightly.

I realize that surrender is not just a spiritual concept; it is a daily, practical decision.

Jesus makes the call clear and unavoidable:

“Then He said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me.’” (Luke 9:23)

This is not a one-time decision. It is daily. Sometimes minute by minute! Those words confront me because it means surrender is not something I can schedule or complete. Rather, it is something I must live out continually.

I often want Jesus in the passenger seat—present, supportive, helpful when needed—but not in full control. Yet true discipleship requires more than companionship; it requires leadership transfer.

If Jesus is Lord, then I am not, and that means He is setting the direction, not me!

Today, I am reminded that surrender begins with honesty. I must admit where I am still gripping control. I must acknowledge where I resist God’s direction. And I must be willing to move from control to trust.

Who is in YOUR driver’s seat? Let’s pray together:

Lord, I confess that I often want control more than I want surrender. I hold tightly to my plans, my preferences, and my comfort. Teach me to trust You with the direction of my life. Help me release the wheel into Your hands daily. Give me the courage to follow You fully, even when it feels uncomfortable or uncertain. Shape my heart to desire Your will above my own. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Never forget, my friend—

You are a miracle!
Grant Fishbook

09/08/2026

Mindful Monday
Yes! May we always pray first to our God. He is the answer!

The quote at the end before we pray really says it all-

“Thy kingdom come” means we must be willing to pray, “My kingdom go.”

Powerful words and a powerful reminder, one to truly live by! May we surrender our will and allow God’s will to lead our lives. 🙏🏽✝️

When we find ourselves faced with a seemingly unsolvable challenge, someone usually reminds us, “When all else fails, read the directions!” A similar reminder is sometimes issued among Christians: “When all else fails, pray!” We often have to be reminded that prayer should be our first impulse, not our last.

Jonah would have done well to have received that reminder when he found himself cast into the Mediterranean Sea. He had rebelled against God, been accused of causing calamity by his shipmates, and been thrown overboard in hopes of placating the storm “gods.” And adding insult to injury, he was swallowed by a great fish! Finally, Jonah decided it was time to pray: “Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly.” He didn’t exactly confess his sins, but at least he repented of his pride by calling out to God for help.

Don’t wait until you have tried every solution before turning to prayer. Regardless of the situation, make prayer your first impulse.
Dr. David Jeremiah

Before we can pray, “Thy kingdom come,” we must be willing to pray, “My kingdom go.”
Alan Redpath

09/06/2026

https://www.youtube.com/live/Er2vDggBdgc?is=SVF3qfVtt7vtpgbp

Austin Street Baptist Church1308 E. Gonzales St.Yoakum, Texas 779...

09/06/2026

Secure Saturday
What great comfort it is to know that God sees us right where we are and knows exactly who we are. Thank You, Jesus, for not only seeing us but loving us unconditionally. Thank You for Your daily providence, grace, and mercy. May we always remember that You are with us, guiding us and caring for us every step of the way.
📖🙏🏽✨😇

God Cares for Us

My point is that God knows us so well that He does a number of little providential things at the very moment of our need. We think we have planned and executed everything all by ourselves. We are not aware that it has been God's plan and that He has been out there ahead of us the whole time.

It was some years later, as I read Psalm 71 in the familiar King James Version, that I noticed for the first time the words, "Thou hast given commandment to save me" (71:3).

My heart has been warm ever since with that thought. God has sent His Word throughout all of the earth to save me. You may be critical if you wish. Do with that text as you will. You may even have some theological problem with it. But God has "given commandment," and these words are for me!

God saw me, a lonely, lost boy in rural western Pennsylvania and His commandment went throughout His creation. I am convinced every angel in heaven heard it. And I believed on the Son of God and turned myself over to Him for salvation!

Nothing can compare with this knowledge. God and His Word are on my side. The living Word of God has charged Himself with the responsibility to forgive me, to cleanse me, to perfect that which concerns me and to keep me in the way everlasting.

We are living in a world full of God's created beings—many of them not seen by us or those around us. We ought to thank God for the angels and for God's providential circumstances everyday. As one of the old saints long ago remarked, "If you will thank God for your providences, you will never lack a providence to thank God for!"

VERSE
Be my Rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for You are my Rock and my Fortress.
— Psalm 71:3

THOUGHT
How many providences in our lives do we fail to recognize and thank God for? He is our Rock of refuge. He is our Father. He is our Shepherd. He cares for us!

PRAYER
Who am I among earth's billions to merit Your notice and care? But You care for me! I give thanks to You, O God.
A.W. Tozer

09/04/2026

Faith Filled Friday
Yes & Amen! What a powerful reminder of whose voice one should listen to. So many voices , but only one matters. I choose to listen to Jesus!
📖🙏🏽✨

You are worth it to Jesus.

Jesus didn’t send a message or a messenger to tell you how valuable you are.

He came Himself.
He paid the price.
He is the prize.

He’s waited for an eternity (literally) for you to join Him.

And He’s sitting across from you telling you that He thinks you are worth it.

When the Enemy tells you you’re not smart enough, you’re not strong enough, you don’t have the right background, you’re not pretty enough, you don’t matter enough...look up and lock eyes with the King. Hear Him say, Daughter—Son—I wouldn’t rather be anywhere else than at this table with you.

His words are the words of life (John 6:68).
His voice thunders from heaven (Psalm 68:33).
His voice drowns out every Enemy lie.

By His grace, you can start taking authority over the voices at your table and kick the Devil out of your dinner party.

He has to flee in Jesus’ name.
Louie Giglio

09/03/2026

Trusting Thursday
How comforting it is to know that our God is our Rock, our Refuge, our Fortress, and our Strong Tower! May we always run to Him in every circumstance and for everything we need. He is our safe place, our strength, and our deliverer. May we trust Him completely and rest in the security of His presence.📖🙏🏽✨

“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”
Psalms 18:2 NKJV

God Our Rock

There are hundreds of different names and titles for God throughout Scripture. And since the Psalms are written from various seasons of life, there are many different perspectives of how God acts within those seasons.

Psalm 18 is written at a time when the author, King David, was delivered from his enemies by God. In this Psalm, David almost immediately calls God his rock, because God was dependable and stable. There was nothing that could overtake God or move Him. And this truth wasn't just for David, but for anyone who relies on God.

When we belong to God, He is a rock and a fortress for us as well. Everything in the world is constantly shifting, but we belong to a God who never changes. He is our protection from things that might seek to harm us.

We belong to a God who can protect us throughout our lives. Even if we don’t have physical enemies, we can run to God when life gets difficult. That’s why, like David, our response to God should be filled with praise. We need to remember what God has done—so we can praise Him for who He is.

Take some time today to thank God for how He has led and protected you so far in your life. And if you’re currently in a difficult season, run to God and ask Him for help. He is able and willing to be your rock.
YouVersion Daily Devotional

09/01/2026

“Who Gets the Best of Me?”
What a powerful question to ask ourselves! At the end of our day, may we pause and reflect: “Did I give my best to God today?”

My desire is to give my best to God in everything I do, more of Him and less of me. May we be honest with ourselves as we ask that question.

Let’s give God our best, not our leftovers! 📖🙏🏽✨

Who Gets the Best of Me?

Recently, I’ve been sitting with a question that I can’t shake: Who or what gets the best of me?

Not just my leftovers, not just what’s convenient—but the best of my time, my energy, my attention, my heart.

When I’m honest, there have been seasons where I’ve given my best to things that didn’t deserve it. Stress got the best of me. Busyness got the best of me. Even my failures, at times, seemed to take more from me than I ever intended to give.

And yet, as I step into a new season, I sense God inviting me into something deeper—to give myself away to Him in a way I never have before.

This isn’t about trying harder. It’s about surrendering more fully.

God doesn’t want part of my life—He wants all of it.
Not because He needs it, but because He knows that’s where life is found. When I give myself to Him, I’m not losing anything of value, but I’m actually stepping into the life I was created to live.

Scripture reminds me that God already made the first move: “We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19, NIV)

That changes everything. I’m not striving to earn His love—I’m responding to it.

So today, I pause and reflect: Where have I been holding back? Where have I been giving myself away to things that don’t lead to life? And what would it look like to give God my best instead?

This is where it begins—not with perfection, but with awareness. Not with pressure, but with invitation. Let’s pray together in the power of God’s love for us:

Dear Father, I come to You honestly today. Show me what has been getting the best of me. Reveal the places where I’ve been holding back from You. I don’t want to live half-hearted—I want to give You my whole life. Teach me what it means to surrender, one step at a time. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Never forget, my friend—

You are a miracle!
Grant Fishbook

08/31/2026

More of Jesus
May we have the right relationship with God. Lord, we want the fullness of Your joy flowing through us, so that we may abide in You, become more like You, and reflect Your love in all we do.
📖🙏🏽✨

“My Joy…Your Joy”

These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. —John 15:11

What was the joy that Jesus had? Joy should not be confused with happiness. In fact, it is an insult to Jesus Christ to use the word happiness in connection with Him. The joy of Jesus was His absolute self-surrender and self-sacrifice to His Father— the joy of doing that which the Father sent Him to do— “…who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross…” (Hebrews 12:2.)
“I delight to do Your will, O my God…” (Psalm 40:8)

Jesus prayed that our joy might continue fulfilling itself until it becomes the same joy as His. Have I allowed Jesus Christ to introduce His joy to me?

Living a full and overflowing life does not rest in bodily health, in circumstances, nor even in seeing God’s work succeed, but in the perfect understanding of God, and in the same fellowship and oneness with Him that Jesus Himself enjoyed. But the first thing that will hinder this joy is the subtle irritability caused by giving too much thought to our circumstances. Jesus said, “…the cares of this world,…choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” (Mark 4:19).
And before we even realize what has happened, we are caught up in our cares. All that God has done for us is merely the threshold— He wants us to come to the place where we will be His witnesses and proclaim who Jesus is.

Have the right relationship with God, finding your joy there, and out of you “will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38).
Be a fountain through which Jesus can pour His “living water.” Stop being hypocritical and proud, aware only of yourself, and live “your life…hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). A person who has the right relationship with God lives a life as natural as breathing wherever he goes. The lives that have been the greatest blessing to you are the lives of those people who themselves were unaware of having been a blessing.
Oswald Chambers

08/30/2026

Sunday Surrender
Heavenly Father, may everything we do be pleasing in Your sight. Help us be obedient to Your Word, step out in faith, and trust that You are guiding our every step. May we live each day honoring You, knowing we will one day give an account for our lives.
📖🙏🏽✨♥️

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
2 Corinthians 5:10

The Judgment Seat

There are many motivations in the Christian’s life. One is our awareness that one day we will give an account of our lives to Christ, as He sits in judgment upon humanity. It is much more comforting to believe that Christians will be ushered into heaven with no questions asked about our faithfulness upon earth, but that is not what Scripture says will happen.

Paul cautioned that in the final day of judgment every Christian will give an account for his or her actions. This expectation terrified Paul and motivated him to strive to please God in everything he did (2 Cor. 5:9-11). Paul knew that although he might ignore the Spirit’s quiet voice during His life on earth, a time of accounting would come when he would have to explain why he had rejected God’s instructions. Paul never carelessly assumed that, because of all he had done for God’s kingdom, God would overlook his sin. Instead, he understood that to whom much is given, much is required
(Luke 12:48).

God does not force His will upon us. He will ask us to answer for the way we responded to Him. Christians have been pardoned by the sacrifice of Jesus. We are not condemned. But because God is absolutely just, we will be called on to give an account of our actions. The Christian life gives a tremendous freedom, but it also brings a pervasive sense of our accountability to God and to others. We can learn from Paul that accountability is healthy; it gives us a powerful motivation to please God.
Henry Blackaby Daily Devotional

08/30/2026

https://www.youtube.com/live/nK4c1C0CrbM?is=enBnv5rB5PDilPzR

Austin Street Baptist Church1308 E. Gonzales St.Yoakum, Texas 779...