Daily Devotional - 10/10/15

Prayer Focus - Dreams



Day 1
Pray for:
One dream you have for yourself



Dear Lord - Please open my ears to hear Your ever present voice and grant me the strength to obey.



Psalms 100


"Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.  Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.  Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are the sheep of His pasture. 

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name.  For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations."   Psalm 100


It is okay to be happy.  Jesus came to give us life and life to the fullest (John 10:10).  We are to shout for joy.  We are to worship with gladness and sing joyful songs.  This does not sound like a lot of our lives.  We are struggling along.  When someone asks us how we are, we say, "doing OK", or "tired", or "hanging in there".  At least those are some of the common ones I say.  I hear about the same from my friends and colleagues.  Somehow this doesn't seem to fit with many of these verses. 

I am glad that God wants us to be happy and to rejoice but I still struggle with this.  There are a few reasons that I can see that make it difficult for me.  First, I think I was raised to think that church and God was a holy and serious endeavor.  I was being sacrilegious if I was enjoying myself; especially at a service or at a church activity.  I was to be like the Puritans and be pure and like the Quakers and be quiet and contemplative.  Christians weren't supposed to have fun!  Only the "heathens" had fun.  Then there was the artist side of me that wanted to be the "troubled soul", the artist on the edge.  I could not write deep and meaningful stories and poems if I was "happy".  Also, I would be naïve if I was a happy person.  In my pride, I looked down on happy and joyful people and thought how could they be so shallow to be grateful and positive when there was so much evil and bad in the world.  They just could not see things clearly like I did.  What a prideful person I was. 

When I became a Christian, despite whole heartedly acknowledging that I should be happy and joyful in Christ, all of these imbedded attitudes did not go away overnight.  They had become such a part of my character that I struggled for years with depression and sadness even as a fully committed Christian.  I wrote lists and lists of what I was grateful on a daily basis to help retrain my mind.  I kept digging more and more of these attitudes out of my soul. 

Although I am not perfect by any means on this aspect of my character now, I have made tremendous progress.  I can see that happy and joyful people are not simple and naïve as I had once thought, but rather blessed.  They do not rejoice because the world is good, but because there is still good in the world and because there is God!  They are the ones that I want to be like!  They are the ones that have life and life to the fullest.  We can always rejoice in God.  We can always shout to joy to Him and worship Him with gladness.  He is good and His love does endure forever.  He does not change.  He is always faithful.  He is the root of any good and beauty that we see around us.

So it is OK to be happy. No, not just OK, it is fitting and right.  I praise God that He has freed me, and is freeing me on a daily basis of my unhappiness.  I am grateful to be joyful.  I am grateful to be alive. 




Prayer for the Day



Dear Lord,


We are so grateful for You.  We are grateful that we can rejoice and be glad.  There is so much sadness in the world.  Thank You that we do not have to add to it.  Let us bring joy to You and to those around us on a daily basis.  Joy is like oxygen to the souls around us.  The world is hungry for this.  Help us to fill the world with what You give - life and life to the fullest.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen



QFT


1.  Am I joyful?  Why or why not?  What hinders me from being joyful?  When am I the most joyful?

2. Do I have any attitudes that I have developed over the years that are keeping me from being joyful?  What can I do to correct these attitudes?  Who can I talk to, to get help with them? 

3. Do I praise God often?  Do I complement people?  Do I bring joy by my words?  Why or why not?

4. In general, am I a positive or a negative person?  Why do I think I am this way?  What would other people say?  Do I want to be a positive person?  If I am not a positive person, how can I become one?  If I am a positive person, is there someone I can encourage and help to become more positive?

5. How does focusing on the goodness of God help me to be more joyful?  What good do I see in the world that I can focus on?  How can my actions bring more good to the world?

Daily Devotional - 10/2/15

Prayer Focus - Wants



Day 7
Pray for:
One thing that you want to understand about God
One characteristic you want to develop that will help you to be more loving towards others
One dream that you want to see happen in your life
One issue in your character that you want to see changed
One regret that you want to move past
One person that you want to get to know better
One health issue that you want to see improved in someone (can be yourself)


Dear Lord - Please open my ears to hear Your ever present voice and grant me the strength to obey.



Psalms 92


"It is good to praise the Lord...

For You make me glad by Your deeds, O Lord; I sing for joy at the works of Your hands. How great are Your works, O Lord, how profound Your thoughts! The senseless man does not know, fools do not understand, that though the wicked spring up like grass and all evildoers flourish, they will be forever destroyed.

But You, O Lord, are exalted forever.

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, 'The Lord is upright; He is my Rock, and there is not wickedness in Him."  (vs. 1a, 4 - 8, 12 - 15)


It is good to praise the Lord.  I am grateful to know and understand this.  Some people will never understand and this is hard for us.  It is sad and oftentimes even heartbreaking, but we must remain faithful and remember that even Jesus was deserted by His closest friends in the end.  They did not fully understand what He was about and what He came for.  He knew that but He still did what He had to for those of us who would believe.  We can not be down heartened as if it was our fault when someone we love is not following God.  Everyone has free choice and some choose to sear their consciences and pursue other gods.  Some deny that there is anything beyond what they can see.  They live only for the here and now.  But God is real, whether we choose to believe in Him or not.  He will be exalted.  We just need to keep holding this out.

If we choose to follow God and be righteous, we will flourish.  It is an eternal principle.  We may not grow rich or live free from struggles, but we will grow and still bear fruit in our old age.  What a wonderful promise, that although our bodies are aging and dying, our souls and our spiritual lives become more and more beautiful if we devote ourselves to God.  I want to flourish.  I do not want to grow old and set in my ways.  I want to be new and fresh and beautiful inside.  I hope this for all of us.  So let us praise the Lord, for this is good.



Prayer for the Day



Dear Lord,


We praise You for this is good.  You have been very good to us.  Help us to always understand and seek You.  Help us to know gratitude and be able to see all the works of Your hand in our life and in the lives of others.  We want to grow strong and tall like the trees.  We want to flourish in Your house.  We want to still bear fruit in our old age.  We know that we will find this only in You.  We long to be close to You and be transformed.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen



QFT


1.  Do I praise God?  Why or why not?  What do I have to praise God for?  Can I make a list of 10, 20, or 30 plus things that God deserves praise for?

2. How do I feel when people do not understand my faith? Do I love the people anyway or do I get angry and dismissive?  Do I pray for those who reject my faith?

3. Do I feel like I am growing spiritually?  Why or why not?  How can I go after this?  What am I doing that helps?  What am I doing that hinders me? 

4. How long have I been following God?  Do I still have the love I originally did?  If it is not as strong, why do I feel like it has faded?  What can I do to get back my "first love"?

5. Am I bearing fruit?  What does that mean to me?  What evidence is there that my faith is growing and being more productive?

Daily Devotional - 9/30/15

Prayer Focus - Wants



Day 5
Pray for:
One thing you want to understand about God
One characteristic you want to develop that will help you to be more loving towards others
One dream you have for your life
One issue in your character that you would like to see changed
One regret that you would like to move past


Dear Lord - Please open my ears to hear Your ever present voice and grant me the strength to obey.



Psalms 90


"Lord, You have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.  Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.  You turn men back to dust, saying, 'Return to dust, O sons of men.'  For a thousand years in Your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.  You sweep men away in the sleep of death; they are like the new grass of the morning - though in the morning it springs up new, by evening it is dry and withered.

We finish our years with a moan.  The length of our days is seventy years - or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

Teach us to number our days aright that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Satisfy us in the morning with Your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us: establish the work of our hands for us - yes, establish the work of our hands."  ( vs. 1 - 6, 9b - 10, 12, 14, 17  )


We have come from God, and we will return to face Him.  The unseen is unfathomable, but sometimes I can slightly catch an understanding.  What if I had never been born, didn't exist at all.  What if I had never had the chance to experience life here on earth or anywhere for that matter.  That thought has always made me slightly nauseous because I love life.  I am so grateful that I exist, even on the worst days. 

Life is so strange.  We are here, and then we are gone.  Where do we go?  What is important?  So many unknowns.  But we can know a few things.  We are here now.  There is something beyond us, and we will die someday.  Seventy or eighty years if we have the strength.  Isn't that the truth?  Living can be hard.  Living can be confusing.  But we know, we can see, that there is something special in us that is keeping us alive and when someone dies, that spark that made them who they are is gone and now there is just an outer shell.  They are no longer here. 

So if we are here and then gone, and if God remains, what is really important?  If I am going to fly away back to God, I had better be ready for that.  We need to face this reality, that this time here is really just the pause before the real life begins.  If what comes after earth lasts for eternity, time without end, then that is so much more important than what I have on my to do list today.  I do need to number my days correctly.  I can not believe that I am almost 50 now.  It seems that I was just a child.  Time has gone by so fast and it will never come back to me.  Each moment is gone forever.  What will I make of my remaining days?  Realistically, my life is already half over, unless I can somehow manage to stay alive until I am 100.  I must remember this and focus.  I no longer have time to waste, if I ever did.

I want to be satisfied by God and God alone.  I want to awake and be content with His love.  I want to really live while I have the chance and no longer be afraid.  Fear is so binding; so limiting.  Only God can do this.  It is not within me.  I turn to God and pray that His favor will rest upon me.  I pray that His favor will rest upon you.  I want to make a difference in this world, that it mattered that I was here and that I left things better than I found them.  Yes Lord, establish the work of our hands and help us to walk with You and no longer be afraid.



Prayer for the Day



Dear Lord,


We are here.  We know that this is not all there is.  The unknown is frightening, but You say that perfect love drives out fear.  Your love is perfect.  Please drive out our fear.  Help us to see life as You see it and to have the proper priorities.  Help us to truly live.  The time is short.  We want to make it count.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen



QFT


1. Do I ever think about how short life is?  Do I think about eternity?  Why or why not?  How can thinking about these concepts help me?

2. Do I think about what I would like to accomplish with my life?  Are my goals in line with God's?  How do I know? 

3. Does my relationship with God motivate me?  Am I in love with God?  Does His love satisfy me or am I looking for something else to make me happy?

4. Am I joyful?  Why or why not?  How could I cultivate more joy?  How could changing my priorities affect my joy level?

5. Do I feel like God's favor is on me?  Why or why not?  What work do I see God blessing in my life?  Is it different from what I would like to see God blessing?  Is what I consider my work the same as what God would consider my work?  Why do I think this?

Daily Devotional - 9/21/15 (1/21/10)

Prayer Focus - Personal Transformation

Day 3
Pray for:
One thing that you want to see improved in your relationship with God - (Love God)
One thing that you want to see improved in the way you relate to others - (with all your heart)
One past hurt that you want to see healed and overcome - (with all your soul)


Dear Lord - Please open my ears to Your ever present voice and grant me the strength to obey.



Psalms 81


"Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob!... He says, " I removed the burden from their shoulders; their hands were set free from the basket. In your distress you called and I rescued you,.." ( vs. 1, 6, 7a)

Sing for joy...

Be happy and excited about God and His strength...

No matter what is going on in our lives, we are to rejoice in the Lord. Circumstances will always let us down but God will not. We can always rejoice in Him for He removes our burdens. He frees up our hands from the slave labor of the world. He gives us a new perspective. He rescues us from all that would harm us including ourselves. God answers. God is worthy of our praise, always.


"Hear, O my people, and I will warn you - if you would but listen to me, O Israel! You shall have no foreign god among you; you shall not bow down to an alien god. I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it." (vs. 8-10)

Beyond rejoicing, we must listen and obey. There should be nothing that rivals God in our lives and in our hearts; nothing should get in the way to our obedience and worship. Work, schedules, exhaustion, ourselves - these things are not worth serving. Life will go on without us, but will we go on without God? Don't bow down to them. Remember it is God that has brought us here to this point in our lives and will continue to take care of us if we let Him. He brought us up out of our Egypts; our captivity. He is wanting to fill us up. We need to open wide our mouths. Give God the opportunity to work. There is no limit to God and how He works.


"But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices." (vs. 11-12)

The problem though, is that we struggle to listen. We forget God is speaking to us all the time and the world is so noisy that it is hard for us to hear His voice unless we are focusing intently on it. We need to make a concerted effort to hear and when we ask for something, we need to pay attention so that we can hear the answer. I think we are often like children who ask questions of their parents and then get so sidetracked that they never hear the answers. We need to be still and listen and then we will hear God. Beyond hearing, though, we need to obey. We have to submit our will to His because He knows what is best for us. If we ignore Him, eventually He will let us go our own way.  He will give us over to our rebellion and self will but it will break His heart.  We will wander like the Israelites in the desert until we die or have a change of heart.

"If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways, how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes! Those who hate the Lord would cringe before Him, and their punishment would last forever. But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you." (vs. 13-16)

When we decide to change our minds, however, and begin listening to God, then He can come to our rescue.  If we start putting His words into practice, we will see miracles. God's love for us is so clear as He speaks of how quickly He will subdue our enemies if we take His messages to heart. He is speaking to us relentlessly and waiting to bless us and take care of us. If we will listen and obey, God can and will turn anything around in our lives - illness, debt, clutter, lack of organization, ineffectiveness, bad schedules, bad parenting, bad marriages. God can transform any of these things in a minute. God is waiting. It's up to us now.

Prayer for the Day

Dear Lord,


We long to be filled by You. Help us to rid ourselves of the idols in our lives and the things that we strive after instead of you. Help us to be still and hear Your voice. Help us to be still and know that you are God and we are not. Life will go on without us. We are not indispensable. Our relationship with You is all that really matter and You will take care of the rest. We want to obey. We want to rejoice. Help us. We are opening wide our mouths. We are waiting on You. We will let You lead us.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen


QFT


1. Am I praising God and focusing on all He has done for me? What did He set me free from? What was I in slave labor to and what burdens has He lifted from me?

2. Do I have idols in my life? What do I devote most of my time to? Is it worth it? How can I change my priorities to make sure God is in first place?

3. Am I listening to God's voice? What distracts me from hearing Him? Am I allowing myself quiet time in which I can meditate on His word? How can I incorporate more time for reflection into my life?

4. Am I obeying the voice of God in my life?  Am I allowing Him to subdue my enemies? What enemies do I have that need subduing?

5. Am I remembering God's love for me in all of this? How has He shown His love in my life?  How can I focus on this more?

Daily Devotional - 9/20/15 (1/20/2010)

Prayer Focus - Personal Transformation

Day 2
Pray for:
One thing that you want to see improved in your relationship with God - (Love God)
One thing that you want to see improved in the way you relate to others - (with all your heart)



Dear Lord - Please open my ears to Your ever present voice and grant me the strength to obey.



Psalms 80


"Restore us, O God; make Your face shine upon us, that we may be saved." ( vs. 3, 7, 19 )


As the psalmist recounts the struggles of Israel in Psalm 80, the phrase above is repeated three times. The Israelites were longing to be restored to their days of glory, but there is also a message of restoration for us in these short verses. There is a deep longing within each of us for something better than what we have right now. We want to be more.  No child dreams about growing up to be something mediocre. They dream of being princesses and princes, heroes and heroines. God has set these dreams of greatness (Jeremiah 29:11) as well as eternity in our hearts (Ezekiel 3:11). He has also given us a desire for beauty and innocence. I think that is why we love art and nature.

We look wistfully at our young children (when they are behaving!) and often long for those carefree days when we were young. If our children are older, we miss the days when they were innocent babies. We treasure the joy of those days in our own lives because somewhere along the line, as we grow up, we get corrupted by our sins and the sins of others. Just like Adam and Eve, we fall from grace.  The longing for what we were supposed to be remains, however. We want the innocence back and the purity of heart that came with it.

Thankfully, God wants this for us as well and He has provided a way for us to receive it. There is still beauty around us. There can still be beauty within us.  There is still hope just as sure as there is still a sunrise and a sunset each day. We can be restored.

The key to restoration is in the second part of the verse. We have to let God's face shine upon us. As we look at Him and keep a steady gaze at what He is like, He will lead us and transform us. He created us to have life and life to the fullest (John 10:10). We are His works of art. Let us allow Him to transform us into what we were created to be and receive all He designed for us to have. If we can keep our eyes on Him, we can, like Peter walk on water (Matt 14:22-33). He is able and He will do it.




Prayer for the Day


Dear Lord,


We long for the days of innocence. Restore us to that childlike spirit. Grant us the faith and purity of heart to truly believe. You are able and You are willing. We are Your works of art. Help us to believe that and allow ourselves to be transformed. Help us to catch a hold of the vision You have for our lives and keep our eyes fixed on You. We want to radiate Your glory. We want to be saved.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen



QFT



1. What were my dreams as a child? When did I let go of them? Why? Can I in anyway revive them?

2. What things (my sin and the sins of others) corrupted me and took away my innocence? Have I let go/ repented of my sins so that I can be restored? Have I forgiven those that hurt me? Can I get help to work through any issues here?

3. How can I let God's face shine upon me? Am I keeping my eyes on Him? How can I do a better job at this?

4. How is God transforming me? What can I see Him doing with my life?

5. Do I have any dreams to serve Him in any way? What can I try to do? What steps of faith can I take?

Daily Devotional - 9/8/15 (11/8/09)

Prayer Focus - Gratitude


Day 4
Pray for:
One thing you are grateful for about the country that you live in
One thing you are grateful for about the state/region that you live in
One thing you are grateful for about the city that you live in
One thing you are grateful for about the home that you live in

Thank God for the effect that what you are grateful for has on:
your spiritual life
your physical life
your emotional life
your mental life




Dear Lord - Please open my ears to hear and grant me the strength to obey.




Psalms 68



"But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful." ( vs. 3)

"A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, He leads forth the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land." ( vs. 5-6)

"You gave abundant showers, O God; You refreshed Your weary inheritance. Your people settled in it, and from Your bounty, O God, You provided for the poor." (vs. 9-10)

"The chariots of God are tens of thousands and thousands of thousands; the Lord has come from Sinai into His sanctuary" (vs. 7)

"Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death." (vs. 19-20)

"You are awesome, O God, in Your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to His people. Praise be to God!" (vs. 35)


God is awesome. We can be glad and rejoice because God has thousands upon thousands of chariots and warriors and God is looking out for us in all of our situations.  He wants us to be happy and joyful.  He wants us to have families and feel belonging.  This is for all of us.  If we are lonely, He brings us into a family. If we are fatherless, He becomes our father. If we are widows, He fills the role of husband. If we are imprisoned by something, some sin or habit, He can break the bars and bring us out singing.  God knows our needs and is more than able to meet them. We do not need to worry. That will only bring sin into our lives. God will refresh and provide for us. He will even daily bear our burdens for us. We only need to be obedient.

 If we are rebellious, however, we will reap the consequences. We will live in a scorched land in the midst of what could be plenty. I have known people who have everything and yet are miserable. I have been that way.  I know I was like that because of rebellion in my heart, and I am led to believe that if we are rebellious in any way, we will miss out on what could be ours.  Rebellion doesn't have to be obvious to others either.  We do not have to be carrying picket signs or yelling and screaming.  Rebellion can be silent and internal.  It is simply saying we have a better way and we will not follow what God has set out. 

Even if rebellion is in the heart and is only visible to God, it still matters. It will still cost us.  God has asked us to live in submission to Him.  It is like us as parents with our children.  We have set up rules so that our family will function and we desire the best for our children, but we will not just reward them if they will not listen to us or follow our direction.  We expect them to do their part in order for us to bless them.  God is like this with us.  In order to receive His blessings, we need to be obedient and cooperative children.   This is what He expects and this is what we need to do. God will save us, and God will bless us. God will give us strength.  But we must accept this from Him.  We must come to Him and ask on His terms for the help we need, and then we must be willing to accept His direction.  This is not too hard when we look at all that we have to gain.  Let us surrender any rebellion in our hearts and truly live.  Praise be to God that we can!




Prayer for the Day


Dear Lord,


We praise You for setting us in families and for caring for us in every stage of our lives. You will not abandon us when we are old and grey. O Lord help us not to abandon You. Keep us as enamoured with You as we were when we first began to follow. You have not changed. We are the ones who change so often. Keep us in the shelter of Your circle for there is danger outside the circle. Please bear our burdens for they are too much for us. Help us to not be rebellious in any way. We do not want to live in the sun scorched land but rather in the beautiful pastures of the Lord. Bring Your chariots to surround and protect us. Grant us strength to continue. We are weary and weak but You are strong.


In Jesus' Name,
Amen



QFT


1. Which of the four categories mentioned best fits me - the fatherless, the widow, the lonely, or the prisoner? How can or has God helped me in these situations?

2. Am I a rebellious person? How do I feel about authority in general? How do I feel about authority in my life? Are my views in line with God's?

3. How can I become more submissive to God?  Why do I struggle with letting God take charge in my life?

4. Am I living a refreshed life or am I wandering in a sun-scorched desert? Am I weary? How can I change so that God can take care of me?

5. Am I letting God carry my daily burdens? What are these daily burdens? How can I let go of them?

Daily Devotional - 8/23/15 (10/23/09)

Prayer Focus - Enemies


Day 2
Pray for:
One person who was mean to you when you were a child
One person who has given you a lot of trouble recently


Pray about:
Their physical needs
Their mental needs
Their emotional needs
Their spiritual needs
Your ability to offer complete forgiveness from your heart
Your ability to let go of the hurts and move on whether they will ever apologize or not



Dear Lord - Please open my ears to hear and grant me the strength to obey.



Psalms 53



"God looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.  Everyone has turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.

Will evildoers never learn - those who devour my people as bread and who do not call on God? There they were, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to dread."

Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores the fortunes of His people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad." ( vs. 2 - 5a, 6)


When we think about our lives and the lives of those around us, we see a lot of failure.  Even the best of us, those of us who are really trying to be good, fail; sometimes miserably.  What is interesting, however, is that, although the Bible speaks of the universality of sin, it also differentiates between those who sin.  The psalms consistently speak of a difference between people.  There are the "evildoers" and there are the "righteous".  Yet we all have turned away and become corrupt this passage says.  This seems contradictory but the psalmist in this psalm outlines two ways that we can become what is referred to as "evildoers".

The first way to become an "evildoers" is to use others ("Will evildoers never learn - those who devour my people as bread").  We eat bread. We use it to stay alive.  So someone who is devouring people in this way must be using them to get what they need. I know in the past I have used people. I am not proud of this but I think it is probably more widespread than we would like to admit. How often do we call someone only when we need something from them. Isn't that a form of using them? We are not thinking of them or of how they are doing. We are only thinking of what we need. How about in our conversations? Are they all about us and what we are going through? Do we use others as a dumping ground and then leave after we feel better? Isn't that using others? I am sure that we could come up with even more ideas of how we do this. Take for example our involvement in church, our work, or even our citizenship. Are we focused more on what we are getting out of our church services or our small groups rather than what we are giving to them? At our work, are we known to be someone who gets involved and gives their best or are we just getting a paycheck. How about as citizens of our country? Are we just taking the benefits and not getting involved to help others and make the world a better place to live in?  We need to stop being takers and users and start being givers if we do not want to become "evildoers". I know I do.  Righteous people give.  There are so many passages in the Bible about giving.  This is one of the key differences that we have to pay attention to.  We are by nature selfish so we need to deal with this daily.  It is not something that will just go away once we make a commitment to God.

The second way to become an "evildoers" mentioned in this passage is to not acknowledge and turn to God (and who do not call on God).   This little phrase is so easy to just read over and not pay that much attention too.  It doesn't seem that serious.  We can tell ourselves we are okay with God because we don't do any of the "BIG" sins like murder or adultery but here is this seemingly insignificant thing listed instead.  Not calling on God or paying attention to Him is actually the root from which all the other sins grow out of.  Because we do not value God, we do not care what we do to others or what we engage in.  When we value God and are turning to Him on a regular basis, we do not want to do wrong.  It is so easy to not call on God though.  It is easy to not pray or listen to God. Often, no one even knows. Rarely do people ask us how we are doing spiritually these days. It is just not the focus of our society.  If we are being selfish, someone usually is affected by it and we tend to feel worse about being mean but not calling on God is all within us.  We can cover it up for quite awhile, perhaps even a whole lifetime.

But using people and not calling on God does have consequences.  In eternity, there will be consequences, but here on earth right now as we live, we will also suffer.  I believe these things cause dread.  They cause an unsettled feeling to stay with us.  Almost as if we are always looking over our shoulder; always worried about what people know or will find out.  So when we are stressed out and feeling a nameless sense of dread about life, it is a good idea for us to look for these two qualities in our lives.  There will not always be one of these issues at the root of our feelings but sometimes there will be a connection.  I know when I make a deeper inspection of myself when I am feeling uneasy, I usually find some sin, selfishness, or abandonment of God occurring.  Once I turn back to Him, and draw near again, the sense of dread disappears. Sin does make us feel guilty. Our consciences and the feelings of guilt we have sometimes were put in us by God and they help us to come back to Him. We need to stop searing our consciences and accept that they are there and that they are there for a good reason.  Thank God we can change and deal with our lives and our characters.  I am grateful  that God can enable us to overcome our sinful natures and that He can transform us. We will feel peace when we walk with God. He is a God of peace. Salvation will come out of Zion.  He can and will do it and we will feel joy.




Prayer for the Day



Dear Lord,


We do not want to be evildoers. As we look at the attitudes of our hearts and our actions, we pray that they will be those of a giver and not of a taker. We do not want to use people, even if it is advantageous to us. Help us to not think like the world does because to the world this is normal behavior. Help us to rise above and strive each and every day to be like Jesus. Although He was a part of You, He did not claim equality with You but made Himself nothing and became a servant to us all. He went the ultimate distance in dying for us and He calls us to do the same. Help us to rise to the challenge.

We also ask Your forgiveness for all of the times that we have not called on You. We get tired, weak, or lazy at times and neglect You, our ultimate power source. Help us to remember that it is all about You and not about us. We want to pray more. We want to commune with You and walk each day with You. Help us to not be so distracted. Our flesh is so weak. We are tired of walking around in dread. There is nothing to dread. There is no virus, no foreign government, no debt, not problem bigger than You. There is nothing to dread and here we are dreading. Forgive us and help us to turn away from this faithlessness and sin. You are here. You have always been here. Help us to see You in all that we do. You are surely woven into life. We pray for peace.


In Jesus' Name,
Amen


QFT


1. Have I used people in the past? What can I do to make amends?  Can I see any situations where I am using people presently? Why do I do this?  How can I stop?

2. Am I a giver or a taker in my relationships?  Am I a giver or taker in my church, work, and social environment? What evidence is there for what I think I am?  What can I do to become more of a giver?

3. Am I calling on God on a regular basis? How is my prayer life? Do I go to God first, or my friends? What can I do to improve my reliance on God?

4. Am I at peace or am I consistently in a state of dread? Do I have reason to dread? What am I fearing? Is God able to handle it?

5. Is there something I need to clear up/ resolve or repent of to eliminate the sense of dread that I am experiencing? What will I do to deal with this?  When will I deal with it?   If there is not an issue, how can I turn to God and trust Him more?

Daily Devotional - 9/17/10 (10/17/09)

Prayer Focus - Friends


Day 3


Pray for:
One friend that you feel close to
One friend that has become distant and you would like to be closer to
One friend from long ago


Pray about:
Their physical needs
Their mental needs
Their emotional needs
Their spiritual needs


Dear Lord - Help me to listen to You each and every day and please grant me the strength to obey.





Psalms 47



"He chose our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob, whom He loved." (vs. 4)

"For God is the King of all the earth; sing to Him a psalm of praise.  God reigns over the nations; God is seated on His holy throne.  The nobles of the nations assemble as the people of the God of Abraham, for the kings of the earth belong to God; He is greatly exalted. " (vs. 7-9)



God is in control. I will say it again to myself. God is in control. He has my inheritance chosen for me if I will embrace it.  When life seems difficult, I need to remember this and remember that He does not give us more than we can handle.  Every difficult situation has a silver lining somewhere, if only we look long enough and wait long enough.  I am reminded of Hebrews 12: 1-3. 


"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."


The witnesses we are surrounded by are all the great men and women of faith mentioned in the chapter before, Hebrews 11, the great faith chapter which talks of men's weaknesses becoming their strengths.  They are looking down and cheering us on, as is Jesus, who ran this race first for us to show us how to do it.   Because of this, we have to throw off all the things that trip us up and entangle us.  For me it is frustration over a never ending "to do list".  It is frustration at myself for not being a good enough mother.  It is not accomplishing enough, not being enough, not controlling my anger or frustration.  It is depression.  It is so many things, but I need to just let them go.  I am not a very good runner, so when I run, I can't think about much of anything except putting one foot in front of the other.  I can't talk with anyone or think about anything.  I can't even get distracted by the scenery.  I just have to run.  In a way, this is a good analogy for me to remember.  In my spiritual life, I just need to run and concentrate on one spiritual foot after another.  I must narrow my focus down and get rid of all these distractions just like I have to do when I am physically running.  Then I will be able to run with perseverance this race marked out for me.

The other thought I always have about these verses is that my race is marked out for me.  I don't have to trail blaze.  I just have to follow the course.  God does have a good inheritance for me and a race that is my own for me to run.  I need to stop looking at the race others are running and wanting theirs.  I must learn to be satisfied with the one I was given.  It is just right for me even if it may be difficult.  Then finally, I have to focus on joy.  I have to think of the joy that will come from me being faithful.  I have to visualize the success that might be mine someday.  I have no guarantees, but I can dream of those I love becoming disciples.  I can dream about really transforming my community, and even the world.  I can dream about a life of impact, and I can let that inspire me on a day to day basis.  Without dreams, we all die inside.  God has dreams for me and I need to praise Him for it. When I praise, I am happy. When I focus on joy, I am happy.  It is no good for me to sit around moping. Moping and worrying never solved any of my problems.  I need to praise first and then God will be able to move in my life.  God has everything in His hands, even the kings, so what am I worried about?  He is able to handle my race for me.  He is able to handle everything.




Prayer for the Day




Dear Lord,


Today as we go about our business and travel to and fro on this earth, remind us of Your sovereignty. Help us to see the sunrise and remember Your glory. Help us to see the birds flying in the air and look at the mountains so majestic and remember that the mountains are small in comparison to the rest of the earth and they are minuscule in comparison to the whole universe. Help us to remember that despite this smallness of the large mountains, not one little bird that flies over them falls to the ground without You knowing. How amazing is that. We are so grateful that You pay attention to us at all.

I praise You for Your victories and I praise You for taking hold of us and giving us life. Thank You for the purpose that You have given us and thank You for walking with us all of the way. We glorify You this day and everyday You give us.


In Jesus' Name,
Amen




QFT



1. Do I view God as King of the Earth? Do I take time to enjoy nature and His grandeur that is evident in it?  How will this help me when I am dealing with my life and its difficulties?

2. Am I known for my positive and joyful attitude or am I a negative and complaining person? How can I become more positive and joyful?

3. What I need to throw off?  What hinders me and what entangles me?  Why?  Who can I get to help me deal with these things?
4. Am I satisfied with the race set out for me and the inheritance God has chosen for me?  Why or why not?  What can I do to cultivate a better attitude about my life?

5. What can I visualize as happening in the future due to my continued faithfulness?  How can this help me not to grow weary?  What can I do to help me focus on these goals and dreams on a day to day basis?

Daily Devotional - 9/15/10 (10/15/09)

Prayer Focus - Friends



Day 1



Pray for:
One friend that you feel close to


Pray about:
Their physical needs
Their mental needs
Their emotional needs
Their spiritual needs


Dear Lord - Help me to listen to You each and every day and please grant me the strength to obey.




Psalms 45




"You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy." (vs. 7)




I believe we all want to be great and make a difference in this world. If you ask any child what they want to be when they grow up, they have great dreams. They don't plan on having a life of failure and mediocrity. It is only as we age and face failure and difficulties that we start to lose our dreams of making a difference. Even God, Himself has great dreams for us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us (Jeremiah 29: 11). So if it really is okay to have grand dreams of world impact, how will we accomplish it?


The world has one idea. There is the dog eat dog business model - the feeding with the sharks mentality where it is survival of the fittest and each man is out for himself. Then there is God's way. When Jesus' disciples were arguing over who would be greatest, Jesus' did not get mad at them for the question, but rather He pointed out their lack of righteous perspective on the matter. He told them they needed to become like little children to be great and they needed to become servants in order to lead. He told them the first would be last and the last would be first and that to truly be first, one would have to be the slave of all ( Matt 18:1-4 & Matt 20:20-28). Leadership and greatness for one who follows God comes in a completely different manner than it does for those in the world.  Yet this is what it will truly make the greatest impact in the long run and the legacy that this type of leadership leaves will follow us into eternity. Jesus made a difference. He stood out. He changed the whole world. The original disciples turned the whole world upside down as well. It is okay to make a difference and want to be great as long as we go about it God's way and become servants.


In this psalm, we learn two more of the keys to greatness. They are to love righteousness and hate wickedness. We need to get our focus aligned with God and love what He loves and hate what He hates. We need to go beyond thinking that it would be nice to be a good person and beyond disliking when people are irritating and rude. We need to love and hate. We need to get passionate about life. I, personally, am such a middle of the road kind of person. I don't like to make waves but yet this is very unChristlike. He wasn't a mild mannered guy. He loved and hated. He laughed and cried. He was fully alive. We need to open up ourselves to this and stop being afraid to live if we want to experience true greatness and purpose.


When we are finally willing to fully embrace this philosophy, then God will set us apart from our companions. He will set us apart and above them by anointing us with the oil of joy. Joy comes when we do right. Joy comes from stepping out and doing something. We need to stop worrying about whether it will be right or wrong, and just jump into the fray of life and saying, "I am here. I am here. I will do something. I will speak. I will serve. I will get in and get dirty. I am getting off the sidelines and I am living." Joy will come bursting forth. Jesus came to give life and life to the fullest. We need to embrace this. We need to leave the past. Stop looking back and build a life anew with what we have, with our spouses and children. We can do all things with Christ. We truly can.




Prayer for the Day



Dear Lord,


We praise You for giving us the desire to make a difference. We want our lives to count for something and we ask You to help us to see how we can achieve that. Focus our eyes and our hearts on Your way. You and Your Son have had the greatest impact on the world and we are called to do even greater things than what Jesus has done. It seems impossible, but if we really start living and doing and feeling, You will be able to work through us. Free us from all that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles us and let us run with perseverance. Let us be clear channels for Your power to flow through. Allow us to love righteousness and hate wickedness. Help us to overcome our fear and do this so that we may receive the anointing of joy. You are the truth and the way and the life. We know. We desire to do Your will; increase our desire. We are letting go of the past and starting anew, today and everyday, we pray this. Father, hear our prayer.


In Jesus' Name,
Amen




QFT



1. What were my dreams when I was young? Have I given up on them? Do I have new dreams to make a difference?

2. Do I love righteousness? What part of righteousness is the most difficult for me to embrace and love?

3. Do I hate wickedness? What is the hardest for me to hate about wickedness? Is there some sin that I accept, tolerate, or even like? What should I do about this?

4. What is my idea about how to become great? What is my idea about leadership? Am I a servant of others?

5. How is my joy level? Could renewing my dreams and embracing life increase it?

Daily Devotional - 9/3/10 (10/3/09)

Prayer Focus - Leaders (any type - World, State, Local, Church, Business, Work)



Pray for:
One leader who inspires you
One leader who you know is struggling with something
One leader from another country


Pray about:
Their physical needs
Their mental needs
Their emotional needs
Their spiritual needs


Dear Lord - Help me to hear You and grant me the strength to obey.



Psalms 33



"Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise Him." (vs. 1)


I was not very happy today. It was just one of those down days we have now and then and I struggled even to sit down and write. As I read the Psalm, I was reminded once again that I am to be joyful, I am to rejoice, not just when my emotions back me up on it, but always. I am reminded that it is fitting for me to praise God and rejoice in Him. I do not have to be happy about circumstances that are negative, but I am to be happy about a God who is consistent. It is fitting. If I have the being who created me at my side, if I have a book full of promises that He has plans for me, if I have the security of forgiveness and the cross before me, what is there that I cannot get through. I will sing joyfully to Him and I will praise Him. I will go beyond that also.



"Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy." (vs. 3)



I will sing a new song to Him as well. I will not get stuck doing things the same way over and over again. In my blueness today, I thought of giving up writing this devotional. I thought it was too difficult and I was so busy. I thought I had no more ideas. Then I sat down and read the psalm again. I was reminded that this is my new song to God. This is something that I have wanted to do for years and have been afraid. This is my way of communicating all that is inside me and that will never get out otherwise. This is for God, not me. This is His blog and for Him, I will keep it going. It is my new song. We all need a new song; something that inspires us and challenges us. Something that we think is impossible. I love the quote by Saint Francis of Assisi, "Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible." We need to get a new song going today. What will my new song be today? What will your new song be today?


Once I have figured out what my new song is, I will play skillfully at it. I will play skillfully on this new song and my old songs as well for that matter. Often my goal is just to play with no regard to the way I do things. I think, "If I can just get by and get something done, I will be happy." I must broaden my sights. I need to embrace living skillfully. It is possible because all things are possible through Christ who strengthens me (Phil 4:13). I need to not live haphazardly any more. I need to remember, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." (Col 3:23-24).


Right now I am a teacher and so I am teaching for God. He wants me teaching, although it is not something I ever planned to do. I must embrace it and become excellent and skillful at it. It is my job and service to God. He has shut all the other doors at this time. I am also writing. I must write and become skillful at it as it is a talent that God has given me. It is my job of service as well. In everything I do, I want to be skillful. I want to remember that I am doing everything, even the mundane tasks, like cleaning my house and doing laundry for the Lord and not just for my family. It is my goal to do it all skillfully. And I will shout for joy that I have been given these tasks to accomplish; that I have been deemed worthy to carry it out. I want to be found faithful. I will shout for joy for this and other reasons such as the following.


"For the word of the Lord is right and true; He is faithful in all He does." (vs. 4)


I will shout for joy because God's word is right and true. I am not doing this for naught. I am not obeying God for nothing. He will not forget all of my hard work (Gal 6:7-10)! He is faithful in all He does. This is not some farce I have been on. This is true and right. God is here and He is faithful. I can look to all of His promises and know that the more I obey His word, the more He will be able to bless me. I have seen His principles bring great rewards in my life, marriage, and parenting when I have been willing to step it up and follow more accurately His teachings. This includes the ones that I may not understand, or like, on first glance. It is crucial to turn away from doing our own thing and turn back to His will because that is what will win in the end anyway.


"The Lord foils the plans of the nations; He thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He chose for His inheritance." (vs. 12)


God loves righteousness and justice. The earth is full of His unfailing love. I need to fear and revere God because He is great. His plans will happen, not ours. I need to get on board the winning team. God foils and thwarts our plans and purposes. He foils and thwarts even the plans of nations. If we would turn back to God, we could be blessed. We aren't going to be blessed by politics or laws but by getting our heart and soul back to God. We need to go back to our foundation and principles; those that are based on Him and His principles. Blessed are the people He chose. He chose me. He really picked me. What an amazing thought. I need to get with His game plan because I was chosen. I am important in all of this! It is so amazing that God would use me; that God would use any of us since He is so big and grand.


"From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; From His dwelling place He watches all who live on earth - He who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do. No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in You." (vs. 13-22)


Finally, God is watching all of us. He sees everything. God formed my heart. He knows me and He is considering everything that I do. No one here can save themselves; not any king, not any strong warrior or horse. The strongest of men and created things are as nothing to God. But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him; on those whose hope is in His unfailing love. His eyes are on those who trust in Him to deliver us from death and keep us alive. Only God can really do these things. We wait in hope for the Lord, not impatiently, - in hope. He is our help and our shield. In Him we can rejoice.


Be happy because of God. Trust in His name. It is who you know that gets you somewhere in life and we know that best.


May Your love be on us all as we trust in You, dear Lord.




Prayer for the Day


Dear Lord,

We are grateful that You are watching us.  We are grateful that You save us.  We know, when we are honest with ourselves, that we are powerless.  Only You can control the universe both inside and outside of us.  It is fitting that we praise You and we want to praise You more and more.  We are putting our hope in You and we know that we will not be disappointed.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen


QFT


1. What will my new song be today? How can I get started with it?

2. In my life, what is the necessary? What is the possible? What is the impossible that I would like to see happen?

3. Am I joyful? Am I praising God, even when my emotions are not supporting me in it? How can I change this if I am not joyful and how can I incorporate more praise into my life?

4. Am I playing skillfully, or just playing? How can I start playing skillfully? What training or help do I need and in what areas?

5. What am I hoping in?  What do I rely on to save me?  Is it always God?  If not, why?  How can I put my trust completely in Him and stop relying on my own strength?

Daily Devotional - 9/1/10 (10/1/09)

Prayer Focus - Leaders



Pray for:
One leader who inspires you

Specifically:
their physical strength and needs
their emotional strength and needs
their mental strength and needs
their spiritual strength and needs


Dear Lord - I pray that you would open my ears to the messages You want to share with me today. I also ask for the strength to obey.




Psalms 31



"I will be glad and rejoice in Your love, for You saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place." (vs . 7-8)


"My times are in Your hands;" (vs. 15a)



Everything is in God's hands. He has determined the times and places for me so that I would turn and seek Him (Acts 17: 26-27). Nothing is done away from the eyes of God. He has seen everything about my life and has been calling me all along. My times are truly in His hands. When I was 17, I made an ultimatum with God. I had grown up going to church and had gone to a Christian school from 1st through 8th grade. I knew the Bible. I knew what a Christian should be. I had tried at times. I had given my testimony before a large crowd at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes my junior year of high school. I had taught people to pray the prayer. I had tried, but the next year found me at every party I could find, drinking anything I could find. I was a hypocrite and almost everyone else I knew that professed to be a Christian was pretty hypocritical as well. I was done with it.


I went to Europe as a graduation present that year and proceeded to party across the continent. While in utter desperation with my life one night in Paris, I told God that I would give it one more try. I was going to go away to college where no one knew me. I would start over. If I could find people truly being Christians as the Bible said, and if I could actually do it myself and find freedom from the many sins that plagued me, then I would be a Christian and give it my whole heart. If I could not find it, then I would become an atheist. I reasoned that if God was real, He would answer this prayer, although I didn't really believe I would find anything different in San Diego. I would then become an atheist because there was no God and the Bible was false since it offered something that didn't exist. There was no grey area for me. Either God and His word were real and true and really did offer freedom as it said, or it was all a lie and I was going to live my life however I wanted and not worry about it anymore. It would be "eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow I die." I prayed that prayer and I finished my trip out unchanged.


I went away to college at UCSD that September and the first night I was there met someone from the church I now attend. What a surprise! My times were in God's hand! I went to church and was amazed, although I did not like it the first time. These people were truly different I was soon to discover. Initially, I had hope that perhaps I could be different, but I was not convinced. I studied the Bible, and although no one particularly thought I would become a Christian, one person from the church stuck it out with me. I remember one particular study, she challenged me about some issues in my life and I became angry with her. I did not even see her out of my apartment. But when she left, I went and took some inappropriate pictures down off my wall. I sat on my bed and looked at the empty wall for quite awhile. I felt a strange emotion. I felt relief and I was surprised. For the first time in a long time, someone had called me on something that was wrong and I was so happy. Not even my parents were willing to ask me why I had these types of photos up, but here was a stranger that cared enough to lay our friendship on the line. It was the beginning of a great change for me.

I was so grateful to become a true Christian not much later. I had called out to God in desperation and He had truly answered me. I knew that finally. God did exist. The Bible was real. God would not let me be put to shame and God has not let me be put to shame all these years. At the precise time that I was most open, God was there. He put me where I needed to be back then so that today, I would be here where I am now. I praise God for never letting go of me. Despite all the years of ups and downs, there is nothing I would trade my life for. There is nothing I would trade my relationship with God for. I have spent all of my adult life trying to do this. Trying to be a disciple of Christ, and I can truly say with the psalmist:


"How great is Your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you,...Praise be to the Lord, for He showed His wonderful love to me when I was in a besieged city...The Lord preserves the faithful, ...Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord." (vs. 19, 21, & 23-24)


I hope and pray that everyone reading my posts may someday feel the same, if you do not already. Amen.




Prayer for the Day

Dear Lord,

Thank You for continually reaching out to us.  You have placed us exactly where You want us to be so that hopefully we will find You and come to know You.  We are so grateful for Your unseen hand.  A life with You is truly the best life we could find.  We praise You for Your faithfulness.  You are good.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen



QFT



1. How did I become a Christian? Has there been a change in my life? What has it been?

2. Have I experienced God placing me in a particular place so that I might turn to Him and find Him? What happened and how did I become closer to God from this event?

3. How do I feel about God's faithfulness and about the truth of the Bible? What holds me back from trusting completely? What can I do to develop greater trust in both?

4. How do I feel about my relationship with God? What is great about it and what could be improved?

5. Have I ever shared with anyone how I became a Christian?  If not, why?  What would I gain by letting others know about my experiences?

Daily Devotional - 8/16/10 (9/16/09)

Focus Letter - P



Pray for:
Five things you are grateful for beginning with the focus letter
Five people whose first or last name begins with the focus letter
A place that begins with the focus letter
A characteristic that begins with the focus letter


Dear Lord - Please help me to hear Your voice today and grant me the strength to obey.



Psalms 16


"Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge." (vs 1)

"Lord, You have assigned me my portion and my cup; You have made my lot secure.  The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance." (vs. 5 & 6)


Sometimes with all that is going on in my life, I do not feel very safe. I have to be the strong one right now for my family because of my husband's illness. There is no one to take care of me. If you have ever had to be a caregiver for someone you understand. If you are a single mother, you understand. If you have been abandoned in some way by someone, you can understand. I think all of us can understand this feeling in some way. It can be overwhelming and we wonder, "What about me?" Who will be here to protect me and guide me. The answer is simple, though often hard to feel and understand. God will. He will be there to take care of me even if no one else is. He can be my ultimate emotional, physical, and spiritual support because He knows what I need even when I don't.


In this world, sometimes, we will be all alone. We cannot avoid this. Jesus was all alone in His greatest hour of need. All of His friends deserted him. One betrayed Him. What we go through is no different. We have been hurt and we have also hurt. But God is still there. He can restore our souls and He can help us to cleanse out the pain in our hearts. Anger and bitterness are easy to come by and hide deep within our hearts when we have been hurt or let down. Disrespect rages. But we must forgive. We have been called to let go. As we have been forgiven, we must forgive (Matt 6:14-15). We must take refuge in God. Let the vengeance be His and move on. We are only destroying ourselves by our bitterness (Heb 12:14-15). There is no point in it. Pain is part of the human existence and God knows.


The bitterness we can carry around from our hurts can destroy us. We envy those that we think have it better than us. We are miserable and forget that God has a plan. He assigned us our portion. He gave us our families. He allowed us to marry who we did. He has given us our children with all of the joys and sorrows they can bring. He has assigned us our portion and set our boundary lines. He has planned our lives and our times, even while we were still in our mother's wombs (Psalms 139:13-18). Who am I to resent what God has done; to be dissatisfied with the lot He has given me? Maybe someday I will have something better but for now this is it. It is what it is and I am serving God regardless. God is great even if nothing else is.


We must realize that life is not about us; it is not about me being happy. When I strive for happiness, it alludes me. When I forget about happiness and strive for God, it comes and rests in my heart. There is nothing truly lasting and worthwhile in the things around me or the career or the possessions. There is only God and what is of utmost importance to Him; people. Apart from God, we have nothing (vs. 2). I have nothing. I came to this world with nothing and I will leave with nothing. Blessed be the name of the Lord. That is how it always is. Life is fleeting. Good times are fleeting. Bad times are fleeting. Only God is permanent.



God will keep us safe. God will keep me safe. I will turn to God. I will love God and the saints in the land; my brothers. God has made my lot secure. God has made it okay. I will be okay. Everything will be okay. I do not know how anything will end but it will still be okay.



How can we do this? How can we go on with these ethereal promises; physically intangible securities when all we can touch is falling down around us? The answer is here:

"I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.  I have set the Lord always before me.  Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken." (vs. 7 & 8)

We have to set the Lord before us (vs. 8). We have to keep as clear a picture of Him, and of all He has done for us in the past, as possible in front of our eyes at all times. If He remains there, if we allow Him the presence He deserves in our lives, we will not be shaken. We must keep my focus on God as surely as we keep it on the road when we are driving. Then He will be our guide and we will reach our final destination. If we clean out our hearts and lift up our eyes; if we focus on God and renew our joy at the delightful inheritance He has given us, then we will be able to be glad and rejoice. We will be secure. God will make known to us the path of life. He will give us salvation and everything else.


God is always in control and it is good.



Prayer for the Day

Dear Lord,

Thank You for all You do for us.  We are so grateful that You are in control.  You have given us what You want to give.  There is a reason for all of it.  Help us to keep You in focus and live life.  You know better than us.  You give good gifts and You redeem us from our failures.  We praise Your name.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen



QFT


1. Do I have any hurts or bitterness in my heart from the past? Is there any unforgiveness in my heart? How can I deal with this?

2. Am I grateful for the life that God has given me? Am I grateful for my spouse and children? Am I grateful for the family I was born into?

3. Am I striving for happiness or am I striving for God? Would others say I was happy? How can I change this?

4. What tangible ways can I keep God always before me?

5. Do I believe God will meet all my needs?  Why or why not?  What do I try to use to meet my needs besides God?  Does it work?

Daily Devotional - 8/8/10 (9/8/09)

Focus Letter - H



Pray for:
Five things you are grateful for beginning with the focus letter
Five people whose first or last name begins with the focus letter
A place that begins with the focus letter
A characteristic beginning with the focus letter for you and your family to grow in


Dear Lord - help me to hear your ever present voice and grant me the strength to obey


Psalms 8


"O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!  You have set Your glory above the heavens.  From the lips of children and infants You have ordained praise" (vs. 1, 2a  & 9)

It is fitting to praise God. All of creation praises God. We are to look to nature and to the heavens to see the ultimate power and glory of our Creator. God is majestic and grand. There is so much beauty in the world because He made the world. I look to the mountains that surround my home and I see their strength. They are not moving. They are constant like God. I am reminded of the verse, " I lift my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." (Psalms 121:1-2)

There is an interesting psychological experiment that I read about and tried. It illuminated the principle of looking up and out at God's beautiful creation. Here is the experiment. Look down at the ground for about five minutes and let your mind wander. Then analyze what you thought about. Next, look up for about five minutes and let your mind wander. Once again, analyze what you thought about. Generally what people find, and I was no different, is that when they are looking down, they tend to think primarily about the past and about negative things. While looking up, however, people tend to think of plans they have for the future and they tend to have more positive thoughts cross their minds.

I believe that God made us this way and this is how we function best. We are to look up - at God and also at the world He made. We are to look up to the heavens, to the moon and stars. All of creation is shouting of His glory, existence, and power. This ability to enjoy the world and have the innocent view of God's beauty as seen in nature is something that children and infants know. In verse 2, it states that, "From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise." My children know how to see things that I miss because they are not too busy to go for a walk. They are not too busy to smell the flowers and make bouquets. They are not too mature to roll down the hills of grass in the park. They know this joy that we, as adults, have forgotten - that of play, the experience of sheer joy and the experience of the majesty of God that is all around us.


Before children become old enough to be corrupted by the sinfulness of the world, they have such a pure and unaffected belief and knowledge of God. I think they are in tune to the spiritual world in a way that we lose as we get older, just as surely as we lose the ability to play. Their faith is so much stronger than ours. This, I believe, is why Jesus stated that unless we become like little children, we will never inherit the kingdom of God (Matt 18: 3-4). Jaded people cannot really know God. We need to believe again. We need to have that pure joy, love, and devotion that children bring to everything they are involved with.


"When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and stars, which You have set in place, what is man that You are mindful of Him, the son of man that You care for him?"  (vs. 3-4)

If we can cultivate this type of mindset, then we will truly be able to consider how great God is. It inspires in us the incredibility that He is even paying attention to us at all. We are so weak and sinful and yet He created us and loves us. He cares for us. He has given us a special place and honor in His creation. His thoughts about us are too numerous to count. He is there. It is truly amazing.


And not only that, but He has put us over all of His created things. We aren't just one of His creations, we are one of His most special creations! We have been given the great task of taking care of His world. What a great responsibility! What a great honor; that the Creator of Everything, who knows me inside and out, would still crown me with glory and reward me. It is awe inspiring that He would stoop down to make me great. That He would even reckon with me at all! I praise His name. His love and belief in me makes me want to prove myself worthy of this honor. I do not want to hide my gifts any longer and fail to live up to the works He has designed for me. I want to hear Him say on that final day, "Well done good and faithful servant, well done" (Matt 25:21).



Prayer for the Day

Dear Lord,

Truly You are worthy of praise.  We are nothing and You are everything.  We are so tiny and insignificant and yet to You we are important.  It is amazing that You know each one of us and are seeking to have a relationship with us even now.  You have come after each one of us like a Shepard searching for His lost sheep.  It is too much for us to comprehend yet we are grateful.  Help us to remember this and to live in awe and gratitude.  May we keep our eyes focused upward towards You.  You are good, always good.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen



QFT

1.  How often do I praise God?  How often do I take time to look at nature and remember that this is all God's doing?  How can I increase my focus on the power of God through nature?  How can I increase my praise of God?

2. Do I look up or down more often as I go about my day?  What are my thoughts on more - good or bad?  Am I known as a postive or a negative person?  How can I become more positive?  Do I believe that is what God wants me to be?  If not, why?  What holds me back from being positive and joyful?

3.  Do I have a childlike heart and spirit?  In what ways have I lost this?  How can I regain or increase my childlike purity?  Do I want to do this?  What holds me back?  How can I change?

4.  Do I realize how truly insignificant I am in the scope of the universe or do I think too highly of myself?  In what ways do I feel self-sufficient?  What can help me to gain a more accurate view of myself in light of the nature and majesty of God?

5.  Do I realize how important I am to God?  Is the concept of His love difficult for me to grasp?  What makes this difficult for me?  How can I work on accepting His love and care?  How do I fight His love?  Why do I do this?  How can I change?

Daily Devotional - 8/5/10 ( 9/5/09)

Focus Letter - E


Pray for:
Five things you are grateful for beginning with the focus letter
Five people whose first or last name begins with the focus letter
A place that begins with the focus letter
A characteristic beginning with the focus letter that you would like to see you and your family grow in


Dear Lord, open my ears to Your voice and grant me the strength to obey


Psalm 5


"In the morning, O Lord, You hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before You and wait in expectation." (vs. 3)

In the morning God should hear our voice. In the morning, we should come with our requests. It is so important to pray and meet with God in the morning. I must pray for my needs. I must make this a priority. God is waiting to meet me. Where am I? Am I still in bed when the Creator of the Universe waits? If He was my boss, would I be there and be on time? Probably. Would I blow him off and sleep in? Probably not.

I need God. I need this time to get ready for the day. He has never failed to provide me with the time and the energy for the day when I have made the time to be with Him for awhile. Even if I have gotten up very early and am really tired, I have still been able to accomplish what I need to and do well if I have set my heart on Him, even for a few moments.

Then, after I have gotten up and made my requests, had my prayers, listened to God's voice, I am not supposed to just forget what I prayed for. I am to wait in expectation! I am to be confident I will receive an answer. I need to be looking for it in everything I do and everything that happens that day.

Have you ever waited for an important letter to come, or maybe a check? Every day you check the mailbox eagerly, running out as soon as the mail truck comes by. I imagine I should be like this with God; excited, and waiting eagerly for the answer to come, focused on how He will provide. It will add a sense of mystery and fun to our days, looking for that answer, that message from God. Where will it be? How will it look? I hope I don't miss it.

"You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil;with You the wicked cannot dwell...But I, by Your great mercy, will come into Your house; in reverence will I bow down toward Your holy temple."
(vs. 4 & 7)

Next, I need to focus on how God feels about evil and sin. He hates it. He hates arrogance. He hates wrongdoing. He hates lies. This is frightening because I know I do a lot of things wrong. I see these things in myself so very often. How can I stand before God when I fail so frequently? By myself, I cannot, but because of God's great mercy, I can. I can even come into His house and worship. His grace and mercy makes me feel so grateful. It allows me to have the reverence towards Him that I need because I know that I do not deserve to be close to Him, not now or in the past. I have never been good enough, nor will I ever be. It is a lost cause, but how amazing it is, I am not a lost cause.

"But let all who take refuge in You be glad; let them ever sing for joy.  Spread Your protection over them, that those who love Your name may rejoice in You.  For surely, O Lord, You bless the righteous; You surround them with Your favor as with a shield." (vs. 11-12)

I can even be glad in spite of my sin and myself. I am not supposed to go around moping and feeling sorry for myself. I am to be rejoicing. I can sing for joy because I have taken refuge in God and in His merciful forgiveness. I have taken refuge in Him for protection from my enemies both external and internal. I can now let go of the past and strain on toward my goal of knowing Him. I am free to do right and to be righteous.

When we are dwelling on our sins and faults it is very hard to do right or be righteous. I know the hardest times for me to do right, especially as a wife and mother, are when I allow myself to worry (which is sin) or to be down and depressed (which is also sin). So instead of moping, I need to run to God, accept His forgiveness, love Him for His grace, worship Him for His mercy, and dwell in His house. When I do this, then His favor will surround me like a shield, and then He will bless me. His protection will be spread over me and I will be able to rejoice even more in what a great God we serve!


Prayer for the Day

Dear Lord,

We praise You for listening to us.  Help us to come to You each morning and remember our need for You daily.  Help us to wait in expectation.  You are good, always good, and we long to be close to You.  You do not delight in evil so help us Lord to live correctly before You.  Help us to turn away from worry and self pity.  We have You and that is all we need.  Help us to take refuge in You.  We praise You for Your grace and mercy.  Truly, You are good.

In Jesus Name,
Amen


QFT

1. Am I coming before the Lord each morning?  If not, what is getting in the way of this time?  How can I devote some time to God each morning, or increase the time/quality I am spending?

2.  Do I wait in expectation for the Lord?  Do I forget what I have asked God for?  Am I persistent in prayer?  Why or why not?  What answers to prayers have I received?

3.   What is my attitude towards sin?  Do I have the same hatred of it as God does? Are there some sins I tolerate in my life? Why? 

4.  How do I view God?  Do I focus on only one of His characteristics or do I strive to understand Him in all of His complexity?   Do I have reverence towards God or am I too casual with Him? How can I have a more appropriate attitude towards Him?

5.  Do I rejoice in all that I do have?  Am I grateful?  How can I improve my attitude in general towards God and life?  Do I feel blessed?  Why or why not?  How can I focus more on my blessings.

Daily Devotional - 8/4/10 (9/4/10)

The scripture reference for the story of the angel being delayed in coming that I mentioned yesterday is in Daniel 10:1 - 11:1, see especially verses 10 - 14. This is a very interesting story about the spiritual world and the spiritual warfare that goes on unbeknownst to us.



Daily Focus Letter - D


Pray for:
Five things you are thankful for beginning with the focus letter
Five people whose first or last name begins with the focus letter
A country, city, or place that begins with the focus letter
A characteristic that you would like to see your household grow in beginning with the focus letter


Dear Lord - help me to hear Your ever present voice and grant me the strength to obey.


Psalms 4


"Answer me when I call to You, O my righteous God.  Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer." (vs. 1)

It is okay to ask for relief from our distress. We don't have to just gut it out all the time. There definitely are times of battle or times of suffering that we will have to endure but then God provides times of refreshing. Even Jesus thought His disciples should go off for some time of relief when they returned from their missionary journey.


What we need to ask ourselves is am I really doing the work of the Lord or standing firm in some struggle so that a time of relief is merited. If so, great, but I know I have many times just fallen into relief mode and often struggles and problems came about because I was in relief mode and then I asked for more relief. I was just being spiritually lazy. What I really needed in order to start feeling better was to start doing something!


As for suffering, it is okay to ask for relief but then we need to be ready for God to say no, or not yet. The best example of this is Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He asked, and asked some more, but in the end, thankfully, He said, "not my will, but Yours be done"(Luke 22:39-46). Paul asked for the thorn to be removed from him but God said no, that His power was made perfect in Paul's weakness. Paul finally surrendered it and was able to say he "delighted" in his weakness and other struggles which were quite astounding (see 2 Cor 12:7-10 & 6:3-10).


The bottom line is that we are set apart by God, for His purposes. We aren't here for ourselves and our hopes and dreams. There is the wonderful verse in Psalms 37:4 - "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart," but often we forget the first part - delighting ourselves in God - and focus primarily on God giving us the desires of our heart. We need to think more about how we can delight in God and less about our desires and dreams. When we do this, the two will start falling into place.



"Know that the Lord has set apart the godly for Himself; the Lord will hear when I call to Him." (vs. 3)


Secondly, we need to think about whether or not we are allowing ourselves to be set apart. Perhaps we are blending right into the world and everyone around us. What do our activities show, how about the TV shows we watch, and the movies we go to. What about the books we read and the places we hang out? I know when I first became I a Christian I was very sensitive towards what I was watching, wearing, and reading but then I got rather casual about it and even used the rationalization that I have to know what the world is into. After having children, I think I became more sensitive to these issues again because I started looking at the world from their eyes. When your child starts being able to read and starts asking what that vulgar saying on that person's t-shirt means, it begins to hit home. Or when you have to change the TV channel when they walk into the room, it makes you think.


"In your anger, do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent." (vs. 4)

Sometimes the way the world is, and the baseness of our culture as it strays away from Godly principles gets me upset. Then I tend to feel guilty because when I was growing up, I was taught to not get angry. We were not even allowed to fight in my house. So, while I understand the reasoning behind the rule, (it is exhausting to have duelling siblings), being told to not fight or to not get angry did not stop the very human emotion of anger, nor should it have really. What it did produce was a lot of built up resentment and the victim mentality in me so that I was not able to be angry in appropriate situations or even say "no" when I needed to. This led to me allowing others to abuse me and also to me placing myself in bad situations.

Verse 4 of this psalm was a revelation to me because it says "in your anger, do not sin." It is just accepted that we will get angry. It is okay. Jesus got angry. He even acted on it, but He did not sin (Matt 21:12 -13). I can get angry, I just need to channel it right. I cannot have a temper tantrum, which I want to do. That would be sin. I cannot throw things, which I have to admit I have done. That would be sin. I cannot swear at someone and tell them off. That would be sin. I cannot reject the world in the sense of looking down on it and feeling that I am above it. Or I cannot look down on those of my friends that are involved with things I know are wrong. I can be upset, even angry, but then I must respond in love and concern. They are the ones that will ultimately suffer. I need to be concerned about their spiritual welfare, and as one who has been there myself, try to help them and reach out in love. How they respond is up to them but my love can not stop. In my anger, I cannot sin


Self evaluation is so important to handling our anger correctly. As it says in verse 4, at night I need to go over my day and search my heart. I need to be silent and let God speak to me about where I have been and what I have done. Then, I need to deal with whatever I find. We cannot let the sun go down on our anger, as this will give the Devil a foothold in our lives (Eph 4:26-27). When we get angry (whether or not it is justified), and then don't deal with it, we let bitterness grow and develop in our hearts. This can eventually lead us away from God. We are to make sure that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many (Heb 12:15). Unresolved anger is the start of this bitterness.


 In all this, sometimes, it seems like life is just too much. Too many problems, too many personal issues to deal with, too many world problems. I remember a point in time in my husband's battle with cancer, right after we found out that the cancer had spread, that I saw something negative about the state of the world on TV and just started weeping. My husband couldn't understand why this little short TV segment could set me off. I just kept telling him, "I can't take anymore bad news." Everything was building up and I was asking just like the psalmist - "Who can show us any good?" (vs 6). I just couldn't see any good. After I finished my cry, I turned back to God. I had to look up because there was nowhere else to go. In all that I have gone through in the last 25 years of trying to truly follow God, this is where I have always ended up. Yes, there are many things around me but God. That's it "Yes, But God."


I have always loved the last verses of the psalm (vs 7 & 8) because of this. They state..

 "Let the light of your face shine upon us, O Lord. You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound. I will lie down and sleep in peace for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety."


I have to stop looking around at the world and my circumstances as overwhelming as they may seem and look up at God, at the light coming from Him. I have to remember that I am supposed to focus on God, rejoice in God, know that in the world there will be troubles, but God has overcome the world. The world - the grain and new wine which can be enjoyable - will never fill me up. Even if everything is going great in my life, even then, I still won't be filled with as much as I can be with God.


So in the end, I can lie down and sleep in peace. In the midst of everything the Lord is making me dwell in safety. Everything is going to be alright.


Prayer for the Day

Dear Lord,

We live in a troublesome world.  Often there does not seem to be any good, but You are here and You are good.  You have asked us to dwell on the positive, the honorable, the lovely.  Help us to fix our eyes on those things and to keep our eyes focused on Your face.  Only then will we be able to live our lives properly.  Help us to live truly set apart lives.  Help us to remember You.  You fill us with what is greater than the world has to offer but we are so easily deceived.  We do not want to be deceived any longer.  Help us to seek the truth.  Help us to seek You so that we may truly have peace.

In Jesus Name,
Amen
QFT

1.  Am I in distress right now?  What is causing this if I am?  Am I asking God for relief and help in this time?

2.  Am I in the spiritual battle and am I doing the work of the Lord or am I being spiritually lazy?  Are any of the problems/issues I am facing in my life right now due to my spiritual inactivity or weakness?  If so, what can I do to get back to where I need to be or to grow?

3.  Am I being set apart?  Is there any difference in my life/activities as a Christian or am I just like those around me who do not claim to know God?  Is there anything that I am doing right now that makes me feel guilty or that I think deep down is not the best for me spiritually?  What can I do differently starting today?

4. How do I feel about anger?  How do I deal with my anger?  Do I have healthy boundaries?  Can I say no to people or situations that aren't best for me spiritually or do I get sucked into them time and time again?  Am I bitter?  How can I get help with this?  Do I have strong spiritual friends who can help me?

5.  Do I have peace in my life?  Am I sleeping well?  What am I trying to use to bring me peace and joy?  Do I believe that my spiritual life could make a difference in this?  Am I focusing on God or circumstances?  What can I do to start moving closer to God and the peace that He offers?
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