Prayer Focus - Needs
Day 5
Pray for:
One thing that you need to be grateful for but find it difficult to be
One person that you need to apologize to, resolve a conflict with, or forgive
One dream that you need to surrender to God
One challenge that you need to face and deal with
One health issue that you need to deal with
Dear Lord - Please open my ears to hear Your voice today and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 97
"All who worship images are put to shame, those who boast in idols ...
Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for He guards the lives of His faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart.
Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous, and praise His holy name." ( vs. 7a, 10 - 12 )
We have a tendency to rely on things other than God. This can be equated to worshipping them. I know in my life I am tempted to think money will take care of my troubles. I sometimes think that if I had enough money, then my life would be better. I would not have to work and drive so much. I would have more time with my children and could be a better mother. Many thoughts run through my head, especially when I have to pay bills. Another thing that I often look to for comfort is relationships. I think that if my relationships were closer, I would be happier. If my husband and I were better friends then that would fix all my issues. Or maybe if my children were more obedient, everything would be solved. There are many others too, such as success, and self-development. Career has taken up a lot of my time and focus before too. When I look to all of these things to comfort or take care of me, I am in effect making them gods. I am looking to them to provide what only God can provide. In the end, they can do nothing, and I am sad and disillusioned again. They cannot save, and even rich people are miserable at times. We just need to look at the lives of the rich and famous to see that they are not satisfied. I end up, as this scripture says, put to shame.
It doesn't have to be this way though. I can make God my God and worship Him only. I can do this by memorizing the promises in His word that He will take care of me and by putting His words into practice day in and day out. I need to hate evil. It is okay to hate sometimes, if it is for the right things. I can not tolerate evil. I can not defend evil. I must hate it, for then I will be regarded as faithful, and God will protect me. Light and joy will be shed on me and I will receive the promises that God has woven into His word for those that walk in His ways. I need to hate evil, not because I am better than anyone else, but because I love God. And just because I hate evil, it does not mean I hate people. It is possible to hate sin and love the sinner; possible, not easy. Too many people fail at this and so we have a bad reputation for hating others when we stand up for what is right. Let us live correctly and have lives full of love and joy so that everyone will be drawn to God, and then as they learn that God loves them and as they learn to love God, the sinfulness will drop off like so many grave clothes. God can do this. Let us focus on love!
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
You are the only true God. Help us to let go of all of the false gods that clamor for our attention. They will only bring us to shame while You will bring us life and life to the fullest. You are so good to us and we rejoice in Your blessings. Help us to hate evil. Help us to hate sin and love sinners. Help us to become what You want us to become, and help us rejoice in You always.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. What things become my gods? What do I turn to for happiness and fulfillment other than God? Why? How does this affect me?
2. How do I see these things leading to shame in my life? How can I change my priorities and put God in the place He deserves to be?
3. Do I hate evil? Do I ever defend evil? Are there certain things I know the Scriptures say is sin that I accept or that I think are okay? Why?
4. How do I feel about hating what God hates? Why do I think God hates these things and calls certain things evil? How do these things affect us?
5. Do I think God will guard and protect me if I am faithful to Him and His commands? Why or why not? When have I seen God guard and protect me? How did that feel? Do I feel like I am in the light and do I have joy or do I feel that I am in darkness and do I have more sadness than joy? Can I relate this in anyway to my faithfulness? Why or why not?
Showing posts with label promises. Show all posts
Showing posts with label promises. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Friday, October 2, 2015
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?
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?
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
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?
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?
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Daily Devotional - 9/13/15 (11/13/09)
Prayer Focus - Needs
Day 2
Pray for:
One thing that is needed in the world
One thing that is needed in your country
Focus on how the fulfilled need will help impact people's:
spiritual lives
physical lives
emotional lives
mental lives
Dear Lord - Please open my ears to hear and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 73
"Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked." ( vs. 1-2 )
"This is what the wicked are like - always carefree, they increase in wealth. Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning...When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. Surely You place them on slippery ground; You cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! As a dream when one awakes, so when You arise, O Lord, You will despise them as fantasies." ( vs. 13-14, 16-20 )
"When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before You. Yet I am always with You; You hold me by my right hand. You guide me with Your counsel, and afterward You will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." ( vs. 21-26 )
Day 2
Pray for:
One thing that is needed in the world
One thing that is needed in your country
Focus on how the fulfilled need will help impact people's:
spiritual lives
physical lives
emotional lives
mental lives
Dear Lord - Please open my ears to hear and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 73
"Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked." ( vs. 1-2 )
"This is what the wicked are like - always carefree, they increase in wealth. Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning...When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. Surely You place them on slippery ground; You cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! As a dream when one awakes, so when You arise, O Lord, You will despise them as fantasies." ( vs. 13-14, 16-20 )
"When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before You. Yet I am always with You; You hold me by my right hand. You guide me with Your counsel, and afterward You will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." ( vs. 21-26 )
It is easy to lose sight of what is truly important in life. We know it should be God, but when we look around at others and compare ourselves with them, especially those that are not following God, we can end up dissatisfied with our lot. Those who are chasing after what the world has to offer can achieve quite a bit and I believe that Satan rewards them to help lead others astray. We can envy many things about them. We can look at their schedules, which often have more free time and leisure activities, and be frustrated because we always feel so busy. We can look at their financial success and feel like failures. We forget to look at the unethical methods they often use to get ahead or the wake of destruction that is left behind when they solely focus on money. We can look at their fancy houses, clothes, and the like and then wonder why we are having such a hard time and why we are struggling and trying to do things God's way. Sometimes we feel like God is not being fair. But God never promised wealth and success. God promised spiritual rewards. He would like to give us these things but it is not a guarantee. What is most important to God is where we are at spiritually and what will ultimately get us to heaven to be with Him for eternity.
If we lose sight of this we can easily slip. It is not hard to get to this point and when we do, we become like "brute beasts". We start envying. We lose all of our dignity and integrity. We often do things that we will later regret. This is not what we really want nor is it what God wants for us. At this point, we need to get our focus back. We need to turn to God and enter His sanctuary. We need to remember what will happen to all those who do not know Him. They will not endure. Whatever they are enjoying is for this life only. When we die, we take nothing with us. Naked we came and naked we go. Without God, they will leave it all here and enter eternity impoverished. They will be like a dream that is despised in the morning.
I don't want to be a bad dream to God. I want to be a good memory, and not even a memory, a good and faithful servant who is always with Him, serving Him for eternity. The amazing thing is, with God, this is possible. God is still with us, even when we are faltering. He is holding our hand and guiding us in the way that we should go. Everything may fail but God will not. God is our strength forever.
"But as for me, it is good to be near God." (vs. 28a)
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We know You are good. We have always known this in our souls, yet we slip so easily. We are like Peter who took his eyes off you when he was walking on the water. We sink. We begin to look at those around us and begin to envy their prosperity and ease. Help us to enter into Your sanctuary on a daily basis so that we will remember their final destiny. Help us to remember what life is all about and that the eternal is what truly matters. We ask to not be like brute beasts but like those that have integrity and uprightness. We do not want to be a bad dream to You. We do not want to be despised when You awake. We do not want to be swept away by terrors or cast down to ruin. Help us to live for eternity and to live clearly and simply. You are here guiding us. Help us to not fight Your guidance, but to embrace it. We thank You for being our strength and our portion forever. You are all we have. There is nothing better than You. We desire nothing else than to please You.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. What things cause me to envy the most? What circumstances and people cause me the most trouble? How can I combat this?
2. Do I ever feel that I am trying so hard and yet it is all in vain? Do I feel this way when I am forgetting all the good things that God has done for me? How can I rekindle my gratitude?
3. How can I enter into the sanctuary of God on a daily basis? What places and settings help me to remember my spiritual perspective and get back to being grounded in what is important again? How can I incorporate these things into my daily life?
4. How is God guiding me? Am I receptive to His leading through His word, others, and my inner conscience? How can I become more receptive?
5. Am I being still so that I can remember that God is God and allow myself to hear His voice? Do I think about eternity and cultivate this long term perspective? How can I think more long term when it comes to my relationship with God and my goals?
Saturday, September 5, 2015
Daily Devotional - 9/5/15 (11/5/09)
Prayer Focus - Gratitude
Day 1
Pray for:
One thing I am grateful for about the country that I live in
Thank God for the effect that what I am grateful for has on:
my spiritual life
my physical life
my emotional life
my mental life
Dear Lord - Please open my ears to hear and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 65
"O You who hear prayer, to You all men will come. When we were overwhelmed by sins, You forgave our transgressions, Blessed are those You choose and bring near to live in Your courts! We are filled with the good things of Your house, of Your holy temple. You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas," ( vs. 2-5)
"You care for the land and water it; You enrich it abundantly. ..You crown the year with Your bounty and Your carts overflow with abundance." (vs. 9a ; 11)
We worship "O You who hear prayer." What a good way to describe God. He hears our prayers. He is waiting to hear from us. It is hard sometimes to find a person who can listen to us. Everyone is so busy these days and most people have so many things to deal with already. Yet, God always has time. Even silly little things are not unimportant to Him. I am grateful I can turn to Him and pour out my heart at anytime. I am never alone.
I am grateful that there is more to life than just the physical aspects; the seen. I know there is more, but many people can not get beyond the seen. This does not negate what is true, however. There is a greater truth that does exist and some day we will all know it. Some day, all men will come to God and bow down before Him, acknowledging that He is who the Bible says He is. We are blessed if we have been given the opportunity to know and follow God. He chose us, not the other way around. That should make us eternally grateful; that we were chosen and that we will be filled with all the good things that God has in His house. How grateful I am that He has chosen me now. I am grateful that He picked me. Why? I do not know but I thank Him daily. I truly am blessed.
I am also thankful that God forgives our sins. That is what makes Christianity so different. Many religions teach us how to live and have noble aspects to them but there is always the problem of sin. We have all sinned. We are all separated at some point because of this. We can never work our way to forgiveness or become good enough to pay for what we have done in the past and what we continue to do because of our human frailty. But in Christ, there is forgiveness of sin. This forgiveness comes through the death of Jesus on the cross.
God is the hope of all the earth. He is my hope. He can do anything and everything, even care for the land. I do not need to worry. God is the one who keeps this whole planet functioning and He cares for all that is alive on earth. He knows every single bird. He knows the number of hears on our heads. He knows everything about us and loves us just the same. Is there anyone else like our God? No, not one.
God's ways are right. God's ways are loving. Crown us with Your bounty, Lord. Yes, crown us as we strive to follow You. Surely Your cart does overflow.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We are so grateful to have been chosen by You and brought close to You. We are so grateful that even though You are caring for everything n the world, You still have time for us. You have so much abundance and blessings. You are able to provide richly for us. Help us to remember that Your idea of riches and abundance are often different than ours. You are our hope.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Do I believe that God hears prayer? How is my prayer life? How can I improve it?
2. Am I asking God for forgiveness for my sins on a daily basis? Am I feeling overwhelmed or relieved? Can I make a daily list of what I need forgiving from for a week and then commit to praying about these needs?
3. Do I realize that I have been chosen by God? Am I living like a chosen one? How can my life reflect this in a greater way?
4. Do I realize that God is managing and running the whole world? List twenty of the things that God does on a day to day basis in keeping the earth functioning?
5. Do I think about the power of God that is available in my life if He is able to do all the things previously written down? What should I be bringing to Him in prayer if I believe He is truly in charge of everything?
Day 1
Pray for:
One thing I am grateful for about the country that I live in
Thank God for the effect that what I am grateful for has on:
my spiritual life
my physical life
my emotional life
my mental life
Dear Lord - Please open my ears to hear and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 65
"O You who hear prayer, to You all men will come. When we were overwhelmed by sins, You forgave our transgressions, Blessed are those You choose and bring near to live in Your courts! We are filled with the good things of Your house, of Your holy temple. You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas," ( vs. 2-5)
"You care for the land and water it; You enrich it abundantly. ..You crown the year with Your bounty and Your carts overflow with abundance." (vs. 9a ; 11)
We worship "O You who hear prayer." What a good way to describe God. He hears our prayers. He is waiting to hear from us. It is hard sometimes to find a person who can listen to us. Everyone is so busy these days and most people have so many things to deal with already. Yet, God always has time. Even silly little things are not unimportant to Him. I am grateful I can turn to Him and pour out my heart at anytime. I am never alone.
I am grateful that there is more to life than just the physical aspects; the seen. I know there is more, but many people can not get beyond the seen. This does not negate what is true, however. There is a greater truth that does exist and some day we will all know it. Some day, all men will come to God and bow down before Him, acknowledging that He is who the Bible says He is. We are blessed if we have been given the opportunity to know and follow God. He chose us, not the other way around. That should make us eternally grateful; that we were chosen and that we will be filled with all the good things that God has in His house. How grateful I am that He has chosen me now. I am grateful that He picked me. Why? I do not know but I thank Him daily. I truly am blessed.
I am also thankful that God forgives our sins. That is what makes Christianity so different. Many religions teach us how to live and have noble aspects to them but there is always the problem of sin. We have all sinned. We are all separated at some point because of this. We can never work our way to forgiveness or become good enough to pay for what we have done in the past and what we continue to do because of our human frailty. But in Christ, there is forgiveness of sin. This forgiveness comes through the death of Jesus on the cross.
God is the hope of all the earth. He is my hope. He can do anything and everything, even care for the land. I do not need to worry. God is the one who keeps this whole planet functioning and He cares for all that is alive on earth. He knows every single bird. He knows the number of hears on our heads. He knows everything about us and loves us just the same. Is there anyone else like our God? No, not one.
God's ways are right. God's ways are loving. Crown us with Your bounty, Lord. Yes, crown us as we strive to follow You. Surely Your cart does overflow.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We are so grateful to have been chosen by You and brought close to You. We are so grateful that even though You are caring for everything n the world, You still have time for us. You have so much abundance and blessings. You are able to provide richly for us. Help us to remember that Your idea of riches and abundance are often different than ours. You are our hope.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Do I believe that God hears prayer? How is my prayer life? How can I improve it?
2. Am I asking God for forgiveness for my sins on a daily basis? Am I feeling overwhelmed or relieved? Can I make a daily list of what I need forgiving from for a week and then commit to praying about these needs?
3. Do I realize that I have been chosen by God? Am I living like a chosen one? How can my life reflect this in a greater way?
4. Do I realize that God is managing and running the whole world? List twenty of the things that God does on a day to day basis in keeping the earth functioning?
5. Do I think about the power of God that is available in my life if He is able to do all the things previously written down? What should I be bringing to Him in prayer if I believe He is truly in charge of everything?
Thursday, September 16, 2010
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?
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?
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Daily Devotional - 9/11/10 (10/11/09)
Prayer Focus - Family
Day 4
Pray for:
One family member that you feel close to
One family member that you are not close to
One family member that lives far away from you
One family member that lives near you
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 41
"Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the Lord delivers him in times of trouble. The Lord will protect him and preserve his life; He will bless him in the land and not surrender him to the desire of his foes. The Lord will sustain him on his sickbed and restore him from his bed of illness." (vs. 1-3)
We need to have regard for the weak. When I tend to think of "the weak", I tend to think of the elderly or those who are down and out, perhaps those who I might consider to be "struggling" in some manner. As I consider this passage though and go a bit deeper, I am forced to look at what my stereotypes and prejudices are. Who is weak really? Lately, I would have to admit that it is me. I am the one who is "struggling". I am the one who is having trouble with so many things. I do not like to admit that I am weak. I think many of us do not like this. All of our lives we have been building up our walls to protect and guard ourselves so that we will be strong. Often, if we have been terrorized as children, we have built up very high walls so that no one will ever think we are weak again. We feel that our weakness will be used against us because it was in the past. We even begin to look down on anyone we consider open or vulnerable and we feel that displays of emotion are a sign of weakness as well and we dislike them immensely. Because we have been robbed of this ourselves, we resent it in others and it angers us. We become rocks and islands because as Simon and Garfunkel so eloquently put it, "a rock feels no pain, and an island never cries."
But once again, this is not God's way. First of all, we are to rejoice in our sufferings and weaknesses because they allow God to work fully through us (Romans 5:1-5, II Cor 12:8-10). Then we are to see that it is our pride that makes us want to appear strong. God just wants us to be ourselves and He views us as His children. Our children are obviously not as strong as we are. They are weak. God knows we are weak and He wants to take care of us. He even carries us when we can go on no further. I love the story of the footprints that so vividly expresses that sediment of Him carrying us through our most difficult times in life. Finally, God wants us to depend on Him in everything. Then, when we have been strengthened, we are to turn back and help others to be strengthened and comforted as well (Luke 22:31-32).
So I will admit that I am weak and that I also need to have regard for where I am at. I need to get myself strengthened, so that I can in turn strengthen those who need me. That would be my children, my husband, and my students. In many ways, these people are weak and I must view them differently than I have been doing. My children are weak because they are young. I expect so much out of them and often get frustrated by their misbehavior. Much of this is my fault, as I need to be more consistent in my discipline and training of them, but I must also remember that they are children. I must remember the proverb (Proverbs 22:15) that states that "folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drives it far from them."
It is not strange that my children are foolish and morally weak right now. That is a natural part of being a child. I must not take it so personally, and I must also see, therefore, how important it is for me to train and instruct them so that I can help them to out grow it. If I do nothing to help them get rid of the inherent folly in their souls, then I am truly leading them down a path of destruction. As a teacher, I have seen many children that have never been lead away from their natural folly. They fail and fail miserably, even if they are brilliant. Folly must be removed through love and consistent training. I must have regard for these, my children, and help them. I must not get mad but I must train. Both are imperative.
Then there is my husband. He is weak right now because of his illness. I must have regard for him and be there for him more than I ever have. Sometimes it is exhausting to be a caregiver and I am glad for the times when my husband is not that sick. Some people get no respite and it is easy to get overwhelmed and angry at the one who is ill. We must remember if we find ourselves in this position to have regard for the weak. We must find the refreshing and strength we need so that we may be able to go back and give the proper care to our loved ones in the way that will be most beneficial to them.
Finally, I have my students. Many are educationally disadvantaged and many of them have difficult home lives as well that might make them emotionally weak. God has placed me in these students' lives for a reason. I have much to give to them. I have educational skills and learning and most importantly, I have a relationship with God I can share in some way. I need to have regard for each of these children placed in my classes and give them whatever I can to help them grow academically and as individuals as well. They look to me to set them an example and to give them hope in an often hopeless world. Many times I might be the only one believing in them. I must have regard for them and give them my best. I am responsible.
It seems overwhelming when I contemplate all of this, but I love the promises that come with that small statement to have regard for the weak. God will delivers us. The Lord will protect and preserve our lives. God will fill us up so that we can pour out blessings to others (II Cor 9:6-11). The Lord will bless us in the land and will not give us up to our enemies. God will even help our health to be better. So many wonderful promises await us if we can just have regard for the weak. We will in turn be made strong. We can do it. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Phil 4:13). We need to be confident in this and we can be, if we have integrity. Our integrity and obedience to the will of God will enable us. We can be sure of that because God is faithful.
In my integrity, You uphold me and set me in Your presence forever." (vs. 12)
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
Help us to have regard for the weak. We know that at times we are weak and at times we do not want to admit it. Help us to see ourselves correctly and to turn to You for strengthening. We need Your strength so that we can go out and in turn strengthen others. We fail and we are so weak but You are strong. You say that Your power is made perfect in our weakness. Allow Your power to be fully developed in us and help us to have regard for the other people in our lives who are weak in some way. Help us to remember our children and their weaknesses. Help us to be kind and loving despite their failures and help us to train our children so that it will go well for them. They are so precious and such a great responsibility. Help us to keep them a priority in our lives so that we can give them the best we have to offer.
Help us to have regard for our spouses in their weakness and our family members. If any of them are sick, help us to be there for them completely. Often those we should love the most are the most difficult for us. Grant us the strength to do all we ask. Only You can provide us what we need to do what You ask. We run to You, for You can do it. In our integrity, You uphold us. Increase our integrity and our obedience. Help us Lord to have regard for the weak.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Am I weak or strong right now? How do I know?
2. Who are the weak in my life? Am I having regard for them? What would that look like?
3. How am I doing with my children? Am I training them for the future? Am I teaching them about God and His ways beyond taking them to church?
4. How is my relationship with my spouse? Am I having regard for him or her? What are they weak in right now? How can I support them?
5. Am I a person of integrity? Why or why not? What does this mean to me? How can I change so that I will have more integrity?
Day 4
Pray for:
One family member that you feel close to
One family member that you are not close to
One family member that lives far away from you
One family member that lives near you
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 41
"Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the Lord delivers him in times of trouble. The Lord will protect him and preserve his life; He will bless him in the land and not surrender him to the desire of his foes. The Lord will sustain him on his sickbed and restore him from his bed of illness." (vs. 1-3)
We need to have regard for the weak. When I tend to think of "the weak", I tend to think of the elderly or those who are down and out, perhaps those who I might consider to be "struggling" in some manner. As I consider this passage though and go a bit deeper, I am forced to look at what my stereotypes and prejudices are. Who is weak really? Lately, I would have to admit that it is me. I am the one who is "struggling". I am the one who is having trouble with so many things. I do not like to admit that I am weak. I think many of us do not like this. All of our lives we have been building up our walls to protect and guard ourselves so that we will be strong. Often, if we have been terrorized as children, we have built up very high walls so that no one will ever think we are weak again. We feel that our weakness will be used against us because it was in the past. We even begin to look down on anyone we consider open or vulnerable and we feel that displays of emotion are a sign of weakness as well and we dislike them immensely. Because we have been robbed of this ourselves, we resent it in others and it angers us. We become rocks and islands because as Simon and Garfunkel so eloquently put it, "a rock feels no pain, and an island never cries."
But once again, this is not God's way. First of all, we are to rejoice in our sufferings and weaknesses because they allow God to work fully through us (Romans 5:1-5, II Cor 12:8-10). Then we are to see that it is our pride that makes us want to appear strong. God just wants us to be ourselves and He views us as His children. Our children are obviously not as strong as we are. They are weak. God knows we are weak and He wants to take care of us. He even carries us when we can go on no further. I love the story of the footprints that so vividly expresses that sediment of Him carrying us through our most difficult times in life. Finally, God wants us to depend on Him in everything. Then, when we have been strengthened, we are to turn back and help others to be strengthened and comforted as well (Luke 22:31-32).
So I will admit that I am weak and that I also need to have regard for where I am at. I need to get myself strengthened, so that I can in turn strengthen those who need me. That would be my children, my husband, and my students. In many ways, these people are weak and I must view them differently than I have been doing. My children are weak because they are young. I expect so much out of them and often get frustrated by their misbehavior. Much of this is my fault, as I need to be more consistent in my discipline and training of them, but I must also remember that they are children. I must remember the proverb (Proverbs 22:15) that states that "folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drives it far from them."
It is not strange that my children are foolish and morally weak right now. That is a natural part of being a child. I must not take it so personally, and I must also see, therefore, how important it is for me to train and instruct them so that I can help them to out grow it. If I do nothing to help them get rid of the inherent folly in their souls, then I am truly leading them down a path of destruction. As a teacher, I have seen many children that have never been lead away from their natural folly. They fail and fail miserably, even if they are brilliant. Folly must be removed through love and consistent training. I must have regard for these, my children, and help them. I must not get mad but I must train. Both are imperative.
Then there is my husband. He is weak right now because of his illness. I must have regard for him and be there for him more than I ever have. Sometimes it is exhausting to be a caregiver and I am glad for the times when my husband is not that sick. Some people get no respite and it is easy to get overwhelmed and angry at the one who is ill. We must remember if we find ourselves in this position to have regard for the weak. We must find the refreshing and strength we need so that we may be able to go back and give the proper care to our loved ones in the way that will be most beneficial to them.
Finally, I have my students. Many are educationally disadvantaged and many of them have difficult home lives as well that might make them emotionally weak. God has placed me in these students' lives for a reason. I have much to give to them. I have educational skills and learning and most importantly, I have a relationship with God I can share in some way. I need to have regard for each of these children placed in my classes and give them whatever I can to help them grow academically and as individuals as well. They look to me to set them an example and to give them hope in an often hopeless world. Many times I might be the only one believing in them. I must have regard for them and give them my best. I am responsible.
It seems overwhelming when I contemplate all of this, but I love the promises that come with that small statement to have regard for the weak. God will delivers us. The Lord will protect and preserve our lives. God will fill us up so that we can pour out blessings to others (II Cor 9:6-11). The Lord will bless us in the land and will not give us up to our enemies. God will even help our health to be better. So many wonderful promises await us if we can just have regard for the weak. We will in turn be made strong. We can do it. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Phil 4:13). We need to be confident in this and we can be, if we have integrity. Our integrity and obedience to the will of God will enable us. We can be sure of that because God is faithful.
In my integrity, You uphold me and set me in Your presence forever." (vs. 12)
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
Help us to have regard for the weak. We know that at times we are weak and at times we do not want to admit it. Help us to see ourselves correctly and to turn to You for strengthening. We need Your strength so that we can go out and in turn strengthen others. We fail and we are so weak but You are strong. You say that Your power is made perfect in our weakness. Allow Your power to be fully developed in us and help us to have regard for the other people in our lives who are weak in some way. Help us to remember our children and their weaknesses. Help us to be kind and loving despite their failures and help us to train our children so that it will go well for them. They are so precious and such a great responsibility. Help us to keep them a priority in our lives so that we can give them the best we have to offer.
Help us to have regard for our spouses in their weakness and our family members. If any of them are sick, help us to be there for them completely. Often those we should love the most are the most difficult for us. Grant us the strength to do all we ask. Only You can provide us what we need to do what You ask. We run to You, for You can do it. In our integrity, You uphold us. Increase our integrity and our obedience. Help us Lord to have regard for the weak.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Am I weak or strong right now? How do I know?
2. Who are the weak in my life? Am I having regard for them? What would that look like?
3. How am I doing with my children? Am I training them for the future? Am I teaching them about God and His ways beyond taking them to church?
4. How is my relationship with my spouse? Am I having regard for him or her? What are they weak in right now? How can I support them?
5. Am I a person of integrity? Why or why not? What does this mean to me? How can I change so that I will have more integrity?
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Daily Devotional - 9/7/10 (10/7/09)
Prayer Focus - Leaders (any type - World, State, Local, Church, Business, Work)
Day 7
Pray for:
One leader who inspires you
One leader who you know is struggling with something
One leader from another country
One local leader
One political leader
One leader you disagree with
One leader you interact with on a daily basis
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 37
"Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away." (vs. 1-2)
"Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain form anger and turn from wrath; do not fret- it leads only to evil. For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land." (vs. 7-9)
It is okay to not worry. In fact, it is more than okay, it is what is expected of us. This seems so counter intuitive. I almost feel guilty if I am not worrying. "Perhaps I am not being responsible if I give up my worry," I think. There is so much that can go wrong in the world. There is so much that can go wrong in my life, in my children's lives. It is overwhelming to think about every danger and yet I often try to. Thankfully, I do not have to. I can give this up and I must remind myself that I need to do this on a daily basis.
This is not just a suggestion either. This is a command. In several places, I am told - Do not worry. It is very clear. I have been commanded to not worry about anything. Not about my life, what I will eat or drink. Not about my body, what I will wear (Matt 6:25-34). Not about evil men. Not even when they are carrying out their wicked schemes (vs 2). Not even then. I am commanded - Do not worry! The evil men will get what's coming to them. It will happen someday. What about the large global and political issues? What about the global economy or the H1N1 virus? Is God bigger than this new flu? Is God bigger than depression? Bigger than world crises? Yes. He is bigger that even these things. What about evil conspiracies and the evil plots of diabolical men. Even then, I am not to fear or worry. I am to be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him. I am to refrain from anger and turn from wrath. I am to not fret - it leads only to evil. Worrying will not add an hour to my life, rather it will dissipate the energy I have left that could be used to fight. Worry is a large consuming force of Satan's and it has far reaching consequences. I must start viewing it as God does, as a direct affront to Him. It is not a little sin. It is enormous.
"Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." (vs. 3-4)
But it is not enough to just stop worrying. I am to start doing something as well. I am to let go of worry and to grab a hold of doing good. I am supposed to start being proactive, not just sit around worrying. I am to start trusting in God, that He will take care of everything and that He knows the ins and outs of my life. I need to remember that not even a sparrow falls to the earth without Him knowing (Matt 10:28-31). Surely He knows my life and times. Surely, He knows my fears. With my youngest daughter's asthma and various other health issues, such as severe food allergies, I have had to come to trust God over and over again. Even as I write this, she is sick again and I am tempted to worry about the flu and all of the warnings of it striking hardest those with underlying health issues. I have had to come to grips with the fact that a day may come when God may want her back with Him. I have spent many nights in the emergency room with her already in her short five years. I am continually reminded that it is not up to me, and now I deal with my husband as well.
I cannot focus on these things or I will be crippled. There was a time when much less would send me off to bed to sleep til the storm had past. Those days are over. God has used life to mature me and He is continually perfecting the process. I have learned that I need to just focus on doing good. If I sit and worry, I waste the time I do have with those I love. I cannot be godly while in the midst of a worry induced panic. So I need to focus on doing good. I need to dwell in the land. I need to live; to be here in the moment, to be with my children and laugh and play. This is so hard for me. I am so used to worrying. It is almost a comfort to me, like a drink to an alcoholic. If I have my worry, I think I will be okay, but I will not be.
I am to live and enjoy safe pasture. I am to have life, and life to the fullest. That is why Jesus came (John 10:10). Then when I die, my existence will be even better. This is so hard for me to fathom. The afterlife is so unknown. I hope and pray to have the child-like faith of my Joelle, (my youngest), who tells me that she cannot wait to go to heaven so that she will not have asthma anymore and will be able to eat nuts and not react. She talks with such longing for the day she will be there and have her perfect body. She shares this with her little friends at school and she laughs and plays in the meantime. She is not afraid. She is not worried. She is good at living and good at trusting. I love that about her and strive to imitate it. Finally, I am to delight myself in the Lord. I am to get to the point where it truly is all about God and I can let go of the rest. Then and only then can He give me the desires of my heart because then and only then will I use His gifts correctly and my desires will also be what are pleasing to Him.
In the end, if we hope in the Lord, we will inherit the land (vs. 9). The Lord laughs at the wicked for He knows their day is coming (vs. 13). Better the little that the righteous have than evil with money. It is better to be righteous than rich (vs. 16). The power of the wicked will be broken (vs. 17). It may not seem like it now. Evil does seem to rule this old world, but if so, it is only temporary. God wins out in the end and that is what I need to cling on to. In times of disaster, I will not wither or fade (vs. 19). Even in famine, I will be supported and my children protected (vs. 19). For if the Lord delights in me, He will help me and make my ways firm.
I will wait for the Lord and keep His way. There is a future for the man of peace.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord Father,
We want You to delight in us. It is often difficult to know if anyone has ever truly delighted in us, but we would really like that. We want to be special to someone. Father, we know that the righteous are never forsaken. Help us to turn from evil and do good. We know that You will not forsake Your faithful ones. If we hide the law of God is in our hearts, we will not slip. If we are righteous, the Lord will not let us remain under the power of the wicked or be condemned. We are so grateful for You.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Am I a worrier? How is this not trusting God? What specific things do I worry about the most? How can I surrender them to God?
2. Am I an angry person? If so, what is the anger about? How can I let this negative emotion go?
3. Am I living life to the fullest and being "in the moment" or am I hiding behind worry? What promises of God can help me to stop worrying?
4. How can I do good and be proactive with my life. What have I been avoiding because of worry or fear? What can I start doing?
5. Which promises in this psalm encourage me the most? Why? Which are the hardest for me to understand and grasp at a heart level? Why?
Day 7
Pray for:
One leader who inspires you
One leader who you know is struggling with something
One leader from another country
One local leader
One political leader
One leader you disagree with
One leader you interact with on a daily basis
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 37
"Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away." (vs. 1-2)
"Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain form anger and turn from wrath; do not fret- it leads only to evil. For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land." (vs. 7-9)
It is okay to not worry. In fact, it is more than okay, it is what is expected of us. This seems so counter intuitive. I almost feel guilty if I am not worrying. "Perhaps I am not being responsible if I give up my worry," I think. There is so much that can go wrong in the world. There is so much that can go wrong in my life, in my children's lives. It is overwhelming to think about every danger and yet I often try to. Thankfully, I do not have to. I can give this up and I must remind myself that I need to do this on a daily basis.
This is not just a suggestion either. This is a command. In several places, I am told - Do not worry. It is very clear. I have been commanded to not worry about anything. Not about my life, what I will eat or drink. Not about my body, what I will wear (Matt 6:25-34). Not about evil men. Not even when they are carrying out their wicked schemes (vs 2). Not even then. I am commanded - Do not worry! The evil men will get what's coming to them. It will happen someday. What about the large global and political issues? What about the global economy or the H1N1 virus? Is God bigger than this new flu? Is God bigger than depression? Bigger than world crises? Yes. He is bigger that even these things. What about evil conspiracies and the evil plots of diabolical men. Even then, I am not to fear or worry. I am to be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him. I am to refrain from anger and turn from wrath. I am to not fret - it leads only to evil. Worrying will not add an hour to my life, rather it will dissipate the energy I have left that could be used to fight. Worry is a large consuming force of Satan's and it has far reaching consequences. I must start viewing it as God does, as a direct affront to Him. It is not a little sin. It is enormous.
"Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." (vs. 3-4)
But it is not enough to just stop worrying. I am to start doing something as well. I am to let go of worry and to grab a hold of doing good. I am supposed to start being proactive, not just sit around worrying. I am to start trusting in God, that He will take care of everything and that He knows the ins and outs of my life. I need to remember that not even a sparrow falls to the earth without Him knowing (Matt 10:28-31). Surely He knows my life and times. Surely, He knows my fears. With my youngest daughter's asthma and various other health issues, such as severe food allergies, I have had to come to trust God over and over again. Even as I write this, she is sick again and I am tempted to worry about the flu and all of the warnings of it striking hardest those with underlying health issues. I have had to come to grips with the fact that a day may come when God may want her back with Him. I have spent many nights in the emergency room with her already in her short five years. I am continually reminded that it is not up to me, and now I deal with my husband as well.
I cannot focus on these things or I will be crippled. There was a time when much less would send me off to bed to sleep til the storm had past. Those days are over. God has used life to mature me and He is continually perfecting the process. I have learned that I need to just focus on doing good. If I sit and worry, I waste the time I do have with those I love. I cannot be godly while in the midst of a worry induced panic. So I need to focus on doing good. I need to dwell in the land. I need to live; to be here in the moment, to be with my children and laugh and play. This is so hard for me. I am so used to worrying. It is almost a comfort to me, like a drink to an alcoholic. If I have my worry, I think I will be okay, but I will not be.
I am to live and enjoy safe pasture. I am to have life, and life to the fullest. That is why Jesus came (John 10:10). Then when I die, my existence will be even better. This is so hard for me to fathom. The afterlife is so unknown. I hope and pray to have the child-like faith of my Joelle, (my youngest), who tells me that she cannot wait to go to heaven so that she will not have asthma anymore and will be able to eat nuts and not react. She talks with such longing for the day she will be there and have her perfect body. She shares this with her little friends at school and she laughs and plays in the meantime. She is not afraid. She is not worried. She is good at living and good at trusting. I love that about her and strive to imitate it. Finally, I am to delight myself in the Lord. I am to get to the point where it truly is all about God and I can let go of the rest. Then and only then can He give me the desires of my heart because then and only then will I use His gifts correctly and my desires will also be what are pleasing to Him.
In the end, if we hope in the Lord, we will inherit the land (vs. 9). The Lord laughs at the wicked for He knows their day is coming (vs. 13). Better the little that the righteous have than evil with money. It is better to be righteous than rich (vs. 16). The power of the wicked will be broken (vs. 17). It may not seem like it now. Evil does seem to rule this old world, but if so, it is only temporary. God wins out in the end and that is what I need to cling on to. In times of disaster, I will not wither or fade (vs. 19). Even in famine, I will be supported and my children protected (vs. 19). For if the Lord delights in me, He will help me and make my ways firm.
I will wait for the Lord and keep His way. There is a future for the man of peace.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord Father,
We want You to delight in us. It is often difficult to know if anyone has ever truly delighted in us, but we would really like that. We want to be special to someone. Father, we know that the righteous are never forsaken. Help us to turn from evil and do good. We know that You will not forsake Your faithful ones. If we hide the law of God is in our hearts, we will not slip. If we are righteous, the Lord will not let us remain under the power of the wicked or be condemned. We are so grateful for You.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Am I a worrier? How is this not trusting God? What specific things do I worry about the most? How can I surrender them to God?
2. Am I an angry person? If so, what is the anger about? How can I let this negative emotion go?
3. Am I living life to the fullest and being "in the moment" or am I hiding behind worry? What promises of God can help me to stop worrying?
4. How can I do good and be proactive with my life. What have I been avoiding because of worry or fear? What can I start doing?
5. Which promises in this psalm encourage me the most? Why? Which are the hardest for me to understand and grasp at a heart level? Why?
Monday, September 6, 2010
Daily Devotional - 9/6/10 (10/6/09)
Prayer Focus - Leaders (any type - World, State, Local, Church, Business, Work)
Day 6
Pray for:
One leader who inspires you
One leader who you know is struggling with something
One leader from another country
One local leader
One political leader
One leader you disagree with
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 36
"An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes. For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin." (vs. 1-2)
Without the fear of God, we get into a lot of trouble. I believe that is partly why the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7, 9:10, Psalms 111:10). Without it, we get puffed up and think that we are something special. We are special to God, but not for anything we have done. Like a precious child, God loves us because we are His creations. We can never be good enough or earn God's love. It just is. It is so important that we keep in perspective the fleeting nature of our lives and the inability we have to control the workings of the world and time and chance. We are so minuscule and yet so often we presume to be kings and queens. We presume to be able to rule over our lives. We flatter ourselves too much and can not take a good look at ourselves and our need anymore. When we start on this path, it is leading us to our downfall. We must continually work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12-13). That is what God wants. He does not want us groveling on the ground but He wants us, like humble children, to acknowledge our need for Him. He wants us to draw close to Him so that He can take care of us like a father would his child. Consider these passages:
"Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the skies...How priceless is Your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They feast on the abundance of Your house; You give them drink from Your river of delights. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light. Continue Your love to those who know You, Your righteousness to the upright in heart." (vs. 5, 7-10)
God's love is priceless. His justice is amazing. We are all the same and equal in the eyes of God; the rich and poor, alike, will fall at the feet of the Lord someday and praise Him. In the present also, we are all to find shelter in the shadow of His wings. We are to run to Him as chicks run to hide under the wings of their mother. His care for us is immense. We can feast on the abundance of His house. We may be struggling now, but God has abundance. We can feast on it, if we find refuge in Him and maintain our fear of the Lord. We can also drink from His river of delight. We all like to be delighted. God has a whole river awaiting us. With Him is also the fountain of life. It springs up for us to drink from. Finally, in His light we see light. We do not have to go blindly about our days anymore. We can see because the Lord will light our path and show us which way to go. God will continue His love for us, but is up to us to remain in it (John 15:10).
Daily Prayer
Dear Lord,
Continue Your love and Your righteous to us. Help us to fear You because we know that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. We know that You want to take care of us and pull us under Your wing so that You can comfort us. Help us to number our days right so that we realize that we do not have long here and that we need to take advantage of it. We don't want to be swept along with the evildoers. We want to rise up and be a comfort to others. We know how the evildoers will lie fallen, thrown down, not able to rise. Keep us from this fate and help us to stay focused on You.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Do I fear God? What does that mean to me? If I do not like this idea, why not?
2. Am I willing to look at the sin in my life? Am I willing to hate it? Why or why not? How can looking at my sin help me? How can hating my sin help me?
3. How can I draw close to God? Who do I have that can help me to do this?
4. What does it mean to me that God has a house of abundance, a river of delight, and a fountain of life available to me? How can this encourage me?
5. What have I received from God so far in my life? What qualities about myself do I like? How are these gifts from God? Do I look at all of the good things in my life as gifts from God? Why or why not?
Day 6
Pray for:
One leader who inspires you
One leader who you know is struggling with something
One leader from another country
One local leader
One political leader
One leader you disagree with
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 36
"An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes. For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin." (vs. 1-2)
Without the fear of God, we get into a lot of trouble. I believe that is partly why the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7, 9:10, Psalms 111:10). Without it, we get puffed up and think that we are something special. We are special to God, but not for anything we have done. Like a precious child, God loves us because we are His creations. We can never be good enough or earn God's love. It just is. It is so important that we keep in perspective the fleeting nature of our lives and the inability we have to control the workings of the world and time and chance. We are so minuscule and yet so often we presume to be kings and queens. We presume to be able to rule over our lives. We flatter ourselves too much and can not take a good look at ourselves and our need anymore. When we start on this path, it is leading us to our downfall. We must continually work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12-13). That is what God wants. He does not want us groveling on the ground but He wants us, like humble children, to acknowledge our need for Him. He wants us to draw close to Him so that He can take care of us like a father would his child. Consider these passages:
"Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the skies...How priceless is Your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They feast on the abundance of Your house; You give them drink from Your river of delights. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light. Continue Your love to those who know You, Your righteousness to the upright in heart." (vs. 5, 7-10)
God's love is priceless. His justice is amazing. We are all the same and equal in the eyes of God; the rich and poor, alike, will fall at the feet of the Lord someday and praise Him. In the present also, we are all to find shelter in the shadow of His wings. We are to run to Him as chicks run to hide under the wings of their mother. His care for us is immense. We can feast on the abundance of His house. We may be struggling now, but God has abundance. We can feast on it, if we find refuge in Him and maintain our fear of the Lord. We can also drink from His river of delight. We all like to be delighted. God has a whole river awaiting us. With Him is also the fountain of life. It springs up for us to drink from. Finally, in His light we see light. We do not have to go blindly about our days anymore. We can see because the Lord will light our path and show us which way to go. God will continue His love for us, but is up to us to remain in it (John 15:10).
Daily Prayer
Dear Lord,
Continue Your love and Your righteous to us. Help us to fear You because we know that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. We know that You want to take care of us and pull us under Your wing so that You can comfort us. Help us to number our days right so that we realize that we do not have long here and that we need to take advantage of it. We don't want to be swept along with the evildoers. We want to rise up and be a comfort to others. We know how the evildoers will lie fallen, thrown down, not able to rise. Keep us from this fate and help us to stay focused on You.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Do I fear God? What does that mean to me? If I do not like this idea, why not?
2. Am I willing to look at the sin in my life? Am I willing to hate it? Why or why not? How can looking at my sin help me? How can hating my sin help me?
3. How can I draw close to God? Who do I have that can help me to do this?
4. What does it mean to me that God has a house of abundance, a river of delight, and a fountain of life available to me? How can this encourage me?
5. What have I received from God so far in my life? What qualities about myself do I like? How are these gifts from God? Do I look at all of the good things in my life as gifts from God? Why or why not?
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Daily Devotional - 9/4/10 (10/4/09)
Prayer Focus - Leaders (any type - World, State, Local, Church, Business, Work)
Day 4
Pray for:
One leader who inspires you
One leader who you know is struggling with something
One leader from another country
One local leader
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 34
"I will extol the lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together." (vs. 1)
This is an amazing psalm and even more amazing if we consider who wrote it and when. This is one of David's psalms, written when he has to flee before his son who has overthrown him (II Sam 15). In the midst of all of this, David is praising God and calling others to do the same. He does not want anyone's sympathy. He only wants to praise and boast in the Lord. He does not feel forgotten by God. He explains that the Lord is with him and always will be; things will be alright with him and he will lack nothing. It is hard to fathom the depths of his relationship with God that allows him to feel as he does. It is surely something for all of us to strive after. Then we will be able to be men and women after God's own heart and will be able to help transform the lives of others as well.
David was not new to trouble. It seems that his life had more than one man's share. Some of it was brought about by his sin and some of it was used to train him to become the great man he eventually was. Because of this, he was able to impact others in incredible ways. In I Samuel 22:1-2, David flees from Saul who is trying to kill him. As he flees, he gathers quite a crowd of followers. "All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him. (I Sam 22: 2)" In the Message Bible, it calls them "all who were down on their luck - losers and vagrants and misfits of all sorts." This crowd is transformed by their time with David because in II Samuel 23:8-39, these men are now referred to as David's Mighty Men and their exploits are phenomenal. How did they become these mighty men? I am sure it is because David taught them how to take hold of their thoughts and turn them around; focusing them on God and His power.
I am completely convinced that most of our battles are in our minds. That is why the Bible, and especially the Psalms are filled with the advice and admonition for us to praise God, to think on what is good. My mind is the key to most of my days. This weekend was a very negative time for me, but nothing in my life was different. What was different was my thought life. I noticed that everything I thought and the words from my mouth were not positive. I walked around grumpy, looked at all of the problems, felt totally overwhelmed, and eventually lost my cool. I was not taking captive every thought (II Cor 10:5). I was giving in to self pity and I was losing sight of the many victories in my life and the great ways that God was working. David has the best advice for me and all of us when we begin to get down and negative. He encourages us as I am sure he did his men on a daily basis - "let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together." He calls us even today. Whether we are afflicted or not, at all times he tells us - extol, praise, rejoice. Tell of His greatness. Boast in the Lord. If you have problems? Rejoice! If I have problems? Rejoice! Glorify God and exalt His name. Get out of ourselves!! Get our eyes back on God. Seek God and He will deliver us. He has delivered us from all of our fears!! If we look to God, we will be radiant; our faces never covered with shame.
"The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all." (vs. 17-19)
God hears the righteous. God delivers. We don't have to start out being righteous. David's mighty men did not start out mighty, but we need to become what God wants us to be. God is close to the brokenhearted and crushed in spirit. Those men were surely crushed and defeated but they were transformed by David's continual effort to get them focused back on God and praise. He helped them become better by changing their thought life. We do not have to stay down and negative. We do not have to stay brokenhearted and crushed, even if the weight is overwhelming. Nothing is too big for God to solve. We just need to allow our minds to be transformed. As the scripture says, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)
I have felt God's comfort. I have seen the care He is giving us. He does save the crushed. If we want to hang onto our faith, we can. It is my choice because I am in control of my thoughts and what I dwell on. Negative thoughts may come in but I am to take them captive and get rid of them. I am to meditate on God's word, and I am to treasure it in my heart so I will not sin against Him (Psalm 119:11) In this world, I will have trouble. Perhaps even many troubles, but the Lord can deliver me from them all.
What great promises for me to dwell on. I will fear the Lord so that I will lack nothing (vs. 9). I will remember that the angel of "the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them (vs. 6b-7)." I will dwell on the fact the "The lions may grow weak and hungry but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing (vs. 10)" Finally, I will remember that "The Lord redeems His servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in Him." (vs. 22)
Come, let us praise God together, and let us be transformed.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We long to be transformed like David's mighty men. Help us to change our thinking and our mindset. We want to focus on You and not the troubles around us. Keep our eyes focused upward. You are great and Your promises are comforting. We want to seek You and be found pleasing in Your sight. Strengthen us where we are weak and make us pleasing to You.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Would I consider myself a positive or negative person? Why? How can I work on my thought life to make it more pleasing to God?
2. What is my thought life like when I find myself struggling with sin? Is there a correlation between my thoughts and my actions? If yes, how can I change my thoughts to keep myself from sinning?
3. What is the pattern of this world? Am I conforming to it? How am I doing this? What can I change?
4. Am I allowing myself to be transformed into a mighty man/woman for God? How can I do this? Who can help me in this process?
5. Do I feel weak or strong? If I feel weak, am I relying on God? Am I truly seeking Him with all my heart? How can I change?
Day 4
Pray for:
One leader who inspires you
One leader who you know is struggling with something
One leader from another country
One local leader
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 34
"I will extol the lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together." (vs. 1)
This is an amazing psalm and even more amazing if we consider who wrote it and when. This is one of David's psalms, written when he has to flee before his son who has overthrown him (II Sam 15). In the midst of all of this, David is praising God and calling others to do the same. He does not want anyone's sympathy. He only wants to praise and boast in the Lord. He does not feel forgotten by God. He explains that the Lord is with him and always will be; things will be alright with him and he will lack nothing. It is hard to fathom the depths of his relationship with God that allows him to feel as he does. It is surely something for all of us to strive after. Then we will be able to be men and women after God's own heart and will be able to help transform the lives of others as well.
David was not new to trouble. It seems that his life had more than one man's share. Some of it was brought about by his sin and some of it was used to train him to become the great man he eventually was. Because of this, he was able to impact others in incredible ways. In I Samuel 22:1-2, David flees from Saul who is trying to kill him. As he flees, he gathers quite a crowd of followers. "All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him. (I Sam 22: 2)" In the Message Bible, it calls them "all who were down on their luck - losers and vagrants and misfits of all sorts." This crowd is transformed by their time with David because in II Samuel 23:8-39, these men are now referred to as David's Mighty Men and their exploits are phenomenal. How did they become these mighty men? I am sure it is because David taught them how to take hold of their thoughts and turn them around; focusing them on God and His power.
I am completely convinced that most of our battles are in our minds. That is why the Bible, and especially the Psalms are filled with the advice and admonition for us to praise God, to think on what is good. My mind is the key to most of my days. This weekend was a very negative time for me, but nothing in my life was different. What was different was my thought life. I noticed that everything I thought and the words from my mouth were not positive. I walked around grumpy, looked at all of the problems, felt totally overwhelmed, and eventually lost my cool. I was not taking captive every thought (II Cor 10:5). I was giving in to self pity and I was losing sight of the many victories in my life and the great ways that God was working. David has the best advice for me and all of us when we begin to get down and negative. He encourages us as I am sure he did his men on a daily basis - "let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together." He calls us even today. Whether we are afflicted or not, at all times he tells us - extol, praise, rejoice. Tell of His greatness. Boast in the Lord. If you have problems? Rejoice! If I have problems? Rejoice! Glorify God and exalt His name. Get out of ourselves!! Get our eyes back on God. Seek God and He will deliver us. He has delivered us from all of our fears!! If we look to God, we will be radiant; our faces never covered with shame.
"The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all." (vs. 17-19)
God hears the righteous. God delivers. We don't have to start out being righteous. David's mighty men did not start out mighty, but we need to become what God wants us to be. God is close to the brokenhearted and crushed in spirit. Those men were surely crushed and defeated but they were transformed by David's continual effort to get them focused back on God and praise. He helped them become better by changing their thought life. We do not have to stay down and negative. We do not have to stay brokenhearted and crushed, even if the weight is overwhelming. Nothing is too big for God to solve. We just need to allow our minds to be transformed. As the scripture says, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)
I have felt God's comfort. I have seen the care He is giving us. He does save the crushed. If we want to hang onto our faith, we can. It is my choice because I am in control of my thoughts and what I dwell on. Negative thoughts may come in but I am to take them captive and get rid of them. I am to meditate on God's word, and I am to treasure it in my heart so I will not sin against Him (Psalm 119:11) In this world, I will have trouble. Perhaps even many troubles, but the Lord can deliver me from them all.
What great promises for me to dwell on. I will fear the Lord so that I will lack nothing (vs. 9). I will remember that the angel of "the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them (vs. 6b-7)." I will dwell on the fact the "The lions may grow weak and hungry but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing (vs. 10)" Finally, I will remember that "The Lord redeems His servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in Him." (vs. 22)
Come, let us praise God together, and let us be transformed.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We long to be transformed like David's mighty men. Help us to change our thinking and our mindset. We want to focus on You and not the troubles around us. Keep our eyes focused upward. You are great and Your promises are comforting. We want to seek You and be found pleasing in Your sight. Strengthen us where we are weak and make us pleasing to You.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Would I consider myself a positive or negative person? Why? How can I work on my thought life to make it more pleasing to God?
2. What is my thought life like when I find myself struggling with sin? Is there a correlation between my thoughts and my actions? If yes, how can I change my thoughts to keep myself from sinning?
3. What is the pattern of this world? Am I conforming to it? How am I doing this? What can I change?
4. Am I allowing myself to be transformed into a mighty man/woman for God? How can I do this? Who can help me in this process?
5. Do I feel weak or strong? If I feel weak, am I relying on God? Am I truly seeking Him with all my heart? How can I change?
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Daily Devotional - 9/2/10 (10/2/09)
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
Pray about:
Their physical needs
Their mental needs
Their emotional needs
Their spiritual needs
Dear Lord - Open my ears to hear You and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 32
"Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not cover up my iniquity. I said,' I will confess my transgressions to the Lord' - and You forgave the guilt of my sin." (vs. 1-5)
We all want to be blessed. Here are some keys for us to consider. We are blessed if we are forgiven. We are blessed if we have no deceit. Why is this? First of all, we can be right with God and have a relationship with Him now and after death. But secondly, and quite relevant while we are here on earth, we can walk with out fear and guilt. It is a terrible state to be in when there is something we are hiding. The psalmist writes that when he was silent his bones wasted away and he groaned night and day. He was miserable. That is how undealt with sin affects us. We can think that eventually we will forget, but we are still haunted. Only when we get things out can we feel that light free feeling that comes with a transparent life. It is a truly blessed feeling. I have been in both places. I know. We need to be open channels for God's love to flow through us. There is so much that needs to be done in this world, that we just can't let sin, clutter, confusion, and disorder of any kind block us and stop us up. We will lose the strength and power that is available to us. We will miss the opportunities that God has in store for us. We need to just open up our lives and then call out to God to search us and heal us.
"Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to You while You may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in Him." (vs. 6-9)
We do this by confessing and then by going to God in prayer. We can't wait. We must pray while God can be found. There are opportunities when God is calling us and we can miss them. People miss out on God and eventually our hearts can get so hardened to everything that it will be almost impossible for us to change. Unfortunately, there are deadlines in life. Whether or not we want them to exist, they do. Thank God, however, that we can hide in Him. We don't have to run and hide somewhere when we are feeling guilty. We can go to Him because He is much better place to hide than any real physical place. God will protect us and restore us. He will make us into someone incredible if we let Him. He created us for great and glorious things and He will teach us and show us the way to go. He will counsel us and watch over us.
There is a catch to these incredible promises though. We have to receive His direction. We need to not be like an animal who has to be forced to go where its master wants it to go. God is longing for us to follow willingly. Our attitude should be, "I will do it!" Let's not force God anymore. The road is much easier for us when we are not rebellious. The way of the rebellious is hard the Bible states elsewhere, but unfailing love surrounds us if we trust in God.
"Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!" (vs. 11)
If I am righteous and upright in my heart, I will be able to do this. I will rejoice and be glad. I will be able to see beauty in everything. This is God's world. Despite the sadness and difficulties, it still is good, and there is always hope.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We are grateful for Your forgiveness. Help us not to be deceitful. We are praying. Help us to pray more. We want to find You. You are our hiding place and it is good to be able to run to You. We do not want to run away any longer. Grant us the strength to face where we have gone wrong and turn to You. We need You and we long for Your unfailing love. We will rejoice in You for You are good.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. How am I deceitful? How can I become honest in all my ways?
2. Is there anything blocking the flow of God's love and communication through me? If so, how can I get rid of it?
3. Am I praying about my needs and the needs of others regularly? Why or why not? How can I get in the practice of praying for others on a regular basis?
4. How am I doing at receiving God's instruction? Am I willing to learn or am I like an animal that needs a bit and bridle in my mouth to force me to obey? Why am I like this and what results am I gaining from my attitude towards instruction?
5. Am I rejoicing daily? What is my attitude about life? Have I let undealt with sin make me bitter? How can I change and start seeing the beauty that God intended for us in the world?
Pray for:
One leader who inspires you
One leader who you know is struggling with something
Pray about:
Their physical needs
Their mental needs
Their emotional needs
Their spiritual needs
Dear Lord - Open my ears to hear You and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 32
"Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not cover up my iniquity. I said,' I will confess my transgressions to the Lord' - and You forgave the guilt of my sin." (vs. 1-5)
We all want to be blessed. Here are some keys for us to consider. We are blessed if we are forgiven. We are blessed if we have no deceit. Why is this? First of all, we can be right with God and have a relationship with Him now and after death. But secondly, and quite relevant while we are here on earth, we can walk with out fear and guilt. It is a terrible state to be in when there is something we are hiding. The psalmist writes that when he was silent his bones wasted away and he groaned night and day. He was miserable. That is how undealt with sin affects us. We can think that eventually we will forget, but we are still haunted. Only when we get things out can we feel that light free feeling that comes with a transparent life. It is a truly blessed feeling. I have been in both places. I know. We need to be open channels for God's love to flow through us. There is so much that needs to be done in this world, that we just can't let sin, clutter, confusion, and disorder of any kind block us and stop us up. We will lose the strength and power that is available to us. We will miss the opportunities that God has in store for us. We need to just open up our lives and then call out to God to search us and heal us.
"Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to You while You may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in Him." (vs. 6-9)
We do this by confessing and then by going to God in prayer. We can't wait. We must pray while God can be found. There are opportunities when God is calling us and we can miss them. People miss out on God and eventually our hearts can get so hardened to everything that it will be almost impossible for us to change. Unfortunately, there are deadlines in life. Whether or not we want them to exist, they do. Thank God, however, that we can hide in Him. We don't have to run and hide somewhere when we are feeling guilty. We can go to Him because He is much better place to hide than any real physical place. God will protect us and restore us. He will make us into someone incredible if we let Him. He created us for great and glorious things and He will teach us and show us the way to go. He will counsel us and watch over us.
There is a catch to these incredible promises though. We have to receive His direction. We need to not be like an animal who has to be forced to go where its master wants it to go. God is longing for us to follow willingly. Our attitude should be, "I will do it!" Let's not force God anymore. The road is much easier for us when we are not rebellious. The way of the rebellious is hard the Bible states elsewhere, but unfailing love surrounds us if we trust in God.
"Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!" (vs. 11)
If I am righteous and upright in my heart, I will be able to do this. I will rejoice and be glad. I will be able to see beauty in everything. This is God's world. Despite the sadness and difficulties, it still is good, and there is always hope.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We are grateful for Your forgiveness. Help us not to be deceitful. We are praying. Help us to pray more. We want to find You. You are our hiding place and it is good to be able to run to You. We do not want to run away any longer. Grant us the strength to face where we have gone wrong and turn to You. We need You and we long for Your unfailing love. We will rejoice in You for You are good.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. How am I deceitful? How can I become honest in all my ways?
2. Is there anything blocking the flow of God's love and communication through me? If so, how can I get rid of it?
3. Am I praying about my needs and the needs of others regularly? Why or why not? How can I get in the practice of praying for others on a regular basis?
4. How am I doing at receiving God's instruction? Am I willing to learn or am I like an animal that needs a bit and bridle in my mouth to force me to obey? Why am I like this and what results am I gaining from my attitude towards instruction?
5. Am I rejoicing daily? What is my attitude about life? Have I let undealt with sin make me bitter? How can I change and start seeing the beauty that God intended for us in the world?
Monday, August 30, 2010
Daily Devotional - 8/27/10 (9/27/09)
Prayer Focus - 7's
Pray for:
Seven things you are grateful for
Seven people who need your prayers
Seven places you care about
Seven characteristics that you want to grow in
Seven characteristics/ habits that you want to get rid of
Dear Lord - Thank You for always speaking to me. Help me to hear You today and as always, grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 27
"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." (vs. 14)
I am waiting. I am trying to be strong. I am trying to take heart. I feel so on edge. My emotions raw. It is so hard to wait in patience. When I think of all that I have to do, it is overwhelming. I lose any calm I have mustered. I cannot think of tomorrow. I must just live. One step ahead; one step. I am waiting and walking. I am not thinking about tomorrow. It will think about itself. I will write my writing. I will lie down to sleep and I will wake again. I will get in my car and drive to work. I will work. I will deal with 200+ children and drive home to deal with three more and a sick husband and a messy house. I am not thinking, although I am. I will just wait. I will be strong. I will take heart.
I will wait for each moment to come and I will deal with it. I fail when I think ahead. I failed today as I thought about tomorrow. I became irritable and disheartened. "I cannot do this," I thought and of course I cannot, but God can. All I have to do is wait and in the meantime do what has to be done as God would have me. I must be strong. My children depend on that. I am demonstrating Jesus to them. If I am not strong, what will they think? I must be strong. My husband depends on that. If I fall apart, what hope does he have?
And I am taking heart because I have the promises in this psalm. God will not forsake me. Even if my parents could, He would not. And I have tomorrow with all the newness it holds. I have a fresh start. I have 200+ eager faces with lives of promise that I have been blessed to contribute to. I have a way to make money to pay my bills. I have good health insurance. Amen to that. I have beautiful children waiting to be taught about God; waiting to see His truths lived out in my life. I have a husband who is recovering quickly and who has determination to fight for his life. I have forgiveness for the failures of today. It is all a matter of my perspective. I am taking heart.
"I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." (vs. 13)
I will see God's goodness. I will see it here. In the meantime, I have work to do. I will do it. I will go and walk and take one moment at a time and I will wait on the Lord.
"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." (vs. 14)
Verses of Encouragement from Psalm 27:
"The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?" (vs. 1)
"Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident." (vs. 3)
"For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle and set me high upon a rock." (vs. 5)
"Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me." (vs. 10)
"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." (vs. 14)
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We are grateful that You are strong when we are not. We feel as if an army is against us sometimes and yet even then we do not need to be afraid. It is so difficult to live by faith in this world. Help us to keep our eyes on the unseen. We know and rely on You. We are waiting on You and living today for You. Grant us renewed strength each morning. You are good.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Am I waiting for God or am I trying to take things into my own hands? How do I know? How can I do a better job of waiting?
2. In what ways do I need to be strong right now? Who is depending on me? If I am not strong, how will it affect them?
3. How can I look at the difficulties in my life in a positive way? How does my perspective on life affect my feelings and my actions during the day?
4. Am I letting fear and worry keep me from doing the work and the activities I know I should be doing? How can I be more consistent in my follow through and obedience?
5. Have people in my life forsaken me or let me down? How has this affected me and how does it affect my relationship with God? Do I feel that God has ever forsaken or let me down? Why? Did He really or could there be another explanation for what happened?
Pray for:
Seven things you are grateful for
Seven people who need your prayers
Seven places you care about
Seven characteristics that you want to grow in
Seven characteristics/ habits that you want to get rid of
Dear Lord - Thank You for always speaking to me. Help me to hear You today and as always, grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 27
"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." (vs. 14)
I am waiting. I am trying to be strong. I am trying to take heart. I feel so on edge. My emotions raw. It is so hard to wait in patience. When I think of all that I have to do, it is overwhelming. I lose any calm I have mustered. I cannot think of tomorrow. I must just live. One step ahead; one step. I am waiting and walking. I am not thinking about tomorrow. It will think about itself. I will write my writing. I will lie down to sleep and I will wake again. I will get in my car and drive to work. I will work. I will deal with 200+ children and drive home to deal with three more and a sick husband and a messy house. I am not thinking, although I am. I will just wait. I will be strong. I will take heart.
I will wait for each moment to come and I will deal with it. I fail when I think ahead. I failed today as I thought about tomorrow. I became irritable and disheartened. "I cannot do this," I thought and of course I cannot, but God can. All I have to do is wait and in the meantime do what has to be done as God would have me. I must be strong. My children depend on that. I am demonstrating Jesus to them. If I am not strong, what will they think? I must be strong. My husband depends on that. If I fall apart, what hope does he have?
And I am taking heart because I have the promises in this psalm. God will not forsake me. Even if my parents could, He would not. And I have tomorrow with all the newness it holds. I have a fresh start. I have 200+ eager faces with lives of promise that I have been blessed to contribute to. I have a way to make money to pay my bills. I have good health insurance. Amen to that. I have beautiful children waiting to be taught about God; waiting to see His truths lived out in my life. I have a husband who is recovering quickly and who has determination to fight for his life. I have forgiveness for the failures of today. It is all a matter of my perspective. I am taking heart.
"I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." (vs. 13)
I will see God's goodness. I will see it here. In the meantime, I have work to do. I will do it. I will go and walk and take one moment at a time and I will wait on the Lord.
"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." (vs. 14)
Verses of Encouragement from Psalm 27:
"The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?" (vs. 1)
"Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident." (vs. 3)
"For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle and set me high upon a rock." (vs. 5)
"Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me." (vs. 10)
"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." (vs. 14)
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We are grateful that You are strong when we are not. We feel as if an army is against us sometimes and yet even then we do not need to be afraid. It is so difficult to live by faith in this world. Help us to keep our eyes on the unseen. We know and rely on You. We are waiting on You and living today for You. Grant us renewed strength each morning. You are good.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Am I waiting for God or am I trying to take things into my own hands? How do I know? How can I do a better job of waiting?
2. In what ways do I need to be strong right now? Who is depending on me? If I am not strong, how will it affect them?
3. How can I look at the difficulties in my life in a positive way? How does my perspective on life affect my feelings and my actions during the day?
4. Am I letting fear and worry keep me from doing the work and the activities I know I should be doing? How can I be more consistent in my follow through and obedience?
5. Have people in my life forsaken me or let me down? How has this affected me and how does it affect my relationship with God? Do I feel that God has ever forsaken or let me down? Why? Did He really or could there be another explanation for what happened?
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Daily Devotional - 8/25/10 (9/25/09)
Focus Letter - Y
Pray for:
Five things that 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 to grow in that begins with the focus letter
Dear Lord - Open my ears to hear Your will and grant me the strength to obey it.
Psalms 25
"No one whose hope is in You will ever be put to shame" (vs. 3)
"You are God my Savior and my hope is in You all day long." (vs. 5b)
"According to Your love remember me, for You are good, O Lord." (vs. 7b)
"Good and upright is the Lord" (vs. 8a)
"All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of His covenant." (vs. 10)
"The Lord confides in those who fear Him; He makes His covenant known to them." (vs. 14)
"My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only He will release my feet from the snare." (vs. 15)
"Guard my life and rescue me; let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in You." (vs. 20)
"May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in You." (vs. 21)
9/25/09
I am tired and discouraged tonight. It has been such a long week and I am exhausted. I am encouraged by these promises. I can look to them when I am downhearted. All of God's ways are loving. He is refining my faith so that I will remain faithful. I am being forged into something useful through the fires of cancer. God will guard and rescue me. Whatever happens, He will not abandon me. I will be taken care of because God is good. I will go to sleep tonight and awake to a new day; a fresh start and a new hope. All things are possible with God. He will comfort me in the morning.
8/25/10
Tonight as I prepare to go back to work on Monday, I am feeling tired. It has been a long week and I am exhausted. Things don't change much, do they? We go through the same emotions even though the circumstances may change. It is good to know that God, at least, is consistent. His promises never do fail and His mercy is new every morning. "I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." (Ps. 4:8)
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
Thank You for Your promises. We are so grateful because You are always consistent and good. We struggle with many things and get worn out but You do not even need to slumber or sleep. You are always watching and waiting. We cling to You as we deal with change and circumstances. You are our Rock.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. How can all of God's ways be loving? Do I really believe that? How do I know?
2. Am I keeping the demands of His covenant so His ways can truly be good and loving to me?
3. How does God confide in me? Do I sense Him doing this? If not, am I fearing Him and what does that mean?
4. Is my integrity and uprightness guarding me? Am I falling short in either of these areas? What can I change?
5. What things trip me up, like a snare around my feet? How do I get out of the situation/problem. How will fixing my eyes on God help me get out/stay out of trouble
Pray for:
Five things that 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 to grow in that begins with the focus letter
Dear Lord - Open my ears to hear Your will and grant me the strength to obey it.
Psalms 25
"No one whose hope is in You will ever be put to shame" (vs. 3)
"You are God my Savior and my hope is in You all day long." (vs. 5b)
"According to Your love remember me, for You are good, O Lord." (vs. 7b)
"Good and upright is the Lord" (vs. 8a)
"All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of His covenant." (vs. 10)
"The Lord confides in those who fear Him; He makes His covenant known to them." (vs. 14)
"My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only He will release my feet from the snare." (vs. 15)
"Guard my life and rescue me; let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in You." (vs. 20)
"May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in You." (vs. 21)
9/25/09
I am tired and discouraged tonight. It has been such a long week and I am exhausted. I am encouraged by these promises. I can look to them when I am downhearted. All of God's ways are loving. He is refining my faith so that I will remain faithful. I am being forged into something useful through the fires of cancer. God will guard and rescue me. Whatever happens, He will not abandon me. I will be taken care of because God is good. I will go to sleep tonight and awake to a new day; a fresh start and a new hope. All things are possible with God. He will comfort me in the morning.
8/25/10
Tonight as I prepare to go back to work on Monday, I am feeling tired. It has been a long week and I am exhausted. Things don't change much, do they? We go through the same emotions even though the circumstances may change. It is good to know that God, at least, is consistent. His promises never do fail and His mercy is new every morning. "I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." (Ps. 4:8)
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
Thank You for Your promises. We are so grateful because You are always consistent and good. We struggle with many things and get worn out but You do not even need to slumber or sleep. You are always watching and waiting. We cling to You as we deal with change and circumstances. You are our Rock.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. How can all of God's ways be loving? Do I really believe that? How do I know?
2. Am I keeping the demands of His covenant so His ways can truly be good and loving to me?
3. How does God confide in me? Do I sense Him doing this? If not, am I fearing Him and what does that mean?
4. Is my integrity and uprightness guarding me? Am I falling short in either of these areas? What can I change?
5. What things trip me up, like a snare around my feet? How do I get out of the situation/problem. How will fixing my eyes on God help me get out/stay out of trouble
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Daily Devotional - 8/23/10 (9/23/09)
Focus letter - W
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 to grow in that begins with the focus letter
Dear Lord - Open my ears to hear Your voice and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 23
"Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comforth me." (vs. 4)
This is the valley of the shadow of death. I always wondered where it was and then I realized it was right here, the earth. We live in the shadow of our death, in the fear of the death of all those we love, every single day of our lives. But I do not need to be afraid because I will remember that the Lord is my shepherd. He will take care of me now and when I die. I shall not be in want if I don't want to because God is in control.
He will take care of me, all of me. God wants to take care of the physical, the spiritual, the emotional, and the mental aspects of my being. These make up the totality of who we are and the Lord is equally concerned about each one. If we look at this psalm and also at the greatest commandment we see each one represented.
"Love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." (Mark 12:30)
The first aspect of our lives He is concerned about is our physical being. "He makes me lie down in green pastures (vs. 2a)." He provides for us physically and takes care of us. He gives us rest when we need it. "God grants sleep to those He loves (Psalms 127:1-2)." He wakes us up in the morning and keeps us going throughout our days. He knows what we need to physically stay alive. He does this so that in the end, we can love Him with all of our strength. This is the building block for the rest of the aspects of our lives because if we are not having our physical needs met, it is very difficult to focus on more spiritual issues.
Secondly, He is concerned with our emotions. "He leads me beside quiet waters (vs. 2b)." When all our emotions are on edge, we need to go to the quiet places and be still. It is very difficult to be spiritual and pleasing to God when we are overly emotional or having a temper tantrum. We need our emotions calmed down and God can provide that. How often does He offer peace to us in His word. We need to be emotionally restored and calmed so that we in turn can love God with all of our emotions. Once our physical needs are met and our emotions are calm, we can deal with the next level in our beings.
The third aspect God is concerned with is our souls or our spiritual development. "He restores my soul (vs. 3a)." He revives us and renews our spirits. When we are downcast, He lifts us up. We have all had those bad days and then something will happen and it all changes. We have been restored and it feels so good. Our souls are the deepest levels of our beings and God desires that they be completely His as well; that we love Him with all our souls. That is when we will be truly content.
Finally, God is concerned with our minds. "He guides me in the paths of righteousness (vs. 3b)." He knows we need guidance and instructions. Our minds are so easily filled with all the wrong things and society is continually bombarding us with messages, most of which are contrary to God's laws. Our minds need to be filled with His ways and renewed with His truth. Then and only then, can we love Him with all of our minds and we can use them to help others.
It is evident that God is concerned with all of us; all aspects of our lives and beings. One portion is not enough and we will continue to live in the valley of the shadow of death, fearing evil, until we can surrender it all over to our Good Shepherd.
Why does He do this? Why does He even care? He does it for "His name's sake (vs. 3b)." It is not about me. It is all about God. He takes care of me and loves me so that others will know how great He is and perhaps come to find Him. He restores my soul and guides me so that others might see the wonder of His ways and come to know Him. He gives me strength so that I might serve Him and others. It all comes back to Him. But that is okay with me because I, like a sheep, do not know how to do this thing called life. I would run off a cliff if the rest did, just like sheep without a shepherd might. I am not ashamed to admit I need a shepherd. I am tired of doing it on my own. I have seen where it has gotten me.
And so, even though I am here in this scary place, full of sadness, this "valley of the shadow of death", I will fear no evil. I will fear no evil for God is with me. The ways He leads me in are a comfort to me. God takes care of me in the midst of bad. God can do that. My cup overflows and everything is going to be alright.
"Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." (vs. 6)
Things will be okay, now, and also into eternity. God will take care of His own.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
Thank You for being our Shepherd. We are like sheep and we so easily go astray. We are so grateful that You are concerned with every area of our lives. You are not uninvolved. You know and care for us intimately. Help us to be humble and follow Your leading. Help us to accept Your care and nurturing. You are good and we are grateful.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Am I loving God with all of my heart (my emotions)? Am I letting Him calm them? How can I change?
2. Am I loving God with all of my soul? Am I letting Him restore me? What ways does He restore me?
3. Am I loving God with all of my mind? Am I letting Him guide me in the ways of righteousness? How can I start doing this?
4. Am I loving God with all of my strength? Am I letting Him care for my body and physical needs? Am I following His directions in caring for my temple (body)? How can I take better care of my physical body?
5. Am I following God's leading or am I trying to do it all on my own? What am I rebelling against? What am I accepting? What do I need to change?
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 to grow in that begins with the focus letter
Dear Lord - Open my ears to hear Your voice and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 23
"Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comforth me." (vs. 4)
This is the valley of the shadow of death. I always wondered where it was and then I realized it was right here, the earth. We live in the shadow of our death, in the fear of the death of all those we love, every single day of our lives. But I do not need to be afraid because I will remember that the Lord is my shepherd. He will take care of me now and when I die. I shall not be in want if I don't want to because God is in control.
He will take care of me, all of me. God wants to take care of the physical, the spiritual, the emotional, and the mental aspects of my being. These make up the totality of who we are and the Lord is equally concerned about each one. If we look at this psalm and also at the greatest commandment we see each one represented.
"Love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." (Mark 12:30)
The first aspect of our lives He is concerned about is our physical being. "He makes me lie down in green pastures (vs. 2a)." He provides for us physically and takes care of us. He gives us rest when we need it. "God grants sleep to those He loves (Psalms 127:1-2)." He wakes us up in the morning and keeps us going throughout our days. He knows what we need to physically stay alive. He does this so that in the end, we can love Him with all of our strength. This is the building block for the rest of the aspects of our lives because if we are not having our physical needs met, it is very difficult to focus on more spiritual issues.
Secondly, He is concerned with our emotions. "He leads me beside quiet waters (vs. 2b)." When all our emotions are on edge, we need to go to the quiet places and be still. It is very difficult to be spiritual and pleasing to God when we are overly emotional or having a temper tantrum. We need our emotions calmed down and God can provide that. How often does He offer peace to us in His word. We need to be emotionally restored and calmed so that we in turn can love God with all of our emotions. Once our physical needs are met and our emotions are calm, we can deal with the next level in our beings.
The third aspect God is concerned with is our souls or our spiritual development. "He restores my soul (vs. 3a)." He revives us and renews our spirits. When we are downcast, He lifts us up. We have all had those bad days and then something will happen and it all changes. We have been restored and it feels so good. Our souls are the deepest levels of our beings and God desires that they be completely His as well; that we love Him with all our souls. That is when we will be truly content.
Finally, God is concerned with our minds. "He guides me in the paths of righteousness (vs. 3b)." He knows we need guidance and instructions. Our minds are so easily filled with all the wrong things and society is continually bombarding us with messages, most of which are contrary to God's laws. Our minds need to be filled with His ways and renewed with His truth. Then and only then, can we love Him with all of our minds and we can use them to help others.
It is evident that God is concerned with all of us; all aspects of our lives and beings. One portion is not enough and we will continue to live in the valley of the shadow of death, fearing evil, until we can surrender it all over to our Good Shepherd.
Why does He do this? Why does He even care? He does it for "His name's sake (vs. 3b)." It is not about me. It is all about God. He takes care of me and loves me so that others will know how great He is and perhaps come to find Him. He restores my soul and guides me so that others might see the wonder of His ways and come to know Him. He gives me strength so that I might serve Him and others. It all comes back to Him. But that is okay with me because I, like a sheep, do not know how to do this thing called life. I would run off a cliff if the rest did, just like sheep without a shepherd might. I am not ashamed to admit I need a shepherd. I am tired of doing it on my own. I have seen where it has gotten me.
And so, even though I am here in this scary place, full of sadness, this "valley of the shadow of death", I will fear no evil. I will fear no evil for God is with me. The ways He leads me in are a comfort to me. God takes care of me in the midst of bad. God can do that. My cup overflows and everything is going to be alright.
"Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." (vs. 6)
Things will be okay, now, and also into eternity. God will take care of His own.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
Thank You for being our Shepherd. We are like sheep and we so easily go astray. We are so grateful that You are concerned with every area of our lives. You are not uninvolved. You know and care for us intimately. Help us to be humble and follow Your leading. Help us to accept Your care and nurturing. You are good and we are grateful.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Am I loving God with all of my heart (my emotions)? Am I letting Him calm them? How can I change?
2. Am I loving God with all of my soul? Am I letting Him restore me? What ways does He restore me?
3. Am I loving God with all of my mind? Am I letting Him guide me in the ways of righteousness? How can I start doing this?
4. Am I loving God with all of my strength? Am I letting Him care for my body and physical needs? Am I following His directions in caring for my temple (body)? How can I take better care of my physical body?
5. Am I following God's leading or am I trying to do it all on my own? What am I rebelling against? What am I accepting? What do I need to change?
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Daily Devotional - 8/22/10 (9/22/09)
This is the post from the day after my husband's surgery last year. I have left it as it was. He is now doing better and appears to be cancer free.
Focus Letter - V
Pray for:
Five things that 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 to grow in that begins with the focus letter
Dear Lord - Help me to hear your voice today, all day, and grant me the strength to obey.
My husband made it through surgery and is recovering. They removed the lower right lobe of his liver which had confirmed cancer and, unfortunately, also found another tumor on the left side. This was destroyed by laser. There are still two small unknown masses in the upper right lobe as well. As a result of this, more chemotherapy is recommended. We were sad about the news but are faithful yet. Thank you for all your prayers and support.
Psalms 22
As I sat at my computer, after a long day at the hospital and after receiving the bad news about the spread of the cancer, I felt a bit numb. On opening the Bible to review the psalm for this post, I had to smile. How fitting for this to be the psalm today. The opening words spoke to me.
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent." (vs. 1-2)
How I have felt this the past year. At every turn, we have received bad news. My husband was diagnosed with cancer in February but we were confident that it would be contained in the colon. After all, he was only 49. My mother had had colon cancer at 61 and hers had been contained; it had not spread although it was about the same size of a tumor. We went into surgery confident. The surgeon told us after the surgery that it did appear to be contained within the colon, but of course, he could not know for sure until the lab work. How shocked we were to receive the call about a week later to find out that it was not contained and that it was in the lymph nodes.
"My God, my God..." I thought.
"Well, at least it was only in two of the 30 lymph nodes they looked at," I said to my mother-in-law who was devastated by the news. Surely it hadn't spread very far. There was that spot on his liver that the doctors had noted before his original surgery. But they had not been worried about it. The doctor had felt that it was probably not cancer. I was confident my husband would do his chemotherapy and be fine.
He went in for a liver test to confirm that the spot was just a benign occurrence, a hemangioma, and we waited, not worried. The results came back. A biopsy was needed. The tumor was not a hemangioma. I remember receiving the call. It was a beautiful day and I was playing Candyland with my daughters. The sun streamed in from the window, creating a peaceful, happy glow in the room. We were laughing.
My husband was out running an errand when the phone call came in. "Mrs. Jacobs, the tumor is cancerous," the doctor said over the phone.
Everything stopped and again in my mind, "my God, my God..."
Six rounds of chemo; so difficult. The embolism to block off the cancerous part of his liver. The surgery prep, all in the hopes that this would soon will be over; that life would soon return to normal. Then yesterday, the surgery, to remove the right lobe of his liver; so that he would be cancer free. At pre-op, the doctor mentioned that if they find something in the left lobe, they would burn it with a laser. I paused.
"But there isn't supposed to be anything in the left lobe," I said.
"Well sometimes it is hidden from the MRI. We are going to check everything out. We will take good care of him."
"Okay," I said, thinking with less confidence now that there would be nothing in the left liver. This warning of his was all precautionary. The surgery was going to be the end of this. Six weeks recovery and then life would go on. It would be this way. I had decided.
At 12 noon, the doctor came out and I approached, eager to hear the good news. "We removed the right lobe, but there was a half an inch tumor deep in the left lobe as well."
"What?"
"The left lobe, a tumor. We destroyed it with the laser but there are still small unknown spots visible on the ultrasound as well. They are too small to know what they are. We recommend more chemotherapy."
"More?" I said sadly.
"Yes, more. Cancer is like a dandelion which spreads its seeds when blown. We don't know, can't know now. Everything else in the abdomen looks clear but the chemo - it is necessary." The doctor smiled at me in a serious, sad way. My heart sank. The chemo... the walking death. It is difficult to explain life during chemo. Lets just say, it is hard.
"My God, my God..." again I begin to think. Why? Why, at every turn, has the road to quick recovery been blocked? What is it we must learn, my husband and I?
And then I read on in Psalms 22, the psalm that goes on to prophecy Jesus' suffering on the cross.
"Yet You are enthroned as the Holy One; You are the praise of Israel. In You our fathers put their trust; they trusted and You delivered them. They cried to You and were saved; in You they trusted and were not disappointed" (vs. 4-5)
It is painful. This is painful. It is not what I wanted. But it is what God has given me. He has given me this, and He has given me Himself to fall back on. I am not alone. I am a part of His plan. This morning, in the calm of the cool, early morning air blowing in through the window, I remember God. I remember to give thanks. I am thankful my husband is still alive. I am thankful that they removed or killed all known cancer in his body. I am thankful he is as alert and well as he is after surgery. I am thankful for the 12 years and the three daughters that I have had with him. I am thankful for all the ways we have grown to be better people through all of this. I am thankful for all the ways that we will grow before this is over.
God has given me the assurance that He will be with me through these difficult times. He will never leave me or forsake me (Joshua 31:6). He has given me a Bible full of good promises, all of which have been given to me so that I will have peace. As He says, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)"
He will deliver me. He will not disappoint me in the end. In the short term, I may have sorrow. I do have sorrow. But God is not in this for the short term. He is the God of eternity. In the light of eternity, I am not let down. Things may not happen as I have planned. It hasn't happened as I had planned, but I have been delivered so far. My husband has also been delivered so far. He is still here. We are still living in faith, and we are better people for all of this.
God is still with me, just as He was with Jesus as He went to the cross; surely not what Jesus had wanted but it was what needed to happen. Jesus suffered immensely, more than any of us ever will, and yet He returned to God and His sovereignty. I must remember His words at Gethsemane, " Not my will, but Yours be done." At times, we may be momentarily disappointed, but in the long run we are never. In the long term, the victory is always ours. In Christ we have the victory. God did not forget Jesus. He did not disappoint Him. There were three dark days and then Jesus arose and brought salvation to all of us. In the same way, God will not forget me either.
"You who fear the Lord, praise Him!...For He has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; He has not hidden His face from him but has listened to his cry for help." (vs. 23-24)
There is a reason for all of this. I am not forgotten and I will praise Him yet.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We praise You for the life You give us. It is Yours to give and take away. We pray for acceptance and courage in the face of whatever is on the path You have set out for us. Help us to live lives that are acceptable to You no matter what happens.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. When have I felt forsaken? Why? How did I deal with it?
2. What has God given me to deal with presently in my life? How am I dealing with it? Am I turning to God, or away from Him because of it?
3. When life does not go as I have planned, how do I react? How can I react in a more trusting manner?
4. What reasons can I see behind some of the greatest crises that have occurred in my life?
5. What support systems do I have to help me in difficult times? What helps me to feel peace in my struggles? What verses do I turn to?
Focus Letter - V
Pray for:
Five things that 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 to grow in that begins with the focus letter
Dear Lord - Help me to hear your voice today, all day, and grant me the strength to obey.
My husband made it through surgery and is recovering. They removed the lower right lobe of his liver which had confirmed cancer and, unfortunately, also found another tumor on the left side. This was destroyed by laser. There are still two small unknown masses in the upper right lobe as well. As a result of this, more chemotherapy is recommended. We were sad about the news but are faithful yet. Thank you for all your prayers and support.
Psalms 22
As I sat at my computer, after a long day at the hospital and after receiving the bad news about the spread of the cancer, I felt a bit numb. On opening the Bible to review the psalm for this post, I had to smile. How fitting for this to be the psalm today. The opening words spoke to me.
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent." (vs. 1-2)
How I have felt this the past year. At every turn, we have received bad news. My husband was diagnosed with cancer in February but we were confident that it would be contained in the colon. After all, he was only 49. My mother had had colon cancer at 61 and hers had been contained; it had not spread although it was about the same size of a tumor. We went into surgery confident. The surgeon told us after the surgery that it did appear to be contained within the colon, but of course, he could not know for sure until the lab work. How shocked we were to receive the call about a week later to find out that it was not contained and that it was in the lymph nodes.
"My God, my God..." I thought.
"Well, at least it was only in two of the 30 lymph nodes they looked at," I said to my mother-in-law who was devastated by the news. Surely it hadn't spread very far. There was that spot on his liver that the doctors had noted before his original surgery. But they had not been worried about it. The doctor had felt that it was probably not cancer. I was confident my husband would do his chemotherapy and be fine.
He went in for a liver test to confirm that the spot was just a benign occurrence, a hemangioma, and we waited, not worried. The results came back. A biopsy was needed. The tumor was not a hemangioma. I remember receiving the call. It was a beautiful day and I was playing Candyland with my daughters. The sun streamed in from the window, creating a peaceful, happy glow in the room. We were laughing.
My husband was out running an errand when the phone call came in. "Mrs. Jacobs, the tumor is cancerous," the doctor said over the phone.
Everything stopped and again in my mind, "my God, my God..."
Six rounds of chemo; so difficult. The embolism to block off the cancerous part of his liver. The surgery prep, all in the hopes that this would soon will be over; that life would soon return to normal. Then yesterday, the surgery, to remove the right lobe of his liver; so that he would be cancer free. At pre-op, the doctor mentioned that if they find something in the left lobe, they would burn it with a laser. I paused.
"But there isn't supposed to be anything in the left lobe," I said.
"Well sometimes it is hidden from the MRI. We are going to check everything out. We will take good care of him."
"Okay," I said, thinking with less confidence now that there would be nothing in the left liver. This warning of his was all precautionary. The surgery was going to be the end of this. Six weeks recovery and then life would go on. It would be this way. I had decided.
At 12 noon, the doctor came out and I approached, eager to hear the good news. "We removed the right lobe, but there was a half an inch tumor deep in the left lobe as well."
"What?"
"The left lobe, a tumor. We destroyed it with the laser but there are still small unknown spots visible on the ultrasound as well. They are too small to know what they are. We recommend more chemotherapy."
"More?" I said sadly.
"Yes, more. Cancer is like a dandelion which spreads its seeds when blown. We don't know, can't know now. Everything else in the abdomen looks clear but the chemo - it is necessary." The doctor smiled at me in a serious, sad way. My heart sank. The chemo... the walking death. It is difficult to explain life during chemo. Lets just say, it is hard.
"My God, my God..." again I begin to think. Why? Why, at every turn, has the road to quick recovery been blocked? What is it we must learn, my husband and I?
And then I read on in Psalms 22, the psalm that goes on to prophecy Jesus' suffering on the cross.
"Yet You are enthroned as the Holy One; You are the praise of Israel. In You our fathers put their trust; they trusted and You delivered them. They cried to You and were saved; in You they trusted and were not disappointed" (vs. 4-5)
It is painful. This is painful. It is not what I wanted. But it is what God has given me. He has given me this, and He has given me Himself to fall back on. I am not alone. I am a part of His plan. This morning, in the calm of the cool, early morning air blowing in through the window, I remember God. I remember to give thanks. I am thankful my husband is still alive. I am thankful that they removed or killed all known cancer in his body. I am thankful he is as alert and well as he is after surgery. I am thankful for the 12 years and the three daughters that I have had with him. I am thankful for all the ways we have grown to be better people through all of this. I am thankful for all the ways that we will grow before this is over.
God has given me the assurance that He will be with me through these difficult times. He will never leave me or forsake me (Joshua 31:6). He has given me a Bible full of good promises, all of which have been given to me so that I will have peace. As He says, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)"
He will deliver me. He will not disappoint me in the end. In the short term, I may have sorrow. I do have sorrow. But God is not in this for the short term. He is the God of eternity. In the light of eternity, I am not let down. Things may not happen as I have planned. It hasn't happened as I had planned, but I have been delivered so far. My husband has also been delivered so far. He is still here. We are still living in faith, and we are better people for all of this.
God is still with me, just as He was with Jesus as He went to the cross; surely not what Jesus had wanted but it was what needed to happen. Jesus suffered immensely, more than any of us ever will, and yet He returned to God and His sovereignty. I must remember His words at Gethsemane, " Not my will, but Yours be done." At times, we may be momentarily disappointed, but in the long run we are never. In the long term, the victory is always ours. In Christ we have the victory. God did not forget Jesus. He did not disappoint Him. There were three dark days and then Jesus arose and brought salvation to all of us. In the same way, God will not forget me either.
"You who fear the Lord, praise Him!...For He has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; He has not hidden His face from him but has listened to his cry for help." (vs. 23-24)
There is a reason for all of this. I am not forgotten and I will praise Him yet.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We praise You for the life You give us. It is Yours to give and take away. We pray for acceptance and courage in the face of whatever is on the path You have set out for us. Help us to live lives that are acceptable to You no matter what happens.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. When have I felt forsaken? Why? How did I deal with it?
2. What has God given me to deal with presently in my life? How am I dealing with it? Am I turning to God, or away from Him because of it?
3. When life does not go as I have planned, how do I react? How can I react in a more trusting manner?
4. What reasons can I see behind some of the greatest crises that have occurred in my life?
5. What support systems do I have to help me in difficult times? What helps me to feel peace in my struggles? What verses do I turn to?
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Daily Devotional - 8/12/10 (9/12/09)
Focus Letter - L
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 to grow in that begins with the focus letter
Dear Lord - Thank You for always speaking to me. Please help me to hear You today and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 12
"The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men." (vs. 8)
Our society is moving more and more away from its Christian roots. Some even go so far as to say it was never based on Judeo-Christian principles at all. The many scenes we see around us are often overwhelming and depressing. We want to change the course of society, but how? We immerse ourselves in politics and become passionate about some cause. We immerse ourselves in separating from the evil world and refuse to vote, read the paper, or listen to the news. We give up. I have been all of these places.
We need to balance social responsibility with our spiritual mission. It is so easy to sway too far one way or another on this spectrum. As a new Christian, I completely renounced any involvement with politics and major social issues. I was focused on my purpose as a disciple so I didn't have time to vote or to know about any world/social issues. I did not have time to become immersed in these "worldly issues". I used the verse in II Tim 2:4 about a soldier not getting involved with civilian affairs to justify my lack of involvement.
Then later, when I became discouraged with my lack of effectiveness in helping others know about God (the reasons for this were many and varied) I turned to politics as the saviour of the world and threw myself into that. When this proved to be completely ineffective and frustrating, I turned to my career as a teacher. Perhaps in this way I could make a difference in the world. It did not and so I turned to "just living." This made no difference to anyone as well. My family and I became no different than anyone else I saw around me. We were like everyone else and this also made me very unhappy. Where could I turn now? Fortunately, I turned back to God who had the answers all along. My discouragement with my perceived failure as a Christian had nothing to do with God. He had not changed. I had.
We do have a social responsibility, though, because evil will definitely triumph if good people do nothing. We are also completely responsible for living out our purpose in Christ. We will never be satisfied if we do not order our priorities correctly and seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. If we do not do this, we will always be seeking something to fill us. In our hearts, God has embedded eternity and a desire to make a difference (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Every child grows up with great dreams. Only after failure and discouragement do we give up on our dreams. Often we turn to the wrong avenues for fulfillment if we become discouraged or disillusioned with God and the church.
Psalms 12 states that the wicked can go about without fear when vile things are honored and when there is no one to oppose them. We must strive to the best of our ability to remain set apart and holy and to not honor what God considers vile. We also need to help our society to not be vile as well. We need to be involved with voting and trying to help laws and causes that we believe in and yet we cannot become so absorbed in this that we lose sight of what will really make a difference. God's purpose is what will make the most changes, one by one, for we do not know what God's ultimate course is for our country or our society. He does allows negative things to happen. Things we do not understand may be a part of His bigger plan.
We also need to make sure that we look at what we do and what we accept and make sure that it is not dishonorable to God. Our consciences are easily dulled by the constant bombardment of the world. "What would Jesus do" was a popular saying and movement but I think it is important for us to think about. What would Jesus do? Would he be listening to this music? Would He be watching this movie? It is not enough to just stay away from the "big sins". We must be becoming like Jesus. We need to not be ashamed about being righteous and refraining from evil. We need to be happy that we do not have to spend our time addicted to the behaviors that we indulged in before we knew God. I must remember, "Do not love the world or anything of it. Friendship with the world is hatred towards God" (James 4: 4-6).
Finally, I must be faithful. I must be faithful in the good and in the bad times. I must be faithful for myself and also for others. Sometimes, for the sake of others, I have to do what I do not want to do. About twenty years ago, I went through a very intense period of time as I tried to deal with a deeply ingrained character issue. I considered walking away from God. Many of my friends had when times got tough for them. Why not? Life would be so much easier. I could just go with the flow and be me.
I couldn't do it. I kept thinking about my friends in the church who had left and I thought about how much it had hurt me and my faith. I decided that even if my heart wasn't into it at the time, since I knew the Bible was right, I would keep going. I knew my faithfulness would help others in the long run, and for them, I would keep it up for as long as it took. Even if it was only to help a few people stay faithful, I would keep fighting.
The Lord was faithful, however. He changed me and renewed the joy of my salvation. He will always change us if we are willing to do the hard work as well. He will keep us safe and protect us from evil people. He does have a plan. We need to do our part, both in the social arena and in the spiritual realm, and then we need to wait on Him. His words are flawless and perfect. His promises will never fail. In this depressing world, we can be joyful. The future is as bright as God's promises and God's promises are amazing.
His promises include:
"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.'" (Jeremiah 29 : 11)
"'Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,' says the Lord Almighty, 'and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.'" (Malachi 3:10)
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks find; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matt 7:7-8)
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:4-7)
"But seek first his kingdom and His righteousness, and all of these things will be given to you as well." (Matt 6:33)
"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." (Eph 3:20-21)
"Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God." (II Cor 9:10-11)
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matt 11: 28-30)
"With God all things are possible." (Matt 19:26b)
"If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." (Matt 21:22)
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
Help us to seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness. Help us to have our priorities correct and yet not forget our social responsibility. You will fill our hearts when we are focused on You. We long to be faithful in the good and bad times. Although the world moves farther and farther away form You, we will stay close. Strenghten us and increase our faith. We know Your promises are true.
In Jesus' Name
Amen
QFT
1. What is my focus right now? Am I focused on my spiritual mission or on another mission or goal? Am I seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness? What does that mean to me? Do I have a proper balance of concern for the kingdom and for societal causes? Am I willing to get involved to make the world better in both spiritual and physical ways?
2. What do I use to try and give my life meaning? Is it always God or do I use relationships, work, or anything else to try and fulfill me? Is it working or should I change my focus?
3. Do I love the world? What does my life show? Is there anything I am doing that I feel Jesus wouldn't do? Am I different from those who do not claim to be Christians? Is there anything I need to change?
4. Am I faithful to God in the good and bad times? What tempts me to lose faith? Has God always been faithful to me? Why or why not? How does my faith affect those around me? Am I an inspiration to others?
5. What promises of God are most meaningful to me? Why? How can these promises give me hope and joy despite what I see going on around me?
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 to grow in that begins with the focus letter
Dear Lord - Thank You for always speaking to me. Please help me to hear You today and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 12
"The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men." (vs. 8)
Our society is moving more and more away from its Christian roots. Some even go so far as to say it was never based on Judeo-Christian principles at all. The many scenes we see around us are often overwhelming and depressing. We want to change the course of society, but how? We immerse ourselves in politics and become passionate about some cause. We immerse ourselves in separating from the evil world and refuse to vote, read the paper, or listen to the news. We give up. I have been all of these places.
We need to balance social responsibility with our spiritual mission. It is so easy to sway too far one way or another on this spectrum. As a new Christian, I completely renounced any involvement with politics and major social issues. I was focused on my purpose as a disciple so I didn't have time to vote or to know about any world/social issues. I did not have time to become immersed in these "worldly issues". I used the verse in II Tim 2:4 about a soldier not getting involved with civilian affairs to justify my lack of involvement.
Then later, when I became discouraged with my lack of effectiveness in helping others know about God (the reasons for this were many and varied) I turned to politics as the saviour of the world and threw myself into that. When this proved to be completely ineffective and frustrating, I turned to my career as a teacher. Perhaps in this way I could make a difference in the world. It did not and so I turned to "just living." This made no difference to anyone as well. My family and I became no different than anyone else I saw around me. We were like everyone else and this also made me very unhappy. Where could I turn now? Fortunately, I turned back to God who had the answers all along. My discouragement with my perceived failure as a Christian had nothing to do with God. He had not changed. I had.
We do have a social responsibility, though, because evil will definitely triumph if good people do nothing. We are also completely responsible for living out our purpose in Christ. We will never be satisfied if we do not order our priorities correctly and seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. If we do not do this, we will always be seeking something to fill us. In our hearts, God has embedded eternity and a desire to make a difference (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Every child grows up with great dreams. Only after failure and discouragement do we give up on our dreams. Often we turn to the wrong avenues for fulfillment if we become discouraged or disillusioned with God and the church.
Psalms 12 states that the wicked can go about without fear when vile things are honored and when there is no one to oppose them. We must strive to the best of our ability to remain set apart and holy and to not honor what God considers vile. We also need to help our society to not be vile as well. We need to be involved with voting and trying to help laws and causes that we believe in and yet we cannot become so absorbed in this that we lose sight of what will really make a difference. God's purpose is what will make the most changes, one by one, for we do not know what God's ultimate course is for our country or our society. He does allows negative things to happen. Things we do not understand may be a part of His bigger plan.
We also need to make sure that we look at what we do and what we accept and make sure that it is not dishonorable to God. Our consciences are easily dulled by the constant bombardment of the world. "What would Jesus do" was a popular saying and movement but I think it is important for us to think about. What would Jesus do? Would he be listening to this music? Would He be watching this movie? It is not enough to just stay away from the "big sins". We must be becoming like Jesus. We need to not be ashamed about being righteous and refraining from evil. We need to be happy that we do not have to spend our time addicted to the behaviors that we indulged in before we knew God. I must remember, "Do not love the world or anything of it. Friendship with the world is hatred towards God" (James 4: 4-6).
Finally, I must be faithful. I must be faithful in the good and in the bad times. I must be faithful for myself and also for others. Sometimes, for the sake of others, I have to do what I do not want to do. About twenty years ago, I went through a very intense period of time as I tried to deal with a deeply ingrained character issue. I considered walking away from God. Many of my friends had when times got tough for them. Why not? Life would be so much easier. I could just go with the flow and be me.
I couldn't do it. I kept thinking about my friends in the church who had left and I thought about how much it had hurt me and my faith. I decided that even if my heart wasn't into it at the time, since I knew the Bible was right, I would keep going. I knew my faithfulness would help others in the long run, and for them, I would keep it up for as long as it took. Even if it was only to help a few people stay faithful, I would keep fighting.
The Lord was faithful, however. He changed me and renewed the joy of my salvation. He will always change us if we are willing to do the hard work as well. He will keep us safe and protect us from evil people. He does have a plan. We need to do our part, both in the social arena and in the spiritual realm, and then we need to wait on Him. His words are flawless and perfect. His promises will never fail. In this depressing world, we can be joyful. The future is as bright as God's promises and God's promises are amazing.
His promises include:
"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.'" (Jeremiah 29 : 11)
"'Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,' says the Lord Almighty, 'and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.'" (Malachi 3:10)
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks find; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matt 7:7-8)
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:4-7)
"But seek first his kingdom and His righteousness, and all of these things will be given to you as well." (Matt 6:33)
"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." (Eph 3:20-21)
"Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God." (II Cor 9:10-11)
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matt 11: 28-30)
"With God all things are possible." (Matt 19:26b)
"If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." (Matt 21:22)
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
Help us to seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness. Help us to have our priorities correct and yet not forget our social responsibility. You will fill our hearts when we are focused on You. We long to be faithful in the good and bad times. Although the world moves farther and farther away form You, we will stay close. Strenghten us and increase our faith. We know Your promises are true.
In Jesus' Name
Amen
QFT
1. What is my focus right now? Am I focused on my spiritual mission or on another mission or goal? Am I seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness? What does that mean to me? Do I have a proper balance of concern for the kingdom and for societal causes? Am I willing to get involved to make the world better in both spiritual and physical ways?
2. What do I use to try and give my life meaning? Is it always God or do I use relationships, work, or anything else to try and fulfill me? Is it working or should I change my focus?
3. Do I love the world? What does my life show? Is there anything I am doing that I feel Jesus wouldn't do? Am I different from those who do not claim to be Christians? Is there anything I need to change?
4. Am I faithful to God in the good and bad times? What tempts me to lose faith? Has God always been faithful to me? Why or why not? How does my faith affect those around me? Am I an inspiration to others?
5. What promises of God are most meaningful to me? Why? How can these promises give me hope and joy despite what I see going on around me?
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