Daily Devotional - 10/5/15

Prayer Focus - Needs



Day 3
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



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



Psalms 95


"Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care.

Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me, though they had seen what I did."  ( vs. 6 - 9  )


We are the flock under God's care.  Sheep need a shepherd. They are not the smartest animals in the world and they need to be led and cared for in an intensive manner if they are going to live and thrive.  Although it is not that flattering to be compared to sheep, it is fitting.  We do need a lot of help.  We do easily go astray and get lost.  It is good to know that we have a good shepherd that we can follow.  He cares for us in so many ways.  I love to read the 23 psalm which most people know and which once again refers to God as our shepherd.  It is as follows:

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

He leads me beside quiet waters,

He restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

 

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." 

I love the beautiful portrayal of God's care for us expressed here.  I love the idea that I do not have to be in want and that as I go through my life here, I do not have to fear evil; not because it does not exist, but because God is with me.

I do have a responsibility in this scenario, however.  I have to listen to God's voice.  If I am a sheep and my shepherd is calling me, I need to go to my shepherd.  I need to let him take care of me.  If I continue to run away, I will only get myself into further trouble.  If I am sick and need medication, I will only become more sick.  I must heed to my master's voice.  So I need to see that God is my shepherd, and then I need to follow and obey.  I can't harden my heart.  I must soften it. I need to remember all that God has already done for me and trust that if anyone can help me, then it will be Him.  I must stop testing God and asking that He prove something to me.  God does not have to prove anything to me.  He already has.  I just need to accept what I am and where I am and be a sheep basking in the love of a good shepherd.





Prayer for the Day



Dear Lord,


You are the Good Shepherd.  You know how to take care of us.  Help us to run to You, not away from You.  Help us to do as You say and reap the benefits.  Help us to remember how far You have brought us so far.  You will not leave us wandering in the desert.  You will bring us to a good land if we follow.  Help us to follow, now and always.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen



QFT


1.  Am I worshipping God on a regular basis?  Do I feel He deserves my worship?  Do I know how to worship?   How can I learn to do this or to do this better?

2. What do I know about sheep?  What can I learn about sheep?  How am I like a sheep?  How is God like a shepherd?  What can I learn about God's nature by looking at this comparison? 

3. Do I listen to God's voice or do I ignore it?  Do I think the Bible or Scriptures are God's actual word, as though He were right here speaking to me?  Why or why not?  If I did see the Scriptures in this manner, how might that affect my reaction?  How can I learn to listen to God's voice better?

4. Do I heed God's voice?  Do I do what I think God is calling me to do or do I reason the feeling away?  Have I hardened my heart to God's calling and voice?  How?  How can I change?

5. Do I ever test or try God?  How do I do this?  Why do I do this?  Is this a trust issue?  What can I do to stop testing God and to start trusting Him more?

Daily Devotional - 9/28/15

Prayer Focus - Wants



Day 3
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


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



Psalms 88


"O Lord, the God who saves me, day and night I cry out before You.  May my prayer come before You; turn Your ear to my cry. 

 For my soul is full of trouble and my life draws near the grave...

 I call to You, O Lord, every day; I spread out my hands to You.

But I cry to You for help, O Lord; in the morning my prayer comes before You."  ( vs. 1- 3, 9b, 13 )


This psalm is a psalm of sadness.  Most psalms, if they deal with sadness, end with triumph and the praising of God, but this one is different.  There is no redemption mentioned and the final line states, "the darkness is my closest friend. (vs. 18b)"  The author is very dramatic presenting how he feels at the moment and is very descriptive.  I believe God included this psalm for many reasons.  First, I think that God is pointing out the depression is real and that it can be really expressed to Him.  We do not need to hide away our negative feelings from God.  He knows them already.  He is not shocked.  Secondly, I think that God wants us to not surrender to our feelings.  He wants us to begin to look honestly at them and sort out fact from exaggeration.  God has so much more for us.  He does not what us languishing away.  He came to give us life and life to the fullest. (John 10:10) 

I think, the key to overcoming is to pray.  I was struck by the writer's intense turning to God.  He prayed, and prayed incessantly.  He poured out his troubles.  He prayed consistently and also it seems, constantly.  He reasoned with God and was not afraid to pour out his heart.  This is how we will conquer depression and negative emotions.  We can not just hope it will go away.  We have to be proactive and start praying and then start doing what we know we should.  As we give to others, we shall begin to receive as well.  It is a blessed miracle that we can be transformed.


Prayer for the Day



Dear Lord,


We all go through difficult times now and then.  Sometimes when we look around us and see problems we feel defeated.  Sometimes it seems that we do not have any friends.  But You are always there and You are working for us to bring us to You.  Help us to draw near to You and pray through all of our feelings.  You already know them anyway.  We love and appreciate You.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen



QFT


1. Do I suffer from depression?  How do I deal with this?  If not, what do I think about those who suffer from depression?  Why?

2. Are my feelings always correct?  How have my feelings betrayed me before?  What can I do to help deal with my feelings?  Do I believe God can save me from my feelings and emotions?  Why or why not?

3. How is my prayer life?  Do I pray about my emotions?  Am I praying about any sadness and depression in my life?  How can I improve this aspect of my prayer life?

4. Do I exaggerate my problems?  Do I have trouble looking at the issues in my life honestly?  Do I make blanket statements about what is happening with me?

5. Am I getting involved with others on a regular basis?  Am I meeting the needs of those around me?  Do I make a difference in anyone's life?  How can I start giving to others?

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

Prayer Focus - Personal Transformation

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


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



Psalms 81


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

Sing for joy...

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

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


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

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


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

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

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

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

Prayer for the Day

Dear Lord,


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

In Jesus' Name,
Amen


QFT


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

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

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

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

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

Daily Devotional - 9/19/15 (11/19/09)

Prayer Focus - Personal Transformation

Day 1

Pray for:
One thing that you would like to see improved in your relationship with God



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




Psalms 79



"O God, the nations have invaded Your inheritance; they have defiled Your holy temple, they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble...How long, O Lord, will You be angry forever? How long will Your jealousy burn like fire?..Do not hold against us the sins of the fathers; may Your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need...Then we Your people, the sheep of Your pasture, will praise You forever; from generation to generation we will recount Your praise." ( vs. 1, 5, 8, & 13)


God allowed Jerusalem to be destroyed and His people taken into captivity. He allowed them to get into such a difficult situation that they were in desperate need. The Israelites were in captivity many times, often for such a long period of time that the original people that had sinned were long gone. This did not stop the latter generations from still reaping the consequences. This can be troubling to think about. In the Old Testament, there are long periods of silence from God when His people wondered where He was. In our lives, at times, we can feel the same. We face various trials from without and within. There can be issues with our health, our finances, our parenting, our marriage, our job or lack there of. Internal struggles can include grief, anger, bitterness, depression, guilt, obsessions, and worry. The list goes on and on. Struggles can endure for days, months, years. And we wonder, "God where are You?  God, do You even exist at all?"

Why is this? Why does God allow this? What can we learn from these times? There are many lessons in this, but they often run contrary to our modern culture.  This sometimes makes it hard for us to understand. We are people of sight. We are people of immediate gratification. We are people that deny there are consequences to our actions. Remember the slogan, "If it feels good, do it?" But reality doesn't base itself on our culture. There really are eternal truths that we will need to internalize if we are ever going to walk successfully through this life. The following are a few of them.

First, we need to learn that there are consequences to every action. We don't want to believe this. We are so used to being rescued.  I know I was.  When I was growing up, I was rescued many times in big and small ways by my parents. Although I know it was done in love, I think I might have been better off I had faced some consequences for my actions in my youth. As a result of how I was raised, I had to learn the hard way that no one comes to rescue you anymore when you are an adult. If you don't pay your bills, bad things happen, such as the lights get shut off.  If you overspend, you have to pay it off. Also, there are laws that have to be obeyed and there are deadlines that can not be denied. We can't always talk our way out of something. How many of us were shocked when we began to realize this? Often, we are still fighting this same issue.  We argue the consequences of our actions with a policeman that stopped us even though we know we were speeding. We bail our children out when they procrastinate or get in trouble. We blame others for our problems rather than face what we really deserve. Thankfully, God is not like this. He sees the big picture. He knows the ultimate consequences of life and He is not afraid to let us face what we deserve to face or need to face. He is the ultimate loving parent who is willing to let us go through the hard lessons so that in the end we might live.

Secondly, we need to learn that sin has far reaching consequences, not just in our own lives, but in the lives of those around us as well. Many times the Bible talks about the sins of the fathers (Ezekiel 18). We are not held responsible in the sense that we will die spiritually for what someone else does, such as our parents, but their sins will still impact us. Children and spouses' of alcoholics know the truth in this. Sin leaves scars that are often difficult to heal. Even sins we might consider less dramatic such as impatience and selfishness damage others. When we say careless and mean things in our anger, those around us will have to deal with the depth of that wound. Even if they forgive us, the words have gone out and can never be taken back. We often hear the echoes of cruel things that were said to us years later, try as we might to forget. The Bible states that we will be called to account for every careless word we speak (Matt 12:36-37). This verse is sobering to me as I know I have said many careless things in my life. It reminds me that we have to take our lives seriously because we do impact others for eternity, whether we want to or not.

Finally, the last lesson I will mention here is that God is still there in the silence; working away at the plan He has for our lives. In the silence of the Old Testament, God was working out His plan of salvation for not only Israel but for the whole world. We do not know why it took so long but it was worth the wait. The behind the scenes work of the universe is a bit beyond us, but it is good enough for me to know that someone who is able is back there working it out. As a child, most of us did not have to worry about the bills or the more complicated issues about what had to be done to provide for us. We trusted our parents and lived life. Think about all that went on to get us to adulthood. Even if our childhoods were not that good, there was work done on our behalf by many people. We will never know the full extent, but as we become parents, we get a glimpse of what it takes to raise a child and hopefully we have more mercy on our parents for all of their failings. It is so hard and although we try our best, we fail so often. But God is the perfect parent and we can rest easy knowing that He is working to take care of what needs to be done to get us to our final destination. We need to be like that weaned child resting with its mother, confident in the safety she provides (Psalms 131). God is there. God does exist. He has a plan.  The trials will eventually pass.  All hard times do eventually come to an end, and that in itself is good.

 

"My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore."  (Psalm 131)

Prayer for the Day


Dear Lord,


It is so hard to be like the weaned child. We have so many fears and it is so hard for us to just rest in You. Yet, You are majestic and able. Forgive us for insulting Your power and goodness. We, as sinful humans, know how to give good gifts to our children. You are so much more. Thank You for thinking in the long term and for not always giving us what we want. Thank You for letting us go through the hard times so that we might in the end make it to be with You in eternity. Help us to keep our eyes on the eternal and in the times of silence know that You are there. Just as the sun shines behind the clouds though we see it not, You shine throughout the universe. We praise Your name.


In Jesus' Name,
Amen



QFT


1. Do I feel like God is moving and present in my life or do I feel like He is silent and absent?  Why?  When have I felt these two different ways?  How do I deal with the times in my life when I feel that God is being silent?  What can I do to get through these difficult times?

2. Am I willing to face the consequences of my actions? Am I helping my children to face the consequences of their actions? How can I teach them this concept? Do I blame others for anything in my life?  In what areas do I see this?  How can I stop blaming others for my problems and start dealing more with my actions?

3. Am I dealing with any scars from the sins of those around me? How can I work on being healed?

4. Am I creating any scars? Are my sins affecting my children, spouse, significant other, roommate, etc.?  How?  What do I need to change and how can I?

5. Am I trying to control everything in my life? Am I filled with worry about all of the issues I face? Am I like the weaned child or like an unhappy child? How can I change? What will I do today to start trusting God more?

Daily Devotional - 9/14/15 (11/14/15)

Prayer Focus - Needs

Day 3
Pray for:
One thing that is needed in the world
One thing that is needed in your country
One thing that is needed in your state/region



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 74



"We are given no miraculous signs; no prophets are left, and none of us knows how long this will be." ( vs. 9)


"But You, O God, are my king from of old; You bring salvation upon the earth." (vs. 12)




How do we respond when everything seems to be going wrong and there is no end in sight? This is the true test of our spirituality. It is easy to praise God when things are going well or when we are at the end of some long ordeal, but what about in the middle of it? How many of us have quit something because it seemed too difficult? We will never know how close we were to victory. God was not allowed the chance to finish His work in this area because we gave up. Quitting is a dangerous matter because once we quit one thing, the next time it is so much easier to quit again. Soon we are experts at quitting and we have lost the self-discipline to complete anything. It takes effort to become skilled at something or to endure a difficult time but in the end we always look back with a sense of pride and accomplishment. Our character has grown. We must stop quitting and start finishing!

In our spiritual life, it is just as important to stop being a quitter. We must begin finishing what we start. We need to set goals for ourselves and then see them through. This will develop our maturity and our ability to see a very difficult time through. Someday we may really need the ability to keep going when everything in our being says, "Stop, I can't handle it!" We can handle it - with God. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13). We can with God, if He remains the Lord of our lives. Let us make and keep Him as King, no matter what comes and goes in our life. Then we will see the salvation of God now and in the life to come.





Prayer for the Day



Dear Lord,


You are our King from of old. You bring us salvation. We know that hard times may come for us and we pray to be strong during them. Help us not to become quitters. Help us to finish what we start and see things through to the end. We know that in this way, we will become stronger and ready for whatever may come in the future. Help us to always cling to You and Your promises no matter how dark the road may seem. We know and believe that it is worth it and in the end we will be the victors if we remain with You.


In Jesus' Name,
Amen



QFT



1. Am I going through a difficult time right now? If so, how am I dealing with it? If not, the last time I went through a difficult time how did I deal with it?

2. Would I classify myself as more of a quitter or a finisher? What have I quit on lately? Why? What am I doing now that I am tempted to quit? When can I go back and finish some of the things that I have quit on?

3. What can I do to start working on to become more of a finisher?  How can I learn to have more perseverance?  Can I set some goals and finish them?  Should I learn a new skill or pick up an old one that I have put aside?

4. Am I making God the King and Lord of my life daily? How am I doing this? How can I improve?

5. How do I see God's salvation at work in my life? How have I seen it in the past? How do I hope to see it in the future?

Daily Devotiional - 9/11/15 (11/11/15)

Prayer Focus - Gratitude



Day 7
Pray for:
One thing you are grateful for about the country that you live in
One thing you are grateful for about the state/region that you live in
One thing you are grateful for about the city that you live in
One thing you are grateful for about the home that you live in
One thing you are grateful for about your family
One thing you are grateful for about your job/daily tasks
One thing you are grateful for about yourself


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


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



Psalms 71



"In You, O Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. Rescue me and deliver me in Your righteousness; turn Your ear to me and save me. Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for You are my rock and my fortress." ( vs. 1-3 )

"For You have been my hope, O Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth... Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone...Be not far from me, O God; come quickly, O my God, to help me." ( vs. 5, 9, & 12 )

"But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise You more and more. My mouth will tell of Your righteousness, of Your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure." ( vs. 14-15 )

"Though You have made me see troubles, many and bitter, You will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth You will again bring me up. You will increase my honor and comfort me once again." ( vs. 20-21 )



I will always have hope. That is my choice. I will praise God more and more. Today I found it hard to praise God, but I will choose to do better tomorrow. My emotions will not control me, God will.

Today I felt old and worn out. I felt like nothing is ever accomplished in my life. I felt forgotten and alone. But in reality, none of these things are true save for in my mind. In my mind I rise or fall. In my mind I praise or curse. In my mind the battle is fought.

God is still God and though I am seeing troubles, many and bitter, He will restore me again. I believe this. So as for me, I will always have hope.



Prayer for the Day


Dear Lord,

You are our refuge. As we grow older it can be discouraging to see all the things left undone. We had great dreams but You are still in control and Your dreams are greater than ours. We cannot even see tomorrow yet You hold all of time in Your hands. You are amazing and in You we can always have hope. Forgive us for our failures to believe and for our negativity. You will never let Your people fall or be put to shame. All we need to do is concentrate on being Your people and being pleasing to You. Help us in our unbelief. We choose to have hope. We choose to keep going. We choose You over an over again.


In Jesus' Name,
Amen



QFT


1. Why does God allow me to see troubles? What have I benefitted from them? Do I see how God has taken care of me through these times?

2. Am I becoming better or bitter? How can I make sure that I become better as a person through the difficult times?


3. How am I doing in my relationship with God as I get older spiritually and physically? Am I as zealous as I once was? Am I more serious about my relationship with God than I was? How can I ensure that I am growing more mature as I grow older?


4. What fears and discouragements am I facing as I get older? How am I turning to God with them?


5. Am I tellling of God's salvation? Is my purpose the same as God's or have I taken on some other purpose for my life? How can I get back on track?

Daily Devotional - 9/10/15 (11/10/15)

Prayer Focus - Gratitude



Day 6
Pray for:
One thing you are grateful for about the country that you live in
One thing you are grateful for about the state/region that you live in
One thing you are grateful for about the city that you live in
One thing you are grateful for about the home that you live in
One thing you are grateful for about your family
One thing you are grateful for about your job/daily tasks


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


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



Psalms 70


"But may all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; may those who love Your salvation always say, 'Let God be exalted!' Yet I am poor and needy; come quickly to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer;." ( vs. 4-5)


There is so much to rejoice and be glad about concerning God. His salvation is awesome and comforting, but sometimes, we are still poor and needy. In spite of all the good things, we find ourselves down and struggling. Our temptation is to hide away and lick our wounds at this time, but we need to not run away from God. We need to pray to Him and run to Him. We need to beg Him to come to us quickly. He will be our help and deliverer. He is not out to kick us when we are down. That is the world and sometimes what we have also experienced in our families and growing up, but it is not what we will find with God.   He is not embarrassed by our weakness. We are not less because of our lack of perfection, in contrast, this is when God can work the most. Let us throw away our pride and run for help. It is okay. It is expected.



Prayer for the Day


Dear Lord,


We are weak. Even in our best of times, we are still weak and small and insignificant. Help us to remember this in the good times and help us to cling to this in the bad times. Help us to remember that You are the God of miracles.  You are the God that calls things that are not as though they were.  You are the God that turns our weaknesses into strengths.  Help us to run to You and not away from You when we are struggling. We all struggle at times. It is lonely if we do not turn to You and the comforts that You provide through Your people and Your word. You are here for us. Help us to turn to You. Come quickly to us before we fade away.


In Jesus' Name,
Amen




QFT



1. Are there times when I feel down even when things are going well? What causes this in my life?


2. When I am feeling down, do I run to God or away? How does my past experiences affect my present relationship with God in these circumstances? What verses can I meditate on to help me change my thinking?


3. What situations make me feel down and needy? What am I struggling with right now that could draw me away from God?


4. Am I dealing with my troubles in a spiritual way? Do I need to rely more on God in prayer, scripture reading, or fellowship to deal with my needs and weaknesses? What is keeping me from doing what I need to do? What will I change to get the help I need?

5.  Am I rejoicing?  What do I have to rejoice about?  How can I keep a positive focus?

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

Prayer Focus - Gratitude



Day 5
Pray for:
One thing you are grateful for about the country that you live in
One thing you are grateful for about the state/region that you live in
One thing you are grateful for about the city that you live in
One thing you are grateful for about the home that you live in
One thing you are grateful for about your family



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



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



Psalms 69



"My eyes fail, looking for my God...May those who hope in You not be disgraced because of me, ...But I pray to You, O Lord, in the time of Your favor; in Your great love, O God, answer me with Your sure salvation...Answer me, O Lord, out of the goodness of Your love; in Your great mercy turn to me. Do not hide Your face from Your servant; answer me quickly, for I am in trouble. Come near and rescue me; redeem me because of my foes...

The Lord hears the needy and does not despise His captive people. Let heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and all that move in them, for God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah. Then people will settle there and possess it; the children of His servants will inherit it, and those who love His name will dwell there." ( vs. 3b, 6a, 13, 16, 33-36)


Sometime we are searching, and sometimes we are finding.  There are many seasons in our lives.  I love the scripture in Ecclesiastes that highlights this.

"There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven:

 

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace."

 

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Psalm 69 contrasts two seasons - a season of struggle and a season of rebuilding.  Both are written by the same person.  I know I have been through both seasons and though I love the rebuilding, I do not regret the seasons of struggle.  I would not want to go through some of the valleys I have been through again, but I would never want to take them back.  They are why I am where I am at now and God has used them.  He has used them to humble me and to show me what life is truly about. 

I was very arrogant as a young person and I did not really understand struggle.  Many things came easy to me and so I became very prideful and sure of myself.  But we can not find God if there is no room for Him in our hearts; if we are too full of ourselves.  That was me.  I had been trained to be a student, not a person.  I was taught to achieve, not love.  I was taught that it was all about me.  There was no room for God in my life, even though I professed to be a Christian.  God had to allow me to face complete and utter moral failure so that I could truly see who I was.

All the things that I used to hide behind were stripped away in college.  It was there that I truly began to understand that I was not a "good person".  Whatever I had was not of my own doing.  I did not make myself intelligent.  That was a gift of God.  I did not make myself athletically talented.  That too was a gift of God.  What I had made of myself, however, was a mess.  I could finally see how I used people.  I could see how I thought so many mean and impure thoughts.  I could see how I thought I was better than others because of the gifts that God had given me.  I could finally see clearly. 

I did not want to bring shame and disgrace on those that hoped in God anymore.  I claimed to be a Christian, but in my actions I was denying Him.  I was as big of a hypocrite as the people I hated for being hypocritical.  In God's great mercy, He had allowed me to see this.  He did not show me this to destroy me, however.  He showed me this so that I could change.  He allowed me to start over.  He came to my rescue.  I had searched and searched for Him and He was found.  At the right time, when I was most open to see the truth, God was there.  God is here.  I was crushed so that I could rise to a better life.

God saved me from myself and He continues to save me from myself.  I can not believe how far I have come and I am so grateful that I can now understand life better and I know what it is to struggle.  I know what it is to have to climb that long ladder back up to normal; to be a successfully functioning human being.  God does restore and rebuild, even if everything right now lies in chaos around us and we struggle to get through each day. God will not despise us. The poor and needy will see and be glad. Our hearts will live. Our searching for God is not in vain. We will find Him and He will reward us if we are faithful.  I praise God every day for this.



Prayer for the Day


Dear Lord,


We grow weary searching for You. We are looking. We are struggling but You are strong. You are waiting for us to come to You. You are not far from each one of us. Help us to clear all the fog from our vision and throw off the sin that so easily entangles us. Help us to run our race with perseverance and not lose sight of our goal to make it to be with You. Keep our sights eternal. We love You.


In Jesus' Name,
Amen



QFT



1. What season am I in right now?  How do I know this?  What seasons have I gone through?  What have I learned from them?

2. Am I disgracing God and/or my brothers and sisters by the way I am living? What do I need to change to be living a life that pleases God?

3. Am I praying and pleading with God about my needs? How often am I praying? Can I make a schedule that would enable me to have more time to pray? When is the best time for me to pray? Where is most effective?

4. What do I need God to rebuild in my life? In what way am I like the cities of Judah that were torn down? How can God restore me? Do I believe God can and desires to do this?

5. How will I be able to help others better once I am rebuilt by God? What is my vision for what my life could be like and what is my vision for how God could use me?

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

Prayer Focus - Gratitude


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

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




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




Psalms 68



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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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




Prayer for the Day


Dear Lord,


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


In Jesus' Name,
Amen



QFT


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

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

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

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

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

Daily Devotional - 9/3/15 (11/3/09)

Prayer Focus - Strangers



Day 6
Pray for:
One person you admire or look up to
One person you met/meet today
One person that is in the entertainment industry
One person in politics
One person you always see but have never spoken to
One person that you have read about that is still alive



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


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



Psalms 63



"O God, You are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for You, my body longs for You, in a dry and weary land where there is not water. 

I have seen You in the sanctuary and beheld Your power and Your glory. Because Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You. I will praise You as long as I live, and in Your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise You.

On my bed I remember You; I think of You through the watches of the night.  Because You are my help, I sing in the shadow of Your wings.  My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me."     ( vs. 1 - 6 )


I have seen the power of God. I have seen Him change me. I have seen Him change others. I have also seen great victories. I know I would be nothing without Him and that He is all that I have that is good. I don't know how I knew this at 17 but I did.  I had been wandering and I was thirsty and weary.  I had great achievements - valedictorian, athlete, popular.  I had been able to travel to Europe and Japan, among other places.  Basically, I had done everything that I wanted had wanted to.  I had accomplished all my goals up to that point, and yet I was dying.  I was so empty.  Life was meaningless to me.  I went from one party to the next trying to fill the ache inside; using and being used.  I made an ultimatum with God.  Show me this is real!  And He did.  When I finally saw the Bible being lived out, then I knew.  I had to respond.  I clung to God because I knew that He was my only hope for a better life and that if I walked away from Him, I would be walking away from the best thing that I ever would have.  I was right.  I have had many wonderful things in my life and even now, life is good; but I still  have never found anything like God.

I must always remember this.   God's love is better than life.  Life is a struggle, God's love is not.  I will be satisfied. I will choose to be satisfied.  Day in and day out.  It is a choice and I will make it.



Prayer for the Day



Dear Lord,



We will be satisfied. We will turn our eyes to You and our hearts to remembering. We have beheld Your power and Your glory. We will remember. Help us when we are faltering and forgetting. Help us when we wander. We choose today to be satisfied. Your love is better than anything that we have.  All our blessings have come from You. You are the great Giver. You are the perfect Father and Husband. We run to You and hide in the shelter of Your wings. Help us. We are damaged people longing to be healed. Help us to learn to sing again and to be mentally, emotionally, physically, and most important of all, spiritually healed so that we might be able to serve You.  We desire to worship You completely and acceptably. We come before You in humble adoration. Please accept us today and always.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen




QFT



1. How am I feeling about life?  Do I feel weary, thirsty, and parched or do I feel refreshed and rejuvenated?  How is my relationship with God?

2. How has God's power been expressed in my life? Do I recognize God's glory? Am I praising Him daily?

3. Do I truly believe that God's love is better than life? How do I know this? How do I show it?

4. Am I satisfied with God alone? What tends to get me feeling dissatisfied? How can I stop allowing these things to distract me from God?

5. Am I clinging to God?  Am I letting God heal me? What do I need to be healed from? How can running to the shelter of God's wings heal me?

Daily Devotional - 8/29/15 (10/29/09)

Prayer Focus - Strangers

Day 1
Pray for:
One person you admire or look up to


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


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



Psalms 59


"Deliver me from my enemies, O God; protect me from those who rise up against me.  Deliver me from evildoers and save me from bloodthirsty men.

See how they lie in wait for me!  Fierce men conspire against me for no offense or sin of mine, O Lord.  I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me.  Arise to help me; look on my plight ...

They return at evening, snarling like dogs, and prowl about the city.  See what they spew from their mouths - they spew out swords from their lips, and they say, "Who can hear us?"  But You, O Lord, laugh at them; You scoff at all those nations. 

O my Strength, I watch for You; You, O God, are my fortress, my loving God. 

God will go before me and will let me gloat over those who slander me...

But I will sing of Your strength, in the morning I will sing of Your love; for You are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.

O my Strength, I sing praise to You; You, O God, are my fortress, my loving God." ( vs. 1- 4, 6 - 10, 16 - 17)


Problems and evil people bother us.  They overwhelm us and fill us with dread.  We worry.  I know I do.  Sometimes I can be so worried about all the bad things that could happen that I feel paralyzed.  But God is different.  God is not worried by evil people.  He laughs at them and scoffs at them because He knows their days are numbered.  God is also not overwhelmed by our problems and difficulties.  He knows the big picture, and so therefore, all I need to know is God.  I need to get my eyes off of my problems and get them on God.  I need to watch for Him and for His deliverance.

I am reminded of Peter walking on the water when I think about focusing on God (Matthew 14: 23 - 33).  As the story goes, Jesus sent his disciples out ahead of Him on their boat. A wind came up during the night, and so the sea was rough.  It was at this point, that Jesus came out to them, walking on the water.  At first they were afraid, but when Peter realized it was Jesus, he said, "Lord, if it's you...tell me to come to you on the water."  Jesus told him to come and Peter did indeed walk on the water.  As long as he was looking at Jesus, he was able to do the impossible.  It was only when he took his eyes off Jesus and began to look at the wind and the waves, that he became afraid and began to sink.  He cried out to Jesus to save him and so Jesus took ahold of him and helped him into the boat.

We are like Peter.  We can walk on water, or we can sink.  It all depends on our focus.  When we focus on our problems, or on the evil in the world, we will sink.  When we look up, and watch for God, we will overcome.  We do not need to worry.  We are called not to worry.  As verse 9b states, God is going before us.  He is the trailblazer, carving out a path for us.  We just need to follow Him.


We are to watch and then we are follow.  We are to pray and then we are to watch for answers.  I will watch for God's provisions and for His ways of escape from the troubles that seem to outnumber me.  For God is my fortress.  I can run to Him when I am troubled or under attack.  He is my loving God.  I am special to Him in spite of all the trouble that overwhelms me.  The troubles that I have do not mean that God does not love me.  Nothing of the sort.  The trouble and hardship I face are just a part of life.  They are a part of what I need to grow.  They refine me for eternity.  I am to view hardship as discipline and training (Hebrews 12: 4 - 13), and in fact, evidence of my Father's love.

God is going before me and I will not falter.  I will not falter if I let Him clear the way and if I stay in the path He has for me.  God is strong and He will do it.  I will praise Him yet.



Prayer for the Day


Dear Lord,


We are grateful that You go before us to clear the way.  Help us to walk in the path that You have prepared.  You are good.  We are grateful that nothing can hinder Your plan and that evil people are nothing but something to laugh and scoff at.  We get so worked up and worried over evil men but we need to leave them up to You.  Help us to let go of this.  You are our fortress.  Help us to run to You when we are tempted to worry or be discouraged.  You will keep us safe.  You love us.  We are so grateful for Your love.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen


QFT


1. Do I realize that evil people are best left up to God?  What do my actions show of what I believe?  Do I pray for these people?  Do I care about their eternal destiny?

2.  Am I focusing on God and His power, or am I focusing on my problems and evil men?  What am I worrying about right now?  What are the issues in my life that will make me sink?  How can I give them to God so I can walk on water?

3. Am I watching for God?  Am I asking God for anything?  Am I praying and waiting in eager expectation?  How can I improve this aspect of my relationship with God?

4. Do I believe God is going before me and clearing a path for me?  How do I know what the path He is preparing for me is?  How can I ensure I am following it?

5. What is God using in my life right now to train me?  Do I see my hardships as discipline and training from a God who loves me?  How have I seen good come out of my struggles?

Daily Devotional - 8/24/15 (10/24/09)

Prayer Focus - Enemies


Day 3
Pray for:
One person who was mean to you when you were a child
One person who has given you a lot of trouble recently
One person from your family (immediate or extended) that has given you trouble at some point in time

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


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



Psalms 54

This post was originally written in 2009.  I have left it much as it was.  My daughter is now a healthy 11 year old and her asthma rarely bothers her.  In 2009, my husband was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer which had spread to his liver.  He had two surgeries and two rounds of chemotherapy.  He was cancer free for four years and then had a reoccurrence in 2014.  This was followed by another surgery and more chemotherapy [see Daily Devotional - 8/22/10 (9/22/09) if you are interested in learning more about his cancer].  Thankfully, he has been cancer free for a year now.  My schedule is still very hectic and long, yet God always provides what I need to take care of all of my responsibilities.  If you are interested in reading the background information which prompted me to start these devotionals in 2009, please see ("Background Information" - published 8/31/09.)



"Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me....I will sacrifice a freewill offering to You; I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good. For He has delivered me from all my troubles, and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes." ( vs. 4, 6-7)


God is my help. I have to repeat this to myself daily, hourly, and moment by moment. God is my help. He is the one who sustains me. I can not do this on my own.  There is so much to be done daily.  If I look at my life, I am overwhelmed; if I look at God, I can make it through.  God does supply my daily needs.  However, I must learn to separate the urgent from the important. I must learn to prioritize. I can not do everything and so I must do the most important.  Sometimes I do not even know what that is.  Therefore, I must learn to rely more and more on the Lord who sustains me.

I am learning to look at the worst that could happen and then look at it through God's eyes.  Heaven knows, I am getting quite a bit of practice.  For example, if my daughter should get sick with H1N1, which happens to be something on my mind right now, what would be the worst that could happen? Having asthma, she could get very sick. She could even die. I have had to think of this before. I have thought of this every time I have had to take her to the hospital because she can't breathe.  So if the worst would happen to my child, I have to realize, she would be in heaven. She would be happy and at peace forever. Since she is only five, she would be with God and would be spared all the heart ache that we face living on earth. I would be heartbroken but at least I would know that she was safe and no longer had to suffer. I would not have to worry about whether or not she would grow up to know God. She would be there waiting for me.  Sometimes remembering this helps me to face the uncertainty of each day.  I can make it through the worst, day by day, holding on to God's hand and striving to look at life through an eternal perspective.  And so it is with each problem I face.  I try to keep this focus.  I look at the worst that could happen and then I take that to God, for I do know that He is good.  He has kept me safe this far.

So I will sacrifice a freewill offering to God in gratitude for sustaining me. I will freely come and bring Him whatever I have to offer. Sometimes it is not much but I will bring it.  Like the poor widow that only dropped a few coins in the offering, I will give what I can, what I have ( Luke 21:1-4 ).  God will not have to force me to follow, or to come, or to sacrifice. I am so grateful that I am even allowed to participate in this life.   I would have nothing without God and I look forward to seeing how He will deliver me from all of my present troubles.  He has amazed me up until now with how He has gotten me out of my past troubles. I am certain that I will look in triumph on my foes someday. And what a great day that will be!



Prayer for the Day



Dear Lord,


We look forward to the day that we will be able to look with triumph on our foes. You have delivered us so far and You will continue to deliver us. You are good, always good and we praise You. You are our help. You do sustain us. You get us up and put us to bed. You keep our hearts beating and our lungs pulling in oxygen. You are great and You deserve all the freewill offerings I can bring. Help us to not be like horses or mules that have to be pulled along. Help us to come willingly and eagerly to serve You. Forgive us in our failures to please You. We need You and praise You for Your mercy. Continue to walk with us and carry us when we are weak. We worship You.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen



QFT


1. How often do I think about God actually being with me in each present moment? Do I turn to Him for help in the moment or do I forget He is there?

2. Am I allowing God to prioritize my day and my time? Do I let Him get involved with the mundane areas of my life like house work or do I feel that God is only interested in the "big issues"?

3. What am I worrying about?  What is the worst thing that could happen in that situation?  How can I see this from an eternal perspective?  Does this help me?  Why or why not?

4. How can I bring a freewill offering to God? Is my service and worship a joy or burden to me? What can I change to improve my attitude of joy when I am serving or worshiping God?

5. What are the foes in my life? What am I doing to conquer them? How will I feel when I am delivered and can look at them in triumph?

Daily Devotional for 8/21/15 (10/21/09)

Prayer Focus - Friends


Day 7
Pray for:
One friend that you feel close to
One friend that has become distant and you would like to be closer to
One friend from long ago
One new friend
One friend that has hurt you
One friend that has always been there for you
One friend that you have lost touch with and have no idea where they are


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



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



Psalms 51


"Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love; according to Your great compassion blot out my transgressions." (vs. 1)

"Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are proved right when You speak and justified when You judge." (vs. 4)

"Surely You desire truth in the inner parts; You teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow." (vs. 6 - 7)

"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me." (vs. 10 - 12)

"You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise." (vs. 16 - 17)

In Your good pleasure make Zion prosper; Build up the walls of Jerusalem. Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight You; (vs. 18 -19a)


True religion is something totally different than what most of us think.  Often we think of going to church and a bunch of dos and don'ts.  Definitely there are things that should and shouldn't be done but it all seems to boil down to love.  What is the greatest commandment?  Love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength and love our neighbors as ourselves (Matt 22:37-39).  This is what Jesus said summed it all up - Love. 

God is love.  Do we remember this?


I think we forget.  We think - God is a taskmaster. God is far away.  God does not care.  God is not fair.  God is mean.  God hates.  God just wants me to obey.  But is this really true?  Does God want our sacrifices? Will our hard work save us?  Can we ever be good enough?

The answer to all these types of questions are no.  No, no, no.  God is love.  God wants truth.  God wants integrity. God wants us to come back and say, "Thank You. Do not cast me away from You."  God wants us broken and contrite. Ready to be something different.  Ready to turn away from all the secrets within us.  Bottom line, God wants us to be with Him and He knows what that will take.


I think when we look deep into ourselves, we know this as well.  There is an aching part in us that just wants to be known, loved, and changed.  I think we long for transformation. We long to be clean - to be free from what ever it is that is binding us and keeping us from life. 

But even though we know this, there is a barrier to us reaching the healing we seek.  I believe this barrier is sin.  Sometimes we think we are so clever.  We do things we know are wrong and think it will never be found out.  We think no one can really see what is going on within us.  Well, that is not really true is it?  God sees everything.  God already knows, and sooner or later everyone else usually finds out too.

When I was a child, I used to think it would be a great parenting tool to have cameras in every room so that a parent could see what was going on at all times.  Now of course, that is possible now but it wasn't back in the 70's.  I was grateful back then that nothing like that existed because I did a lot of things in secret that I didn't what anyone seeing.  It was quite a revelation to me when I finally realized that God saw everything and that He had seen every single thing I had ever done in secret.  I was quite ashamed and embarrassed.


So in order to be transformed and healed, and since all the things we have done have been seen anyway, we need to deal with them.  We need to seek repentance.  We have to get these secrets out into the open and get help.  We need to stop doing wrong and start doing right.  That is what I had to do.

I had to come to grips with the fact that God wanted me.  He wants us, all of us, and He wants us to be true believers.  He wants our hearts, not just our outward acquiescence.  But I didn't know how to get from where I was to where I needed to be?  This is where Psalm 51 is essential.  It is the cry for forgiveness and restoration that we all need to cry.

When I was finally trying to get my life right with God, I had a mentor who was working with me in my life.  He knew just about everything about me and he gave me a key assignment.  He challenged me to memorize this Psalm and repeat it as often as I could.  He felt that when I could truly pray this Psalm from my heart, then I would probably be ready to become a Christian.

I would finally be ready to become a Christian, because I would finally be ready to deal with the sin in my life.  My heart would be ready to change because it would have released the things that were at that time controlling it.  Sin hardens us.  Sin hardens and breaks us.  This world is broken.  I was broken.  Sin breaks our communion with God, others, and even ourselves.  It cuts us off from our heart and it sears our consciences.  It destroys whatever good is in us and it destroys the good in this world.  We can not be close to God and be in sin as well.  It is impossible. 

I was so hard at this point in my life from all the sin I had indulged in that I needed a transformation.  I needed a new heart, and new spirit.  I needed to come to God on His terms, not mine.

I took my friend's challenge and eventually I had a breakthrough.  God did have mercy on me.  He did restore to me the joy of my salvation and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  God was faithful and created a pure heart within me.  I had not been pure in a long time but now I was and I could be completely different.  Instead of being religious, I could be righteous - right with God.  I could have integrity.  I could have truth.  I could walk without fear of what I was hiding. 

God was and is faithful.  Thirty some years later, I am still walking this walk and striving to keep this prayer and all of God's word in my heart so that I will not sin against Him.

I praise God that He did restore and in His timing, He did make me prosper.  He has given me so much and I would never have known all the good He had in store if I had not been willing to get on my knees and pray.





Prayer for the Day


Dear Lord,

Have mercy on us we pray.  Forgive us our sins.  Cleanse us.  Only You can do this.  We thank You for forgiving us.  We thank You for Your mercy and grace. We thank you for even caring at all. We know that we are completely unworthy. Please grant us a willing spirit to sustain us. Grant us joy as well so that we may live and be the examples that You deserve. We know that in Your good pleasure, You can make us prosper. We look forward to that day.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen




QFT


1. What do I think God really wants from me?  Why?  Do I have a correct perspective of God? Why or why not?  How can I get a more accurate view?

2. Do I realize how much I sin against God?  Am I turning to Him for forgiveness?  Do I realize that when I sin against others, I am sinning against God?  Does this help me to stop sinning or could this help me?  How can I remind myself of this fact?

3. Do I feel burdened by past sins?  Have I been forgiven?  How do I know?  Do I need to discuss anything with another person to help deal with a habitual sin?

4. What does repentance mean to me?  What do I do when I have done something wrong?  How do I deal with it?  Is this the best thing to do or could I do something differently?

5. Am I turning to God for a pure heart, a steadfast spirit, a willing spirit, and a joyful heart? Which of these is the hardest for me to maintain?

Daily Devotional - 1/20/13 (10/20/09)

Prayer Focus - Friends


Day 6
Pray for:
One friend that you feel close to
One friend that has become distant and you would like to be closer to
One friend from long ago
One new friend
One friend that has hurt you
One friend that has always been there for you


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

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


Psalms 50


"He who sacrifices thank offerings honors Me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God." (vs. 23)



What is it that God requires?  Sacrifice, work, hardship, toughing it out, denying ourselves, piety?  We have many ideas in our heads, but God's words drown them out. 

"God comes and will not be silent...Gather to me my consecrated ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice."

Then what does He say to us?

"Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me." ( vs 14-15)




The foremost thing on God's mind is thank offerings.  He wants us to be thankful; to rejoice always.  He says it again, Rejoice.  When we rejoice, all the rest flows out naturally.  Living our lives as a Christian is not a burden when we have a grateful heart.  I know I gladly do things for those I appreciate; those to whom I am grateful for.  When I lose gratitude for God and others, then everything becomes a burdensome chore. Besides enabling us to fulfill the rest of our vows, the thankfulness of our hearts honor God.
 
We must no longer think of this as an optional tenant of Christianity.  I must be thankful. It is so easy to be ungrateful and complaining. It seems to be natural for us. But negative thinking spirals us down to depression and futility. Positive, grateful hearts enable us to see God and the ways He has laid out to help us in any and every situation. My gratitude and thanks enable God to usher in His salvation. The road to victory is paved with thanks. Let us call out to God in our times of trouble and do it with rejoicing since we are blessed to even have a life to be struggling with. God will answer.



Prayer for the Day


Dear Lord,

Thank You for giving us life. We are grateful to exist and we are grateful that You care for us. Help us to remember that our gratitude opens the doors for Your salvation. Help us to not be like the Isrealites that wandered for years in the desert because of their ingratitude and unfaithfulness. They continued to complain in spite of all the miracles You brought to them. We can be no different. We want to amaze You with our faith and our good attitudes and happy hearts. We ask for Your strength and blessing as we strive to be pleasing to You in each and every moment of our days. We love You.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen



QFT



1. Am I sacrificing thank offerings to God? How often do I thank God for something?


2. Am I fulfilling my vows to God? What vows have I made to God? What do I need to change to fulfill them more completely?


3. Am I calling upon God in my times of trouble? Who do I turn to first when I am having a problem? Is it God or a friend/spouse?


4. Am I seeing victories in my life? What is my mental attitude like?


5. Do I see any correlation between when I am positive and grateful and when I see victories/ success in my life? If so, how can I do a better job at sustaining my gratitude level?

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

Prayer Focus - Family



Day 2


Pray for:
One family member that you feel close to
One family member that you are not 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 39



"But when I was silent and still, not even saying anything good, my anguish increased." (vs. 2)



We were made to communicate. God is very communicative and we were made in His image. There is something very strong within us that wants to know and be known. But what about the quiet person one might ask? Do they have no desire? They say they do not. I do not know if that is really true. I would be considered a quiet, private person, and in fact, I am, but I do not think that is how I always was. There is also a large part of me that is troubled by this lack of deep communication in my life. I do want to be known. I do want to communicate, but I stop short every time. At some time in my life and in the lives of others like me, I believe there was some emotional, mental, spiritual, or physical damage that occurred and caused the person to shut off the world, perhaps because it was too painful. The decision was made that being alone was fine since it saved one a lot of trouble and hurt.


But this often creates festering individuals. I know because I was one. By the time I was 17, I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I appeared to have everything together but I was dying and going crazy inside. I was cut off from the world emotionally and I was warped because of this. Although I appeared to be a nice person superficially, I was not deep down and I knew that. I was failing everyone, especially myself and God. I truly believe in the saying to "watch out for the quiet ones" because often, (not always), there is a cauldron of anger and hatred inside that eventually erupts terribly. I know I was about ready to.


This damage occurs because we were made to communicate. Babies do not thrive with out love and caring which is a form of communication. If no one ever cares to listen to the real you, what message does one take away from that? They take away the message - "I am not worth listening to. My opinions are not worthwhile. Therefore I am not worthwhile. I am not special to anyone." This creates a low grade anger because we all want to be special. God made us that way. This bottling everything up inside is not good. We all have valuable lessons and resources to share. We need others and others need us. We are interconnected, whether we want to be or not. Plus, we need to be channels for the Lord's power to flow. Finally, we need to prevent the "crazies" caused by isolation from setting into our souls.


So, whether what we have to say is good or bad, we need to start communicating. If we don't, our anguish will increases as the psalmist states. When I finally started opening up to others while studying the Bible at 17, I really started to change and experience the freedom that I could have in Christ. I was able to let go of so many evil things and be transformed. I was able to have God restore sanity and stability to me. I am so grateful for this and although communication is still not my strength, I continually work on the process because I know it is vital to my survival. I still have difficulties but I know it is crucial to be open and communicate because I know how crazy I can become with isolation.



"Show me, O Lord, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life."  (vs. 4)



Communicating also helps us to remember what life is really all about. It is about people, not money, or things. We must remember that life is short. It is flying by. We need to pray to have God help us to remember this so that we don't waste time. When I am under the pressure of a deadline, I work hard. Otherwise I am led to procrastinate. In life, I must remember that I am under a deadline that is very permanent. I need to let that motivate me to make the most of every opportunity. I need to love fully, and live fully. I need to be about God's purpose, not mine. I need to look at what I do every moment of every day in the light of eternity. If I do this, I will be able to look at the end of my life with joy and not fear. I will be able to say, I have finished the race. That is what I long to be able to do; to know that I did my best all along the way and that I made a difference for being here.


"But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you." (vs. 7)



My hope is in God for all of this. He will give me direction. He will help me to dig out the stones embedded in my life that are hindering me from communicating as I would like and experiencing the deep friendships I desire. He knows that I want to make a difference in the world and He wants that for me as well. The only way I can ever make a difference though is by communicating. It is too overwhelming for me but it is not for God. I need to just focus on Him. He has given me this format as a start. I am good at writing and sharing things I could never share if I were speaking. Someday perhaps I will be able to do that well also. It is up to God.


God gives and God takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.




Prayer for the Day


Dear Father,


Grant us the desire and the ability to speak freely what is on our hearts. You have made each one of us special to You and have placed thoughts and convictions on our hearts. We are made to love and be loved. Help us to give and receive this. Help us to clear out the obstacles that prevent us from glorifying You in this manner and help us to be able to forge deep relationships. We want to make a difference in the world and we want to please You. Help us to open our mouths in praise and in whatever else needs to come. We want to be channels for You to speak and love through us. We know You can do it.


In Jesus' Name,
Amen



QFT


1.  Do I believe it is important to communicate?  Why or why not?  Am I good at communicating? How do I know?

2. Do I share what is on my heart? Do I clear up issues with others? Am I speaking the truth in love to others?  Why or why not?  How can I change?

3. Are my relationships close and do we communicate about what is really important to us?  Why or why not?  How can I change?

4. Am I living my life like each day was my last? If today was my last day here, what would I do differently? How can I keep life in better perspective and spend more time on what is really important?
5.  Do I communicate well in a way other than speaking?  How can I use this as a means to begin improving my verbal communication? 

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?

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?