Devotions - Prayer
So now the case is closed. There remains no accusing voice of condemnation against those who are joined in life union with Jesus the anointed. Romans 8:1
We each have moments when we start feeling overwhelmed by condemnation. Thoughts run through our heads like, “I wish I hadn’t done that,” or, “I could have done that better.”
You know, sometimes, after you’ve gone through the process of prayer, repentance, forgiveness, release, and so on, you have to choose to just shake it off.
If satan can’t keep you from repenting, he’ll try to trap you with a worldly sorrow that is non-productive; it paralyzes you with feeling terrible about yourself and a sense that you’ll never be anything significant.
But this is not God’s desire for you. Godly sorrow leads to repentance, and repentance leads to redemption.
When something like this happens, there are steps we can and should take – we forgive ourselves, we forgive others, we make things right if we need to. But then there comes a point where we simply have to shake it off. We can’t walk around dragging garbage and baggage.
We have one Justifier; we have a Redeemer. If we wallow in the mess we were caught in or a past situation, then we hinder the Redeemer’s anointing from activating in our lives. When we release it, God silences the accusing voice of condemnation, just as our opening verse says. “There remains no accusing voice”.
A little further in the Romans 8 passage, we read these amazing words: “You have received the spirit of full acceptance, enfolding you into the family of God, and you will never feel orphaned; for as He rises up within us, our spirits join in saying the words of tender affection, ‘Beloved Father.’ For the Holy Spirit makes God’s fatherhood real to us as He whispers into our inner most being.”
God wants to root out the orphan spirit in you and in the entire Body of Christ. He wants you to recognize that you are not a victim and that you don’t need to get caught in the trap of victimizing yourself. You are called to be whole, and you are unconditionally loved.
Father, I thank You that today we will feel totally accepted. Help us to reach a place where we feel accepted by You and by others. Thank You for uprooting the orphan spirit from our hearts. I thank You for this movement of the Holy Spirit bringing renewed passion for God as we recognize that we can feel close to Him, that we are 100% accepted. Help us remember that we are never alone and that God has never left us. We decree that we are not orphans; we belong to our heavenly Father. Amen.
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Matthew 5:9 God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.
The Father is the great Peace Maker. But, that peace came at a great cost.
Colossians 1 teaches us that the cost to God of reconciling (making peace) with us was Jesus Christ’s death on the Cross.
Jesus has enabled anyone who will trust Him for forgiveness and healing and freedom, to be at peace with God.
2 Corinthians 5:20. “So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”
Only when our hearts are ruled by God’s Love are we given the hope that transcends emotion or circumstance.
“…we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts…” Romans 5:3-5
Proverbs 1:33 But whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.
One thing that people all over the world today are striving for is security, but here is an offer of total security.
You’ll live in safety; you’ll be at ease, without fear of harm. Not merely will you be physically safe, but you’ll be free from worry and anxiety and care.
What’s the secret?
*The secret is listening to the right voice.
*That’s the voice of divine wisdom speaking through the pages of Scripture, offering that promise of total security and ongoing, uninterrupted emotional stability and peace.
How can you find that?
*You can’t find it in the world’s system, in the world’s provisions.
*The world can offer temporary stability, temporary security, but nothing that’s permanent.
***The only pathway to permanent stability, security, peace of mind is to listen to the voice of divine wisdom speaking through the pages of Scripture and then to do what wisdom enjoys.
John 14:27 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.
*The peace can only be made with our dependence to God.
Thank You Jesus for Your word! THE BIBLE (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth)! I believe the Bible contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of life, the doom of sinners, the happiness of believers. I Read it to be wise. Believe it to be safe —-Practice it to be holy. The Bible gives light to direct you, food to support you and comfort to cheer you. Amen!!!
Read More“Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the Israelites to move on.” – Exodus 14:15
Moses had brought the whole nation of Israel, approximately 600,000, to a dead end in the desert.
The only thing between Israel and Pharaoh’s pursuing army was the Red Sea.
Panic set in. The defenseless Israelites cried out,
“Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?…It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” (Ex. 14:11b-12)
God sometimes brings each of us to a “Red Sea” in our life.
*It may be a work problem that can’t be solved.
*It may be a marriage that seems to be failing.
*It may be a debilitating disease.
**Whatever your Red Sea, God tells us one thing: Keep moving forward.
The Red Sea was before them, yet God was angered at Moses and told him to “Keep moving.”
“But Lord, the Red Sea is before me.” “Keep moving.”
When we live by sight, we act on what we see. God sets this stage in dramatic fashion. God is into the dramatic. There is no way out without God here. That is just the way He wants it. No one will get glory except God.
There is great healing when we look past our own problems and seek to invest ourselves in others for the sake of Christ.
This is when our own Red Seas become parted.
*We begin to walk to freedom. But we will never experience the miracle of the Red Sea in our lives if we don’t first “Keep moving forward.
There is an issue that you must settle in your own mind and heart. There are just some things that you cannot fix or make different. You can only make decisions about the things that are yours to deal with, and that does not include other people and their choices.
Psalms 118:8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
Amen
Matthew 17:20 “You do not have enough faith, Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as a small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”
If we are facing a problem that seems as big and immovable as a mountain, turn our eyes from the mountain and look to Christ for more faith.
Only then will we be able to overcome the obstacles that may stand in our way.
- There is great potential in even a little faith when we trust in God’s power to act.
- We need to trust in God’s power not our own ability to produce results.
Acts 1:8 But you(apostles) will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth.
We can always look around and find plenty of Christians who are not using this power, but 2 Corinthians 10:12 says that comparing ourselves among ourselves is not wise.
Most Christians are living so far below what God intended for them that when someone begins to live a normal Christian life (according to God’s standard), then everyone thinks he’s abnormal.
We will be successful when we not only build our faith but destroy our doubts.
One reason we are so prone to doubt is that we fail to see God at work in our circumstances.
- We asked, and nothing happened.
- But the Lord is not some cosmic bellhop who jumps in response to our requests.
- He sees past, present, and future and knows the right time for every answer.
- His invisible hand is already at work on our behalf—arranging situations to accomplish His will, opening hearts, and preparing us to receive what He wants to give.
If we don’t know God’s ways, we will be disappointed in His response. (see Hosea 4:6)
All too often our prayers are accompanied by expectations of how He will work. When He fails to intervene according to our timetable or anticipated method, we start to doubt.
But placing our faith in the Lord and trusting in His good and perfect ways gives us stability as we wait for His answer.
To overcome doubts, spend time in the Word to learn God’s principles and ways. Then you’ll begin to grasp what He wants to achieve in your life and how He goes about it.
Thank You Jesus for all the answered prayers of the past that I just took for granted. Amen
Read MoreHave you been set free?
You probably think, “Of course! I’ve been washed, redeemed, made holy by Jesus, and I live for Him. ”
Now here’s a follow-up question: Does your everyday life reflect the glorious freedom you have just described?
*Would your friends, your spouse, your children say you’ve been set free?
**Or are you like multitudes of Christians who feel they are on a spiritual seesaw?
Is your walk with Christ continually up and down, seemingly spiritual one moment and carnal the next?
We accept by faith the great truths about Jesus’ work for us—salvation, redemption, sanctification, deliverance. Yet for many of us, these are“spiritual truths” that exist in another world.
We sing and rejoice at church each week over what Jesus has done for us—but is His gift of freedom a reality in our daily lives?
At times we all struggle to remain pure in thoughts and actions. Maybe this week you said something unkind to your spouse and you have been stewing, “What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I be a blessing in my marriage?”
Whenever we fail in our walk with God, we wonder, “Has God really set me free?”
Perhaps at times you even question your salvation.
Now that isn’t freedom. I have been there way to often.
So what does it mean to really be set free in Christ?
The first evidence of this comes from Jesus, who says, “Which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? . . . Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:27, 33,).
Christ offers the same words to all of us who fret about our spiritual lives:
Do not be anxious! It does not matter how broken down you feel about your walk with Him. He declares, “You are a new creation” (see 2 Corinthians 5:17).
The moment you chose to follow Jesus, He made you new—and that never changes. (Read Eph. 2:1-10)
Thank You Jesus for the personal relationship we have and may we become more and more as ONE each passing day for Your Glory and my Joy! Thank You Jesus for the Freedom I know I have in Knowing You! Amen
Read MoreIn the Bible, God’s Life is often referred to as a “fountain of living water” welling up and filling us to overflowing.
* “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.’ “John 7:38
I spent many years regretting sins from my past; sins that had hurt others and myself.
Day after day I would replay my decisions. Two decades later, the sting of past sin still had a hold on me.
Yet I knew God had forgiven me; I’d asked Him to. So why couldn’t I accept the freedom of His forgiveness?
I wanted so badly to believe I was the person David mentions in Psalm 32:2,“Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.”
Yet I struggled with accepting that God’s grace could erase my sin, wiping it away as if it never happened.
I think for many of us, this is hard to do. It sounds all well and good, but in reality we are still carrying the weight of sin we can’t seem to forget or forgive ourselves for.
Yet, His Word assures us that God does not count our sin against us. So how can we live in this truth?
I’ve discovered through our key verse that the first step is acknowledging our sins: to ourselves and to God.
1. Confession reconciles our heart with God’s heart.
2. The next thing is to begin filling our heart and mind with truth.
Throughout the Bible, God teaches how an unaccepting heart can be changed and softened to accept His forgiveness.
The following verses are truths from a loving God who longs to transform our lives through the grace of His forgiveness.
My God doesn’t condemn.
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1
My master is grace not sin.
“For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.” Romans 6:14
My Savior Jesus has set me free, therefore I am free.
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36
Isaiah 44:22 “I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free.”
Dear Lord, by faith I accept Your forgiveness and refuse to be a slave to forgiven sin any longer. Today, I confess and move on! I commit to believing Your transforming truths to live fully and freely in Your grace. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
Psalms 23:6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever.
-We will live in Heaven forever
Matthew 22:29 Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God. 30 For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven.
-There will be no marriage in Heaven, and we will be like the angels.
John 14:2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?
-Jesus prepares a place for us in Heaven, in which there are many rooms.
Philippians 3:20 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.21 He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.
-Our citizenship is in Heaven where our earthly bodies will be transformed to be glorious like Jesus’
2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.
8 And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.
-We will never hunger or thirst when in Heaven.
Revelation 7:16 They will never again be hungry or thirsty; they will never be scorched by the heat of the sun. 17 For the Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd.
He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”
-There is a crown of righteousness in store for us in Heaven that God will reward us with.
Revelation 21:4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
-There will be no death, mourning, crying, or pain in Heaven.
Revelation 21:22 I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. (Read throgh verse 27)
-There will be nothing impure in Heaven, and only those whose name is written in the Lamb’s book of life will be allowed in
Lord Jesus, Thank You for Your Word and the Promises we have after this life here on earth. Help us share this great news with as many as possible. Amen
Read MorePaul testified, “It pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb,and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him” (Galatians 1:15-16).
Paul was saying, “I have within me much more than some doctrine somebody thought up, more than just a head knowledge of Christ.
*I have a revelation of who Christ is—
*A revelation of His grace, mercy and love.
**And this revelation has become the very source of all I am and do.
**It’s the very essence of my life!”
The revelation of God’s glory is indeed wondrous. Yet many have turned that very revelation into a license to sin.
Jude describes people “turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 4).
According to Paul, such people sin “that grace may abound” (Romans 6:1).
*They are saying, in essence, “If God loves to express Himself through mercy and forgiveness, then I’m going to give Him every opportunity. I’m going to sin and let Him keep loving me, so that grace will flow.
What a testimony to the world that will be. I Will(see the I) be an object of all that love coming down from heaven.”
Such people are easy to spot. Their expression gives them away.
*Whatever is in your heart is going to reveal itself in your countenance.”
Proverbs 19:22a, says, “What a person desires is unfailing love.”
*Unfailing love is mentioned over 30 times in the Bible, and not once is it attributed to a person. It is only attributed to God.
God gave us a desire for unfailing love because He knew it would lead us back to Him.
His love draws us to Him. Only we can stop God from reaching the deep and hidden parts within us that need Him most.
Thank You Jesus!!!!! YOU ARE AWESOME!
*My Testimony is that I’m already paid for by the blood of Jesus!
Freedom in Christ!
1. “ANY trial is just a test for my promotion. After my manifestation of the “win” I’m STRONGER!!!”
2. God’s financial plan is the only plan that won’t fail!
3. STOP pushing the panic button! The panic button takes God out of the equation.
4. *A lie can stop my freedom
5. The Truth is not a saying, but Truth is a person– John 14:6 Jesus replied, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Amen
Always be on the lookout for anything that takes your “peace” away, and then ask God to reveal what’s going on inside the hidden chambers of your soul.
* “Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence.” Psalm 42:5
*You must have peace with God– to have peace of God.
The more sensitive we become to the Holy Spirit’s leading, the better we are able to walk in the world with peace and assurance as true sons of God.
JOHN 20:21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”
The dictionary states that to reconcile means to re-establish friendship between; to settle or resolve, as a dispute.
The key to reconciliation is to effectively deal with the enmity, ill will, hatred, or hostility that caused the dispute, etc.
2 Corinthians 5:18 -19
*May we be quick to forgive and reconcile with those we are at odds with.
The enmity between man and God was SIN.
*God took the initiative to remove this barrier through the means and agency of Jesus Christ, thus leaving man and God as friends once again.
We have received the ministry of reconciliation.
*That means we are in the ministry of reconciling people to God.
Imputing people’s sins unto them was not the way God used Jesus to reconcile the world unto Himself.
**We should not focus on the problem of sin, but on the answer of God’s grace (Rom. 5:20).
Our real job as ministers of reconciliation is to announce the good NEWS, which is an accomplished fact – that sin has already been dealt with through the person of Christ.
No matter how far you have wandered, as long as you still draw breathe, it is never too late to go back to God.
*Come, put down your pride and accept the gift of grace and love He has poured out for you and me.
Ephesians 2:16 Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.
Lord, help me see each day that-Peace comes from the relationship I have with You! Lord, help me to stop worrying about others and start worrying about me and my relationship with You. Amen
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“Each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself.”
Ephesians 5:33
To properly define the God‐ordained role of husbands, there’s no better place to turn than Scripture. The apostle Paul instructs: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy. . . . In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies” (Ephesians 5:25–28).
Paul also tells us “the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church” (Ephesians 5:23).
Here’s the bottom line of your responsibility as a husband:
- You are charged with the holy, loving leadership of your wife. There is nothing dictatorial or selfish in this prescription!
- Your love is to be so strong that it mirrors Christ’s love for the church, so committed that you would unquestioningly die to save her, and so powerful that it is indistinguishable from love of your self.
What a challenge! And what a privilege to join with God and your wife in this holy partnership! For as you fulfill your role as head of the house, you’ll encounter blessings you never imagined.
Ask yourselves . . .
• (husband) What has been my most “shining moment” as your husband?
• (husband) Do you feel my love for you meets this scriptural ideal?
• (wife) How do you feel about the responsibility God gives husbands?
• (wife) How can I encourage you in this role?
“Husbands, in the same way [be submissive] as you live together with your wives . . .” be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble”. 1 Peter 3:7-8
The NLT captures this meaning in their translation:. . . you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. 1 Peter 3:7
Heavenly Father, You have given me an awesome and holy responsibility to love my wife just as Christ loved the church. Help me to follow Christ’s perfect example as I learn to increase my love for my mate. Amen
Read MoreBy John Piper
Do not be anxious, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.(Matthew 6:31–32)
Jesus wants his followers to be free from worry. In Matthew 6:25–34, he gives at least seven arguments designed to take away our anxiety. One of them lists food and drink and clothing, and then says, “Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all” (Matthew 6:32).
Jesus must mean that God’s knowing is accompanied by his desiring to meet our need. He is emphasizing we have a Father. And this Father is better than an earthly father.
I (John Piper) have five children. I love to meet their needs. But my knowing falls short of God’s in at least three ways.
First, right now I don’t know where any of them is. I could guess. They’re in their homes or at work or school, healthy and safe. But they might be lying on a sidewalk with a heart attack.
Second, I don’t know what is in their heart at any given moment. I can guess from time to time. But they may be feeling some fear or hurt or anger or lust or greed or joy or hope. I can’t see their hearts.
Third, I don’t know their future. Right now they may seem well and steady. But tomorrow some great sorrow may befall them.
This means I can’t be for them a very strong reason for not worrying. There are things that may be happening to them now or may happen tomorrow that I do not even know about. But it is totally different with their Father in heaven. He knows everything about them now and tomorrow, inside and out. He sees every need.
Add to that, his huge eagerness to meet their needs (the “much more” of Matthew 6:30).
Add to that his complete ability to do what he is eager to do (he feeds billions of birds hourly, Matthew 6:26).
So join me in trusting the promise of Jesus to meet our needs. That’s what Jesus is calling for when he says, “Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.”
“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15 ESV).
The Bible tells us to “rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15). Have you noticed that the second part of that sentence is easy, but the first part can be really tough?
When somebody’s having a tough time, it’s easy to be sympathetic. It’s easy to encourage people when they’re down. But sometimes what we can’t stand is when they get a promotion. We’re not very good at handling the success of other people. Rather than rejoicing in it, we resent it. In fact, we wish bad things would happen to people, because somehow we think that if we can blow out somebody else’s candle, ours will shine brighter.
There’s plenty of God’s grace to go around. If God wants to pay other people the same amount, so what? I shouldn’t even worry about what he wants to give other people. I should worry about what I’m doing with what I’ve been given.
Let me explain something about envy to you. Envy happens close to you. It happens in your relationship to your peers. You don’t typically envy people who aren’t your peers. You can have some kind of idol worship that says, “I wish I were like that superstar.” But really it’s not as grating as the people closest to you. Those are the people you have the hardest time seeing success in — your family and friends.
Envy is insidious. It devalues others, it destroys relationships, and it makes you miserable. It’s hidden, but it’s destructive. And it causes you to miss out on so much joy.
You’ll enjoy life a whole lot more if you will learn to be happy over the successes of other people. Speak Blessings over them—Not Curses!
If you’re only happy when things go well for you, you’re going to be miserable most of your life, because things won’t always go well for you or anybody else. But if you learn to be happy at other people’s successes and enjoy other people’s celebrations, you can be happy all the time.
The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:4, “Love does not envy.” Envy is the most unloving thing you can do to somebody else. Love is not envious.
Love celebrates God’s goodness to others. Read 1 Thess. 5:16-19 for God’s will for you. Amen
Read More“John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light” (John 5:35).
The moon is lovely on a clear night only because it reflects the light of the sun. It has no qualities by itself to reflect its beauty.
Without the sun shining onto its surface, you and I would never see the moon. It would simply be a dark object in the sky.
A diamond is designed to reflect the light to reveal its true value.
The cut of a diamond determines its brilliance.
There is no single measurement of a diamond that defines its cut, but rather a collection of measurements and observations that determine the relationship between a diamond’s light performance, dimensions and finish.
Jesus came to bring the light of His love and grace to each of us.
However, we are born into a world dulled by the sin created by Adam and Eve that makes our lives dark until we meet Jesus.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Rom 3:23-24).
Jesus contrasted in many parables that those who allow His life to live in them will live in the light amidst darkness. When you invite Jesus Christ to live in your heart it is as though a light is shining upon your life in order to reflect the glory of God’s Son through you.
Jesus calls you to be a vessel to reflect the brilliant light of His love to others.
Our workplace is a great place to reflect His glory.
How are your reflective qualities? Ask Him to make your life a continual reflection of His light to others.
Only when we come to the “end of ourselves” will we be able to accept God’s unconditional gift of Love.
“I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” Psalm 27:13
Lord, because of Your great love for me–help me to be a better brighter light for my family and the workplace. Let all my actions and words come from You and not me. Amen
Proverbs 4:20–22-My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
For many years I have known those three verses from the fourth chapter of Proverbs as “God’s medicine bottle.” God declares that if we will rightly receive His words and His sayings, they will be life to us and health to all our flesh. The marginal translation for the word that is translated “health” is “medicine.” That’s why I say it’s “God’s medicine bottle.”
And God says His medicine will provide us with health in all our flesh. In every area of our physical body it will provide health, but remember, the directions are on the bottle. The medicine only works if you take it according to the directions. There are four directions.
First, attend to God’s word.
Second, incline or bow down your ear and listen to His sayings.
Third, let them not depart from your eyes, keep them before your eyes continually.
And fourth, let them settle and abide in the midst of your heart.
If you take the Word of God according to those fourfold directions, you will find, as I did many years ago, that God’s medicine bottle produces just the results that He claims. It brings life and health to all our flesh.
Lord, thank you for your word and thank you for your 10 commandments which are the boundaries for our living here on earth. They point out our sin and show us how much we need You. Lord I pray that all churches and all Christians will bring back the teachings of the Commandments and come to know these 10 Commandments like the back of their hand. Amen
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When we seek to please “self“, we open ourselves up to uncontrolled emotions, soulish thoughts and selfish desires.
“…for they do the lustful desires expressed by their mouth, and their heart goes after their gain.” Ezekiel 33:31
Psalm 77 has tremendous value for anyone who has ever faced life’s serious questions:
*Is there a dependable God?
* Are there absolute values in life?
*Is there meaning to life?
*Is there any purpose to this existence?
Here in Psalm 77 is a man, David who finds his way from the despairing conclusion expressed in verse 10,
“And I say, ‘It is my grief that the right hand of the Most High has changed”. (Psalm 77:10 ) to the triumphant declaration of verse 13:
“Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God?”
David does it by meditating on the deeds of the Lord. He thinks long and hard about certain actions of God in history–certain concrete, stubborn facts that cannot be forgotten or explained away, which have been witnessed by thousands and even millions of people, and the results of which have permanently altered the course of history.
It’s interesting that David would remind himself of God’s history of grace and mercy. Before anybody else told him, he reminded himself that God has been Good over and over again.
- When you are discouraged remember what God has done for you in the past.
God is the same yesterday, today and forever.
Jesus said He would never leave or forsake His children.
However, we can walk away from His fellowship by refusing to be with Him.
Do not let this happen to you. He longs to have daily fellowship with you because He loves you.
Psalm 77 directs us to remember God and mediate on all his wonderful works and his love and guidance for us.
* I will spend more time remembering God, what he has done(GRATITUDE) and his amazing works of leading and guiding me thru all of life.
God, help me to take time to mediate and remember who you are, how much you love me, and your grace and mercy.
Thank You that by Your work You give purpose and turn me from despair to victory. Amen