Answer? Whatever you are.
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things
People have always been drawn to storytellers from the beginning of time. That is what the devil did to Eve in a way wasn't it? Some stories are good, some not so good, and some are terrible. Now I wonder if you think I am saying that in terms of entertainment. Not, really although that can be true also. I am saying that in terms of would Jesus watch it with you? Cause you know He is if you have accepted Him as your Savior. It is very easy sometimes to forget He hears every word out of our mouth, knows our every thought, sees what we see, hears what we hear not only what we say. I wonder how many R rated films you would watch if you could see Jesus sitting next to you? Now a days there are some PG or PG13 Jesus wouldn't watch and neither would you if He were visibly with you. Why do we think it is ok to see things, say things, hear things that we wouldn't want to see, hear or say if we could see Him right next to us. Do you believe He is always with you? Then why do we do some of the things we do? We don't have to see Him to know He is with us if we are saved. At least we shouldn't.
How we must grieve our Lord and Savior by the things we hear watch and say. I'm sorry Lord, please forgive me.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Saturday, March 2, 2013
God is my refuge???
You bet He is !! I woke
with a major sinus headache today so God's reminders in my devotions this morning were most welcome. I have a noisy day ahead of me and it will be alot more fun without the headache. I took my sinus medicine and hopefully it will work soon.
Ps 46:1-2 God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.
God is Immanuel - God with us - an ever present help in trouble. Today my trouble is sinus issues and a headache. But it doesn't matter what my trouble is really. He has promised to be there with me in all trouble. He has everything I need for whatever situation I find myself in at the moment. And yes sometimes I have to go through my troubles moment by moment. Don't you hate those kind? I do.
Do you sometimes imagine and dwell on what trouble might come to you? Draw your mind back to God and His promise. There is NOTHING we can do about the trouble ahead. We can't change what is coming most of the time. BUT ALL OF THE TIME, God has promised to be right there in the middle of it with us.
As we spend more time with God we will learn to trust Him more and will trust in Him being our refuge more.
Matthew 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.
God gave me a vision many years ago when I was going through some really difficult things. He showed me a HUGE eagle in the sky. It opened up one of its wings and I was standing right there protected and safe. That is what God is saying He wants to do here. I remember the feeling I got when I had that vision. It was so clear and so encouraging. I knew then that no matter what happened, I was gonna be safe in the end. I just had to trust God and stay in the shadow of His wings. Sometimes I need a reminder of that.
Ps 91:4 He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust and find refuge, His truth and His faithfulness are a shield and a buckler.
Ps 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to Your sight, O Lord, my Rock, and my Redeemer.
If you trust in God you can take refuge in Him. Trusting though is more then words. It is mainly our will. As we go through our day (everyday) we face many things that can make us anxious, even some of our thoughts, the what ifs. The what ifs are probably the worst for me. It is easier for me to run to God for refuge when I have an actual in my face, have to be dealt with situation. Are you the same? The ones that i think about (where a situation COULD lead to) are harder cause I have no way of knowing if it will even happen.
We must stay alert or anxious feelings can slip into your day without us even noticing. You may wonder why you suddenly start to feel anxious. You may ignore (or try to) these feelings. (doesn't work, just giving you a heads up from someone who has been there/ done that , has the t-shirt. You may try to numb them with food, drink, television, shopping, gossip or anything else that will distract you. (Again doesn't work, ask me how I know). God says be alert so we can catch those thoughts before they grab hold and make us anxious.
We can chose to take refuge in God as soon as the first little thought or situation comes. Or we can try to deal with them on our own till we are overwhelmed and anxious. Which sounds better to you? God is always at the ready to be our refuge. But it requires us exerting our will by turning to Him for help.
1 Pet 5:8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Ps 57:1 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trust in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities have passed by.
Ps 34:8 O taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who trusts and takes refuge in Him.
I am seeking my refuge in Him today. What about YOU?
with a major sinus headache today so God's reminders in my devotions this morning were most welcome. I have a noisy day ahead of me and it will be alot more fun without the headache. I took my sinus medicine and hopefully it will work soon.
Ps 46:1-2 God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.
God is Immanuel - God with us - an ever present help in trouble. Today my trouble is sinus issues and a headache. But it doesn't matter what my trouble is really. He has promised to be there with me in all trouble. He has everything I need for whatever situation I find myself in at the moment. And yes sometimes I have to go through my troubles moment by moment. Don't you hate those kind? I do.
Do you sometimes imagine and dwell on what trouble might come to you? Draw your mind back to God and His promise. There is NOTHING we can do about the trouble ahead. We can't change what is coming most of the time. BUT ALL OF THE TIME, God has promised to be right there in the middle of it with us.
As we spend more time with God we will learn to trust Him more and will trust in Him being our refuge more.
Matthew 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.
God gave me a vision many years ago when I was going through some really difficult things. He showed me a HUGE eagle in the sky. It opened up one of its wings and I was standing right there protected and safe. That is what God is saying He wants to do here. I remember the feeling I got when I had that vision. It was so clear and so encouraging. I knew then that no matter what happened, I was gonna be safe in the end. I just had to trust God and stay in the shadow of His wings. Sometimes I need a reminder of that.
Ps 91:4 He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust and find refuge, His truth and His faithfulness are a shield and a buckler.
Ps 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to Your sight, O Lord, my Rock, and my Redeemer.
If you trust in God you can take refuge in Him. Trusting though is more then words. It is mainly our will. As we go through our day (everyday) we face many things that can make us anxious, even some of our thoughts, the what ifs. The what ifs are probably the worst for me. It is easier for me to run to God for refuge when I have an actual in my face, have to be dealt with situation. Are you the same? The ones that i think about (where a situation COULD lead to) are harder cause I have no way of knowing if it will even happen.
We must stay alert or anxious feelings can slip into your day without us even noticing. You may wonder why you suddenly start to feel anxious. You may ignore (or try to) these feelings. (doesn't work, just giving you a heads up from someone who has been there/ done that , has the t-shirt. You may try to numb them with food, drink, television, shopping, gossip or anything else that will distract you. (Again doesn't work, ask me how I know). God says be alert so we can catch those thoughts before they grab hold and make us anxious.
We can chose to take refuge in God as soon as the first little thought or situation comes. Or we can try to deal with them on our own till we are overwhelmed and anxious. Which sounds better to you? God is always at the ready to be our refuge. But it requires us exerting our will by turning to Him for help.
1 Pet 5:8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Ps 57:1 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trust in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities have passed by.
Ps 34:8 O taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who trusts and takes refuge in Him.
I am seeking my refuge in Him today. What about YOU?
Friday, March 1, 2013
Patience
Proverbs 19:11 A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.
Colossians 1:10-12 10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.
Have you ever asked God for patience? I have a few times. I understand after a few rounds of learning about it that it is a HARD lesson to learn. Very hard. It means you have to wait for something. Do you wait well? Patiently? I do sometimes, but other times it DRIVES ME CRAZY. I am smart enough to know in those time that God is trying once again to sharpen my edges up a little teaching me patience.
There are people who hate to be late going anywhere if they are supposed to be there at a certain time. I am one of those people. Surprised? lol. There are others who have no concept of time unless something is very important to them and are always late by varying degrees.
I see being late for appointments, church, even meeting friends constantly is a sign that you think their time isn't worth anything. At least personally that is how it makes me feel. Like you think my time is less important then yours. Like I am less important then you.
Now I know that probably isn't the case. But that is how it makes me feel. I wonder if it makes others feel that way? I feel disrespected. Others? I can't answer for anyone but me, but because of the way it makes me feel, I try my best to not be late to anything. In fact I watch the time if I am going someplace at a certain time and will usually be there early. See I would rather be there early, wait on you, patiently (well at least until the time comes you supposed to be there lol) and not be concerned I will disrespect you . See God gave each of us 24 hours. And my 24 hours is just as important to God as is yours. So ask God to help you learn to be on time. Please. For people's sake that are less patient then me. lol
Colossians 1:10-12 10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.
Have you ever asked God for patience? I have a few times. I understand after a few rounds of learning about it that it is a HARD lesson to learn. Very hard. It means you have to wait for something. Do you wait well? Patiently? I do sometimes, but other times it DRIVES ME CRAZY. I am smart enough to know in those time that God is trying once again to sharpen my edges up a little teaching me patience.
There are people who hate to be late going anywhere if they are supposed to be there at a certain time. I am one of those people. Surprised? lol. There are others who have no concept of time unless something is very important to them and are always late by varying degrees.
I see being late for appointments, church, even meeting friends constantly is a sign that you think their time isn't worth anything. At least personally that is how it makes me feel. Like you think my time is less important then yours. Like I am less important then you.
Now I know that probably isn't the case. But that is how it makes me feel. I wonder if it makes others feel that way? I feel disrespected. Others? I can't answer for anyone but me, but because of the way it makes me feel, I try my best to not be late to anything. In fact I watch the time if I am going someplace at a certain time and will usually be there early. See I would rather be there early, wait on you, patiently (well at least until the time comes you supposed to be there lol) and not be concerned I will disrespect you . See God gave each of us 24 hours. And my 24 hours is just as important to God as is yours. So ask God to help you learn to be on time. Please. For people's sake that are less patient then me. lol
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Have a successful day!
A successful day is one in which you have stayed in touch with Jesus, even if many things remain undone at the end of the day. It sounds almost to good to be true, doesn't it? I almost never end the day with out a sense of failure to some degree. Dishes aren't all washed and put away, laundry waits to be folded, bed didn't get made till time for bed. There are hundreds of things that I could have not gotten done. Or just one of them didn't get done. I still can feel like a failure if it is only one.
The various means and measures of wordly "success" pull on you constantly, leaving you in an unfocused condition.
To avoid the confusion, you need a rule of thumb: Seek to please God first! When you do that, nothing else matters. You will accomplish what He wants you to do today and you won't believe the lie from the devil that you didn't do enough. God will redeem the time you spend doing the things He wants you to do. His will is for you to take care of your family, so He will help you with those things also. It is always a successful day if we spend it communicating with God.
Here's to success !
God's idea of success!
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Are you content?
Heb 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.
If you have a sweet tooth, you're probably familiar with the power of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. The scent of them cooking fills the entire house. When they are finally done you (I) don't wait the recommended time for cooling and have to eat one right out of the oven. For the time it takes you to eat that cookie (not as long as you would imagine) you are content. But when it is gone you desire another and another,etc. If you give in to that at some point:
a. there are no more cookies
b. you are overfull and
c. you wish you wouldn't have eaten so many cookies
To much of a good thing is not good. Contentment is an invisible line between I need and I want.
No matter what it is, a cookie hot from the oven, a better job, a bigger house, identifying that line begins with a heart check. A heart that is filled with gratitude for God's daily blessings is less likely to long for mere wants which do not have the ability to provide deep, lasting satisfaction.
James 1:7 Every good and perfect gift is from above.
These are the kind of gifts that are longed for by the heart, not the eyes. These gifts nurture both thankfulness and contentment.
If you can be happy with "enough" you have the power to simplify your life. You will find it easier to declutter your home if you need to. You won't compare your life to those around you. And you will appreciate and take better care of the things that you do have.
A contented life begins with a thankful heart. Spend time every day thanking God for all He's given you and be content with that.
If you have a sweet tooth, you're probably familiar with the power of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. The scent of them cooking fills the entire house. When they are finally done you (I) don't wait the recommended time for cooling and have to eat one right out of the oven. For the time it takes you to eat that cookie (not as long as you would imagine) you are content. But when it is gone you desire another and another,etc. If you give in to that at some point:
a. there are no more cookies
b. you are overfull and
c. you wish you wouldn't have eaten so many cookies
To much of a good thing is not good. Contentment is an invisible line between I need and I want.
No matter what it is, a cookie hot from the oven, a better job, a bigger house, identifying that line begins with a heart check. A heart that is filled with gratitude for God's daily blessings is less likely to long for mere wants which do not have the ability to provide deep, lasting satisfaction.
James 1:7 Every good and perfect gift is from above.
These are the kind of gifts that are longed for by the heart, not the eyes. These gifts nurture both thankfulness and contentment.
If you can be happy with "enough" you have the power to simplify your life. You will find it easier to declutter your home if you need to. You won't compare your life to those around you. And you will appreciate and take better care of the things that you do have.
A contented life begins with a thankful heart. Spend time every day thanking God for all He's given you and be content with that.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Relax!
Romans 8:39 Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulations; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
When we enter into God's presence there is rest and we are able to relax, knowing that nothing can separate from the love of God. To me that would be the absolute worse thing that could happen. It is not even in the list of possibilities. We should rejoice as Christians that we don't have to perform well enough to earn God's love, or to keep it. It is a pure free gift, from God to us.
Because of this assurance, we can relax and live more abundantlyWhen things are going well in our life, we need to enjoy those good times, without worrying about what is on the other side. When we are facing tough times, we need to remember He is there to help and strengthen us with His love. Even though we live in a world where trouble is inescapable, we can be of good cheer, for He has overcome the world!
John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulations; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
When we enter into God's presence there is rest and we are able to relax, knowing that nothing can separate from the love of God. To me that would be the absolute worse thing that could happen. It is not even in the list of possibilities. We should rejoice as Christians that we don't have to perform well enough to earn God's love, or to keep it. It is a pure free gift, from God to us.
Because of this assurance, we can relax and live more abundantlyWhen things are going well in our life, we need to enjoy those good times, without worrying about what is on the other side. When we are facing tough times, we need to remember He is there to help and strengthen us with His love. Even though we live in a world where trouble is inescapable, we can be of good cheer, for He has overcome the world!
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Gratefulness
1 Thess 5:18 Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
Every time you give thanks to God you are acknowledging He is your Lord and Provider.
Every time you receive with thanksgiving, you demonstrate your relationship with Him.
We are called above to give thanks in all circumstances. Even the not so pleasant ones. Do your words sound hollow in those circumstances? It is hard to be thankful for bad things happening to us or those around us isn't it? Do you ever say thank you without truly being thankful? When everything appears to be going wrong around you? You know those days, we all have them.
You know what? God knows when we truly feel thankful and when we don't. He can also see in the depths of our heart is a desire to please Him by offering thanks even when you don't feel like it.
When you find yourself in a situation that it is hard to give thanks and mean it from your heart, remember who He is: The Author of your life and faith. We are dependent on Him even for our next breath. If we persevere in this thankfulness, resisting the temptation to grumble, you can find peace and joy in the midst of your struggles.
James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
Every time you give thanks to God you are acknowledging He is your Lord and Provider.
Every time you receive with thanksgiving, you demonstrate your relationship with Him.
We are called above to give thanks in all circumstances. Even the not so pleasant ones. Do your words sound hollow in those circumstances? It is hard to be thankful for bad things happening to us or those around us isn't it? Do you ever say thank you without truly being thankful? When everything appears to be going wrong around you? You know those days, we all have them.
You know what? God knows when we truly feel thankful and when we don't. He can also see in the depths of our heart is a desire to please Him by offering thanks even when you don't feel like it.
When you find yourself in a situation that it is hard to give thanks and mean it from your heart, remember who He is: The Author of your life and faith. We are dependent on Him even for our next breath. If we persevere in this thankfulness, resisting the temptation to grumble, you can find peace and joy in the midst of your struggles.
James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
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