“Our Love Must Be Real”
No, our love must be real.
We must show our love by the things we do.
That’s how we know we belong to the way of truth.”
As we desire to walk in the ways of truth and show those around us His love, we will be amazed how God will move within us. We will then be positioned to act from our hearts and exhibit His love in a real way. How blessed it is to know that we can show His love in all that we do showing those around us that we belong to the way of truth.
“Jesus-Our Understanding”
Proverbs 8:14 (ESV)
“I have counsel and sound wisdom;
I have insight; I have strength.”
“The Blessing of the Lord Is Upon Us”
I believe it is good for one’s soul to stop on a regular basis and just think about how blessed we are. Maybe things are not going perfectly at times but if you know the Lord your heart can rest in the hope that His hand is upon you and He has a plan for you today. You are blessed!
When I look around and see the work of His mighty hand I often wonder how one could not believe there is a God in Heaven. I am thankful that His hand of blessing is upon my life. It is such a comfort to know that His loving eyes are upon me at all times.
Psalm 139:1-5
Living Bible (TLB)
O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit or stand. When far away you know my every thought. You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am. You know what I am going to say before I even say it. You both precede and follow me and place your hand of blessing on my head.
While reading these verses my heart was especially blessed when I read “You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest.” Today as you go about your day I encourage you to be mindful of His plans for you as He works through your life. Also, be ready to stop and rest as He instructs you to do that He may refresh and renew your strength. Many times we can get so focused on the work that we forget that our spirit and in body need rest. He desires to continually empower us with His strength and wisdom that we would not get weary in doing His will. God bless you as you ponder His blessings in your life!
“Created For Worth”
Isaiah 64:8 (the Voice translation)
“Still, Eternal One, You are our Father.
We are just clay, and You are the potter.
We are the product of Your creative action, shaped and formed into something of worth.”
Next time you feel tempted to question your own worth I encourage you to refer to this scripture. Next time you feel put down by others or you feel you do not measure up to the world’s “plastic” images of success, remember this…
YOU ARE the work of His hand! God bless you.
“He IS Enough”
Amplified Bible (AMP)
“Three times I called upon the Lord and besought [Him] about this and begged that it might depart from me;
But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may [b]pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!”
When we call upon God , He will always answer us with the empowering grace that we need for the situation we are in. I think this is a powerful thought… your need or weakness is calling out, and as you call out to Him, He answers that need with grace that is sufficient to deal with it. Praise the Living God that is MORE than enough!!!
“True To Your Word”
I love how The Message translation brings to light “He restores my soul.”
True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction.
“God’s Word Is Living”
by Dona Hake
Yesterday when I created the devotional I honestly was so tired I could not even get my thoughts together. The evening before I was so exhausted. I went to leave our German Shepherd, Aasha out in the backyard and lo and behold all her keen senses kicked in and she was on pursuit of something she should have left alone. She dove head first into some bushes on our property and I heard her do a weird sound. I was holding my breath hoping she did not catch a rabbit. She ran toward me and sure enough she smelled like a skunk. I mean she SMELLED like a skunk.
My husband and I moved quickly and I created a solution and applied it and also used a skunk odor remover on her. At the end of the day our puppy smelled okay but our house still has the smell of skunk. It is a constant reminder of the whole ordeal. None of us slept real well so my thoughts were scattered as I tried to create yesterday’s devotional.
We all will face those days in which there are demands on our “plate” and it seems as if the strength or inspiration that we need is not there. In the midst of my being tired and lacking focus, God was faithful to minister to me in a fresh way. I began to read this scripture from Psalm 37:7
“Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him…”
Did you ever read a scripture over and over and all of a sudden you read it on a different day as you face a different situation and God has met your spirit with a fresh touch like you have never experienced. This caused me to meditate on how God meets us each day with the “daily bread” that we need. I realized that in my being tired and a bit weary that I needed to stop and just lean against Him and receive His strength. He is our Shepherd and even in the midst of exhaustion and need, WE SHALL NOT WANT! I began to ponder the scripture from Hebrews 4:12 (ERV)
“God’s word is alive and working. It is sharper than the sharpest sword and cuts all the way into us. It cuts deep to the place where the soul and the spirit are joined. God’s word cuts to the center of our joints and our bones. It judges the thoughts and feelings in our hearts.”
Today I encourage you to allow Him to meet you with the “fresh bread” of His Word as you read it. His Word is fresh and alive! Whatever it is that you need He is well able to minister to you. His Word is able to cut deep into our souls and help us judge our thoughts and feelings. Today, even in the midst of exhaustion I was able to see my God in a deeper way. I hope you can do the same!
~~~~~♥~~~~~
“Lean Patiently On Him”
by Dona Hake
Proverbs 3:5 (AMP)
“Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart
and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.”
Some days it can be tempting to just see things as you are perceiving them to be. We can tend to view things from the “glasses” of our formed opinions and thoughts and we can fall short of seeing things as God sees them. If we are leaning on our own understanding we are seeing things as we have concluded them to be. We need to remember that God is always seeing the bigger picture and He sees how all is working together for the good if we trust in Him.
Now if we are leaning on God and trusting in Him, it is truly a wonderful thing. Leaning upon God will bring rest to our souls. Sometimes in the midst of life’s hard blows it can cause us to be weary and tired. I was so blessed as I read the following scripture this morning.
Psalm 37:7
Amplified Bible
“Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him…”
Have you ever been so tired and you stopped to just lean against something, and once you felt strength to go again you then proceeded. The psalmist was encouraging the reader to stop and lean on God and do it with patience. Wow!!! There’s that word *patience* again!…it seems like I am constantly reminding my little granddaughters of what this word means. To be patient is to wait with a happy heart! Today I encourage you that if you are needing rest and refreshment in your soul to STOP, BE STILL, AND PATIENTLY LEAN YOURSELF UPON HIM! Wait patiently and as you do so, expect for Him to refresh you and cause new strength to rise up from within you. God is good!
~~~~~♥~~~~~
“My Life In His Hands”
by Dona Hake
What a precious and comforting fact it is to know that if you belong to Jesus that your life is in His hands. I pray that this image will give you a visual of His mighty hand upholding you. His loving hand is there to lift you up when you are down, His hand lovingly guides us when we do not know where to go. The same hand that guides us is there to stop us and keep us from making mistakes that would cause us pain. Oh that we heed to His hand as we sense it moving in our life. Let us also be reminded of His loving hands when we are down and tempted to be frustrated and think we are going to give up.
Psalm 37:24 Amplified Bible
“Though he falls, he shall not be utterly cast down,
for the Lord grasps his hand in support and upholds him.”
There are a handful of Psalms where David used the term “cast down.” This is a term used for a sheep that has turned over on its back and cannot get up again by itself. I want to make emphasis on *it cannot get up again by itself. There will be times in our lives in which we know that we cannot get back up by ourselves. His mighty hand must intervene and there is no other way out.
A “cast” sheep is a sad sight. It lays on its back, and as its feet are in the air, it struggles frantically to get back up again. Sometimes it will make little bleating cries for help and just lays there frustrated. If the shepherd does not arrive on time, the sheep will die. Since a sheep that is cast is in such a helpless state, it is also vulnerable to attack by predators. I shared yesterday that the devil seeks ways to devour us. He watches our weak spots and when we are down he knows we are also vulnerable.
I think think this scripture and thought regarding a “cast” sheep can serve to help us realize how vital it is to call upon His Name when we are down. We absolutely cannot give up even if we feel like it. To give up is denying the power of all that has been invested in the wonderful Name of Jesus. He is well able to stand you back up, support you, and cause you to walk again!
“Run the Race”
by Dona Hake
Hebrews 12:1-2
The Voice (VOICE)
“…let us drop every extra weight, every sin that clings to us and slackens our pace, and let us run with endurance the long race set before us.
We may feel alone, but we aren’t. We are surrounded by an army of witnesses. They have run the race of faith and finished well. It is now our turn.
Now stay focused on Jesus, who designed and perfected our faith. He endured the cross and ignored the shame of that death because He focused on the joy that was set before Him; and now He is seated beside God on the throne, a place of honor.
What does it take to run the race that God has set before us? This scripture in Hebrews makes it pretty plain. First, we must drop unnecessary weight or anything that is keeping us from moving forward. We all have things that are trying to weight us down and we as individuals need to recognize what it is. I can remember hearing ” 50% of a problem is solved just understanding what the problem is.” As we acknowledge what our weight is and humble ourselves to God and ask Him for help, He will surely help us. God loves to help us take off unnecessary “weight” and He has the perfect plan for you to lose that weight!
Secondly, we must stay focused. Anything that draws you away from keeping your eyes on a goal will be your hindrance. The devil understands our weaknesses and he knows how to distract us. He is crafty and understands how to throw us out of the game if we are not diligent to keep it right in our hearts and minds. He roams about like a roaring lion seeking ways to devour us. I love this quote I found relative to maintaining strong focus.
“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal.”
Henry Ford
Obstacles can serve to obstruct or hinder your progress or you can use it to make you a stronger person. It is all how you handle it as you see it approaching you. Today I encourage you to run the race in the strength of the Lord. Take these two tips from Hebrews 12, and you will run strong in this race that the Lord has put before you. *Drop unnecessary weight and stay focused on the finish line!!!
This is a good way of teaching the kids to forgive each other(Matt. 5:7). I like the power of this gentle scripture and lesson… Thanks!!
thank you Lisa for sharing. I am blessed that this was a blessing to you!
Ralph &I are really enjoying your devotional together.
So glad this is blessing you both!
Oh, what a wonderful reminder! I want to break the magnifing glass of worry and trust God for each step I take.
It is interesting Selena how the more we worry the bigger and more magnified things get in our minds. Oh how important it is to trust our God for the smallest of things! Thank you for sharing!