by Dona Hake

Proverbs 25:4 (ERV)

“Remove the worthless things from

silver to make it pure, and a worker

can make something beautiful.”

 You are so valuable and He loves you so much.  Yet as we read this scripture we can see that there is a process that we are all walking through as we grow in Him.  There is a refining and purification that is taking place in our hearts as we deeply humble ourselves to His Mighty life changing Word.

One version of Proverbs 25:4 is translated like this:

“Remove the impurities from the silver,
and the smith has material to make a vessel.”

The Lord our Refiner desires to  bring us to a fine or a pure state; free from impurities.  As our Purifier He will cause us to be free from anything that debases, pollutes, adulterates, or contaminates our hearts.  God wants every bit of us so He can use us in wonderful ways to glorify Him on this earth.

In the forty one years that I have known the Lord I cannot begin to tell you how many times I have heard people share from the depths of their hearts as they walked through a difficult trial.  Many at the end of the trial admit that they experienced  God removing things from them that positioned them to be used in a greater way.  Many times those difficult situations can actually cause us to do the soul searching we need to do and God is able to work in such a wonderful way.  As we keep our hearts humble before Him I believe He will continue to refine and purify us that we can serve and be used by Him in greater ways.  Praise be to the God who is the Refiner and Purifier!

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by Dona Hake

How great is our God!  It is by His power and strength that we are able to live for Him.  There have been times in my life that all physical strength seemed to be gone.  As I looked to Him who NEVER grows faint or weary, I am always reminded that He can give me the strength that I need.

I can remember during the entire birth of our second son I had a worship tape being played  and right when he was being delivered “I Exalt Thee” by Phil Driscoll was playing.  I was feeling totally exhausted right before our son was born yet quietly in the background I could hear Phil speaking the following words and those words infused me with strength and joy in a time in which my body felt weak.

” For Thou O Lord art high above all the earth
Thou art exalted far above all gods
For Thou O Lord art high above all the earth
Thou art exalted far above all gods

I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee
I exalt Thee O Lord
I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee
I exalt Thee O Lord”

Today, let us exalt Him in our hearts as we give praise to Him that never tires nor grows weary of anything.  He is the everlasting God!!

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by Dona Hake

Hebrews 6:18-20  (ERV)

by Dona Hake

When I think about a sanctuary, I think about a place of refuge. Yesterday I shared that He is our hiding place so this goes hand in hand with that meditation. Have you ever had times where there may be confusion and stress all about you and you wish you could just escape it? I know we have all been in those situations yet as a believer we can humbly bow our hearts in prayer and escape to that place that He has prepared for us to abide in. We do not have to run away from problems, we can be in the midst of them and maintain complete peace.

Many times people wait until they are so stressed out and their body has become worn down physically before they decide to seek God’s direction and comfort. I believe that God desires for us to be on top of things and He desires that we desire to live in a constant state of peace and serenity.

Throughout your day I encourage you to stay aware of His precious presence. I believe that the place He has provided for us is a place of perfect peace and no matter what goes on about you that peace need not be disrupted.

Isaiah 8:14 (KJ21)

“And He shall be for you a sanctuary…”

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by Dona Hake

Today we will praise Him because we can run to Him when we need to be hidden.  We can always run to His place of safety and He has promised to keep us safe in the storms we will face.  Sometimes this life can tempt our hearts to be troubled and afraid.  In those times of trouble you can know that He will hide you under His wings and keep you safe in the storm.

Psalm 32:7

You are a hiding place for me; You, Lord,

preserve me from trouble, You surround

me with songs and shouts of deliverance.

Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

I love this scripture!  It causes me to visualize the Lord’s strong arm of protection in the worst of storms and even while the storm is trying to rob my peace I can believe that songs and shouts of deliverance are round about me.  He knows the outcome and He well understands that He is able to cause us to be victorious!

Psalm 119:114
You are my hiding place and my shield;

I hope in Your word.

As we look at Jesus being our hiding place in the storm, let us also look at Him as being the hope of our soul.  He will always keep us anchored in our faith as we continue to hope and abide in His Word.  To Him be the glory!!!

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By Dona Hake

Today I am thanking God for the fact that everyday is a new day as I serve Him.  What happened yesterday is left behind.  If I am to remember what happened yesterday, it will only be the joys that were in it and the wisdom I may have attained in a learning experience.  God desires to meet us each morning reminding us to have faith in Him and be blessed and overwhelmed by His great love that He has for us.

Psalm 143:8  KJV

Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning;

for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein

I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.

Let us  praise God that He is so merciful to us as we venture to do His will because so many times we fall short because of our human nature.  Let us remember to look to His mercies and His forgiveness at all times as we lift our soul to Him that we can live with joyful hearts!

Psalm 90:14  Names of God Bible

” Satisfy us every morning with your mercy
so that we may sing joyfully and rejoice all our days.”

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by Dona Hake

Psalm 150:2  KJV

“Praise him for his mighty acts: praise

him according to his excellent greatness.”

Let us ever be reminded of how great and mighty that the Living God is!!   When doubts and fears try to make us shrink back in our faith, let us call to mind that with man it may seem impossible but with God ALL things are possible.  The Hand that created and called into existence the Heaven and Earth waits for you to turn to Him in your time of trouble.  He desires to do mighty acts in your life according to His excellent greatness!

Psalm 77:12

“I will meditate also upon all Your

works and consider all Your [mighty] deeds.”

I encourage you to reflect on the times that He has done a mighty work in your life.  His Name is called mighty and there is nothing too big for Him.  “Now to Him who is ABLE to do above and beyond all you dare ask or think…exceeding your highest hopes and dreams.” Ephesians 3:20

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by Dona Hake

I thank God for the peace that His Son Jesus Christ has brought to my heart. I cannot imagine living life without it. In a world full of changes, trouble and turmoil, He promised that He would leave us His peace. He said it would not be peace like the world gives so we know that His peace is not affected by anything we have to walk through. There is no valley to deep or storm so great that His peace cannot endure.

 
Jesus, the Prince of Peace desires that His peace rule and reign in your heart. He desires that you walk in His peace for His peace passes all human comprehension. When all is falling apart around us, His peace can calm our heart and bring it to rest.

I encourage you today to think about that precious gift of peace that is always there for you. All you have to do is allow it to rule and reign in your heart.

“And let the peace (soul harmony which comes)
from Christ rule (act as umpire continually)
in your hearts [deciding and settling with
finality all questions that arise in your minds…”
Colossians 3:15

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by Dona Hake

Isaiah 9:6

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:

and the government shall be upon his shoulder:

and his name shall be called Wonderful…”

He is wonderful isn’t He?  Let’s look at words synonymous to wonderful… awesome, wondrous, miraculous, prodigious, astonishing, amazing, astounding, phenomenal.  This is the Jesus that we serve.  As believers we can testify of the many wonderful things He has done in our lives, and we should never lose sight of those things.

We need to tell of His wonderful works when people ask why we carry such joy.  I encourage you to ponder the many testimonies that you have witnessed in your life and just take time to give thanks to Jesus for He is so wonderful!!

Psalm 40:5 (ERV)

“Lord my God, you have done many amazing things!
You have made great plans for us—too many to list.
I could talk on and on about them,
because there are too many to count.”

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by Dona Hake

Isaiah 9:6

“For unto us a child is born,

unto us a son is given…

and his name shall be called…Counsellor.”

Many times we may say or hear “I just do not know what God’s will is in this matter.”  How sad it is if we do not seek Him in our uncertainty.    The Lord desires that we seek His face and know His will that we may prosper in all that we put our hand to.    I believe that He wishes for us to step forward in strong confidence as we recognize His will.  Many times we may know what to do but we just do not know how it is going to all come about.  Our Counsellor understands and He knows how to instruct us.

I love knowing that the Lord totally understands any problem we face and anything that we are walking through.  He understands how we think and He knows our strengths and weaknesses.    Just think about it, the One that created Heaven and Earth formed you in your mother’s womb.  He created you for a special purpose.  He is well able to counsel you in His purposes.

Today let us reflect on Jesus our Counsellor.  He is always there to listen and as you speak to Him be mindful to also be silent that He can speak tenderly to you.  His loving hand is well able to lead and guide you throughout this day!

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