Friday, July 17, 2020
Devotional 7/17/20
“Walking In Holiness”
by Dona Hake
I would like for us to meditate today on a portion of scripture within Romans 12:12-2 TPT
“…And live in holiness, experiencing
all that delights his heart…”
The transformed heart embraces a passionate desire to live in holiness and desires to delight the heart of God. The man that falls into being pulled and tugged by the voices and influences of this world will constantly deal with a battle that causes instability,weakness, and guilt as he tries to walk before the Lord.
The secret to the flourishing life of a transformed believer is to constantly keep our minds renewed to what God’s Word instructs us to do. Our feelings, our experiences or opinions can never be considered as we purpose to stand strong. We can not weaken , we can not stray in our convictions of the truth.
I was touched as I read this scripture in the Psalms. What a beautiful prayer from the heart of the psalmist! He was pleading with God for rescue from deceitful and unjust men. We too can stand strong in the presence of our enemies that are trying to pull us down. Our hearts can be lifted above the forces that may try to discourage our hearts. Be encouraged as you read and pray this scripture.
“Pour into me the brightness of your daybreak! Pour into me your rays of revelation-truth! Let them comfort and gently lead me onto the shining path, showing the way into your burning presence, into your many sanctuaries of holiness. Then I will come closer to your very altar until I come before you, the God of my ecstatic joy! I will praise you with the harp that plays in my heart, to you, my God, my magnificent God!”
Psalm 43:3-4 – The Passion Translation
Psalm 43:3-4 – The Passion Translation
Thursday, July 16, 2020
Devotional 7/16/20
“Surrender and Follow”
by Dona Hake
I would like to continue in our meditation on living a transformed life. Let us look again at Romans 12:1-2.
“Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to God’s marvelous mercies? I encourage you to surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship. Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes.”
Romans 12:1-2 -The Passion Translation
Romans 12:1-2 -The Passion Translation
Now let us look at Psalm 1:1-2
“What delight comes to the one who follows God’s ways! He won’t walk in step with the wicked, nor share the sinner’s way, nor be found sitting in the scorner’s seat. His pleasure and passion is remaining true to the Word of “I Am,” meditating day and night in the true revelation of light.”
Psalm 1:1-2 -The Passion Translation
In Romans we see the word surrender, and in the Psalms we are exhorted to follow. The believer that has totally surrendered their heart to God is the man or woman that truly follows him no matter what is going on around them. This believer does not stop in the midst of a storm and say “Where is God in all this?“ or “Why do I have to go through this?”.
The believer that truly surrenders
will delight in God‘s law and press in…
NO MATTER WHAT!
This my friend is what delights the heart of our Lord… He loves knowing we are close behind Him as we follow Him as He leads us and guide us in this life. He has a plan and direction for each and everyday of our life. Let us trust Him in it all. This is the transformed life!
Friday, July 10, 2020
Devotional 7/10/20
“The Obedient Heart Is a Joyful Heart”
by Dona Hake
Yesterday we looked at the scripture from Proverbs chapter three. We meditated upon the danger that comes to our hearts when we think we know at all. We must be mindful that pride comes before a fall, and the devil will craftily take opportunity to use this to keep us from doing the Lord’s will. Let us look at that scripture again…
”Don’t think for a moment that you know it all, for wisdom comes when you adore him with undivided devotion and avoid everything that’s wrong. “
The secret to the blessed, abundant life is to adore him with a devotion that is never distracted by this world. Again, the transformed heart will avoid anything and everything that is wrong. Because of the work of the Holy Spirit in our life we can trust that He will lead us in right paths that echo His Name. As we remain humble before Him we will hear His voice of correction and instruction to keep us going forward in the transformed life.
Let us look at the following verse that tells us the wonderful blessing of the obedient life that seeks to live totally for Him.
…”Then you will find the healing refreshment your body and spirit long for. Glorify God with all your wealth, honoring him with your very best, with every increase that comes to you. Then every dimension of your life will overflow with blessings from an uncontainable source of inner joy!”
Proverbs 3:7-10. The Passion Translation
Proverbs 3:7-10. The Passion Translation
Oh the beauty of knowing that our Lord desires that we live this life overflowing with a joy that is uncontainable! Today let us look for those that need hope and joy, and let us be used by Him!
Thursday, July 9, 2020
Devotional 7/9/20
“The Undivided Heart”
by Dona Hake
I would like to continue our study from Proverbs 3.
“Don’t think for a moment that you know it all, for wisdom comes when you adore him with undivided devotion and avoid everything that’s wrong.”
Proverbs 3:7 – The Passion Translation
I love this scripture for it is a good healthy warning to all of us. Anyone of us could fall prey to such an attitude, and how sad this is in the eyes of God. We should always be willing to listen to correction and instruction. Surely if one continues in a “know it all attitude“ they are heading into the devil’s snare which is living in the sin of pride, and pride always comes before a fall.
In the book of James he tells us that wisdom will come to our hearts and minds when we need it. All we have to do is admit we do not know what to do or which way to turn, and then humbly ask Him for the wisdom you need. One with a “know it all attitude” will be too proud to ask for help, and that pride will keep them from doing that which is right in the sight of the Lord. Again… we must diligently guard our hearts and ask ourselves the question “are we conforming to the ways of this world or are we in the process of constant transformation before the Lord our God ? The heart that is being pulled and tugged by the ways of this world is being conformed to it. This is the heart that is divided.
God is looking to and fro for the heart that is undivided . Oh how He delights in the heart that avoids anything that is wrong. When we desire an undivided heart toward God, we are desiring to live passionately for Him. God loves a passionate heart!!
“I have longed for you with the passion of my heart; don’t let me stray from your directions!”
Psalm 119:10 -The Passion Translation
“Give me an understanding heart so that I can passionately know and obey your truth.”
Psalm 119:34 – The Passion Translation
Saturday, July 4, 2020
Devotional 7/4/20
“Walking Close With Him”
by Dona Hake
Let us continue with our meditation on the transformed life of a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us always yield to the Master with a heart that is pliable. Here is where the transformed life begins, continues and flourishes. If we act and live in accordance with the prevailing standards, attitudes and practices of this world… we are yielding our hearts in the wrong place, and little by little we are being conformed to this world. Beware! for this is why so many Christians are unable to live and serve God with a whole heart. Be ye transformed!
As we purpose to yield to God a pliable heart , without a doubt… our heart will be transformed! One of the best secrets of a yielded heart is when God is your best Friend. Close fellowship with Him will nourish transformation within us. The Lord desires our fellowship. He desires to be our friend and our confidant. As we walk ever so closely with Him we will find ourselves talking to Him about the smallest of matters . Our thoughts and desires are heard and seen by Him sometimes before we even realize that they exist. After all isn’t that how good friends are with us? The slightest change in our faces or behavior, and without us saying a word they know something is going on deep within us.
When we purpose to walk the transformed life we see God in everything around us. We will see Him as the answer to ANYTHING that could come against us, we will see Him as our strength when we are weak, we will just see Him at work in every detail of our life…He shall be our Everything!
“Become intimate with him in whatever you do,
and he will lead you wherever you go.”
Proverbs 3:6 The Passion Translation
Proverbs 3:6 The Passion Translation
Thursday, June 2, 2020
Devotional 6/3/20
“Keeping a Pliable Heart In the Master’s Hands”
by Dona Hake
I would like to pick up on our meditation upon upon Romans 12:1-2. The message of these Scriptures is let us NOT conform to this world but rather be transformed by the constant renewal of our minds. Transformation will always be going on in the heart that is a pliable clay in the hands of the Master.
So let us question ourselves…what will keep our heart pliable in the hands of our Lord? Let us look at some definitions of this word pliable. It means to be easily bent, yielding, adjusting readily to change. As I ponder these definitions I see how much our hearts MUST be pliable in order to be transformed as our Lord desires us to be.
Every though our Lord never
changes, things around us will.
We need to always be prepared for the work of His hand in our lives to help us, and lead us in any change that is shaking our world. We need to absolutely yield to Him, and be willing to bend and stretch even when it is uncomfortable to our flesh.
Over the next few days we will meditate upon Proverbs 3:5-10 in light of resisting conforming to this world. Let us read it from the Passion translation.
“Trust in the Lord completely, and do not rely on your own opinions. With all your heart rely on him to guide you, and he will lead you in every decision you make. Become intimate with him in whatever you do, and he will lead you wherever you go. Don’t think for a moment that you know it all, for wisdom comes when you adore him with undivided devotion and avoid everything that’s wrong. Then you will find the healing refreshment your body and spirit long for. Glorify God with all your wealth, honoring him with your very best, with every increase that comes to you. Then every dimension of your life will overflow with blessings from an uncontainable source of inner joy!”
Proverbs 3:5-10 – The Passion Translation
Proverbs 3:5-10 – The Passion Translation
Today we will meditate upon verse five. Let us ask ourselves, “Do I trust Him completely?“ Or do we trust Him until things are not moving as we expected so we sprinkle into the mix our own thoughts, and opinions. Many times our own ways will arise in our minds as a result of past experience or fears and failures? How much do we rely on our own solutions and value our own opinions above the solid unchanging truth of God’s Word, and His wisdom? Remember this…look for those “yield signs” placed in your way by His Spirit so that you can remain on the right path.
Many times we may pray for answers from God. The scripture states that He will clearly lead us in every decision, not just a few. Every decision and every situation that we face, Our God has a specific path for us to walk through, and He has answers for every problem we will ever face.
Today I would encourage you to ponder the questions within this devotional. It is good and cleansing to continue to challenge our hearts with questions that will keep us on the right track. Let us keep our hearts challenged on a daily basis that we remain in a place of total trust in our Lord. May we look to the Holy Spirit for His help and guidance in the realm of how we handle those opinions we embrace. God is the desiring to be with us in everyday in every way. The pliable heart is the heart that yields and surrenders to His gentle loving hands that He may do a wonderful work in our lives that we may glorify Him.
Saturday, June 20, 2020
Devotional 6/20/20
“Walk In Love, Be Just, Walk Humbly
by Dona Hake
We continue with our meditation upon being transformed. As I said yesterday God desires to be delighted in His heart as we live to serve Him in holiness. Let us reflect on a portion of Micah 6:8 from the Amplified version. I will sum it up in a nutshell.
Be just.
Diligently practice walking in love.
Walk humbly with your God.
Diligently practice walking in love.
Walk humbly with your God.
In the Amplified version there is emphasis on what walking humbly is:
“setting aside any overblown
sense of importance or self righteousness.”
sense of importance or self righteousness.”
As we purpose to live the transformed life we need to daily remind ourselves of who we are in Christ. Remember, you are only who you because of the good grace of God. Oh that we keep our minds renewed to this!
Many times the sin of exhibiting an overblown sense of importance or self righteousness stems from the sin of envy, fear of failure, or comparing ourselves to others and their accomplishments. I am quite sure there are other reasons for such behavior but those are what I felt to mention here.
I encourage you today to rejoice in where God has brought you from. I think human tendency can fall so much on focusing on who we are not and what we do not see happening within us. While we do need to press in to strengthen anything that could hinder our going forward, we need to keep looking to Him. Let us ponder that we are all a work in progress, and know that He is able to complete that good work in us.
You can not make it happen, ONLY God can transform you! He is able to do great things in your very own unique transformation process that is able to exceed your prayers, goals and highest dreams. So let us walk in love, be just, and walk humbly before God and man.
Friday, June 19, 2020
Devotional 6/19/20
“What Is The Transformed Life?”
As we have been meditating upon Romans 12:1-2 we saw that our God desires to be delighted in His heart as we live in holiness before Him. He loves when we express all that He is in every detail of our life. This is what becomes our genuine expression of worship. This is walking in transformation, and not being conformed to this world.
Over the next devotionals we will be pondering the word ~transformed~. Today my heart is being led by the Spirit of God to ponder the words in Micah 6:8.
“With what shall I come before the Lord [to honor Him] And bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, With yearling calves? Will the Lord be delighted with thousands of rams, Or with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my acts of rebellion, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you Except to be just, and to love [and to diligently practice] kindness (compassion), And to walk humbly with your God [setting aside any overblown sense of importance or self-righteousness]?”
Micah 6:6-8 – The Amplified Translation
Micah 6:6-8 – The Amplified Translation
Many times people view outward works of goodness and sacrifice as being a transformed person. The transformed life is not about a display of good works, although works of godly goodness and obedience will proceed from the believer that presses in to God. Anyone… even an unbeliever can do beautiful and wonderful things apart from God. We as believers are called upon to live daily, looking to Him to continue to deal with us and continue His work within us. True transformation comes from our willful obedience, determining to walk in His love, and walking humbly before Him.
This scripture in Micah sums it up…“be just, and to love [and to diligently practice] kindness (compassion), And to walk humbly with your God [setting aside any overblown sense of importance or self-righteousness]?”
God is looking for that man and woman that will dare to live the transformed life, and it is then that glory will be brought to His Name! I look forward to the next few days as we look at the transformed life of a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Saturday, June 13, 2020
Devotional 6/13/20
“Delighting His Heart”
by Dona Hake
We have looked at Romans 12:1-2 over the past two days from the Passion Translation. As I look over these scriptures again the words that are really speaking to my heart today are… “and live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart…”. (excerpt from Romans 12:1-2 The Passion Translation)
Are we transforming according to His Word or are there times that we conforming to the world’s ways? This is the question we need to continue to challenge our hearts with. Do we know that we are seeking His Word in every situation, or do we get our own thoughts or opinions mixed into how we live?? This is not a once and done thing, this is something we need to continually keep in check within our hearts.
These scriptures warn us to stop imitating the ideals and opinions of our culture, and press into God like never before. We need to seek Him completely and believe for His guidance in the smallest of matters and details of our life. God is looking for total reformation of how we live! Let us go forward in Jesus Name expecting to continually be transformed by His Word and delighting His heart as we do so.
Friday, June 12, 2020
Devotional 6/12/20
“Be Transformed”
Let us look at and meditate upon Romans 12:1-2 again…
“Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to God’s marvelous mercies? I encourage you to surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship. Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes.”
Romans 12:1-2 – The Passion Translation
Romans 12:1-2 – The Passion Translation
Here we see that our response to our Lord’s mercies should be surrender. It is in surrender that we will live holy and separated onto the life that He desires.
Here is the thing though… we need to continue to maintain an awareness that the ideals and opinions around us have an extremely loud voice. Our thoughts and views can easily become conformed to this world if we are not cautious over our thought realm. Now more than ever the voice and influences of the news and social media will most certainly snatch away our peace if we do not handle it correctly. Then there are opinions. Oh my… we need to be careful of our own opinions and those opinions that we hear.
Today I encourage you to challenge your own heart to permit the Holy Spirit to transform your every thought, opinion, worry, fear, etc… As you invite Him to work on your heart and mind, transformation will come, and it will come and it will continue. It will give you power to discern between right and wrong thinking. It will cause a wonderful godly discernment that is needful to stay strong in your Lord.
“But when the truth-giving Spirit comes, he will unveil the reality of every truth within you…”
John 16:13 – The Passion Translation
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!