Sunday, October 8, 2017

Posted on Oct 10, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Tuesday, October 10, 2017

“Extending His Mercy”

by Dona Hake

Today let us meditate upon the mercy of our Lord. Each morning we arise we should thank Him for His new mercies that He extends to us, and we need to be merciful to others just as He so freely extends it to us. It is so easy at times to fall short of patience and mercy with those around us especially those we are closest to. After all, there is always the tempting thought that they love us so much that they will just put up with us no matter what. Let us desire to be reminded to be merciful to everyone around us.

Matthew 5:7 (ERV)

“Great blessings belong to those who show mercy to others.

Mercy will be given to them.”

In those times in which someone is behaving in a fashion that is unkind, rude or hurtful it would be good to stop and remind our self that we do not know what they are going through. I can remember many years ago standing in a line waiting to place my order in a fast food restaurant. The young lady taking the orders was being extremely harsh and rude with each of the customers before me. When she went to take my order I asked softly, “How are you today?” She looked at me and sighed deeply, and shared that a friend of hers just committed suicide. It was a moment in which I was taken back but I just looked into her eyes and expressed how sad that suicide is. I spoke words of comfort and I left her saying “I will be praying for you.” She thanked me. Never underestimate the power of calmly listening and expressing to someone that you will pray.

I was so glad that I overlooked her behavior , and l extended to her understanding and comfort. We need to be careful that we are not missing God opportunities to speak His life into hopeless situations. Let us be on the look out for opportunities for people to see Jesus in us. God’s Word tells us in 1 Corinthians 13 that “love believes the best…” Sometimes in this life it is not so easy to believe the best of people but Paul’s writings show us the importance of doing so. As we do this we are choosing to be merciful and walk in our Lord’s love. May His precious Holy Spirit remind us today to seek ways to be merciful and walk in His love in a deeper way. Remember…great blessings belong to those that extend His mercy!

Saturday, October 7, 2017

Posted on Oct 8, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Sunday, October 8, 2017

“Entrusting Our Life To Him”

by Dona Hake

“Trust the Lord!” I hear it often and I am sure you do to. These are precious and powerful words that cause one to remember that their life is in the hands of the One that created the Heavens and the Earth. This all powerful God in which we are trusting has done great and mighty things. I will share a small portion of scripture with you of the power of His first words that He spoke for this is the all powerful God that we serve and trust with our life.

Genesis 1:1-3 (AMP)

The Creation

“In the beginning God (Elohim) created [by forming from nothing] the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void or a waste and emptiness, and darkness was upon the face of the deep [primeval ocean that covered the unformed earth]. The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.”

Today I just want you to ponder and meditate upon the great and mighty God that you have entrusted your life to. Let us think upon His miraculous ways and works. Ponder the many times He has blessed you, and put a testimony upon your lips when you thought your circumstance seemed hopeless. Praise Him for the many times He has showed Himself faithful to you. May these three words “Trust in the Lord” never become just a cliche. He desires that we trust Him with ALL of our hearts and never lean and rest upon our mere understanding of any given situation.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 GOD’S WORD Translation

“Blessed is the person who trusts the Lord.
The Lord will be his confidence.
He will be like a tree that is planted by water.
It will send its roots down to a stream.
It will not be afraid in the heat of summer.
Its leaves will turn green.
It will not be anxious during droughts.

It will not stop producing fruit.”

Enduring trust brings enduring fruit. As we continue to trust, He WILL show Himself faithful! Praise Him today for His wonderful greatness, and trust Him with all of your heart!

Friday, October 6, 2017

Posted on Oct 6, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Friday, October 6, 2017

“His Wisdom-A Gushing Stream”

by Dona Hake

What a wonderful thing that God’s wisdom is. Yesterday I shared with you about the power of one word. Our loving Lord’s wisdom will help us to speak those perfect words that are timely and they will minister grace to the hearer. As we seek the Lord first before any task, and ask Him for His sweet wisdom we can know that we are doing the right thing and it is in accordance with His will. Today let us meditate on how wonderful it is that godly wisdom is as a spring, a gushing stream with life giving power! As you draw upon it, it will flow to you and from you to others.

Wisdom may be in one word or it may be in a deed. Sometimes the Lord’s wisdom may call upon us to just be silent. He will make a perfect place and time for you to speak the words that He desires to order to proceed from your mouth. We can probably all testify of times that words have been spoken to us apart from His wisdom. Those words can hurt you, leave scars and divide the closest of relationships.

Proverbs 18:4 (AMP)

“The words of a [discreet and wise] man’s mouth are like deep waters [plenteous and difficult to fathom], and the fountain of skillful and godly Wisdom is like a gushing stream [sparkling, fresh, pure, and life-giving].”

The wisdom of God will always be full of peace, easy to be entreated and without hypocrisy. Wisdom will always be in line with the truths of God’s Word, and there is no wavering in the words or actions of wisdom. Let us seek to be vessels of those that speak His wisdom offering words and actions that are life giving and pure. God bless you!

Thursday, October 5, 2017

Posted on Oct 5, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Thursday, October 5, 2017

“One Word”

by Dona Hake

Have you ever had the greatest of days, all was going well, and one person said a negative thing to you, and all you did was focus on that one negative comment or word? OR… Have you ever been discouraged in your heart, feeling like giving up, and someone spoke the most encouraging word to you , and you felt like your world was turned right side up again? That one word made you feel like once again you could pull up the boot straps, stand strong, and go forward! I am sure everyone of you that just read these two questions can totally identify with where I am going today.

One word has the power the lift up or bring down. Isn’t it amazing to think that one word is able to carry so much influence on those around us?

Proverbs 12:25 (AMP)

“Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down,

but an encouraging word

makes it glad.”

The Voice translation of Proverbs 12:25…

“The weight of worry drags us down,

but a good word lightens our day.”

Today as you encounter people, study before you speak. Give out GOOD and ENCOURAGING words today! Think about how your words are able to minister grace to the hearer, and possibly change the way they are thinking about themselves. Kind thoughts and kind words cost not one penny for you to give yet the hearer may be receiving a wealth of encouragement that their money could never buy.

Proverbs 18:21 (Good News Translation)

“What you say can preserve life or destroy it.”

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Posted on Oct 4, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Wednesday, October 4, 2017

“If You Abide In Him…”

by Dona Hake

I can remember promising my granddaughters that I would make them homemade pancakes one morning. I began to collect all of my ingredients, and was pleased that I was ready to go! But then I realized that there actually was one ingredient missing. I was so disappointed for I knew that this one particular ingredient could not be left out or those pancakes would have been a flop. Well I thought it would not hurt to check one more time. I kept looking and to my surprise I was able to find that very important ingredient in my spice cabinet. I was pleased for then I could make those special pancakes!

This makes me think about our life, doing God’s perfect will and how our Lord is at work each day we look to Him. He desires to work perfectly within us to perform His will. He lays out His plan and it is vital that we always follow His instructions exactly as He desires. His thoughts and ways are higher than ours. Let us not be deceived to think that we can leave out those certain things He is requiring us to do, and expect His hand of blessing to be upon us. May we not think that we can follow God’s will to a point of our comfort, and hold back the obedience He is requiring of us. He has a perfect plan and a perfect way to accomplish that special assignment He has planned for each of us. Many times we can be deceived and think that we can mix our thoughts and ways into His plan, and this should never even be a thought for us. As we keep Jesus in the center of all that we do, He will direct our strengths and abilities but we can never forget that without we can do nothing. Let us look at John 15:5…

John 15:5 The Voice

“I am the vine, and you are the branches.

If you abide in Me and I in you, you will bear great fruit.

Without Me, you will accomplish nothing.”

My friends this truth is always be the key “ingredient” in doing the will of the Lord. He must be a part of it, and all He asks is that we abide in Him. This is such a wonderful scripture to keep fresh in our hearts. Without Him we can do nothing and yet with Him ALL things are possible! All means all, and that little word ~all~ contains big possibilities. Whether we are trying to do things for Him or the things that involve our daily accomplishments, it would do us good to know that we are pulling ALL of our strength and wisdom from His resources. Praise Him today as you look to Him for all things, for without Him we can accomplish nothing but as we diligently abide in Him we will bear great fruit!

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Posted on Oct 3, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Tuesday, October 3, 2017

“His Hands Are Always Full”

by Dona Hake

“You open Your hand and they are filled with good things.”

Psalm 104:28b

Our loving God’s hands are full of abundant blessings and provision just for you! Is your heart being kept full, strengthened and maintained by the power of the Holy Spirit? Oh praise Him for He desires to open His hand and touch you with many good things today! Let us diligently watch over the gauge of our hearts and minds that warn us when we are running on low. Just as we keep an eye on the many things we own that run on batteries we must also watch that we are charged by the power of the Holy Spirit. Many times we are weakening simply because we are not drawing from the provision of our loving Heavenly Father. Sadly if we do not make adjustments and draw upon His strength, we could turn to living by our own ability…not a good thing.

My friends I encourage you to pay close attention to the warning signals that your spirit is sending you. I know I say this often but it means so much to me, and that is Jesus desires to be our closest friend and helper. The Holy Spirit is sent along side of us to comfort, strengthen and lead us at all times. A good friend will always be there to help us, and most certainly that good friend will point out to us what they are observing so they can be a support and help . Because Jesus is truly our Best Friend, may we honor Him with humble ears and hearts at all times for He desires to fill our lives with His good things and keep us strong in every area of our being. Trust Him today for what you need in Jesus Name for He is our anchor and our hope for this life!

Romans 15:13 ERV “I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much joy and peace as you trust in him. Then you will have more and more hope, and it will flow out of you by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Monday, October 2, 2017

Posted on Oct 2, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Monday, October 2, 2017

“Desiring A Perfect Heart”

by Dona Hake

1 Chronicles 29:19
“…and give to my son Solomon a

perfect heart to keep

Your commandments, Your testimonies,

and Your statutes,

and to do all that is necessary

to build the temple

for You, for which I have

made provision.”

Today I share a prayer with you from David. He prayed this prayer over his son Solomon. He desired that his son would have a perfect heart to keep God’s commandments, His testimonies and His statutes. I believe this is such a perfect scripture to meditate upon for ourselves and we too can pray over our own hearts. God desires that our hearts be perfect and desiring to keep His statutes that we may do His work to build the Kingdom of God for His glory.

I want you to think about this prayer in light of how this world can distract us so very easily. I believe that this prayer would invite the Holy Spirit to teach us, correct us, and help us to walk upright before Him. As we begin to pray for a perfect heart we are asking that our mind be undivided and whole. The devil loves nothing more than to take the smallest of things and cause our minds to begin to wander and worry. Distractions can cause us lack of focus and make us weary in the work. Distractions and worries many times start out as a small thing but become bigger if let go. It is those little foxes that will always spoil the vine. Many times our peace is lost, and then our focus is gone. We may start our day out purposing to serve our loving God with our whole heart but we need be vigilant. We need to stay mindful to see the importance of guarding every minute of our day that the devil does not try to trick us into thinking or doing things that are unacceptable in the eyes of the Lord. May we seek our Lord for a perfect heart toward Him that we may walk unhindered and be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

Lord we ask you this day to help us to serve you with a perfect and willing heart. We trust that your Holy Spirit will come alongside of us and lead, correct, guide and direct our every decision, and every path. We know that wisdom can see what we cannot see with our natural eyes so we trust you for Your wisdom over every matter of our day. In Jesus Name, amen!

Sunday, October 1, 2017

Posted on Oct 1, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Sunday, October 1, 2017

“The Sweetness of a Friend’s Counsel”

by Dona Hake

Proverbs 27:17 (The Voice)
” In the same way that iron sharpens iron,

a person sharpens the character
of his friend.”

Oh how we need to value the sweet fellowship of our friends in Christ. Today I want us to meditate of being a friend that offers sweet counsel and receiving sweet counsel from the Word of God. First of all in any relationship whether it be family or friend we need to be loyal to the truth, and live uncompromisingly according to His precepts that He has laid out in His Word for us. I love the scripture from Proverbs 27:17, and I love the challenge it brings. I am sure everyone reading this has a friend or maybe you have many friends. A true friend will keep their eye on you, and they will come to know your heart in a special way. They will be able to observe by a mere, slight change on your face that something is troubling you. In the event you fail or make a mistake, a true friend will never leave you. A true friendship withstands any hardship, and will continue to grow in the midst of any trial. In fact we will see that the trials will actually make us stronger, if we handle them in God’s wisdom and His ways. An individual that loves and cherishes their friend dearly will also desire to share in the exchange of their strengths. A true friendship never competes but will thrive and grow stronger with time.

May we be ever mindful to be grateful to our Lord for the faithful friends that He has put in our lives. Thank God for those friends that have not walked away from us when they saw our faults and made the choice to love us and pray for us. We should be so thankful for those friends that love us enough to speak God’s Word even when we do not want to hear it. Many times our mind and emotions may not want to hear the truth but our hearts should be rejoicing at the voice of godly counsel in our time of weakness and need. We must value it, and allow it to minister to us that we can be sharpened by it both in character and in countenance.

Proverbs 27:9
“Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart:

so doth the sweetness of a man’s
friend by hearty counsel.”

Today I encourage your heart to seek Him, and ask Him to help you be the best friend you can be to those that He has divinely placed in your life. I pray that you will recognize the God given strengths in your friends . As iron sharpens iron, let us be willing to be used to sharpen as well as be sharpened!

Saturday, September 30, 2017

Posted on Sep 30, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Saturday, September 30, 2017

“Embracing the Sweetest Silence”

by Dona Hake

“God

speaks in the silence

of the heart.

Listening is the
beginning of prayer.”

Mother Teresa

Today I would like for us to meditate upon the importance of our hearts being a place of stillness, peace, calm, and silence. I particularly want us to look at the word ~silence~. Silence is the absence of any sound or noise, it is a place of stillness. Is your heart still today or is it troubled? If your heart is troubled I encourage you to permit the same Jesus that stilled the wind and waves to still your heart that He may speak to you throughout your day.

Psalm 42:11 CEV

“Why am I discouraged? Why am I restless? I trust you!

And I will praise you again because you help me,

and you are my God.”

Three different times in the Psalms the psalmist spoke to his soul and questioned it asking…”why are you so disquieted?” Sometimes we just need to give ourselves pep talks from the Word of our Lord. Quieting our hearts is so vital. It can only be done as we stop and recognize that our hearts are troubled that we would pray and ask Him to help us. It is sad to say that many people live with constant “noise” between their ears and in their heart, and it just becomes a normal thing and they accept it to be something they have to live with. The mistake anyone can make is trying to substitute the beauty of His stillness with the things this world has to offer.

Our heart is the place that our Lord dwells and I believe it should always be a place of stillness and silence. The Word tells us to guard our hearts with all diligence for from it flows the issues of life. May our hearts and minds be a guarded place. May we learn to arrest those thoughts that come from out of nowhere to rob us of our peace.

I encourage you to take inventory of your thoughts on a regular basis. Ask yourself if each and every thought is worthy of remaining in your mind. If it is not worthy it will end up robbing you of the precious peace you desire. Today I encourage you to yearn for your heart to be a place of silence and refuge. May it be a place so quiet that you can hear your Lord speak to you in prayer. May it be that place where the still small Voice is heard. Silence in the heart is truly the sweetest silence to know!

Friday, September 29, 2017

Posted on Sep 29, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Friday, September 29, 2017

“A Humble Heart Receives Correction”

by Dona Hake

When the Lord speaks to me in my quiet time or during a time of hearing the Word I love to write it down and read it many times over. My special notebook has various scriptures, thoughts, and unique quotes. It is a good thing to journal such things to look back on, reflect and deepen our revelations that we receive from Him.

This morning during my time of prayer I was re-reading over some notes that I had written a while back and I wanted to share them with you today.

“God may need to correct or rebuke us to get us back on track. Life is full of corrections on our course. Lord, you are my Shepherd, lead me! He always leads us into truth. What am I living by? Is it the truth? His Word keeps my life on course. One needs to keep their heart humbled that the Lord can do a work in their heart.”

In the silence before Him this morning, He once again reminded me that He loves me, and because He loves me I should desire His loving correction. Most importantly I must keep my heart humble. Oh that we would be ever so mindful of staying humble before Him at all times for it is then that He can speak to our hearts at any given time. Thank you Lord for keeping us standing firm and able to walk and go forward in Your will.

Devotional Archives

6 Responses to “Devotional”

Lisa Viands says:

November 8, 2013 at 5:05 pm

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!!
- Dona Hake says:
  
  November 8, 2013 at 11:15 pm
  
  thank you Lisa for sharing. I am blessed that this was a blessing to you!
Selena Neely says:

November 18, 2013 at 3:07 pm

Ralph &I are really enjoying your devotional together.
- Dona Hake says:
  
  November 18, 2013 at 3:29 pm
  
  So glad this is blessing you both!
Selena Neely says:

November 19, 2013 at 12:50 pm

Oh, what a wonderful reminder! I want to break the magnifing glass of worry and trust God for each step I take.
Dona Hake says:

November 20, 2013 at 2:41 am

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!