12.4.16
Devotional for Sunday, December 4, 2016
“His Mercy Can Never Be Exhausted”
by Dona Hake
Lamentations 3:22-23
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
“The Lord’s acts of mercy are not exhausted,
his compassion is not spent;
They are renewed each morning—
great is your faithfulness!”
his compassion is not spent;
They are renewed each morning—
great is your faithfulness!”
Oh let us rejoice and thank the Lord that His acts of mercy are NEVER exhausted. His compassion never runs dry for it is fresh and new just for you each morning! As we look to Him at the start of our day we can stand believing for bountiful blessings flowing from His hand into our life. We can know that everything we will need to sustain us is ready to flow from His endless supply, and all we have to do is ask Him for it. I love knowing that I serve a God that is FULL of mercy and He promises that it never runs out nor can it be exhausted! As you meditate upon this, I encourage you to set your gaze upon Him and allow your spirit to receive all that He has for you today. We can look to Him in prayer and believe that His fullness will be upon us as we trust in Him. I will leave this scripture and blessing for you as you go about your day!
Psalm 90:17
“And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,
and direct thou the work of our hands upon us…”
12.3.16
Devotional for Saturday, December 3, 2016
“The Key To An Anchored Prayer”
by Dona Hake
James 1:6-8 (The Voice)
“The key is that your request be anchored by your single-minded
commitment to God. Those who depend
commitment to God. Those who depend
only on their own judgment are like
those lost on the seas, carried away
those lost on the seas, carried away
by any wave or picked up by any wind.
Those adrift on their own wisdom
Those adrift on their own wisdom
shouldn’t assume the Lord will rescue
them or bring them anything.
them or bring them anything.
The splinter of divided loyalty shatters your
compass and leaves you dizzy and confused.”
compass and leaves you dizzy and confused.”
To enter your home you have a specific key for your door. To start your car you have another. James spoke to us in this portion of scripture about a key of great importance when we are praying and requesting something from the Lord. That key is to be single-minded. You see many times we insist on using our own “keys” to create solutions to life’s problems. If we do not focus on God’s Word, and we do not remain single-minded, we will end up trying to solve a problem in our own understanding and our own ways. Sadly there are many times our prayers go unanswered because of our lacking the possession of the key of being single-minded. We must guard our hearts that we do not go adrift with our own wisdom for we will surely be tossed to and fro by the winds of life’s circumstance if we do.
May we press into our faith as we are loyal to God and His Word. We shall not be dizzy and confused for we have set our course, and we will be able to decisively move forward in the plan and will of our Father. Just as a compass leads us and keeps us on track, being single-minded will keep us wise, discerning and very sensitive to the voice of the Lord at all times. Our spiritual “compass” will keep us centered in His will, and we will remain strong, steady, and focused in the midst of any storms that may come our way.
We thank You Lord that as we draw upon Your grace and seek Your face that You will help us to stay single minded in our commitment to You.
12/2/16
Devotional for Friday, December 2, 2016
“He Lifts Me Up”
by Dona Hake
I love meditating upon the fact that my Lord watches over me, walks beside me, and He expects me to follow Him. Today I want to share about how the Lord wants to uphold us at all times, and it is because of His watchful and caring eyes. I found some very interesting definitions of the word uphold. Let us meditate upon these definitions of the word uphold.
*to support or defend, as against opposition or criticism:
*to keep up or keep from sinking; support:
*to lift upward; raise:
As a shepherd, David understand how it was so important to be watchful and care for every need of his sheep. He understood the importance of defending his sheep against any dangerous predators. One of the most dangerous dilemmas for a sheep was if they ended up in a “cast down” position. The alertness and swift action of the caring shepherd was important when this happened or it meant a sheep would die if left to itself.
There are a handful of Psalms where David used this term “cast down.” Understanding this particular fact about a sheep brings greater understanding why the psalmist used this term so frequently in his psalms. “Cast down” 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. The poor sheep must be helped and turned right side up by the loving, strong hands of it’s shepherd. A “cast down” 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 down is in such a helpless state, it is also vulnerable to attack by predators.
I think this is such an excellent analogy of our condition at times when the circumstances of life seem to turn things upside down in our souls, yet David would use this term within prayers such as “why are you cast down oh my soul?…hope in God.” I am sure we can all relate to those times in which we are down, feeling frustrated and helpless. Oh thank God we have a Shepherd that always arrives on time to uphold and lift us back 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.”
I encourage you that in those times of being down and feeling helpless that you would look up for His hand. It is there for you to grasp! He will lift you up and put you on your feet again. Our Lord is a good Shepherd and He most assuredly will uphold you!
12.1.16
Devotional for Thursday, December 1, 2016
“What Have You Asked the Lord Today?”
by Dona Hake
What have you asked the Lord for today? As you pray and seek His help first thing in the morning may I encourage you to speak and ask of Him throughout you day? In this verse that I am sharing it speaks of the attributes of our Living God and He desires that we draw upon them. They are His counsel, His sound wisdom, His insights, and His strength. Let us ask Him and believe Him for these things.
Proverbs 8:14 (ESV)
“I have counsel and sound wisdom;
I have insight; I have strength.”
“I have counsel and sound wisdom;
I have insight; I have strength.”
Consoling isn’t it?…to know that we can draw upon these things from the throne room of God. We all face times in which we may not understand something that is going on in our life or we are looking to understand His Word in greater depth. When we seek to know more, and we ask Him to help us understand, He is faithful to help us. As we search His Word He will help us understand it and apply it to our lives. In those times where things may seem to appear cloudy and difficult…know that He is well able to unfold to you what you need to know. He is able to bring to you the clarity that you need.
1 Corinthians 2:16 (AMP)
” For who has known or understood the mind
(the counsels and purposes)
of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge?
(the counsels and purposes)
of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge?
But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah)
and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart.”
Praise Him today that as we draw upon His realms of understanding we will begin to understand His Word in a greater way, and see the counsel, wisdom, insights and strength of His heart at work in our life!
11.30.16
Devotional for Wednesday, November 30, 2016
“Seize Your Moment”
by Dona Hake
“Lose not yourself in a far off time,
seize the moment that is thine.”
Friedrich Schiller
I love this quote so much because I love the truth of seizing the moment in which I live. The longer I am here on this beautiful earth the more I can see how fast time goes by. I can hardly believe that we are about to see another year go by. Where did the time go? I am sure many of you are asking yourself that same question.
Many times the future can be a cause for fear and worry. Praise God that we serve a wonderful Heavenly Father that has promised to give us that which we need to live each day, and for every moment that we are here. God does not want us to worry about our future, but rather He wants us to place our faith in Him.
Today I encourage you to seize the moment that you are in right now. It is as we seize the moment we are living in that we will not miss God given opportunities that are sent our way. I believe the Lord desires that we take thorough account of how we spend our time, that we may use every moment to accomplish wonderful things for Him!
Let us be careful that we not permit ourselves to become anxious in our hearts about our future, or our joy will slowly diminish. As we stay in the presence of the Lord and continue in faith, our joy will be full. As we stay before Him we will walk in His peace, therefore there will be many opportunities that we can recognize that are of Him, and we can seize them with great joy in our hearts! I’ll leave you with the scripture to meditate upon, and I pray that this Word has blessed your heart today. Remember, do not lose yourself in the future by fearing what is ahead but rather seize the moment that you are blessed with right now.
Philippians 4:4-7
Always be filled with joy in the Lord.
I will say it again. Be filled with joy.
Let everyone see that you are gentle and kind.
The Lord is coming soon.
Don’t worry about anything, but pray and ask God
for everything you need, always giving thanks
for what you have. And because you belong to
Christ Jesus, God’s peace will stand guard over
all your thoughts and feelings. His peace
can do this far better than our human minds.
11.29.16
Devotional for Tuesday, November 29, 2016
“Seeing Through God’s Eyes”
by Dona Hake
Have you ever formed an opinion based on what you see, and then to find out that your opinion was totally incorrect because you were misinformed of all the facts? We must be very careful to never form opinions apart from the facts and from the truth of what God has to say about it. It is so alarming to me in this day and age how many standards and rules are based on how people “feel” about things. Let us understand that many times our eyes and our feelings can deceive us. We can think we are perceiving things properly but truth is we are seeing things from the wrong perspective or improper thinking. There are many things that can cloud our eyes from seeing things how God sees them. Today I desire to cause you to seek to see things as God sees them. May we seek His help to view the world and people through His eyes and His Word.
Now let us look at another way that we can be deceived into viewing our circumstances apart from faith and that is worrying. We have heard it said that worry casts a big shadow on small things. Really when you think about it worry has the ability to paint a picture about your situation that could be an exaggeration of what is really going on. Worry has the ability to magnify things and distort the truth. When we face a problem, and we allow the light of His Word to shine on it, we will always be able to embrace an attitude of victory and not worry. We will most importantly be able to lay hold of the truth and wisdom that God desires for us to walk in.
God desires that we see everything in truth and in the proper perspective, and the only way that will happen is if we see things through His eyes. I guarantee you that as we ask Him to help us see, our perspective on everything will be correct. Today I encourage you to ask Him to fill your eyes with light…His light.
Psalm 119:18 (VOICE)
“Let me see clearly so that I may take in
the amazing things coming from Your law.”
the amazing things coming from Your law.”
Matthew 6:22-23 (TLB)
“If your eye is pure, there will be sunshine in your soul.”
11.28.16
Devotional for Monday, November 28, 2016
“Be a Vessel of His Love!”
by Dona Hake
Yesterday we meditated upon the health of our Lord’s countenance being upon us. Oh that we would desire that His countenance would shine and flow through us! Walking in God’s love is what we will meditate upon today. Let us look at being willing vessels that He may cause His great love to flow from.
God is looking for us to put feet to His love, and exhibit His ways to a lost and dying world. He is desiring that we put action to that which we know we should do. There is a scripture that says, “In Him I live and move and have my being.” Acts 17:28 He so desires that bring His Word to life. You know…you may be the only Bible that one ever reads. There are those that need His love and we need to avail ourselves to Him that He can flow through us.
We must remember that there will be times that He may call upon us to help people, and He may just call upon us to go one more mile than what we initially intended. Many times His love will stretch us, and that is a very good thing. It is in those times that His love will be shown in a wonderful way, and we too will grow as we give of ourselves. I think it is a good thing for all of us to be pulled away from our comfort zone, and put in a place we have to rely on Him to help us to do things we never thought were possible!
Today let us rejoice in knowing that He desires to use us as vessels of His great love. Let us position ourselves for unexpected opportunities of doing works that are birthed from His great love in Jesus Name!
1 John 3:18-19 (ERV)
“My children, our love should not be only words and talk.
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.”
11.27.16
“
Devotional for Sunday, November 27, 2016
“His Countenance Upon Us”
by Dona Hake
Numbers 6:24-26
“The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine upon you,
and be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
and give you peace.”
The Lord make His face shine upon you,
and be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
and give you peace.”
One’s countenance is his or her appearance, and it is especially the look or expression of the face. I love this scripture because is shows us that we are able to shine the light and love of the Lord from our countenance as we permit Him to do so. Oh that we would desire that His countenance would shine and be upon us!! Have you ever met someone and you just know that they love the Lord, and it is because their countenance is a give away? Their countenance if full of His Light, Life and Love. I always think of that song as a little girl that we would sing in Sunday school, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…!” As we spend time with the Lord, follow His Word, we will begin to emanate His peace and joy, and all that He is.
Our countenance reveals so much about us. If someone knows us very well, they are able to discern quickly if something is wrong just by the look on our face, and the expressions that are coming from within us. David understood that it was his soul that was disquieted and cast down, and he understood that as he waited upon God that He would bring a saving health to his countenance as his soul experienced God’s restoration. I love this Psalm so much, and since I have meditated on this one so much, there are times I find myself addressing my soul, and calling it to be quiet before God that He is able to restore me.
Psalm 42:11 Jubilee Bible 2000
“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Wait thou for God, for I shall yet praise him, who is the saving health of my countenance and my God.”
When one has good health in their body and mind they are experiencing soundness and vigor, and freedom from disease or ailment. When someone loses hope they may also begin to fear their future and feel as if they are a failure. It is when we lose hope that our enemy, the devil can begin to try to speak lies to us that would cause a spirit of timidity within us. Let us keep our mind renewed that our God has given us a sound mind, and not a spirit of fear. This is a real part of maintaining a healthy countenance before God and man.
2 Timothy 1:7 (AMP)
” For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.”
Today I pray that you receive this blessing from the book of Numbers. May He bless and keep you. Look to Him and gaze on His radiant face, and receive His grace for your day and your life. As you do so you will find your inward man lifted up as His countenance rests upon you with His great peace!
11.26.16
Devotional for Saturday, November 26, 2016
“His Word – Our Shield”
by Dona Hake
Proverbs 30:5 Expanded Bible
“Every word of God ·is true [passes the test; is refined;
·He guards those [ They are a shield to those] who come to
him for ·safety [refuge].
·He guards those [ They are a shield to those] who come to
him for ·safety [refuge].
God’s Word is flawless. God’s Word is true, and God’s Word must be our necessary food! Yesterday we meditated upon the Lord giving us our daily Bread as we ask Him for it. Oh let us praise Him as He so faithfully brings us the provision that we need to serve Him! Today let us meditate on the truth that God’s Word is a shield to us.
We need not try to analyze it, we need only to believe it. He promises that His Word is a shield to those that place their trust in Him. In our day of battle we are promised that His Word will shield us and keep us. It is in those times when the fiery darts of the enemy come to penetrate our soul that the Word of God that we believe and speak will be a protection, a refuge, and we will walk in victory. Jesus stressed the importance and the blessing of living by the truth.
John 8:31-32 (PHILLIPS)
“If you are faithful to what I have said,
you are truly my disciples. And you will
know the truth and the truth will set you free!”
Oh that we would be diligent to know His Word that we may be free in every area of our lives. Let us never add or subtract from His Word either.
Proverbs 30:6
“Add thou not anything to the words of him,
and thou be reproved, and be found a liar.
(Do not thou add anything to his words,
lest thou be rebuked, and be found a liar.)”
Again let us be reminded that God’s Word is perfect. May we never add our own thoughts or opinions to the Word of God because His Word is total truth and it need no more. I rejoice in the simplicity that God has laid out for us in His Word. Love His Word and live by it. He promises that as we do this, we will be free indeed!!! Lord God we thank You that You are our Shield!!
11.25.16
Devotional for Friday, November 25, 2016
“Our Daily Bread – His Provision”
by Dona Hake
Matthew 6:11 (DRA)
“Give us this day our supersubstantial bread.”
Matthew 6:11 (VOICE)
” Give us each day that day’s bread—no more, no less—”
The Lord knows our needs before we are even aware of them. He also knows the areas in our hearts that are weak and needy. Let us praise the One that formed us so intricately in our mother’s wombs. Every part of our being was woven as a beautiful tapestry and formed into the being we are today. We are here to give glory to His Name and He desires to give us exactly what we need to do His perfect will today!
His Word, His voice, and His grace are there for us to draw upon for each day that we live. It can be so tempting to concern ourselves with things that we do not yet have to deal with. When we believe that He is faithful to give us exactly what we need, our hearts and minds will be at peace, and we will live in true contentment. Oh how I love the scripture in Psalm 23, “He makes me to lie down in green pastures…”
Today let us ask Him with faith in our hearts for His Bread for our day. Whatever you need He is able to give you. As Him for the provision that you need for your spirit, soul, and body. I encourage you to meditate upon the fact that God is faithful to give us the “bread” we need to get us through one day at a time. That bread promises to sustain us, and keep us nourished in our spirits. Praise Him each day for He has promised to care for you, and you would not suffer lack.
Remember though all that He showered upon you today was for this day, and tomorrow is a new day. Each day meets us with new challenges, and needs. Let us draw upon Him each day, and believe that His hand is willing to touch every area of our lives.
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!