Sunday, February 5, 2017
by Dona Hake
Matthew 6:11 (CEB)
“Give us the bread we need for today.”
We all understand that we need to eat and drink to keep ourselves healthy. Proper nutrition is vital in order to feel good and have the energy we need to get us through each day. It is equally important that we are staying aware of our spirit being fed and nourished by the Word of our Lord, and our fellowship with Him. Each new day presents us with different demands, therefore we need to be diligent to read His Word and meditate upon it daily in order that our spirit, soul and mind are thriving on the Bread of Life.
God’s Word is our sustenance, and as we ask for Him to give us our daily bread we will certainly receive from Him. His bread is our means of sustaining life and nourishment. I encourage you today to seek Him for that which you need. Is it a specific answer or need for direction? Is there emptiness in your heart and pain? Anything you need God is well able to give to you and He will give you nothing less than what you need to be sustained this day.
Matthew 7:7-10(ERV)
“Continue to ask, and God will give to you. Continue to search, and you will find. Continue to knock, and the door will open for you. Yes, whoever continues to ask will receive. Whoever continues to look will find. And whoever continues to knock will have the door opened for them.
“Do any of you have a son? If he asked for bread, would you give him a rock? Or if he asked for a fish, would you give him a snake? Of course not!
Saturday, February 4, 2017
by Dona Hake
Ephesians 2:10 (AMP)
“For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), [a]recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].”
How beautiful it is to meditate upon being made new in Christ Jesus! The day we accepted Him all the old passed away and praise God ALL things became new. Today let us praise our Lord for the work of His hand in our life and anticipate wonderful things to come! Each one of us is a work in progress, and this should encourage our heart knowing that the God that created the heavens and earth is molding us and preparing us for another day. Think about the work of His hand specific to your gifts and calling. As we permit His hand to work in our life He will surely use us to show His glory in this world. Each day our feet hit the floor we should be anticipating how He is going to use us. Let us be mindful though that we do it with His strength and ability. Let our steps and plans be directed by Him.
Philippians 2:13 (AMP)
“[Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while [a]effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and [b]delight.”
You may wonder how He desires to use you today. I heard recently that we should not pray for opportunities to be used but we need to seize the many opportunities that are right before us for there are many. He delights in using our ears to listen to those around us. As we speak words, let them be words of edification to the one that may be down in their heart. May our hands be those that work heartily unto Him! Today I am looking forward to what He is going to do in my life as His loving hands continue to mold and make me for His purposes! How about you?
Friday, February 3, 2017
by Dona Hake
Psalm 139:17-18
“Your thoughts and plans are treasures to me, O God! I cherish each and every one of them! How grand in scope! How many in number! If I could count each one of them, they would be more than all the grains of sand on earth. Their number is inconceivable!”
The Psalmist speaks in this chapter of how God has explored his heart and knows exactly who he is. The God of heaven and earth also knows each one of us down to the smallest of details. He observes our coming and our going, He watches over us as we sleep and He is there when we rise in the morning. He knows what we are going to say long before we say it because He knows our every thought. What an amazing feeling we should all have knowing how deeply He loves us and knows us inside and out. It really is beyond comprehension! How precious are the thoughts of our Lord!
As I read this Psalm and think about the sands of the ocean it causes me to realize that I really cannot fathom the greatness of our Lord’s thoughts about us. How would we ever even begin to count them? In saying that it reminds me as well that His thoughts are different than ours because He sees us through His pure love, and His thoughts and ways will always be higher than how our mind thinks.
Isaiah 55:9 (ASV)
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways
higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Thursday, February 2, 2017
by Dona Hake
“I feel like I’m on track!” Have you ever said that? I love the feeling that I know I am doing the right thing and all is flowing smoothly. God desires to lead and guide us all the days of our lives. He also desires that we seek Him first and that we purpose that His Spirit is leading us. I shared with you recently the importance of knowing God as you move forward. His Word will always lead and guide us into all truth, and He promises to give us all things that pertain to this life and godliness.
Galatians 5:16 CEV
“If you are guided by the Spirit, you won’t obey your selfish desires.”
Many times we can fall to the weakness of following our own way or our own selfish desires. We can also be guilty of knowing the Lord’s direction but trying to make things happen in our own ability. As we trust Him for answers and direction He will always be faithful to direct us and keep us on track.
Have you ever heard the saying spoken when someone is needing to make a decision…”Maybe you just need to sleep on it.” Never make the mistake of trying to make a decision when you are tired or upset emotionally. We need to stop and rest in the Lord and also get the rest we need in our body. I have had times where I have received answers to a particular need or leading in what I needed to do during the night while my body and mind were resting. The Lord has a beautiful and tender way of quietly speaking in the quietness of the night.
Psalm 16:7 (ERV)
“I praise the Lord because he taught me well.
I praise God that He so tenderly desires to come along side of us in this life that we can know we are going the right direction!
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; don’t rely on your own intelligence.
Know him in all your paths, and he will keep your ways straight.
Isaiah 40:12 (AMP)
“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,
And marked off the heavens with a span [of the hand],
And calculated the dust of the earth with a [a]measure,
And weighed the mountains in a balance
And the hills in a pair of scales?”
Isaiah 40:28-31 (AMP)
“Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become tired or grow weary;
There is no searching of His understanding.
He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who has no might He increases power.
Even youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him]
Will gain new strength and renew their power;
They will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun];
They will run and not become weary,
They will walk and not grow tired.
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Yesterday I shared a wonderful quote with you, and I will share again.
Monday, January 30, 2017
Now with this scripture let us look at some scripture from Hebrews 12.
Hebrews 12:1 Amplified Version
Today I want to challenge your heart to think about things you may be thinking about that have become a burden, and unnecessary weight and care in your mind. I encourage you to make a decision to just stop carrying it in your own ability, make a quality decision to give it to the Lord Jesus Christ in prayer.
Tomorrow I will continue to share my thoughts relative to this quote and Hebrews 12. I pray your day is blessed in Jesus Name.
Sunday, January 29, 2017
by Dona Hake
I encourage you today to think about that precious gift of peace that is always there for you. He desires that His peace dominate your thoughts and act as the Umpire of your heart.
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
Saturday, January 28, 2017
by Dona Hake
Today I would like you to ponder with me how our Lord has faithfully promised to give us all that we need to live this life. It is only by the power of God that any of us can remain strong and able to do His will for He has promised to give us ALL things that we need that pertain to this life and living godly. When God says ALL He means ALL. That means He will cause us to lack in no good thing as we ask Him.
2 Peter 1:3-4 (PHILLIPS)
“He has by his own action given us everything that is necessary for living the truly good life, in allowing us to know the one who has called us to him, through his own glorious goodness. It is through him that God’s greatest and most precious promises have become available to us men, making it possible for you to escape the inevitable disintegration that lust produces in the world and to share in God’s essential nature.”
We no longer need to strive to live a life pleasing unto to Him but rather draw upon Him as we come to know Him more intimately. Let us live a life that looks to draw from His grace and live by it. It is as this becomes so real to us that the scripture in Philippians 4:13 will explode with power within us!
Philippians 4:13 (AMP)
I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].
Lord, we thank you this day that You empower us to live this life. You give us grace for every need, and we are ready to do the work of our life that You have divinely assigned to us. We proclaim that we can live victoriously as we look to You for every provision that we need! In Jesus Name. Amen!
1.27.17
by Dona Hake
Matthew 6:33-34
“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,
and then all these things will be given to you too.
So do not worry about tomorrow. Let tomorrow
worry about itself. Living faithfully is a large enough task for today.”
I have shared over the last few days in particular about heaven filling our thoughts and the importance of focusing on the Lord in all that we do. Today we will look at Jesus’ teaching about what we need to seek first above all things. As Jesus was teaching upon the subject of seeking God’s kingdom first He was making a contrast between heavenly values with earthly values. He was explaining that our first loyalty needs to be to those things that do not fade away. Earthly verses Heavenly…this is a choice that our hearts have to make to serve Him wholly. He told them, “You cannot serve two masters. If you try, you will wind up loving the first master and hating the second, or vice versa. You must choose.”
Jesus exhorted the people not to worry about their lives. “Don’t worry about what you eat or drink, and don’t worry about what you will wear tomorrow.” He pointed their eyes toward the sky and brought their attention to the fact the birds do not store food for winter nor do they plant gardens. They do not sow or reap yet they are always fed because the hand of His loving Heavenly Father feeds them.
“And you are even more precious to Him than a beautiful bird.
If He looks after them, of course He will look after you. “
Even today He desires that we do not consume ourselves with the worries of today or tomorrow for He knows exactly what we need to get us through each day. Praise Him first and seek Him for every need in your life. As we put Him first, He will see to it that all our needs are met! And as Jesus spoke…”Living faithfully is a large enough task for today.”
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!