“From the Abundance of One’s Heart”
by Dona Hake
I would like to focus on the importance of the guarded heart in the area of how one sees himself as the Lord does. The Lord desires that we draw upon His grace and ability to do His great work in us. If we do not, we will focus on our inability and our weaknesses. This is an area where everyone of us can become weak and fall prey too. For instance, if we make mistakes we can be tempted to not forgive ourselves, and we keep thinking about our mistake. Ultimately if left unchecked it can cause one to fear stepping out because of the fear of failure. As we meditate upon negative thoughts about ourselves that negative will grow bigger and bigger in our mind. The strength of any negative will be an arrow that the devil will use against us. One of his main tools will be our own tongues. You may begin to speak things about yourself, and you put yourself down. Eventually the more you hear those words from your own mouth, you will begin to believe them.
“Don’t bend the truth or say things that you know are not right. “
“It Is Well”
Mark 4:35-40
“It was evening of that same day. Jesus said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.” After sending the people away, they took Jesus with them in a boat. It was the same boat He used when He taught them. Other little boats went along with them. A bad wind storm came up. The waves were coming over the side of the boat. It was filling up with water. Jesus was in the back part of the boat sleeping on a pillow. They woke Him up, crying out, “Teacher, do You not care that we are about to die?” He got up and spoke sharp words to the wind. He said to the sea, “Be quiet! Be still.” At once the wind stopped blowing. There were no more waves. He said to His followers, “Why are you so full of fear? Do you not have faith?”
This is one of those stories that make me wish I would have been there just to see the raging waters be calmed at the command of Jesus’ voice. These words from this portion of scripture have created faith in my heart many times when things around me seemed to be out of control. To know that He can bring peace to the raging waters of my life causes me to know that “it is well with my soul.”
The important thing to remember is that God is able to bring peace to a situation yet that does not necessarily mean the problem has gone away. When God’s peace prevails within us, our hearts will be still and we will be calmed. Oh yes, maybe the circumstances may be roaring, but our hearts can say, “It is well in my soul.” It is in those times that you are able to hear His whisper as He directs you into the next step. Let us remember that in the midst of a problem or crisis that it is vital we hold fast to our faith and have our ears towards the Lord that He may reveal the wisdom that we need.
I love how Francious deFenelon’s quote makes this story from the book of Mark even more real.
“A word from the Lord stilled the raging sea
and a glance from Him to you, and from
you to Him, will do the same for you.”
~~~~~♥~~~~~
“He Who Refreshes Others…”
Isaiah 58:11 (ERV)
“The Lord will always lead you and satisfy your needs in dry lands.
He will give strength to your bones.
You will be like a garden that has plenty of water, like a spring that never goes dry.”
As we draw upon the living water from above each and everyday let us be mindful to share that water that gives life with those around us. Let us be thankful that the water He gives is the only water that will quench one’s spiritual thirst. I love how this scripture in Isaiah says that we will be “like a garden that has plenty of water, a spring that never goes dry.” No matter how much we draw upon it, those waters will continue to flow from within us! The only requirement is that we continue to seek Him and draw upon that river of life that proceeds from Him.
This type of abundance is not just for our survival and enjoyment alone but it is there for us to minister to those in need around us. God desires to see us active in doing good for others from a heart of faith and love. It is as we sow from the abundance in us that we too will be refreshed. I recently had the most wonderful experience of working and serving the body of Christ during a conference our church hosted. Even though my body was tired by the end of the week, my spirit and soul were being refreshed in the giving of my all. What a wonderful and blessed feeling it is to give our all for God!
“We Can Put No Price of Wisdom”
Job 28:13-18
” No human perceives wisdom’s true value,
nor has she been found in the land of the living.
The deep says, “She is not to be seen within me.”
“Nor within me,” says the voice of the raging sea.
No gold can be given in trade for wisdom,
nor a sum of silver weighed out as her price.
She cannot be bought with all the gold of Ophir,
neither with onyx nor sapphire.
The shimmer of gold and brightness of glass cannot compare,
and no refined gold jewelry is worth her in trade.
Perish the mention of coral and crystal;
“But the wisdom from above is first of all pure (undefiled); then it is peace-loving, courteous (considerate, gentle). [It is willing to] yield to reason, full of compassion and good fruits; it is wholehearted and straightforward, impartial and unfeigned (free from doubts, wavering, and insincerity).”
“Without Him…”
John 15:5
The Voice (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.”
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 with three letters 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.
I can remember once putting some fresh batteries into something I wanted to use. I checked and checked to make sure all the batteries were in the right position and secure. It made no sense to me that there was no power. My husband opened it and examined it and sure enough one of the three batteries was in the wrong direction. Sometimes that is how it is for us. We can feel that we are so sure that we are doing everything exactly right, yet one missing thing can keep it all from working. We can seem to have all that we need, yet one thing is out of place and there will be no power. When we are connected to God, He assures us that all things are possible as we stay hooked up to His divine ways and purposes! God bless you.
“Remember!…God Never Forgets”
I think it would be wise for us to remind ourselves ALL the time how much God loves us, and He is concerned about the smallest of details in our lives. As we keep this fresh in our minds we will be strong in this truth as we walk through difficult times.
Luke 12:6-8 (NLT)
“What is the price of five sparrows—two copper coins?
Yet God does not forget a single one of them.
And the very hairs on your head are all numbered.
So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.”
I watch sparrows from my window everyday and to be quite honest they can be aggressive little things. Sometimes they are pushy with the other birds. and they seem to want to take it all. They almost seem to be perfect little analogies that just maybe they are afraid of where their next meal is coming from. When we get into fear of our future or we feel we are facing things alone, we too can act irrationally, pushy and try to work through things in our own ability. God has His eye on the sparrow, and He does not forget one of them. Out of all the parts of our body the writer speaks of the hairs on our head. When is the last time you tried to count the hairs on your head? I would say that God is really keeping track of me if He has my hairs counted!
Let us be reminded that God knows and sees every detail of our life. He sees your concerns and worries and as you look to Him, He will take care of you. I just want you to remember that many times our prayers are answered differently than our expectations. All is good in the hands of God! Remember, our God forgets nothing, and notices everything about you.
Psalm 138:8 (KJV)
“The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy,
O Lord, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.”
“His Peace In Abundance”
Psalm 119:165 (HCSB)
“Abundant peace belongs to those
who love Your instruction;
nothing makes them stumble.”
“The Lord My Light!”
So much has changed in the world of photography, and it continues to develop and improve in the world of digital shooting. I can remember being adamant in not wanting anything to do with a digital camera. I knew nothing but film, and working in a film lab for almost ten years made it even harder for me to make the transition into the world of digital photography. As I worked in the lab, I saw what happened to a roll of film from the time it came into the plant till it left the plant totally processed, and made into prints for our customers.
Of all the many jobs I did within the film processing plant my favorite was printing black and white film. There was such a beauty in seeing the wonderful contrasts within each image. Each negative had to be carefully read and studied, and I had to determine how much light to apply to the negative for the perfect print. Light, dark, whites, grays, blacks…it all had to be perfect to create the perfect black and white image. After printing I would take my huge roll of paper to the darkroom for processing. The paper passed from one chemical to the next, and little by little as it passed from one chemical to the next, the image became clear. I always loved standing in the darkroom under the special lights anticipating if I made proper judgments or not. Honestly, I am glad I had this darkroom experience because it has helped me tremendously in the realm and art of photography.
In this age of digital, you no longer have to wait for the darkroom experience to show you if you have made proper judgments in the realm of light. The blessing of digital is that you know immediately if all your settings were perfect. If you are not pleased…instantly you can hit delete and start over. You did not waste any film…you just start over.
Psalm 18:28
God, you are the God of perfect light, and you are the God that helps us stay focused each and everyday. When things seem dim or our vision is blurry, we thank you that Your light is well able to lead and guide us! We thank you for that!
“Our Magnificent God!”
by Dona Hake
Psalm 147:3-5 (TLB)
“He heals the brokenhearted, binding up their wounds. He counts the stars and calls them all by name. How great he is! His power is absolute! His understanding is unlimited.”
I love these verses and I love thinking about how God knows all the specifics about everything. He knows everything about everything that He created. He created you and the stars and there is no limit to what He knows! This is a powerful thought isn’t it?
“Can You Hear Him Whisper?”
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!