Psalm 145:1-3

“I will lift my praise above everything to You, my God and King!
I will continually bless Your name forever and always.
My praise will never cease—
I will praise You every day;
I will lift up Your name forever.
The Eternal is great and deserves endless praise;
His greatness knows no limit, recognizes no boundary.
No one can measure or comprehend His magnificence.”

Let us think about more of His divine attributes…His grace and mercy recognizes no boundaries and they are new each morning as we face new challenges. No, we will never be able to totally comprehend His greatness, but we can always continue to offer thanks and worship to Him for all that He is to us! Give thanks to the Lord for there is no measure of His magnificence!

We live in a day and age in which living by the truth is not important.   This is so sad to me.  Just watch the news on any given day, and you will find there are those that do not base their opinions or decisions on any truth whatsoever.  It seems that some feel they can create their own standards, and by them they live.     This becomes what they see as truth on a matter.

I can remember hearing a woman  condoning and encouraging that it is okay when people tell little “white lies.” She exclaimed that some types of lies are just simply a polite way of dealing with people.   I personally feel this is absolutely wrong, and I stand firm that proclaiming that any kind of lie, no matter how small or white IT IS absolutely wrong. I can remember thinking as a teenager that is was okay to lie about certain things. I can remember as well how troubled it would make me feel inside. I did it because my friends did it, and I assumed it was okay. May I add that I can remember the day that the Lord totally liberated me to His truth, and I was able to live with a clear conscience!

So what is a white lie? This is what the definition of it is… “a minor or unimportant lie, especially one uttered in the interests of tact or politeness. “   Let us as believers be careful to guard our hearts and mouths that we do not proclaim lies to avoid dealing in God’s truth in a matter. 

I have heard it said before that the thing about telling lies is that you better remember exactly how you told it or some day you will get caught. There is so much freedom in being truthful to others, and most importantly being true to yourself. One of my most favorite quotes that I feel is an excellent one to live by was by William Shakespeare.

“This above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow,
as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”

When we gave our life to Christ, all things became new including our “spiritual” wardrobe!    The Lord desires that we are thinking about clothing ourselves in the many good things He desires.  As you awaken in the morning ask Him to clothe you with these good things so you can be an instrument for Him.

Colossians 3:12 (CJB)
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people,

holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves

with feelings of compassion and with kindness,

humility, gentleness and patience.”

May we humbly ask Him to use us in special ways that His love and goodness would be made manifest through us.  As we make a conscious effort to clothe ourselves in the fruits of who He is we are pleasing Him and we will truly be blessed.   Paul was exhorting Christians here in this scripture to clothe themselves in the beauty of the Lord.   As we look at compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience one may be able to identify being stronger in one over another.  For instance, it is so easy to be nice to those that are treating us right, but difficult people can cause us to really get off track with our love walk.   Remember…. God’s way is always the higher way, and as we react out of His love and purpose to remain clothed in  His Spirit we will be blessed.   I encourage you to clothe yourself in Him daily, and ask Him to continue to grow and strengthen you in the fullness of all that He is!

Our Lord spoke many times in His teachings using parables to bring truths to His hearers.  A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.   Many times we can experience trials or experiences in our life, and after we walk through them we may find a spiritual teaching in them.    I love when I can share wisdom that I have gained even from the most difficult situations.

I can remember once  someone asking me at the last minute to capture some images for them. I  grabbed my camera and threw it over my shoulder and out the door I went.  As I was driving down the road it dawned on me that more than likely my battery was low. Sure enough when I checked it’s level of charge, it was blinking and it was indeed low. I turned around and went back and grabbed one of my back up batteries. Thank God for back up!   Normally when I did  client sessions I had all my batteries full and extra of everything else…especially when I shot weddings. My point in this story is that I was caught off guard.  Yes, this is an earthly story with a spiritual truth that I learned from.

by Dona Hake

Psalm 111:10

“To obey the Lord is the fundamental

principle for wise living;
all who carry out his precepts

acquire good moral insight…”

 Leaning on God for all that we need is so vital.  Sometimes we want so badly to understand things that we are walking through, and there are times we put too much focus on figuring things out.  I have found that simply obeying Him and knowing that I can trust Him to be in charge of my life keeps it simple enough for me.  We must remind ourselves that our peace cannot come from merely understanding something inside and out.    It is in the realm of faith that much is happening by the hand of our Lord and it is beyond our understanding.

As we entrust our lives into the loving care of the Lord, HE WILL  in His timing give us understanding and direction, and we will learn and grow from situations that we walk through.   We just need to trust and obey.  Praise God for He is good all the time…ALL THE TIME God IS good!

by Dona Hake

Sometimes in life we need answers and we need help finding them.   Sometimes we will find that some answers are easier and obvious but what about the answer you need for a very confusing time or complex problem?  When we need answers we  need to position ourselves to be seeking and trusting God for the exact answer we need.

Sometimes it seems that some answers take a little more digging and seeking  but the Lord our Shepherd will lead us and guide us into all truth in all that concerns us. He will help us find the exact answers that we need, and He promises to lead us into the right places!   The Lord has hidden wonderful things in His Word for us, and He desires that we diligently seek out that which we need. 

Proverbs 8:17-18  ERV)

Today I encourage you to look for His wisdom in the small things as well as the big.   He loves when you seek out what He has for you.

nothing you desire compares with her.”

Proverbs 3:18

“Wisdom is like a life-giving tree to those who hold on to her; she is a blessing to those who keep her close.”

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.  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].”

To God be the glory!!!!

Romans 8:28 (VOICE)
“We are confident that God is able to orchestrate everything to

work toward something good and beautiful when we love Him and accept

“A joyful heart is the inevitable result

of a heart burning with love.”

Mother Teresa