I hope you too are looking for His loving hand at work in your life!  Live in the expectancy of it and He will always meet you where you are and uphold you as you cling to Him.

by Dona Hake

One of the very first things we do in the morning is dress  ourselves for the day according to the plan of your day.  I am one of those planners so there are many evenings before I go to bed I lay my clothes out for the next day so my morning goes a little smoother.  I believe 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 the 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.”

As we make a conscious effort to clothe ourselves in the fruits of who He is we will truly be blessed. Face it, 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.   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.

Proverbs 11:17 (TLB) “Your own soul is nourished when you are kind;

it is destroyed when you are cruel.”

by Dona Hake

The Lord desires that our faith be as a child.  He loves when we run to Him with our concerns and every big or small detail of our lives.  Little children are a constant reminder to me of honesty, and their desire to please.  As I teach the preschoolers at church I cannot tell you how many times one of the children will run to me and show me their latest bump or boo-boo.  Sometimes their boo-boo is so small that I cannot see it, but believe me I try to show them that it matters!  Why?….because if it is important enough for them to bring it up,  I want to pay attention.

The children  also love to share with me their latest most exciting things that have happened.  I can remember one Sunday morning a  little girl tugged at my dress during worship , and I leaned down and she whispered to me something funny her Grandpa did on their vacation.  It made me giggle yet these things are reminders to me of how God wants us to be.   She just had to share it because it was important to her at that moment!

Luke 18:17 (ERV)
” The truth is, you must accept God’s kingdom

like a little child accepts things…”

Throughout your day I encourage you to take time to whisper prayers to Him about those things that concern you.  Let your heart be obedient to thank Him and praise Him for the good things that are happening to you.  As you remember His works and they thrill your heart, share your heart and tell Him.  He wants to hear about everything that is going on in your heart and mind for He truly cares about every detail of your life!

by Dona Hake

Matthew 6:19-21  (Darby)

There are so many things in this life that can serve to distract us from what is really the most important things in life.    Many may feel that if they only had more money  that everything would be better.  All you have to do is drive down the highway, and every other billboard calls out to you to glance at it.   They purpose to speak of what beauty and success can be.You could be the richest and most beautiful person in the world yet  have an empty and lonely heart.  The things in this world cannot compare to those things  that proceed from the windows of Heaven.  We need to remind ourselves to be in great gratitude and thanks to our Lord for how He has touched in our lives.

Proverbs 4:23 (Amplified)

Today I encourage you to look up!  Look up and remind yourself of all the wonderful things that He has touched your heart with.  There are blessings all around you and He desires that you embrace a heart of thankfulness, and that you would never take any good thing for granted.  It is God that is the giver of all good things and today we can praise Him for that!

by Dona Hake

Psalm 119:36-40   (NIV)

“Turn my heart toward your statutes
and not toward selfish gain.
 Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
preserve my life according to your word.”

This is a beautiful prayer that will keep you on track.  As you sincerely ask Him to keep your heart turned in His direction you will quickly recognize when fleshly desires are trying to get you off the right path.  He will faithfully  reveal to you the things in this life that are of no worth so you can look away from them before they grip your heart.  It is as we look to Him in this way that our life will be preserved blameless before Him.   Praise the living God today and purpose to keep the eyes of your heart toward Him!

by Dona Hake

Love conquers all and God’s love covers all things. God desires that His conquering love flow through us yet there are times His love is not able to flow freely.  If we do not desire to look beyond our own little world how is He able to love through us to a lost and dying world?  There is a cost to loving like Jesus and it is a matter letting go of that which is holding us back.  In the book of Luke he wrote “If you love only someone who loves you, will God praise you for that? Even sinners love people who love them.”

“Love,

to be real,

It must cost –

it must hurt –

it must empty us of self.”

Mother Teresa

God is calling us to the high places of love.  A wonderful place to meditate is 1 Corinthians 13 because this  spells out what God’s love is and what it is not.

“Love is patient; love is kind. Love isn’t envious,

doesn’t boast, brag, or strut about.

There’s no arrogance in love;  

it’s never rude, crude, or indecent—

it’s not self-absorbed.

Love isn’t easily upset.

Love doesn’t tally wrongs  or celebrate injustice;

but truth—yes, truth—is love’s delight!  

Love puts up with anything and everything that comes along;

it trusts, hopes, and endures no matter what.

Love will never become obsolete.”

Let us desire today that God’s true and real love flows through us in every way possible.  Lord help us to desire to pay the cost even when it hurts.  Cause us to see that which hinders us from loving like You and empty us of those things!  We are believing that You are well able to do above and beyond all we dare ask or think regarding Your love operating through us!

by Dona Hake

Psalm 1 :2-3  (TLB)

“…but they delight in doing everything God wants them to, and day and night are always meditating on his laws and thinking about ways to follow him more closely.

“The lips of the righteous nourish many…”

I’m feeling blessed today knowing that I am standing strong in His promises.  I love that He has promised that my life would bear fruit all the seasons of my life and all that I put my hand to shall prosper!    Watch over your heart diligently, and purpose to delight in Him today!

by Dona Hake

Matthew 5:7 (TLB)

“Happy are the kind and merciful,

for they shall be shown mercy.”

The Lord has so freely shown us His mercy.  Even before we knew Him, even before we realized we needed Him, He was desiring to forgive us and redeem us to Himself.  As we look to Him and behold how beautiful His love is, and how merciful His heart is , we will come to realize the power and  beauty of being merciful to others.

Micah 6:8 (GNV)

He hath showed thee, O man, what is good, and what the Lord

requireth of thee: surely to do justly, and to love mercy,

and to humble thyself, to walk with thy God.

“Do onto others as you would have them do onto you.”  Deep down we could all admit that we want to be treated fairly especially by our family and friends.  Yet we know there are times that people will mess up and do not treat us kindly.  I love this quote because it reminds me that there will be times that I will mess up and in those times I hope that those around me will forgive me, and I can be reconciled if I have hurt them.   It makes me think before I react to those around me if I feel they are wrong.  It reminds me that I need to be quick to forgive and forget.

Lord, help us all to be merciful and see those around us the way You see them.  Help us to realize that we cannot forgive in our own ability but only with Your help and strength.  Help us to walk humbly before You, do justly to those around us,  and to love your mercy.  Amen.

Psalm 84:11 (AKJV) 

” For the Lord God is a sun and shield:
the Lord will give grace and glory:

As we walk uprightly before the Lord our God there should be expectation in our heart everyday we rise.  No matter what we face and how “dreary” our day may be, we can expect the Lord God to be our Sun and our Shield!

I am thanking Him today that He has promised that He will never withhold any good thing from us because all good and perfect gifts proceed from Him.   What “good thing” are you in need of from Him?   Is it peace?   Is it strength?   Maybe you need a touch of healing in your body.  He desires to pour upon us all that we need from Him for He is the only one that can satisfy our soul.

Proverbs 25:4 (ERV)

“Remove the worthless things from

silver to make it pure, and a worker

can make something beautiful.”

 You are so valuable and He loves you so much.  As we read this scripture we can see that there is a process that we are all walking through as we grow in Him.  There is a refining and purification that is taking place in our hearts as we deeply humble ourselves to His Mighty life changing Word.   Another version of Proverbs 25:4 is translated like this:

In the forty three years that I have known the Lord I cannot begin to tell you how many times I have heard people share from the depths of their hearts as they walked through a difficult trial.  Many at the end of the trial admit that they experienced  God removing things from them that positioned them to be used in a greater way.  Many times those difficult situations can actually cause us to do the soul searching we need to do, and God is able to work in ways that exceed our comprehension.  As we keep our hearts humble before Him I believe He will continue to refine and purify us that we can serve and be used by Him in greater ways.  Praise be to the God who is the Refiner and Purifier!