The best way to prevent something from happening is to be prepared. When it comes to sinning, the key to prevention lies in knowing our enemy. We have all been tempted and all sinned before. And guess who tempted us into those sins? You got it…Satan, our enemy. The Bible says so. So what can preparation can we do to avoid being tempted? We can be aware of this truth about our enemy…
“It is not a matter of IF the enemy will tempt you, but WHEN he does.”
The Bible says,
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. James 1:13-14 NIV
Our knowledge of sin, the Bible, God’s law and our spiritual maturity to obey Him…these things do not prevent us being tempted. They do, however, lead us to lean on the Lord’s deliverance when being faced with it. We have our awesome God on our side and He will help us to overcome anything we face. It’s a good idea not to get too comfortable in our righteousness, such as it is. Anyone, at any time, can be tempted.
So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. 1Corinthians 10:12-13 NIV
I mean this to be a happy reminder that God thought of everything when He sent His Son to free us from sin. He knows we are human and can fail, but He makes a way out for us!
I hope you have a great day and I also hope you are encouraged by the fact that whatever today holds, God is with you!
This photo appears almost too beautiful to be true, but maybe this is what God saw right after He spoke the heavens and seas and mountains and sun into existence. Maybe His creations are praising Him and that makes them shine! That could happen, right? The Bible says,
For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Isaiah 55:12 ESV
Have you ever looked around at church when people were singing about God? I have! It is a glorious thing to see! Let’s break into song because He has made us and He is glorious. Just like the picture, His beauty is worth staring at! If we gave Him the glory He deserved, we would never stop praising Him! Like the beautiful seas, we are His creations:)
The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Psalm 95:5 ESV
I hope you all have a wonderful day in the Lord! Do some praising today! I bet you look beautiful to God when You do it! Much love and prayer to all.
I have people ask me for recipes. Do you? What if they asked you for a recipe for hope, because they were going through a struggle? I found David’s recipe for hope! Starting in verse 3, he gives away his recipe.
3Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. 4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: 6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.
7Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. 9 For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.Psalm 37:3-9 NIV
David has an obvious purpose in this passage, to remind the reader that, if they do all these things, they will inherit what God has for them! That gives hope! It may seem like evil prevails in this world, as it did in David’s time, so I love this “recipe” for hope. If we follow the steps, we will receive our inheritance, a forever life with Him!
I may have told you before. I like rocks. They are beautiful. I like that no one has to change them to make them beautiful either. They just are. The world tries to make everything better, but rocks do not need improving. Rocks are hard, solid, organic, made by God.
Of all the verses about rocks, here is one of my favorites…
Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. Keep me free from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge. Psalm 31:2-4 NIV
In many of his psalms, David frequently refers to God as His Rock. Psalm 31:2-4 made me chuckle the first time I really tried to get what David was saying in the verses. (See above) How I read these verses…
Turn to me and hear my pleas for help because I need you to be my rock, my rock that listens. And I need you to be a fort made of rock too, because I need saving. And, because you are that to me, please lead me while you are at it and oh yeah, guide me too. Another thing, do not let me get trapped . After all, You are my refuge.
I love those verses! Here are some take-a ways..
1. David talks to God like God is everything to him! David loves his Mighty Rock:)
2. David asked His God, his rock to listen. David’s Rock has ears:)
3. God is solid like a rock fort. It’s a great place to hide! Let’s hide in God! He has our backs:)
4. God is pure, through and through, like a rock. He is pure in all of His qualities. He never changes.
Dear God, Thank You for being strong, unchanging and pure and everything else we need. You are our favorite Rock. We love You! Thank You for Your Word that sets our hearts to rest on all that is true and everlasting. That gives us peace. Amen
Love and prayers to you all. Have a great weekend!
We have many choices when buying light bulbs. We may want small or large light bulbs that produce light that is either soft or bright; we may need energy-saving bulbs that save us money on our electric bill .Many of those energy-saving bulbs can cost a lot, but we may decide the cost is worth the value they bring. We can afford to be picky with what bulbs we buy because light is a necessity. We go searching for just the right kind of light for our needs.
Going to Jesus for the right kind of light is also a choice we make, every single day. There is never a day when we do not need His light. And how wonderful that His light can be what we need it to be for our situation. We do not have to look at any other place than at the feet of Jesus for our light.
His light is welcoming. It beckons to us with rays of pure love. We know His light will warm our hearts if we let Him in the home in our heart.
His light is soft and comforting when we feel alone. Doesn’t feeling alone sort of feel like you are in the dark? When we invite Jesus to be with us in the dark, He comes softly with open arms and we have hope:)
His light is bright and guiding when we need clear direction. He always answers our calls for more light. Sometimes He only shines light on a step at a time, but with His light, it is a sure step we can take in His direction.
His light is free! No need to shop around. The world may tell us we can find light within ourselves or that we can be our own power source, but that could not be farther from the truth. The light we need comes from outside of us. We cannot light our own hearts and minds. Only Jesus can do that.
He has all the power and light we will ever need forever. His power will never run out. HE will never run out on us. He has enough power to save everyone in the world. Can you imagine what a great resource we all have?
Jesus has the power to save but He does not save His power. It is a copy of God’s power and God’s plan. Jesus is our Power-Savior!
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. Hebrews 1:3 NIV
Next time I buy light bulbs, I hope I remember where true light and power come from.:) It comes from God’s Son, who is the “radiance of God’s glory!” (Hebrews 1:3 above)
No matter what they said and no matter what they believed or did, they could not stop God’s plan to save us. “They”, the people who wanted Jesus to die, thought they were seeing the last of Jesus when they hung Him on a tree. Oh, but that was just the beginning! God’s plans cannot be stopped! Here is a song…
They Said
They said he was guilty. They lied. They sent him to dark Calvary. They didn’t know that this man Was fulfilling God’s plan, And would love them to death on that tree.
Chorus…He died. He died, for everyone, and for everyone He arose, Even those who rejected and abused him, who denied they knew His name. Even those who harshly accused him. Even me. He died for me.
They tore up his clothes and cast lots. They mocked Him as king of the Jews. They told him to save himself. But all because of His love, It had to be them that He’d choose.
They said He was guilty. They lied. We should have died on that tree. The innocent lamb was killed Son of the only God, His blood made the guilty ones free.
Chorus: He died. He died, for everyone, and for everyone He arose, Even those who rejected and abused him, who denied they knew His name. Even those who harshly accused him. Even me. He died for me.
They said what they said…but He had the final Word.
As a child, I loved the song, Deep and Wide, probably because it had a good rhythm and fun hand motions to go with it. In case you are too young to know the song, here it is, in a video.
It is so precious to hear children singing about the fountain of Jesus’ blood that cleanses us from sin, isn’t it? That fountain is very deep and very wide. Now, as an adult, when I consider the fountain’s depth and width, I understand it better and this verse comes to mind immediately:
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:17-19 NIV
We are supposed to mature as Christians and this is a good example I think, that kids can understand a simple version of how amazing God is and then mature in their understanding of Jesus’ forgiveness and love. They can learn as they grow spiritually how awesome He is. I personally think all Sunday School teachers and workers deserve a “thank-you party” every year, for the lives they touch, just saying:)
Though the children’s song is simple, it can also blow your mind when you really consider how much love it takes to forgive the entire world, oh, and to pay for it with your life, too. Isn’t Jesus amazing?
I hope you know Him and I hope you know how much He loves you!
Ever hear the expression, “I can’t quite put my finger on it”? It means you can’t quite figure something out. Aren’t you glad we serve a God who has it all figured out? He never ever has to say, ” I can’t quite put my finger on it,” because His fingers, His hands have created everything that He wanted to create. The fingers of God created you and me!
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? Psalm 8:3-4 NIV
Thank you, Lord, for who You are to us. You didn’t just form us and go on to something else. You love us and want to care for us and keep us in Your will and way, every single day. We are made by your hands, held by your hands. We are YOUR handiwork!
As Jesus gives us abundant peace, we can share it with others, abundantly! It’s amazing…when we give away His peace to others, it does not get depleted. It actually multiplies in our hearts and in others.
The Lord does that; He multiplies what is used for His glory. Loving others has its rewards:) Loving Jesus is the best reward!
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27 NIV
With love from our Father who does everything abundantly, as He sees fit, I hope you have a peace-filled day and weekend!
gloryinthemorning.com 