Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Romans 12:16
Good Morning! Just pondering how human we are at times. We are all less than God, lower than God, yet we forget that and exalt ourselves, instead of exalting God. He deserves all glory. To do that we(I) must be in the proper position.
We cannot give God glory from a position of pride. We must be humble so He can be exalted.
Dear God, Please nudge me when I get too full of myself or start to think I am the one who deserves credit or glory. It all belongs to You. May You be exalted today and every day as I strive not to think more of myself than I ought. Also, Lord, Help me to see others the way You see them, with love and compassion. Amen
With love from the Father to you, have a great day!
Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in you I take refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed. I cry out to God Most High, to God, who vindicates me. He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me— God sends forth his love and his faithfulness. Psalm 57: 1-3 NIV
Words fascinate me. (Yeah, I am a “word nerd!”) Take the word “purpose” for example. It can be both a noun and a verb, a thing and an action.
Purpose can be a noun, a thing. Ex: My PURPOSE (thing) is to read and understand the Bible better.
Purpose can also be a verb. Ex: I PURPOSED (action)to read my Bible every day.
David used purpose as a thing and an action, because he wanted and needed God.
David’s THING of purpose? Help. He wanted help from God because he was hiding out from enemies.
David’s ACTION on purpose? He purposed to pray. ( to get that help from God.)
It dawned on me while reading our verses for today, that David prayed on purpose. Don’t we all, though? We do not accidentally pray. We pray because we know who we are praying to has the power and faithfulness to help us.
In verse one, David cries out to God (on purpose) because he trusts God.
In verse two, David cries out to God (on purpose) because he knows God does all things for Him.
In verse three, David states what he knows God will do for him. All three of these verses speak to God’s intentions for us…to let Him be God and for us to trust His plan while we trust in Him, knowing how good and perfect He is.
GOD IS ALWAYS ON PURPOSE. HE NEVER MAKES ACCIDENTS.
It’s so encouraging to know that God designed us for a specific reason. His plans for our lives are not random or accidental, because He is perfect and makes no mistakes. We all have a holy purpose to act on, for God’s glory. That’s an amazing show of His love for us!
Dear Father, Please teach me to be more aware of Your perfection and my imperfection. Help me to be more prayerful in all I say and do. Direct my thoughts to pray in all situations, knowing You have my best in mind. Thank You for Your purpose for my life. Please light the way and lead me in Your perfect way as I seek You with all my heart. I love you! Amen
With love from the Father to you, have a great day!
Christina
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During a tough week recently, I realized that I was being bombarded by the enemy with what I call, “stress bombs!” Fear and anxiety were dropping into my days and making me miserable. Satan was taking advantage of my trials and pounding me with anxious thoughts that led me to think all was hopeless. And like a dummy, I believed him for a bit. He just would not let up until I was miserable. But then… I read the verse below and realized I was being lied to!
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44 NIV
The enemy uses lies because that is what he does best! It is his normal, natural “native language.” That means that we need to be aware of our thoughts and who is influencing them, for evil OR for good. The way I see it… my anxious thoughts can go 1 of 2 ways. I can give in to the harmful thoughts and let the enemy’s tactics of fear and insecurity stress and weaken me or I can look at and grab hold of God’s truth that strengthens me! There’s only one right choice:)
It’s like this…We either believe the father of lies or trust the Father of truth.
WE get to choose what we focus on. WE get to set our perspectives each new day! WE get to choose God in the morning and choose Him every minute and hour after that! Honestly, some days we have to choose over and over, huh?
Even though we know God is there always, it is good to acknowledge Him many times a day, and I think it’s also good to look the enemy in the face and say, “You are such a liar! My God tells me the truth!” Ah…that feels great to say!
Try saying it the next time you are lied to!Then tell God, “Thank you for helping me see the truth!”
Dear precious Father,
I sometimes believe the enemy’s lies before realizing I have done so. Thank you for being my perfect and truthful God, that will never, ever lie to me. Not only will you not lie to me, you promise me that good things are in store for me and all those who love and serve you! I really don’t know what I would do without you…and I never want to find out! Please guide my heart to recognize deception but cling to your truth. I love you! Amen
With love from our Father to you, have a great day!
Wow! Has this year flown by or what? This was a year of family blessings and gatherings and us helping each other learn more about Christ as we navigate life together. Also abundant this year were many crises and unexpected trials.
How about you? Did you have lots of highs and lows too? Do you feel grateful to have made it through 2023? I wonder what you’ve gone through and what highs and lows you experienced, as I consider my own. Through all of it, the Lord was present, persistent and perfect with me. With you too? I hope so.
So… it’s the time of year for “resolutions.” Though I am not a huge fan of them, because they focus on achieving more for ourselves, my thought here, today, is…Why can’t we make this next year all about less of us, less “resolving” and more “allowing God” to help us want what HE wants? And just what is that?
I believe God wants the simple things of us; honesty, humility, praise, obedience and most of all, love for others. So, of course, I need to write a poem to express all this. That’s just how my mind works, lol.
Resolution to My King
To dedicate this year, I take a stand
to now surrender all my dreams and plans
My feet, my hands, my body all are yours
to magnify and glorify you, Lord
So do with as You will, with all of me
and use this servant, Lord, to somehow be
a witness of Your love for everyone
a missioned servant pointing to the Son
Perfection I will never half achieve
though that’s the world’s attempt to sure deceive
Hold calm my heart and guide it Your own way
in everything I ask and do and say
For when I leave this world at Your command
I will not cry for all that I had planned
My soul will crave to know that I have tried
to spread the truth and love for which You died
Dear friends, thank you for following my little blog. It’s encouraging to me that so many want to read truth on here, to combat the lies the enemy is propagating in the world. I love you and pray for you to have a Lord-led, Lord- glorifying and healthy year!
Good morning! This is a poem I wrote, about maturing in faith to care for others’ souls. It’s a natural part of seeking God and learning what truly matters.
Seeking Souls
The more we seek, the more we know,
the more God gives to help us grow.
The more we grow, the more we care,
that souls are lost and sorrows bear.
The more we care, the more we strive,
not for ourselves, but others’ lives.
The more the world lives just for self,
the more they need the Lord Himself.
Let’s tell anew, so souls will live,
that only God, true joy can give.
The world is such a scary place.
Let’s brave the tide, reach souls with grace.
With love from the Father to you, Have a great day! …Tina
That may sound like a strange title but that is what we, as followers of Jesus, are called to do, fix our eyes! If we are followers of Him, we must look at things HE looks at. We must look at things how HE looks at them. Our life is not just about THIS life and what it looks like to us, but what it looks like to God and for God. How does God see this life? As temporary, until we see him:)
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:1-3
The apostle Paul says to look ABOVE where we are. Ok, Paul. I will get my eyes fixed:) I want to focus on the eternal! You?
Here’s another verse for a good mindset for this week:
He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. Hebrews 11:26
Our homes and treasures in whatever city, state or country, are not enduring. Our heavenly ‘forever home’ awaits! Thats where our treasure is, Jesus! For the sake of Christ, let’s be looking for THAT city and that reward.
Dear Father, Please fix our eyes. We want to focus more on our heavenly treasure and home and not our earthly home. Give us the nudge and confidence and strong desire to tell others about You, so they can have the treasure of You also. We love You! Amen
With love from the Father to you, have a great day!
It is a poem day! I wrote this a few years ago when going through trials that made me feel as if I was in a bad storm with no way out. Ever feel that way, too? I am aware that so many people now have worse ‘storms’ than I ever did.
Sometimes, the only way out is to wait it out. If we wait on God, trust His timing, have faith that He knows what He is doing or allowing, we will make it through. God’s Word says…
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. James 1:2-8
This poem is about making it through the storms in your life. James says they can be opportunities to grow!
You have brought us through so many storms already, so we know You will help us in our current storm, too. Please remind us that all storms are opportunities to lean on You and learn from You and maybe help others do the same. Thank You for loving us enough to help us no matter what we are facing or how scared we are. Increase our faith, please, and we will give You all the glory, forever and ever. We love You! Amen
Friends, I have missed being on here, missed you. Life got super busy!
With love from the Father to you, Have a great weekend. See you on Monday for “Monday Mindset.”
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; rather, He made Himself nothing by taking on the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. Philippians 2:5-7
Church yesterday was so good. Good, because my brothers and sisters in Christ were there. Good, because my 86 year old Dad was there. Good, because God’s servant pastor was there. Good because God was there! He always shows up for our seeking.
Just a quick thought…Pastor said, “You have to go down to go up.” (Phillipians 2)
Its all about how far down we are willing to go for Jesus. How this translated to my heart… I must humble myself. We must lower ourselves to go the higher road. We must desire to humble ourselves, at the expense of ourselves, to be obedient to Jesus’ example.
It dawned on me that we can exalt God from any position, but what if we praise Him by lowering ourselves…
Perhaps the most beautiful praise we can raise is one from a humble position.
We shouldn’t just be looking AT God, but looking UP to Him.
Friends, have a blessed day and start to your week. Thank you, Pastor.
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