plans

Priorities and Promises

December 16, 2024

He must become greater; I must become less.The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. John 3:30-31

Good morning. A thought has been running through my heart and mind since church yesterday. Does that ever happen to you? Maybe God presses something into your brain and you and keeps it there for hours or days? Here’s the thought that I think He wants me to share and to utilize, myself…

GOD IS OVER ALL. Yeah, that’s the thought that won’t go away. It is simple but it is everything. We face a mountain of decisions every day. Do we place absolutely everything UNDER Him, under His purposes? Before making decisions, do we make sure we are prioritizing God above all?

Things we can purposely place under His control…They just happen to start with “p’:)

Perspectives…Are we making all decisions based on God’s perspective? (or ours or the world’s?)

Promises…Do we make promises based on what others want from us or what God wants?

Positions…Do we take up positions on societal matters based on what the popular consensus is? Or what God’s Word says?

Posts…Do we post on social media solely to draw attention to US or is it helpful to others and/or does it give thanks to God?

Plans…Do we pray about our plans and submit them to God’s approval before making them?

Priorities…Do we purposefully place everything in a position under God?

This may be the most important one! Do we truly value God over everything else and so crave to use our one earthly life to use as HE sees fit? It’s not just for our entertainment, accomplishment or esteem.

As John the Baptist said in the verse above…We must become less and the Lord must become greater. The Bible tells us that God must be the priority and all things are less than Him.

Jesus, It is so easy, in this crazy world, to be influenced wrongly in our decisions. Please help us navigate this life You have given us. We want to use it for YOUR purposes. We submit everything to Your control,moment by moment by moment. We desire to become less as You become greater and greater in our lives. Amen

With love from the Father to you, have an amazing day of surrender to our awesome God!

Tina

Praying on Purpose

March 4, 2024

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

Let me Think About it

February 23, 2021

Thinking is one thing I do a lot of. Being a planner and part-perfectionist, I drive myself crazy considering all possible alternatives to a plan. After I have mulled them all over, I finally choose my direction. At least to start out with. If that direction doesn’t work, I go to Plan B. My reasoning is that only by thinking very hard about something can I come up with the best possible solution. I will admit that can be a heavy burden to bear, that all of my thinking has to have good results. You know what kind of thinking is easy to do and ALWAYS has good results? Thinking about good things!

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:8

Of course, we need to think about what needs to be done in our lives and how to handle it best. But when I read Philippians 4:8, it seems to say to me…If you plan on doing lots of thinking (and I do), think on good things for awhile. Thinking doesn’t always have to be about problem-solving, but praising the true problem-solver. How much would my life change if I took ten minutes a day and did nothing but think of all that’s Good, God.

Let’s call this a faith exercise. I will do this too. How about we set a timer, go to a quiet, alone place and do nothing but think how great God is! Mentally list all that He has done for yourself and others. Think of how awesome He is to love us with all of His abundant love. Think about how much love that is! Think about anything that deserves praise. Let it fly. Do not open a book, check your phone or email until the timer goes off. I am starting now. See you in ten minutes. I just sent my puppy to the basement with my husband so I can focus. Ok, Tina, think!

Wow…That felt way longer than I thought it would be, but what a wonderful time of praise! I kept expecting the timer to go off, so I almost got distracted. Thinking on good, happy things about our Lord brings peace. I felt closer to my Savior the more I praised Him for who He is and what He has done and for loving me as I am and saving me. Having no distractions made the time seem longer, more purposeful and fuller and of better quality. That is how prayer should be, full and rich with praise. Not once did I make any plans or think of my to-do list! Was this your experience too? Thank You, Lord, for this!

The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. Exodus 15:2

Dear Father, Holy God,

We exalt You. We lift up Your name to be praised above every other name. You not only have done great things for us but You answer us when we pray for others! You cannot help but be good. That is who You are. We praise You for all of Your plans, whether our human mind can understand them or not. We trust You and know You love us. We will try to spend more quality time meditating on how awesome You are, when our schedule gets hectic or trials threaten to take us down. You are faithful and excellent! We love You. Amen

Love and prayers to everyone. Have a great Tuesday!

Just me. Just His.

Tina