Communicating with God

We all have the law of God written on our heart - those who are Born Again, as well as those who are not. Until our spirit experiences rebirth by God's Spirit, we tend to ignore His precepts, guidance and love for us.

God's glory is revealed to everyone ever born on the earth. This is accomplished by His Spirit, by His creation, by His Word, and by His authentic Believers sharing His Gospel with everyone we meet (Romans 1:20).

His Word is an ever-present help in leading people to a personal intimacy with the Lord. We display a Bible on our coffee table, and it collects dust; we buy Bibles for friends and loved ones as a special gift, but they are often laid aside or stuck on a self or in a drawer.

It is only as we open the Word of God that its verses will speak to us about the reality of God, and how He desires us to worship Him both in Spirit and in Truth (John 4:24).

Sometimes, God prefers to rest in companionable silence with us, enjoying our company and sharing praise and love with us. His love for us is unconditional, but His fellowship with us is hindered by sin in our life.

The difference is better understood by considering a dirty glass and a clean glass. We readily use a clean glass, but we put the dirty one aside until it is washed and again ready for use.

God is holy and just, and He does not approve of our sin. He has grace and mercy for our human failings, but when we grieve His Spirit, He cannot look on us (Ephesians 4:30).

God never stops communicating with us, unless we grieve His Spirit with our thoughts, words or deeds. He is simply waiting for us to listen to and obey Him.

Prayer:

Father God, Your mercies are new every morning. They never fail us. You are the same yesterday, today and forever. With each passing year in our walk with You, we better come to know Your ways and who You are. We walk in-step with You and grieve you less in our walk and in our talk.

As Your Body, we collectively anticipate Christ coming in Your rapture of Your Saints in the clouds, and we look forward to coming to earth with Him as His Bride, when He makes His second appearance on the earth. In the interim of time, help us to win as many people in our churches and community as will listen to Your Gospel; so that they too may be numbered among our ranks.

Thought for the Day:
The Holy Spirit abiding within us and God's Word through the Bible, as well as through the Preacher's sermons are God's method of communicating His ways and will to us.

Praise the Name of Jesus

God's Word encourages us to praise the name of the Lord, praise, which is due to Him. He created us to give Him praise each moment of our life. He has supernatural splendor, which is high above the standards of the world (Psalm 148:13).

Our life on this earth is not about us, not about amassing worldly goods, or rising to a standard of success that the world deems appropriate.

Our life here on earth is all about God's purpose for us: to further His Kingdom in the earth. When we change our focus to God's will for us, it also changes our attitude, negative emotions and physical, mental and emotional exhaustion.

We find our true rest in God alone. He restores our soul. He provides us with hope in this dry and thirsty land in which we live. He supplies us with eternal salvation, and our survival and identity depend on Him (Psalm 23:1-4, 62:5-6).

This salvation in not some future event, but starts the moment of our humble prayer as we repent of our sins that caused Jesus' crucifixion and death, and call out to Him as we surrender our will to His.

We no longer focus on praying for our desires, but on ascertaining the desires of the Lord for our life (Haggai 1:4). We offer our self as a willing vessel for Him to use as He sees fit in whatever geographical place or economic and standard of living that He provides for us (2 Timothy 2:19-21).

God alone is our rock, our sword and our shield. He is our fortress in times of trouble, our stronghold in which we shall never be shaken or overcome. We can trust in Him at all times and share with Him our cares and concerns, because He truly cares for us (Psalm 62:7-8; Hebrews 13:5; I Peter 5:7-9).

Prayer:

Father God, help us to see that, unless our choices cause unpleasant consequences, everything that happens to us is part of Your plan, and that You plant a seed for a miracle in every trial that we experience. We can rejoice and feel joy even in the most dire of circumstances because we trust in Your goodness and grace.

We have no concept of how our life can help increase Your Kingdom until we fully surrender our self to You and watch as You use us in so many ways that we never thought possible. Through each trial, our intimacy with You, our spiritual discernment and our ability to hear the voice of Your Spirit leading us, grows from one stage of glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Thought for the Day:

Though we may not fully understand God's ways, we can faithfully walk in His will, trust totally in Him, and stop depending our human reasoning, so that He can keep us in the center of His will as the apple of His eye. 
- Proverbs 3:5-6; Zachariah 2:8

Hope, Light and Love

Christmas is the season to spread God's hope and joy. As His love resides within our heart, we can reach out even to the most undesirable person in our sphere of influence, in order to share with them God's peace, which is centered in His promises and grace.

The lonely, desperate, addicted, destitute members of our society need to know that they matter, that someone genuinely cares about them. If we go the extra mile for them, our attitude and actions put a dent in the armor they use to protect themselves.

The world relegates these wounded individuals to a place of condemnation without any hope of salvation and redemption. Yet, as authentic Believers, we already experienced the restoration which God provides once we surrender our life to Him.

As examples of God's love to these unfortunate individuals, we follow God's direction to help them out of their "prison" of darkness, and to come into the glorious light of God's will for their life.

When we do this, we often need to face our own need for more of God in our life. We accept His forgiveness of our current sins and His love for us, even when we are still sinners (Romans 5:8).

This allows us to surrender the vulnerable parts of our soul - our thoughts, emotions and choices - to Him that we often guard and keep hidden from even our closest family and friends. Our covetousness, discontentment and self-centeredness melt under the heat of God's loving conviction.

God offers redemption, peace, joy and love to everyone - from the most successful to the least of those according to this world's standards. He wants to shed His love in our life and restore each of us to a life in His light and hope.

Prayer:

Father God, in this hectic world of our own making, we are often so drained of energy and physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted that we have no desire to reach out to the needy all around us. We hide behind the television screen, our easy chair and an extra nap in order to have an excuse to ignore those who are less fortunate than we are.

Help us to focus on the poor and needy in our community so that You can use us to share the hope and truth that You communicate to us. Give us Your broken heart for the lost in our community and use us to reach out to them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, their only hope of salvation in this world and the next.

Thought for the Day:

Rather than demoting people, who feel judged and rejected with no real hope of restoration, to a place of eternal damnation, we can reach out to them through the love of God and give them in their hopelessness, the reality that they have a place in the Kingdom of God, if they will simply and humbly surrender to our Lord.

Learning to Trust

As new Believers, we often doubt that God has our best interest at heart. We still carry doubts and fears in our heart due to negative experiences and the bad report many give to God, because they do not understand His ways.

During our walk with Him over the years of our life, we see His consistent love and awesome provision for every area of our life. We learn that He is worthy of our faith, because He is always faithful.

We realize the freedom we receive when we cast our anxiety on His strong shoulders, we yoke up with Him as He helps us to carry our load of cares, and we look for the seed for a miracle that He places in the midst of every circumstance in our life.

As we trust in His Spirit's direction through each moment of our day, we learn to affirmatively respond to His guidance and to expect to see the spiritual fruit of our labors.

We live a fulfilled life once we learn to obey the leading of God's still, small voice within our spirit. He keeps us safe when our carnality would put us into harm's way, and He provides for our needs when there is no human way that we could possibly attain them.

We end up rejoicing through each moment of our day, regardless of our circumstances. We pray and relinquish all anxiety to His care. Christ is our whole life and we live, move and enjoy our existence in Him (Acts 17:28; Colossians 3:3-4).

Prayer:

Father God, You are trustworthy and true and we honor You and give You all of the glory, which You deserve. Over the years of our walk with You our intimacy grows and we learn to fellowship with You in prayer and praise every moment of every day.

We want to walk in Your Spirit and stop fulfilling the desires of our flesh so that our walk with You on the straight and narrow road will be an example to others of the abundance of blessings You bestow on those who love and obey You. We love You with all of our heart and we rely on You to hide us under the feathers of Your wings.

Thought for the Day:

As we totally trust in Him and surrender to His love for us, God's peace floods our soul - our thoughts, emotions and choices - and He guards our heart and mind the Jesus Christ. - Philippians 4:4-7

A Good Marriage - Conflict Resolution

Choosing to get married is a daunting decision. It needs much prayer and thought - without the rose colored glasses. Yes, we love one another, but the flip side of love is hate, and that coin may flip without a moment's notice.

While dating, we may have shared everything, never had much conflict, and enjoyed all the same things. Will this last a lifetime? People change; and our likes, dislikes, goals and priorities vacillate.

Will we maintain our connectivity when the disagreements arise? Will we don boxing gloves and insist on our own way, or will we work together to find a third alternative on which we can both agree?

Finding a mutually acceptable course of action increases our love for one another, and maintains harmony in our home and relationship. We put each other's needs above our own; yet, we do not discount or sacrifice our needs in order to "get along."

We calmly discuss our differences. When we realize that we are on the same side in our marriage, we will fight together to meet each other's needs, rather than to fight against one another and insist on meeting our own needs at the sacrifice of our mate.

When we have a block of uninterrupted time, clearly communicating our needs, as well as understanding our partner's needs, helps us to avoid spur of the moment conflict.

When our spouse brings up an infraction on our part to which they need resolution, we do not bring up our dirty laundry list of our needs unmet by them. This is not a competition, but an opportunity to increase our love for one another.

Once the offended partner feels that we really care, we can then take the opportunity to introduce our unmet needs into the conversation. They will be more open to resolving our issues once we affirm their need as valid.

Prayer:

Father God, help us to pay attention to our spouse's concerns, to validate their need for fulfillment, and then to work with them to change the way we relate to one another in that area. Remind us not to resort to name calling or disrespectful or disparaging comments during our conversation.

Help us to simply deal with the incident, and not to disparage their personality or negative habits. Give us the wisdom to see the issues from their perspective and not simply our own, and to value their feelings and opinions as valid and worthy of our attention. Remind us that respecting and valuing one another allows us to protect our relationship.

Thought for the Day:

We all have distinct needs and perspectives that are valid and need to be addressed, taken seriously and valued as viable in order to prevent anger, resentment and bitterness from clouding our love for one another.

Finding Freedom in Surrender - Tearing Down Walls of Partition

When God calls us to Himself, He does not want part of us, He wants all of us; and He gives us all of Himself. We have His Spirit within us as His down payment for all that He has in store for us.

Just as we do not see the wind, but we feel and see the effects of the wind, we do not see God, but we feel and see His presence in our life. We give up our fleshly pursuits and turn our mind to spiritual, Heavenly issues.

We lose nothing by surrendering to God, except the destructive forces of this world. In exchange, we gain eternity, which starts the moment of our salvation.

Our body may end up in the grave, but our soul and spirit never die. We simply pass from life on this earth to continue to dwell in the everlasting presence of God.

The more we surrender to God's love, the more peace and joy we experience in our life, regardless of our circumstances. This occurs because we know from experience that God works out even the worst circumstances for our good (Romans 8:28).

We find others who share this same confidence in Christ, and we gain strength from one another. We encourage each other to let go of more of the world and not to rely on our human understanding.

Modern idols and overwhelming anxiety about the future cause negative thoughts and emotions to invade our soul, and force us to forfeit the rewards of totally surrendering to God.

A wise practice, which we can employ, is to journal our thoughts and emotions daily. We praise God for the positive feelings and seek His truth about the negative ones. Once we discover His truth, our soul returns to balance and His peace reigns in our heart once again (Galatians 5:1).

Prayer:

Father God, You prearranged that redemption by the blood of Jesus sets us free from the law of sin and death, which dictate the circumstances of this life. We cease from struggling, by attempting to control our life to keep our self safe; and instead, we trust You to care for us in every area of our life both now and in eternity. We walk by faith into our unknown future by trusting only in You.

You break down the walls of partition that keep us from enjoying the fullness of the life You have planned for us (Jeremiah 29:11; Numbers 6:25). Until we admit that we are powerless in and of our self to give up the worldly crutches on which we depend, we can never fully trust in You to help us to experience the freedom You provide for us.  

Thought for the Day:
Surrendering from the battle - of addiction, anxiety, depression, anger, etc. - raging within our soul enables us to find freedom in God's peace and joy; only then will we experience the fullness of the Son of God who loves us and gave Himself for us; and to find our true self-worth in our new identity in Christ.

Perseverance through Trials

The Christian life is filled with inconsistencies that make no human sense. To name a few: "we die so that we may live", "give so that we will receive", and "exult in tribulation".

When seen from a spiritual perspective, however, we have an "ah-ha" moment, because these paradoxes suddenly make a great deal of sense. For instance, we die to our carnal nature, so that we gain eternal life, which starts the moment of our salvation.

We live with an open hand, giving to the truly poor and needy, and God blesses us abundantly in return. When considering rejoicing in persecution, trials and tribulation, let's look more in depth at this alleged contradiction.

We commonly view life through our soul - our thoughts, emotions and resulting choices. This is a human perspective and is often misleading. When viewed from our spirit, however, this makes perfect sense (James 1:2-4).

God causes all of our negative experiences to work together for our good, if we will love Him and walk in His purpose for our life (Romans 8:28-31). 

Tribulation provides us with perseverance, confirmed Godly character and ultimately with hope during all future wounding experiences (Romans 5:3-5).

Compared to eternity and the glory which awaits us there through the sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ, our issues here on earth are minuscule; especially because they are building our faith, which is of greater worth than all the riches of this world (1 Peter 1:6-7; 2 Corinthians 4:17).

When we read in God's Word about the trials experienced by Jesus, all the prophets, as well as the former Saints of God, we realize that what we experience is minimal compared to what they endured (Matthew 5:12).

As our spirit matures, we end up praising God for each new ordeal, because the nature of Christ, who abides within us and experiences the trouble with us, is revealed in us (1 Peter 1:8; Philippians 3:8).

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that we do not need to protect our self, because You are present in our life to defend us. Heal our memories from our past that tie us down to those negative encounters we experienced, and that produce resentment, anger and unforgiveness. Reveal to us Your truth, that dispels all of the lies which Satan planted in our soul during our painful experiences in the past.

You give and You take away as You see fit, in order to protect us, provide for us and lead us in Your everlasting way (Job 1:21; Psalm 139:24). Once we stop allowing the circumstances in our life to determine how we think and feel, we can easily rejoice in Your goodness and maintain determined faith in Your faithfulness.

Thought for the Day:
Like Paul, we rejoice in our afflictions, because we realize that they make us perfect, so that we lack no good thing in this life. - James 1:3-5

Gods Spirit is the Wind Beneath Our Wings

In Christ, we live, move and have our being (Acts 17:28). His Spirit is the wind beneath our wings, and He helps us to reach new heights in our spiritual maturity.

God showers us with His peace, which transcends the superficial peace offered to us by worldly possessions and philosophies. God's peace prevents our soul from suffering fear and unrest (John 14:27).

God's Holy Spirit within us helps us to abide in His peace, so that the tribulation in this world does not diminish our serenity and joy. When we trust solely in God for our care and provision, He is able to meet all of our needs (Isaiah 26:3).

When we lose God's peace, we know without a doubt that we are attempting to accomplish deeds in our own strength and possibly even according to our own will rather than God's will.

We are often so overwhelmed by fear that we cannot follow God's will in any given moment. Yet, as we learn to trust in Him and to follow His Spirit's direction, we live more victoriously.

God uses us as a vessel for His glory and we make a difference in the lives He brings our way. Using holy boldness to follow the Spirit's leading, we offer to pray for someone or to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This causes us to walk in deep and abiding joy. God does not call us all to have great public ministries, but what He does call us to do is just as vital and important to the growth of His Kingdom.

We can rise above our initial reaction of fear by allowing God's Spirit to inspire faith in us to obey God's still small voice within our spirit.

Prayer:

Father God, You gave each of us gifts for your glory (Romans 12:6; 1 Timothy 6:17). You did not give them to us so we could use them, however. You gave them to us, so that You can use them through us! Help us to surrender totally to You so that You can use us to further Your Kingdom in our world.

We thank You for Your peace and joy as we walk in Your Spirit each moment of our day. Thank You too for using us to bring Your new life to everyone who is willing to come to You with an open and surrendered heart. We delight in You and are eternally grateful to You for adopting us into Your family.

Thought for the Day:

We are only consumed by our human nature if we refuse to allow God to reveal Christ in us according to His good pleasure.

– Ephesians 1:9 

Rejoice Evermore

Giving thanks is the will of God for us (1 Thessalonians 5:18). We show gratitude for the beneficial as well as the detrimental circumstances in our life, because God has a seed for a miracle in every trial.

When we keep our daily focus on Jesus, the negative circumstances fade into the distance. We lose our attachment to the world and the desires of our flesh and become more heavenly minded.

The blessings inherent in our life hidden with Christ in God flow through every moment of every day (Colossians 3:3). The Lord is near; therefore, we have no reason to feel anxiety over the current situation in our life, or to fear the unforeseen future (Philippians 4:5).

As we lift up our concerns in prayer, expressing our needs and requests to God with a grateful heart for what He has already done for us, His peace floods our soul (Philippians 4:6).

This is not the superficial peace that the world offers to us (John 14:27), but a deep satisfying peace that transcends human reason and guards our soul - our thoughts, emotions and choices - in Christ (Philippians 6:7).

Jesus gave His life to provide us with His righteousness in exchange for our sins. He crucified our sin nature on the cross with Him and made us co-heirs with Him of the Kingdom of God (Romans 8:17).

Our Heavenly Father cares for the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, and He has our best interest in mind even more than He does the rest of His creation (Matthew 6:26-32).

Prayer:

Father God, even if we experience tribulation in our life, it is simply light and momentary affliction compared to Your glory in our life and in our eternal existence (2 Corinthians 4:17). We place our cares in Your capable hands, and we rejoice in even the most negative circumstances (1 Peter 5:7-9).

Thank You for including us in Your plans and accepting us as Your children. Help us to live a grateful life so that we can give You praise every moment of every day. Teach us to trust in You rather than to depend on our human reasoning (Proverbs 3:5-6) and to give You all of the praise and glory that You deserve.

Thought for the Day:

A carefree life is the result of totally surrendering our expectations and desires to God's will for our life.

Earnestly Seeking God

God is a great God and King, the Creator of the Universe, the sustainer of life, and Emmanuel who dwells within us. As authentic Believers we actually faint from a hunger and thirst for more intimacy in our relationship with Him (Psalm 63:1).

We find Him in the sanctuary of our spirit where we experience His power and glory. His faithful love is better than anything, which this world has to offer. We turn our gratitude for His love, peace and joy into our worship of Him (Psalm 63:2-3).

We sing, dance, and lift up our hands in praise to Him, blessing His name every moment of every day until our dying breath (Psalm 63:4). God satisfies our body, soul and spirit by giving us our daily bread and filling our mouth with every good gift (Psalm 63:5).

We often wake up in the middle of the night with songs of praise running through our mind. We keep the night watches with Him and meditate on His Word and His goodness to us in so many ways (Psalm 63:6).

God is our constant help in our times of need, hiding us under the shadow of His wings, and keeping us safe from the adversity and trials of this world. When we think of His goodness to us, our soul bursts into joyful songs (Psalm 63:7).

We cannot survive in this sin-torn world without His presence and His Spirit filling us. Our soul clings to Him and He holds us in the palm of His right hand. No one and nothing can permanently harm us when we are in His safe keeping (Psalm 63:8). 

Prayer:

Father God, when Your Kingdom is revealed on the earth, Jesus will take up the throne of His father David and reign supreme over all the nations of the world (Luke 1:32). Thank You for choosing us to reign with Christ and to live as His ministers to those living on the earth (Revelation 20:4).

We thank You for Your generous love, care and provision for all those who love You both now and forevermore (1 Corinthians 8:3; 1 John 4:16). We earnestly seek You, running to hide under the shadow of Your wings. We rely on You both to protect us and to keep us for eternity (Psalm 63:8). We so enjoy our life in You and we want to use it for Your glory by sharing the Gospel of Christ with everyone that we meet.

Thought for the Day:

We can only develop true balance in our life when we obey the direction of the Spirit of God for each moment of our day - not a legalistic, petty structure of religious works, but a fluid stream of God’s gifts and character flowing through us into the world around us.

Bounce Back from Adversity

Adversity hurts, makes us panic and disrupts the routine of our life; unless we change our focus about hard times and see them as just another opportunity for God to get the glory from our life's circumstances (Habakkuk 3:17-18).

Our ace in the hole while suffering through adversity is to remember that Jesus Christ abides within us. During His lifetime as a human being, He experienced everything that we do and so much more (Hebrews 4:15).

When we keep our thoughts centered on praising Him for who He is and what He has done and is doing for us, He gives us His complete peace (Ephesians 6:10-14).

We live with joy and gratitude (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). We bask in God's love for us as the sheep of His pasture; as His righteous ones about whom He cares (Psalm 37:28).

The only time this does not happen is when we are out of God's perfect will for us. This requires that we seek His face, discover where we got sidetracked, and align our self back up with His Holy Spirit's direction (Proverbs 3:5-6).

God's former care for us gives us the confidence that He will also use our present adversity to develop our patience, to resolve our issues and to get the glory from what we are currently experiencing (Job 1:21-22).

Praising God in the good times as well as the bad experiences helps us to develop resiliency in adversity (Ephesians 5:19-20). Worship keeps us from panicking and giving in to the depression and seeming hopelessness of our situation (Joshua 1:9; James 1:2-4; Psalm 145:14).

We confidently look past our oppression, mistreatment, adversity and physical and emotional agony to His glorious comfort, miracles and provision (Psalm 31:23-24; Exodus 14:14).

Prayer:

Father God, when we totally trust in You and Your love, we will not be afraid (Psalm 56:11, 62:8; Philippians 4:6-7). We humble our self before You and look to You to lift us up from the miry clay of sin and worldly degradation (Psalm 50:15; James 4:10; Hebrews 12:2-3).

Your continual provision for us encourages us through each day, regardless of our circumstances (Philippians 4:19). You always have our best interest in Your plans. Your Spirit will lead us each moment if we will place our cares in Your hands, gain wisdom from Your will and live by faith in Your faithfulness (Jeremiah 29:11).

Thought for the Day:

When we experience trials from every side, we tend to give in to distress, perplexity, depression and anxiety; yet when we keep our focus on God's faithfulness we do not give up in despair, desertion and destruction; we move forward and are strengthened. 
- 2 Corinthians 4:8-9; Job 17:9

Anchor for our Soul

At times our soul is grieved about issues in our life, is overwhelmed with the negative aspects piling up on us, or is anxious about some impending issue that makes us feel insecure.

The Psalmist gave us good advice to follow during times like these (Psalm 42:5-6). When we place our hope and trust in worldly anchors, we often find our self drifting once again in the currents of life.

Yet, if we put our hope in God, He is our rock, our strong anchor for our soul (Hebrews 6:19). He alone is our sure and steadfast hope. We sit in His presence and wait silently until He floods us with His peace and joy (Psalm 62:5).

Placing our hope in God never disappoints us, like the things of the world that we often cling to for our deliverance and salvation. He pours out His love into our hearts by His Spirit who resides within us (Romans 5:4-5).

There is real power in praising God through both the abundance and deprivation that we experience in life. He is with us and in us through the good times and the bad.

It may seem strange to praise God for the downturns in our fortune, health or relationships, but He has everything under His control according to His plans to bless us (Numbers 6:25; Romans 8:28).

The Lord is good. He turns misery into miracles for us, covering us with His feathers, offering to provide us with a stronghold and refuge if we will run to Him (Psalm 91:4; Nahum 1:7; Proverbs 18:10).

Prayer:

Father God, as we remember all that You already did for us in our life, we realize how trustworthy You are. You never interfere if we are determined to attempt to control our own life; but You are always faithful to us when we consult You every moment of our day, and when we are willing to abandon our human understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6).

You are our Savior and our God. You are the lover of our soul and we can trust in You for every need in our body, soul and spirit (2 Corinthians 1:3-5; Psalm 63:1-8). We give You all of the praise, glory and honor due to Your name, because You are worthy of all of our praises, regardless of our circumstances.

Thought for the Day:
Our faith, love and hope in God are the only steadfast resources that we possess that we can rely on to see us through every trial and storm in life. 

- 1 Corinthians 13:13

Finding Freedom in Surrender - Stages of Deliverance

There is no way that our human psyche can surrender every area of our life to God in one fell swoop. It usually happens in stages, as God gives us faith to trust Him in each portion of our body, soul and spirit.

Surrender is often a struggle due to the fears, bonds, and connections we have with the various facets of the issues in our life. Desiring to keep our self safe, we attempt to solve our concerns in our own way.

We may get caught up with the advice and philosophy of the world, through articles that we read; but these often tend to sidetrack us from the real issues that we face. Only as we fully trust in God can we experience complete deliverance.

Fear of the unknown is a barrier to letting go and allowing God full reign in our life. At times we have to overcome Satan's lies or our insecurities first, in order to fully surrender to God's will and plan for our life.

I had to come to the place where I realized that I was simply surrendering to God's love, and nothing less. Surrender became easier as I realized that God would not bring anything into my life, or take anything away from my life that would hurt me eternally.

He has only our best interest at heart. He is not a cosmic ogre or a spoil sport or a vindictive and heartless being. Love is His sole motivation as He purges our life of detrimental and unhealthy aspects to which we cling.

When we experience firsthand the compensations that God showers on us during each stage of surrender, this encourages us to trust Him more and to yield more quickly and willingly to His will and provision.

We continually surrender until things of this world no longer matter to us, and we focus our thoughts and emotions on heavenly issues instead. We give up control of every facet of our life into God's safe keeping.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for helping us to break down our resistance to Your loving direction and plans for our life one stage at a time. Some people are more willing and trusting and surrender earlier in life, but some of us cling to the allusion that we can protect our self and keep our self safe.

We are eternally grateful to You for proving Your love to us; not only by taking on human form and dying in our place, but also by coaxing us to surrender to Your wisdom one step at a time. We believe in You, but we depend on You to help our unbelief (Mark 9:23-25). We trust in You and we will not be afraid (Psalm 56:11).

Thought for the Day:

When we surrender to God, we give Him all of our fears and insecurities, and we gain His full provision and abundant love forevermore.

Where is Our Confidence

Our vulnerability is paramount in our thinking, and we strive to keep our self safe by every means we can muster. If our confidence is in our abilities and talents, we will suffer from fear and insecurity.

We feel anxious about our looks, accomplishments, success rate, relationships and vocation. We end up expecting too much from our self, and we set our self up for failure. This is no way to live; it leads to a dead-end existence.

We start the journey into improving our concept of our self-worth by taking small steps into recovery. First, we accept our self just as we are, because Jesus died to redeem us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). Since He loved us first, we can love Him, others and our self (1 John 4:19).

We stop burying our short-comings in our subconscious mind, and we pay attention to who we are and how we feel during each moment of our day. We accept all of who we are - the good, the bad and the ugly. Accepting our insecurities and fears helps us to resolve them.

Make a list of the concerns and burdens in your life today. Spend time in prayer, surrendering each one to God. Put the list in a heart-shaped box, a symbol of the heart of God. Then, each time you encounter something from the list, remember that you already placed that issue in the heart of God, and thank Him for His faithfulness.

The next step is to pay attention to physical symptoms that may manifest in our body, along with our negative thoughts. We can change our focus from our insecurities and Satan's lies, to God's truth about each one of our issues. We make a list of these truths too and reread them often until they become an integral part of who we are.

Taking stock of how we are feeling and what we are thinking in each moment of our day helps us to deal with negative emotions and thoughts as they arise. When we realize that God is protecting, providing for and filling us with Himself in each moment, we can relax (Colossians 1:27).

If any thoughts or emotions rob us of our joy and peace, it is not God's will for us at this time. Accepting His will with joy, regardless of our circumstances, frees us to be who He created us to be, and allow us to walk in His will by His Spirit each moment of our day.

Prayer:

Father God, You make it clear in Your Word that if we focus on our fears and insecurities, our fight-flight instincts kick in and disrupt our peace, rob us of our joy, and cause us to strike out at anyone whom we perceive as a threat to us. Remind us that when we focus on Christ in us, we spend more time thinking about spiritual and eternal concepts rather than on any earthly concerns.

Teach us to surrender control to You, to stop striving in our human strength, and to relax and let You do the work of perfecting, healing and leading us. We honestly cry out to You, and You help us to relax and to rest in Your love and care for us. Help us to fully trust in Your goodness to us, and not to lean on our human understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6).    

Thought for the Day:

Confidence comes not from what we do, but who we are. As authentic Believers in Jesus Christ, He lives within us; and we live, move and have our mental and emotional concept of who we are in Him alone.

- Acts 17:28

A Good Marriage - One Flesh

Today is our 22nd anniversary and we bought each other new glasses and ate at Dairy Queen. The point of an anniversary is to do something thoughtful and to spend time with each other.

This unhurried, quality time makes a huge difference in our feelings for one another and takes the pressure to perform or to buy expensive gifts or to eat at fancy restaurants out of the equation on special days.

God created Eve as a helper for Adam. Not someone to assist him with chores as he tended the garden, but someone to share his life with and to sincerely care about him.

Our Creator could have grabbed some dust to create Eve like He used to create Adam, but instead He took a rib from Adam to show the intimacy that they now shared (Genesis 2:7, 23).

I used to think that God played a huge trick on human beings, because opposites usually attract to one another, and these differences that drew us together often cause conflict in our marriage.

However, I have since learned that the Lord gave Adam a special gift in Eve, just as He directs us to our mate as His special gift to us. We each have strengths that compensate for one another's weaknesses. Life is better together than if we lived separately.

Of course, we can marry outside of God's will for us; but once we join as one flesh (Genesis 2:24), God will teach us to abide with each other in peace and harmony. If we are willing to submit to one another, and to discover and appreciate our differences, He will bless our union.

In a marriage, two individuals meld together as one flesh, humbling our self and submitting to each other as co-heirs to the Kingdom of God (Ephesians 4:21).

We bear with one another's faults and quickly forgive each other - not holding grudges or keeping a record of slights and imperfections (Ephesians 4:2; Colossians 3:13).

We no longer place our individual needs ahead of our union in Christ, and we learn to lovingly discuss ways to adapt to our differing needs, making a beautiful picture that fits neatly together as the pieces of a puzzle.

Prayer:

Father God, the devil hates Christian marriages and families. He knows that good marriages make strong churches, and he desires to disrupt a church family and cause rifts and strife among us. Bitter conflict arises in a couple, a family and a church family that appear to be unresolvable. Yet, there is always a way to work together in harmony, if we put You as the center of our focus.

Help us to stop any viscous downward spiral in our relationship, and teach us to discuss our differences until we discover a mutually acceptable action or manner of thinking that will solve the issue. Teach us to view one another as Your gift to our life, to protect our union, and to love one another in spite of our differences. 

Thought for the Day:

When God joins us together, two become one flesh, and we care for each other as we would like to be cared for and treat each other as we want to be treated.