A Christ-centered Focus

Paul proclaimed that allowing God to work through Him, and walking by the Spirit's direction is the only way to live (Acts 20:24). In my many years of living, I came to this same conclusion.

The results of changing our focus and attitude from a self-centered one to a Christ-centered one is absolutely freeing. We worry, stress-out, get sick and walk around in a bad mood less than if we focus on our self (Galatians 6:9).

Not that we should neglect our self, because this brings on a whole new set of issues. However, when we concentrate only on our own feelings, goals and dreams, rather than focusing on the Lord's will for us, we drown in negative emotions.

When we live for our self, our mediocre relationship with God flattens, becomes monotonous and lacks passion and inspiration. Yet, as we walk in His perfect will, we cannot wait to see what the next day brings. We sing a new song to Him from our heart all day long.

God has a perfect plan for each unique life, and living in His will is the happiest place on earth (Ephesians 2:10). God's Spirit teaches us to trust Him implicitly; and as we do, our faith grows, our spirit matures, and our love for Him renews.

We live in awe of His bountiful provision, which causes us to spend most of our time delighting in His steadfast love for us, and for His marvelous works in our life.

We grow discontent with anything that arises in our life that is not His perfect will for us. We come to the place that we refuse to settle for less than His best for us.

Prayer:

Father God, as we follow Your will for our life, we walk in obedience to Your w ill as it effortlessly develops during our day. We consult You before we do anything, and we follow Your peace in every decision and activity in which we get involved (Proverbs 3:5-6).

We constantly find our self in the right place, at the right time, doing the right work in order to advance Your Kingdom in the earth.  Whether we are a stay-at-home parent, a CEO of a major company, a retailer, teacher, clergy, skilled labor, garbage collector, etc., we do it all for Your praise and glory (1 Corinthians 10:31-33).

Thought for the Day:

God has an individualized design for each of His Saints; and when we choose to walk in His ways, and to accomplish His will for each moment of our day, we find true peace and deep, indescribable joy that put wings on our feet, a smile on our lips and a song in our heart.

A Good Marriage - What Really Matters

Valuing our mate will change the way we see their idiosyncrasies. We will have more patience with them, and change our focus about how their foibles affect us.

Cherishing him/her will endear them to us for life. We can plan our actions and our words to say, "I love you" all day long. The joy we felt while dating multiplies over the years of our marriage.

Any relationship takes work: parent - child, husband - wife, employer - employee, etc. Since we see each other every day, we tend to take one another for granted and forget to do the little things that improve our relationship.

Emotional disconnect occurs when we fail to connect physically with quality time on a regular basis. We may extinguish our mate's love for us with our words, attitude and actions. Complaints, criticism, angry words, and taking one another for granted will destroy our relationship.

We all need verbal affirmation, but men need it daily. They crave the sympathy, nurturing, understanding and adulation that their mother used to give them. Verbal affirmation goes a long way in cementing our marital ties.

We plan and make time in our busy schedules to relax together, have fun and share our deepest thoughts and fear. When we are too busy for each other, we grow apart more and more each day.

Spending focused time as a couple and a family helps us to bond more intimately. Families are not disposable. The grass really is not any greener on the other side of the fence; and anyway, the fence is still there.  

Prayer:

Father God, please remind us that distance grows in relationships unless we stay connected as we grow older together, bond with our souls rather than drifting apart, make one another a priority and realize that meeting our mate's needs is as important to them and to us as meeting our own needs.

Help us to see that in a good marriage we make time each week for both mates to bond with people of our same sex. Some people need this more than others do. Remind us that even if we enjoy time with our spouse, doing things separately with friends gives us space and time to enjoy hobbies that our spouse does not enjoy. It also gives us time to really miss each other.

Thought for the Day:

When we work out our marital issues in a manner that is agreeable to everyone, we set an example for future generations and everyone around us.

The Name of Jesus

The name of Jesus is above every other name and there is no one like Him (Jeremiah 10:6; Philippians 2:9-11; Jeremiah 10:6). His Truth entails secrets that were hidden in times past; but are now plain for us to see (1 Corinthians 2:7).

He willingly sacrificed His life as a ransom for all of our sins, and for this we love, praise, honor, worship and adore Him all the days of our life.

We wait patiently for the Lord, enjoying His frequent times of companionable silence. He lifts us out of the miry pit of circumstances and sets our feet on firm, high places (Psalm 40:1-2).

We give Him praise with the new songs that He puts into our heart; and we extol and honor His name above every other name given both on earth and in Heaven (Psalm 40:3).

Signs and wonders, healing and deliverance are ours only by His holy name (Acts 4:30; Mark 16:17). If we repent and are baptized in His name, He forgives us of our sins and we will receive His Spirit as our Comforter and Guide (Acts 2:38).

Our faith in His name gives us healing and strength (Acts 3:12-16). If we ask for anything that we need to accomplish His work in and through our life, Jesus asks the Father for it on our behalf (John 14:14, 16:26).

The name of Jesus is a strong tower, and the righteous find safety and provision in it (Proverbs 18:10). We receive healing in His wonderful name (Acts 3:6).

We are justified in the name of Jesus and by the workings of His Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:11). The members of the Trinity are our wonderful counselor, our everlasting Father, our Prince of peace, and our might God (Isaiah 9:6).

Prayer:

Father God, You call us all to come to You for our daily bread, for safety from temptation, to deliver us from evil, and to forgive us of our iniquities as we forgive those who intrude upon our life. Your Word holds mysteries that we can understand only by the wisdom of Your Holy Spirit within us.

Help us to respond to You with humility, and to praise You for meeting our needs, according to Your abundant love and wisdom. Stir up in us a hunger for Your Word, for more intimacy with You, and for walking in Your ways. All day long we meditate on Your glory and splendor, and we spend our days worshipping You in the beauty of Your holiness (Psalm 96:9).

Thought for the Day:

There is eternal salvation only through the name of Jesus, and we extol the Lord as our King; therefore, we bless His name forever and ever, we bless Him with our actions, and we praise Him with our lips for His greatness and unsearchable wisdom, which He shares with us every day of our life. 

- Acts 4:12; Psalm 145:1-3

Knowing God

 

The Bible says that we will find our heart where we find our treasure. The person, place, thing, pet, vocation, cause or deity, that defines who we are, is our greatest treasure.

We are intimately involved with this cherished person, entity, concept or thing. We are guilty of doing anything possible, even stooping to sinful behavior, in order to increase this relationship.

We think that we are fulfilled in this world; but in actuality, our soul - our feelings, priorities and thoughts - finds true rest and hope in God alone (Psalm 62:5). Everything and everyone else is simply a shadow of reality.

Sadly, many people enter eternity without ever experiencing God's love, presence, guidance and blessings. Sometimes, it is because no one ever told them about Jesus, but more often it is because they reject the simple Truth of His salvation.

As authentic Believers, Christ abides within us by His Spirit. This union is more cherished than any we can ever experience, and brings us true fulfillment and peace.

Christ knew us prior to our conception, and even before the Trinity formed the world. (Psalm 139:13; Ephesians 1:4). No human being knows us that intimately and completely (Psalm 37:4).

This intimate bond comes when we admit that we are a sinner and that we need Jesus as our Savior (Ephesians 2:1). Once we accept Christ's atoning sacrifice, He raises us from eternal death, to everlasting life.

Walking continually in the presence of our Lord and following the leading of His Spirit is without a doubt the most fulfilling experience this life offers to us.

Prayer:

Father God, teach us how to entirely surrender our life to You, to walk in Your ways, and to live according to Your purpose for our life (Ephesians 2:10). In Your presence is the only place where we can find complete fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11).

Christ in us never fails us, never leaves us, never forsakes us, and never lets us down (Hebrews 13:5). Remind us that we can share with You all of our concerns, fears, rejection, abuse and deprivation. You care about every minute of our life. You are our friend who intimately sticks closer to us than a brother (Proverbs 18:24).

Thought for the Day:

When we come to Christ, He continually delivers us from our old carnal nature, because we are born again into Christ’s life; we are hidden with Jesus in God - Colossians 3:1-3

A Grateful Attitude

I can think of only a few issues in life that are worse than being swallowed by a whale. Yet, as soon as Jonah praised God for his horrific circumstances, God delivered him by having the whale deposit him on dry ground (Jonah 2:9-10).

My dad had a bad heart attack; and for a year after that event, He begged God to take him home to Heaven. One night at supper, he asked my mom, "Why won't God answer my prayer?"

She calmly advised, "I think it may be because you are demanding from God, rather than saying, 'Lord, I accept Your will in this."

That night she heard him in his room singing songs about "not my will, Lord, but yours be done." The next morning on her way to church, she checked on my dad, and he was sleeping. 

When she returned from the church service, she checked on him again, and he had not changed positions, which was unusual for him. She checked him closer and realized his body was very cold.

The Lord heard my dad's surrendered hymns and took him home as he sang. What an awesome God we serve. It really is amazing what praising will do for us and in us.

God will deliver you and me from our negative circumstances too. The key for deliverance is to be joyful and grateful to God regardless of what is occurring in our life.

Jesus lives, moves and has His being in us and never, ever leaves or forsakes us (Acts 17:28; Hebrews 13:5). Our behavior may cause a rift in our relationship with God; but He is always there, even when His back is turned to our sinful practices (Psalm 22:1).

Of course, the logical solution to this problem is to live in righteousness. By the power of God's Spirit within us, we reject all of the devil's temptations to sin.

Living each moment in the presence of, and in praise to our mighty God will lead us to redemption, regardless of the facets of our current existence. Our Father always knows best .

Prayer:

Father God, our hearts overflow with grateful praises to You. We refuse to allow Satan to tempt us to complain, so that we will remain in our awful, negative circumstances. We know that praising You is our hot air balloon ride to better times.

We praise You for Your deliverance from the huge events that attempt to steal our joy, but we also praise You for the myriad of little blessings that You provide for us each and every day. Thank You for putting a new song in our heart and for Your bountiful provision for all of our needs.

Thought for the Day:

When we repent of our sins and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are saved from eternal damnation; and we reflect the glory of the Lord in our body, our thoughts, our words and our actions. - 2 Corinthians 3:18

Caught Between Two Extremes

Life often careens back and forth between two extremes. We are either bored or excited, angry or forgiving, frazzled or peaceful, etc. Walking in God's Spirit (Galatians 5:15-25) prevents us from bouncing back and forth between these excesses.

At work, we push our self to excel, attempting to give a stellar and perfect performance. However, we are myopic in our focus and often fail to see the big picture, because these attitudes eventually hinder our achievement.

When we push our self to achieve goals that God did not inspire or anoint us to accomplish, we often spin our wheels and encounter countless road blocks causing stress and unfulfillment.

When we neglect our own soul, we get discouraged and tired because our soul is sick within us. We need holy and healthy play time to relax and unplug from our routine in order to maintain a healthy soul.

If we have compulsions and obsessions such as: codependency or perfectionism, we may end up feeling neglected, shamed and defeated, which all interrupt our flow of productivity.

God's Spirit enables us to overcome our anxiety, doubts, concerns, worries and fears - those in our conscious mind, as well as those latent feelings tucked away in our subconscious mind.

Taking a frequent and fearless inventory of our spirit, soul and body helps us to restore balance and to focus on God's will for each moment of our day.

We are also able to stop and smell the roses, smile at a stranger, help a child or senior citizen, take part in community events, watch a movie or sports game, and enjoy whatever divine appointments God brings our way.

Prayer:

Father God, we are often our own worst enemy. The negative self-talk that we listen to in our mind all day long will ruin our balance and industriousness as it side-tracks our efforts. Communicating with You in prayer and initiating chat sessions with our best friend is useful if we are not sure how to get back on track.

Help us to create new habits and rituals to help our forward process in following Your will. Remind us that making a detailed and intentional list of what You tell us during our prayer time will facilitate our progress as we consult Your Spirit each time a new direction changes our forward movement. We love and honor You and look forward to walking solely in Your will each moment of our day.

Thought for the Day:

The ”good things" we do with our life often become the enemy of the "best things," because they tie us into knots and overwhelm us; yet, the best things are God-inspired and spirit-led and bring us to a place of deep peace and everlasting joy.

The Demon of Perfectionism

When we take a stand against the demon of perfectionism, we start to see beauty in the normal, and to live with less stress in our life - which is actually killing us. We start to breathe deeply and enjoy our life and the people in it.

We often think of demons as fiery little dragon-like beings that entice us to sin. However, demons can appear as angels of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). They do not always promote sinister behavior, but can also attempt to sidetrack and overwhelm us. They drive us to distraction, so we have little time to obey God

Many people consider perfectionism as a virtue. We strive to bring order from chaos and to attain to more than the status quo. We drive our self and everyone around us to reach perfection in every area of life.

We know what we want and how we want the events in our life to play out. Therefore, we often get disappointed with unsatisfactory results and behavior from our self and others, pointing out what could have been improved or done differently.

Our standards are too high and usually unreachable. We under-value and criticize our self and others, and we fail to appreciate that we and others did our very best.

We attempt to live up to the world's standards as well, and we expect perfection from our self and everyone else. Unfortunately, human beings are never perfect; therefore, we soon get disillusioned, resentful and sometimes even angry with no real cause.

If we could realize that all of us are fallible, diverse, opinionated and unpredictable, this change in our concepts would enable us to accept a job well done, even if it is not perfect according to demon-inspired ideals.

When we take a stand against the demon of perfectionism, we start to see beauty in the normal and live with less stress in our life - which is actually killing us. We start to breathe deeply and enjoy our life and the people in it.

We see magnificence in our differences, abilities and mistakes; and our patience grows and does its perfect work in our life (James 1:-8). We learn to consult the Lord in every endeavor and to follow His plans for our life, rather than our own (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Prayer:

Father God, Your works are perfect; but due to Adam's sinful fall, the universe is hindered from living up to Your plan and expectations for us all. Paradise was perfect, and we will live in Your perfect new heaven and earth when You return to take up Your authority over the earth again.

Until then, help us to tolerate differences, to accept that our current life on this earth is less than perfect, and to realize that Satan drives our need for perfection in order to limit our usefulness to You and Your Kingdom. Help us to see the beauty in imperfections in our self, others and the world around us.

Thought for the Day:

As we practice letting go of our drive toward perfectionism, we start to relax and enjoy our self, others and life in general; we gain a deeper sense of ease in who we are, and we stop expecting our self and others to do more than our best.

Melancholy Personality - Deliverance Is Possible

A melancholy person is deliberate in the way we think. We consider and reconsider every side of every situation, event and upcoming responsibilities in order to feel safe.

We do not talk very much and deliberate over our words most of the time before we speak them. We rehearse what we want to say and polish it over and over before we actually say what is on our mind - often having trouble finding the right words to express our self.

We conduct business with deliberation and forethought. We work slowly, but carefully to do the best job we can. We do not like to be rushed, because we like everything to unfold decently and in order.

We despise the limelight and do not require recognition and honor; although, at the same time, we do not like to be overlooked, and we appreciate a pat on the back for a job well done.

We do not enjoy being the brunt of a joke either, because we end up with hurt feelings. We need to learn to laugh at our self, but this is easier said than done.

Melancholy people prefer others above our self, and end up feeling abused. We find our self enabling people rather than allowing everyone to live up to their own responsibilities.

Possessive of our belongings and family, we are reluctant to lend our things or to share our time with our loved ones with other people. We fear someone will be careless and irresponsible with our prized possessions.

God's Spirit is the only one that can truly deliver us from the self-imposed prison in which we enshrine our self. We want to stay safe, but end up isolating our self and missing out on God's blessings in our life.

Prayer:

Father God, we melancholies have many good qualities, but we are overly emotional and feel the smallest slight very deeply. You created us to feel emotion strongly, and to admire beauty very intensely. We are also prime candidates for attacks from the demon of perfectionism. Help us to stop internalizing our emotions and then exploding when they build up to a feverish pitch.

Teach us to allow Your Spirit to replace our negative attributes with Your fruit (Galatians 5:22-23), so that we exhibit love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, meekness, self-control and faith rather than our timidity and overly sensitive nature. Replace our tendency to hold grudges with Your willingness to forgive - giving others the same mercy that You give to us.

Thought for the Day:

As a melancholy personality, we are lead by God to submit to His Spirit and to allow His fruit to dominate our personality and reactions to life.

Power in Praise

With each sunrise, God's authentic Believers sing to Him a new song, worshipping Him and praising His name. We proclaim the way of His salvation to those in our family, workplace, community, city, state, country and the whole world (Psalm 96:1-2).

We declare His marvelous works to everyone who will listen, because He is so great that we want everyone to know it. We respect, honor and revere Him above worldly deities, which are actually only human idols (Psalm 96:3-4).

God made heaven and earth, and His splendor, majesty and glory are found in His presence (Psalm 96:5-6). In every moment of our day, we pour out our heart in worship and thanksgiving for all that He does for us.

He displays His glory in the beauty all around us; and if we are too distracted by the demands and the routine details of our life, we will miss His gifts to us throughout the day.

These moments of God's glorious declarations of love for us are precious and personalized. What He uses to speak to me are different than what He uses to convey His love to you.

Of course, His Spirit and His Word are common to us all, but He will use our favorite things and beloved Biblical verses to speak to us individually. He is eager to shower us with His mercy and grace, salvation and redemption, as well as His peace and joy.

Let us commit to minimize our lists of duties, hobbies, and vocational activities, in order to lessen our stress, burdens, and the hectic events, so that we have more time to worship God and to serve at the pleasure of our King Jesus.

Prayer:

Father God, we exalt You above all gods and the idols created by human resources. Humans deify mere mortals who are dead in graves and not worthy of our praise. Remind us to fix our focus on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:-3), in order to enjoy Your serenity, stability and symmetry throughout all of our days.

Remind us to balance our schedule to include times with You as we pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). We want to make prayer our priority, and we will use Your Word as the context of our times of worshipping You. Prompt us to journal our thoughts and feelings from the depth of our heart in order to rid our subconscious of the burden of carrying them around in our soul.

Thought for the Day:

God is our strength and our shield, our hope and our salvation; He showers us with personal touches of His love, joy and peace to bless us throughout the moments of our life. - Psalm 28:7

The Sovereign Wisdom of God

The more that we give our self over to a depraved mind, the less likely we are to hear the still, small voice of God calling us to Himself. He has a perfect plan for our life without the consequences of the ravages of sin.

We forfeit those blessings by our unbelief in the incomprehensible goodness of God. We buy into the lies planted by the devil in the philosophies and perverted truth of this world. We sell our self short of the glories God has for us.

Others exploit the blessings of God to fulfill their carnal, selfish ambition (Romans 1:18-26). They hire on in ministry positions in God's Church and take advantage of the generosity of God's Saints.

Some people refuse to live by faith and demand that God prove Himself to them. Their mind is filled with vain ideologies taught to them by other human beings. They cannot see or understand the secret things of God; and, therefore, they refuse to trust Him with their life (Deuteronomy 29:29).

In His wisdom, God often hides the full glory of His infinite purpose in order to protect us from our finite self. He withholds healing at times, like He did with Paul's "thorn in the flesh". He also kept the book of Daniel sealed (Daniel 12:4) until these last days, when we really need that information.

In our glorious stature in Heaven, we will not see in part any longer (1 Corinthians 13:12), but we will comprehend the full blessing of serving at the pleasure of our King Jesus.

As we mature spiritually, our intimacy with God increases. We personally behold the enormity of His incomprehensible ways and humbly submit to the leading of His Spirit for each moment of our day.

Prayer:

Father God, as we grow in our intimacy with You, our convictions get stronger and we rarely if ever doubt Your goodness - especially once we realize that You plant a seed for a miracle in every trial. You reveal the mysteries of Your wisdom to us a little more each day, affirming our relationship with You and leading us by Your Holy Spirit.

Thank You so much for establishing a personal relationship with each of Your Saints, so that we can know You more each day. Help us to focus on You and Your will for our life. Your will rarely makes human sense, but always amazes us in the accuracy of Your Spirit's guidance. We give You all of the praise and honor due to Your name and we rejoice in the goodness of Your ways.

Thought for the Day:

 When we mature spiritually, our intimacy with God increases as we behold the enormity of His incomprehensible ways; we humbly fall on our face in amazement that He called us and deigns to spend time with each of us continually throughout the day. 

- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

A Good Marriage - Preferring One Another

Does your mate disappoint you and fail to live up to your expectations? Do you make it a habit to let your spouse know that he/she is not "good enough"? Do you put him/her down and complain ceaselessly? 

This practice will backfire on you, because your spouse will become disheartened and make less of an effort to please you and make you happy. Of course, many of us are codependent and serve our mate tirelessly without reciprocal behavior.

Then we burn out and feel like an abandoned "martyr", until we run out of energy to put up with their neglect any longer. This leads us to stew in our negative emotions so long, that we finally over-react emotionally and cause a destructive scene that is indelibly marked on our mate's memory and replays constantly in his/her mind.

The age-old, sage advice applies here, "You catch more flies with honey than vinegar." In the past, I valiantly made an effort to be kind. I used a job jar, homemade gift coupons, and requests for a date in order to curb my emotional outbursts, and to kindly and humorously ask for more focused attention.

Sometime our mate will listen to our pleas for a change in our relationship and gladly alter their behavior to meet our needs. Others will try for a while and then gradually go back to their former disappointing way of relating to us. Then the third type of person will not try at all - wounded by past experiences, or from our own attitude, they have no energy to even try.

We reach an impasse, exist as roommates rather than spouses, and neglect one another more often than not. Some of us get depressed and others will construct their own lifestyle that takes them away from home more and more often. Couple time is scarce to non-existent, and resentment builds a huge, thick wall between us.

Only the Holy Spirit can inspire us to change our ways, to prefer one another and to make our mate the most important person in our life. He teaches us to simplify our life, to plan our schedule around God first, our mate second, our family next, our church family, and then our vocation after that.

This may cause friction at work, but we can explain our priorities to our employer, giving him/her 40 hours of diligent work a week, while taking personal time to date our spouse, attend our children's performances and to participate in activities that fulfill our soul - our thoughts, preferences and feelings.

Prayer:

Father God, You taught me that it is not necessary to look to our spouse to complete us, fulfill us, or to meet our needs. He/she may not be capable of supplying what we lack in our life. Help us to see that we rob our self of this blessed fulfillment if we focus only on our self rather than on one another.

This self-centered attitude and behavior gives others a poor example of what a Godly relationship can actually look like. Help us to stop viewing life only from our own perspective and to broaden our viewpoint to include our spouse's needs as well. Remind us that if we hold on to our egocentric actions and desires, we will never meld together as a couple that is capable of fully serving You together as a team.

Thought for the Day:

Only as we focus on Christ in us, and follow His Spirit's direction each moment of the day, can we ever hope to find true peace and joy in this life and the next; we can meet our own needs at the same time that we reach out to our spouse and help them to fulfill their desires, because the more fulfilled they are, the more able they will be to reciprocate the blessing.

Amazing Praising

 

The attitude of gratitude alters our perspective and changes our negative emotions into positive ones. It lifts us out of the quick sand of circumstances and allows us to triumph regardless of how bad life seems at the moment.

When we were entrenched in the kingdom of darkness, Jesus' called us out to enjoy His Kingdom of light. This makes the devil really angry. Think about the devil for a moment.

He attempted to get rid of Jesus by inciting Herod to kill all the babies in the area that were two years and younger. Thankfully, God already told Joseph in a dream to move Mary and Jesus out of the province.

Then, after Jesus' fast of forty days and nights, Satan attempted to get Jesus to worship Him in exchange for a few loaves of bread or ownership of the kingdoms of this world (Matthew 4:1-11).

The devil attempts to tempt new Believers in this same way. He discourages us and then sets a trap; hoping that as new Believer we will forsake our new found devotion to God and return to Satan's kingdom instead.

Jesus defeated Satan by quoting the Word of God. We can do the same thing. In fact, if we draw near to God first, then resist the devil, he has to flee from us (James 4:7-11).

God never leaves us; but due to our distracted lifestyle, our chaotic choices and our carnal leadings, we often leave Him. The way back into His presence is to praise Him for the good and the bad in our circumstances.

God actually inhabits our praises (Psalm 22:3). Christ in us makes all the difference in our focus, attitude, thoughts, feelings and actions. We trust only in Him and He delivers and regenerates us with His love, peace and joy.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for redeeming us by the blood of the Lamb, for inhabiting our praises, and for teaching us to draw near to You and to resist the devil. We appreciate the marvelous body You created for us to dwell in, for our soul that is the true essence of who we are, and for recovering our spirit from the death caused by sin, and giving us Jesus' righteousness in exchange.

We are never truly out of topics for which to praise You, and we know that praising You in the negative circumstances, as well as the positive ones, will result in You being able to work out even the worst issues for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28). Teach us, in the same way that You taught the apostle Paul, to learn contentment that does not depend on the circumstances with which we are dealing (Philippians 4:11).

Thought for the Day:

Regardless of the intervention, or what we view as the lack of intervention provided for us by the Lord, we can express gratitude to Him, because His ways are higher than ours; He always provides all of our needs since He knows everything from the end to the beginning. 

- Isaiah 46:10, 55:8-9

God is Trustworthy

In our desperate times during some collapse in our life as we know it, God calls us to completely surrender to Him, so that He can carry us through the troubled waters.

Feeling like a helpless victim of our circumstances, we panic and make every attempt to dig our way out of the avalanche overwhelming us; yet, we end up digging our way deeper into the abyss.

Crippled with anxiety and fear, we desperately turn back to God and cling to His mercy and grace. When darkness completely surrounds us, His light comes flooding in to illuminate our way (Psalm 112:4-6).

Filled with debilitating doubts, we look to His power during our time of powerlessness. Prayerfully waiting on God, we change our focus from the circumstances overwhelming us to follow the plans and purpose of God in them and through them.

Slowly God pulls us out of the mire and sets our feet on solid ground. We read His Word to find our comfort in His anointed scriptures. Drawing on His presence within us, we gain His strength.

Sometimes we do not have what we need, because we did not ask God for it; or if we do ask, we often ask for selfish, carnal provision. Yet, God is always faithful to provide for all of our needs through His glorious riches (Philippians 4:19).

We can count on God to walk in us through triumphs and tragedies alike. He redeems, delivers, and completes us. He is our hope, the lifter of our head, the caretaker of our heart, and the lover of our soul (Psalm 3:3; Romans 8:35-39).

God is always faithful, trustworthy and perfect in all of His ways (Psalm 18:30). As we trust in His wisdom and plans, our faith grows; and we start to look for His provision in the many ways He proves His love for us each day.

Prayer:

Father God, our attitude, feelings and thoughts change with the moment, unless we keep our mind on You (Isaiah 26:3). When we follow your will and center our life around Your ways, we have abiding peace that sees us through any hardship. You constantly call us to Yourself and provide for all of our needs.

You give us peace and we rejoice in Your provision for our life. We want to share Your good news of the Gospel with everyone that You bring into our life; so that they too may experience Your love (Acts 20:24). Help us to follow Your plan for us and to prove our love to You by obeying You in all things (Galatians 6:9).

Thought for the Day:

Although God dwells in the Heavens, and He does whatever He pleases, He is trustworthy, and He is very interested and cares very deeply about everything that pertains to our life.

- Psalm 115:3; 1 Peter 5:7-9

Uncluttering Our Life

Even when there is nothing in our circumstances to be thankful for, and even if they are excruciating and cumbersome, Paul - who suffered greatly for the cause of Christ - exhorts us to count everything as joyous (James 1:2-8).

He was not addle-minded, crazy or overly optimistic. What he realized is that, like Jesus, we grow into spiritual maturity through the things that we suffer (Hebrews 5:8), our intimacy with God increases, and we realize that God plants a seed for a miracle in the midst of every trial.

When we simplify the carnal aspects of our life, this frees us up to give more of our attention to the Lord, and it also gives us more joy to fill our heart. We start by getting rid of everything in our home that we do not use, especially our possessions that are stored in closets, the garage and storage units around town.

When children's events and our vocation overwhelm us, we can limit our children to just one extra-curricular event at a time. This practice greatly simplifies life for us, and frees us from hours of running around to different activities that seem to happen all at the same time.

As hard as it may be to say, "No", we can also refrain from volunteering to take on extra tasks at work - diligently giving them our 40 hour commitment, but not more than that. If we do not like our job, we can ask the Lord to open the door for us to have a career that we look forward to going to each day.

Simplifying also includes assigning household chores for our children, regardless of their age. They can earn an allowance for doing their chores without being nagged. That cuts down a great deal of clutter around the house, and also helps them to grow into very independent, self-motivated adults.

(https://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/parenting-challenges/motivating-kids-to-clean-up/age-appropriate-chores)

 

Paul's words pass along his enthusiasm to us. We lose our joy if we forget his admonition; and instead, we keep our focus on our hardships. Keeping our focus on our faith in God's faithfulness, we fellowship in Paul's joy in the Lord.

Prayer:

Father God, help us to find ways to shrug off the demons of perfectionism and also codependence. This will simplify our life by giving us more time to grow in spiritual maturity and in our intimacy with You. Give us employment that we enjoy, along with order and intimacy in our home life. Provide us with a loving and supportive church family. Draw us together with our mate in order to shine as a couple for You.

We worship You for Your beauty, mercy, grace, benevolence, and Your absolute goodness to all of Your Saints in every area of our life. We rejoice in You always, regardless of our trials and negative circumstances (Philippians 4:4). We lift You up with our praises, and we walk in Your ways each moment of our day.

Thought for the Day:
Once the outer clutter in our life is simplifies, the the inner clutter starts to melt away too; we are free to focus on the Lord and to make Him our priority in our life. 
- Colossians 3:3-4

God is Our All in All

Many people across the ages misunderstand who God really is. We malign His character and misjudge His impartiality in justice, as well as in love. We use Him for our own purposes and then get upset with Him when we think He let us down.

We blame Him for all the disadvantages and hardships in life; and yet, we fail to give Him credit for answered prayers and blessings in our life. We tend to avoid our responsibility in the negative aspects of our life; and then, we take credit for the success that we think we achieved by our own human effort (Ephesians 2:8-9).

In reality, God's name is above every other name, and there is no friend, loved one or ruler that compares to our possible intimate relationship with Him (Philippians 2:9; Jeremiah 10:6). His wisdom holds secrets that He reveals only to His adopted children (1 Corinthians 2:7; Romans 8:13–17, 23; Galatians 3:26–29, 4:4–7; Ephesians 1:4–5). 

God created the universe and named all of the stars. He also knows the number of hairs on our head at any given time (Psalm 147:4; Luke 12:7). God did not create the world and leave us on earth to fend for our self.

He saves us in order for us to spend time with Him, love Him and consult Him in each moment of our day (Proverbs 3:5-6). He gave us His Word to encourage, exhort and direct us during our lifetime. He gave us His Spirit to lead us each moment of our day.

God encourages us to honestly communicate with Him about our fears, longings, desires, and needs (James 4:2-3); He answers all of our prayers according to His wisdom, goodness and mercy. He rejoices over us with singing (Zephaniah 3:17), and He has a perfect plan for each of our lives (Ephesians 2:10).  

Prayer:

Father God, we worship You in the splendor of Your Holiness (Psalm 6:9), we devour Your Living Word and find life within each chapter, and we thank You for a deeper revelation of who You are and what You mean to us with each succeeding moment of our lifespan.

Thank You for drawing us nearer to You each day and for stirring a thirst within us, so that we pant after You like a deer pants for the brook (Psalm 42:1). We worship You, Our God, and we bless Your name forever and ever. You are great and worthy of all of our honor and praise, because Your goodness is beyond comparison and Your greatness is incomprehensible (Psalm 145:1-3).

Thought for the Day:

Our knowledge about the Trinity is a mere grain of sand in the wide scope of His truth; as our Creator, Father, Savior, Spiritual Guide and co-heir of the Kingdom of God, the Trinity has everything under His control in every facet of all of the circumstances we will ever experience during our lifetime.

Lifting Up The Name of Jesus

When the Virgin Mary conceived a son by the Holy Spirit, they called Him Emmanuel, because God actually came to dwell among us in human form, and to redeem us (Matthew 1:23).

God calls His Saints to make disciples in every nation, to baptize them, not for our glory, but in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. All of the Redeemed offer up a continual sacrifice to God for laying down His life for us (Hebrews 13:15).

As we share the Gospel of Christ and the Good News about the Kingdom of God and the power in the name of Jesus, many people will believe and get baptized, and be freed from all condemnation (Acts 8:12).

However, those who refuse to believe in the name of Jesus, God's only begotten Son, condemn themselves to eternal damnation (John 3:18). They also miss out on His blessings while they live on this earth.

Lifting up the name of Jesus, we exult Him who rides on the wind and is our Lord and Savior (Psalm 68:4). At His return, His name shall be written on the thigh of His robe: King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16).

Authentic Believers look forward to the day when at the mention of Jesus' name, every knee in heaven, on earth, and in Hell will bow in His honor and in recognition of who He is (Philippians 2:10).

If we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, and if we truly believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead, we receive His sure and eternal salvation (Romans 10:9).

His greatness is unsearchable, and He draws us into intimate fellowship with Himself, so that we will understand the mysteries of His Kingdom and acknowledge Him in all things (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Prayer:

Father God, in the name of Jesus, You sent us Your Holy Spirit as our helper. He teaches us all things and brings them back to our memory as we need reminding, in order to share them with others or to draw comfort from the anointing of Your Words (John 14:26).

Through the prayers of the Eldership of Your Church, You gave us power in Jesus' name, and You heal our infirmities (James 5:14; Malachi 4:2). In Christ we have forgiveness of our sins, and we share in Your eternal life (Acts 10:43; 1 John 5:13).

Thought for the Day:

God reminds us that whatever we do in our words and in our deeds, they are more powerful and anointed when we follow His Spirit's direction and give thanks to Him. - Colossians 3:17

Life Gone Haywire

When we allow clutter to fill our life, everything goes haywire. A simplified, balanced life is much more peaceful, reassuring, fulfilling and comforting than a hectic one; but how do we get there?

We start with a searching inventory of our purposes, passions, possession and priorities. Then we pray about each one to make sure that we are following God's will in our life at this current moment in time.

Our heart will focus on what we treasure (Matthew 6:21). We will put all of our energy, resources, devotion, and the greatest portion of our schedule into surrounding our self with this treasure.

Once we surrender to Christ as our Savior and Lord, we daily make Him and His Kingdom our priority. He gradually becomes our whole life (Colossians 3:3-4). We surrender to His plans for each moment of our day (Ephesians 2:10; Proverbs 3:5-6).

Jesus suffered everything in His thirty-three years of life on this earth that we will ever experience in our lifetime. He is capable of feeling every ounce of our pain and understands the deprivation of our every unmet need.

God loves spending time with us, even if it is moments of companionable silence. We spend time with Him basking in our love for one another and growing in our intimacy and communication skills with Him. He is ready, willing and able to provide all of our needs with His glorious riches (Philippians 4:19).

Prayer:

Father God, our life gets out of balance once we depart from Your will for each moment of our day. We end us careening from one catastrophe to another, forfeiting our peace and having trouble finding any joy in our circumstances. Help us to learn to reject goals and "important" items that surface in our calendar and to do Your will for us instead.

Help us to seek Your advice before we start any task and to consult Your plans as we carry out the necessary components of those duties. With You at the center of our focus, we will not end up exasperated and disheartened, but we will flourish as overcomers and live in Your victory. Even through the most discouraging of circumstances, we will count it all joy in You (James 1:2-4).

Thought for the Day:
A busy life is not automatically a fruitful or fulfilling life, unless we are walking in the center of God's will; otherwise, we end up furiously spinning our wheels and going nowhere except deeper into the pit of depression and frustration.