Saved from the Brink of Hell

 

 

We can thank God for not answering some of our prayers in the manner in which we expect. He keeps us from many unpleasant circumstances by diverting His answer in ways that are different than what we wanted and for which we prayed. Our Father always knows best.

 

The unsaved world around us will act in a manner in keeping with their natural ways. Believers find offense at many of the things they say and do; however, how can they act any differently without the Holy Spirit sanctifying them? In order to impact their life for Christ, it is imperative for us to accept them just as they are.

 

Jesus loved us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8), and we can show others this same consideration. Taking a sincere interest in their life - their triumphs and their defeats, their affluence and their poverty, their health and their sickness will speak volumes to them.

 

This allows us opportunities to share with them what Jesus did for us, and how He longs to change their life as well. We can potentially save them years of disappointment, loneliness and depression just by showing an interest in their well-being today. 

 

Jesus went out of His way to have dinner with the Publicans, tax collectors and sinners. He even called little Zacchaeus out of the tree and went home with him, to the shock of the self-righteous people of His day. Jesus did not discriminate, and neither should we (Luke 19:10).

 

We can be a light to show others out of their darkness, a level path to lead them away from the wide road that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13), and a warm heart to give them hope in a hopeless situation. Broken lives are mended by God’s Agape love that abides within us through His Holy Spirit.

 

Prayer:

Father God, Your grace and mercy sought us out of Satan’s clutches and saved us from the brink of hell. Even while we were still sinners, You loved us (Romans 5:8); and You formulated a plan for our life before we were even born (Ephesians 2:10). We praise You with every breath that we take, and we cherish Your eternal presence within us.

 

Share Your heart with us as we consider the unsaved multitude living all around us. Give us Your grace to love the unlovable, to have patience with the irritating, and to lay our life down for the downtrodden. Share with us Your perspective and wisdom so that we know how to reach the lost for Your Kingdom, just as You reached out to save us. 

 

Thought for the Day:
All of heaven rejoices when one person repents of their sins and chooses to believe in our Lord Jesus as their own Savior and Lord; we can rejoice too, as we commit to love others with unconditional Agape love, regardless of their words and actions; God gives us mercy and grace – unearned love and favor – and we can love others this same way.

 

Our Changed Life

 

Most religions stress the importance of striving to reach a level of detachment to this world, and a focus on reaching eternity through their good works. Christianity is the only religion that espouses that our God became a man, suffered through the same things that we do in this life, was crucified and buried in a tomb, and then rose again three days later.

 

Once the soldiers pounded the last nail into Jesus’ body, most of His disciples ran back to their former life. They lived in fear of arrest, and they felt disillusioned and discouraged. It was only as they gathered in the upper room, and the Holy Spirit filled each one of them, that they had the power and courage to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to their world and beyond.

 

They even had the gumption to defy the gag-order placed on the mention of Jesus’ name by the authorities of their day. Many of them actually saw the risen Christ as He walked the earth for 40 more days after His resurrection (Matthew 27:53). This personal, post-crucifixion encounter changed their life and worldview forever.

 

Their passion and conversion spread the life-giving message, of Jesus’ triumph over sin and death as well as the reality of eternity, all over the known world of their time. Some of them experienced torture, death and exile; yet never lost their faith in the unseen promises of God (2 Corinthians 1:20).  Christianity grew exponentially, and it has continued to do so ever since.

 

Jesus Christ was not just some great teacher, wise man, or religious leader of His day. He is the Word of God, He is God, and He was with God from before the foundation of the world (John 1:14). Jesus Himself claimed that those who saw Him, also saw the Father (John 14:9), because He and the Father are one God (John 10:30-33).

 

The man, Jesus, lives today, seated in the Heavenly Kingdom; yet the God, Jesus, also abides within every Born Again Believer by the Spirit of God (Galatians 2:20; Romans 8:9-11). We know He dwells in us, because we are transformed from this earthly existence by His presence within us, led by His Spirit, and serve Him through the perfect plans He has for us before we were even born (Jeremiah 1:5; Ephesians 2:10).

 

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for hearing our pleas for help during our lifetime, and for working out everything for our eventual good (Romans 8:28). Your spiritual wisdom and power sustain us through every crisis that we ever face. Your love energizes us and gives us comfort and reassurance to continue to place one foot in front of the other, even when there is no apparent light to show us the way.

 

Allow our faith in Your faithfulness to bear fruit in our life, and to make us a witness and an example for those seeking to know You more intimately today than the day before (John 10:10, 10:28, 17:8). You give us eternal life while we remain in this sin-cursed world, and You sustain us through every negative circumstance that we ever experience during our lifetime (John 3:36, 5:24, 6:47). We love You with our whole heart and we look forward to serving You all the days of our life both now and throughout eternity.

 

Thought for the Day:

As we live our life according to the direction of God’s Holy Spirit, we shall never die, because our last breath on this earth is followed immediately by our next breath in Heaven; this journey starts in the moment of our salvation through our unwavering belief in Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf, and we walk on this path forever.

- John 8:51, 11:26

 

Overcoming Opposition

 

Opposition is part of life. People will disagree with us, walk a different path than we do, and may even end up rejecting us. Life throws difficulty at us even in the simplest of tasks. Every day seems to be an uphill battle. Division is a matter of course, and the gap between the sides seems to be widening more each day.

 

This causes some to withdraw from society even to the point of reclusion at times, to quit organizations that we once found comfort in, to stop gathering with our friends, and to lose our interest in what is going on around us. Reclusion is preferable over conflict.

 

If we maintain a human focus, we get discouraged, depressed and dejected; however, if we take God’s view on the events of the moment, we take heart, rely on His faithfulness, and trust Him with the outcome. We do our best, and then find patience, peace and joy by walking in God’s ways and by the direction of His Spirit (Numbers 13:30, 14:8-9).

 

A yield sign is not a stop sign, it is simply a reminder to pause and to wait on God, to look both ways to see what opposition and danger may be looming on the horizon, and to proceed with caution. We follow the leading of God’s Spirit rather than our human intuition, our gut feeling, or what our heart is telling us to do (Jeremiah 17:9).

 

God promises us a harvest, if we do not succumb to weariness and give up, stop trying, or crawl within a shell and hide from life’s hostility (Galatians 6:9). He helps us to be strong and courageous rather than fearful and panicky. He does not want us to faint or to give up, because He walks with us and in us every step of the way (Hebrews 13:5; 2 Joshua 1:9).

 

We are strong in the strength of His might, directed by His wisdom, and fortified by His power within us (Ephesians 6:10; Isaiah 41:10; Philippians 4:13). God supports us in every endeavor, if we remain faithful to His will in the face of the stiffest opposition (James 1:12). 

 

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for giving us the desire and power to do everything that You call us to do in Your way and timing (John 14:27; Philippians 2:12-13). We have no need to fear opposition when we are filled with Your peace about every situation (John 16:33). Our Biblical models were people of faith, and they drew their strength from You. Teach us to follow their example.

 (Hebrews 11; Daniel 10:19). 

 

When we submit to Your directions, and trust You with our whole heart, then we find streams of refreshing in the midst of every obstacle. We prosper through our obedience to Your purpose for our life (Psalm 1:1-6). Help us to draw from the strength of Christ within us (2 Timothy 2:1). Remind us to have patience to wait on You with contentment in our heart (Philippians 4:11). Thank you that we are assured than no opposition can separate us from Your love and care for us (Romans 8:35).

 

Thought for the Day:

We continue the work of the Lord with the dawn of each new day, because He is with us and in us; we are more than conquerors when we focus on His perfect plans for us, are led by His Spirit each moment of the day, and walk in obedience to His guidance even when we do not understand His reasons or we feel afraid.  

- Haggai 2:4; Romans 8:37; Psalm 119:15

 

 

 

 

Walking with the Lord

 

 

Paul mentions, “To live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). Not many people can say that and truly mean it, because to live is not Christ for them, and to die is scary and considered as a “loss”. Life to them is more about our possessions, goals, bank account, social activities, hobbies, family activities, etc. 

 

Our busyness with these pursuits often distracts us from God’s goal for our life (Ephesians 2:10). We are slaves to these pursuits and spend our time wrapped up in our responsibilities and addictions to them. We rarely consider reducing our load to have more time and energy to pursue a deeper walk with God instead.

 

Abram was a very busy man. He had many possessions to care for, and responsibilities to his wife and children. Yet, when God called him to pack up and move to an undisclosed and unknown location, Abraham did not hesitate (Genesis 12-13). 

 

Abraham trusted in God that much, and he put feet to his faith. He walked by faith rather than by sight, and he received the title of “Friend of God” (James 2:20-26). God had a plan for Abraham, and his obedience in this instance prepared him to walk in those divine arrangements.

 

God turns His faithful and obedient children into masterpieces of His creation. His Spirit perfects us through the process of sanctification, and the truths of God’s Word successfully guide us along life’s path. God’s Spirit replaces the weak points of our personality with His fruit (Galatians 5:15-25).

 

Our negative thoughts, emotions, worries, attitudes, behavior, self-centeredness, pride, rebellion, independence, self-esteem, etc. are all replaced by love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, meekness, self-control and faith (Galatians 5:22-23). He gives us the mind and divine nature of Christ who abides within us.

 

His Spirit directs our paths (Psalm 139:23-24), coordinates our steps, and fills our entire being with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:16-19). As we trust in Him, our spirit matures, and our unity with the Trinity increases as our humanity decreases (John 3:30). The Lord always gives us hope for the future, and joy that defies description (1 Peter 1:7-9).

 

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for drawing us to Your heart, forgiving our transgressions, making us a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), and teaching us to walk in Your Spirit (Galatians 5:15-25). When we are tempted to follow a path that is not in Your plans for us, we trust in You to redirect our steps until we are yoked with Jesus. This makes our burdens easier and lighter to carry (Matthew 11:28-30). 

 

We stop pursuing our own agenda and walk in Your ways instead. You never leave or forsake us, and we can trust that You are always abiding within us and keeping us with You (Hebrews 13:5; 1 John 4:13). We want to continue to walk on Your straight and narrow path for us, because on it we avoid the devastation and hardships inherent on the wide path to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14).

 

Thought for the Day:

God always makes a way for us, just like He did for the Israelites when they came to the banks of the swollen Jordan River; how surprised they were, when the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant took their first step into the rushing current, and God stopped the flow of the river and made a path of dry ground for them to walk across. 

- Joshua 3:15-17

 

A Good Marriage – Growing Together

 

 

The couple who laughs together, stays together. Sharing humor is a key aspect of unity for couples. We can even laugh at our self rather than being overly sensitive and clamming up or starting an argument. People who share their life with someone they really care about will cherish each other and show compassion to one another.

 

Wanting things done our way, rather than finding a third alternative that we both feel peaceful about, is detrimental. Going the extra mile for each other makes us feel loved. Even the smallest, thoughtful courtesy makes our mate feel happy, cared about and secure. 

 

Sharing interests, showing appreciation to one another, and reveling in our relationship helps us to value our union. Finding hobbies that we both will enjoy gives us time shared and fun things to do that bring us together. We support each other, encourage our successes, and grieve together in our losses.

 

We revel in the joy of our partner’s achievements and build a life together where we both obey God’s Spirit. Affection between spouses is one of the most fulfilling emotions available to us in life. Loving our family is more important than getting that promotion, finding vocational success, pursuing our hobbies, or hanging out with friends. 

 

Drawing near to God and resisting Satan’s lies together is the best strategy for a fulfilling marriage. Finding and maintaining love takes effort and dedication. Therefore, taking the time to share attention, affection, and physical touch keeps our relationship fresh, strong and exciting. Keeping our love alive is a daily choice. 

 

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for helping us to maintain a unity filled with trust, time, attention, joy, honest communication, focused listening, patience, compassion, generosity, and consideration. Help us to change our habits that irritate our spouse and to make dating a priority so that we can experience a deeper more satisfying relationship.

 

Help us to stay faithful to our marriage vows and commitment to each other. We want to encourage each other, not discourage each other; but at times we do not feel well or have some rough spots in our life, so help us to forgive each other quickly. Help us also to put each other’s well-being above our own, but without neglecting our own needs. Thank you for creating marriage for our blessing.

 

Thought for the Day:

True love involves valuing and accepting each other with joy, respect, compassion, interest, forgiveness and patience; honestly wanting our spouse to be part of our life until our dying day will always increase our feelings of security, happiness, fulfillment and enjoyment of our mate. 

 

Healing Our Soul

 

 

There are basic human needs that are almost impossible to provide on this earth. No other human is perfect enough to fulfill our deep, insatiable need for love, security, compassion and understanding. Few people are willing to work with us toward the healing of our soul – our thoughts, feelings and choices.

 

God loves us enough to take on a perfect human form as our Emmanuel. He is able to make all grace abound to us, so that we have His capability to perform everything that He calls us to do, and to thrive in every good work (Philippians 2:12-13; 2 Corinthians 9:8). We grow to know and love the person of Christ in us (Colossians 1:27).

 

Our faith in His faithfulness increases with each blessing that He provides for us throughout every day of our life. We relinquish our selfish ambitions and embrace the truth of His selfless sacrifice as a new way of life for us. We come to actually, intimately know God without any doubts (John 17:3).

 

We forsake our hypocrisy, selfish desires, apathetic attempts to reach spiritual maturity, and Biblical ignorance. We begin spending our time building God’s Kingdom, rather than our own. We learn to carry out God’s divine plan for our life instead of pursuing our own goals and agenda.

 

The time for the earth to embrace the knowledge of God, and when the kingdoms of this world could have become the Kingdoms of our God has long passed. The nations will experience a second chance during the Millennium, but that is in the very distant future (Habakkuk 2:14).

 

More and more people in this world are taught that the Lion of Judah has no power, and they must brave the world through their own efforts. Jesus experienced the same cynicism and ridicule in His lifetime that He receives now when we attempt to share our faith in Him with fellow sojourners on this earth (1 Peter 2:11; Luke 18:8).

 

The Church experiences similar insignificant strides in our attempt to share Christ with those around us that Jesus did during His lifetime. It is not our responsibility to convince them, but to willing share God’s love with them. Until then, we cling to our Lord, our King, our Christ, as the lover of our soul (Isaiah 38:17).

 

Prayer:

Father God, living by faith in You is our only true choice for our existence on this earth. Most people reject this truth as false, however; and they feel more comfortable making their own way in our world. They see no need to know You in an intimate fellowship that is available to every authentic, Born Again Believer.

 

Your life flowing through our spirit and soul changes the direction of our life, and the success that we experience during each moment of our lifetime (Proverbs 3:5-6). Your presence in us changes us from the inside out. Your Spirit sanctifies us from one stage of glory to the next. Thank You that all of our condemnation for our behavior fell on Jesus’ shoulders when He took it for us to Calvary’s cross. 

 

Thought for the Day:

Many people in our current society view God as a malevolent force that is out to see us burn in the destruction of hell; however, God actually created Paradise for us, and He gave Adam and Eve His presence all around them in an intimate union and fellowship (John 3:16-18); humbling our self and totally trusting in Him is the only way that we can deeply experience this same true love on this side of Heaven.

 

God’s Gracious Grace

 

 

God calls us to approach His throne of grace to receive His help at any time, any place, and for any purpose. As we pray without ceasing and commune with our Daddy God throughout the day about our joys and sorrows, as well as our needs, He always hears us (John 14:13).

 

We do not reserve our prayers only for desperate times and measures. We pray continually in our heart to the Lord (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). He may not grant the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4) in the way or the timing that we want Him to or expect Him to, but He always proves that He loves us.

 

Our prayers do not need “thee and thou” to be effective. They are not required to be loud or soft – just heart-felt words in a conversational tone. He will often answer our prayers before we finish expressing our need to Him (Isaiah 65:24). 

 

At other times, He will not provide our needs, because we failed to ask Him for them (James 4:2-3). We will find that He has a higher purpose for us and that His foremost desire is a deeper union with us than we can ever imagine (1 John 3:21-23). 

 

As we seek God’s forgiveness for our sins and unbelief (John 3:18), prove our love to God by keeping His commandments (John 14:15), totally surrender our expectations to Him, and live a life pleasing to Him to the best of our abilities, He counts us as part of His adopted family and a devoted follower (Proverbs 21:12). 

 

We get God’s attention when we stop walking by sight, and instead, start walking by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7-9). We can never imagine what He has in store for those who put their whole faith in His faithfulness, as we also trust in His timing and His purposes, rather than in our own plans and goals (Proverbs 3:5-6).

 

Prayer:

Father God, teach us to rely on Your perfect timing and way while we allow patience to perfect us as we wait on You (James 1:4-8). Your Word gives us examples of people who lost patience in waiting on You, and they devised their own plans to fulfill their needs. Some of them reaped consequences that are still affecting us to this day and time. Thank You for showering us with Your gracious grace.

 

Remind us to listen as well as to ask during our times of prayer, so that we can receive Your instruction, hope, and peace throughout the day. We know that we matter to You, that we are enough - although we do not deserve Your love, and that we can never earn Your favor by performing works of our own contriving (Ephesians 2:8-9). We love You with a deep and abiding love that comes from walking in Your ways and growing in our unity with You (Psalm 128:1-2).

 

Thought for the Day:

Listening to God as we pray is much more effective than filling His ears with our requests and then running off to check off more items on our to-do list; sitting still in a listening mode is very hard for those of us in the age of instant foods and microwaves, but this practice pays big dividends in our intimacy with God.

 

Our Innate Needs

 

 

Human Beings have an innate need to be heard, taken seriously, understood, recognized, protected, and secure. We appreciate having dialogue and not simply a monologue to listen to during a conversation. We enjoy having respect as an individual with value of our own. We want to help to make all decisions with results and consequences that affect our life. 

 

Our personal relationship with God is guaranteed to fulfill all of these desires; however, our interaction with other people does not always provide fulfillment of these needs. God alone delivers us from the portals of death, keeps each of our tears in a bottle, records the reason for them in His book, and protects us from stumbling in our walk with Him (Psalm 116:8).

 

God is the same – yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). He shows no partiality among His Saints. He loves us unconditionally and eternally. He is always near to us – even within our spirit, and He always knows our desires even before we do (Psalm 37:4). He eagerly waits for us to trust Him and to make our requests known to Him, so that He can provide for our needs (Romans 8:19).

 

Through every milestone in life, we never need to doubt if God cares for us. His Word promises that He does (1 Peter 5:7). The issue here is not His lack of immediate responses, but our faith in His faithfulness, our acceptance with joy for His will for every instance we experience, and our patience to wait on His timing and plans.

 

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for Your gracious, compassionate, and holy response to all of our needs. You protect us when we worry, and You save us when we are drowning in our various circumstances (Psalm 116:5-7). Quiet our doubts and fears that are fed by satanic lies, teach us how to trust in You alone when we have questions that do not seem to have any answers (Psalm 116:16).

 

Thank You for your continual vigil over our well-being (Psalm 121:1-4). Your presence abiding in us showers us with Your love, peace and joy regardless of our circumstances. Help us to take Your yoke on our shoulders, so we can yoke up with You as You help us to carry our burdens (Matthew 11:29). Our confidence in Your goodness and compassion grows with each passing trial. Teach us to seek first Your presence and Kingdom, knowing that You will always provide for us everything that we need (Matthew 6:33).

 

Thought for the Day:

We love the Lord, because He always hears our voice when we cry out to Him with pleas for His intervention; He bends down His ear to hear us, and we can call on Him for as long as we live.

- Psalm 116:1-2

 

 

 

Peace in a Scary World

 

 

When my daughter could not fall asleep during the "monsters under the bed" years, I painted a picture of a fawn in a field of flowers, and I put the following verse on the bottom of the page, because it always gave me peace in this scary world of ours:

“Whenever I am afraid, I will put my trust in you, God” (Psalm 56:3). 

 

A few months later, my children were playing Hide-n-Seek in the country with friends. One little boy was sitting in a field crying, and my daughter ran to see if she could help him. He was afraid of the dark, so she shared this verse with him, and they prayed together for him to have peace. 

 

Then they both ran off to play some more. That night, the child's older brother was having a nightmare. The mother told me that when she ran into her son’s room, the little brother was kneeling by the older boy and sharing this verse with him. We can all share with others the verses in God’s Word that change our life. 

 

There are so many verses, that it is good to keep a list of our “life-saver” verses to share at a moment’s notice. We never know when one of them will save a life, encourage a Believer, give needed inspiration, change a worldview or the course of someone’s direction, etc.

 

God’s Word inspires all of us to grow in our faith, to mature in our spiritual progress, to submit to God’s plans for our life, and to make Jesus the center of our life (Colossians 3:3-4). By its own admission, the Word is alive, powerful and able to help us to discern between our flesh and our spirit (Hebrews 4:12).

 

God cares about every aspect of our life (1 Peter 5:7). He covers us with His sheltering wings and allows us to get up close and personal to Him all day and night long (Psalm 91). We can trust in His trustworthiness, call on Him to help us through trials big and small, and share His attributes with anyone willing to listen.

 

Prayer:

Father God, we seek You early, late and continually all day long (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Our soul – our thoughts, emotions and choices – thirst for Your living water. Our body longs for You, as if we are in the middle of a parched, desert land (Psalm 42:1-2, 63:1-11; Isaiah 55:1-6). We draw near to You, and we cleanse our hands and purify our heart, so that we do not walk as a double-minded soul between the counterfeit world of the flesh and the reality of Your Spirit (James 4:8).

 

Thank You that You chose Jesus to give us Your Spirit and glory, so that we can be one with You and Your Body, just as You and He are one (John 17:22-23). You often answer our call to You before we are even done praying about it (Isaiah 65:24; Jeremiah 33:3). Thank You for always hearing us, even in the little things like a jar lid that will not open, or big things like removing the pain associated with the illnesses, accidents and surgeries, which we experience. 

 

Thought for the Day:

God always has our best interest in mind, and He works all things out for our ultimate good as He draws us to Himself through His everlasting love and kindness; therefore, whatever we do, even what we eat and drink, we do it all for His glory, and we put our trust in Him during the good times and the scary times, as we focus our faith on His promises and faithfulness.

- Jeremiah 29:11; Romans 8:28; Jeremiah 31:3; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Psalm 56:3-4 

 

 

 

Encouragement Heals

 

Human beings are quick to criticize our self and one another. We are often more critical of our own thoughts, words and behavior than anyone else’s. We come up with unique and hurtful derogatory terms for our self and others. Yet, we are slow to compliment successes, ideas and quality character traits.

 

Then we have other opposite personality types who are braggarts – often triggered by low self-esteem. They promote themselves and their accomplishments as loud as they dare with an audience of any number of people. Some cannot own up to their faults, for fear of falling headlong into the darkest abyss, which is always waiting to swallow them up.

 

A balance comes when we allow our self to bask in the joy of a job well done, and to share it with our closest family or friend, but not to bombastically broadcast it to the general public. The radiance of appreciating our self stays with us for a lifetime.

 

The fact is that another person’s opinion of us – good or bad – does not matter in the larger scheme of life. Many famous people hear accolades all of their life, but still live and die lonely and insecure, because they never appreciated or encourage their self. 

 

Encouraging our self for our accomplishments, diligence to our responsibilities, a job well-done, a positive attitude in the midst of negative circumstances, righteous living, walking away from a confrontation, etc. is the opposite of indulging our self and self-centeredness.

 

Encouragement means taking care of our self where it really matters. The Bible exhorts us to love others as we love our self. If we do not nurture and care for our self, we have no energy to encourage, serve, and love others. Love includes affirming the sanctifying work of God’s Spirit in our soul. 

 

Love also includes “letting go” of the negative lies that we tell our self, that came from the devil’s discouragement, or that originated from the words of our significant others; it also depends on us making peace with these negative thoughts that once dictated our feelings, and healing from them.

 

Prayer:

Father God, show us that Your Word us full of positive affirmation about how You see us. We can believe Your Word, because it is truth. Of course, You are quick to tell us the accuracy about our self, including that we are sinners and that nothing good resides with us (Romans 7:18-20); but this is simply to help us to realize that we can only go so far on our own. 

 

We need You in our life, and through You we can accomplish everything that You call us to perform. You call us to be childlike in our faith in You, in our obedience to You, in our dependence on You, and in our consulting You each moment of our day. You continually reassure us of Your constant vigilance in our life to provide for, to protect, and to prohibit negative issues from overwhelming us (Psalm 91). 

 

Thought for the Day:

There is a child within each one of us, and we can be encouraging, loving and kind to that childlike part of our self as we throw our self on the mercies of God for Him to care for and nurture us with His compassion, truth, and cherishing love.

 

Personality Traits of Worshippers

 

Earth’s nature proclaims the Gospel each and every day (Romans 1:20). I do pray that those naturalists among us, who adore nature, will be drawn by its beauty into the waiting arms of the Trinity of God. Born Again Believers often break into spontaneous praise when we see the beauty of God’s artwork in nature (Psalm 19:1).

 

The magnificence in this world also inspires praise in us for our Father God. The beautifully crafted architecture of a building, the lilting tones of worship music, a heart-stopping painting, a delicious plate of a mouth-watering meal all trigger our praises to our encouraging Creator who inspires humankind.

 

The liturgy of many of our houses of worship appeal to many traditional worshippers. They love the weekly rituals and time-worn habits of their denomination. Many of them assign icons with spiritual meanings, which inspires their adoration of our God. Their routine contributes to feelings of comfort and closeness to our Father.

 

Some Believers are doers. They thrive when they have an assignment for the Lord to occupy their time. They tend to work for God, and often forget to consult Him rather than making their own plans. Many are mission-minded and plan ministries that reach out into our community, into surrounding major cities and into world evangelism.

 

Another personality type may relate to God mind-to-mind. They rely on their intellect to discern truth, rather than on their spirit. They want proof of God’s existence, as well as the veracity of His Word. Of course, one reason that we know the Bible is true is because its prophecies occur literally - exactly as predicted. 

 

Over 300 prophecies are about Jesus’ birth and life and crucifixion, and many more are about His Bride, the nation of Israel, world events and rulers, the seven-year Great Tribulation, and Jesus’ return to the earth.

 

Enthusiasts of the Gospel are vigilant to attend Christian concerts, huge rallies, national calls to prayer, and community times of worship. They are not discouraged by the unanswerable questions raised by God’s mysteries that require faith rather than sight.

 

They only long to see a major move of God in their times of worship, and they are fearless in praying for healing for the sick, and even to raising the dead. They want to experience major miracles this side of heaven – ones like Jesus used to perform during His time on earth.

 

Nurturing Believers are happiest when they provide care for family, neighbors, associates, workmates, hospitals, nursing homes, volunteer charities, social work, etc. Some are working their way to heaven, but others are sincere Believers who want to spread the Gospel and increase the Kingdom of God (Matthew 25:40).

 

Then, we have puritans who are extremely dedicated to spiritual aspects. They devote every facet of their life to worshipping our God. Many of them are loners and appreciate peace and order. Christ becomes their reason for living. They feel like aliens in this world, and they prefer to fellowship with others who share in their dedicated focus.

 

Prayer:

Father God, we are often a blend of these personality types, and our worship and relationship with You is influenced by our DNA and our upbringing. We simply need to guard against seeking Your blessings, provision, intellectual truth, the beauty of creation, and the exploits of mankind instead of a deepening union with You (Hebrews 7:24-25).

 

Many of Your Saints have already made Christ their whole life (Colossians 3:3-4). They consult and then wait on You, abide in Your rest, and pray without ceasing – consulting You for each moment of our day. We adore You with every fiber of our being, we spend time listening as well as communicating with You. We feel safe in Your presence within us, regardless of our circumstances (John 15:15; Colossians 1:27).

 

Thought for the Day:

Our greatest need as human beings is to unite with our Heavenly Father and our King Jesus through the Holy Spirit, and we can do this through obedience to His Word, worship of His magnificence, community outreach, and journaling as a prayer between us and the Lord to discover our true feelings, thoughts and needs that are unhindered by our critical and censoring parental-ego state. 

 

Overcoming Fear

 

 

Fear is commonplace in our emotions in these days of civil unrest, riots, fires, natural disasters, an election year, and Covid-19 with social distancing and wearing masks and economic instability. We fear the unknown future, losing our job, physical harm, and the results of all of these changes in our “normal” way of life.

 

The only way to overcome these fears is to draw near to God, resist Satan’s attempts to steal, kill and destroy us or our way of life (John 10:10; James 4:7), and to enter God’s rest as we wait on Him during each moment of our day (Hebrews 4:9-16). His faithfulness knows no bounds. 

 

When we are lonely, we do not need to add things to our schedule to stay busy. We find it more effective to turn our focus to Christ in us and to enjoy His presence in us that is sweeter than any relationship we can have outside of His companionship.

 

Trials are opportunities for God to show Himself strong for us. There is no need to preoccupy our focus with concern about our future. God cared for us through every single trial we ever walked through – even if the outcome did not go the way we wanted it to play out (Psalm 23:1; Galatians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 2:4).

 

If need be, God will send the birds to feed us, or He will cause our pantry and freezer to remain full, or to never run empty (1 Kings 17:4-6; 8-16). However, if we experience a major illness, or our life on this globe ends, we will still be in the loving arms of our amazing God of grace for eternity (Romans 8:35-39; 2 Corinthians 12:8-10). 

 

God is even there in us when lies from satanic forces attempt to convince us that we are broken, insufficient, all alone, rejected and disapproved of by our significant others (John 14:23; Romans 15:7; Ephesians 1:60). We never need to fear any evil that comes upon us, because God is walking through it with us (Psalm 23:4).

 

Prayer:

Father God, the all-sufficiency of Your Trinity within us destroys our self-centered fears that our success in life depends on us. You are divine love, which we see manifested in the life of Christ for 33 years, culminating with His crucifixion and death to pay the penalty of our sins for us. If we keep our focus on You, and not on our circumstances, Your perfect love for us defeats our fears (1 John 4:8, 16, 18; Isaiah 26:3). 

 

Remind us that we are not a part of this world (Galatians 2:20; John 17:16-26; 1 John 2:15-17). We are simply sojourners and foreigners, living in these bodily “tents” for a season of our existence (2 Corinthians 5:1). Our real life begins with our immortal body and our service to You for eternity (1 Corinthians 15:53-55). This realization gives us peace, fulfillment and security as it helps us to remain faithful to You and Your Word throughout our lifetime on this earth.

 

Thought for the Day:

God will never leave or forsake us; even if our behavior grieves Him, He will simply discipline us back to the straight and narrow road; we can walk in His peace and joy regardless of our circumstances, because no trial is too debilitating for His presence within us to diminish; therefore, we walk in Your truth and overcome fear in every trial.

- Hebrews 13:5; Matthew 28:20 

 

Getting Ahead

 

What does it take to get ahead in this world? A promotion, making partner, earning raises, moving across town or the world, going to work early and staying late, taking advantage of volunteer programs, getting a bachelor or a masters or a doctorate degree, etc.

 

Yet, what do these extra efforts earn for us? More hours at work and less time with family, added stress in our life, neglecting or getting irritated with our loved ones, compromising our ideals, doing something illegal once in a while, less time for ministries and Bibles studies at our local church, lying to customers or clients, etc. 

 

We grow more unhappy with each passing day and tire of the “rat race.” We feel like hamsters running endlessly on a revolving wheel. We make new plans and dream bigger dreams, but never find the fulfillment that calms our soul and fills our heart with joy. Only following God’s purpose for our life can do that (Proverbs 19:21).

 

As we walk in the Spirit, God works out every aspect of our life for our ultimate good, and we walk in His calling that He planned for us before we were even born (Proverbs 3:5-6; Romans 8:28). We truly get ahead and find fundamental gratification by following His purpose for us (Ephesians 2:10).

 

There are so many testimonies of people who actually lived out God’s plan for them, and their efforts are still bearing fruit in our world years and years later – even after their death. Some of these people we may never hear about, but they are inducted into God’s eternal Hall of Fame (Hebrews 11).

 

We do our best in everything that God calls us to do; whether it is to teach a class, preach a sermon, cook a meal, wash dishes, help a neighbor in need, plant a garden to share our bounty with others, volunteer in a soup kitchen, carry out our work priorities, etc.

 

God plans every moment of our day, and as we follow the leading of His Spirit through each one of them, we find more peace, joy and fulfillment than anything that this world has to offer to us. Our intimacy with God grows, and we experience the bounty of His love for us.

 

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for giving us Your Word with detailed instructions on how to succeed in surviving on this earth. We want to make a difference in people’s lives for Your Kingdom. Help us to fully understand the purpose that You have for our individual life and how to influence people for Your Kingdom. Give us divine appointments to help others who are on the treadmill of life to come to the saving knowledge of Your plan for their life.

 

You put us in the right place at the right time to step up and share Your love with other people, to meet their physical needs as Your Spirit directs us in each circumstance, and then to share the Gospel with them to meet their spiritual needs as well. When they see the level of our care for them, they will be more open to receive Your care for them as well. We love You with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength.

 

Thought for the Day:

The word “joy” has been used by many as an acrostic to remind us to spend our life serving:

J-esus

O-thers

Y-ourself

We do not neglect our self, but we place our love for Jesus and the needs of others before our own.