God is Able

 

God is able to do immeasurably more for us than we can ever imagine (Philippians 4:19). However, He resists the proud and unrighteous and only responds to the humble and upright in heart (Ephesians 3:20; James 4:6).

His power works in authentic Believers and calls us to a deeper relationship with Him. He desires that we dedicate our entire heart, soul, mind and strength to His service (Mark 12:30).

Daily, we come to know Him more intimately through prayer, including times of listening; Bible reading and meditation; fellowshipping and worshipping with other Believers; and walking by His Spirit moment by moment throughout the day.

Limiting God to our human understanding is foolish and prevents us from fully trusting Him with our life. There is nothing He requires of us that is impossible, as long as we trust in and rely on His power within us (Matthew 19:26).

We also allow Satan's lies, perpetuated by devilish people in this world, to prevent us from enjoying God's bountiful fellowship with us day by day (Matthew 5:19).

His desire is to conform us into the likeness of His Son Jesus and to work out everything in this life for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28-29). Our humble submission to His will guarantees His blessings in our life.

Prayer:

Father God, we look forward to You accomplishing Your will on this earth and in our life, just as it is already produced in heaven (Matthew 6:10). We do not want to convince You to do our will through our prayers and petitions; but to pray according to Your Spirit that Your will shall be done.

We trust in Your perfect plan for our life and we submit to the direction of Your Spirit each moment of the day (Proverbs 3:5-8). We present our self to You as an empty vessel for You to fill with the mind of Christ, the fruit of Your Spirit and Your divine nature (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Thought for the Day:

We humble our self under the mighty hand of God and surrender our body, soul and spirit for Him to use for His glory; as we acknowledge that He can do infinitely more in and through us than we ever could on our own. - 1 Peter 5:6-7

Marital Wisdom

The Bible is a complete marriage manual, which God provided for us to use. It covers every little detail and even suggests consequences for a man who fails to follow its precepts (1 Peter 3:7). A man needs to listen to his wife and take her seriously (Colossians 3:19). If she mentions his inconsiderate habits, he can change them (Proverbs 28:13).

As the stronger vessel, he can carry heavy items or open the door for her, especially if she has both hands full (1 Peter 3:7).  He assists in the care of their children by helping with homework, enforcing table manners and supervising bath and bedtime (Galatians 6:2). He helps with the laundry, dishes and vacuuming, especially if she also works a full-time job (Ephesians 5:28). Above all, he speak kindly to her (Colossians 3:19).

Resentment will foster irritation, anger and impatience in your tone of voice and body language; so keep a short account of wrongs (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). Sometimes you may not even know what is causing these negative emotions, so take time to pray about it. Do not withhold physical attention from one another, except for a consensual time of prayer and fasting (1 Corinthians 7:3-5; 1 Thessalonians 4:4).

Not many men will neglect their own body, and God commands men to care for their wife’s needs with as much consideration as they have for their own needs (Ephesians 5:28). A godly husband honors his wife and appreciates all that she does for him and his family. He ministers to his wife’s body, spirit and soul – her mind, will and emotions, in the same way that Christ cherishes His Bride, the church (Ephesians 5:22-23).

Leave love notes, phone messages, emails, texts and little gifts to remind your wife that you cherish her. Spend time together having fun. Schedule a date night into your weekly calendar and guard it fiercely. Make one another your main priority. Ask what you can do to help each other every day. Pray together and submit to one another as joint heirs to the grace of life (Ephesians 5:21).

Prayer:

Father God, teach each husband to shepherd his wife and children as the loving caretaker of their body, soul and spirit, considering his family’s needs above his own, laying down his life for his loved ones as Christ did for His Bride (1 Timothy 5:8; Ephesians 5:25).

Remind all wives to give their full attention to their husband and to listen to him daily and show joy over his victories and concern about his setbacks. Teach her to show respect and appreciation for him for all that he does for their family and home (Ephesians 5:33). Help each couple to work together to raise their children in Your nurture and counsel.

Thought for the Day:

Take time in your marriage to nourish and cherish one another. - Ephesians 5:29

The Gift

Read: Hebrews 4:9-12

“Let us strip off anything that slows us down or holds us back, and especially those sins that wrap themselves so tightly around our feet and trip us up; and let us run with patience the particular race that God has set before us. Keep your eyes on Jesus, our leader and instructor. “Hebrews 12:1-2

The gift of God is free and readily available to everyone; yet, many resist God’s special offer. Some doubt God’s existence. Others refuse to give control of their life to someone else. A few feel that they do not deserve God’s unconditional love. Several want to hang on to their sinful pleasures a little while longer.

We do not have to be good enough to deserve His love. God’s love is a free gift. His only requirement is that we receive it. We do not need to spend time or energy on trying to overcome the flesh nor on trying to earn God’s love. The only striving that we are commanded to do in the Bible is to enter his narrow gate through the means of Salvation, and then to enter into His rest (Hebrews 4:9-12).

Jesus completed the work of our perfection on the cross. In Hebrews 12:2 Paul suggests that we focus on Jesus and follow His example. Jesus kept His focus on eternal matters, and the earthly matters fell in line. As we simplify our lives at the same time that we abide in His presence, we become fully and calmly aware of God’s presence within us. Rather than working for God, we allow Him to work in and through us.

Jesus Christ came and lived a sinless life as our example. He daily aligned His actions with His Father’s. He died for our forgiveness and gave us eternal life in exchange. I encourage you to examine what is keeping you from accepting His gift. Please, do not let another day go by without receiving it.

Prayer:

Lord, make me a vessel of Your love and fill me until I overflow on all of those around me. Help me to be an example of Your love and grace to others in my life. Let them see Your light in me and glorify You for what you do in my life.

Thought for the Day:
If we humbly recognize our need and receive His gift of salvation in the quiet of our heart, we are guaranteed a place in His Kingdom now and forever.



(Thank you Katharine Henderson Evans for use of your photo.)

Spiritual Toothbrushes

Read: Psalm 112:4-8

“But, O my soul, don't be discouraged. Don't be upset. Expect God to act! For I know that I shall again have plenty of reason to praise him for all that he will do. He is my help! He is my God!” - Ps 42:11 (TLB)

Sometimes, I just cannot help but to grumble about the circumstances in my life. I get hurt or frustrated by them, and I want to take out my giant eraser and expunge them from existence. Oh, if it were only that simple!

At times, when trials and stress overwhelm me, I forget that I am more than a conqueror. I overlook the fact that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. My soul is grieved: my thoughts grow discouraged and my emotions are upset. I do not have the faith to expect God to act on my behalf.

In the midst of one of my gigantic pity parties, I begged God to bring about a change in my particular state of affairs. He made it clear that He could not do that, because He allowed this trial for my particular benefit. God illuminated to me the fact that He actually uses these irritations, wounds and trials in our lives as spiritual toothbrushes, removing the worldly plaque, which would otherwise cause spiritual decay to erode His protective covering over our spiritual life.

God then drew my attention to the Psalms. So many of them chronicle David’s dilemmas, which built Godly character in him. In fact, God used the situations in David’s life so often that David eventually developed into a man after God’s own heart. Paul also learned, through the events in his life, that nothing, not even death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing could ever separate him or us from God’s love (Romans 8:38).

I concluded from this study, that our lifeline throughout our negative circumstances is to remember our enemies will never triumph over us (Psalm 54:7). Jesus told us, He is the vine and we are the branches. He encourages us to abide in Him and He promises He will always abide in us (John 15:4). He reminds us that we are not sufficient by ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God (2 Corinthians 9:8). As we listen to His Spirit moment by moment throughout the day, we have His assurance that all of our circumstances will most definitely work together for our good (Romans 8:28). 

Prayer:

Lord, help me to trust You in my circumstances and to be a vessel of honor for Your use. You are able to do immeasurably more than all I could ever ask or imagine, according to Your power that is at work within me and all around me. Thank You for making all of Your grace abound to me. Help me to follow the leading of Your Spirit in all that I do and say.

Thought for the Day:

“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" Mark 9:24