09
Jan '20
God First
09
Jan '20
For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. (Luke 12:30-32)
God understands what we need because He created us.
However, first and foremost He made us to pursue Him.
Often we pursue him with scattered free time instead of something consecrated or planned.
We give God the scraps of our time and then wonder why we don’t feel close to him or hear him the way other people do.
He says put me first and I will put the things that are important to you first!
God is right here. God is right now.
I purpose myself today to be focused on God first and the details of my day second.
When I read this devotion it caused me to stop and question my focus each day. So often we can get so distracted by life that we forget to acknowledge The One who gave us life. I pray you are encouraged to do as today’s devotion says, purpose yourself to be focused on God first and the details of your day second. Though we deserve nothing He chose to give us everything and when we prioritize Him first in our lives I can’t help but think He will be as Zechariah 2:5 says, For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her. I don’t want to experience a single day without making time for The One who is a wall of fire round about me. He is faithful, choose to put Him first.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
07
Jan '20
Disappointments & Delays
07
Jan '20
And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. (Luke 1:41)
John the Baptist recognized Jesus while they were both in the womb.
As an adult, John the Baptist declared Jesus as Messiah and then baptized him in the Jordan River. (Matthew 3:14)
Clearly, John knew Jesus in ways no one else has.
And yet, how could John’s faith become so shaken that he later questioned whether Jesus was really the Messiah? (Matthew 11:3)
The three elements that weakened John’s faith were fear, disappointment and isolation.
When John became stranded in prison:
- he was disappointed
- he was afraid
- he was isolated
He became vulnerable to the enemy and began to doubt who God really is.
When we become disappointed or afraid in our situations, don’t we also find ourselves doubting God’s nature as our loving Heavenly Father?
Do we begin to doubt His ability and desire to heal our brokenness, mend our relationships, give us peace in the midst of troubling circumstances?
But, our feelings are not the facts. The facts are:
- God loves you
- God desires the best for you
- God will never leave you nor forsake you
I will be vigilant today against isolation. God has not given me a spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7)
I choose to place my disappointments & delays at the foot of the cross, and put my trust in Him as Savior and King of my Life.
As I read this devotion I felt it was worth sharing. As today’s devotion says, choose to place your disappointments and delays at the foot of the cross and remember, delays are not defeats.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
02
Jan '20
Forgive
02
Jan '20
Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven. (Luke 6:37)
We find scriptures on the topic of forgiveness throughout the bible.
God’s commands around forgiveness are pretty clear and straightforward, and yet why do so many of us struggle with it?
Often, we are urged to forgive without allowing the healthy processing of feelings.
We may fear that forgiving someone means we accept their behavior as okay or that we are somehow saying their wrongdoing doesn’t matter anymore.
The reality is forgiveness liberates me from bitterness and hard-heartedness, even if the other person never changes.
“We win by tenderness. We conquer by forgiveness.” Frederick W. Robertson
I may have to say to the Lord I am willing to be willing, but I choose to make the step of faith toward forgiveness.
This small step of faith is all you are asking from me, and I give it freely.
Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. (Luke 6:36)
If you struggle with forgiveness today I pray after reading this devotion you are encouraged to do the right thing and forgive.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
31
Dec '19
Judge Not
31
Dec '19
Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven. (Luke 6:37)
When we sit in judgment of another person it is typically our religious pride saying, “I’m not like you!” or “I’m better than you!”
When we condemn another person, we often feel that they deserve some sort of negative consequence or punishment or even that they don’t deserve something they have already received.
Withholding love & support are subtle ways we act as judge.
Withholding love & support are subtle ways we act as judge.
Rallying others to feel negatively about those we are in conflict with is also a subtle way we judge.
However, God clearly outlines in scripture we are not to judge.
We are not to condemn.
We cannot be judge over anyone’s life, but our own.
When we take our eyes off someone else, focus on changing ourselves, and give God control, we allow the supernatural to work.
God it is hard to lay down judgement, hurt and anger when I feel someone has been out of order. Let me remember you are my vindicator and help me to trust you with the outcomes. Amen.
I felt this was a fitting devotion to be shared for New Years Eve. I pray we remember this going into a new year and we choose to stop focusing on others and more on changing ourselves and giving God control. Remember to put God first today.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
26
Dec '19
Praise Him
26
Dec '19
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. (Psalm 100:4)
The courts of every palace were set apart for the privileged inner circle, only.
The courts were called the holy of holies when they were in the wilderness.
The courts of God are a place of intimacy; a place where we don’t worship what he has done for us but, we worship WHO HE IS!
In giving Thanksgiving, I remember to praise God for answered prayers about my children, my job, my home, relationships, health, or business worries.
But… in praising God, I simply praise him for being God.
I praise Him for being my everlasting Father, my faithful King, my merciful Shepherd.
I praise him for His faithfulness, His loyalty, His Love, and His stability.
Praising God is a very different thing than expressing Thanksgiving,
Both are important.
Thanksgiving is the ramp into the heavenly places, but praise lands us into His presence.
TODAY: I will purpose myself to give praise simply for who He is.
In the intimacy of my praise I experience His presence.
His presence will be my place of rest and peace regardless of my circumstances.
This devotion blessed me. I pray it blesses you and encourages you to praise Him today and to rest in Him with such peace regardless of what your going through.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
24
Dec '19
His Love
24
Dec '19
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)
How do we become persuaded or convinced that nothing can separate us from the love of God?
First, we must know Him over a lifetime of pursuit, study and prayer.
We won’t mature in our faith, or know anyone deeply and intimately unless we spend time with them.
If our focus is church fellowship, but we neglect to get alone with God, we will not be persuaded.
If our focus is serving others, but we neglect to get alone with God, we will not be persuaded.
If we do not spend time alone with God we will never have more than superficial knowledge of who He is.
The second way to truly be persuaded and convinced of His love is to stop measuring the love of God through our circumstances.
God‘s presence is for all the seasons and cannot be taken from us.
We live in a fallen world. We will experience heartache and brokenness.
But, God’s love is there to redeem us, to give us victory over our circumstances, and bring hope to the desolate places in our life.
TODAY: Let me not be tossed around by the highs and lows of my relationships or circumstances.
Let me seek Him through alone time with my Heavenly Father that I may truly experience the depth of His love.
That we henceforth be no more like children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, or by the sleight of [crafty] men. (Ephesians 4:14)
I pray you are just as blessed by this devotion as I was. I hope you take away two very import truths from today’s devotion, stop measuring the love of God through your circumstances and let us not be tossed around by the highs and lows of our relationships or circumstances. God’s love cant be explained, only experienced.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
19
Dec '19
Enter His Gates
19
Dec '19
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. (Psalm 100:4)
“Enter His gates”
In ancient Israel, the City gates were symbolic of entering or leaving a new region.
When we come into a gate through prayers of Thanksgiving we are approaching God, and entering where he lives.
Thanksgiving prayers are about what God has done for us.
Don’t we often pray for specific things, but forget to connect our outcomes to those prayers?
Because God’s timing is rarely ours, the answered prayer from our Heavenly Father may be days, months, or even years after our initial prayer request.
It’s so important to give thanksgiving to God!
It is the intentional awareness between my prayers and His actions.
When we journal about answered prayers, speak them to others, or spend quiet time offering our thanksgiving to God, we affirm that we are loved, safe, seen and heard as a child of God.
I will speak words of thanksgiving as a conscious act of appreciation for what He does, and what He is at work doing now.. I will search each day to discover and declare His faithfulness to my prayers. Amen.
I love this devotion. I pray you are encouraged to speak words of thanksgiving and hope today. Romans 12:12, Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer.
I pray you have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord! 🙏🏻
17
Dec '19
Trust Him for The Promise
17
Dec '19
And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh. (Matthew 2:12)
The three Kings (three wise men) were fearless. They stepped out in faith, and with the promise of the prophecy they followed the star and…they encountered heaven.
“They fell down and worshipped him.”
These distinguished, wealthy, and educated men fell down at the feet of a young child and worshipped him.
Their expectations were exceeded beyond anything they could have dreamed of.
The sacrifices of comfort, the lengthy separation from home, running from King Herod…in an instant it was all worth it.
They were able to worship the Savior of the world.
Courage in our journey and pursuit of God can be a hard thing.
But, if we truly long for an encounter with Jesus, He will always exceed our expectations.
If we take the leap of faith and with trust and abandonment say – “your will not mine”, we can experience a glimpse of heaven.
This devotion blessed me. What truth! He will always exceed our expectations no matter what the outcome looks like, amen. I am reminded of Isaiah 55:8-9, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Trust Him for the promise.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Matthew 1:21
13
Dec '19
Where to Run If You’re Overwhelmed
13
Dec '19
From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. (Psalm 61:2)
You skip breakfast. You’re late for work. You forgot to pack little Joey’s lunch. Your laundry basket is a Mt. Everest of dirty clothes. Your loved one is in the hospital. You can’t seem to get to the store to buy groceries. You still haven’t returned that growing list of phone calls and text messages.
Your mother needs you, your friend needs you, your spouse needs you, your kids need you, your boss needs you … you need to be cloned or counseled or consoled or caught up in the air to meet the Lord!
“Rapture me Lord!”
You feel stressed. Guilty. Inadequate. Overwhelmed!
Overwhelmed. We feel it for all sorts of reasons, and I don’t know about you, but when I feel overwhelmed I want to run away! I want to run from what feels too big and unfixable! I want to run to my closet with some Dove dark chocolate and hide!
Thankfully, God wants us to run when we’re feeling overwhelmed. But instead of running away from what overwhelms us (and turning to dark chocolate), He wants us to run to Him. To run to His Word which settles us and shelters us.
Sometimes we can’t change all the stuff in our lives that feels bigger than we can handle. But, whatever feels bigger than you is still puny compared to the Rock that is higher than you!
When I feel flat-out overwhelmed and under-qualified and out-of-sorts, I’m learning not to run away from my stress. I am also learning not to run to a bag of chocolate!
Instead, I’m learning to run to God — to His Word — in the overwhelming middle of my stress!
When I run to God’s Word, even just one verse, I find that God is my “refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1, NIV). When I run to Him, I find that my refuge isn’t an escape from my stress. God is my refuge. I’m reminded once again that my strength doesn’t come from me and my stamina or drive. My strength comes from the Lord.
He is the rock that is higher than I am. When I run to His Word, I discover that His law is “my delight” and it protects me and keeps me from totally freaking out or giving up or falling apart. (Psalm 119:92) He really is the Rock that is stronger and higher than anything you and I face.
If you feel the need to run away, lace up your cutest running shoes, and go for it! Run into the strong arms of Jesus. He is Your strength. He is your Rock. He is your refuge.
And, when you find yourself sheltered in the truth of His Word and in the sanctuary of His presence, all the stress that overwhelmed you and felt bigger than you suddenly shrinks down to the pebble size it really is!
God’s Word gives you the perspective you need. God’s presence gives you the peace you need, so run away sister … run to the Rock who’s waiting to shelter and settle you.
Lord, when my heart is overwhelmed, overwhelm me with Your peace. Lead me to You, my rock. Guide me to Your Word which gives me strength and refuge. Help me not to run to lesser things. Draw me to run to You first. Help me get into the habit of taking my “overwhelmed” and placing it under your will. Thank You, Lord. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
When I read this devotion it hit so close to home for me in more ways than one. It brought tears to my eyes. For those who read and follow the churches devotions you know I haven’t been as consistent over the past couple of weeks and for that I am sorry. I have felt “overwhelmed” for a while now and I’ve had to take a step back and reevaluate my why in so many areas of my life. So often I fear we can get in a spiritual rut to the point when we stop and ask ourselves why, we can’t answer it with complete honesty and the enemies whispers of lies are becoming louder and louder in your mind. Weather it be from fear of what others might think or struggling to see beyond what is and what you feel always will be. Your why shouldn’t be, just because. You should have passion and love for whatever it is your doing but so often we can be like a hamster on a wheel, just constantly running on the wheel not stopping to look around and ask ourselves, ask God, why am I doing this, is it because you have called me to do this. If you are feeling stressed, guilty, inadequate, overwhelmed, I am here to encourage you today. Take this scripture and place it on your bathroom mirror as a daily reminder that He is your rock, He is much higher than you, than anything you are facing, allow Him to be your everything. Allow Him to show you your why. When my heart is overwhelmed lead me to the rock that is higher than I, (Psalm 61:2). I pray you are just as blessed by this devotion today as I was and that it speaks to you in some way, in some area of your life.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Matthew 2:6
10
Dec '19
A Moment of Truth
10
Dec '19
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)
I read one of my morning devotionals today and had one of those ‘ah-ha’ moments that always make me wonder what other, simple, truths I’ve missed in my life. You see, I love my children. I mean the deep, feel-their-pain, kind of love. I feel so much pride when they do well that I often cry because of my love for them.
Oh, not the boastful kind of pride but, rather, the kind that springs from the heart when they ‘get it right’ in their life-decisions. I feel disappointment, but never stop loving them, when they don’t get it right.
I realized that my Heavenly Father loves me the same way…only on a much grander scale!
Friend, we are His children and He loves us, in spite of all our ugliness and sin, in such a way that you and I cannot and will not ever comprehend. He will always love us unconditionally. He will never lock the door behind us when we’re willful and turn away from His path. He will never hit the ‘ignore’ button and not take our calls. He will never write us out of His will.
You will always be welcomed back to His open arms (though the punishment may sting a bit). You will always be heard when you fall to your knees and call out to Him in prayer. And you will always have the promised inheritance of eternal life, mercy, grace and forgiveness that has been yours since you accepted the truth of Jesus’ death on the cross. Nothing will ever take His love from you. You are a child of the most-high, God, and He will never stop loving you unconditionally…nothing you do can change that!
Enjoy your day, my friend, with that truth tucked away in your heart!
What a beautiful reminder of just how much God loves you and I. No matter what your facing today, know that no matter what, you are loved by God.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Deuteronomy 18:15