Faith filled perspective

Having faith in God, sure gives us a proper perspective. Do you remember the story of David and Goliath? David had faith in God, and that translated into a perspective that caused him to know this about Goliath, this guy is so big I can't miss. David's confidence was in God for God had helped him slay a bear and a lion as he was shepherding his father's sheep, so he knew that God would help him slay Goliath. The outcome was that Goliath was killed by David. How is our perspective when we are facing our Goliath? Do we have faith filled experiences which allow us to know that when God is for us, who could be against us. God will take care of us that is for sure. Can we all say Amen?

Never give up!

Winston Churchill once gave the following nine word commencement address.
"Never give up."
"Never give up."
"Never give up."

In Revelation 21:6-7 we read, "And he said unto me, It is done. I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God and he shall be my son." Let's all be humble, patient, submissive, loving, and thankful children of God that never give up following the Lord.

Man's true needs

A man's true needs, amount to very little. If one have God, food, clothing, and shelter, he has all he needs.

Oh to be His hand extended

A song writer wrote the following chorus.

Oh to be his hand extended, reaching out to the oppressed.
Let me touch Him, Let me touch Jesus.
So that others may know, and be blessed.

I hope and pray that we are all touching Jesus thus making us capable of touching others for Him.

A Castaway

In his letter to the Church at Corinth, the Apostle Paul wrote in chapter 9:24 - 27, "Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one the beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." It is important for us to be doers of the word not just hears which will lead us into self deception. We are in a race (battle) for the Lord so let's act accordingly. In I Corinthians 10:12 we read, "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." I've seen many self deceived castaways in my years as a born again believer. Let's be careful lest we too become a castaway.

What is my life story?

We need to take a look at ourselves and discover why we are the way we are. What has happened in my life that has shaped who I am, why I act or react the way I do, why I believe the things I believe and live out in my life? People are reading our life story everyday. What are they reading? It could be a real testimony of God's grace or we could be grouchy or complaining and cause others to be confused and question our witness of being a child of God.

In Psalm 27:4 David said, "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple." Do we desire similar things? Let me ask, what is our life story?

Lord, who?

Psalms 15:1 says, "Lord who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? Do you know what his answer is? Verse 2 - 5 gives us this answer, "He the walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor. In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoreth them that fear the Lord. He that swearth to his own hurt, and changeth not. He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. he that doeth these things shall never be moved." When the question, Lord who shall abide in thy tabernacle and dwell in thy holy hill comes up, all that know Christ should be able to say"I will."

Discouragement

How to keep discouragement out of our lives:

1. Remember what God has done for us - Psalm 126:3 says "The Lord hath done great things for us: therefore we are glad." Let's count our blessings as we remember that life isn't over just yet.

2. Recognize what God is doing - Matthew 21:42 says, "Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes." Jesus is alive and moving in our lives. Do we recognize his hand, provision, and voice in our lives?

3. Rejoice about what God will do - Joel 2:21 says, "Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things." God is the giver of all good gifts, rejoice for He just keeps on giving and giving.

the father of lies

In John 8 verse 31 Jesus spoke to those Jews which believed on him and his words reproved them and hurt their pride. They began to accuse Jesus and said "we weren't born of fornication, we have one Father even God." Jesus then told them in verse 44, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." We need to remember that the devil is the father of lies and the accuser of the brethren. He is quite busy in this very hour lying and accusing to cause division in the body of Christ. So many don't recognize his voice because they are immersed in today's culture and are used to hearing lies and accusations about others. We are to speak the truth in love and are not to speak lies. How will we identify those who are of the devil? They will be incapable of speaking the truth because they are listening to their father, "the devil, the father of lies".

Sharing with others

I do not ask for mighty words to leave the crowd impressed.
But grant my life may ring so true my neighbors shall be blessed.
I do not ask for influence to sway the multitude;
Give me a "word in season" for the soul in solitude.

Unknown


Lord help us to do unto others as we would have them to do unto us. Lead us to the right ones to share with and may your blessings be upon us as we do.

Mercy

In Ephesians 2:4,5 it says, "But God who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, by grace ye are saved." Praise God for His mercy toward us all. God is so merciful that He would that all were saved. Are we as merciful? Do we want all to be saved or just our family and the ones we like? In Matthew 5 Jesus was speaking and said in verse 7, "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy." I personally want more mercy flowing through me to others. Humans everywhere need mercy, love, and forgiveness. Just as a garden hose is used to water lawns and gardens, so should we water those around us. If we connect the hose to the faucet and turn on the water we are putting water where it will bring life. If we are connected to the Lord, He will turn us on to water the world with mercy, love, and forgiveness.

Rest

Once my hands were always trying,
Trying hard to do my best;
Now my heart is sweetly trusting,
And my soul is all at rest.
A. B. Simpson

Psalm 37:7-a says, "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him:" It is important for us to learn to enter into the rest that the Lord has for us. Somewhere in the midst of our life, God has a place of rest for all of us. It is difficult at first to see the benefit of resting in Him while we can see so much that needs to be done. As we rest in Him and wait upon Him He will give us the green light when we are to move ahead. Living life one day at a time is really God's approach. This is the day that the Lord has made, we should rejoice and be glad in it. Lord, please help us all to enter into that sweet rest that you have for us.

God is at work!

I may not understand, Lord, but one day I shall see
Thy loving hand was taking pains to fashion me like thee.
Unknown

It is good for us to remember that God is definitely at work in our lives to make us into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. So we should be extra careful when things aren't going the way we would prefer, not to be resisting the Lord's will for our lives.

Three points of immaturity

In Hebrews 5:11 and following we find three points that indicate immaturity:

1. Dull in your spiritual hearing and sluggish, even slothful in achieving spiritual insight as found
in the Amp Ver. James 1:19 says, "Understand this my beloved brethren. Let every man be
quick to hear, a ready listener...." It is quite a shame to not be able to hear what the Lord
is saying. Are we seeking to hear what God is saying day by day?

2. The inability to share the word. Hebrews 5:12 speaks of those who should be teaching others
still need to be taught themselves. Hearing the word and doing it, insures growth in our
lives.

3. Poor diet. Hebrews 5:12 in KJV says in the latter part of the verse, "and are become such as
have need of milk, and not strong meat." Verse 13 & 14 continues by saying "For every one
that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat
belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses
exercised to discern both good and evil." We need to put the milk glass down and eat the
meat of God's word. Growing up, or maturing if you will, is sure hard on us all, but vitally
important.

A different world

The world we live in would sure be a much better place to live if folks just did it God's way. If we all aligned our lives with the precepts of God's word, life here would be like heaven. In James 1:19 it says, "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath." Imagine every man quick to hear. Most aren't even listening any longer than it takes them to think of something to say themselves. The Bible instructs us to hear the whole matter before we speak. How can we give a valid input without all of the facts before us? Let's be slow to speak, then we might have something of value to add. Finally, we need to be slow to wrath or to get angry. In this hour the world with all of it's confusion is putting tremendous pressure on all of us. People are living with short- fused tempers. Some have run others off of the road or taken a gun and shot at them because of what is called road rage. We Christians should be an example of Christlike living so that the world can plainly see the righteous way to live life. It would create a different world if all of us were doers of God's word.

What is important to you?

In the Amplified Bible in James 1:9-11 says, "Let the brother in humble circumstances glory in his elevation (as a Christian, called to the true riches and to be an heir of God); And the rich (person ought to glory) in being humbled (by being shown his human frailty), because like the flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun comes up with a scorching heat and parches the grass; its flower falls off and its beauty fades away. Even so will the rich man wither and die in the midst of his pursuits." The footnotes on these verses in the Life Application Study Bible by Tyndale says, "The poor should be glad that riches mean nothing to God; otherwise these people would be considered unworthy. The rich should be glad that wealth means nothing to God, because wealth is easily lost. We find true wealth by developing our spiritual, not our financial assets. God is interested in what is lasting (our souls), not in what is temporary ( our money and possessions)." In Matthew 16:26 Jesus says, "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

Warm reassuring hugs

Lynn Floyd told the following story, One summer night during a severe thunderstorm a mother was tucking her small son into bed. She was about to turn the light off when he asked in a trembling voice, 'Mommy, will you stay with me all night?' Smiling, the mother gave him a warm reassuring hug and said tenderly, "I can't dear. I have to sleep in Daddy's room." A long silence followed. At last it was broken by a shaky voice saying, "The big sissy!" This is a really cute story and we all relate to receiving a warm reassuring hug that didn't seem to be quite enough. Scripture tells us in Psalm 61: 1-3, "Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. 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. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy." God has been a shelter for us and will be as we cry out to Him for help. Do you need something beyond a hug? If so, I send this short devotional. God loves you!