It goes on to tell us in Psalm 36:5-6, “Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, Your justice like the great deep.” I have the opportunity today to be “out in the middle of no where” in North Dakota. Sitting here looking at the massive expanse of horizon, it seems like you can see forever. But this vastness around me can in no way compare to the width and breadth of our Heavenly Father’s love for us. For His mercy for us is indefinite, brought into existence before the very beginning of time by the God of eternity…a ever-lasting and forever God.
Month: June 2018
Ephesians 6:14 ” Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist…”
It tells us here to stand fast against the enemy, but unless you’ve prepared for battle ahead of time, the enemy will have you for lunch. The belt of truth is that solid foundation of doctrinal knowledge of God’s Word…It’s His unshakable, unchangeable, everlasting truth that we need to gird our heart, soul, and mind with. Our belt of truth also holds all our weapons in place around our waist… weapons that are always at the ready. Finally, this belt of truth girds us with the power and authority of Jesus Christ to stand firm against anything the enemy throws at us.
Romans 12:18 ” If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
We can’t force others into peaceful co-existence with us…we can only control how we react and behave around angry people. You know the ones…people with huge chips on their shoulders…always thinking the world is out to get them. It takes a conscious decision of the will on our part not to take the bait when attacked. It takes lots of deep breaths and determination not to lower ourselves down to that level…and sometimes, it takes just walking away for a few minutes to regain our composure and pray. “Lord, help me look past the angry hostility and see rather the hurt, the fear, the frustration. Allow me Lord to see this person through Your eyes and how I may show Your love to them.” Amen
Psalm 56:8 ” Record my lament; list my tears on Your scroll – are they not on Your record? “
The Lord hears and puts down in writing all my mourning and outcries. He keeps a record of every tear I have shed and places them in His wine-skin…or some translations say places them in a bottle. We may think that our grief and weeping goes unnoticed…but it’s never beyond the compassionate eye of God.
Romans 8:28 ” And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
God called us for His own reasons by the wooing of the Holy Spirit, through the Gospel. The plan and purpose for your life was ingeniously created before the beginning of time. You might think God’s plan and purpose for you is only some lofty ideal…more concept than practicality. But God uses everything for our good. He uses the consequences that happen when we sin to disciple and shape us into a better person. He uses the drudgery of dull mundane tasks, the interactions with strangers, and the simple acts of kindness we do to conform us closer to His image. There is not one thing you’ll do today that hasn’t already passed through God’s hands first and will be used for your good.
Job 17:11 “My days have passed, my plans are shattered, and so are the desires of my heart.”
Time waits for no one. With each passing day, we are a little older and unfortunately, the hopes and dreams we have a little less likely to happen. When we’re young, we look at time and the future as something with limitless possibilities…but when we’re older, or disease overtakes our body…time suddenly becomes very precious. Each one of us has been allotted a certain amount of time here on the earth…time we can choose to use productively or rashly. So how are you managing your time today? Are you using it to forward God’s Kingdom…or are you aimlessly pilfering it away? Time is getting short…make the very most of it today.
Romans 2: 28-29 ” A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.”
Circumcision of the heart is what the Lord is calling all of us to. Deuteronomy 30:6 states, ” The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants so that you may love Him with all your heart and with all your soul and live.” This circumcision of the heart is literally a removing of the flesh…our fleshly self, our carnal nature, to show loyalty and obedience towards our Lord. This inward work of the Holy Spirit is then outwardly manifested…apparent and plain to all, as the love of God shines forth in our life.
Psalm 23:4 ” Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”
What has a greater hold on your life and takes up a bigger space in your heart, fear or faith? When you find yourself in a deep, dark place, do you seek solace and consolation in the Lord…or do you allow fear and doubt to reign instead? By placing our trust in God and facing down our fears, He will lead us safety through the valley, no matter how dark or threatening it may appear. Our Christian walk is a long series of trust-building exercises that strengthen our faith, and reinforce our confidence in God. So that when we find ourselves in that valley and hear God say, “Fear not!” … we’ll remember what He’s done, and place our trust in Him because of it . Our faith is built up one dilemma at a time…one dark valley at a time. And each time we choose faith over fear…fear loses some of its grip on us.
Exodus 20:7 ” You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name.”
OMG – a common abbreviation used in texting and other internet communication. Do you use it? If so, this Scripture is directed at you today. Can you see that you’re perverting the name of your God by taking His name lightly…that you’re taking what’s holy – defiling and placing it in crude and tasteless places…places that His name should never be seen in. I can hear you say, “But it’s just an abbreviation for being surprised and I don’t mean anything wrong by it!” Any form of taking the Lord’s name in vain…in a superficial or dishonoring way is wrong, regardless if you think it’s harmless.
Safetypinlove 