In this verse the Lord is saying that He will give us a heart that is united with His, and place within us the Holy Spirit, who will work on our behalf. The Lord will transplant our unrepentant, unyielding, hard as flint heart, and instead replace it with one that is undivided for Him. And the result will be us changed…a likeness of Jesus, His words not written on tablets of stone, but on tablets of our hearts.
Category: Daily Inspirational Devotional
Psalm 84:10-11 ” Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.”
We make decisions everyday…some are quick and rash, others come after careful and well thought out deliberation. Some of these decisions have eternal consequences attached to them. The Writer of this Psalm has prudently considered his life, and has chosen what he feels is the morally right thing to do. He would rather have the lowly position of Doorman at the Temple than be around the godless.He would rather spend what little time he had with the Lord, than anywhere else. We make decisions everyday…make ones that have lasting effects.
I Thessalonians 5: 16-18 ” Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
I read the first part of this verse, and I’m ready to throw in the towel…I fail miserably in all areas, everyday. Too often, I allow discouragement and trouble to cause me to become exasperated and defeated Spiritually. My rejoicing turns to whining, my gratefulness turns to grousing. But the key to this verse lies at the end…for this is God’s divine purpose for us, His good pleasure for our lives as we depend on Him, not ourselves to accomplish it. Through Him I can achieve all this and be victorious…and so can you!
Luke 8: 5-8 ” A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”
The farmers are in the fields around us planting grain in hopes of a great harvest this Fall. God’s Word is dispersed just like the farmers planting. His Word may go out, but be treated with no regard and ground under foot by this uncaring World…it may be heard by someone, but because they don’t understand it, Satan will snatch it away, whispering in their ear that they “don’t need that religious garbage.” His Word may be received with great joy by someone, only to lose it quickly and fall away when trouble comes into their life, because they were not rooted in Faith. Finally, His Word may be heard and received, but because of all the pressures and enticements of the World, they will never grow Spiritually, or be fruitful. But there are times when God’s Word will go forth and take root in someone’s life ,where it will grow, and reproduce, and that person will become more and more like Jesus everyday.
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.”
In other manuscripts this well-known verse is translated…”And we know that all things work together for good, (or bring about what is good) to those who love God.” The Lord can bring about something useful, profitable, and beneficial from the most dire and serious situation…when our simple human minds can only see the bad, He is still working for the good. Joseph’s brothers sold him off to a passing caravan, and though their intentions were evil, the Lord was still in control of the final outcome. In Genesis 50:20, by then in charge of the whole land of Egypt, Joseph told his brothers…” You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” No matter what it looks like right now…the final result is solely the Lord’s.
Isaiah 44:20 ” He feeds on ashes, a deluded heart misleads him; he cannot save himself, or say, ‘Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?’ “
Earlier in this chapter, Isaiah has been talking about a man cutting down a tree, and using half to build a fire to cook and warm himself…the other portion, carving it into an idol and bowing down to worship. The heart can be deceived, and it can lead us far from, and contrary to God’s Laws. This Spirit of delusion will blind us from the truth, and cause confusion and false belief in our minds. There comes a time, when we can hear and see the truth, but fail to even recognize it. So deluded from what is right and good and Godly, we flounder in lies and deception, unable to even save ourselves. But there is someone much greater, who can open our eyes and ears to the truth, and dispel the deception …”Return to Me,” says the Lord, “for I have redeemed you.”
Proverbs 16:28 ” A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends.”
How many friendships have been blown apart by groundless rumor and hearsay? When whispering behind one’s back suddenly takes an ugly turn, gossip usually is to blame. Gossiping…quite a pastime for many, elevated to an art form for some. But where does all this backbiting get us? Elsewhere in Proverbs it says, “He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.” In other words…If you forgive an insult rather than keep dredging it up to everyone who will listen, it will not cause friends to quarrel, take offense, and lose that close relationship they once had. Gossip…just say NO.
Isaiah 25:4 ” You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.”
Today we have winds howling outside at 60 miles per hour, but what really makes a difference out here in the wide-open country is the L-shaped wind break of 18 huge pine trees we have around our property. These huge trees shelter the house from the brunt of the storms, and hold back a massive amount of snow in the Winter. Without their protection, our house would be barraged by all the elements. The Lord wants us to take shelter in Him when the storms of life hit…He wants to be our hiding place and refuge from the tempest. As Psalm 118:8 says, ” It is better to take refuge in the Lord than trust in men.” If the winds of the world are howling around you today, find your place of protection in the Lord.
Genesis 9:13 ” I have set My rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the Covenant between Me and the earth.”
After the Great Flood, God spoke to Noah, telling him that never again would a flood destroy the earth…and the sign of this Covenant would be a rainbow in the sky. But this Covenant wasn’t just between Noah and the Lord, this Covenant agreement is between God and all Mankind. Every time you see the wonderful glowing colors of a magnificent rainbow as it arches across the sky, know that God is saying to you…”My Covenant is with you My child, never again will the earth be ravaged by a deluge, never again will I devastate it with a great overflowing of water.”
II Timothy 1:7 ” For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline.”
Fear need not motivate our thoughts and actions…it need not grip us in paralyzing terror. Fear is not of the Lord…quite the opposite, Satan uses fear very effectively to stop us from moving forward with what the Lord would want us to be doing. Instead, the verse says that God has given us the ability to discern with a logical, sound mind what is true. As Romans 8:15 says, ” For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave to fear, but you received the Spirit of Son-ship.” You have been adopted into the family of God, and are joint-heirs with Jesus…and this family of yours doesn’t know the meaning of fear!
Safetypinlove 