Thankfulness…something you might not see a whole lot of…either from yourself, from others around you. In this hurried and self-absorbed world we have to consciously make a habit of being thankful…to our Creator and others. Try an experiment this week…practice thankfulness in every realm of your life and see if it doesn’t change your outlook on everything.
Having a child-like faith
Years ago the Doctor found a tennis-ball size mass in my lower abdomen during a routine physical. He wanted to do an ultrasound immediately, but I wanted to get prayed over first, so I scheduled it for the next week. The High school group at our church prayed for people every Sunday night, and I wanted those young kids and their unshakable faith to pray over me. That Sunday night I explained what the Doctor had found…and they were like, “No problem, our God is able!” Long story, short…the Ultrasound Tech could find nothing, and later that day the Doctor called me, scratching his head as to how that mass had disappeared…I knew!
Psalm 142:7 ” Set me free from my prison, that I may praise Your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of Your goodness to me.”
John 8:36 quotes Jesus saying, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” We have been set free from the chains of sin that once bound us. We have been brought out of our dark, dank cell into the brilliant sunlight of freedom…and in that wonderful brightness we will rejoice and praise Him forever.
II Corinthians 1:21-22 ” Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”
You are marked and set apart by God. His signet ring seal is on you…forever chosen as a place for the Holy Spirit to reside…the Holy Spirit being His down payment for your eternal joy to come.
Deuteronomy 1:21 ” See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the Lord, the God of your fathers, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
We pray and beech the Lord for something, but when it finally happens, we’re fearful and won’t move when the Lord says, “Go!” Suddenly, we’re second guessing God, and getting cold feet, when we should be shouting a victory cry and taking possession of our inheritance.
James 1:13 ” When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone…”
When we are enticed by evil, it’s always focused at our weaknesses…those things that have entangled us in the past. Our own foolishness will certainly our ruin… thinking we can’t be seduced by something that controlled us in the past. But nor can we blame God for our predicament…He is not only incapable of being tempted Himself, but He will never test us with evil.
Psalm 32:7 ” You are my hiding place; You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.”
There will be times in all our lives when we need answers…When the world’s response won’t suffice…when our soul longs for the truth. That’s when it’s time to go to that hiding place, that secret place of just you and the Lord. In that quiet place, you will find the truth for those hard questions you are asking…and in the end you will find liberation and release.
Revelation 1:8 ” I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come, the Almighty.”
It’s so very difficult to try to put our heads around the eternity and infinity of God…and this passage only highlights our very limited comprehension of Him. God is the first, the beginning, before time…He was. But He is also the last, the end…into time everlasting He will be.
Proverbs 3: 11-12 ” My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline and do not resent His rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, as a father the son he delights in.”
Correction…from our real fathers or our Heavenly Father can be hard, but necessary for our growth. Just as our earthly father shapes our character, our Heavenly Father shapes our spiritual character. Both have our best interest at heart and want only the greatest for us.
II Timothy 2:19 ” …Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”
Unfortunately, we can’t have it both ways…we can’t say “Yes” to the Lord and then disregard His Laws. If we want His power and authority in our life, we must turn our backs on our old ways and the sinful nature we once had.
Safetypinlove 