I Chronicles 29:11 ” Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is Yours.”

Lord, You are the King of glory.  We thank and praise You,  for You have founded this world and all that is in it. (Psalm 89:11)  Your strength and might…Your glorious beauty is everlasting and forever.  You are great, and greatly to be praised on heaven and earth…Your splendor and greatness is beyond comprehension.

Matthew 10:29 ” Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.”

The next time you feel worthless, or insignificant…look outside at the little birds in the tree.  Our Heavenly Father knows the moment any tumble from the sky, but you also need to know that you are so much more valuable than any little bird in His eyes. ( Matthew 10:31)  To God,  you are esteemed, treasured, and cherished.  So today, if your self-worth is in the toilet…go outside and look at the birds.

Proverbs 13:10 ” Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.”

Arrogance and conceit can only bring out the worst in people.  A prideful spirit will tell you that you’re better  than everyone else and can do as you wish, but this only leads to problems when you come across someone with that same attitude!  This Proverb advises instead that we take our practical spirituality and accept counsel from others.

II Corinthians 4: 1-2 ” Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God.”

In a Believer’s life I think there isn’t anything potentially more volatile than  secret sins.   Hidden sins will lead us to compromise and dilute the truth in our own mind…rationalizing things until we can live with ourselves.   They cause us to hide things out of shameful awareness and dispair…which spirals us down the slippery slope into depression.  Secret sins need to be dealt with…not left to simmer and develop into more.  Besides, you’re only fooling yourself if you think that hidden sins are really  hidden.

Jeremiah 23: 23-24 ” ‘ Am I only a God nearby?’ declares the Lord, ‘and not a God far away? Can anyone hide in secret places so that I can not see him?’ declares the Lord. ‘Do not I fill heaven and earth?’ declares the Lord.”

God is omnipresent…present everywhere at the same time, which is extremely difficult for the human brain to wrap itself around.  We would like to put God in a nice simple box, but He can’t be contained…His power and majesty unable to be held within the boundaries.  So attempting to escape the Lord is futile…there is simply  no hiding place that the Lord can’t find you.  You may run, but you can’t hide.  The Lord will pursue you to the ends of the earth until you finally turn to Him…so why not do it today?  Really, aren’t you tired of running?

Numbers 13: 27-28 ” They gave Moses this account: ‘We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large.’ “

In Exodus 3:8, the Lord had promised Moses a land flowing with milk and honey, and the 12 spies hadn’t denied this was what they observed.  But of the 12 spies, only Caleb and Joshua brought back a good report…the rest only saw the negatives and potential threats.  How many times have you allowed the word “but” to totally stop the will of God in your life?  How many times have you heard the voice of the Lord,  but the “giants in the land” scared you into doing nothing?  It’s time to move beyond fear, and what we perceive as unsurmountable odds…it’s time to claim our nation  again for God.

James 3:6 ” The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and itself set on fire by hell.”

How many times have you regretted  a hurtful, unkind remark made in the heat of an argument?  And  thought to yourself, “I wish I could take back what I just said.”   The tongue has a way of causing trouble for all of us.  A flippant, or off-hand remark can cause irreparable damage to a relationship…and something we thought was said in confidence, will sometimes come back to haunt us.  The whole course of our lives can be ruled and controlled by our tongues…but for God.

Ezekiel 37:3 ” He said to me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ “

The Lord had brought Ezekiel to a valley full of dry bones and asked him this question.  The only appropriate answer Ezekiel could give is, “O Lord God, You know.”  Rather running ahead of God “doing something”, Ezekiel was waiting on the Lord’s direction and working within His Will.  Many times it’s so much easier to “do something” rather than to just trust in the Lord and wait on His timetable.  What we see as good works and “helping” God is more panic than inspiration.

Exodus 2:11 ” …when Moses was grown…he went out to his own people and looked at their hard labor.”

Moses saw the oppression of his fellow Hebrews, and in that righteous indignation attempted to right the wrong…under his own power, in all the wrong ways.  What followed was discouragement and 40 years in the desert with God teaching Moses how to go about setting His people free –  the Lord’s way.   Like Moses, we may have a vision, and maybe even a clear understanding of what God wants…but we’re not ready yet.  We may also need our “40 years” in the desert being discipled by the Lord until He feels we are prepared to do His work.

Matthew 9:38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.”

Send us O Lord.   We are a complacent  people, giving in to our comfort and self.  We are filled with excuses and justification of why we can’t  obey Your Word when You say “Go!”    Show us Lord the way…direct our paths for Your glory…drive us out of the four walls of the Church into Your Church – the world.   Give us Your passion for the lost…Your fire for the perishing.      Send us O Lord.