What to wear to church: Is God as worried about our outter attire as we are or is He more concerned with the workings of the inner heart?
Month: July 2016
“God can do EVERYTHING!”
One morning while I was out running my morning errands I remember a prayerful heart just came over me. I had already spent time in prayer that morning, but this was extra, inside silent prayers that just wanted to come out.
At that time, while pumping gas I just began to thank God for the simple things in life such as the sun that was beating on me that morning and being able to drive with the windows down (because the weather is so nice) and feel the air whipping through my vehicle, sending in its freshness. I thanked God for His Word and many others things.
Then, I began to drive and silently pray for the brokenness I see in someone’s life. I began to pray for healing and restoration to take over others. I began to pray for chains to broken off of others. I prayed for sicknesses to be cured, pain to be covered and for peace to enter in for some.
In the middle of praying I remember this thought dropped into my spirit: “GOD CAN DO EVERYTHING!” Job declared it when he said, “I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee,” (Job 42:2).
In that, everything I had just prayed for, I know that God can do it. He can fix the broken and heal the sick. He can bring deliverance to those bound in chains and restore the shatter pieces of others lives. GOD CAN DO IT!
No matter what you are facing today go forth with a heart full of assurance that GOD CAN DO EVERYTHING! Whatever it is, give it to Him and believe!
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“It’s a New Day. Believe Today!”
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Devotion – Nix the “LIKE” Button of Life
As I sit back and think sometimes I must admit that it simply amazes me how acclimated we have become as a people to the social media culture. In no way am I one who has come along to bash anyone’s use of social media. I have accounts and you do, too. That’s not what this article is about.
This is about how accustomed have we become to the pull of the “LIKE” button that these social media outlets offer. Let’s face it, how often when you post something do you check to see if it has been “liked” by anybody? How often do you compare the number of likes to that of someone else or something you have posted before? We have become a society obsessed with approval from people.
We are constantly becoming more and more concerned about what people think about us; about their opinions on our lives, clothes, and activities. It’s as if we can’t make a move without people giving us the green light letting us know that we are okay or we’re driving down a path or in a direction they support.
We must stop and ask ourselves what we are training ourselves to believe about ourselves since we need so much confirmation from people to get on with life? What about our children? Those coming up exposed to these internet pulls, at such a young age are their lives being conditioned to find value of self in the “LIKE” buttons of life?
More importantly, are we more concerned about impressing the masses than we are living a life that is pleasing to God? If our lives had a “LIKE” button for Him to push would He be able to push it from the things He sees “posted” (from the things He sees lived out before Him)?
We need to learn to nix the “LIKE” button of life and live for an audience of One. We need to be more concerned if our life is pleasing to God or not.
I don’t know about you but I want to live a life pleasing to God. In the end, this is all that really matters.
Below are verses that will encourage and remind you that God’s opinion is the only opinion that counts. May we be more concerned today about pleasing Him instead of seeking the approval of others.
- “For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.” – Galatians 1:10
- “For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.” – John 12:43
- “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.” – Colossians 3:23
- “Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of ?” – Isaiah 2:22
- “When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.” – Proverbs 16:7
- “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.” – Proverbs 29:25
- “How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?” – John 5:44.
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“Again!”
God can do it again!
God can restore again!
God can touch your land again!
God can cause fruit to grow in your life again!
God can turn your captivity into prosperity again!
God can do it for you even when it seems all hope is lost again!
Our God specializes in restoration, healing relationships with Him again!
He majors in turning the ashes of our lives into something beautiful again!
Turn to God because He can do it for you again!
God can do it again!
God can restore again!
God can touch your land again!
God can cause fruit to grow in your life again!
God can turn your captivity into prosperity again!
God can do it for you even when it seems all hope is lost again!
Our God specializes in restoration, healing relationships with Him again!
He majors in turning the ashes of our lives into something beautiful again!
Turn to God because He can do it for you again!
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“Little Stuff Matters!”
“I don’t have enough in me.”
“My gift is not as great as theirs.”
“The anointing is me is not as strong as another.”
“I can’t do this.”
“I don’t have enough to work with.”
“I am too small.”
“I don’t have someone supporting me like that.”
Have you ever struggled with the idea of you don’t have enough in you to make a difference or a positive impact? Do you feel God pulling you into an area faith but the fear that your “little bit of stuff” is not enough and it’s holding you back?
Many people struggle with thoughts such as these. If it’s not big, it won’t work. But God never called us into big things. But, what He did do was call us to step out in faith believing in Him, in where He wants to take us.
There is to be no inferiority complex among God’s people. We are not depending on what we bring to the table. Our dependence is upon Him and what He does with what we bring. God is the one that establishes the work of our hands (Psalms 90:17). God is the one who gives the increase off of what we do (1 Corinthians 3:7). Therefore, it doesn’t matter what we think of the size of what we bring because God is the one working behind the scenes; God is the one who works in it to outsize all.
All He asks of us is to step out in faith and work with what He gave you.
“For who hath despised the day of small things?” (Zechariah 4:10). Every great tree that stands tall in the forest started from a small thing; from a seed. Your “small thing” is the seed of your gift that God is waiting for you to plant so that He can cause it to grow. An unplanted seed will not flourish and neither will your gift.
Don’t shun it because you think it’s not big enough. Don’t toss it to the side because you think it’s not good enough and doesn’t matter. It’s not about what you bring; it’s all about what He does with what you bring.
Luke 16:10 tells us, “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much . . .” God wants to see what you do with the “least” before He turns it into “much.” Won’t you plant your little seed today?
Little stuff matters. If you don’t think so, take encouragement from these little critters:
“There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise:
The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer,
The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks;
The locusts have not king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;
The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings’ palaces,” (Proverbs 30:24-28).
You see, it’s not about size or strength, but the wisdom God gives to those who render their little bit of stuff to Him in service. Size doesn’t matter to God because He is the God of increase. What matters most with God is our faithfulness in rendering what we do have to Him and trusting Him to let it grow.
“Little things make big things happen” (John Wooden).
Especially, when God is in it. So, don’t cast it off. Work it!
Blessings.
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“PRAY!”
Have ever turned on the news only to hear of some horrific event that has taken place? Upon hearing it, have you ever had the urge to run to the scene of said event to try to do something; to want to help some and get the situation back in order?
Me too.
Often among devastation life can make us feel as though we are limited in our options to do something. But, the fact of the matter is you can do something. Something that most count as a last option should actually be the first.
PRAY!
Prayer is powerful! Prayer is authoritative! And, prayer works!
“Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus,” Philippians 4:6-7.
NOTHING is out of the scope of God’s reach. The worse world events can be made tame under the hand of a Sovereign God, if He so wills.
Confident prayer that He hears and is able, makes a difference in life’s circumstances. “If we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us,” 1 John 5:14.
You can do something. To some it may seem a trivial thing, but there is real power in prayer. Who knows what you can change when you approach Him with a heart that wants to intercede on behalf of others.
Be blessed.
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“Reminder: You never lose going with GOD!”
God is our source and our everything. We never lose when we chose to go with Him in every area of our lives.
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“God’s Glory Covers it All! Praise Him!”
As you go outside this morning just take a moment to look up. Let the true reality hit you that God’s glory covers it all. Now, just give Him a quick praise and thank You, Jesus for being here today.
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“When My House is a Mess . . .!”
Photo credit: Clipart by Ron Leishman – http://clipartof.com/1046553 Used By Permission Click to view original
“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own,” 1 Corinthians 6:19, KJV
This has been something of a week for our family. The rush from one thing to another has drained us of any free time. When I awoke this morning, the evidence of our busyness was staring me in the face. What? Do messes multiply at night when I’m asleep because it didn’t look that bad last night? It amazes me how easy it is for things to get disorganized and cluttered when we’re not giving it the attention it deserves. So, one of my first thoughts this morning were, “I hate when my house is a mess – Grrr.”
Disorganization throws me off big time. When I’m trying to concentrate on a task and I lift my head up to look around, and am spattered with mess, my mind keeps going to the mess instead of getting back to the mission. Clutter is its own monster to deal with; for when schedules grow out of hand, and stuff gets tossed to the side, the clutter monster gets fed and continues to grow and grow. Then, I wonder, “Where did all of this come from?”
When I first was married I used to be a perfectionist. My husband, through years of patience, broke me from that (almost). While I’m not as uptight as I used to be about a messy house, I still like cleanliness! A place for everything and everything in its place. Calm. Peaceful. Quiet. Yeah, that’s how I like it! It’s an environment that supports what I want to do in life.
Our spiritual lives operate in much the same way. When we are going off in many directions and not taking care of home, our “temples,” things become disarrayed. We become less focused on taking care of the “home” business, and in our pursuits, our spiritual house becomes a mess.
Inattentiveness will do that. There are so many things that can capture our attention in our day to day activities. We have to be diligent guardsmen of the temple that keeps everything running smoothly. Take a museum for instance; it’s probably one of the cleanest and most orderly establishments. The stuff that it holds inside of itself is very valuable and some of it could never be replaced. Because of that, there are guards posted everywhere to insure that everything is kept that way. When the sign says no photography, the guard will insure not a picture will be taken. Flash does something to some of the works. You will not eat, drink, touch or sneeze on any art work. Our local museum has a line around each item and you better be careful not to cross it or else.
Being that the spirit we have in us is of more value than any art work, irreplaceable and priceless, ought we not to guard it with even more diligence? Shouldn’t we be concerned about any messes or clutter that could disrupt the spirit’s flow of working within us?
Paul thought so. The concern is that since God’s spirit resides in you, you have the responsibility to keep the house clean. This body is a rental. It’s not permanent. The last part of our above verse tells us, “and ye are not your own?” We don’t hold the deed, “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s,” (1Corinthians 6:20, KJV). But, we are responsible for the upkeep of the property.
What mess of the spirit has us so cluttered and disorganized that we are less attentive to the things that “glorify God?” When the spiritual house is a mess it’s hard to function and find peace to complete the task that God is leading me to. I need to revere this spiritual house as one does when visiting a museum.
How do we keep it in order? Start by having a made up mind to set priorities. Know that above all else your relationship with God is to come first. One way to do that is to find out what has been sidetracking you and make it fall into place. Then, change your focus of thought to allow the spirit freer access to move. Unclutter your thought life from that which does not profit to something far better. “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things,” (Philippians 4:8, KJV). Using this filter will help keep the clutter out and rampart thoughts under control.
In verse 9, Paul goes on to explain if they listen to this advice and follow his example, “the God of peace shall be with you,” (KJV). That means the house is clean and uncluttered, free for Him to move! If you feel like you having a hard time connecting with God or you don’t feel the spirit moving and leading like you once did, check the environment. If you find a need to pick some things up off of that spiritual floor and get things back in order, then do so. There is nothing more precious or powerful than God being able to work in a “house” unhindered, with no messes or obstacles in the way.
Now, time to go clean. Pray for me! I really do have to get started cleaning this house 😉
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