Tag: New King James Version
“Persistently Pray!”
It is so easy to give up when discouragement blows our way, but Jesus encourages us not to. He told the parable of a man who “persistently” came to his friend to ask bread. He knocked and knocked and refused to be turned away. The Bible tells us to, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you,” Matthew 7:7.
In other words, don’t give up and don’t give in. “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” – Luke 11:13.
Persistently pray and don’t quit now!
Emergency Reminder:
“Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.
So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
Luke 11:5-13, NKJV
Keep praying – Never give up!
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“Only Planted People Grow!”
Only planted people grow!
If you want to thrive and grow and be all that God called you to be, you have to have deep roots planted in His house, in His service, and in His worship that your soul may be fully nourished in Him.
“Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God,” Psalm 92:13.
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Victory Shall Be Mine!
This not meant to be deep, just encouraging to all who are out there fighting today. Reading in my Bible, I came across some very inspiring verses (as usual 🙂 ). I was reading in the book of Joshua where conquests were being made in the name and in the power of the Lord. Enemies continually came out to fight against God’s people. At one point Joshua 11:4 says, “So they went out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand that is on the seashore in multitude, with very many horses and chariots,” (NKJV).
By all normal accounts, this should have been the end of God’s people. According to the standards of human perception they were outnumbered and out powered. But, God . . .
God told Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for tomorrow about this time I will deliver all of them slain before Israel,” (Joshua 11:6, NKJV). Not one shall escape, but all would fall under the power of God working through and for His people. And, if that wasn’t encouraging enough, as I continued reading I came to Joshua 12:7-24 where it lists 31 kings that fell because God was fighting for His people.
That lets me know that no matter what the odds look like that’s stacked against us, they can never out stack God. God is a victorious God and we are meant to be victorious people in Him. We are conquerors; we are people of conquest. It may seem insurmountable to us, but God has already climbed the highest mountains that we face and He has already won the battles against the greatest armies of enemies that try to come against us.
Don’t let the numbers against you phase you. “Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them,” (2 Kings 6:16). Since we have God on our side – we have more than they! We outnumber the enemy. Victory shall be ours.
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“You have been upheld since birth!”
“By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother’s bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee.” Psalm 71:6
As you look back over your life, is there ever a time when you know you should not have made it? Is there a time when you recognize that it was only by the grace of God that you are still here today?
Yeah, me too!
Life has a way of throwing us many curve balls. Sometimes we hit it and sometimes we miss. Sometimes we are even awesome enough to get a home run, whereas at other times we would just be grateful to still be in the game. The fact that we are, is a testimony to the love of the Father on us. It is evident that He still has you and me in His hands and in His plan.
There are times that come that make it extremely hard for us to recognize this great truth. Crushing times that weigh on us making us believe that we are forgotten or that we are walking this path alone. Nothing could be further from the truth. God has always been with us. God has always taken care of us. God has always been the one holding on to us when our lives seem to be spinning out of control.
I find it utterly amazing that we have been upheld since birth. Truth be told, Psalm 139:16 shows us that He was paying attention to us even before the time of our birth. It says, “Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.” Even before day 1 of our lives, God had His eye on us.
How awesome is that? I find great comfort in verses like these because I realize that yes; I have gone through some very difficult and troubling times. Yes, as I look back through the different stages of life I wish things could have been better or I wish wrong choices could be undone. But, despite all the “I wish I had…” or the “could have and should have,” these verses remind me that I never walked alone. There was never a time in my life that God didn’t see me and didn’t see what I was going through. There was never a time when He was absent. He was there the whole time reaching out for me and calling me with His love, beckoning me to stay in the safety of His arms and rest there.
God’s hands have always been us!
I don’t know what you may be facing today but the Word of God is sure in all it promises and His Word promises that you are not alone. Yet, sometimes it does seem that way. It seems like you cry and cry and cry some more, but I assure you, your tears do not fall on deaf ears. As you cry, the one who has had His hands on you since birth, feels the flow of your tears running over His hands as He holds you. Stay right there in His loving embrace.
If you have to, turn back to Him and trust Him who has you in His hands today and wants to hold you forever.
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“Worship!”
Worship is how we honor God,
taking the mind off of self.
It’s the moving of the soul and spirit,
of His goodness and praises to tell.
Worship is how we lift Him up,
to the place where He belongs.
In worship, we close our eyes to the world
to sing our heavenly song.
Worship gives Him the glory
that is due His holy name.
With all the hosts of heaven enjoined,
in Him our salvation we claim.
Darkness and troubles try to trample it out
but my worship still remains.
Through rain and floods, and storms a gale
my worship is still the same.
Through trials and tests, pain and sorrows,
it causes my worship to grow.
Hard nights and long days,
praise in my life I do sow.
No matter what’s going on around you
God is still worthy to be praised.
With hearts bowed down and eyes closed
with my hands, do I raise.
Stepping into worship I empty my heart
of all my cares and woes.
For He is the One who brings me out.
Of this, I surely know.
Getting rid of all the strife,
in worship do I release.
Putting Him on a pedestal
as my whole, my centerpiece.
God is good and God is great,
in worship, that’s what we do.
By and by, life goes on.
But won’t you worship Him, too!
“Give unto the LORD the glory due His name,” Psalm 29:1
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“Honor God!”
“For those who honor Me I will honor,” 1 Samuel 2:30
One day, some years ago, I remember when my son accompanied me to the grocery store to do some shopping. He was wearing his military uniform at that time and when people saw him they kept stopping him to shake his hand, to talk to him, or to tell him to keep up the good work. They were proud of him. They honored him for his service.
You know, as a mom, how I felt. I really thought it was something special for people to recognize him and his service to our country in that way. As much as I love the many fields in which one can be honored (military, teachers, firefighters, police officers, and many, many others), no one deserves our respect and adoration more than God. It is customary to stand to our feet when a judge enters a courtroom and there is a hush in the crowd when they bang that gavel. What about God?
Too many go through their day without ever considering the fact that hey, He is God, and He should be before all others. With that realization in hand, I want my life to reflect that great truth. I want every word, every action and every thought to magnify the greatness of who He is and all of His glory. When I go about my day I want people to see Him in me. Do I make mistakes? Oh, yeah! But, I have a goal. I aspire to do better and to be better every day. God has been so good and wonderful to me, and I feel that as His child the least I can do is showing Him the honor due Him.
“Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness,” (Ps. 29:1-2). These two verses have been among favorites of mine for many years now. When you think of “giving to the Lord” one realizes just how futile our efforts can be because of His vast greatness. But, something that each of us can give is honor. Not only can we gift it to Him, but it is a gift that He in turns honors.
“For those who honor Me I will honor.” Our God is an appreciative God and He believes in rewarding them that diligently seek Him (Heb. 11:6). If you don’t like the returns you have been getting in life examine what you have given. And let me make myself really clear at this point. I DO NOT want you to see the above statement as to how you can get something from God. These things will happen because it’s what the Bible promises. It’s a residual effect of obedience. Instead, I want you to just focus on God because He is God and not what you can get from Him. Just honor God because He is WORTHY!
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“Deliverance is of the Lord!”
Self-sufficiency is a statement of pride. It’s the belief that whatever is going on and whatever we are facing or are trying to do is going to happen because of us. It says that I am more than enough by myself and, “I’ve got this.”
While self-sufficiency is a mark of pride, I see it also as a teller of fear. The fear to let go. The fear to give up control. The fear to not let another in your world to help you along the way because nobody can do it like you can and it’s hard to invest the word “trust” into someone else.
But, as a child of God, all that we have in our relationship with Him, is based on trust. That’s why it’s considered a walk of faith. Faith doesn’t know all the answers for today, better yet tomorrow. Faith can’t really grasp exactly how this is all going to turn out, but faith just presses on. Even though it doesn’t know all the ins and outs of everything, faith just continues to believe.
It believes in the One in whom the trust is deposited more than anything else. It is sure that somehow, someway, God is going to turn this thing around and make “all things work together for good,” (Romans 8:28). This faith is so confident that it knows that we can prepare for and learn about how to win in the day of battle; we can go through all the steps and check off the lists to each one that will secure our victory – but, ultimately it all means nothing because our “deliverance is of the LORD,” (Proverbs 21:31, NKJV).
It’s good to be proactive in life and want to get things done, for God has never been a promoter of the lazy and lackadaisical. But in our pursuit to “do,” we have to make sure we “don’t.” Don’t give pride a foothold and don’t believe more in self, than God. For only in Him and with Him can our true deliverance be found.
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“Reap Rejoicing!”
Image by Wolfgang Heubeck from Pixabay
“Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bring his sheaves with him,” Psalm 126:5-6, NKJV
Good Friday or Holy Friday, no matter which name you call it by, it was a day of great tears and sorrow that ushered in a day of rejoicing.
From the Garden of Gethsemane where He prayed earnestly until His sweat became as great drops of blood (Luke 22:44), to the illegal trials at night that stripped away any rights He may have had in the human form, Jesus knew anguish. He knew more than just the heaviness of heart. He experienced deep, physical pain – yet, the night was not over.
Had it stopped at the trials and mockery, some would say it was tolerable (though I wouldn’t). Let us not take lightly all that Christ endured on that night. For He not only bore the pain of stripes and nails, but He carried the weight of the world. He carried the soul’s destiny for every human that ever walked the face of this earth.
It was a time of great sadness. As a parent mourns over a wayward child, Jesus carried the burden of people in His bosom. Earlier He said, “How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” (Matthew 23:37, KJV).
Now, on this night of sorrow, spiritually He is doing just that. No one could ever put into words the pain of what it felt like to hang on that cross and bear the sins of the world. But, as He hung there, with blood pouring down, He was in the gathering process. That’s why He couldn’t come down because even as He was nailed and left to die, He with great sorrow and tears, was working at gathering that would eventually lead to rejoicing.
What a clear head and frame of mind our Lord kept through it all. Most of us would have gone into survival mode under such duress, thinking of ourselves. Jesus went to survival mode, too. Not for Himself rather, “To seek and to save that which was lost,” (Luke 19:10, KJV).
As He hung there, He thought about all those that are captive by sin and needed a great deliverance. These people staring at Him as He bled knew a little something about being a people held captive. Their history repeats over and over again how they were forced out of their promised land due to sin and negligence.
But God didn’t leave them like that. In each instance, He brought a plan of deliverance and salvation into the mix. When they cried out, He saved them and brought them back to their homeland. They shed many tears as the farmer scatters seeds. Just like the seed, there comes a time where sowing stops and gathering begins and “shall doubtless come again with rejoicing bringing his sheaves with him.”
As He hung there, Jesus was doing both. Sowing: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit,” (John 12:24, KJV). He was also gathering: “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself. This He said, signifying by what death He would die,” (John 12:32-33, NKJV).
Jesus was sowing the seed in tears and at the same time reaping with rejoicing. On this Good Friday; this Holy Friday, we are now the benefactors of that great work done on the cross. When God brought the children of Israel back from captivity, the nations said, “The LORD has done great things for them.” (Psalm 126:2, NKJV). Their response was, “The LORD has done great things for us, and we are glad,” (Psalm 126:3, NKJV).
Jesus brought us out of captivity on that Friday. Through our life of sinfulness, we have experienced many tears. Through the sins of others, we will sow many tears. Now, because of Christ, we can also “Reap Rejoicing.” “And, we are glad!”
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“Decorated in Glory”
Being called to the front of the assembly to receive awards of excellence was one of my greatest joys in my private elementary school. One year I excelled in every category, so instead of receiving multiple name calls of recognition – I was given one all-encompassing award. I remember not liking it one bit. An over-all award meant specifics were not being named in front of my peers and others, and I didn’t have the pleasure of playing the role of jack-in-the-box in my seat with my constant popping up and down to receive individual accomplishments.
As we get older in life we realize every achievement does not need to come with applause or recognition (at least, not here on earth anyway). But, in heaven, your works are going to be rewarded. You and I are going to be decorated in glory. These rags of humanity will be replaced with robes of righteousness. As a soldier being medaled for victories, we shall be adorned and dressed in the finest of the heavenlies, telling our story of overcoming. We made it through and now He speaks, “My reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be,” Revelation 22:12.
Take heart. What you do today may escape the notice of man but the eye of the Lord sees it all. And, when we get to that heavenly city we will have all the recognition we will ever need. For it is there we receive the greatest thing no earthly prize can give: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord,” Matthew 25:21, 23.
And, that’s all the glory one needs to be decorated with.
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