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"Hear my prayer, O
Lord, listen to my cry for help;
be not deaf to my weeping."
Psalm
30:12a
David
was a man who sought the Lord in all his ways. Although he was the King
of Israel, he never forgot his roots as a shepherd boy. He recognized
that all he was and had was from the hand of God.
He
also quickly recognized, in every situation, that it is only God who can give
comfort, help and strength. The Psalms are full of verses where David
sought the Lord and cried out to Him for help.
As
people of God, we long for all that we can be and know we ought to be. We
certainly can't obtain this by our own powers or4 intellects. We are
gifted by God and are works of His creation. All of our prayers should be
a cry to God to mold and make us into His workmanship.
As
we encounter the trials and temptations of our daily lives, our cries should be
to God's love and sustaining arms of grace and mercy.
Need
anything? Open the Psalms, open your heart to God -- cry out to
Him. He is never deaf to our cries.
Written by
Carol Steficek
Today's song is "Open the Eyes of My heart. Lord" sung by Mercy Me.
I am in the midst of learning to relax. Whoever thought that relaxation would be so
painful??? Well, when you hold
everything in for 52.9 years, apparently it builds up and causes muscles to
become hard as rocks. As well as holding
feelings in, I have been a chronic worrier.
Over the course of the past ten years I have been told by a massage
therapist that my neck is like steel plates. A doctor told me that he would say
more like balsa wood, and just this week my physical therapist told me that my
upper back was the “Great Wall of China”.
Oh those headaches I used to have….they now seem so mild compared to the
current aches of my body from the waist up.
Sometimes it takes me a while to get things through my thick head. What has finally gotten through now is that God can handle all of those
worries, concerns, the “What ifs” that I create, the “Oh dears” that come about
after something happens when I don’t know what to do. So many little things that I have worried about,
such as what I look like in these pants, how someone is going to judge me
because I am overweight, how my hair is not done correctly, I might say the
wrong word whilst speaking….etc, etc.
But they would not listen
and were as stiff-neckedas their ancestors,
who
did not trust in theLordtheir God.
2 Kings 17:14
New International Version (NIV)
My point to all of this is that my shoulders, neck, back and
head should not be burdened with so much stress. The Lord has always been there for me. All I have ever had to do was to lay any and
all worries at his feet.
Do Not
Worry
“Therefore
I tell you, do not worryabout your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body,
what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
Matthew 6:25
New International Version (NIV)
He has
been and will continue to be there for me through all of my silly little
insignificant tragedies that I manage to make up in my head. The key for me is to remember how much my
adoring Father loves me every moment of every day. He would love nothing more than for me to
begin each day with a wake up prayer turning my day over to my sweet Lord, to
give Him all my insecurities and silly little worries that I manage to create. I don’t need to burden myself with those
little things that I make into major things and cause myself so much pain
internally and now outwardly. I will be
spending the rest of my life practicing relaxation in just such a way….not only
for the best interest of my healthy, but for the love that God has for me.
God loves
us so much that it hurts Him when we don’t trust Him enough to know that He will take care of
us. That is all we need to do…Love Him
and trust Him with our lives.
When I am afraid,I put my trust in you.
Psalm 56:3
New International Version (NIV)
Written by Kelly Dobyns
Here my song for today...sung by Jeremy Camp singing "My God"
Parts 1 & 2 of this series were posted last Thursday
You can scroll down
through the last two weeks devotionals
to find it if you would like to reread it.
**************************
2/13/14
Part 3 of 3"God's Grace Towards Us"
"False Grace vs True Grace"
False Grace will allow you to do what you want
and not care.
True Grace will motivate you to walk in
freedom from sin.
False Grace will breed passivity.
True Grace will see the needs and get
involved.
False Grace will slowly stop giving.
True Grace will give abundantly and with joy.
False Grace will have no focus in vision for
the future.
True Grace will be motivated to stir up the
gifts of God and see the unseen.
Quote by
Barry Bennette
"Grace is
God's power. Grace is God's
strength. Grace is God's provision. Grace teaches us. Grace motivates us. Grace works through us. Grace has provided us with relationship with
the Father, He lives in us by grace and then that grace wants to express itself
through us to other people. That is the
message of grace."
What shall we say then?
Shall
we continue in sin that grace may abound?
Certainly not! How
shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under
law but under grace?
Certainly not! Do you not know that to
whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you
obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to
righteousness? But God be thanked that though you
were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to
which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin,
you became slaves of righteousness.
Romans 6:1-2 & 15-18 NKJ
Written by Kathryn Hanson
Here is a song for Thursday... "This Is Amazing Grace" sung by by Jeremy Riddle
Last night was one of those nights that I just couldn't get to sleep right away. So I do what I sometimes do when I can't sleep and that is plan out my next day step by step. I went through the commitments and daily routine, and before I knew it I was thanking the Lord immensely for what He has done for me.
My mind took me to the times that He was incredibly faithful in protecting me. There were two incidents in particular that there was no doubt in my mind that God showed up miraculously and spared my life. God's Mighty presence was there with me, and He saw to it that no harm would come to my life. You see, it just was not my time to leave this earth, and He kept me from death.
So, today I had two very simple but profound words on my heart that keep going through my mind. Those two simple words are "Thank You." I am so very thankful that I am alive today and that the Lord still has work for me to do through my life. So, from the depths of my heart, I say "Thank You Lord," and I will carry on with your bidding until the day you call me home.
I spoke with a friend recently about temptation and sin. We
discussed how people have become desensitized to the things of this world. Not
very long ago the thought of half-dressed people on TV would be unimaginable,
shocking and distasteful. In today’s world, we see far worse than that on
television. Video games are full of violence, blood, and gore. Racks of
magazines with disgraceful images sit eye level to children in supermarket
check-out lines. Movies portray a
glamorous life for those who dare to walk on the wild side. Billboards
plastered with liquor advertisements decorate our buildings and line our
streets. The media focuses on divorce, crime, war, and adultery. Sadly, many
people have turned a blind eye to the changes that are taken place, not only to
what is going on around them, but to what is going on within them, as
individuals.
1 Peter 5:8 reads,
“Be alert and of sober mind.
Your enemy the devil prowls around
like a
roaring lion looking for someone to devour”.
How many people have said, “Just one more
drink won’t hurt” or “I can watch this show without it affecting me”. The enemy
would like nothing more for us to believe that lie. He would like for us to
believe that “flirting” is innocent and that one little “white” lie doesn’t do
any harm.
There are many passages of Scripture in the
Bible that warn us about being careful not to fall into the enemy’s hands.
1
Corinthians 15:33 reads,
“Do not be
misled: 'Bad company corrupts good character.'”
Hebrew
3:13 says,
“But
encourage one another daily,
as long as it is called “Today,”
so that none of
you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness”,
and Proverbs 6:27-28 asks,
“Can a man scoop fire into his lap
without his clothes being
burned?
Can a man walk on hot coalswithout his feet being
scorched?”
Why do some people think that they can
dabble in sin without there being any consequences or harmful effects?
God has given us many tools to help us stay
on the right path and to keep the enemy at bay. His word is a powerful tool
that oftentimes goes unused. Bibles sit on many shelves collecting dust. Prayer
is another essential weapon that is lacking in many lives. Let’s put on the
full armor of God daily and keep walking the good road. Be on guard at all time
for the enemy’s subtle tricks that will lead us astray.
Remember this…
Sin will take
you farther than you want to go,
keep you longer than you want to stay,
and it
will cost you more than you ever thought you'd pay
Written by
S.G.H.
Song for today is – "Waiting on the Night to Fall" by
Casting Crowns
There's an old man living in the back of your woods
tonight
You forgot he was even there, but you've never slipped his mind
He's living off of scraps of you you never knew you left behind
And as the sun goes down, he rises with a smile
He's waiting on the night to fall
The old mans coming to call
You don't see the writing on the wall
He'll never step out in the light
No, he's just biding time
And while you slumber, he's gonna come and take it all
Hes waiting on the night to fall
Hes waiting on the night to fall
He knows you have the answers, but truth lies dusty on your shelf
And the sword that you could slay him with has become an ornament and nothing
else
You could put him back down in his hole in the ground, but he knows you never
will
He's been around so long you got used to the smell
He knows hell never have your soul
But he will gladly rob you blind
While you're feasting at his table, hell tie your hands and numb your mind
Hell take you farther than you wanna go
Hell keep you longer than you wanna stay
And it will cost you more than you ever thought you'd pay
He's waiting on the night
He's waiting on the night to fall
The old mans coming to call
But you don't see, you don't see the writing on the wall
He's waiting on the night
He's waiting on the night to fall He's waiting on the night to fall
Sometimes when I am wondering what God's plan is for me, and I am wrestling with trusting Him, a small voice that seems to come from the back of my head, reminds me that I haven't been faithful and diligent in everything I know to be true and in everything I know to do (and not do). Therefore, I start to wonder why would God be answering my prayers and watching over me?
After all, I am accountable only for what I know; but I do know the importance of going to church, studying His Word, praying at all times, listening for His Voice, seeking His direction, serving others, taking care of orphans and widows, speaking up for the oppressed, loving others, etc.
My first response to this type of thought, is what could I be "doing better"? I know I can't be perfect, since only Christ was perfect and He was God in the flesh (see Hebrews 4:15). If I could be perfect, I know I would quickly become proud, and start to pat myself on the back, and take credit for this awesome life I was living - instead of acknowledging that it was Christ in me, living through me (see verse Ephesians 2:8-9).
Then Romans 8:31 rushes to the forefront of my mind. I don't have the whole scripture perfectly memorized, but this part I know "Nothing can separate me from the Love of God."
Now that my mind has started to settle down with this reassurance, Jeremiah 29:11(Amplified) gentle washes over my heart:
For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord,
thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil,
to give you hope in your final outcome.
I open my bible to one of the many scraps of papers I am using as a book mark, and this passage jumps off the page to me:
So let God work his will in you.
Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper.
Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time.
Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life.
Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out.
The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious.
Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet.
James 4:7-10, The Message
Dear Lord, thank You for gently drawing me back to Your truth, for lovingly scooping me up and out of the pit where I have fallen. Thank You Lord that You do not change and that Your mercy is new every morning. In Jesus name, amen.
"Who Am I" performed by Casting Crowns: reminds us we belong to Him:
This week I was privileged to go to the world's largest Arabian horse show... twice! It is a most exciting and colorful competition over 1 1/2 weeks. I do love horses. I admire their strength and beauty. I marvel at how their muscles ripple beneath their skin, with their hooves practically floating over the earth. They come in all colors/patterns, but I find the white ones most striking. The riders are amazing also when they are in sync with their mount. From the fast-paced barrel racer to the graceful dressage equestrian, they are a joy to watch. And their costumes are gorgeous, some with blinding amounts of jewels and bling and in all the colors of the rainbow or just pure white. I consider horses to be a symbol of both beauty and power, and white to be a symbol of purity.
In the book of Revelation in the Bible, John tells us of his vision of heaven. He sees Jesus coming on a white horse - beauty, power and purity all wrapped together. We often think of Jesus as loving and peaceful, but we see in this image that he is also a righteous judge and a war-maker. His searing eyes can see what truly is in our hearts; he knows all things. He is also wearing a crown of jewels as a divine ruler over his subjects. His robe is dipped in blood, either the blood of his enemies, or the blood he shed for us on the cross to atone for our sins. This vision is very powerful:
Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. Revelation 19:11-13 (ESV)
So when people try to make Jesus out as meek and mild all the time, remember this vision of John's showing Jesus returning as the white horse rider, in all power and glory. When he does return, may we not be afraid but be confident in his merciful covering over of our sins that has won for us our salvation.
