Day 23 - Deuteronomy 5:29

Oh that they had such a heart in them, 
that they would fear Me and 
keep all My commandments always, 
that it may be well with them
and with their sons forever!

God our Father truly desires that His people would have a heart for Him.  That we would fear Him with a reverent fear, and be faithful in repentance when we sin.  God does not want any of us to suffer loss in eternity.

God longs for us to have such a heart for Him and His ways that we would follow every command.  That we would love Him so much that we would always want to live our life according to His plans and purpose.  We can't just follow one command, we have to follow them all, not just some of the time, but all of the time.  If not, we must be repentant in heart.  

We need to love God enough to seek Him constantly and keep ourselves "right" with Him.  In doing so, we will be "right" within ourselves.  We will have a peace and a comfort in this life, and into eternity.  I believe that when we have peace, and live our life for God, that it spills over into our children. 

My hope is that by loving God so much, keeping to His commands and with repentance going before the throne when I fail, that my heart will always be "well" and that it will follow my children.  Nothing is more important to me, than for my children to follow the same "good" paths as I have.  And keeping a heart after God... will hopefully keep them from following the wrong ones I went down as well!

Oh Lord, may I have such a heart for You!!!

Day 22 - Psalm 150

Psalm 150

¹ Praise the Lord.

Praise God in his holy temple.
    Praise him in his mighty heavens.
² Praise him for his powerful acts.
    Praise him because he is greater than anything else.
³ Praise him by blowing trumpets.
    Praise him with harps and lyres.
⁴ Praise him with tambourines and dancing.
    Praise him with stringed instruments and flutes.
⁵ Praise him with clashing cymbals.
    Praise him with clanging cymbals.

⁶ Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

      Praise the Lord.

Praise - it is powerful.

Praise - creates thankfulness in the midst of every situation.

Praise - heals our hurts.

Praise - calms our fears.

Praise - reminds us of who HE is.

Praise - is required! 

Day 21 - Ephesians 3:17b

And I pray that your love will have deep roots. 
I pray that it will have a strong foundation.





Paul was praying for the Ephesians.  He called to the Sovereign God on their behalf.  One portion of his prayer was that our love would have deep roots.  

Our love needs deep roots, we need deep roots in Jesus Christ.  We also need deep roots in loving and serving others.  When we have roots that run deep, it stabilizes the foundation so that we are strong! 

When our foundation is firm in Jesus and our roots dig in deep - into prayer, into His word, into fellowship of believers, into communion with the saints... it enables us to do far more and abundantly more than what we could ever imagine.  

When we are assured of our place and love in Christ, and that our foundation is secure, we are able to step out of our solitary place, in order to share His love and His strength with others.  

I am blessed by a church that "does life" together.  During a time of fellowship this past week, somehow the conversations came around to the struggles my family is facing right now.  Things have kind of been turned upside down, due to health issues with my husband, and job loss.  I have gone from a full time stay at home and homeschooling mom, to a work part time and homeschooling mom.  

Even though I see my kids more than many parents who work probably do, my kids are sensing a loss.  You see, I'm also not good at sharing when I need something.  But somehow, God just opened doors and had a precious young woman from our church just ASK.... What do you need?  So I shared, just a day of something fun for my kids!  She said, "Well we can handle that."

I know that this young woman has a strong foundation, and her roots run deep.  She knows the love Jesus has for her and her worth in Him.  So she is able to take that love and lavish it on my kids.  In turn, that love is lavished on me.  I can not even begin to tell you, how awesome that feels.

Sometimes, it is just a good thing to ASK someone what they need.  It may just be that simple!  And you can give that love away...... because your foundation is sure and your roots run deep!  

I pray.......... you will have deep roots and a strong foundation.

Day 20 - Revelation 12:10-11

¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice in heaven. It said,

“Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God have come.
    The authority of his Christ has come.
Satan, who brings charges against our brothers and sisters,
    has been thrown down.
    He brings charges against them before our God day and night.
¹¹ They overcame him
    because the Lamb gave his life’s blood for them.
They overcame him
    by giving witness about Jesus to others.
They were willing to risk their lives,
    even if it led to death.

There isn't much time left in the day!  So this will be quick.

One of the most powerful sections of the Word of God.

The enemy, Satan, is out to destroy us on every turn!  But what he does not realize, and many times neither do we..... is that he has already lost the war.  The enemy keeps us tied up in all the arrows he throws our way.  

But,  God's Word says - we overcome, by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of our testimony.

When we go through devastating times in our life, when we claim the blood of Jesus, and hold tight till the end.... it is our testimony that ultimately defeats the enemy!

We must give witness to what God has done in our life, because it is our testimony, that stops the enemy.  It is our testimony that gives others hope!  

So stop running and TESTIFY!

 

Day 19 - John 3:30

 

He must become greater,
    I must become less.

Such a simple concept.  But so incredibly hard to apply! 

We are a selfish people.  Even when we are "trying" to live righteous lives, we still try to hold onto things.  Why is it so hard to understand, that we can only become more like Jesus, when we leg go of more of ourselves?

Jesus is our hope!  If "we" are so large in our own life - how can anyone see Jesus.  How can we show those who are in such desperate need of hope........... the one true hope?

Jesus is the message!  When we become less, the message of Jesus is apparent.  When we find the real Jesus, we realize that He can live inside of us.  But for Jesus to possess who we are, and help us become what he wants us to be, we must allow ourselves to diminish.

Simple word, difficult to grasp! 

Day 18 - Luke 15:20

 

 

The Father's affection and personality is a sweet perfume.  

We rest in the God who sees, feels, runs and embraces and kisses our heart.  

                              (Luke 15:20 - Prodigal Son)

The father SAW the prodigal son - God's view of His people.

The father FELT COMPASSION for the prodigal son - God's tenderness for His people.

The father RAN TOWARDS the prodigal son - God's action and initiative for His people.

The father EMBRACED (fell on) the prodigal son - God's affection for His people.

The father KISSED the prodigal son - God's desire for nearness with His people!!!

Day 17 - Isaiah 40:27-31

Don’t you know who made everything?
    Haven’t you heard about him?
The Lord is the God who lives forever.
    He created everything on earth.
He won’t become worn out or get tired.
    No one will ever know how great his understanding is.
He gives strength to those who are tired.
    He gives power to those who are weak. 
 Even young people become worn out and get tired.
    Even the best of them trip and fall. 
 But those who trust in the Lord
    Will receive new strength.
They will fly as high as eagles.
    They will run and not get tired.
    They will walk and not grow weak.
                       Is 40: 27-31 


I seem to forget so often WHO God is.  I begin to look at my problems and they seem so huge.  I forget that the God I serve created everything.  There is nothing He didn't touch at some point in history.  He is timeless...  our struggles do not wear Him out.  I become tired and weary and grumpy and moody - because I try to carry everything myself.  If only, I would truly learn to give everything to the hands who created everything!

 

Day 16 - Micah 6:8

 The Lord has shown you what is good.
    He has told you what he requires of you.
You must treat people fairly.
    You must love others faithfully.
And you must be very careful to live
    the way your God wants you to.  
                           Micah 6:8


Sometimes scripture is very clear and to the point!  In a world where there is so much gray around us, that is refreshing!

Sometimes, do you ever feel like throwing your hands up in the air and asking, "God what do you want from me?"  You feel like you are working yourself to death for the church, for your family, for anyone that needs a helping hand.... yet, it still feels empty and like there is more.

Micah asked this same question, yet a little more refined.  And he received an answer.

We are to ACT JUSTLY, LOVE MERCY, and WALK HUMBLY.  

May we daily strive to accomplish these tasks.

Day 14 and Day 15 - Psalm 34:18

Sorry to miss on the 14th, but it was a busy day celebrating my husband!  His birthday was on the 14th and we had a big lunch with all the kids and family.  I am so thankful for my husband.

" The Lord is close to those whose hearts have been broken.
    He saves those whose spirits have been crushed.  "  Ps 34:18

There are many experiences in life that can break our hearts such as disappointments, deaths , hurts , failures, missed opportunities, loss etc. When these times come we may be lonely and feel forsaken by others. But the wonderful promise is that the Lord is close to us at such time. 

There have been so many situations, where I was broken, for many different reasons.  And even now, there are broken things in my life, that God is working through.  Sometimes that brokenness is so hard to bare, we wonder if we will ever get through... and what on earth can ever come that is "good" from this pain.

Whenever we go through an experience of brokenness in our lives , we are in an unique position to be used by the Lord to minister healing and restoration to the broken hearted . The wounds of Jesus ministers healing to our lives . In the same way , we can allow the Lord to use the wounds in our lives to minister healing to others . We must allow the Lord to heal our wounds and then we can use that healing experience to reach out to others and enable them to experience the same healing in their lives. Instead of mourning over our heart breaking experiences , we must see the possibility of using them to become a channel of healing to others.

Scripture tells us "  But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,and by his wounds we are healed."  In this picture of what Jesus has suffered, we can be assured that He knows our pain.  He has gone through every emotion of the hurt and broken.  He has already been there.  And it is by His wounds, by His blood we are healed of our hurt.

We must allow this healing though, and sometimes that is painful as well.  Sometimes we have held onto our "hurt and brokenness" for so long, it has actually become a comfort.  Praise God there is great news.... His grace is sufficient, and His power is made strong in our weakness.  Yes!

After the healing and the promises of His strength, we become witness to others that there is hope on the other side.  We can turn all those things we have survived and conquered with His help, to minister to those who are so desperate to know they are not alone.

I have been through a divorce.  I have been a single mom.  I have married and become a mom to many.  I have lost a precious child in pregnancy.  I have faced critical illness within my family.  Even now, there are some serious uncertainties in my life and in my family.......... and all of these, even now, as I am stumbling through this "unknown", I can use what I know about God, about His grace, about His faithfulness, about His healing, to help others.

The Lord is close........... and He saves those whose spirits are crushed!  I promise, there is Joy on the other side of it all!

Day 13 - Nehemiah 8:5-6

Ezra opened the book.  All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up.  Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, "Amen! Amen!" Then they bowed down and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.  
                                                             Nehemiah 8:5-6

Can you imagine being there!  Wow... this is one of the greatest recorded worship services history! 

The English word worship comes from an Old English word "worthship" - it means those actions and attitudes that show honor and worth to the great God of heaven and earth.  Worship is GOD centered.  It is not people centered. 

In Christian worship we draw near to God with joy and gratitude for what he has done for us in Christ and through the Holy Spirit.  Worship expresses faith, love and devotion from our hearts and our lives to the Father and to the worthy lamb that was slain.  The lamb whose blood covers us from our sin.  The son of God, that took our place and died on a cross in order to take on all of our sin and shame, and become our redemption.

One very important thing about our worship to Him, is that our worship must be pure.  We must worship God in spirit and truth!    When worship takes place, when we worship Him in spirit and truth, God has blessings in store for his people.  He promises to be with us (Mt 18:20) and to come in intimately with us. (Rev 3:20)  He overshadows us with His glory, gives us showers of blessings, especially peace.  He gives us abundant joy!  He answers the prayers who call out to him sincerely.  He promises to freshly fill us with His Holy Spirit and with boldness (Act 4:31).

Worship is something I am very passionate about.  I love worship music.  I love the expression of worship!  I love worship with my church family.  I love worship loud and wild with my children singing songs to God.  I love worship quiet and simple, when it is just He and I.  I love worship......... it is my refuge from every storm.  It is my peace in trouble.  It is my joy in heartache. 

Regardless of what is going on in my life, when I find time to worship God, through His word and through such amazing music available today..... I find me.  Have you spent time in worship?  You can do it anywhere!  It is so easy... I challenge you..... find a place, quiet or loud, become foolish and abandoned..... dance, sing, cry, whatever takes you into intimacy with the Father!  Come on, I promise, it will totally change your day!