God's Love Will Never Cease!

I Corinthians 13:8 "Love never fails.  But where there are prophesies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away."

 

I love the verses about love in I Corinthians, but I used to stop reading at the third word of verse 8.  There is something important here though - it just doesn't tell us about love never failing it also tells us about all the things which will fail, fade, cease and pass away.  And, if God is love, than how eternally reassuring is it that He will never cease, still or pass away?  

 

Dear Lord,  I am very thankful for Your amazing love and the eternalness of that love!  Please help me to remember that while many things of this world may go away You and Your love are here to stay!  Amen.  

Belated: Wed., Thurs., & Fri. Verses

Psalm 31:14 "But I trust in You, O Lord; I say, "You are my God.""

 

For some these words are just lip-service.  Sadly, they do not feel them in their hearts.  But having trust in our Lord and saying, "You are my God," is a powerful and spiritual experience that can bring you tears of overwhelming joy as you let it sink in again and again what that encompasses.

 

Dear Lord, Thank You for being my God!  I am overwhelmed at all You have done and continue to do for me.  Please help me to always trust in You through all life's situations.  Amen.

 

Proverbs 8:22 "The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His work, before His deeds of old;"

 

God already had claim to us before He finished creating the world, He possessed us at the beginning of His work.  Which means He knew what He had to sacrifice for our salvation and He loved us enough to create us anyway!  If you are looking for love this is enough to overflow anyone's cup!

 

Dear Father,  I can barely comprehend all You have done for me!  Thank You for creating me even though You've known since You created time that I would need You to sacrifice Your Son to save me.  Please help me to cling to Your love when I feel alone.  Amen.

 

Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

 

How I long for the depth of faith that Paul had when he wrote this!  Sin separates us from God and so it is a long road of repentance and of asking God daily to come live in our hearts and bodies before we can even come close to this.  But if we keep our path set on His will and on the desire to be that close to Him, then I believe that He wants to come live in us and He will help guide us home to Him.

 

Dear God,  Thank You for Your precious Word and its many insights into how we can live for You and live by faith.  Please come into my heart and dwell within me so that my life may serve and glorify you as long as the path You've chosen for me has me here.  Amen. 

Better Than a Rock

Psalm 18:2 "The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge."

 

I love David's analogies, I really do, they grant hope and strength.  However, it is hard to compare God to these things because God is perfect and things of this world are not because they have been corrupted by sin and the evil one.  God is stronger than a rock, more durable than a fortress and more reliable than a deliverer!  He is our perfect hope, our eternal rest, our ultimate and forever Savior!

 

Dear Father,  Thank You for being not just a rock for us but The Rock of our Salvation.  Please help me to always remember that You are perfect and never-failing!  Amen.

We Need To Rest

Hebrews 4:10 "for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from His."

 

There's a saying I read in an email (author unknown) "God didn't do it all in one day, what makes me think I can?"  In such a fast paced, please everybody, don't quit world, it is easy to lose sight of God's perfect example, of rest, to us.  How many errands and chores did you do yesterday?  Did they bring you closer to God?  God wants us to rest and He wants to show us His rest for us which is a peace so great it could only come from Him!

 

Dear Father, I want to thank You for the day of rest You created for me.  Please help me to remember this day and to not be tempted to work on it.  Amen.

We Are Heirs!

Titus 3:7 "so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life."

 

Whoa!  Heirs with the hope of eternal life?  That's better than the Prize Patrol showing up on my doorstep with $10 Million!  And it's better than being an heir to anything on this earth, more priceless than any treasure of this world...it's the ultimate hope - our eternal Light at the end of the tunnel! 

 

Dear God,  Thank You for Your loving grace, forgiveness and salvation!  Thank You for the BEST inheritance promise ever!  Please help me to always remember that I am saved through faith in Your Son's death which has set me free from the bonds of sin through repentance and Your forgiveness.  Amen.

God Always Answers

Psalm 118:5 "In my anguish I cried out to the Lord, and He answered by setting me free."<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

God may not always set us free from our trials, He may not always remove them from our path however He will not leave us and He will always answer us.  We not always like the answer, especially when it is making us go through the storm and not around it, but He will answer us and He will never leave us so we can cling to Him through it all.

Dear Father, Thank You for the gift of prayer and the open line of communication it leaves between You and me.  Please help me to remember that although Your answer may not always be "yes" there will be an answer...please help me to accept all Your answers with a grateful heart.  Amen.

Beware Of Deceiving Teachings

I Timothy 4:1 "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons."

 

I wonder if we are in the "later times" now because I have read about some institutions calling themselves churches however they have many beliefs that do not stem from the Bible.  It is so important to use the tools God gives us to dispute the falacies that may be spread about by some who may be abandoning the true faith.  Let's cling tight to His precious Word and go to it whenever we have questions about Him.

 

Dear God, Thank You for Your Holy Word which by the inspiration of Your Spirit You have bestowed upon us as a guide to Your promises and our purpose.  Please help me to remain true to You, to Your teachings, to Your Word in all I say, do and believe.  Amen.

His Joy, Our Strength

Nehemiah 8:10 "Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared.  This day is sacred to the Lord.  Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.""

 

I love that last part, "the joy of the Lord is your strength."  Too often I think we try to draw our strength from ourselves, I am so bad at this!  But God is our strength, His joy gives us strength and this knowledge can be put to good use so that we may focus our energy on giving Him glory in all we do! 

 

Father, Thank You for Your joy and for the strength You have granted me through it.  Please help me to cling to this knowledge and call upon You when I begin to feel weak.  Amen.

Victory That Overcomes The World!

I John 5:4 "for everyone born of God overcomes the world.  This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith."

 

Sometimes it's just great to hear that we are already victorious in God!  We are born of Him when we are baptized in His Name and that of His Son and Spirit and at that moment we are granted victory that overcomes the world!  What an awesome blessing to let just soak in...

 

Dear Lord,  Thank You for Your victory which You have graciously granted us through our Spiritual birth in You and through Your Son's sacrifice.  Please help me to always remember that You have already granted me what I need to overcome this world and all that it fights me with.  Amen.

Praise Him Even When...

Psalm 59:16 "But I will sing of Your strength, in the morning I will sing of Your love; for You are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble."

If you read the entire Psalm 59 it will almost seem as if this verse is out of place...David is being risen up against by his enemies for no wrongs done, yet here he stops in his pleas for help to take time to praise our awesome God!  It is not out of place, it is an amazing lesson all in one little chapter!  When times are tough, and it seems everything is against us, it is so important to stop ourselves, in the midst of our please for help, and thank and praise our Lord from the bottom of our hearts for all the blessings He has and does grant us day in and day out.

Heavenly Lord,  I want to thank You for all the gracious blessings You have bestowed upon me and my family.  I want to thank You for always being my help, my fortress, my loving God in times of trouble.  Please help me to always have my heart in the right place and to remember to praise Your holy and awesome Name no matter what I may be going through.  Amen.

Complete Joy

I John 1:4 "We write this to make our joy complete."

 

I think this short verse here packs a big punch in my heart.  John was in essence saying that his joy could not be complete until and unless he shared with as many as he could the Good News about Christ our Savior!  If we are struggling in our joy maybe we need to look at John's example and find out who we can share God's love with today?

 

Dear Lord, Thank You for the blessing of knowing You personally, of having grown up in a place where I can learn about You and worship You without fear.  Please help me to complete my joy in You by sharing Your love and Your Good News with all those around me.  Amen.

We Will Find God

Jeremiah 29:14 "I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.""

 

God knows where we are and He knows where we are going...He tells us that we will find Him and when we do He will bring us back to where we belong.  The good Lord gives and He takes away...but He will bring us back, He will restore us.  We must seek Him and be faithful, keeping our hope in His Word and His promises which are more solid than rock!

 

Dear God, Thank You for all the many blessings You have bestowed upon us.  Please help me to remain thankful through all life's trials and when it seems I am far from You may I please be filled with Your Spirit as I seek to come back into Your embrace.  Amen.

Seeking God

Psalm 35:28 "My tongue will speak of Your righteousness and of Your praises all day long."

 

A lot of charismatic Christian speakers on the TV and in Christian magazines today will tell you about the power of your words.  'Speak what you seek,' they say.  So with this way of thinking, it can more than likely be determined that if we speak of God's righteousness and praises all day long that we will find ourselves closer to God.  Now that's something I would love to seek, wouldn't you?

 

Dear Lord,  Thank You for the power of words that You have given to us through Your Holy Spirit.  Please help me to seek You all day long through speaking Your praises!  Amen.

Blessed Heirs

Acts 3:25 "And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers.  He said to Abraham, 'Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.'"

 

Even though we live under the new covenant, the covenant through Christ's precious blood which broke through the barrier of sin between us and our Father, we are still blessed through the old covenant with Abraham.  In a way I supposed you could say we are doubly blessed!   We have inherited so many blessings our cups are overflowing and God is holding onto us with His loving arms.

 

Dear Lord,  Thank You for all of Your blessings and promises!  Please help me to remember that You began promising our blessings generations and generations ago and I have inherited so much more than my forefathers!  Amen. 

Overflowing Hope!

Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

It's another one of those, "OOOOO, I want that!" mornings!  I love the use of the word overflow here when talking about hope.  I think we all need a little overflow of hope in our lives, don't you?  What an awesome prayer here! 

Dear Father,  I am continually amazed at the simple and awesome power of one single verse in my heart as I read it.  Thank You for Your hope, joy and peace in our lives.  May You please fill us all until we are overflowing with Your hope!  Amen.

Put Your Faith Into Works

James 2:17 "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."

 

We know it is by faith we are saved, not by works...but I think what James is telling us here is that there is no excuse for not putting your faith into action.  If we have a true and solid relationship with Christ through our faith in His cross than we should have a desire to do good works for His glory!

 

Dear Lord,  I am so very grateful for all Your amazing blessings, especially the most important one of all: salvation by Your cross.  Thank You for all of it!  Please help me to put my faith and our relationship into action through my faith so that I may spend each day glorifying You through not only words but also my deeds.  Amen.