Psalm 69:16, “Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.” 

“Hear me, O LORD:” This is a sincere request by a mere man to a Holy God.  The God who created this universe.

We all have needs, wants, and requests and we are asking this supreme God to hear us. How is this possible?  The answer is in the second part of this verse.  God hears us not because we are worthy to be heard but because of His lovingkindness and tender mercies.  He cares about us and desires to fellowship with us through prayer.

I fear we often take this privilege too lightly. We can rattle off our prayers with little thought and much speed without even considering WHO we are talking to.

Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

Prayer is one of the greatest benefits of the Christian. We have direct access to a Holy God who loves us and wants to guide and direct us through this uncertain and rocky life.  He wants to meet every need that we have.   (This access is available to us through believing and accepting the work that Jesus did on the cross.)

The next time you go to prayer, think about the great privilege that it is, and think about who you are talking with.  Don’t forget to thank Him for this privilege and make sure you take time to listen for His answer!

Psalm 113:3,  “From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD’s name is to be praised.”

I call this my ‘Sunshine Verse’ because it expresses an attitude of praise and thanksgiving that we are to have ALL day long. Our focus needs to be on the good things in ourlives and not all the things that are irritations to us.  Life can be filled with rain clouds and problems, but remember that the sun is shining somewhere above those clouds.

We need to look through the clouds of hardships and disappointments and see the sunshine of God’s presence. We need to live in an attitude of trusting that God is in control and He is working everything out for our good and His glory  (Romans 8:28).  Believing this is the only way that praising God all day long is possible!

It is pretty hard to be grumbling and praising at the same time. It takes discipline to thank God when things are not going the way that we desire.  We could even call it a great effort, to praise God  when things are going awry.  But, the interesting thing is that when we do this it takes our focus off the ‘bad things’ and puts it where it should be – on God.

The song by Helen Howarth Lemmel, “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus”, sums this truth up nicely:

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face; and the things of earth will grow strangely dim In the light of His glory and grace.”

When our eyes are on the Lord, then we will be able to praise the LORD’s name all day long!

Proverbs 22:1 “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour, rather than silver and gold.” 

What exactly is a “Good Name”? It goes much, much deeper than what you are called by other people.  It’s the real you:  your character, the most basic fundamental you.  It’s how the world sees you and it’s who God knows you are.

God says that a “good name” is more important than “great” riches. I love the way that God gets His point across.  He wants us to pay attention and understand this truth.  He just doesn’t say riches – He says, “Great Riches” – lots and lots of riches, oodles and oodles of riches, overflowing riches – you get the picture.  So what is this that God is saying we should chose over a great deal of money and things?  He is clearly and simply saying it is who we are that counts, not what we have.   This statement is definitely worth repeating because in our mixed up, out of whack world, this is not the way man thinks.  He evaluates his worth around what he possesses and can often care little about his character.

We all know that God judges the heart.   He sees our inner most self.  But, it is important to remember that the world (those around us) can only see our outward actions.  To have a “good name” before the world demands certain visible qualities on our part.  You must be:

Humble, honest, friendly, have integrity, be consistent in good conduct, show compassion, have concern for others, have Christ like communications, ___, ___.                (You fill in the blanks  –  I think you get the idea.)

How you live says more about you than what you say. You can tell others about the Lord but if they don’t see Him in your life it does more harm than good.  You can relate the truths that you learn from the Scriptures but if you aren’t living them it means nothing. How you act and live does count!

This blog is an excerpt from the book, “I Want to be a Better Me for God”   Chapter 16

The other day I heard a terrible cry at my patio door. It sounded like two cats fighting.  I opened the door, and my cat came rushing in as a neighbor’s cat went scrambling down the path.  He was obviously harassing her.  She knew that safety was available in her home and she was crying out, “Let me in, I need help.”  As she sat in my lap purring, I think she was actually smiling (well, it looked that way to me).  She seemed so happy to be out of dangers way.

This situation made me think about the verse found in Psalms:

Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” 

This is a short verse with a mega message!

A ‘refuge’ is a shelter or place of protection from danger or distress. ‘Strength’ is firmness, power, support or security.  And ‘present’ means ready, at hand, now existing, and available. (1828, Dictionary)

Put all these thoughts together and we have a wonderful promise from God Himself, to us His children.

God is our place of protection and shelter. He will give us the strength we need to meet all the demands of our daily lives.  He is always ready and available to help us.  (I don’t know if cats can smile but this verse definitely warms my heart and makes ME smile.)

The fact that God loves us and desires to be an active part of our lives should be a great encouragement to us. We don’t need to muster up the strength to face the trials of life.  We just need to go to the door of God’s love and cry – let me in, I need help.  He is always there ready to open that door – all we need to do is knock!

(Blog first published on March 4, 2017)

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Psalm 116:1 ” I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.” 

I love God because of WHO He is. I love God because He sent His Son to die for me. I love God because He has saved me and I have a place in Heaven reserved for me.

I love God for many reasons so this verse made me stop and think. God showed me this was in truth one of the reasons that I love Him. The deep felt love that I have for God comes from the fact that I can personally see Him working in my life.

I have prayed and He has answered.
I have asked and He has replied.
I have seeked direction and He has led.
I have followed His Word and He has blessed.

It truly is an amazing thing that God cares about me and you so much that He hears our prayers and supplications. He is a PERSONAL God and this personal relationship grows each day because of His presence in our lives.

Psalm 116:2, is a continuation of this truth:

“Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon Him as long as I live.”

I CALL   –   HE ANSWERS   

What a great truth!

(This is a republication of the blog posted on March 2, 2017)

Proverbs 22:19a, “That thy trust may be in the LORD,” 

I love these ‘short’ verses that have a ‘long’ meaning. The Bible is full of them.   There are many verses that talk about trusting God.  Why does it seem so hard to follow this simple admonition from the Scriptures?  It is probably because      ‘trust’ is not simple at all.  Trust, belief, faith – all of these are unnatural responses on our part.  We want to know why.  We want to understand.  We want to see where something is leading and know the results before we commit.  But, God says – NO – look up.  Look beyond the problem and see Me.  I am in control.  I will work everything out for your good and my glory (Romans 8:28).

God tells us to step out when we don’t have an answer and cannot see the end result. He is telling us to KNOW that He is in control because He has told us so.  God tells us in John 3:16, that He loved us so much He send His Son to die for us.  He has promised never to leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). The Bible is full of verses that talk about how much God loves us.  This knowledge alone should cause us to trust that nothing comes into our lives that He does not know about and He is allowing it for a reason.  His desire is for us to trust Him – no matter what.

When we look at life through the eye glasses of faith, there will be no room for anxiety or fear. We need to pray as the apostles did in Luke 17:5b,  “Lord, Increase our faith.” Know that to trust in the midst of problems and hardships is difficult – but it is not impossible when you reach out and ask the Lord to help you!

Matthew 9:29 “Then touched He their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.” 

In Matthew 9:27, two blind men followed Jesus begging Him to heal them. Jesus simply asks them a question.  “Believe ye that I am able to do this?”  They answered,  “Yea Lord.” Jesus then touches their eyes and says,  “According to your faith be it unto you,” and their eyes were opened.

In this particular passage (Matthew 9:27-29), Jesus was asking these blind men if they believed He had the power to heal them. Their answer was a definite, “Yes, Lord”.  The verse goes on to say that Jesus replied, “according to your faith be it unto you.”  I believe that Jesus looked into their hearts and saw true faith and confidence in Him, so He honored their faith and healed them.

Jesus is asking you this same question today. “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”  The “this” in the question can refer to any need that you have in your life.  He is asking you to line up your need side by side with His power and ability to meet that need.  He is asking you to decide in your heart if He is capable of taking care of the problem. The verse goes on to say, “according to your faith be it unto you.”

Your faith really does determine how God can work in your life. What you accomplish for God is in direct proportion to your belief that God will give you the strength and ability to do whatever He asks you to do, and that He will take care of any and all problems that should arise in your life.

Let’s not hinder His work in our lives because of our lack of belief!

  (This blog is an excerpt from chapter 11, “I Want to be a Better Me for God.”)

Philippians 2:3, “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.” 

Lowliness of mind – if this were the attitude of our hearts, there would be very little strife going on around us. Life seems to be full of worrying about self. All of us – young, old, educated, uneducated, etc.- seem to be affected by the “How does this affect me?  syndrome.  BUT, this is not God’s way.  He says we are to put others first.  You can’t explain the statement, “let each esteem other better than themselves,” in any other way.

I’m sure you are all familiar with the acronym for Joy:

Jesus – first — Others – second — Yourself – last.

Simple, yet, so true. This is God’s way, but it is not the natural way of man.  It takes a concentrated effort on our part to put self in the back seat and put others first.

There are other verses that express this same truth:

Romans 12;10,  “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;”

Romans 15:1,2,  “We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.  Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to  edification.”

If a decision, any decision, is based only on how it affects you – you may have to step back and ask yourself if you are following God’s admonition to put others first.  When you do something for others, with no thought of getting something in return, you are obeying God and being the testimony that He desires for you to be!

Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” 

If you are heavy laden with a great burden, Jesus says, “Come unto me, … and I will give you rest.” It is interesting that He should use the word ‘rest’.  He doesn’t say, come unto me and I will take all of your problems away.  He doesn’t say that He will solve every difficulty in our lives.  What He does say is that He will give us rest in the midst of these problems.

Think about how conflicts and problems affect our lives: we get upset, we get all nerved up, we worry, we fret, we can’t sleep — these symptoms can go on and on.  (Now, the word ‘rest’ takes on a whole new meaning.  It is exactly what we need during these times!)

This rest is available to all of us. Our responsibility is to take our cares and burdens to Jesus and — this is important — leave them there.  Trust that He is taking care of them – even when you cannot see how He is working.  Rest in this knowledge and rebuke any hint of taking the problem back.  Unfortunately this is a tendency we all have – we give a burden to God and in a very short time we are back to fretting and worrying about it again.  This is not the trust that will result in rest.

Remember Jesus says…….COME TO ME — TRUST ME — FOCUS ON ME…….and the problems of life will take their rightful place and you will have rest for your souls.

(This devotional is an excerpt from the book “I Want to be a Better Me For God”  chapter 9)

Matthew 6:33a, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; “ 

I love this verse and quote it often in my life. I’ve already used it as the theme of several blogs – but here I go again.  The message is so great because it deals with priorities.  For some reason our society has gotten so mixed up about what is really important.  God’s Word is so clear and to the point – put God first – period!

I asked myself this simple question – “How is seeking God first in my life translated into the reality of living?” What is it that we need to do to actually put God first in our lives?  Here are some of the thoughts that came to me:

• Think about and consider the day ahead with God in mind. (Not as an afterthought but as a first thought.) Be willing to use your time doing things that matter to God more than things that matter to you.
• Read God’s Word and spend time in prayer every morning. I know some mornings are very hectic – this does not need to be your main Bible reading for the day, but it does need to be included in the start of each day.
• Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to someone to minister to during the day. Either with the message of salvation or of encouragement.
• Remember to do everything that you do with the thought of ‘doing it heartily as to the Lord.’ (This can make even the worst task, a blessing!)
• Spend disciplined time reading and meditating on God’s Word every day. (This means to spend some ‘serious’ time in the Scriptures – fellowshipping and communicating with God.)

I want to encourage you to make your own list of how you can show, by your life, that you are ‘seeking to put God first.’   It is worth taking the time to set your priorities (with God’s help) -write them down and refer to them often.  Remember……

“Only one life twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last!”