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Over the years many people have shared with me their ‘Life Verse.” This is a verse that speaks to them and they refer to it often.  I personally have never chosen a life verse.  There seems to be so many verses in the Bible that inspire and encourage me that I have never zeroed in on just one.

Several weeks ago as I was reading in Psalms, I came across a verse that seemed to jump off the page. That verse was:

Psalm 116:9, “I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.” 

This one simple truth has affected my entire life. By focusing on the fact that God is always present and everything I do is visible before Him has comforted me and encouraged me to live the way I should.

This thought is not new to me. I covered it in my first book in the chapter “God is Always Near.”  Here is a quote from that book:  “I began to visualize Him (God) across the whole sky of my life.  A panoramic view of His presence.  Up there watching, up there caring, up there wanting to help me, …”

This reality had become a part of my life, but this one verse summed it up so nicely and brought it into such clear focus that I knew it had to be my ‘Life Verse.’ I quote it frequently throughout the day, along with a thank you to God for being with me as I walk through this life on earth.

Another quote from the book is a message for all of us. “All day long, picture yourself as being surrounded by God’s presence…feel His presence, experience His presence, and acknowledge His presence.   What a  difference it will make in your life!”

Proverbs 21:1, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.”

Are you frustrated, disappointed, angry at our leaders, or president? Are you upset with the way our country is heading?  Always keep in mind that God is in control – nothing happens that He does not allow.  We could become confused if we didn’t trust that all that is happening is under God’s authority.

God knows all about the evil and corruptness in high places. He is not caught off guard by the sinfulness of our nation.  (He certainly does not like it and will judge it in His time.)   But, until then, we must keep our hearts and minds on the fact that God is still on the throne.  Our leaders and president could do nothing if God did not allow it.

So what is our position to be in all of this?   We are not helpless – we can make a difference.

• We should seek to turn things around by winning people to the Lord.
• We should pray that God will change the heart of our leaders .
• We should bombard the throne of heaven on behalf of our country.

Most importantly we should believe that God could and would change the heart of the king if we pray and care!

Are you doing your part for America?

Isaiah 43:2, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee:  when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.”

 In this verse God is promising His presence in the life of His people.

“I will be with thee..”

After making this statement, God goes on to list some pretty harrowing circumstances – deep water – and fire.

Basically. God is saying that–no matter what hardships or circumstances you are facing in your life, you do not need to be afraid because He is going through them with you.

I quote Isaiah 41:13 frequently in my mind, “For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.”

These two verses fit nicely together. God not only promises to be with us in all the problems of life but He promises to hold our right hand as we go through them.

Notice that there is no promise here of our not having problems or hardships – only that we need not fear them or be overwhelmed by them. God will be with us to help us through all of them — no matter how serious they are.

Claim these promises of God and there will be peace in the chaos of this life!

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!

Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”

What a great promise! Our part is to desire and want to know God’s truths, and God’s part is to satisfy and fill us.  Since the Scriptures are the only way we can learn about what God teaches about righteousness, we need to have a desire to know the Word.

Hungering and thirsting are pretty strong emotions.  God wants us to have the same intensity of desire to know His Word and His ways.  This hungering and thirsting after righteousness is satisfied when we are actually in the Word of God studying.  It seems that nowadays everyone is so busy.  This seems to be the most common excuse people use for not reading the Scriptures and mediating on what they read.  The second most common excuse I hear is that, “I’m too tired.”

These two areas may seem like legitimate reasons to neglect our devotional time with God. But, are they really?  I think not.  Life can be busy and we can be tired by the end of the day but the truth is we find time for many of the things that we desire to do:  watch T.V., read a newspaper, talk on the phone, check out face book, work on the computer, etc.    If we are truly hungering and thirsting to fellowship with God and grow in the knowledge of His Word, we will find time to do so.

My challenge for you today is to evaluate the way you spend your time and decide if your priorities are what they should be – God first – before everything else!

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 sought 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!

Psalm 118:24 “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

Two wonderful thoughts are conveyed in this verse:

One –
God has made today and He is in control of ALL that happens in it.  Focus on this fact and not on the circumstances that a day may bring forth.  You may be tempted to grumble and complain about life OR  you can do what God says in I Thessalonians 5:18, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

Be thankful when things are going the way you desire and be thankful when they are not.  Good times and hard times are all part of the “everything” represented in 1 Thessalonians 5:18.

Two –
Rejoice.  We need to have a good and joyous attitude about each day that God has allowed us to live through.  To be glad is to be happy and happiness is a CHOICE we need to make every day.  Happiness is not centered around what is happening around you, it should be centered in the fact that God loves you and has promised never to leave you nor forsake you.  We have an eternity with God to look forward to and this truth alone gives us cause to be joyous through each and every day.

TODAY – Thank God and remember to rejoice in His love and presence in your life!

Dear Reader,
I love God’s Word and I love to write. The two seem to go together in my life.  I have written a book that is a devotional challenge for ladies and have just about finished the second one.  The purpose of these books is to give women a purposeful and planned method of studying God’s Word.  As I was praying about the things I have learned and the many blessings that God has given me as I read the Bible, the Lord impressed upon me to share short devotionals through a blog.  I have over the years filled many notebooks with verses and notes about these verses as I meditated upon them.  I hope these devotionals will be an inspiration to you as you read them.   If all goes well, I plan to post one every day.
Sincerely,   Victoria Jackson

Ladies Challenge for October 2016

Proverbs 31:31 “Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.”

 Fruit of her hands. Fruit sounds like something good; like an accomplishment.  This woman is a “doer”.  She is not idle (v27).  Her life is productive for God and for others.

We need to evaluate our life and decide if this is the type of woman we are. When your head hits the pillow at night can you reflect on the day and see what you have accomplished that was worthwhile.  Or, was it a hit or miss, up and down day with not much of lasting value to show for it?  Somehow, I don’t think this type of day is a day that would be a cause for praise in the gates.

I wonder if we faced each day with the thought that we were aiming to accomplish something praise worthy – By God’s judgment,  By our families judgment, or  By another’s judgment, if this would make a difference in how we spend our time?  I think it would!

When you approach the month of October, face each day with the idea of doing a least one thing from this list that:

1   Pleases God – something extra that has only God in mind.

2.  Something that is done for your family, your husband, your children.  Be creative here, do something that will make another’s day special.

3.  Something for someone else that is apart from family.  It could be a friend, a neighbor, a fellow church member etc.  Anyone God lays on your heart.

This is a challenge – an assignment to do every day for the month of October.  It will take focus and work, but I believe it will make for a great month.  Let your “own works” praise you in the gates, because you are the type of person God wants you to be, doing the things that He wants you to do!

(Just a note here that I’m sure you already know –  These actions are coming from a servant’s heart that wants to please God – not a prideful heart that says “look at me”.  I believe God wants us to do praise worthy things for Him.  I believe to focus on these types of actions are pleasing to Him.  So have a good month!)