Lord, may i regard your Word as more precious than gold and sweeter than honey.
God has definitely been stirring up in me a greater desire to read His word....when I sit at home and think about what to read, it's His beautiful love story written in the bible that He keeps suggesting to me in the depths of my soul. Now - all I have to do is to pick it up and read! Father, I love your love story, write it Father on the inside of my heart that I might have it with me at all times. Help me Father to turn to your book daily! In Jesus Name, Amen.
"[cast] down imaginations, and every high thing that [exalts] itself against the knowledge of God, and [bring] into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."
Right now, in this moment, I am claiming this scripture! My mind is overwhelmed, frustrations lurk around every corner and I know that i know, I HAVE to take captive all of these thoughts floating through my brain!
Thank you God for your Word! Thank you that I have rights to use it in any attack on me! In this moment, I trust in You and speak your word! In Jesus Name, Amen!
In one of my current text books, "Competent Christian Counseling" they describe the difference between sympthy and empathy. In a discussion with a classmate she reminded me of the following:
Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.
This verse spoke to me today...I am constantly reminded that I am a work in progress and so is everyone around me. On the road to who God has called me to be, i am constantly thankful that i am not who and where I used to be.
Fearing people is a dangerous trap,
but trusting the LORD means safety.
Proverbs 29:25
In my encouragement of the day email from Christianity Today's Daily Devotional for Women, they shared that verse along with the following encouragement. They share better than I so I give them the credit:
| Encouragement for Today |
Fearing people, worrying about what they might say or think of you, is a dangerous trap. It leads to all kinds of inner problems and interferes with a sense of security. True security is found in trusting in the Lord alone. Is there any area of your life in which you need to replace fear of people with trust in the Lord? Only then will you truly feel safe. |
You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!
I cant even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!
Psalm 139:16–18
I love this verse....it's so reassuring of God's love and thoughts of us. If only everyone could fully understand the nature of God's love for us, we'd have a world with people content with who they've been created to be and why.
Proverbs 14:26 In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And His children will have a place of refuge.
Father, I thank you for the wisom you share in your Word. It's timely and perfect and simply you. Thank you for your mercy, grace, and love. But mostly God, thank you for the confidence I have found in You. Thank you Lord, that i have a place of refuge from the cruelty and harshness of this world. You have postitioned me where you want me for this time in my life. May I seek you in this place and all around. May i seek your everlasting love. You have a place prepared for me along the road of life. May i be always willing to move when you say and always willing to stand in the face of opposition when you call my name. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Psalm 106:13-15 They soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel, but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tested God in the desert. And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul.
Father, may I never forget the great works you have done in me and in my life. May I always wait and seek out your counsel in all things. May I not lust and be lost in the wilderness, wasting precious time for your kingdom. May my soul remain full and never again have to experience a leanness to my soul. Father, may i abide in you, in your ways, and purpose for my life. In Jesus name, Amen.
19 In the multitude of words sin is not lacking,
But he who restrains his lips is wise.
I've heard it said many a times that we were given two ears and one mouth; therefore, may we listen TWICE as much as we talk. God, help me today to continue to remember that it is wise to listen more than I speak. Move me to seek your wisdom in times where I would naturally allow myself to talk too much. In Jesus Name, Amen.
I quote the following from an online bible study site regarding a study of the book, "The Excellent Wife," by Martha Peace. Lesson 24, The Wife's Domain
"A wife who has a gentle and meek spirit from the Lord provides a calming, soothing, and reassuring atmosphere in her home. She trusts God deeply and does not panic at difficult circumstances. She has a quiet confidence that God will work all things for good to those who love God...(Romans 8:28). Her confidence and faith grows daily as she studies the Scriptures because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ. (Romans 10:17) She has a calming effect on the family, not the effect of alarming and upsetting them. It is reassuring to be around her."
Oh, God...if only this passage described me. But i know, Father that you are working on me and cleaning out my heart! I trust in you to do your work in me. Make me as you will, but show me how to be an Excellant Wife, and Mother. In Jesus name, AMEN.
"God both raised of the Lord and will also raise us up by His power."
We can trust God to take away the pain, hurt, discouragement, hopelessness, and unforgiveness, but "it doesn't happen without a heart for God that is willing to gut it out in prayer, grow through tough times, and wait for love to be resurrected. We have to go through pain to get to the joy." (Stormie Omartian, Power of a Praying Wife)
What are you praying for to have resurrected? Are you willing to "gut it out in prayer?" Are you willing to go through the pain to experience God's joy? If you are, then God promises to raise us up by His power as he did for our Lord.
"I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living." Psalms 27:13
Father God, at just the right time, the verse was sent to me. At a time when I am struggling to find a desire to give this class "my all." As your word said, I will believe that if I do not lose heart, stay strong, keep the endurance, and put forth the necessary effort, I will see Your faithfulness and goodness in my life - the land of the living. For with You, I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. AMEN.
2 Peter 1:2-4 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
May the Lord, my God, bless me over the next 8 weeks with the knowledge of Him and His creation! May my mind be renewed through the vision that God placed forth from the beginning of time when He created Adam and Eve. As I begin the course of Human Biology, may I see the glory and virtue, the knowledge and power, and the nature through which we were created as something beautiful and glorified in Christ! May I be as devoted to this class as I have to all others before it. In Jesus name, AMEN!!!
I want to share with each of you who view this site some words of inspiration that my boss kindly shared with me as I prepared for an interview. Not sure exactly who wrote it, but at the time, the words could have come straight from God directly to my heart.
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are meant to shine, as children do. Its not just in some of us, its in everyone. And as we let our light shine, we consciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
May you all be blessed by this word...I truly was and had the most confident interview ever. (Not that I know I got the job, even the interview was a long shot for me, but just to have the opportunity to feel and truly BE CONFIDENT!)
"When you're down to nothing, God is up to something!" (author unknown)
I found reassuring wisdom in these words. How true it is that when we are so far down that we can't see which way is up, those are usually the times when God is working his hardest with you. He is working something out of you so that there is more of Him in you!
Be Blessed....Gail
