Month: August 2024

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV

Trust is defined as believing in the truth of something, therefore trusting in God is believing the truth that He exists and will do all that He promises to do. Faith takes all of our heart to be strong, to be able to believe without any proof that God is and is in control of everything. Being “all in” with our heart in regards to trust is to not doubt what we believe.

If we trust in the Lord, we should then be willing to lean on Him to help us through life. When we lean on the Lord we are not able to also lean on ourselves or our own understanding because we cannot lean both ways. Admitting that we don’t know everything is essential to remaining in faith and trust because we are willing to trust that God does.

When we admit that someone knows more about a situation than we do, it seems logical to then follow what that person is proposing. Trusting is the first step to following what God is telling us to do so that we are walking the paths He has laid out. By submitting to His way we are also acknowledging that God has a perfect plan. When we are willing to follow God, He will guide us and help us to walk down the path for our lives.

Do you trust in the Lord? Do you trust with all your heart or are you reserving some of your heart to maintain control of a part of your life?

So, are you ‘ALL IN”?

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”  Hebrews 12:1-2a NIV

Have you ever trained for a race or a competition of some kind? I haven’t trained for a race but that doesn’t mean that I don’t know what goes into it. There are hours of practice, time when your mind will remind you that you could have been doing something else, something “fun”. There is skipping of desserts and substituting healthy food choices. The mindset of a commitment to continue all that you are doing to prepare yourself so that you are able to compete.

There is a reason that not everyone is a marathon runner, a competitive weight lifter or an accomplished musician. All of those things take a mindset of sacrifice and a level of commitment that not everyone is willing to pursue. I am not saying that we don’t all have the ability to be committed to something long term or are able to sacrifice what we want to do at times to continue practicing or training for what we are committed to.

I am saying that not everyone chooses to be committed to the level of giving up what our flesh wants most of the time and continuing to focus on the goal of training for a race or practicing to hone a talent. It is very easy to say that we are going to do all these things but it is different when we are actually in the middle of it. However, external support helps.

That is what Paul is doing for the early Christians, he is encouraging them to continue with their faith. He is acknowledging that it is hard and that there are many times when they are going to be tempted to stop. Paul is stating that sin can tempt us all until we feel like we cannot resist any longer.

I am facing this temptation now with this blog. I have made the commitment to write a daily devotional and at the same time, I have been doubting that it is reaching people. This leads me to start thinking about changing it from daily to weekly. The devil is very good at making our flesh scream at us with what it wants, in this case my flesh also would like to stay in bed at times or watch television instead of connect with God and write what He is instructing me to write.

As I have struggled with this, I have found encouragement from my family and friends that I have confided in about this struggle, and all the comments from those who read the blog. I have been reminded me that this is all for God and that I should continue praying and asking for His guidance. I will do that as well as continue writing this blog, the best I can, until I have a clear peace about what I am to do.

Most of all I am going to keep my eyes on Jesus, the author of my faith. I hope this encourages anyone who needs that encouragement right now to continue on in their faith.

“My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music.” Psalms 57:7 NIV

David wrote this psalm while he was hiding from Saul. Saul was searching for David to kill him because of how jealous Saul had become of David and his success. David was now running for his life with Saul in pursuit. While hiding David wrote this psalm to express how he will not stop praising and worshipping God even when things don’t go his way, even when he was facing death if he was caught. His heart is focused on God and he is not going to waver because he is facing trouble. Instead he states that he will remain faithful to God, and he will sing and make music.

We don’t have to be accomplished musicians or singers to make music and sing to God. He loves to hear us just as we are. He made us and He already knows what we sound like so we don’t need to worry about disappointing him with how we sound. The disappointment instead would come if we chose to not sing and make music as we worship Him or if we didn’t keep our heart focused on Him.

God wants us to keep our heart focused on Him because His heart is focused on us. In times of trouble we run to God, which is what we should do, but I would argue that we should be running to Him or focused on Him in the good times as well.

Is your heart locked on God? Do you think about God daily, talk to God daily, contemplate what He would like you to do in situations throughout your day? I pray everyone does because He is thinking about us daily. Do you worship Him so genuinely that you are singing and making music as if no one is listening? I hope so, He deserves to have us worship Him with everything that we have.

“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” Philippians 2:12-13 NIV

Paul is writing to the Philippians and encouraging them to not only live in alignment with God’s will while he is there, but also when Paul leaves and is not there to keep encouraging them. I want to address the part of this verse that states that they were ‘to work out their salvation with fear and trembling’.

In regards to the “to work out” part of the verse, I believe what Paul is saying is that they should be active in their obedience to God and His will. Active in trying to make sure that they are listening to God and trying to discern His will for each one of them. No one can work out your salvation for you because it is yours and yours alone. Each one of us has to decide how we are going to think about things, react to things and choose to live life.

When we choose to follow God, we are choosing to listen to Him always and not only in moments that we find convenient. Working out our salvation, to me, means listening to God in difficult times when our flesh is screaming that it wants to get revenge or to not forgive and we know that at the same time God is whispering to us to be kind, merciful and forgive. Following God’s lead and being obedient is hard but possible because we have God on our side.

As for the “with fear and trembling”, Paul was not encouraging them to be in a constant state of fear. I believe that he was telling them to have a reverential fear of God. Not a fear of Him hurting them but a fear of them disappointing Him by not being obedient. People sometimes become complacent in their walk with God and start not obeying God’s directions fully. They believe that they have done so much good for so long that just this time they can not do everything that God wants them to do. Unfortunately that “one” time becomes “many” times and the next thing they know they are not following God’s will very much at all in their lives.

We are each responsible to figure out how we want to listen to God and how we want to follow God. No one else can figure this out for us. Are you actively “working out your salvation” or have you become complacent?

“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” 2 Peter 3:8 NIV

Christians have tried for years to figure out when the end of times will be. When the events will begin, how long they will be and when they will end. Prophecy gives us some answers, the Bible gives more answers but this verse speaks to me that we are not going to know the detailed answers to those questions.

We cannot take these verses literally that a day in heaven is a thousand years here on earth. By describing time this way, Peter was trying to help others understand that God is eternal, He doesn’t have a clock that ticks off seconds, minutes and hours. He is purposeful in His plan and doesn’t rush because He knows that there is plenty of time where He is concerned.

Jesus showed us that the Kingdom of God does not function the same way as the world functions and it places importance on things that this world disregards including that our time frame is not His time frame. I know that as a Christian I would love to see Jesus return triumphantly in the clouds now but I also know that as a Christian I want God’s will to be done. If it is not God’s will for Jesus to return now then I believe that God has more planned.

Heavenly Father, please help us to remember in those times when we search for answers to questions that only You know the answers to that we are to rest in Your hands. If we are ready at all times, it will not matter when Jesus returns so please help us to be ready for Him. In Jesus’s precious name, Amen.

“The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.” Psalms 37:23-24 NIV

In this psalm, David is giving advice to others as he has grown older and has seen the mercies of the Lord. David experienced many times, God lifting him back up after he stumbled. This psalm is filled with encouragement for those in David’s time, as well as us, to remain connected to God.

We all stumble, some more than others, but we all do it. One of the most precious times to remember that stumbling will happen and that God is there to pick us back up, is at the beginning of our walk with Christ. When we accept Jesus, the devil ups his game and tries to stop us from continuing to develop our relationship with Jesus. He wants to stop it before we get too involved in our faith, before we are too committed to Christ.

Unfortunately for the devil, the Lord doesn’t give up that easy. He will be right there when we stumble, He will catch us, give us His hand to hold on to. He is always there for us. The Lord will fight for us, He will comfort us, He will help us, we only have to remain connected to Him.

Are you connected to God? Do you know when you stumble that God will be there to pick you up and help get you back on track?

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV

Jesus was perfect. He lived a perfect life and not because He couldn’t sin but because He chose not to sin. He is God and He willingly came to earth to live a life bound by all the human limitations we have. Jesus had parents who loved Him but were not perfect. He chose 12 people who were not perfect, that no one thought could change the world and He led them.

Jesus maintained His perfection even though everyone around Him was imperfect. He watched everyone of them sin, usually daily. Jesus wanted them to be forgiven, just as He wants us to be forgiven.

Jesus willingly took on all of our sin. He didn’t have to agree to do this, but He did. He lived His life knowing that in the end He would suffer at the hands of the very individuals He came to save. As He hung on that cross, everyone of our sins, all of them, were placed on Him so that the final price could be paid in full.

Because of His sacrifice, we are able to be righteous in God’s eyes. We are able to stand before God washed of all of our sins. We are as white as snow, innocent, as if we had never sinned in the first place. That is an amazing gift and I am sad that there are individuals who do not accept that Jesus did that for every last one of us.

I pray that as you read this, that if you are not saved, you would talk to God. Listen to Him as He speaks to you. Jesus wants what is best for you, He came to save you. If you believe you are worthy of being saved or you don’t, please realize that He came to save you. He gave His life so that each one of us, which includes you, can have the choice to accept Him as Lord and Savior or not. My prayer is that everyone accepts Him.

“You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.” Acts 2:28 NIV

This verse is part of the speech that Peter made during Pentecost when over 3,000 people came to know Jesus and were saved. During Pentecost, Peter and the other disciples who had been in the house were filled with the Holy Spirit and were able to do things that they had not done before. Peter who had denied Jesus 3 times to small groups of people on the night Jesus was arrested, now stood in front of over 3,000 people and was shouting for them to hear him.

He was explaining to the crowd gathered around him and the other disciples that resurrection of the Messiah that had occurred 50 days prior to this gathering had been prophesized in scripture in what we know to be the Old Testament. That the path that history was to take had been laid out and talked about years before any of it happened.

When Peter was talking about the paths of life, he wasn’t referring to the road he was walking on to get from town to town. He was referring to the path that leads to salvation and righteousness in the eyes of God the Father. The path that aligns with God’s perfect will. When we are able to see the path that God wants us to walk, I believe we can see the other path of life that we could choose at that moment as well.

I visualize a path that comes to a ‘V’ and as we stand there we are able to see the path that God wants for us to walk and the other path at the same time. It is our choice at that moment to choose which path we are going to walk down. God has given us the choice and presented the options, it is up to us to choose who we will follow, God or the world.

In the second half of this verse, Peter is talking about joy and the joy that he is talking about is not an emotion that is reliant on circumstance. This joy only comes from being in a relationship with God, being in His presence when we pray and worship Him. Joy of this kind runs deep inside us and fills up holes we have in our souls, holes that nothing else can fill. We were made to be in a personal intimate relationship with God and when we are able to see that, choose that and live that, we are filled with an unspeakable joy.

I cannot imagine what it was like to be there in the presence of the Holy Spirit filling these faithful followers of Jesus as they spoke so boldly of His life, His deity, His death and resurrection. The energy and excitement at the possibility of salvation for this large crowd of people must have been overwhelming, and yet, Peter and the disciples did exactly what they were led to do by the Holy Spirit, they did not cower in the corner or become afraid of what the crowd could do to them. Instead they preached to the crowd and confronted the crowd with the truth and then led them to eternal salvation.

We all have paths that we can choose from, the path that the world would like us to walk and the path the God has laid out that follows His perfect will for our lives. It is our choice which we choose to follow. I know that the path of the world looks wonderful on the surface, but it is filled with pain and disappointment because it is a path that veers away from God.

The path that God has laid out for each one of us doesn’t always look like the path we want to take. I can attest that it wasn’t the path that I thought I wanted to take at first either. I thought I knew what I wanted in life and I didn’t believe that I could have those things or accomplish those things by walking the path that God laid out for me. I was so incredibly wrong.

Once I decided to choose to follow Jesus, truly follow Him, I have walked a path that has not always been easy, but I have never been alone on it. The most important part of walking this path that leads to righteousness in God is that I am able to be in a personal relationship with my Creator. The joy that I feel each day is only because I am able to be in that relationship and God is in my life.

So, my question to you to think about today is……..which path do you want to choose?

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” Psalms 32:8 NIV

Some commentaries interpret this verse as David talking to others that he is leading, while other commentaries interpret this verse as God speaking to David. Either way the idea conveyed is a sound one, whether you are the teacher or the student. I want to look at it from the point of the student who is being talked to.

As a parent who wants to teach my child how to be a trustworthy person, a productive citizen and an honest friend, I find comfort in this verse. My child does not have to ask me to teach him, he doesn’t need to come to me and plead for my guidance, I will give it to him as his parent. I want my child to know that as his parent, I will teach him, guide him and watch over him. That he doesn’t need to find guidance any where else, he doesn’t need to go looking in other places for it. I feel that same sense of commitment from the Lord as I read Psalms 32:8.

The Lord is telling me that all I have to do is listen to Him, that He is wanting to teach me, guide me, show me what I am to do in this life to be the person that He knows I can be. He wants what is best for me, as parents should. In this verse He promised to instruct me and teach me in how to live life as His child. He is saying that He will keep His eye on me and counsel me when I need help, which to be honest, is daily.

I also believe that He is saying that since He is instructing me, teaching me, guiding me that I don’t need to look to myself or other people for those things. This is important, especially when I face situations in my life where I are so overwhelmed by what is going on around me or to me that I loose focus. Instead of keeping my eyes on Jesus, I begin to look solely at the challenge I am facing and how big it is or how impossible to overcome it feels. I try to figure out how I am going to solve the problem when all I need to do it look to God for direction and He will provide it to me.

In those times, all of us need to have a foundation of scripture to help us remember that God is always there, always watching us and wants to guide us in what we are to do. I believe that the Holy Spirit, who lives inside each one of us as God’s child, is always working on our behalf, giving us those prompts we need to make sure we are remaining focused on Jesus and not on our own strength to work through situations.

As I said, I feel comfort when I read this verse because I know that I have a Father who is there for me, wanting to guide me, teach me, show me what I should be doing to live life the way that I should be living it. Not everyone has an earthly father who wants to be there for his children, but as a Christian, we always have a heavenly Father who will never leave us and is always watching over us.

Have a wonderful day.

“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8 NIV

Moses is talking to Joshua in this passage about what he is to do as the new leader of the Israelites. Moses will not go into the promised land because he was disobedient to God but the people will need someone to lead them. Joshua is that person. Moses is encouraging him because there is a battle coming.

The promised land was not a barren land that the Israelites could just walk in to and claim as their own, it was an occupied city. Canaan was a well established land with culture all it’s own. The citizens were not going to just abandon their homes because Joshua said that the Lord promised this land to Abraham and his descendants over 400 years prior. Joshua and the Israelites were going to have to take the land, so Joshua was going to lead them into battle, but he wasn’t going alone.

Taking over for Moses was a big job and I imagine that Joshua may have been a little nervous. Moses is encouraging him as he has in the past and as he has encouraged the Israelites for 40 years that the Lord is with them. He tells Joshua that he is not going into battle alone, that God is actually going ahead of them and preparing the land for the battle. Moses also told Joshua that when he gets there that the Lord would not leave at that point but that the Lord was going to be with Joshua and the Israelites for the entire time even after the land was finally theirs.

There have been many times when we are facing life events that we wonder if the Lord has left us, but just as Moses assured Joshua that he was not alone in this verse, we need to take comfort that this verse is telling us that we are not alone as well. We are God’s children and He will not leave us. We are not going anywhere that God has not already gone and He will lead us through everything, if we let Him. He will lead us but we have to choose to follow, He will not take us kicking and screaming. It is our free will choice to make.

Which choice have you made? Follow Jesus or go your own way?