Day #72 - 'A Woman of Faith' Devotional Verse: "The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped." Proverbs 11:25 MSG
The old saying goes, 'Find a need and fill it'... whatever talent or gift you have, each of us is called to serve. Serving is giving of one's self in order to fulfill a need of another. Jesus showed us a great example of servant-hood when he washed his disciples feet. Such a small menial task, but it meant the world to the disciples, and to Jesus. We need to be the 'hands and feet' of Jesus to this world, and when we serve, others will bless us in return. God will bless us as well. When we serve others, someone will serve us; when we help others, someone else will help us as well. We do not give to receive, yet in some cases we do. Sometimes it's great to help, or serve or bless anonymously, so that you can watch the joy of another grow, and all the glory goes to God.
Thinking of the people in Japan, and other parts of this world who are in turmoil, due to the 'groaning of the earth' -- I also think of the COMPASSSION & WORLD VISION children all around the world (and those children who do not have sponsors). We don't have to be a missionary across the world, but it's good to give towards the mission trips of those who can go. They are our hands and feet, as well as Jesus'!
C'mon, let's be the 'hands and feet' of Jesus!
Audio Adrenaline - 'Hands & Feet' ENJOY this lil' song... one of my fav's;
DAY #47 - 'A Woman of Faith' Devotional Verse: "Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him, and He will help you." Psalm 37:5
The verse just before this one (v.4) is also important - "Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:" (NIV) "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart... Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass." (NKJV) WOW! Can you imagine the blessings that God has in store for you, if we delight ourselves in Him, commit our way to Him, and trust in Him. Sounds fun and exciting, but to seek His blessings is not what we should be doing in life... we should be seeking Him, the giver of those blessings first. Matthew 6:33 says, "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (NIV) We need to stop ourselves from seeking revival, seeking healing, seeking blessings, seeking protection, seeking created things, etc first... we need to seek the Reviver, the Healer, the Blesser, the Protector, the Creator, etc. God desires us to seek Him above all else, and then ALL those other things shall be added unto us.
It's not easy to trust God in good and bad times, but it sure is rewarding. God never gives us tests that we cannot pass. In our own mindset we can seem to be a failure, or we can fail by the wrong choices we make, but His plan for this world is that we all 'pass'. He has BIG plans for all of us. (See Jeremiah 29:11)
God is still God, and always will be God. All (small 'g') 'gods' have all passed away, or will soon pass away. We need to put our hope and trust in things that last, and God is something that has been, is, and will be forever and ever. We can't just trust God on Sundays, and give Him parts of us. We need to trust God with EVERYTHING... finances, health, provision, protection/safety, workplace circumstances & co-workers, our homes & family, daily circumstances, emotional moments, relationships & friendships... EVERY area of our daily lives (inside and out). But we cannot always expect immediate blessings for obedience and trust. Sometimes God desires us to wait on Him for the answer. If things come too quickly we will start to think we can gain in our own strength. But when we wait on the Lord, He shall renew our strength... (Isaiah 40:31) And in just a few verses after today's verse it says, "Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes." (Psalm 37:7)
We need to stop any immediate thoughts of jealousy or envy - - wicked people of the world might be seeming to succeed, but the Lord will take vengeance in time. We also cannot become jealous or bitter towards fellow Christian brothers & sisters who are receiving blessings - especially blessings that we are desiring or that we think we are deserving of. We need to celebrate with them in their joy, for they have been found faithful in the eyes of the Lord. We need to step forth in love, and not judgement and bless them in return as well. God can and will do things for us, but we need to be in the right place with Him.
Lessons learned today... #1 SEEK GOD FIRST (& His kingdom)! #2 DELIGHT yourself in the LORD #3 COMMIT all that you do to Him...
DAY #33 - 'A Woman of Faith' Devotional Verse: "Honour God with everything you own; give Him the first and the best. Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over." Proverbs 3:9-10
This verse excites and challenges me all at the same time. Honouring God, by giving Him your first and your best will allow us to receive great blessings that will burst and brim over. Doesn't that excite you too? Yet it is a challenging task to keep God #1. Giving Him all you have, because well it is all His in the first place anyway. He just loans it to us to see what we will do with it. Will we use it to His glory, or our own? Where do we place our emphasis each day, on our relationship with Him, or on other relationships?
Are we truly willing to place Him first in our lives? We need to, as told to us in Matthew 6:33, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." If we seek Him first, keep Him first, and give Him our first-fruits and our best, then all other things will be given to us as well. WOW! What a challenge... seek, keep & give!
There is a quote by Doris Greig regarding this topic found in my devotional book today; "If choosing to spend time alone with God is a real struggle -- a heavy-handed demand that only adds more guilt and stress to your already overblown schedule-- it's time to change the way you approach His presence." Another WOW! statement, eh? How do YOU approach His presence? Is he a force who is there when you desperately call out to Him in times of trouble, and then you feel guilt for not talking to Him at other times? Or is he your Daddy, your Papa God who is there whenever you need to talk to Him throughout the day.
We as a church are at the beginning of a 21-Day Corporate Fast, as we want to SEEK GOD FIRST as a church body. We need to know His direction and will that He desires for us as a church. We want to hear from Him, and know that we will be blessed DOUBLE for the things that we are petitioning for throughout these 21 days. Each of us are fasting something different, some are fasting every meal, some are fasting certain foods, some are fasting different activities or hobbies. Something we are giving up, so that we can put off distractions to come face to face with God. I believe that fasting will bring us closer to God, and to know the visions He has for us corporately and also individually, and He will show us how to live those visions out as well. We cannot help others live out their untapped potential, until we can do it in our own lives as well. We cannot all be the teachers, the pastors, the apostles, the shepherds, the prophets, and the evangelists. Some of us need to fulfill our calling utilizing our own gifts and talents for the best of the church body, and the community around us. I believe that doing this in February is not just because it's the first month that came after the fasting call, yet because our church is called to be a church of LOVE, and February is the month of LOVE. God will inhabit our praises, and will teach us how to love each other, love ourselves, and most importantly love Him with a pure and passionate love. He is going to re-kindle the fires of our first love, so that we may in turn love those 'unloveables' (so named by the world) out in our community.
I am excited about drawing closer to God, and also giving Him the first and best! It's going be a long and challenging road, but with corporate prayers, and with Holy Spirit we can tackle anything that comes our way. The devil is ticked off that we are moving forward in the things of God, trying to become the M.E. (Maximum Effectiveness) that God has called each of us to be. God is going to do a great work in the church, and in each of the ministries of the church, including the Childcare Centre (in the staff, the children and their families as well). PRAISE THE LORD... and OPEN THE FLOOD GATES OF HEAVEN, and LET IT RAIN... may our hearts, barns, lives, cups burst forth the blessings of the Lord! :)
We are getting so much snow, as God is trying to RAIN DOWN, but the world has grown so cold, that all we get is SNOW... :) God is reminding us that He washes us pure as freshly fallen snow. His blood cleanses and covers us, and He removes our iniquities and transgressions!
The Lord wants to BLESS our socks off... He wants to give us all that we desire and more. Most of the things are things that we think we need, but really they are actually just wants. We need to stop stressing over things so much, and allow God to fulfill His destiny for us. We need to be able to live with the things He grants us, and desire that which He wants to give us, not just that which we want for ourselves.
When we rest in the arms of the Lord, all pain, hurt, sadness, hate, trouble and more goes away. We just float in the 'stream' with Him. The stream that grants us peace, joy, love, hope and more good things! We are not truly ready to be in the 'river' with Him, but we should be able to enter the stream of life with Him.
I thank the Lord for allowing us to 'find Him' and 'chase Him', but in the end, it is He who actually catches us. He should be all that we desire, and when we desire Him and Him alone, He will give us that which we need, and desire! Thinking to MATTHEW 6:33... "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." When we truly put Him FIRST (in the place He should be), all that which we need will be ours. Earlier in the 6th chapter of Matthew starting at verse 25, the Word tells us not to worry. Worry causes stress, and stress causes more pain in the end than what we started with. There is a saying, 'That which angers you, controls you', and I certainly have let a lot of anger get into my heart & mind, mainly at work in dealing with disruptive, rude children. I have to remind myself to let the LOVE of JESUS flow from me instead of angry words. I taught the lesson regarding anger and bound up frustration, and what it does to you, in Junior Church and now I am having to live out my lesson, so I thank the Holy Spirit for revealing this to me. We watched LARRY BOY & the ANGRY EYEBROWS (I suggest this movie to those of you who love Veggies, or have children with anger issues.)
I have been enveloped in God's love and presence while listening to a NEW CD by Kim Walker (of JesusCulture) and one of her songs that has inspired me has just these words that SOMEONE needed to hear today. I have been sitting with this message for a bit in my heart, but because there are days when I haven't put God first, and I have allowed stress a spot in my heart and mind, that I haven't been able to share these Words of the Lord. The song is called "I Have Found", and it is written by Justin Byrne and Jon Mohr.
The words are as follows...
I have found a peace, that plows on through the storm
I have found a joy that jumps over sadness
I h ave found a love that lights up every room
I have found, I found You
You are all I want, You are all I need
Everything my heart could hope for
We are longing for, the glory of the Lord
'Cause we know there's so much more
I have found a trust that teaches how to rest
I have found a grace that guides me by the hand
I have found a strength that stands like a mountain
I have found, I found You
Only You, fill my soul (repeat)
(then they have spontaneous worship on the CD, and the words "Let your glory rain down..." repeats. It's just amazing!)
ENJOY and BE BLESSED.
Check out "I HAVE FOUND, KIM WALKER" on You tube. =)
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