"He Heals the Broken-Hearted"

DAY 2 -- "A Woman of Faith" Devotional

Verse: "God blesses the people who patiently endure testing. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him." James 1:12 NLT

The first sentence of the devotional today states, 'Women of every generation have experienced adversity, and this generation is no different.' The same can be said for women, men, boy or girl. Each of us will face adversity and trials. However in the Bible it says (as we were reminded today in Sunday School), that although we may face trials or have troubles, the Lord will deliver the righteous from them all. "The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all; he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken." (Psalm 34:18-20 NIV)

How do we become 'broken-hearted'? We choose the way to live, think and act, and sometimes by our own actions, we choose to live in bitterness and with broken hearts, so that we may receive sympathy from others. Some however do not choose to be broken-hearted, and are hurt by others, whom they have put their trust in. God however wants us broken... He wants us to come to Him as flawed creatures. He is able to take all those broken pieces, and form and re-shape us into NEW creations. NEW is 'new', it's not used, or 2nd hand material.

We also need to stop blaming God when troubles and trials come our way. Each adversity that we face, we are able to overcome it through the Blood of Jesus. We choose which way, which reaction that we will take. It is that choice that helps the outcome to be postive. As our verse above says, we need to 'endure testing'. To 'endure' means to;
verb (used with object)


1. to hold out against; sustain without impairment or yielding; undergo: to endure great financial pressures with equanimity.
2. to bear without resistance or with patience; tolerate: I cannot endure your insults any longer.
3. to admit of; allow; bear: His poetry is such that it will not endure a superficial reading.
verb (used without object)
4. to continue to exist; last: These words will endure as long as people live who love freedom.
5. to support adverse force or influence of any kind; suffer without yielding; suffer patiently: Even in the darkest ages humanity has endured.
6. to have or gain continued or lasting acknowledgment or recognition, as of worth, merit or greatness: His plays have endured for more than three centuries.

Continuing with yesterday's message (found here), we have to do our part to receive the blessings of God. If we patiently endure testing, we will receive the crown of life that God has promised those who love Him. So first we have to be one of those that love Him. As we were reminded again today at Sunday School, we need to choose to be a 'whosoever' first. In John 3:16, as we can all quote I'm sure, it says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

CHOOSE to be a WHOSOEVER... CHOOSE TO LOVE HIM... CHOOSE LIFE... CHOOSE BLESSINGS... CHOOSE TO RECEIVE THE CROWN OF LIFE!

PRAY - It is THAT easy...

Remember, it's always as simple as A-B-C...
ACCEPT, BELIEVE & CONFESS...

Pray a simple prayer today, read my "Salvation Prayer" poem, and talk to God in your own words. No words that I could give you could be more powerful than you using your OWN words to describe your feelings to God.

Salvation Prayer Poem...

written by M. Hall 2010

Everyone knows "God loves you", how many believe it's true?

You want to have 'eternal life', here's what you should do...

ADMIT to God you are a sinner, 'cause all humans are.

REPENT from the sin, and turn away, you gotta' raise the bar.

(Romans 3:23)

The wages of sin, is death for sure, but God has made a way,

He sent his SON so you could live, an ETERNAL life someday.

(Romans 6:23 & John 3:16)

BELIEVE in Him, God and His Son, & Holy Spirit too,

believe that Jesus gave HIS OWN LIFE, all for me & you.

CONFESS your faith in Jesus as your Saviour and your friend

The blessings you will receive & His love will never end.

(Romans 10:9&10)

But one thing you must REMEMBER, the road itself is long

There will be STORMS, & rough spots, but He will make you Strong.

(Philippians 4:13)

So finally one day, hopefully, after you've lived til' old

You can press on and win, your medal made of GOLD!

©M.H. 2010

Be blessed, and be a blessing!



Happy 2011~~ New year, New blog posts... New fun!

So, this year I am going to try to continue with my devotional thoughts, and try to keep them more up to date. I have a 'A Woman of Faith' Devotional book that I have been reading this past year (again not faithfully), so this year I thought I would read the devotional and then comment on the verse or the thought of the day and share it with you, instead of in a notebook/journal form.

Today's 'DAY 1' entry was rightly called 'A Woman of Faith' and the verse was found in Matthew 21:21 -- "Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done."

Earlier in the book of Matthew in 17:20, Jesus also uses the mountain analogy, "He replied, 'Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.'" The last sentence in this verse is what should be a resounding truth in our hearts and minds, but we somehow cannot let this truth really manifest itself in our lives. That little thing called 'doubt' and one called 'fear' get in the way of us truly believing that 'nothing will be impossible for you'. We try to pray and live with FAITH... and then a little pinch of doubt creeps in, and throws us for a loop. Somehow the promise of 'nothing will be impossible for you' just doesn't hit home with us. Why we can let ourselves get so worked up over sometimes little things, and not truly believe that God can and will do what He promises makes God sad I'm sure. Sometimes we even try to make it work on our own, and try to do things our way, since God is obviously not listening to our prayers and our hearts cries and desires. (Truly He is listening, but we try to make ourselves feel better thinking we can do it for Him.)

Sometimes God promises us something, but we have to wait for it, but we don't desire to wait any longer and patience and endurance are not gifts that we want to utilize. Like Abram and Sarai, when God told them He would make Abram (Abraham) the Father of many nations. How was he supposed to be a father of many nations, when he didn't have any children to call his own. He was getting older, and so was Sarai, and so they took their 'promise fulfillment' into their own hands and allowed Abram to sleep with Hagar, and she bore a son, Ishmael. Later Sarah and Abraham did conceive the 'promised' son, yet Ishmael was there as 'thorn in his side'. Isaac was conceived in 'due time'... every promise in the Bible belonged to those in the Bible, and also to each of us. We just need to read, meditate and claim the promises... However, in most cases it says "God will..." and that's what we as readers of the Bible dwell on. Different people (not just Christians) can quote different promises of God from the Bible. They then question why God isn't granting them that promise. If you look closer at the Scriptures, there are two little words usually in front of the promise (or just after)... "If you..." We have to do our part too. I can't just walk through life expecting God to bless each and every thing I do, I need to do my part too. For example, one of the well-known Scriptures in the church is found in 2 Chronicles 7:14, "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

What does it take to be a 'woman of faith' (or a man of Faith)... technically it's easy for me and other members of my church, as our church is called Faith Tabernacle. So being of that church makes me a woman of Faith... LOL! However, it takes much more than that! Believing and not doubting... not letting fear or guilt get in the way of receiving the full blessings of God. We need to LIVE out our FAITH. The Bible also says that Faith without works is dead... (James 2:17)


This day is a NEW BEGINNING... a FRESH start at living a life of FAITH. Come join the journey with me...

I've heard it said that FAITH can be described as...
Forsaking
All
I
Trust in
Him

So trust Him today, and lean not on your OWN understanding (stop trying to do things your own way), and He will direct your paths (He will bring you to where you are to be!)

BE BLESSED, and BE A BLESSING!

If we are the BODY...

So I have Romans 12 posted in a couple places in my home as a reminder... and I was reading it again yesterday before bed, and I got to thinking about the body. During different 'seasons' our bodies change. During fall and winter, we are more likely to get sinus issues, colds, flus, etc because of the weather change. So our physical bodies are weakened in our immune systems, and therefore are lacking strength and other things to help us get going. We get tired and fatigued more easily, and rest and hot tea with honey is what we need. (Sometimes antibiotics)

...to be continued.