Even In Darkness, There Is Hope

Good Morning, My Friend!! When the enemy storms against us,..and he will, just remember; that for those who walk the path that God has laid before them, the Spirit of God is never idle. Even if we do not see it, God's response is immediate,...He is always on top of every situation. God is raising the standard and the devil and his minions are not able to bear up against it.
....When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.—Isaiah 59:19 (KJV)
God hears the cries of His children and responds true to His word, character, and in His great mercy. There is none of us who deserve the mercy we continually receive,...and we can't begin to earn it. It is a priceless treasure purchased with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. He cleans us, revives us, refreshes us completely satisfying our souls with the sweet rain of heaven.

In the midst of darkness,...in times of trouble, God's love is reflected through each of our lives reminding the world just how great His love is for us all.

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Lord, rain down on our hearts refreshing our souls saturating them with Your sweet Spirit. We thank You for new mercy each and every morning. Make our lives living testimonies of Your goodness, mercy, and love. You are our hope, and the hope for the world, Amen.

"With God, there is hope,...even in the most hopeless situation."

(Our Daily Bread, April 18, 2013)

Praise Is What We Do

Good Morning, What A Tremendous Day For Worship And Praise!!! Worship, is not something we do, only at appointed times. It is a part of who we are and what we do all of the time. It is a way for us to express our love and to honor God for all that He is and all that He has and is doing in our lives. In praising Him, we become consumed with His presence. It leaves little room for us to continue pondering the burdens of our day.
My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long.—Psalm 71:8 (NIV)
We can praise Him, when the sun rises with our dreams of today,....and until it sets with our hope for tomorrow. We are not restricted to our Sunday corporate worship. It is always appropriate to praise God. There is no set way to worship and praise God. It comes directly from your heart to the heart of God. Sometimes you may want to shout, other times sing, and yet, another time, maybe just sit and quietly reflect on His greatness. No matter how you do it; today is a wonderful day to praise and give thanks to our God.

Our GOD is an awesome God! He reigns!

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Father, You are our God and we are Your children. Let us honor You today in our words,  actions, praise, and our love. Amen.

"With God, there is hope,...even in the most hopeless situation."

(Our Daily Bread, April 18, 2013)

Where You Need To Be

Good Morning!! Remind yourself every day that life is a journey,...a series of steps and missteps. When reaching out to, or connecting to, people we care about,...there can be a few days, if not many, that things seem to go wrong, or can appear to be down right hopeless. Live each day focusing on God, and He will work things out, as they should be. He promised to be our guide,...all along the journey.
For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.—Psalm 48:14 (NIV)

Ask God to clear your thinking, and remove any obstacles that may get in the way of in your relationship with Him. If you are anything like me, then you've made some poor decisions, and used bad judgment as a helper. God is there to forgive you and help you get back on track.​

There is never a need to rush,...what ever God's plan for you,...it will be.

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Father thank You, for being our constant guide. Help us be sensitive, and obedient,...to Your guidance. In Jesus name, Amen.

"With God, there is hope,...even in the most hopeless situation."

(Our Daily Bread, April 18, 2013)

Love, It Does A Body Good

Good Morning!! The human body is an intricate creation, feeding itself from nutrients found in our food sources. Science has proven that a diet lacking in a necessary vitamin or mineral can send the body into a state of inefficiency and general ill health. What type of diet are YOU feeding those you love? Do you give generously of yourself, offering love, care,...and warmth on a silver platter? Or do you dish out a diet of fast food scraps?
You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.—Galatians 5:13 (KJV)
In the Bible, God speaks of returning to our first love. While this particular verse was relating to our relationship with Jesus Christ so, too, can we learn another valuable lesson in regards to neglecting our loved ones and THEIR need of our love and attention. Just as our physical bodies sometimes aren't running as well as they could, so too does our emotional well being occasionally suffer when we aren't fed a diet of good things. For example, pouring hatred, bitterness, and constant stressful circumstances into one's life, on a steady basis, is known to most definitely affect an individual, making one more susceptible to such physical and emotional ailments as ulcers, high blood pressure, nervous breakdowns, etc.

If we don't nurture and nourish them,...any relationship will begin to deteriorate.

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" If our achievements in life

don't enhance our relationships with God, our spouse and children, and others,

the we are not fulfilling God's commandments."      

(Neil Anderson's Daily in Christ, November 8, 2004)

"With God, there is hope,...even in the most hopeless situation."

(Our Daily Bread, April 18, 2013)

Because Sometimes The Load Is Too Much

Good Morning!! Happiness. Sadness. Both emotions are an inevitable part of life. We rejoice over our successes and share these happy moments freely with others, but what do we do with our miseries, disappointments, regrets, fears, and worries? Happiness is an easy thing to share, but sadness, most often, is a cold and lonely road, for, it is during these times, one must expose weakness and vulnerability. Why are we so afraid to admit we are human, that we cannot possibly carry all the burdens of the world and that there will be times our knees will weaken from too heavy a load.

Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee:...—Psalms 55:22 (KJV)

It is not God's intention for us to carry our burdens alone. In the Bible, we are told to cast our troubles to the Lord. Although we may be weak due to our fleshly nature, He alone is strong and can offer comfort. We are also not to let those who are burdened with sorrow handle their troubles alone, but we are, instead, instructed to bear one another's burdens and be true keepers of the 'golden rule.' ("Love your neighbor as yourself." -Galatians 5:14) Do not wallow in your sorrows alone, but turn them over to One who truly knows, understands, and can ease your pains, not to mention most importantly, can offer you salvation. His name is Jesus!

"Too often we try to carry the load of a problem all by ourselves.

But the first person we should ask for help in any situation is God."
(Running with the Giants, John Maxwell, p. 84)

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Father help us today, remind us that the battles and sorrows are not ours alone. Help is all around us,...allow us to open up to the people You've placed in our lives, because opening up helps us, and them. Amen.

"With God, there is hope,...even in the most hopeless situation."

(Our Daily Bread, April 18, 2013)

Don't Be Overtaken, By Bitterness

Good Morning!! As Jesus hung on the cross, suffering agonies we can't even begin to understand, He looked out at the crowd. Some had lied about Him, and wrongly accused Him. Some had beaten Him unmercifully,...many had shouted for His crucifixion. Peter had denied Him. Other disciples had abandoned Him. But Jesus looked beyond all that. He looked beyond their fault,...and with loving eyes saw their need.
"Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.'"—Luke 23:24 (NIV)
Has someone around you been hurtful? Betrayed you? Are you struggling with bitterness and unforgiveness? Ask God to help you look beyond that. Pray. As you do, God will help you forgive. Jesus prayed for them,...and He forgave them.

God does not want you to subject yourself to harm. Use wisdom to protect yourself. But don't do it out of bitterness or to seek revenge.

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Holy Spirit, we need Your help. These people have hurt us so deeply. Help us see through Your eyes. Help us look beyond fault to need. Help us forgive. In Jesus name. Amen.

"Distractions are all around us,...today lets keep them in perspective, and focus on our relationship with God."

Fear No Evil

Good Morning!! You know evil is so deeply rooted, so profoundly enmeshed in our hearts and this world that our struggle to remove it often seems futile. Just when we think we've made a clean break, evil pops up again like a weed. The fact that we cannot purge ourselves of evil and live sin-free can easily lead to despair, which the apostle Paul calls a "worldly sorrow" that produces death. Such grief says there is no hope, there is no cure,...there simply is no balm in Gilead.

Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.—Luke 6:22 (NIV)
But there is both hope and a cure. We can let sin's presence produce in us a "godly sorrow." This grief also despairs of self,...but not of God. In fact, godly sorrow turns from self  to look to God for forgiveness, cleansing and strength. The very presence of sin and evil keeps us dependent on God, and alive both to our own potential for sin and to the very love of God that redeems us.

Remember that God has a purpose for our lives and that the temptation to judge ourselves by what other people say, is just one more of the enemy's tactics, to prevent us from discovering who we really are in Christ.

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Father God, help us to to stand strong and overcome our fear of people's rejection. Their rejection can hurt, but more than anything we want to please You, Father. Help us to make right choices,...we and thank You for Your promise of blessing. In Jesus name. Amen.

"Distractions are all around us,...today lets keep them in perspective, and focus on our relationship with God."

Getting To Know Him, Better

Good Morning!! Just as earthly relationships develop only as two people spend time together and learn each other's desires and dreams and character,...so too, we can only draw closer to God, as we get better acquainted. He knows each of us intimately,...and He gives us opportunity to know Him better through His Word. Not just for the sake of knowledge,...but for a closer relationship.

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.—Ephesians 1:17 (NIV)
It is through the Living Word,...Jesus, and the written Word, we can come to know God better and to grow in our relationship with Him. This should be one of our highest goals as we study the Bible. To know God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. To learn of God's character, His love, His forgiveness and His plan for each of us.

Know God,...Know Peace.

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Father God, we thank You for revealing Yourself to us through Jesus, and through the written Word. As we study the Word, may Your Holy Spirit continue to help us know You better. Amen.

"Distractions are all around us,...today lets keep them in perspective, and focus on our relationship with God."

His Grace, Is Always Enough

Good Morning!! Sometimes even if you are a Christian, you will sometimes feel the strong pull of temptation in some areas of your life. And when you try to overcome it on your own, without God's protection and strength,...you fall. Even the apostle Paul experienced that pull. He describes his frustration in today's scripture. There were times when he wanted to do good but didn't Or wanted to avoid doing wrong,...and didn't. Ever feel that way?

For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.—Romans 7:18-19 (NIV)
It is amazing how the past can continue to influences us, even after our circumstances have changed. Sometimes even after becoming Christians, we try to please God, by sheer human determination, to do what is right. But when we try to do it on our own, we become frustrated, like Paul sometimes was. We want to do good,...but don't. We don't want to do wrong,...but do it anyhow. We forget our relationship with God is based on grace. In our minds, we base everything on performance,...and are frustrated when we fail to perform perfectly.

You can't do it on your own,...you don't have to,...more importantly, you weren't meant to. God give us His Grace.

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Heavenly Father, we thought when we became Christians, life would be so much easier. We'd no longer struggle with sin. But now we realize just how wrong we were. Even though we still face struggles, help us not to try to overcome them on our own. Help us to recognize our dependence on You,...and reach out for Your love, Your help, and Your Grace. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

"Distractions are all around us,...today lets keep them in perspective, and focus on our relationship with God."