A Child Is Born

Isaiah 9:6 (New King James Version)

⁶ For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

"Do not withhold good form those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it." Proverbs 3:27

It is easy to withhold good from those around you, especially if it requires commitment, time, and money. We tend to do things for others only if and when it is convenient. The bible says that we need SHOULD NOT withhold good, if is in our power to do it.. which means, if we have the capacity, capabilities, and resources... we need to give and do good.

My husband lives this verse....Whenever he encounters a homeless person he almost always gives them cash (if he has it on him). I have always felt obligated to give money to the homeless with fear that they would use it to buy drugs, alcohol and/or cigarettes. To him, he doesn't worry about what they are going to spend it on.. because he feels it is their choice. All he knows is that what he has is far more than what the homeless people have (a home to go home to, a stable job, a car to drive, family to love, etc). My husband does not withhold good from them, when it is in his power to do it.

God's goodness

"Oh, how great is Your goodness, which you have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You." Pslam 31:19

Comparisons

When we compare ourselves to others, we either get ENVIOUS or PRIDEFUL. These are both things that God tells us not to be... We are simply called to be good stewards with what He has given us.

Soverign God

Fill in your name:

"¹ But now, this is what the LORD says—
he who created you, O _____,
he who formed you, O ______:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

² When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.

³ For I am the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior"

Isaiah 43:1-3a

Receiving and Obeying

"Those who hear God's Word, receiving and obeying it by faith, will lead fruitful lives that give glory to God. "Therefore consider carefully how you listen" Luke 8:18a

"Therefore consider carefully how you listen" really stood out to me as I was reading this passage.. In Luke 8, Jesus shares the parable about the sower and the seed... the seed is His Word and how it falls on different grounds (path, rock, thorns, good soil). The ground that truly bears fruit is the good soil, which represents those who have a tender and teachable heart. They listen to God's message attentively, translates it, and applies it internally.

If we listen and obey God's word, He promises that He will make us fruitful and give us a harvest of 100 times more than what was sown.

Lord, help us to be attentive listeners... to receive and to obey your Word daily...

Wholeheartedly

"And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul."
Deuteronomy 10:12

Lord, reveal to me one way I can love you and serve you more wholeheartedly.

Faith

"That your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God."
1 Corinthians 2:5

Loving Our Enemies

^"But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."
Luke 6:35-36

Joshua 1:7

⁷Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper withersoever thou goest.

Think On These Things

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

Proverbs 31:11-12

"Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life."
Proverbs 31:11-12

I definitely fail at bringing my husband good ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE... Thankfully, my husband is a VERY gracious man and he loves me despite my failures. As long as we desire this in our hearts, I believe that God will help us to be this kind of wife and woman that He created us to be.

Holy Spirit

"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing."
John 6:63

The flesh provides no help at all.

Romans TNT

Great verse to memorize and share. Especially when talking to someone who doesn't know Jesus and wants and relationship with Him!

"If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
Romans Ten:Nine-Ten (TNT)

Building the House

"Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain."
Psalm 127:1

Serve God God's Way

The world lives by promotion and power and influence. The church depends on prayer, the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, humility and servant's heart. You cannot run your marriage with worldly wisdom. You cannot raise your children with worldly wisdom. You need God's wisdom to be able to do it.

-Pastor Ray Bentley

John 14: 19

Jesus said, "Because I live, you also will live."

A simple and powerful message. The Gospel. We have life because He is alive.

Allegiance

Pledge to the Christian Flag
I pledge allegiance to the Christian flag, and to the Savior, for whose kingdom it stands, one Savior, crucified, risen and coming again, with life and liberty for all who believe.


Pledge to the Bible
I pledge allegiance to the Bible, God's Holy Word. I will make it a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path and will hide its words in my heart that I might not sin against God.

Illness

My husband and I are often pray for protection over our children from physical illness or from getting into physical injuries... but we were recently reminded to pray for protection over their mental illness as well. Whether it's the food we eat, genetics, or experiences that cause people to get depressed, anxious, or diagnosed with bipolar, schizophrenia or autism... we just pray against these things and ask that God would poor out His grace and protect our little ones with His angels.

Withholding Good

God does not withhold good from us. He is gracious and merciful regardless of how sinful, unresponsive, irresponsible, disrespectful, disobedient and unthoughtful we are. We should have the same kind of grace and mercy for those around us and not withhold anything good from them. God's love and grace will bring people closer to Him (including ourselves!).

"Therefore to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin."
James 4:17

Expectations

God wants us to live expecting something good. We need to look to God for what we need and not people. If we want to see the blessing of God in our lives, we need to stop rehearsing what the Devil tells us and start rehearsing out loud what the Word of God tells us. -Joyce Meyer

Proverbs15:15

¹⁵ All the days of the oppressed are wretched,

but the cheerful heart has a continual feast.

Psalm 103

Every time I read Psalm 103 it renews my spirit and reminds me of how great our God is...

"Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's"
(v.2-5)

Press On

Proverbs 10:24

²⁴The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted.

So your promise for the day is to hold on to your desires, for God will honor your faith and will grant your desires.

His Grace is Sufficient

"Therefore He says:
'God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble'
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God and he will draw near to you."
James 4:6-8

In this world and culture, we are encouraged and pressured to be proud, confident, knowledgeable, experienced.. etc.. But the Lord says to be humble.. and to only have confidence in Him. It is comforting to know that God gives grace to the humble and not the proud... and that His grace is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Thank you Lord for your grace and mercy that covers my sins. Thank you that your "compassions fail not, and they are new every morning" (Lamentations 3:23).

Praying for the Future of Our Children

This segment from Joyce Meyer's teaching tapes spoke to me about praying over our children throughout the day:

A woman was saying to Joyce, "I'm so afraid that my child is going to get into trouble!"
Joyce responded, "Well, you should have started confessing the day your child came out of your womb . . .
MY CHILD IS GOING TO SERVE GOD
BE BORN AGAIN
FILLED WITH THE HOLY GHOST
MARRY A BORN-AGAIN SPIRIT-FILLED BELIEVER
BE USED BY GOD
THEY’RE GOING TO BE BLESSED
THEY’RE GOING TO PROSPER IN EVERYTHING THEY LEND THEIR HAND TO
AND THE DEVIL IS NOT GOING TO GET ‘EM
AND THEY’RE NOT GOING TO GET ON DRUGS
AND THEY’RE NOT GOING TO GET ON ALCOHOL
AND THEY’RE NOT GOING TO GET IN WRONG RELATIONSHIPS
We don’t have any problem talking about all the wrong stuff. Why do we have so much trouble talking about the right things?

Passage Jeremiah 29:11:
¹¹For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Trust Him

Psalm 34 is a comforting chapter. I feel so loved and taken care of when I read this. God loves us. He gives us the key to long life. He draws near to us in times of heart break. He protects us and wants us to depend on Him because He will never leave us.

Psalm 34

¹I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
²My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.
³O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.
⁴I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
⁵They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.
⁶This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
⁷The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
⁸O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
⁹O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.
¹⁰The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.
¹¹Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
¹²What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?
¹³Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.
¹⁴Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
¹⁵The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
¹⁶The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
¹⁷The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
¹⁸The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
¹⁹Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.²⁰He keepeth all his bones:
not one of them is broken.
²¹Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate. ²²The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

Love Is...

I was reviewing this past Sunday's message on 1 Corinthians 13.. the message on LOVE. In the first few verses in this chapter, Paul says that even if you have the most amazing gifts and do wonderful things with them, if you don't have LOVE then you're just like a sounding brass or a clanging symbol.

This brings it to perspective for me... It makes me think about why I do things for others...or simply why I am who I am. Do I do things to have a good reputation, or to get praise or approval, or to look good and be good, or to feel good, or for who knows what other self-seeking motives? I pray that God would help me to comprehend what LOVE is, and to simply live my life loving Him and loving His people. I pray that I would love like Jesus... because He is LOVE.

In the famous verses (v4-7) the pastor substituted the word "Jesus" for "Love" and it read like this:

"Jesus suffers long and is kind;
Jesus does not envy;
Jesus does not parade Himself, and is not puffed up;
does not behave rudely, does not seek His own,
is not provoked, thinks no evil;
does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Jesus never fails."

LOVE never fails.
LOVE always wins.

Speak Words of Faith

Go home to thy friends, and tell them what great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.

Mark 5:19

In the midst of challenges, I am tempted to ramble about what crazy circumstance I'm going through, but it's verses like this that remind me to speak words of faith and expectancy that God is doing a good and perfect work in my life. And as always, looking through my prayer journal of countless answered prayer requests, He has always followed through. God is sovereign. God is good.

Freedom from our Past

I've been praying for my husband's past (as well as mine). Here is a prayer from a book by Stormie Omartian:

"Lord, I pray that You would enable (husband's name) to let go of his past completely. Deliver him from any hold it has on him. Help him to put off his former conduct and habitual ways of thinking about it and be renewed in his mind (Eph 4:22, 23). Enlarge his understanding to know that You make all things new (Rev 21:5). Show him a fresh, Holy-Spirited-inspired way of relating to negative things that have happened. Give him the mind of Christ so that he can clearly discern Your voice from the voices of the past. When he hears those old voices, enable him to rise up and shut them down with the truth of Your Word. Where he has formerly experienced rejection or pain, I pray he not allow them to color what he sees and hears now. Pour forgiveness into his heart so that bitterness, resentment, revenge, and unforgiveness will have no place there. May he regard the past as only a history lesson and not a guide for his daily life. Wherever his past has become an unpleasant memory, I pray You would redeem it and bring life out of it. Bind up his wounds (Psalm 147:3). Restore his soul (Psalm 23:3). Help him to release the past so that he will not live in it, but learn from it, break out of it, and move into the future you have for him."

Wisdom from Above

"For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.
But the wisdom from above is
first pure,
then peaceable,
gentle,
willing to yield,
full of mercy and good fruits,
without partiality
and without hypocricy."
James 3: 16-18

Friends

I love this prayer chart (on the left) which reminds me to pray for the many people, as well as the many things that are going in my life and in this world . Not that you can't pray for certain things on other days... this just helps me (to at least attempt) to cover all things in prayer.

Today, I am praying for my "friends". Throughout my life, the Lord has blessed me with such wonderful friends.. I am constantly amazed at how He brings people into my life at His perfect timing to help, encourage and lift me up.

Like many, I have friends who I have constant contact and I know how to pray for their specific needs. There are others who I haven't talked to in a while but I am thinking and praying for them as well, that God is pursuing them and showering them with His love wherever they may be.

I also pray that God will help ME to be a better friend. I pray that He would help me to put my selfishness, pride and judgments aside.... and put others before myself, to be compassionate, kind, generous, and full of grace.

Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends."
John 15:13

Thank you my friends... who have laid down your life for me.. who have sacrificed your time, energy and resources to help me during my times of need.

Power to Persevere

Whenever my days are a blur, from lack of sleep or chaotic schedules, I am grateful that I have a point of reference to gain perspective and clarity. Love God. Put Him first, and be in an attitude of praise and worship. My frazzled thoughts and confusion melt away, and my spirit is renewed.

"Let them shout for joy, and be glad that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant."
Psalm 35:27

Protection

As I specifically prayed for my children today and for their safety and protection, I focused on Psalm 91, which talks about God's sovereignty. He loves us so much. And He is longing to bless us, so long as we put our trust in Him.

There are so many factors that we, as parents, try to control in our children's lives to keep them safe & to bring them up properly, but we aren't perfect. However, God is. And the factor we CAN control is how much time we invest in building our faith in Him. For it is the Lord God who keeps our family safe and brings our children up properly.

Psalm 91:9-16

⁹ Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
¹⁰ No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
¹¹ For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
¹² In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
¹³ You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

¹⁴ “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
¹⁵ He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation.”

Wisdom on Parenting

In James 1:5 -6 say that if we lack wisdom, we need to ask God "who gives to all liberally without reproach". It also says that we need to ask God "in faith, without no doubting" knowing that He will give us what we are lacking.

I am constantly asking God for wisdom in different areas in my life. Especially when it comes to parenting, I know that I need to go to Him for knowledge and wisdom in how to best raise my children. I can be totally dependent on Him to teach and show me how to not only take care of them physically, mentally and emotionally but spiritually as well.

I am thankful that we have a generous God who will not keep away anything good from us. He wants us to grow wise and confident like our savior Jesus!

Patience

A long time ago, a wise friend challenged me to read "a Proverb a day"... since there are 31 chapters in the book of Proverbs, it's perfect. Verse 3 from today's chapter (Proverbs 13) spoke to me regarding my behavior this weekend...

"He who guards his mouth preserves his life. But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction."

Little did I know, it was "that time of the month" (I haven't had my period since I got pregnant with my baby) and I was very emotional, impatient and short-tempered this weekend. I tried very hard just to keep my mouth shut so I won't say anything hurtful or wrong... because like this verse says, our lips/our words can lead to destruction.

I also just started going through the book of James and I noticed that these verses relate to the Proverbs above:

"Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete lacking nothing." (v2-4)

I believe that part of what God was teaching me this weekend was PATIENCE. Patience with my husband, patience with my kids... and patience with guarding my mouth. I thank God for the trials that He gives me because I know He is maturing me, keeping me humble and dependent on Him. I pray that He will help me to be PATIENT in all circumstances... even during "that time of the month".

Peace

The Lord does not in any degree leave me helpless, nor forsake me, nor let me down.

Hebrews 13:5, AMP