I am a Christian, a retired teacher, a mother and a grandmother. I love to read and I love the Lord Jesus Christ! Unless otherwise specified ,all visual illustrations are from the YOU VERSION APP of the Bible.
What does it look like to “stand your ground’? I consulted the online dictionary and this is what I found at http://www.idioms.freedictionary.com
Hmm. This made me thing about when I anticipate attacks. And the answer is daily. We have to always be ready to be attacked by Satan and others who do his bidding because they want more power than God. The second part of the definition is equally important: to refuse to compromise. In a world where we are mocked for standing for the truth of God’s Word, we need to learn to stand out ground and not compromise on what God has written. God said it. I believe it. That settles it.
So, in a world that has gone crazy trying to outdo one another in being “open-minded” and “tolerant” so that sin is not only tolerated but encouraged, how do we as individuals stand our ground? First, we put on the belt of truth, the truth that is found in God’s Word. And our body armor is the best that is available anywhere. It is God’s own righteousness that His Son died to make available to each of us. When we stand our ground, we are not standing alone because God is right there with us, providing the words to speak from His Word and the protection we need from His righteousness.
May you be blessed with the knowledge that God has already equipped you to “stand your ground”!
I am sure that if you are like me, you spend a lot of time talking to God, telling Him your problems and challenges and then waiting for an answer from Him. Sometimes, in fact a lot of times, I get impatient waiting for the answer and try to help God out. He doesn’t need my help. He just needs me to believe and to wait.
This verse says WHEN they call on Him, not if we call on Him. The expectation from God is that we will call on Him and His reply is that He will answer. He will be with us and will rescue us. I think the honor part comes in when others see that we trusted in God and He answered. All glory goes to the Father!
It is important that before we go before the throne of God with our petitions, we know what His will is. So, how do we do that? We have to immerse ourselves in His Word in order to discover what His will is. We have to have a relationship with Him in which we talk to Him daily and wait for Him to speak to us. Instead of a one-sided wish list that we present rapidly just before we get on with the busyness of our day, we need to take time to just sit in His presence and hear Him clearly. God wants a relationship with each of us, not a bunch of whiners who treat Him as though He is the genie in a bottle who will grant all of our wishes. We need to be aware of how our prayers will affect others and know that God is not just hearing our petitions but also those of millions of others (hopefully) and He has to take into account everyone all at the same time. My finite mind cannot even conceive of such power but God has it whether I can understand it or not, and He answers prayers according to His will. That thought brings me back to the first part of this paragraph. We discover God’s will be spending time with Him and with His Word.
May your prayers be answered according to God’s will and may you rest in faith and contentment knowing that God is working out things that are best for you and for the rest of His Creation.
The promise that God will rescue us is one that I have held on to through many years of trials and struggles. I never know what God’s rescue will look like or when it will happen, but since He promises it, I believe it. His rescue is a fact that is settled in my heart. Sometimes, I get impatient and just want God to move quickly on my behalf, but when I look back on the circumstances, I realize that His timing is always perfect, to give me and others the most benefit from His actions. God is never late but always right on time.
The promise that God’s Word does not fail goes along with the verse about His rescuing us because first we need to believe in the infallibility of His Word before we can believe in His promises to us. God said it…I believe it…thus ends the matter in my heart. Sometimes doubts try to creep in, insidiously sneaking into my mind when I least expect them. The answer is to reply with the promises of God’s Word and the steadfast belief that His Word will never fail. Never. Not once.
May you be blessed today with the constant reassurance of God’s unfailing love and His promise to rescue you and protect you.
I have discovered through experience that this world is filled with liars. Many lie to save face. Others lie to make themselves appear better than they are. And some lie deliberately to deceive others for personal gain. So, how are we to discern who is telling the truth? God has the answer to our dilemma.
When Jesus ascended to the Father in Heaven, He left behind the promise of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 2 (I encourage you to read this first encounter of a multitude of people with the Holy Spirit of God), the Holy Spirit is poured out, revealed, if you will, to a great crowd of people. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity and He is the One who leads us into truth. He helps us discern the truth of God’s Word and when others are lying about God and what His Word says, interpreting for their own benefit or gain. He is God, just as the Father is God and the Son is God, and He cannot and will not lie. Thus, He is totally dependable as a truth teller and is available to all who seek the truth. Many want to have their “ears tickled” and don’t want to know the truth, but for those of us who desire to know what God is saying to us today, the Holy Spirit is our conduit of communication that speaks clearly the words from the Father and opens our hearts and minds to understand.
May your hearts and minds be watchful for the truth that the Holy Spirit wants to reveal to you. And may you, in turn, share that truth with others who are ready and waiting to hear it. Have a blessed day, my friends!
Sometimes, I think that I am going through the world with a blindfold on. Other times, I’m sure of it! Then there are the times that I slow down, really look around and appreciate God’s creation. This morning during my devotional, God was speaking to me about becoming more aware of all of the wonders that can be found in His Word. Daily, I sit and read and study my Bible, meditate on verses and pray. But it has become a rote thing that I do, not always the joy it should be as God speaks to my heart through His Word. I don’t want it to be an automatic thing to get done, like brushing and flossing my teeth. I want my time with God’s Word to be spent with my eyes completely open and my heart ready to receive from Him. That is my prayer for me today and for all of my dear followers and readers who are seeking a closer walk with Him.
The wonderful things are already in God’s Word. I just have to be ready to receive them. I realized that my receiver is on but my antenna is not fully extended so I’m not getting the signal properly all of the time. Today is a new day to extend my antenna and just wait for God to speak wonderful things to me from the guidebook that He left me (and you).
May your day be blessed with open eyes and a receiving heart!
I don’t know how your week has been going, but I have felt as though I have met myself coming and going. Since last Wednesday, I have had an appointment or meeting every day and sometimes in the evening, too. Of course, I didn’t plan it that way, but it turned out to be busier than I expected because several of my regular doctors wanted to check on me and that meant appointments in town. Then, Sunday, a day of rest, I had to get up extra early to get showered and ready for Sunday school and then to help out in children’s church. Oh, my! Sometimes the thoughts overwhelm me, but I have to get hold of those thoughts and let God control my mind. I still have three more appointments and or meetings this week, and then, finally, a blessed “free day.” Finding time to read Scripture has been an absolute must for me, just to get me through the challenges of each day. It’s not that I mind appointments. I mind the interruption to my regular routine, the nagging fear that they may find something more wrong than I already know about and the travel back and forth that is stressful in itself because of the traffic. Nevertheless, God gives me His word, especially when I am afraid.
We hold doctors and other professionals like them in high esteem, but we need to remember that they are only men and women, just like we are. I don’t believe that there is anything that they can tell me that God doesn’t already know about and is already prepared to handle with me. So, I don’t like the heavy daily schedule, added with the problem of persistent insomnia, but I accept that God is with me regardless of the daily sword thrusts that try to attack my faith.
Thus as I start a new day filled with a longing to just sit and be quiet and relax, but knowing that again today, I have things to do and obligations to fulfill, I go out knowing in my heart that God is right beside me and I believe that with all my heart.
In my devotional this morning, I was directed to this Scripture verse.
When trees are cut down, if the root is still in the ground, there will eventually appear new shoots and as times goes on, a new tree will begin growing. Since we live in the middle of a lot of trees, I can bear testimony to this truth. How many times we have seen trees fall after a big storm and then we see the shoots of new growth begin to appear! In fact, to totally destroy a tree requires a tractor and a stump remover because you have to take it out by its roots. That being said, think about our roots.
We are told to be like trees, and we are to be rooted and grounded in God’s Word. What can move us if that is true?
We have to do our part and remain in His Word, not listening to the ones who speak foolishness out of their ignorance about God and His promises. I want to be like a tree, standing tall and strong for the Lord, dependent on Him for the water of His Word that nourishes me and for the gentle movement of the Holy Spirit that lifts me up closer to Him. We are so blessed to have God’s Word to read every day so that we can be strengthened in our walk with Him!
May each of you be like a tree, blessed beyond measure by our Creator and standing tall against all of the storms of life. May you be blessed to be a blessing to others!
Have you ever awakened during the night, when all is dark and almost impossible to see anything? Here in the rural area in which we live, that’s what it’s like when the electricity goes off. No lights anywhere. It’s a good thing that I know my way around my own home, even in the dark. That’s what this Scripture verse spoke to me about. Our eyes cannot see clearly the truths in God’s Word unless He opens our eyes. We need the Holy Spirit speaking to us through His Word, and for that we have to pray that God will open our spiritual discernment. There are so many wonderful things in God’s Word. No matter how many times I read it, I always get something new from it each time I read. How about you? Do you pray before you read God’s Holy Bible that He will open your eyes to see the wonder of it? Blessings on this Sabbath day that God will reveal great and wondrous things to you!
God does not change. His Word does not change. Sometimes we have tried to twist God’s Word so that it meets what we want to believe or do. I think that it the case with homosexuality and abortion. Some people want these immoral behaviors to be okay, and they try to justify them by either ignoring or interpreting God’s Word in creative ways. I read two quotations in Dr. Denison’s newsletter today that said exactly what I am trying to express.
…let’s note that changing our opinions regarding God and his word changes neither God nor his word. As C. S. Lewis observed, denying the sunrise does not harm the sun. -Dr. Jim Denison Sept. 21, 2020
When we change our opinions regarding the truth, we do not change the truth. President Abraham Lincoln once employed a popular riddle: “If I should call a sheep’s tail a leg, how many legs would it have?” His audience answered, “Five.” Lincoln replied, “No, only four; for my calling the tail a leg would not make it so.” -Dr. Jim Denison, Sept. 21, 2020
So, calling abortion the choice of the woman does not make it okay. It’s still murder, and God’s word calls murder a sin. Calling homosexuality okay because you were “ born that way” does not make it right. God’s word calls it a sin.
You have the right to disagree with me. After all, this is a free country. However, you disagree with God’s Word to your own peril because His Word is never-changing, never bowing to the interpretation of fallen mankind.
Why I’m Writing This Today
Well, as everyone knows, the Supreme Court has a vacancy and the big issue is how liberal Ginsberg was and how she supported abortion rights for women. In fact, she supported many liberal causes. Now the liberals are upset that they will lose their influence on the highest Court of the land. My desire is that the Supreme Court just follow the Constitution, not add things to it that are not there. Recently, this body normalized gay marriage. One justice dissented because he was concerned about what might be normalized next, like polygamy perhaps. Now, there is the chance that the highest court might begin to once again interpret things constitutionally, giving their decisions more of an interpretation that would be acceptable to God and following the guidance in His Word. So, once again, I state that we can change our opinions about God and the contents and meaning of the Holy Bible. But God doesn’t change. Just because you deem that something is okay does not mean that it’s okay with God. We need to spend a lot of time in prayer during this season before the election because our nation’s future depends on it.
Blessings to you, my friends. I hope that you will read my blog today with an open mind and heart. I wrote from my heart and know that God forgives sin today just as He always has. There is nothing you have done that God cannot forgive.
www.bible.com/1171/psa.119.18.mev
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