A Conversation with God
— Read on 5minutesofhope.com/2022/08/17/a-conversation-with-god/
Please go to the original post and follow Doug. He has short and simple common sense messages.
Tag: prayer
Delight and Commit
As a new Christian, when I read this verse, I was overjoyed with the thought that whatever I asked for, God would make it happen. Five decades later, I know that the verse is true but my heart had not yet been trained for what it really means. First of all, delight means extreme satisfaction or pleasure. Do you feel extreme pleasure in the presence of God? The second part of that sentence in the verse says God will give you the desires of your heart. The thing is, as I have grown closer to God, my desires have changed. The physical wants that I thought I one time I just had to obtain have been replaced with spiritual needs that I yearn for. My greatest desire is to be close to God and to hear His voice as I go through my day. Along with that is the desire to see loved ones in a relationship with our Father in Heaven. Does that mean that I have stopped wanting nice things? No, but they are no longer a priority.
The other important word in the verse is commit. It means to devote yourself to a person or a thing. Are you devoted to God? Is He the most important person in your life? When the path we want to take is devoted wholly to the will of God, that is when He acts on our behalf and brings our prayers to fruition.
God is not a genie in a bottle that we say the magic words, He appears and takes care of all of our problems, answering all of our prayers just the way we ask them. God is the God of the Universe, making decisions that are right for all of mankind, not just for me or for you.
I’m praying today for a good visit with the retina eye specialist. A few months ago, I was diagnosed with dry macular degeneration. My sister has been undergoing treatment for the wet kind for several years, going every 4-6 weeks to get shots in her eyes. Having accompanied her to those visits, I am not excited about the whole process. Nevertheless, I continue to believe that nothing will happen today that God and I can’t handle together. I don’t know what the doctor will say, but I already know what God has said to me. He speaks softly to my heart and tells me He is close by and that it will all be okay. And it will, because He is my Father and will never leave me.
As you ponder the verse above, please consider how close you are to the Living God and how close you allow Him to be to you. What are your expectations of God for your life? More importantly, what are His expectations for you?
Have a wonderful and blessed day, devoted to God and committed to Him. May your paths be straight and your way brilliantly lit so that you do not stray from His will.
God Is Watching
Do you remember as a child trying to get your parents’ attention when you thought you were doing some great noteworthy feat? I’m not sure I recall my own childhood, but I do remember my children crying out impatiently, “Look at me, mommy! Look what I can do!” With my attention divided between three children, I could not always look on command and I’m sure sometimes I disappointed one of them during their daring attempts to defy gravity.
The times have not changed, nor have the children’s need for attention. Nowadays, though, it is the grandchildren clamoring for my time. “Look, Nanna! Look at me!” They do cartwheels, ride bikes, jump off sofas and build towers, all with my attention riveted on them for as long as I can manage before another child’s cry diverts me.
As children of the Living God, we also clamor for attention. Speaking personally, I know that I am constantly crying out to our Father to look at me and notice what I am doing. Or, conversely, I petulantly accuse Him of not paying attention and allowing bad things to come along in my life and disrupt its flow. Like a demanding child, I want all of God’s attention all of the time. Today’s Scripture verse addresses this conundrum.
God is omnipresent, everywhere at once, watching everyone. I am struck with awe that the Creator of the Universe watches the wicked and the good. So, I pondered that thought this morning. Why would God want to watch the wicked? Because, my friends, He created them, too. They may be making wrong choices, but He loves them and desires them to straighten up and go on the right path, to choose Jesus as their Savior and to enter into a relationship with Him. We don’t need to cry out to God to watch what we are doing because He is always watching. He sees me when I lose my temper and yell at my husband for something thoughtless I think he has done. He sees me when I grumble and complain about small things that have no real importance and won’t matter later. He even sees me when I quickly send up a prayer for His help and then choose to do my own thing. Because He is always watching, God is always aware of what is going on in my life. There is no “Hide and Seek” game with our Lord. We can’t hide from Him one minute and then demand that He pay attention to us and answer our prayers the next. It boggles my mind that God can watch the entire Universe, with all of its diverse people making all kinds of choices every second, and still have time to listen to prayers, calm fears and heal. God is always watching, always waiting for when we truly need Him and in reverence call on Him to come to our aid.
I’m so thankful that God is always watching and even more so that He watches over the wicked, too. For I was once a sinner and now I am saved by His grace. I pray that many more over whom He is watching will seek Him and His free gift of salvation before it is too late for them.
Be blessed today and remember that God right there, watching and waiting to bless you!
Letter from Australia 108 – Ukraine – How Should the Church Respond?
Letter from Australia 108 – Ukraine – How Should the Church Respond?
Letter from Australia 108 – Ukraine – How Should the Church Respond?
— Read on theweeflea.com/2022/02/28/letter-from-australia-108-does-the-church-have-to-pick-sides/
Please go to the original blog and follow the author. He has great wisdom to share, especially about world events and the Christian response to it.
Expect the Unexpected
Have you ever looked forward to something that you have planned and really, really can’t wait for it to happen? That was me last week. I have been in MD taking care of grandchildren for about six weeks now. I miss my comforts of home, my husband and my kitty terribly. But I knew that this season of my life would be ending in about three more weeks. My husband plans to come up for Christmas together here and then we would head home.
Sometimes what we plan doesn’t happen just as we plan it, but it doesn’t mean that God was caught by surprise or that He isn’t still in control. On Monday, my son told me that they have a glitch in their plan and wanted to know if I can stay another month. I tried hard not to show how I was feeling, but inside, my heart was racing and I was asking God, “Why, God? You know I miss Harry and home and was looking forward to going back, relaxing again, all of the things I normally do? Now, another month in MD?” When I spoke to my husband, he was dismayed but not surprised and he said that we would work it out so he can visit more often and I won’t feel so lonely. I have only seen him for four days in the last six weeks, but the future plan is for him to come for Christmas and then every other week until I can go home again. So, resignation as well as hope for the future is still in my heart.
Don’t get me wrong. I am grateful for the time that I have with my beloved grandchildren. They are precious, but they keep me oh, so busy and so tired at times. Their energy is boundless whereas mine is waning. But God knows all of that, too. He keeps reminding me that His strength is made perfect in my weakness and that I can do all things through Christ.
With that being said, here are some Scripture verses from my devotional today.
This is a season for me in which not much time is my own. Early in the morning, I do my devotions and I go downstairs for bed about 8 every night so that I can read and relax before falling asleep. Whatever minutes that are mine, I cherish because that is the time to re-boot, to re-charge and to wait on God to show me His truth and His will for me during these days of separation from what is familiar.
May God richly bless you during this holiday season and may each of us, separately and together, form a strong bond that reaches hands across the earth and binds us to each other and to the Lord.
A Prayer for You and for Me
psalm.bible/psalm-20-1Well, I have been in MD doing childcare for almost two weeks now. Unfortunately, this week I got sick, for the first time in over a year and a half. It started with the pre-schooler bringing home a cold from daycare and my body responded accordingly. Then, my asthma kicked in. So with nebulizer treatments, inhaler, OTC cold remedies and throat lozenges, I have been battling this thing since the beginning of this week. I finally called my doctor in Virginia yesterday and got her to send me a Medral pack of steroids to help break up the inflammation and hopefully calm the cough some. That being said, I am okay, but I must admit that I have been distressed. I want my husband to make me homemade soup, to rest in my own bed and to just be able to call my own physician if I need her. Oh, well…that’s not possible, so I am doing what is even better. I am calling on the God of Jacob to answer me in my distress and to heal me of this disease. I have seven more weeks here in MD and my days are very busy taking care of the four month old. God knows my needs and will meet me right where I am. My husband is coming up for a weekend visit next weekend and to celebrate his birthday with me. I have been too tired and ill to plan anything, but today is the day that I will set aside my physical weaknesses and do what needs to be done to take care of a plan for him and rest for me. Did I mention that I love the weekend? I’m “off duty” then so it’s great. I enjoy being with grandchildren, but I’m tired and God is calling me to rest and recuperate. So that is what my plan is for today.
May your day be blessed with answered prayers and the love of family and friends!
A Nation Worth Dying For
The brave men and women who were killed in Afghanistan yesterday laid down their lives for others. They had families at home, waiting for them and now mourning their loss. What are you willing to die for? Your loved ones? A stranger? Your nation? Dr. Denison’s Forum today brought tears to my eyes as I reflected on the sacrifices that our armed forces face daily. My husband served for over two decades and each time he was away, I prayed for his safety, but I never really thought he was in harm’s way. I never considered that he might not return to his family whole and sound. My heart aches for the families who will never see their loved ones again. And my soul cries out to God for a nation that sacrifices so many because of the incompetence of the leadership. Lord, have mercy on your people and lead us to the right path.
A Big Mess of Our Own Making
The United States is in a big mess, not that we didn’t make the mess, just an observation that it exists. Of course, we made the mess, so we might as well own it. For years, we have rested on our laurels, knowing that we are the best, the most powerful, the peacekeeper of the world. And then, things started to change. First, with a President who wanted to put America first. Now, we have a President who wants to put America last. Neither attitude is right. The correct attitude is to clean up America and put her at the feet of Jesus, submissive to the will of God.
“And Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he was king for thirty-one years in Jerusalem. And he did what was correct in the eyes of the Lord, and he walked in the ways of David his father and did not turn either to the right or left. And in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still a young boy, he began to seek out the God of David his father; and in the twelfth year he began to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem from high places, Asherah poles, idols, and carved and cast images. So they tore down the altars for the Baals, and he cut down the incense altars that were above them and smashed the Asherah poles and carved and cast images. And he crushed them to dust and scattered them before the graves of those who sacrificed to them. In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in their ruins all around, he broke down the altars, beat Asherah poles and the images into powder, and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.”
2 Chronicles 34:1-4, 6-7 MEV
https://bible.com/bible/1171/2ch.34.1-7.MEV
An eight-year old ruler of Israel was wiser than any of our 500 + Congressmen, our President and our Supreme Court. He recognized that the way back to prosperity and peace was by cleaning out the sin and the idols and following only God. My prayer for our nation is that we turn back to God.
It broke my heart yesterday when I saw what was happening in Afghanistan. No, I do not think that we could or should stay there forever, but whenever a vacancy is allowed to happen, evil has a tendency to sweep in and take over. That is what is happening in Afghanistan. Evil is reigning there, and we are powerless to stop it. The plan to leave the country in the hands of their own military failed because they were not ready. Do you leave your three year old to cook dinner after showing her how it is done? And when she gets burned or destroys the house, do you then say, “I thought you were ready for this responsibility. I guess I was wrong” and then walk away? How sad that this is exactly what the U.S.A. did to Afghanistan!
My prayer today:
Have a blessed and safe day. Please keep the Afghanis in your prayers.
A Prayer to Remember
This prayer was in Dr. Denison’s post this morning and it bears sharing.
Scottish minister John Baillie prayed: “Let me remember that my mortal body is only the servant of my immortal soul. Let me remember how uncertain my hold is on my own physical life. Let me remember that here I have no continuing city, but only a place for a brief stay and a time for testing and training.
“Let me understand the vanity of what is time bound and the glory of the eternal. Let my world be centered not in myself, but in you.”
Amen!
Prayer for Family Members Who Are Distant
www.bible.com/1171/php.1.9-11.mev
So, yesterday was a good and hard day. Mother’s Day is generally a difficult day for me because my children are no longer at home. Of course, they aren’t! They grew up, spread their wings and flew away, just as they are supposed to do. But the fact that this is the natural order of things doesn’t keep me from missing them and my grandchildren. But I pray for them daily and in my devotional this morning, I had this perfect prayer for each child, grandchild and distant family member. I am sharing it with you so that you can pray for your loved ones to abound in love, knowledge and discernment. Don’t you just love that word “abound”? It is more than enough…flowing over. You can also join me in praying for our loved ones to be found blameless and pure in Christ and filled with the fruit of righteousness. What a prayer! Having prayed this prayer for each child and grandchild, naming them each individually, I feel closer to each of them and not so alone here. God has placed them in my heart, just as they are in His.
May God bless each of you with a good day filled with love for your family and for Him.
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 