Devotional Fuel to Reboot Your Mind

Matthew 7:12: “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law of the Prophets.”

The Law of the Prophets is summarized in Matthew 22:37-40, where Jesus stated we are to love the Lord our God with all that we are – our heart, soul, and mind, strength, possessions, and service. That is the first commandment. The second commandment He said is to love others as we love ourselves. Love for God is the basis for obedience.

What if we lived this way every day? How would our reactions be different? How would our actions be different? How would our outpouring of love unto others be more evident? I ask myself these questions. It seems I am always in a hurry.

The real Golden Rule, Jesus gave in Matthew 7:12 is what I need to put into practice more. I remember things that people have done for me in the past that were unexpected and compassionate and gracious. Here are a few examples of great encouragement and uplift I have been the recipient of:

• Finding a delivered bouquet of flowers at my front door along with a thank you note.
• Receiving an encouraging email when an anticipated conflict I was facing and expecting was about to take place.
• Being brought a meal when our family experienced health issues.
• Receiving a text that I was being prayed for in my trip for work to the east coast, along with the verse from John 14:17 referencing me being “off and running.” The words and verse fit precisely what I needed to be reminded of in my week which helped give me internal strength.

So food for thought – what do you wish others would do for you, that you can do for someone this week at your work, or for a friend, or with a family member? It doesn’t have to be expensive. The thought is what sends the intended message of Matthew 7:12 MSG: “Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. Add up God’s Law and Prophets and this is what you get.”

Be alert and be aware how God can use living out the golden rule today before others.

Listen to “Proof of Your Love” by King & Country.

Matthew 6:6: “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

I have known a few prayer warriors during my lifetime. One particular woman had one specific bedroom in her house that she called “the middle bedroom,” and that was the room where she would go alone to lay her burdens, her concerns, before the Lord every morning. She wouldn’t give up in seeking the Lord every day for what was weighing heavy on her heart in this particular bedroom and then having left it with our mighty God she would then go about her day. I was and still am the recipient of that woman’s prayers, which I am eternally grateful. She is my mother. God rewarded her prayers for me and others just as Matthew 6:6 declares.

When Jesus said to “go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret,” He was referring to blocking out distractions. We are to focus our attention whenever we are praying, not on the precise words coming out of our mouth, but what is our motive behind our words. We don’t have to try to impress Him with elaborate words – be conversational.  God is always compassionate, loving, patient, and good.

In Matthew 6, Jesus was instructing how we are to pray. He said in verse 7, “When you pray, don’t babble like the idolators, since they imagine they’ll be heard for their many words.” HCSB. Praying doesn’t have to take a long time: (1)Praise God for the work He has already done. (2) State a present need. (3) Pray for help in daily struggles. (4) Then ask God to guide, lead, and give you the means to accomplish His purpose. “And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Matthew 6:6b.

Warren Wiersbe’s comments on prayer:

• Prayer prepares us for the proper use of the answer.
• The important thing about prayer is not simply getting the answer, but being the kind of person whom God can trust with an answer.
• The fact that a request is repeated does not make it a “vain repetition,” for both Jesus and Paul repeated their petitions (Matt. 26:36-46; 2 Cor. 12:7-8).

God’s answers come from God’s perspective. Our expectations are not always in harmony with God’s because only He knows the whole story.

“May my cry be always, Only Jesus! Only Jesus! In him I have all that I can hold; enlarge me to take in more. O God, hear me, do for me more than I ask, think, or dream.” The Valley of Vision. A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions, excerpt from The Life Look prayer.

Listen to King & Country’s new song Burn the Ships (official music video).

Matthew 4:4: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

I was bothered recently about a particular situation in my life. I thought I had a plan in place to voice my concern and find out answers to this dilemma. But a caring sister in Christ called me on the phone, unexpectedly, and suggested different ways of direction I hadn’t thought of or understood as a better and wiser plan of action. I was on her mind, and that was not an accident. She guided me through rethinking some of my ideas. I had to admit her wisdom was spot on and came at just the right moment. The Holy Spirit used her words to enlighten me and keep me from making a mistake. I had been tempted to satisfy a perfectly normal desire in a wrong way which would have been at the wrong time.

We are provided with a pattern in Matthew 4, of how we can be empowered and led by the Holy Spirit in our lives from reading how Jesus responded when he was led into the wilderness for testing. Satan tried to tempt Jesus three times to cause Him to fall into sin and disobedience. It was a diabolical scheme to subvert God’s plan of redemption and to disqualify Jesus as the sinless Savior. But Jesus defended himself by quoting from Deuteronomy 8:2 in this first instance, where Moses reminded the Israelites of God’s testing through hunger and his miraculous meal of manna. God used Satan’s evil intentions to strengthen Jesus in his messianic role.

Satan’s futile attempts of tempting Jesus is an example of how God can overrule Satan’s evil efforts in our lives. Matthew Henry states: “Jesus faced the enemy as a man, not as the Son of God. His first word (in facing Satan) was, “Man shall not live by bread alone.”  Jesus used the power of the Holy Spirit (Matt.4:1) rather than His divine powers to overcome the enemy, and He used the power of the Word of God (“it is written”).

I need to remember that I have a personal, full-time guide – the Holy Spirit. He will amplify God’s voice in my heart, soul, and mind, as God persistently speaks to me through His Word, circumstances, and as I submit my needs and desires to Him in prayer.

In reflecting upon the original situation regarding “my plan,” the Holy Spirit used my girlfriend to remind me and ask myself, “but what does God say? How can you be an example of how God has worked in your life?”

It tells us in Ephesians 6:17 that the sword of the Spirit is the word of God. That is God’s mouthpiece that Jesus pronounced to Satan in Matthew 4:4. Ask yourself, how do I see God pursuing me in my life? That will help give one patience and want to extend grace and mercy to others as God has so graciously bestowed upon us as we listen to hear and recognize God’s voice in our lives speaking words of peace to our heart, soul, and mind.

Listen to Mercy Me’s YouTube song “Word of God Speak.”

1 John 2:27: “But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie – just as it has taught you, abide in him.”

“He continues (the Holy Spirit) to illumine the Word in our hearts as if by turning up a dimmer switch – progressively increasing our accurate comprehension of God’s written Word while enabling us to make relevant application of the Word in our personal lives and decisions.” Dr. Tony Evans.

So often we wish we had more abilities, more money, more free time, – simply more in our life than what is currently there. Some of us have deep-rooted insecurities that make us afraid we will never measure up for various reasons and that we are incapable. We long to hear compliments and being told we have done an excellent job. But when we are a child of God, a born-again Christian, we have received the Holy Spirit into our hearts, who reveals God’s wisdom and will for our lives. I love how the Message states 1 John 2:27: “Christ’s anointing teaches you the truth on everything you need to know about yourself and him, uncontaminated by a single lie. Live deeply in what you were taught.”

John is not denying the importance of gifted teachers within the church or Christian community in 1 John 2:27. But is stating we are not dependent on human wisdom or the opinions of men for learning the truth found in Scripture. Instead, the Holy Spirit guides our hearts and minds in knowing the truth of Christ as we read His Word. The Holy Spirit acts as our guardian of deception and counselor. We can equate this to having a built-in lie detector from false doctrine and beliefs. It is called discernment.

May our prayer be that our spiritual eyes will be open and that we may see and hear everything through the filter of the Holy Spirit abiding in our soul – our human spirit. May your prayer be for God to give you 20/20 spiritual vision today and may your ears hear clearly His voice over your life in this day because He has given you everything you need for this very day. We must persevere one step at a time and rest assured of His faithfulness. Some days that will require more action on our part than other days as we guard our heart with the “belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness” as Ephesians 6:14 states.

May your pledge to God today be:

Therefore I will not believe any lies that are contrary to what You have told me and taught me. I will abide in God, as the Holy Spirit’s voice overpowers Satan’s lies infiltrating my thoughts and protects me from errors of untruth. Even just one small single lie of doubt that will come during a time of refining – I put up my shield of faith – my offensive weapon – as I recite or read God’s Word of truth filling up my soul, human spirit, and mind.

Listen to Jeremy Camp – Word of Life (YouTube).

Exodus 13:8-9: “You shall tell your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the LORD may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt.”

The Feast of Unleavened Bread marked the Hebrews as followers of God and is initiated by the celebration of Passover. It was a symbol of their defining moment. It was to serve as a remembrance of the day they came out of Egypt, out of slavery. It was to help them remember God leading them through the departure of that momentous day in the history of their generation. The imagery that they wore (later had leather prayer boxes strapped on the left arm and the forehead) was to be a constant reminder of how God provided their deliverance, rescue, and provision. Their conduct was to be that they could recall at any time what God’s law demanded of them – to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, and mind, and to teach that to their children (Deut. 6:4-9).

I have been reflecting on what has been my “defining moments” in my life in following God. I would say, after going through several trials right in succession of each other a few years ago, God gave me Psalm 119:92: “If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.” That verse popped out at me (I call it a “zing”) while reading this particular chapter during that hard and challenging time in our life and I knew – this is it! God’s precious promises of truth kept me keeping on keeping on one day at a time. I look back at that time now, and it is merely a memory. But oh the precious verses of Scripture God illuminated in my heart and mind as I dug deep into His word in leaning totally on Him to find lasting sustenance. He spoke clearly to me in this verse to help me understand I needed to rely solely on Him and not anything or anyone else. It was a defining moment.  My prayer became: “Teach me Your word during this season of my life like I have never known it before, and make this verse my testimony when I emerge from this place.”

When you follow someone, it means you walk or drive on the same road behind them. You don’t let or want anyone else to come between the two of you blocking your view. Your leader is ahead of you, leading you, so you end up at the appointed destination together. The same is true in following God. He directs and guides us when we have complete obedience and open communication with Him. That is how we will hear His voice speaking to us through His word into our circumstances in life. Then we will have our defining moments bound in His loving care. We are sheep following our shepherd on the same road He is on, leading us ahead of our destination.

What defining moments have you had in your life? What verses have God opened up your eyes to see as never before during a time of needing to be delivered, rescued, and see God’s provision? You too can say “This is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of _______ (Exodus 13:8b).” Share your story – your defining moment(s) in your life with Christ. Don’t let it go to waste.

Listen to MercyMe –  Grace Got You (Official Lyric Video)

Picture image baby2416718_340.jpg

Psalm 94:18-19: “When I thought, “My foot slips,” your steadfast love O LORD, held me up. When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.”

We live in a very fast-paced society and culture today. Everything is needed to be done right now. Waiting for answers from others in our jobs in work or other responsibilities often seems to take too long, and we wonder, “Why can’t they get my answer to me right now because people are waiting on me?” Or having the internet down among other various computer problems occur which then holds up other essential details of work. That is all part of the elements of our culture today that diminishes us. We are always in a hurry. However, Jesus is always present and available. Our spiritual power source is never not connected. I am thankful that my prayers are never returned to me with a statement that says “undeliverable address!”

Do you ever feel just tired of life as it is? Everything on your “To Do” list doesn’t get all done, and you feel frustrated. I feel that way more and more. That is when taking a “pause moment in life” is highly recommended. Jesus has told us just to follow Him, and John 12:26b reminds us: “If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.” God will provide what I need. He sustains and His consolations will cheer my soul.

Verses to recite when needing that pause moment in your life:

• Psalm 94:22: “But the LORD has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge.”
• Psalm 23:1-2: “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.”
• Psalm 119:92: “If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.”
• Psalm 119:114: “You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word.”

What are the verses that God has spoken to you in your time of need? Share them with someone today that needs encouragement and help refresh their soul. Take a pause moment to reenergize and then go forth in the power of God today!

Listen to a brand new song from Lauren Daigle, Look Up Child (Lyrics).

Picture image, solv-263624_340.jpg (image)

Psalm 103:10: “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.”

I was reminded recently of how important it is to carry God’s Word with me in one form or another throughout my day. It may be written down on cards or reading my Bible ap on my iPhone throughout the day. Hiding God’s Word in our hearts and letting it penetrate our thoughts is our needed strategy for fighting back against the various descending domino effects of circumstances the enemy hurls at us when undergoing a trial or frustrating hindrances to plow through. No one is exempt. We all need to be reminded of God’s protection and sustaining power.

Psalm 103:6 expounds upon God’s character as it says: “The LORD works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.” Then verse eight declares: “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”

Dave Ramsey has a famous response when asked, “How are you doing?” His immediate reply (Financial Peace University – dumping debt and building a budget) is “Better than I deserve!” Isn’t that true? That is straight out of Psalm 103!

God Forgives-Hebrew word salach = pardon. Used solely of God in the OT – God’s offer of pardon for:

• Sins –Psalm 103:10
• Iniquities (immorality) – Psalm 103:10
• Transgressions (offense – disobedience of any kind) – Psalm 103:12

God Applies:

• Steadfast love – Psalm 103:11
• Shows compassion – Psalm 103:13
• Mercy and graciousness– Psalm 103:8

If you have mercy on someone, you let them off the hook or are kind to them somehow. This has to do with compassion, leniency, and forgiveness. Mercy is God not punishing us as our sins deserve and is associated with forgiveness. Mercy is deliverance from judgment. Grace is getting what you do not deserve and receiving what you need due to God’s goodness and generosity for those that have accepted Him as their Lord and Savior.

Remember, your capacity to perform is not done by you alone. God loves you not because of what you can do but because of what He sees and knows you are becoming in the power of the Holy Spirit. “God sees the incremental advances of our transformation by His Spirit and He delights in them.” John Piper.

Keep on keeping on for God’s glory in your life to be shown from His abundant mercy and grace. He will restore, confirm, strengthen and establish you (1 Peter 5:10) as you abide in His steadfast love.

Listen to Danny Gokey’s, The Comeback (Lyric Video) – YouTube song.

Domino image from Pixabay 163523.

Psalm 103:11-12: “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”

When undergoing a trial, often the enemy will come and attack us in ways we are not on guard about or even aware. We know he uses guilt, shame, frustration, and feelings of failure to attack us and tries to wound us and destroy us emotionally and physically in a different way than he has done in the past. He uses military strategies of surprise, and so often in my own life, I think, “Wow, I didn’t see this coming! But here we go again!”

When I recently had a severe vision loss for several days, I realized more than ever how important it is to hide God’s word in my heart, because I couldn’t even read the print with my glasses on – I had to use a large magnifying glass. How convenient that our smartphones can read precious promises of Scripture to us with our Bible ap when one cannot read it yourself.

Assurances to recite and verses to say out loud when undergoing a trial:

• God has forgiven my past. He sees me in what I will become. Psalm 103:11-12. The east and the west never meet. When God forgives sins, He doesn’t hold them against us because that is what forgiven means. God has wiped the record clean like an empty whiteboard. I need to forgive others as God has forgiven me.
• God will show compassion. Ps. 103:12. He is our heavenly father. As a parent, I have an abundance of sympathy, empathy, concern, sensitivity, love, and I want to relieve any suffering my children are experiencing. Every trial will, in the end, demonstrate God’s power and love for us.
• The LORD’s mercies are new every morning as it says in Lamentation 3:22-23: “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning: great is your faithfulness.” God is faithful to His promises.
• Lastly, God rescues. 2 Peter 2:9: “Then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment.” Every trial has an ending at God’s appointed time and not one day sooner than what God’s ultimate purpose is designed to be. It may produce another defining moment in our relationship and walk with the Lord.

When struggling with the enemies arrows of guilt, shame, frustration, and feelings of failure, fight back with David’s prayer to God in Psalm 25:20: “Do not let me be put to shame; rescue me.” Then remember God’s forgiveness and compassion is as big in depth as the east is from the west. We cannot fully comprehend this fact, so just accept it and march on with your spiritual armor on and stay active in the divine power of God in your life. You have no cause for alarm. He is the great I AM!

Do you have a favorite Psalm you read or sing back to the Lord in worshipping and praising Him when a trial has ended? Mine is Psalm 145, a Psalm of praise of David. Listen to Travis Cotrell’s YouTube of Psalm 145, at Brentwood Baptist Church video, on August 7, 2016. Listen to the orchestra and the words sung. May your heart sing along with thanksgiving of God’s abundant goodness and compassion forever and ever!

Proverbs 27:1 “Do not boast about tomorrow. For you do not know what a day may bring forth.”

Two weeks ago I wrote a devotional Blog to be posted this week entitled “But I Can’t See It Yet.” I had no idea God had a separate lesson in store for me with this title, but a different verse and message than I originally had written was appropriately right before my eyes – literally.

Last week I noticed the whites of my eyes were going from blood red to deep pink. I felt extraordinarily fatigued but kept on pursuing needed tasks with my job that were necessary and important to get done.

My plans for last Saturday started out with a once a year women’s ministry training at 8:00 AM at church. Then there was needing to be available for helping out with our son’s and daughter-in-law’s infant twins and our daughter had a special birthday on Sunday. However, all of these had to be pushed aside due to pain increasing within my eyes and vision was deteriorating drastically. I could barely see and that ended with me having to go to the ER at our hospital. My physical condition was diagnosed as a particular infection in both eyes that can cause blindness and prescription eye drops were prescribed. I kept thinking of all the work appointments I had to cancel and reschedule that were already on my work calendar for the upcoming week. As I waited in the hospital bed in ER, I realized my health and my plans are not in my control. God was choosing for me to rest (Ps. 23) as I couldn’t do anything else. After being released from the hospital my day all I could do was put in the prescription eye drops every two hours and sleep – nothing else.

As I was texting my daughter about God seemingly had other plans for me during this particular Saturday, she put it so correctly in her text back to me: “Well-apparently this IS how your day was supposed to go. ”

I have criticized my husband in the past (he has had two strokes) for not stopping his CAD work on his laptop during his first stroke (had no idea it was that at the time) in meeting a deadline for a client, despite incredible severe pain in his head and eyes, and I did the very same thing I criticized him for doing. I kept working despite the pain in my eyes and lack of vision on that particular Friday. We both said “Deja Vu.” Step one of being humbled.

Now every morning I write out a list of “my plans” on a sheet of paper. I share them with God. I ask for His input and does He agree? I also now have a better appreciation of Proverbs 27:1 and applying it to my life. This is what I would like to share:

• Ask God about your plans for the day. Write them out and then ask “God, what are Your plans for me today? Ask Him to give you direction in your projects for the day you think you must accomplish.
• Jesus is saying “Focus on me rather than your pressures or deficiencies. Wait in my presence.” Ps. 131:2 and Ps. 23:6.
• Rest in your Christian community praying for you during any time of need. Prayers of family and friends are vital.
• Proverbs 16:9: “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.”
• “Write your plans in pencil and give God the eraser.” Oz Hillman.

The Message version of 1 Corinthians 12:1 is very apropos: “We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it as clearly as God sees us. Knowing him directly, just as he knows us!”

 

Listen to Casting Crowns w/lyrics song “Just Be Held.”

Favim.com-1597133 image.

 

Joshua 1:9: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

Do you ever struggle with feelings of failure? Do you have those times when you feel you are hopeless and have lost your dignity? When you have prepared a presentation, and it didn’t come off the way you had intended, or maybe you said something that you didn’t articulate clearly enough, and you feel like you have blown it – and that you are a failure?

The Old Testament gives us several examples of great men that were used by God that had problems with a lack of self-confidence in their leadership abilities. Moses was one, and then Joshua. They both had a fear of being a failure:

• Moses in Exodus 4:1;10-15 had felt he was not “eloquent” in speaking. He had a fear of speaking before a group of people and regarded himself as inferior in that arena. He spoke three to four languages and his original language, spoken by the children of Israel, he had not spoken since he was perhaps three years old.
• Moses overcame his fear of failure in speaking, however, by relying entirely on God helping him through it all since it is reported in Deuteronomy 34:8;10-12 that when he died the people mourned – wept for 30 days!
• Joshua, God’s appointed and commissioned successor of Moses, had a fear of failure repeatedly regarding his leadership skills and winning battles of war. Joshua struggled with lack of self-confidence in being the army’s military leader, and God had to tell him three times to “be strong and courageous,” and then God even told Joshua not to be frightened; “do not be discouraged (Joshua 1:9).” God reassured Joshua more than once of his value in leadership as Joshua led the Israelites to capture towns west of the Jordan River and 31 kings were defeated under Joshua’s command (Joshua 12:7-24)!

What can we learn from Moses and Joshua in fighting against our fears of failure?

• Obeying God’s instructions was the key to success for Moses and Joshua.
• Obedience is what we can control although we can’t always control our understanding of the facts surrounding our circumstances.
• We can control our choice to obey God.

Questions

What lie(s) are you being tempted in when you have felt discouraged and less than good enough this week? Discouragement can lead to sin such as anger, bitterness, and resentment. Search your heart and be aware. Confess to God what is needed.

What promise of God can you recite to yourself, so you remember God’s compassion and faithfulness despite any feelings of frustrations when you feel you have blown it? Was it due to any lack of obedience to God? If not keep on keeping on for God’s glory.

Our responsibility is to obey God and continue to serve Him in all that we do and say. God will provide his ultimate and divine and astounding outcome, no matter who or what gets in the way. Commit your battle to God. He cares. He knows. He loves you more than you can comprehend.