I thank the Lord that we are still growing in grace together. The Word of God is filled with many promises. They encourage us and give us hope. We hold onto to them at times as if our very lives depend upon them. No time is this more evident than when we are waiting on God to answer our prayers. Many of the promises of God are conditional. More often than not, these conditions are prerequisite principles that must be operating in our lives before the promises can be realized. As we find ourselves waiting on God to answer our prayers, we should not expect Him to give us the desires of our hearts, or bring our dreams into fruition, until we first learn to delight in Him (Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart - Ps 37:5). We must learn to delight, take pleasure in, to enjoy the Lord before we can expect to have the desires of our hearts. Delighting involves looking forward to and making time to just hang around Jesus. Hanging out with Jesus, appreciating Him for who He is and not for what He can provide (Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is the fulness of joy, at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore - Ps 16:11). It involves learning to enjoy His company, soaking up His wisdom as He speaks to us through His word. (But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law doth he meditate day and night - Ps 1:2). Meditating on the word literally is to speak the Word of God to ourselves repeatedly (as if to murmur), over and over again. When we delight in the Lord we begin to see His greatness and majesty in His creation. Suddenly we see His glory in the sunrise. We hear His voice when the birds sing. We experience His peace in the still of the night. Delighting in the Lord causes us to become keenly aware of His presence and we desire to be in it more and more. We no longer want to limit our conversations with Him to just our morning quiet time, but we start engaging in conversations with Him throughout the day (Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord - Eph 5:16). If we delight in the Lord, He begins to invade our thought life, impact our thinking, influence our decisions, and yes, even change our hearts and our desires. Our desires begin to align with His desires for us. If we work on, pray for, ask God to help us to learn how to delight in Him, He will give us the desires of our hearts (And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us: And if we know that he hears, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions we desired of Him - I John 5:14-15). may we learn to delight in Him, Diane p.s. Think of something you truly delight in, for me it's a bowl of coffee ice cream after everyone else has gone to bed. i look forward to it, prepare for it, anticipate that first spoonful of it. What is your delight? Let's ask God to help us to have at least that level of delight in Him. Practice this week being aware of the Lord's presence by conversing with Him throughout the day. Speak to yourself in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Try humming or singing a verse of your favorite hymn or praise song all day long . Most of all , enjoy Jesus! I am so glad we are still on our way to becoming the people of God that He has called us to be, created for His glory. We are all a work in progress (Being confident of this very thing , that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ - Phil 2:6). Sometimes, however, along the way we lose perspective, making choices, allowing things and personal pursuits to hinder our efforts to live out our divine purpose. We have to be reminded: we didn't choose the Lord, He chose us. We were chosen by Him for divine and eternal purposes, not for our own agenda ( Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit and that your fruit should remain - St. John 15:16) and (According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love - Eph 1:4). God has not only chosen us but He has set us apart, and continues to set us apart from the mundane, the ordinary and temporary things that have been consuming us in order to produce through us things that have eternal value. Because He has ordained us to bear fruit, we should not be surprised when frustration with the material life sets in, or when the voids and vacuums in our lives can't seemed to be filled by the very things we have pursued. He is in the process of chiseling us, crafting us into vessels fit for His use (But now O Lord, thou art our Father, we are the clay, and thou our Potter, and we are the work of thy hand - Is 64:8). When the chiseling gets uncomfortable, and it will get uncomfortable as God uses difficulty to build character into our lives, just know that we are in the hands of The Divine Artist who is in the process of creating masterpieces to portray His glory (For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them - Eph 2:10) and ( He knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold - Job 23:10). We have been chosen for this journey. We will be chiseled through our circumstances. We are being crafting into masterpieces - portraits of His glory. On our way together, Diane p.s. this week spend some time meditating on St. John 15:16 and consider the implications this verse has on your life. Being chiseled? Be encouraged, the Divine Artist is creating a masterpiece, and you shall come forth as gold! Our journey continues. I hope by now you have become quite comfortable calling on the name of Jesus. We get comfortable through practice; our confidence, however, develops by reading and meditating upon the Word of God (So then faith cometh by hearing, hearing by the Word of God - Rom 10:17). Last week we focused on getting comfortable, this week we will work on our confidence. Here are three reasons we should be confident when we call on the name of Jesus. The first reason we should have confidence is because He pays attention to our cry. (I love the Lord because He hath heard my voice and supplications. Because He hath inclined His ear unto me, therefore will I call upon Him as long as I live - Ps 116: 1-2). When we call on the name of the Lord He inclines his ear - bends His ear toward us. When you call, imagine the Lord telling the angels in heaven to quiet their praise, as he leans forward and bends the tip of His ear so that He can hear your cry - Hush somebody is calling my name. Another reason we should confidently call upon the name of the Lord is because there is protection in His Name. (The name of the Lord is a strong tower the righteous runneth into it, and is safe - Pr 18:10). His name provides the protection of a strong impenetrable tower so that in the midst of danger, defeat or temptation when we call on the name of Jesus we become out of reach to whatever is chasing us. Whether we are being chased by foe or our own fears, calling on the Name of Jesus prevents them from overtaking us. When you need protection and you call upon the name of the Lord , see yourself being elevated to the top of a tower and looking down at whatever is chasing you as it stands at the foot of the tower without any means to get to you. A third reason to have confidence when we call upon the name of the Lord is because there is provision in His name (Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth - Ps 124:8). He is indeed Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord who provides himself. All that we need is in the name of the Lord. When we call on the name of Jesus He shows up with everything He is: power, wisdom, truth, deliverance, strength, mercy, grace, comfort, hope ... So when we call upon His name this week: let's be confident that is He paying attention to our cry (inclining His ear toward us), He will protect us (His name is a strong tower) and He will provide what we need (our help is in His name). your travel partner, diane p.s. I said it last week and I will say it again #Say the Name ! |
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