Despair happens when we do not know who we belong to... knowing whose we are is so important. For me it was knowing that because I belong to Him, through Christ's work and my acceptance (my choosing Him), God will NEVER LEAVE ME... will run after me, the "one lost sheep" (Luke 15:4) because He loves me without end.
Do you know "whose you are"?
"We can choose – Will we serve the Lord, or will we serve someone else?
Whoever we choose, we will find that the wages they pay differ significantly.
~just saying. . . ." Ron Mcintyre
This world will present very good cases for serving someone else, under the guise of serving the LORD... May we pray for DISCERNMENT ABOVE comfort and acceptance of others... Let us be known more for the love we share than our opinions about the faults of the world. We can shine God's love by loving people in their circumstances through their issues and be Christ-like in every way.
Let us pray for you today. Let us behold all that our Redeemer has given us to through His sacrifice on the cross and His perfect plan to set us free through His blood. Let us behold whose we are, for we are a chosen people, loved and created wonderfully and amazingly by a tender and loving God. Thank You Father for keeping us. Amen.
Today is a new day, decide right now that it will be different because I will 'think' differently and do my part as God gives me strength to begin, follow through and complete what is necessary for me to heal and grow in the LORD. I am a new creation in Christ and I can do all things through Him, who is my peace and protector.
There have been times in my life when I have had to choose to harm myself, or honor God's creation (me)... it took discipline, strength, but mostly choosing the right way. If you are dealing with addiction, have others pray for you, but work moment to moment to make good choice... Pray for strength and courage to honor God with your life and choices. Get help, you are not alone in this. God is there with you, acknowledge His presence and You will recognize it more and more.
God will do what God does, strengthen you - but you have to do your part... we have free will, we are given every opportunity to exercise it.
It is time for you to move... make the move to heal and change.
Note to self...
Anything and everything that takes my eyes and focus off of God, is a potential idol. Hmmm. Help me LORD to stay on path... the narrow and right one.
Father, we come to You, our amazing Creator, the One who loved us so deeply, that You made a way though Jesus for us to be with You. Thank You LORD for Your grace and mercy. Father, I praise You for Your love. Thank You for saving us and pursuing us, Your wayward and disobedient children. Help us in our weaknesses, in our worry and through our fear to be ever seeking You. Help us to desire You more, and come to You more. In the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
Isaiah 1 talks of God's disobedient people; His children, wayward, unresponsive and removed from His presence – let us pray that we can see the mighty grace, amazing love and tenderness of our Creator as He loves His children, and pursues us all...
“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
If you are willing and obedient,
you shall eat the good of the land;
but if you refuse and rebel,
you shall be eaten by the sword;
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
~Isaiah 1:18-20 (English Standard Version)
"By His stripes, you are ALREADY healed"... meaning you are covered by His blood for all sin. WE just have to remember that HE LOVED us enough to endure... we just have to believe He has a plan, even through our trials and pain...
Father we pray for Your presence to be recognized by Your children tonight as they seek Your face... as we hope and trust in Your promises. Thank You for never leaving us, always leading us closer to Your will for our lives as we live in obedience and abide in Your direction and instruction. Thank You amazing, awesome, Holy and merciful God for loving us so intimately and intensely. Thank You Jesus for being our advocate and revealing who You are for us through the Holy Spirit. We love You and pray to honor You through our lives, along this path toward perfection in Your strength. Amen.
Every day I am convicted in a new way... It is "by His stripes" I have every opportunity to experience victory and a desire to watch Him complete me through His leading. As I read through Isaiah 53 tonight, my heart grieves for my Redeemer, as I rejoice in what He endured. And with this welling up inside me, I know that He did all He did, so I can endure because of Him. My heart sings and wails all at once, and it is good, for it is finished.
"He was despised and rejected and forsaken by men, a Man of sorrows and pains, and acquainted with grief and sickness; and like One from Whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we did not appreciate His worth or have any esteem for Him.
"Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows and pains [of punishment], yet we [ignorantly] considered Him stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God [as if with leprosy].
"But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole." ~Isaiah 53:3-5 (Amplified Bible)
It all has to do with thought... Let me honor God's creation – through seeing myself as He sees me through the blood of Jesus – loved and created to love Him wholly, for He will never leave me.
©2013 Giving Thanks Daily
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