In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. - Ephesians 3:12
As shared in the post “Ascending the Mountain of the Lord”, it’s never too late to make a climb higher towards the mountain of the Lord. By accepting Christ as Savior, we become His hands and feet to make significant moments happen not only in our own lives but in the lives of others.
One small step at a time, we can reach a very high point this day. Receive inspiration from today’s video: Lifesong – Casting Crowns and when you reach the highest point of this day, approach God with freedom and confidence and let Him sign off on your day.
Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what
happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live. - 1
Thessalonians 5:16-18
The memories you make give you a
lift, good weather can give you a lift, but the ultimate lift is knowing that
the future is bright because of the reward God has for all that believe in His
Son.
We get hit with so many negative
thoughts on a daily basis. One idea to overcome is to start and end the day
with uplifting positive music like this one: Hands of God by the Newsboys. This spiritual
exercise gets your mind in the right frame of mind as you start your day or as
you retire for the evening.
And call on Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will
honor me. – Psalm 50:15
As shared in the post “Hope Even in Trials“, David is going through
tremendous emotional and physical difficulty but goes to God in prayer. He hung
in there even during extreme difficulty and events turned around in his favor.
The lesson for us is that God
will bless with strength to face difficulty, a need, or a challenge. Just go to
Him in prayer and ask for shelter through the storm just like in this video: Shelter Me by Bruce Carroll, Billy Sprague
and Bob Bennett. Through our difficulty, momentum will build toward a
brighter future with new hope and joy.
Sharing in the post “Trusting the Lord”, David desired success in
overcoming his enemies and in prayer he asks God for help. He thanks God for
listening and granting his spiritual request and asks for eternal blessings.
When we follow God’s plan for us, we
are assured of gaining victories in various situations throughout life. There
will be challenges but as in this video: We Won’t Be Shaken – Building 429. As we gain victories, our response will be to
give God the glory as we gain momentum each day.
May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. – Psalm 19:14
Going out in the backyard either
at night before going to sleep or in the morning before sunrise with my dog
Marlee, we can hear the sounds of a night. Marlee loves just lying in the grass,
listening, and enjoying the cool breeze. I look up in the sky and see the stars
and enjoy the amazement as God has painted another masterpiece to communicate
His glory. The time in the back yard gives inspiration and hope; confidence
that that God is with me and will be with me always.
In the post “More Precious Than Gold”, written about was just
how precious God’s Word is and the need to share with others the precious
insight that can be gained. Also mentioned was the exercise of memorizing
scripture so it becomes deep-rooted into our heart and soul. Another way to receive inspiration and hope
is in music as in this video: Light Up the
Sky – The Afters.
In all things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. - Romans
8:37
As written about in the post “Provision”, David constantly acknowledged
that his victories in battle were due to God’s provision. Just as with David,
God reflects and magnifies who we are. Faith in Him gives us confidence and
hope that we will be enabled with strength, a secure future, and the needed
resources to meet each challenge.
Let us give credit to God for
each victory and give thanks for His love through Christ. We start today with
praise for the sure victory: Grace Wins– Matthew West.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
My God is my rock, in
whom I take refuge,
My shield and the horn
of my salvation, my stronghold. – Ps 18:2
In sharing the post “Delivered from Enemies”, noted was how David
faced difficulty but spread his wings in faith to be lifted to a new level as
God fashioned a bright future for David.
We all face difficulties in
life. I once read about actor Sylvester Stallone who not only was the lead
actor but also wrote the script for all the “Rocky” and “Rambo” movies. Before
hitting it big with the movie “Rocky”, Sylvester Stallone went through
homelessness as he struggled to make ends meet as a writer and actor.
If going through a trial in your
life or just having a down day, take inspiration from this video: Lift Me Up by The Afters.
from my mortal enemies who surround me.
–Psalm 17:8-9
As shared in the post “First Down”, David prays
that God would help him in a distressful situation. Life had blocked David from gaining momentum just as life blocks our path at times.
The lesson for us is to remain
optimistic because with God, we are highly favored. We can overcome our enemies
in life by taking in God's Word to fortify. Sometimes the greatest enemy we
face is within our own mind. We may say stuff in our own mind like “It’s too
difficult … I can’t do this”.
I heard a story one time about a
field goal kicker in football who said he recites scripture in his mind when in
a pressure situation like kicking the game winning field goal. A scripture like
Philippians 4:13 “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength” and
other memorized scriptures can be very useful when faced with pressure moments
in life.
Lord, we pray today that you
will protect us. That we will take in Your scripture to fortify us and prepare
us for the challenges of life. The devil tries to break us in life but You
never forsake us. We are thankful for songs like Savior’s Shadow by Blake Shelton
because we gain confidence and inspiration to follow the Way. This day, fill
our minds with thoughts like this one from the song: “Grace leads us to where
we are free”. In Jesus name. Amen.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own
understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths
straight. - Proverbs 3:5-6
A moving target makes success
very unlikely. What if the bases where never in the same place in baseball and
we didn’t know where first base was or where second base was? There wouldn’t be a chance to get to home base
and not many runs would be scored would they?
Unfortunately, we constantly
receive conflicting information in this game of life.
Just as it is important to know
where the bases are in a baseball game to win, it’s even more important to know
the rules in life. Fortunately, we have God’s Word as our rule book.
So this day, work together with
fellow believers and build up the kingdom. Know the most important rule is that
you are loved by God because of accepting His Son as Savior. Receive
inspiration from today’s video: Good,
Good Father – Chris Tomlin.
