Actions are Proof of His Love

Jesus and His Love for the church can inspire our day and build momentum. Christ fulfilled His purpose on earth with passion and boldness. It wasn’t easy but like most things of importance, it takes devotion.

With our helper in the Holy Spirit, we are empowered to share about this purpose of Christ. We can fight life’s battles together and what begins as a ripple on a pond can turn into a wave that travels far and continues to spread.   

To give a lift for your day, take a look at this video: The Proof of Your Love – For King and Country. Have a wonderful day with God! 

Let us, then, feel very sure that we can come before God’s throne where there is grace. There we can receive mercy and grace to help us when we need it. – Hebrews 4:16

For an inspirational start to each day, join the journey at: This Day with God Devotional.

The Discipline of Josiah

We discover in reading 2 Chronicles 34 that Josiah ruled much differently than his father and grandfather. His character contained the element of discipline and he sought God’s direction. His reforms were thorough as he set out to completely destroy the idols and images.

Photo from Google Images

The Temple of the Lord was in terrible condition so Josiah set out to have it cleaned and repaired. It was during this work that the Book of the Law was found. Obvious to him was the fact that it had not been read or applied over the years. Upon hearing the Law read, Josiah was full of anger, sorrow, and sadness because he knew that past generations had not followed what was written.

The king had a strong influence over the people as shown in verses 31-33. Everyone pledged to follow the Lord and keep His commands. Let us pray for Christian leaders in each of our communities and in the government; that their influence for God may be strong. 

Josiah was a king who went by the Book of the Law of the Lord and took action. This day with God, be inspired by the discipline of this king. Pray that our leaders today will make a change and understand the proven positive result of working faithfully by the Book.

For growing in God’s power with the Holy Spirit as our guide, there is an on-line devotional being used to keep me on track. I invite you to join the journey on Facebook and be notified of new posts by clicking like. 

The Sharp Double-Edged Sword

Photo Credit - Google Images

We face a war between the forces of good and evil in our daily living. Think of the entertainment industry. Here’s a post from Proverbial Thought about the conflict we constantly have to contend with in a society that praises vulgarity, violence, and vice.

We do not go alone so never fear. Trust in God in rainy days or the heat of a pressure filled day or whatever each day brings. Don’t be shaken. God’s Word is like a sword to protect us against the enemy.

To sharpen this sword as we battle each day, I think it’s important to reflect, meditate on, and memorize the Word. As I reflected on the passages I studied this past week, there are two poems at the links below that were inspired and my hope is that they help affirm the need for prayer and to encourage each other:
Where Everything Begins
Invite and Encourage

Have a blessed weekend my friends! For an inspirational start to each day, join the journey at: This Day with God Devotional.

I would like to share this link to the Sermon Podcast at the church I attended last Sunday. A point I noted from the message titled “Awe Factor” is that the time we spend with God is of essence. Studying His Word, reflecting on how to apply His Word, and time with Him in prayer brings power and direction in life.

Photo Credit - http://devotions.thecornerstoneforteachers.com

When we put God first, the other things in life like family, children, health, and friends seem to fall into place.  Here’s a video with a philosophy about how we use our time: The empty pickle jar.

Time goes fast so share the right words now; mark another’s life now, build relationships now, make memories now, and spend time with those you love now.

For an inspirational start to each day, join the journey at:

This Day with God Devotional.

Win-Win Situation

Within Ecclesiastes 4 are thoughts of oppression and violence; the abuse of power and authority that persisted throughout societies during the time of its writing. It was believed that there was nothing that could be done to create peaceful societies because of the competitiveness inherent in man’s nature.

In many there is a natural competitive streak and this is often thought of as a positive trait among people in current times. It’s good to want to be the best. A competitive person is driven to be the best they can be so they work hard but within society, there needs to be a balance between the desire for personal gain and doing what is good for all; in other words, making sure society is fostering a win-win situation for all.

On the other hand, a society with no incentives for personal gain produces an apathetic attitude among its people which leads to a win-lose situation. Those in power stay in power and no matter how hard a person works, they are stuck at the bottom with no upward movement. There is a fatal flaw in a society that has no accountability among its leaders and they remain in power. The economy struggles and there is chaos and confusion.

The best form of leadership is God’s way. There’s power, safety, and success in pulling together because people can support, encourage, and strengthen one another. They can tap into the faith, hope, and love of other believers so their talents or skills combine to strengthen the whole body of Christ.

Photo Credit - dwellingintheworld.wordpress.com

This day with God, pray for yourself, your spouse, your parents, your children. Pray for opportunities to help someone come to know Christ. Pray for a society of peace where leaders let it be known that God’s way is followed. Pray that God would use you to work for His glory.

For an inspirational start to each day, join the journey at:

This Day with God Devotional.

Set Free

The author of Ecclesiastes is thought to be Solomon. He reflects on the experiences of life. His philosophy of conflicting thoughts on materialism, pleasures of life, and our duty to God. Ecclesiastes deals with the feeling of emptiness even when people have everything.

Solomon, the son of David became king at a very young age. God gave him wisdom, a discerning heart, and great wealth. He ruled under a time of peace and the economy flourished. Solomon was a great intellectual; known all through the world during his time for great wisdom. Unfortunately, he married many wives from other nations and they led him astray. He began to follow other gods and his kingdom began to tear apart.

As we read in Ecclesiastes 1:1-11, life to Solomon is repetition and is tiresome. It was as if he had nothing to live far, nothing more to accomplish. He’s recording his own folly, shame, and his disappointment. He’s learned a hard lesson that wealth and the things of this world do not benefit the soul, judgment, or eternity.

I once heard a story about some people who were doing some studies of whales. They came across one whale that was hung up in a net and dying. After hours of work, they were able to set the whale free. The whale put on a display as he was free and gained speed in the water; doing some of those “Sea World” whale jumps with an expression of joy and thankfulness for those that set him free.

We too get mired in nets that trap us in life and we need help being set free. Let us be reminded before we pray today that God is sovereign, majestic and all-powerful. Nothing is too difficult for Him; He is bigger than any problem we could bring to Him.

This day with God, we know that Jesus sets us free and we can leap for joy at God’s amazing grace. 

For an inspirational start to each day, join the journey at:

This Day with God Devotional.

Live Out Life to the Fullest

The journey takes me through what many may consider the lackluster scenery of 1 Chronicles 3-4 but there are glimpses of God’s gracious purpose. Every name listed is important and today every person is important to God. What each of us should strive to do is find out what we would like to be remembered for and get involved with a passion to make it happen; finishing the race victoriously with enthusiasm.

I received an email a while back from a friend and in this email was a story of a lady who had started a long time ago to plant one daffodil at a time in a field. Now the field is covered with beautiful yellow daffodils. This story points out that if you start something positive even if it’s small, over time you will build something of beauty. 

Mark Twain said one time, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore – Dream - Discover.”

Each day with God we should be inspired to get things done now and never put things off because our opportunities to do great things may pass us by. Give it all we have while we can? We should live each day we have like the song by Tim Mcgraw called “Live Like You Were Dying”. The song puts things in perspective. Some of the lyrics in the song go I loved deeper, I spoke sweeter, I watched an eagle flying, live like you were dying.

I remember seeing a TV program called 20/20 many years ago. They interviewed Christopher Reeves after his horse riding accident which left him paralyzed in 1995. In the interview, he said that when he saw an able bodied person he would say to himself, "Man Just Go for It"! That’s some good advice. You see God has the eraser. He’s present to help us make the needed adjustments if we get off course. So go for it! If you feel a job is above your head, express your concerns in prayer and ask for the necessary skills. Ask for good helpers. Most of all, believe that God has given you a mission. God wants us to accept our lot in life. He gives each of us talents and ideas. It’s up to us to start using what gifts we have and giving God the glory.

This day with God will be amazing because He inspires us to live out loud. We can pray like Jabez, listen for instructions, and be honorable people. Opportunities to do great things are right in front of us so let’s give God our best.

For an inspirational start to each day, join the journey at:

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