November 25, 2024

Provider

October 29, 2014 by

Psalm 4:1
Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have given me relief when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

When we are in distress, we call out to God.  We expect Him to answer us immediately.  As we walk through the pain and the anguish, we sometimes rant and rage at Him.  And that is okay. He is a big God. He can take whatever we can throw at Him.  As long as we are respectful, we can become angry.

And sometimes we have to become like children and trust God will answer our prayers.  When we were children, most of us did not have to worry about where our food was coming from, we did not have to worry about a place to sleep, because it was there.  Our parents provided everything we needed.  Not what we wanted…but what we needed.  That is what they are supposed to do.  That is what our heavenly Father does for us as well.

In the Bible it tells us of fathers who loved their sons.  It tells us those who have blindly trusted God.  It tells us of those who walked in faith what God would have them to do.  Scripture tells us of Abraham who left his father, took his wife and nephew, and moved away from all that he knew.  Just because God called to him.  But Abraham received a promise.  A promise to become a father of many.

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people
and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
Genesis 12:1-3

God, through Jesus His son, offers us a promise.  When we accept Jesus into our heart, and make Jesus Lord of our life, we have eternity.  We may not have an easy life, but a life of great reward, a life rich with God’s blessings.  This past month, I was given a task of putting together a program for our Hallelujah Hoedown at our church. It was a stretch for me, but I knew God had given me this opportunity to help me grow in my ability to lead and for me to become accountable.  I don’t have issues with delegating.  Nor do I have an issue with calling on those whom I know can do a job.  I just have to learn to lean on God more for everything…and I did.   He did not let me (or those who watched our performance this weekend) down.  We all had a wonderful time, performing and worshipping God and letting the little ones worship with us.  I think the adults had just a much fun as the children did!

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My prayer is for everyone to know Christ as Someone we can go to for our everyday needs and concerns.  God wants us to seek Him for our every need before we make little AND big decisions.  He wants us to do a heart check, to assure our thoughts align with His Word.

Filed Under: Seeking Him Daily Devotional Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Trust In Jesus

October 28, 2014 by

One of these days we all will stand in judgment for
Every single word that we have spoken
One of these days we all will stand before the Lord
Give a reason for everything we’ve done and what I’ve done is

Trust in Jesus, my great Deliverer
My strong Defender, the Son of God
I trust in Jesus, blessed Redeemer
My Lord forever, the Holy One, the Holy One

What are you gonna do when your time has come
And your life is done and there’s nothing you can stand on
What will you have to say at the judgment throne
Well, I already know the only thing that I can say

There’s nothing I can do
On my own to find forgiveness
It’s by His grace alone
I trust in Jesus, trust in Jesus

Singer/Songwriters: Third Day ~ Mark Lee, David Carr, Mac Powell, and Tai Anderson
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Jesus came to call the Jewish people to a new life.  When His people would not listen, He sent the disciples and Paul to minister to everyone.  Jesus reached many hearts who turned to Him and His Father, but He knew His twelve would need to reach the rest of the world.  Now it is up to us to go and tell others the good news of his edemptive work on the cross and how God loves us. John 3:16 (KJV) tells us, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  Isn’t that amazing! Only let’s look further, let’s look at the context of the verse. Jesus was speaking to Nicodemus, a leader of the Jewish people. Nicodemus came to ask Jesus how to become saved. Here is a bit of their conversation from the Gospel of John, chapter 3…
Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?”  Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?  Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony.  If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?  No one has ascended into heaven except He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.  “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.  Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.  And this is the judgment: the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light because their works were evil.  For everyone who does wicked things hates the Light and does not come to the Light, lest his works should be exposed.  But whoever does what is true comes to the Light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

Wow, He did that for us.  We are blessed to know the Father through the Son.  When we feel the Holy Spirit nudge us, sometimes to the point of a hit, we should heed the warning and repent.  We should stop and listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying.  We do not know when we will be called home.  We should be mindful of what we are doing and example we are displaying for others to follow.  God is a forgiving God, One who does have limits.  I do not want to find those limits.  But I feel sometimes I push them. Thank You, Lord, for not giving up on me.

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Mercy

October 23, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
Just as a father has compassion on his children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.
For He Himself knows our frame;
He is mindful that we are but dust.
Psalms 103:8-14

Can God love us anymore than He already does?  Yes, He could.  When we surrender all that we have to our Lord and King, He would love us greatly.  All we need to do is live in Him and walk daily.  Is this easy?  No, it is not.  Do you feel like you are properly equipped to live life on your own?  Not always.  I feel sometimes, even with the Bible as a guide, that I miss what God has for me.  I know God is there. Sometimes I feel that I have stumbled upon what I should do by accident. Sometimes, I have felt that I got it right and even hear God’s voice, in a whisper, tell me so.

When I make myself be quiet and sit outside to hear nature…to listen to the wind…I can hear him.  And it is hard to sit still.  I have to tell my mind to be quiet, to be still, to not run down the long laundry list of things that I need to do.  That is when I can relax and meditate on the good He has done in my life.  That is when I can see where He has proctected me, even when I did not see or know what He was doing. But then I have chosen to have faith in my God.  I have chosen to know that He is supreme and my Ultimate Protector.  I have chosen to know that He is my Shield and my Rock.

 

 

Filed Under: Seeking Him Daily Devotional Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Lift Me Up

October 21, 2014 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Waiting for the sunrise
Waiting for the day
Waiting for a sign
That I’m where You want me to be

You know my heart is heavy
And the hurt is deep
But when I feel like giving up
You’re reminding me
That we all fall down sometimes
But when I hit the ground

You lift me up when I am weak
Your arms wrap around me
Your love catches me so I’m letting go
You lift me up when I can’t see
Your heart is all that I need
Your love carries me so I’m letting go

You lift me up with Your love
You lift me up with Your love
You lift me up with Your love
You lift me up

I know I’m not perfect
I know I make mistakes
I know that I have let You down
But You love me the same

And when I’m surrounded
When I lose my way
When I’m crying out and falling down
You are here to

I can see the dawn is breaking
I am feeling overtaken with Your love
With Your love
I don’t know what I can offer
In this moment I surrender to Your love
To Your love

You lift me up with Your love
You lift me up with Your love
You lift me up with Your love
You lift me up

Songwriters: Fuqua, Havens, Jordan Mohilowski, Dan Ostebo

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When Paul was writing to the Corinthians he boasted of his weakness (see 2 Corinthians 12:6-10.) He boasted of being able to endure the pain God felt was necessary to keep Paul humble and ready to serve. Paul did endure many hardships in order to do what God had called him to do. Paul endured beatings, shipwrecks, near starvation, severe thirst, and abandonment from friends. All of this to make sure everyone who would listen,  could receive, and become a servant of God. Paul wanted others to know about God, to love God, and to have the passion Paul was given to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to all of the nations, to all  people.

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Lord, thank You for lifting us up. Thank You for being there for us and for not always answering our requests the way we want. Please give us wisdom to know when we need to stop and listen, and when we need to step out in faith to do Your will.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Fulfilled Promises

October 15, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

Remember the word to Your servant,
In which You have made me hope.
This is my comfort in my affliction,
That Your word has revived me.
Psalms 119:49-50

David is reminding God of a promise to make David’s line to have a continuation on the throne.  God does not need reminding, but sometimes we need the reassurance that God had not forgotten us.  Doubt and sin creeps in trying to steal our promise.  We have to be ever so diligent to not allow those thoughts.  God wants us to know joy and to remember the promises He continues to fulfill today.

Abraham was promised a son.

On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying,
“To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt
to the great river, the river Euphrates,”
Genesis 15:18

Isaac who was not born to Abraham and his wife Sarah until they  were very old. God wanted to provide a miracle and show  Abraham that God could be trusted. God also told Abraham that his children would be in captivity and brought out after four hundred years of that bondage.

“It was by faith that Moses’ parents hid him for three months when he was born.
They saw that God had given them an unusual child,
and they were not afraid to disobey the king’s command.”
Hebrews 11:23

When Moses was born God had a plan that he would lead the people of Israel out of captivity to the promised land. Moses was raised in a life of luxury. But he also was reminded of his heritage and had to flee from Egypt because of his desire to protect his people. It was not his time to begin the deliverance. God had plans to grow Moses into a shepherd. He needed to become patient and humble.

Ever feel like God puts you through a time of patience building?  I know I have had my share of those.  Because I am headstrong, rebellious, and stubborn.  I am sure God just shakes His head at me. I try it on my own. Then I realize I need to turn back to Him and let Him handle the heavy lifting.  I just have to be willing to follow His word.

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Father, help me follow Your direction.  Forgive me for doing my will and not seeking Yours.  Help me discern Your will for my life.  Give me the courage to follow what You lay on my heart.  I want to be a vessel You use to further Your kingdom here on earth.  Thank You for allowing me to call You Father.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Filed Under: Seeking Him Daily Devotional Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

More of You

October 14, 2014 by
psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjvI made my castle tall
I built up every wall
This is my kingdom and it needs to fall
I want You and no one else
Empty me of myself
Until the only thing that’s left is

More of You
Less of me
Make me who I’m meant to be
You’re all I want all I need
You’re everything
Take it all I surrender
Be my King
God, I choose
More of You
Less of me

More of You

This life I hold so close
Oh, God I let it go
I refuse to gain the world and lose my soul
So take it all I abandon everything I am You can have it
The only thing I need is

All to You, I surrender
All to You, my blessed Savior
I surrender all

Singer/Songwriter: Colton Dixon, along with Ben Glover, David Arthur Garcia

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Walking through life everyday, we can become complacent.  Not searching for any more than what we have right now, right here.  But, God does not want us to live that way.  He wants us to live life to the fullest.  He wants us to seek Him and seek His ways. Until we do that, we will never experience the life He holds. We can be safe…we can be ‘free’;  but are we really?  Are we truly free if we have to come to the same job everyday, perform the same tasks everyday, and are not living for Him?

  • When was the last time you told someone about your walk with God?
  • When was the last time you were on your knees with God?
  • When was the last time you were in His word, seeking His will for you?

You may say, ‘I am too old’ or ‘I am too young.’  Perhaps you may even say, ‘I am not physcially able to do anything.’  Sister in Christ, you are able. You can pray.  You can say positive words to a hurting person. You can even post things to your Facebook page to encourage someone.  You never know when your words, your actions, your kindess will impact a person who needs a touch from God.

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Learning and Instruction

October 9, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

The instruction of the LORD is perfect, renewing one’s life;
the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making the inexperienced wise.
The precepts of the LORD are right, making the heart glad;
the command of the LORD is radiant, making the eyes light up.
The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are reliable and altogether righteous.
They are more desirable than gold—than an abundance of pure gold;
and sweeter than honey, which comes from the honeycomb.
Psalms 19:7-10 HCSB

Learning: the activity or process of gaining knowledge or skill by studying, practicing, being taught, or experiencing something; the activity of someone who learns; knowledge or skill gained from learning.

Instruction: a statement that describes how to do something : an order or command : the action or process of teaching : the act of instructing someone.

From the moment we are born we are learning. We learn to breath, we learn how to tell others we are wet, we are hungry, we are lonely and that we are afraid. We learn to be selfish. We learn that crying brings someone to care for us. We learn that we can engage people by smiling and cooing. We learn we can ‘eat’  our toes, our fingers, and we then we discover we can move by learning to crawl, and then walk.

Then, while we are still learning, instruction begins. We begin to observe how things are done, how things work. Things like putting a block into the correct shape.  We are instructed as to how to put on a shirt, a pair of pants, how to comb our hair, how to brush our teeth. Some go to daycare or have playdates, and here we learn to play nice with others, not hit or bite. We learn to be kind and to have compassion. We have learned at this point whom we should fear; whether it is a little person or a grown-up, we learn who we should stay far away from.

While in school we learn the ordinances (rules). We learn what we can do, what is acceptable behaviour and what is not. This is a precept. We must become teachable and willing to learn.

I obey Your precepts and Your statutes, for all my ways are known to You.
Psalm 119:168

We may not learn about the Bible until later, or totally understand, but our heavenly Father gave us His precepts—His rules, His laws—on how we should live. It does not matter when we begin to learn these, as long as we begin practicing them. He wants us to enjoy the life He has planned for us. We just have to be willing to trust Him.

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Father, thank You for loving us. I ask for my heart to become humble and teachable. I am not too old or too young to follow Your ways, to understand Your precepts. I want to have such a fire about me which will cause those around me to have a fire, a desire to know You. I want to learn. I want to be taught. I desire You, Father. Thank You for Your Word and for this ministry. Let us not grow weary in knowing You more intimately. In Jesus’ name I pray and ask these things, amen.

Filed Under: Seeking Him Daily Devotional Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

People Like Me

October 7, 2014 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

What if I told you, what would you say
Would you stand by me, would you walk away
What if my walls came down and you saw everything

All of my weakness
All of my scars
All that I’ve hidden
Deep in my heart
For so long
And I’m scared to set it free

Show me a life that’s broken
Can be redeemed
Show me that You can handle my honesty
And help me to know
You’ll never let go
Your love won’t ever leave
Show me that grace was made
For people like me

You say I’m forgiven
Being restored
But it’s hard to feel it
Here in this storm
Torn between who I’ve been and who I want to be

Jesus, I need You
Need You to be
Hope in the darkness searching for me
Out of this doubt
Lord, help me to believe

Oh, my weak heart
And Your strong arms
Give me faith when mine is gone
Only trusting in Your mercy
Can set free
People like me

Show me Your arms are open
Your blood redeems
Show me that You can love
Even me

~ MikesChair ~
Mike Grayson, Nate Onstott, Seth Penn, Kyle Schonewill, Dustin Wise

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“Jesus, I need You
Need You to be
Hope in the darkness searching for me
Out of this doubt
Lord, help me to believe”

These verses so speak to me when I doubt who I am in Christ. I know I am loved by God. There are days that self-doubt creeps in. I have to remember the evil one is here to destroy us, to prevent us from reaching our full potential in God’s kingdom. As the father that brought his son for Jesus to be healed said,

Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, ‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!’
Mark 9:24

We are made to worship Him and to have a relationship with Him. Because of sin, shame, and guilt, we have been separated from God. Only…God does not want us to feel this way. He wants us to forgive ourselves and seek Him with all of our heart. He wants our total dedication to the pursuit of spreading His love to others.

 

Father, thank You for loving us.  Thank You for helping us see who we are in You. Forgive us when we doubt who we are in You. You made us perfect. Help us see who we are in You. Thank You!  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Great Things

October 4, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

I will come with the mighty deeds of the Lord God;
I will make mention of Your righteousness, Yours alone.
O God, You have taught me from my youth, and I still declare Your wondrous deeds.
And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me,
Until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to all who are to come.
For Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the heavens,
You who have done great things; O God, who is like You?
You who have shown me many troubles and distresses will revive me again,
And will bring me up again from the depths of the earth.
May You increase my greatness and turn to comfort me.
Psalms 71:16-21

God has such a great love for us.  He holds no account of the wrongs we have done once we have confessed our sins to Him. God is so faithful to toss them away.  We are the ones that  holds onto so much unforgiveness.

God wants us to love as He does.  Without limits or conditions.  He also wants us to have confidence.  Confidence in God’s ability to rescue us from our troubles.  David knew God was there for him no matter what was going on. All David needed to do was talk to God and let Him take care of the situation.

God will even choose us to further His kingdom among the nations.  We so often limit what we could do by our self-doubt.  God wants us to look at things from His point of view.  A limitless future awaits us if we choose to follow the Holy Spirit.  We do not have to go overseas to serve.  We can serve from where we are.  We just have to be aware of His promptings. It could be our paying it forward to the wait staff or taking the time to pray for someone when you feel the tugging in your mind.  There have been too many stories of people getting out of situations when the odds seemed against them.  And all because of the pressing of the Holy Spirit to pray.

Father, thank you for your Holy Spirit. Thank you for watching over us everyday and for giving us new opportunities to get it right. Some of us know Your words and do not want to be like the Israelites that wondered the desert for 40 years because of unbelief and disobedience. Help us to know when we need to stop and listen to and for you. Help us choose to put away the things that will distract us from your word. Give us strength to say no and help us to have a peace that only you can bring. Thank you again, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Filed Under: Seeking Him Daily Devotional Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Turning Back to God

September 17, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare Your praise.
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
A broken and contrite heart You, God, will not despise.
Psalms 51:15-17

As we as Christians walk through our lives, we need to remember that we are not perfect, nor should we judge each other.  Our purpose is to share God’s love and to mentor those who come along with us.  We are to be salt and light to the nations.

Jesus tells us,
You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.  Matthew 5:13-16

There is a time for us to review our actions and to repent once either we see it, or once someone brings it to our attention.  Either way, there is a time for us to seek to change.  Pride can so very easily prevent us from repenting, turning from our sin and beginning to respect God again.  But what happens if we continually sin, again and again, the same sin?  Peter posed this question to Jesus…

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive
my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
Matthew 18:21 and 22

Jesus then went on to say,

“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” (Verses 23-35)

I am not sure about you, but I endeavor to lay my life down at the foot of the Cross and do my best not to take it up again.  But with my being humble and contrite, I can lay my sin down each and every day while I make every effort to not take it on again.

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Father, forgive me a sinner!  Forgive my weak fleshly desires.  Forgive me when I am quick to speak, before I think.  Forgive me for when I judge others before I know what their life holds.  Forgive me for not seeking You first, when I know I am supposed to.  Forgive me my pride.  Help me replace “I can do it” and instead say “with Your guidance I can do it.”  I give You the glory for each and every day.  Thank You, Lord.  In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.

Filed Under: Seeking Him Daily Devotional Tagged With: , , , , ,
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