November 18, 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.

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Just A Reminder

October 28, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

Answer me when I call to you,
O God, Who declares me innocent.
Free me from my troubles.
Have mercy on me and hear my prayer.
Psalm 4:1

I almost get the feeling that the psalmist is trying to rush God in Psalm 4:1.  In my mind, I picture God just shaking His head thinking, “Rest, my child. I see your troubles and I have handled them.”  Then again, the psalmist could just be making a sincere plea to God for Him to answer the prayer.  Regardless of how I decide to perceive this verse, I feel the Lord’s verbal response would be the same—Rest!

Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-30

This verse says that if you come to the Lord, He will give you rest. So, take your request to Him and then rest. {Do not forget about the resting part!}

And don’t forget this:

I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace.
In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
John 16:33

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Lord, help me take my requests to You and then to rest.  Thank You for the ability to rest in the midst of troubles, knowing that I am adequately taken care of.  Amen.

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Prayerfulness

October 27, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

Answer me when I call to You, O my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress,
Be merciful to me and hear my prayer.
Psalm 4:1

This verse reveals the kind of person who will be answered by God in times of distress—it is one with an earnest desire for God’s help.

There are times in my life when I have been down and cried to my God to answer my prayers because I felt that they were not being answered and that I was left alone with no one to turn to.  And this only brought discomfort and fear in me. All the faith had gone…all I could see was unanswered prayer and so it led me to focus on the issues and not where the solution can could come from.  But the Holy Spirit communicated to me saying “You know what, Ann? Cast all your cares unto God and He will give you rest.”  And it was at this time when my eyes opened and I remembered Jeremiah 33:3.

Call to Me and I will answer you,
and I will tell you great and mighty things,
which you do not know.

Prayer is a weapon for answered prayer especially when it comes from an earnest heart…and so earnestly He will answer us. Make a choice to engage into a different dimension of living.  Engage in a prayerful gear and you will appreciate, too, what I appreciated.

O Lord, in the morning You hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before You and wait expectantly.
Psalm 5:3

In this verse, we see David committing himself to three actions

1. Confident that God will hear his voice, he persists in prayer
2. He will pray in the morning – if we orient our lives around God, morning prayers will be a natural thing to do
3. He will wait in expectation for answers to his prayer and throughout the day he will search for signs that God is at work in his life

I rise before dawn and cry for help I have put my hope in Your Word.
Psalm 119:147

The Word of God is not false it is a living thing that helps us to build trust in the Lord.

And then was a widow until she was eighty four.
She never left the temple but worshipped night and day, fasting and praying.
Luke 2:37

Therefore, my brethren, with the few Scriptures quoted in this devotion, I urge each one of you to be earnestly prayerful and regularly engaged in prayer.  With faith, we will have answered prayers.  All that we need is to ask God for help. Our prayers will be granted.

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Lord, I pray that You hear me when I pray as I come to You. I pray for Your mercy to hear me when I call, Lord. Supply to me according to Your riches in glory. Silver and gold is all Yours! Have mercy on me, Lord, and on my sisters in the Lord, too. We seek You and thank You that all things will be added to us, Lord. Glory and honor be unto You always. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

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Answering the Caller ID

October 26, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness:
Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress;
have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.
Psalm 4:1

Do you have caller ID?  Most everybody does.  It is one of those digital advances that most people cannot live without these days.  It is a way of identifying who is calling you.  You can decide whether or not to answer the phone when it rings. You can decide whether to answer the phone if you don’t know who it is. If you miss a call, you can go back and see who called. Then you can decide whether or not to call that person back. You can ignore tele-marketers and bill collectors. Caller ID has certainly made it easier to ignore those we don’t want to talk to when the phone rings.

As humans we can select who we call and whose call we answer here on earth. However, when it comes down to it, there is one call that we are supposed to answer no matter what. The caller ID is our heart being tugged at by Jesus wanting us to accept Him as our Savior. It is a call that should be answered every time.

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
Romans 10:17

By answering the call of Christ, our faith is strengthened and fortified. Our spirit is healed. Our heart becomes stronger in the Lord. We begin to strengthen our faith and fortify it through listening to Christ and practicing what He teaches us. We strengthen ourselves through our relationship with Him. When we answer Christ’s call, God hears us. We become blessed even more.

God blessed us when His Son sacrificed Himself on the Cross for our sins. He showed us mercy. Jesus brought us closer to God by shedding His blood. God heard the call to be saved from death. He gave us a way to be reconciled with Him. All we have to do is recognize His call on our internal caller ID—our heart—and accept the gift that Jesus gave on the Cross.

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Dear Heavenly Father: Thank You for calling us to You. Thank You for giving us an internal caller ID to recognize Your spirit and love. Thank You for strengthening us and fortifying us. Without our own internal caller ID, we would ignore You and not listen. We would be facing an eternity of fire instead of an eternity filled with love and Your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Merciful, Merciful, Merciful God

October 25, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger and rich in faithful love.
He will not always accuse us or be angry forever.
He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve
or repaid us according to our offenses.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is His faithful love toward those who fear Him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.
For He knows what we are made of, remembering that we are dust.
Psalms 103:8-14 HCSB

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What a merciful, merciful, merciful God
What a merciful, merciful, merciful God
What a merciful, merciful, merciful God You are
You are

You are so gentle
You are forgiving
You hold me close to Your heart

When I am distant
You show me mercy
You bring me close to Your heart

Written by Terry and Randy Butler/ Vineyard Music

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Our Compassionate, Merciful God

October 24, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and plenteous
in mercy and loving-kindness.
Psalm 103:8

There is one word in this passage that stuck out to me—compassion (or merciful). In verse 8, we read that the Lord ‘is compassionate’ (merciful) and in verse 13, it says that He “has compassion” (or mercy or pity). I often find it so very helpful, when studying the Scriptures, to read a particular verse or passage in a number of different Bible versions. (Do you find that true, too?) It always brings about a more complete understanding…at least to me. I would like to let you experience this in reference to one of the verses in the section we have been focusing on this week here on the Seeking Him devotional blog. My favorite version for studying is the Amplified Bible version; so I’ll start there…

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy and loving-kindness.

NIV
The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.

NLT
The LORD is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.

ESV
The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

NASB
The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.

KJV
The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.

HCSB
The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and rich in faithful love.

ISV
The LORD is compassionate and gracious, patient, and abundantly rich in gracious love.

ASV
Jehovah is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness.

DBT
Jehovah is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving-kindness.

Webster’s
The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in mercy.

YLT
Merciful and gracious is Jehovah, slow to anger, and abundant in mercy.

Each of these versions (and, of course, there are more!) communicate basically the same thing…but some add just a further bit of information or inflection.  After reading through these, I was left praising God Who is ‘compassionate and merciful and gracious’ and abundantly rich in steadfast, unfailing, in loving-kindness’!  How great is our God!!!

The Strong’s concordance uses the following words to biblically define ‘compassion/merciful’ as used in verse 8:  to love, love deeply, have mercy, be compassionate, have tender affection, have compassion. And listen to this tidbit of insight:  this word (rachuwm, pronounced ‘rakh-oom’) is used only 13 times throughout the OT and

Here is the very first occurrence of this word in the Bible.

And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed,
The Lord! the Lord! a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger, and abundant in loving-kindness and truth.
Exodus 34:6

Almighty God declared Himself ‘…the compassionate and merciful God…’ during His encounter with Moses on Mount Sinai.

No doubt God had already proven Himself VERY compassionate, merciful, and gracious towards the children of Israel!  Remember this is the account where He allows Moses to redo the two tablets on which had been the commandments which God had written and given to Moses.  (Here’s a link to go read this passage.)  While Moses and Joshua were up on the mountain receiving God’s commands, the people had chosen to turn back to their idolatrous ways and had made a golden calf and were worshipping this idol.   Upon his return, Moses became so disgusted and angry with them that he threw the tablets on the ground and broke them to smithereens!  (NOT good!)  Moses pleaded with the Lord and interceded on behalf of the Israelites.  And ‘the compassionate and merciful God’ relented and gave them yet another chance to repent and obey.  This shows the magnitude of the Lord’s mercy, compassion, and grace!

So what does this mean to us…some 3,000+ years later? It means everything…because God does not, can not, will not change. He is the same “God of compassion and mercy…slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness” as He was then.

For I, the LORD, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed…
Malachi 3:6

I pray that each of us would hold fast and cling to this truth, and give much praise to our great God Who is the God of compassion and mercy!

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Here is a link  if you would like to study this verse and the usage of ‘compassionate/merciful’ in describing the Lord God Who IS oh-so-very merciful and compassionate.

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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.

 

 

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Slow to Anger…Quick to Love

October 22, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will He harbor His anger forever;
He does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
Psalms 103:8-10

As a parent, I often find it hard not to grow angry or frustrated when my kids do something (or keep doing something) after I or their father have instructed them not to keep doing whatever they are doing.  I love my kids.  I love them to the moon and back.  I am usually slow to anger.  However, after a stressful day, I find that I am quicker to be angry than usual.  That is all part of being human.

Know this, my beloved brothers:
let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;
for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
James 1:19-20

God is the perfect example of what a loving parent should be.  He is:

  • quick to hear and patiently listens to our requests and confessions
  • careful in His answers to our prayers
  • patient, loving, and kind
  • puts up with a lot from us, but yet He still loves us

We, as humans, are not in any way getting the punishment or rejection that we deserve.  Many of us have rejected our heavenly Father, but He still does not punish or reject us.  He loves us in a way that we will probably never understand. Thanks to Jesus we will not receive the punishment that we deserve for sinning against God.

God does not harbor His anger His children.  He does not hold a grudge—like so many people do.  He does not hold our sins against us.  Instead, God forgives us and loves us.  He welcomes us back with open arms and helps us learn from our mistakes.

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Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for being slow to anger and always loving. We are so thankful that You do not hold a grudge against us. Your love is wonderful and compassionate. Because You love us so much, we do not have to worry about the wrathful punishment that awaits those who have rejected You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Justice, Mercy, and Grace

October 21, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and rich in faithful love.
He will not always accuse us or be angry forever.
He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve or repaid us according to our offenses.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His faithful love toward those who fear Him.
As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.
For He knows what we are made of, remembering that we are dust.
Psalm 103:8-14 HCSB

“Justice is getting what you deserve.
Mercy is NOT getting what you deserve.
Grace is getting what you DON’T deserve”
– Chuck Smith

As I read this passage I was struck by God’s mercy and grace.  Using Chuck Smith’s quote I divided the verses into two categories…Mercy and Grace.

Mercy – withheld punishment
*slow to anger – verse 8
*He will not always accuse us or be angry forever – verse 9
*He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve or repaid us according to our offenses – verse 10

Grace – unmerited favor
*The Lord is compassionate and gracious, and rich in faithful love – verse 8
*For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His faithful love toward those who fear Him – verse 11
*As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us – verse 12
As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him – verse 13

These are the characteristics of God.  As I continued to study this passage a thought kept re-ocurring:  “This is how God deals with me. Is this how I deal with others?”  OUCH!  Here is what I mean:

“Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus,” Romans 8:1 (HCSB)…yet, how often are we so quick to condemn others sins? (and often ignore our own.)

“I, even I, am He Who blots out and cancels your transgressions, for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” Isaiah 43:25 (AMP)…yet, how long do we nurse our hurts, our anger or hold a grudge?

“And they will go to others and say, ‘I have sinned, I have perverted what is right, but I did not get what I deserved.” Job 33:27 (NIV)…yet, how often do we seek retaliation or revenge when we have been wounded?

Now look at these verses:

Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you?
Does this mean nothing to you?
Romans 2:4 NLT

But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me
as a prime example of His great patience with even the worst sinners.
I Timothy1:16a NLT

So I have to ask myself some hard questions—

  • Do I exhibit the patience and grace God has shown me?
  • Do I offer compassion and love to those around me.
  • Am I forgiving and merciful?

I wish I could answer a resounding YES to these questions. I can not—not in every case. But I can praise God for these qualities I see in Him. I can seek His help as I strive to demonstrate such qualities in my own life. It is the very least I can do, considering all He has done for me.

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Lord, I humbly come before You today, thanking You for being so patient with me. Your mercy and grace are beyond limits. Aid me in reflecting Your character to those around me. Remind me when I am tempted to fall back on my human emotions of all You have done for me. May my life bring honor and glory to You. In Your precious name I ask this, AMEN – It Is So!

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Fear Of God

October 20, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

As a father has compassion of his children
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.
Psalm 103:13

I remember when I was young, whenever I would see my father coming from work and maybe I had not bathed yet, I would rush into the bathroom and start bathing. Or if I knew I had done something wrong and knew once my father knows I will be in hot soup…I would run and hide under my bed for fear of being beaten.

Sometimes when my father would ask me to do something, even though I felt tired, I would do it out of fear that if I didn’t, I would be beaten or else will not be given money for something. Those were experiences that instilled in me fear and respect at the same time. And I had connected my experiences to this Scripture where it shows the benefits of fearing…Since when you fear and you put yourself in a corner the father would feel sorry and will not beat you.

Now who is the father in the eyes of God? Yes, our biological father, they raised us and had compassion on us but what more of The Father who has no shortfalls—The Creator of the universe? ‘Fear’ing Him is more beneficial than anything else. Doing what He tells us to do becomes so fun when our hearts are there.

I looked up a few Scriptures that will help us understand what fearing Him means in the eyes of our Father God:

The Lord delights in those who fear Him who puts their hope in His unfailing love.
Psalm 147:11

The fear of the Lord is the beginnings of knowledge but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
Proverbs 1:7

Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the word of His servant….
Isaiah 50:10

Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other and the Lord listened and heard.
A scroll of remembrance was written in His presence
concerning those who feared the Lord and honored His name.
Malachi 3:16

His mercy extends to those who fear Him from generation to generation.
Luke 1:50

…But accepts men from every nation who fear Him and do what is right.
Acts 10:35

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Lord, we thank You for Your love for us despite that we have many shortcomings. This word this week has made us realize that it is when we fear You that we will earn mercy. We pray for the grace to fear You and do what You want us to do. May Your name be glorified in Jesus name, Amen.

Filed Under: Seeking Him Daily Devotional
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