November 21, 2024

God’s Angels

August 29, 2013 by

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For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
Psalm 91:11

This verse has been sticking me for the past 24 hours.  God commands His angels to guard us no matter what we do.  Now, it does not necessarily mean that this angel is the angel we all see in pictures.  God’s angels come in all forms.  It may be somebody we know or may be in something that happens.

We have had many accidental deaths in our area over the past few weeks.  I am reminded of one accident where a girl was pulling out of her driveway and was hit by a drunk driver.  She was 18 or 19 years old.  She died.  When the paramedics and firemen pulled her body away from her steering wheel, there were hardly any marks or outward injuries present.  They said it was like one of God’s angels had wrapped their arms around her as she died.  It was like she was hugged and comforted as she entered eternity.  I am glad to know that when I die, or just in anything I am doing, that God will have Jesus or an angel there with me.

God is a refuge and a fortress.  When we are down or in trouble, we should take refuge in our God.  My son is having adjustment issues to kindergarten.  His first day went terribly.  I blamed myself.  See, he has been in daycare since he was 6 weeks old.  I have to work.  It was a family decision.  I blamed myself because I know he is acting out to get attention.  I felt like I had deprived him over the last 5 years.  Thanks to God’s angels (my husband, my mother, and friends whose own kids started kindergarten and had similar days), I was relieved to know that I was not the only one whose kid was having trouble adjusting.  I felt better.  God sent his angels to comfort me and bring me back up from my despair.

* * * * *

God, I pray that You send Your angels to protect us in no matter what we do.  We know that You are our Refuge.  We can come to You no matter the time, place, or situation.  I pray that You send Your angels—spiritual and physical—to us everyday as a sign of Your love and protection.   Amen.

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Seeking Him – Prayer

February 23, 2013 by

Each Saturday in our current series, Seeking Him, we have spent time looking at various aspects of having a dedicated, purposeful, intentional, devoted quiet time. This week we continue to appreciate the joy and privilege of being with our heavenly Father—our quiet time alone with Him.

The aspect that we are talking about is prayers and petitions. (For those of you who have been following along with us each week and perhaps asking yourself, “WHEN is she going to talk about praying?  Isn’t it foundational?” …this is it! <3)

David wrote about his ‘quiet time’ in the following verse.  Does your Lord hear you expressing your heart to Him in the same way?  I believe that as we are intentional and seek Him that, yes, this is how God sees us.

In the morning You hear my voice, O Lord;
In the morning I prepare [a prayer, a sacrifice] for You
And watch and wait [for You to speak to my heart].
Psalms 5:3

Here  is a great example of God’s design for our prayer life:

Be earnest and unwearied and steadfast in your prayer [life],
Being [both] alert and intent in [your praying] with thanksgiving.
Colossians 4:2

Those are some very intentional words used at the beginning of that verse, yes?  Other versions use similar words: devote, persevere, continue….

Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything,
but in every circumstance and in everything,
by prayer and petition (definite requests),
with thanksgiving,
continue to make your wants known to God.
And God’s peace [shall be yours, that peace]
which transcends all understanding
shall garrison and mount guard
over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6 and 7

Now, of course, that time you spend alone with Your Lord—your quiet, devotional time—is certainly not the only time to pray!  Actually, I think, being intentional…seeking Him first and foremost…prepares our hearts for the rest of our day to be filled with continual little prayers and petitions directed to our God.

How often do we go along through our day accomplishing the normal even mundane tasks talking with our Father?  Or driving (yet again) to school to pickup your children; isn’t that a great time to pray?  Or waiting for them at dance/soccer/baseball practice or music lessons/cub scout meeting/awana time/_______ (you fill in the blank); yet another small amount of time that can be eked out of our day to pray and seek Him.  Paul wrote a number of times in his letters to the Christian believers about the importance of praying.  He used terms such as, “pray at all times,” “keep alert and watch,” “pray with ceasing.”

Listen to this encouragement:

Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit,
with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty.
To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance,
interceding in behalf of all the saints (God’s consecrated people).
Ephesians 6:18

Pray without ceasing;  in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 and 18

So I think that we see by seeking God first and foremost, by being intentional in our quiet time in our  prayers and petitions, we will be better prepared to “pray at all times, and, keep alert and watch, and, pray without ceasing.”  We will be continually seeking Him throughout each day thus carrying out His will (1 Thessalonians 5:18)!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EDGmeP1aA4

Keep seeking Him and enjoy your quiet time with your Lord!  As you seek Him, He will be found…He promises!

Jeremiah 29:12,13
Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me,
and I will hear and heed you.
Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity]
and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Praying for each of you!  I know that the Lord will answer your heart’s cry as you are seeking Him with all your heart!

♥  coleen

Filed Under: Women's Ministry Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Seeking Him – Sing Your Praise

January 26, 2013 by

 

This week in our current series, Seeking Him, we will focus on recognizing how vital it is to include singing our praises to God as part of our quiet time.

Each Saturday we have been looking in-depth at a few of the most important aspects of having a dedicated, purposeful quiet time.  At the beginning of this series I had the privilege of sharing with you a few thoughts from some friends about their own quiet time.  Gathering from their experiences, there seem to be a few basics which include:

Bible reading
Prayer
Praise Songs
Meditation
Seeking the Lord

If you are like me, you have found that singing and praising through song is so uplifting, don’t you think?  Almighty God is the point…He is the focus…keeping my mind and heart set toward Him is my aim.  He is the reason why I sing praises to Him!

Psalms 147:1, 7

Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God,
for He is gracious and lovely; praise is becoming and appropriate.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
sing praises with the harp or the lyre to our God!

There are more reasons to praise our God than we have words enough to do so! Here are just a few of His attributes:

  • He is full of glory (Psalm 138:5)
  • He is great (Psalm 145:3)
  • He is wise and powerful (Daniel 2:20)
  • He is good (Psalm 107:8)
  • He is merciful (Psalm 89:1)
  • He is faithful (Deuteronomy 7:9)

And just some of His wonderful works:

  • He is the One who saves us (Psalm 18:46)
  • He keeps His promises (1 Kings 8:56)
  • He pardons sin (Psalm 103:1-3)
  • He gives us our daily food (Psalm 136:25)

There is a day coming when all will praise God by bowing to Jesus the King!

Philippians 2:10-11

That in (at) the name of Jesus every knee should (must) bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

And every tongue [frankly and openly] confess and acknowledge
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Almighty God is oh-so-worthy to be praised!  Psalm 107 would be a great place to be encouraged with reminders of what God has done for His children!  Throughout this particular psalm is listed proof after proof of God’s goodness.

Psalms 107:8, 15, 21, 31

Oh, that men would praise [and confess to] the Lord for His goodness
and loving-kindness and His wonderful works to the children of men!

The Book of Psalms has been called the ‘Praise Book’ of the Bible.  In it are literally hundreds of examples of praises and reasons why praise is oh-so-very important.  Did you know that every single one of the 150 psalms included in the Book of Psalms is an actual song?  Steve Pearson, a wonderful singer and songwriter, has written and recorded many songs using the words of the Psalms and his own inspired musical accompaniment.  Here is a link to his website   http://www.psalmistry.com/ Check it out! 

As I read the Scriptures, one thing is clear: singing our praises is a good thing!

Join Miss Amy Grant as she sings Sing Your Praise to the Lord!

 Psalm 92:1

It is good to praise the LORD and make music to your name, O Most High…

Psalm 138:1-5

I will confess and praise You [O God] with my whole heart;
before the gods will I sing praises to You.
I will worship toward Your holy temple and praise Your name
for Your loving-kindness and for Your truth and faithfulness;
for You have exalted above all else Your name and Your word
and You have magnified Your word above all Your name!
In the day when I called, You answered me;
and You strengthened me with strength
(might and inflexibility to temptation) in my inner self.
All the kings of the land shall give You credit and praise You, O Lord,
for they have heard of the promises of Your mouth [which were fulfilled].
Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord
and joyfully celebrate His mighty acts, for great is the glory of the Lord.

Keep seeking Him and enjoy your quiet time with your Lord!  As you seek Him, He will be found…He promises!

Jeremiah 29:12,13
Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me,
and I will hear and heed you.
Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity]
and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Praying for each of you!  I know that the Lord will answer your heart’s cry as you are seeking Him with all your heart!

♥ coleen

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If you would like to send a personal message to Coleen concerning this series, you may email her at:  Coleen@girlfriendscoffeehour.com

Filed Under: Women's Ministry Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,