March 16, 2026

Caring Father

July 21, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that Thou visitest him?
For Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels,
and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
Psalms 8:4-5

This psalm expresses the amazing honor that God has for mankind. It shows that we as humans were purposely created. And God values us. We were created in His own image and He breathed into us making us living souls.

In Genesis 1, God honored us by making us to rule His creation but man failed God. However even when we failed He did not leave it like that. He went ahead to send the One Who was to come and die for us. He gave us His only Son Jesus to die on the Cross. A shameful death but He took it and paid the highest price for us. What a caring Father we have who doesn’t want His children to suffer…He loves us!

We are made as heavenly beings (which in this version it says “angels”). So we are angels here on earth and blessed people whose sins were paid for.

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Father, we thank You for Your care, we appreciate Your love for we know You sincerely and deeply love us. Even though we were yet sinners Christ died for us and paid the price for us. Be glorified in all the earth! How excellent is Your name! In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen!

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Over All Things

July 20, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo
As I was reading Psalm 8, I kept going back to verses 5 and 6:

Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor.
You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority. (NLT)

Who does “them” refer to?  Looking back at verse 4 we see that “them” is mankind, mere mortals.  In other words…us.  Now, read those two verses again, but this time, substitute your name for the word “them.”  Did that just give you chills?  God made us—you and me—only a little lower than Himself.  He crowned us with glory and honor.  God put us in charge of EVERYTHING!  ALL things are under our authority (‘under our feet’ as some versions say).  There is no limit to “all things!”

Ah, Satan is already whispering doubts to you, isn’t he?  He would like nothing better than to convince you this authority, this dominion does not apply to you. But it does. Look at the following verses:

You have crowned him with glory and honor and set him over the works of Your hands,
For You have put everything in subjection under his feet.
Now in putting everything in subjection to man, He left nothing outside [of man’s] control.
Hebrews 2:7b-8a (AMP)

For the Scriptures say, “God has put all things under his authority.”
1 Corinthians 15:27a (NLT)

We were created to have dominion over all things. Not some things but ALL things.  That is why it is such a tragedy when we are held in bondage by things of this world.

This authority was originally given to Adam and we still have the same authority because of our relationship with Jesus Christ. According to Barnes’ Notes on the Bible:

“The language is taken from the act of treading down the enemies in battle…The idea is that of complete and entire subjection.”

That makes us conquerors, right?  Yes!  As Romans 8:37 states “…in all these things we are more than conquerors….”  We have the power to be overwhelmingly victorious!  Think about that for a minute…God’s love for us is so great that He honors us by giving us dominion over ALL things!

Sisters, this is a precious gift we have been given.  One that the enemy does NOT want us to use.  Satan would like nothing more than to keep us oppressed—doubting that we have such authority.  The authority is ours, if we choose to receive it.  When we make that choice to receive that God-given authority, we give the glory and honor back to God.

Such great power.  Such great love.  It makes me ask, as David did, “What are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?”  Don’t give your God-given authority to the enemy.  Take it back. Then glorify the Lord as we sing, “Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your Name in all the earth!”

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Lord, thank You for giving us such great honor and authority.  Teach us to accept the authority and use it in a manner that glorifies You so that the entire world will recognize just how majestic You truly are.  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen – so be it!

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Be Still My Soul (I Rest In You)

July 20, 2014 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Be still, my soul; the Lord is on thy side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul; thy best, thy heavenly, Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul; the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

in You i rest
in You i found my hope
in You i trust You never let me go
i place my life within Your hands alone
be still my soul

Be still, my soul; the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul; when change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

Lyrics by Katharina von Schlegel, translated by Jane Borthwick
Set to the tune, Finlandia, by Jean Julius Sibelius
Additional Chorus by Kari Jobe & Jason Ingram

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<sigh!>  How many times have I encouraged…commanded even…my own heart to simply ‘be still.’  (Or perhaps more honestly: “BE STILL!!!!!”)  How about you?  I know that some of you are going through difficult times. There is doubt and uncertainty in your hearts.  There is turmoil and strife in your homes.  There is worry and fear.  There is unrest in the politics of this world.  There are many, many unanswered questions.

Here are a few passages that I call to mind (and heart!) when the struggle to be still is most difficult.  They help me to renew my mind and come back into His Presence.

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, 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

Rest in God alone, my soul, for my hope comes from Him.
He alone is my Rock and my Salvation, my Stronghold; I will not be shaken.
My salvation and glory depend on God, my Strong Rock. My Refuge is in God.
Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him.
God is our Refuge. Selah
Psalms 62:5-8

You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind is stayed on You,
because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.
So trust in the Lord (commit yourself to Him, lean on Him, hope confidently in Him) forever;
for the Lord God is an everlasting Rock.
Isaiah 62:3 and 4

But I trust in You, Lord; I say, “You are my God.”
The course of my life is in Your power;
deliver me from the power of my enemies
and from my persecutors.
Show Your favor to Your servant;
save me by Your faithful love.
Psalms 31:14-16

I love this old hymn! Both the lyrics as well as the tune always lead me into His Presence and acknowledging that He IS on my side…and He DOES guide the future and the past…and the hour is coming when we WILL be forever with Him!  Take these promises made to God’s man, Jeremiah, and claim them as yours….

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,
plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will hear you.
You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart.
I will be found by you, declares the Lord….
Jeremiah 29:11-14

Sing along with me, friends!  Let us choose to be still before our God recognizing all that He has promised to do when we are in humble submission and in quiet rest at His throne.

in You i rest
in You i found my hope
in You i trust, You never let me go
i place my life within Your hands alone
be still my soul

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Walk in Obedience

July 19, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

They also do no iniquity: they walk in His ways.
Psalm 119: 3

Walking with God requires us to obey the Word of God.  Abraham was blessed because he obeyed the Word of God when He wanted Abraham to sacrifice Isaac.

And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him,
Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
And He said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest,
and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering
upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
Genesis 22:1-2

The Angel acknowledged Abraham’s act of obedience.

And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said,
“By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this
and have not withheld your son, your only son,
I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring
as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore.
Verses 15-17

The second time Abraham was told where to go and he went there. Guess what? God blessed him with many things and he prospered.

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in His law doth he meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither;
and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Psalms 1: 1-3

Believers take Abraham as their Father of Faith according to Romans 4:16.  You will realize that He did not come into being our Father of Faith just like that but he stood on the Word of God and loved to meditate on the Word of God and do as the God’s Word required.

Remember Psalm 119:105…

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

We can’t walk righteously and be blessed if we divert ourselves from His Word. Let us stand upon the Word of God and do as it is required of a Christian like you and me.

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Father, we thank You for the word that comes to us at the right time.  We pray for Your spirit to dwell in us all the time; for us to walk in Your ways and do as You want us to do.  We pray for forgiveness for the times we have done it our way and ended up messing up.  Forgive us all our iniquities.  May Your presence be with us always.  Give us a heart to make more time to meditate on your Word and do as you wish.  In Jesus’ name, we pray.  Amen.

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Elisha and the Widow

July 18, 2014 by

encouragementbloggraphicromans15

Elisha and the Widow—She Always had Enough

A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming back to take my two sons to be his slaves.”  So Elisha said to her,”What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in this house?” And she said,”Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.”  Then he said, “Go borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors-empty vessels, do not gather just a few. And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons, then pour it into all these vessels and set aside the full ones.”  So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her and she poured it out.

2 Kings 4: 1-5

Notice this poor woman sought out a man of God to help her. She was at the end of her own resources and the creditors were about to take her sons! Today, we may get our cars taken away, or our homes foreclosed on…but no one is going to come get our children for an unpaid debt, am I right?  So, as you can imagine, she was desperate.  And Elisha was available to help, and he was a man of God.  In order to fight, she knew she needed God on her side.

Elisha did not condemn her for her debts nor did her try to get rid of her because her problem was too hard or he was too busy.  He didn’t have the solution to her problem but he knew God did and he trusted Him.  Obviously the widow was in great poverty and she didn’t have much.  In fact, if you look at the above passage, all she had was some oil.  She had sold all she had to attempt to pay off her debts. But for God, this was just enough for Him to bring deliverance to her . See, God told her, through Elisha, to borrow empty vessels and pour the oil into them. And she did.

God isn’t restricted by an amount of oil. He multiplied what she had to fill all the empty vessels. But she had to have the faith to believe He would come through or else she wouldn’t have done her part. She could have thought that was crazy and she would have never been delivered. She BELIEVED what God had told her.

Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full , that she said to her son,”Bring me another vessel”.  And he said to her,”There is not another vessel.” So the oil stayed.  (verse 6)

All the vessels were filled and the oil stayed only when there was not another single empty vessel. Yet these were enough to pass her and her children from bankruptcy into having abundance.

Then she came and told the man of God. And he said,  “Go, sell the oil, and pay your debt, and you and your sons live on the rest.”  (verse 7)

The oil was so much that she and her sons paid off their debt. They were delivered from their problem and she also gained a treasure.  All because she sought the Lord’s deliverance and believed with her whole heart that He would come through for her.  She went to God, poor and oppressed and she left rich and delivered.

What about you today? Are you in need? Do you need a miracle? All you have to do is call on Him and believe that no matter how big or how small, He can and will give you all the riches you desire and abundance from Heaven. His Word is full of stories like this one, of faith delivering people from awful situations. Just believe in Him and He will come through.

Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4

Do you know Him today?  Or maybe you have just moved a little far from Him right now.   If so, all you have to do is call on Him and He will answer.  Just seek Him and He will be found.  And if you haven’t been saved by asking Jesus into your heart, you can do so right now!

 

Just pray with me:  Dear God, I am a sinner.  I need forgiveness.  I believe that Jesus is Your Son and You sent Him to die on the Cross for my sins.  I have been set free!  I ask that You come into my heart and save me, and walk with me forever.  Thank You for everything!  In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Psalms 119:1-5

July 18, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the Lord!
Blessed are those who keep His testimonies,
who seek Him with their whole heart,
who also do no wrong,
but walk in His ways!
You have commanded Your precepts
to be kept diligently.
Oh that my ways may be steadfast
in keeping Your statutes!
Psalms 119:1-5

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One Thing

Written by Charlie Hall/ Performed by Jared Jensen

Single-minded, wholehearted, one thing I ask
Single-minded, wholehearted, one thing I ask

That I may gaze upon Your beauty, Oh, Lord
That I may seek Your Holy Face
That I may know You in an intimate way
And follow after You all of my days

All of life comes down to just one thing
and that’s to know You, oh Jesus, and make You known

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I Am

July 18, 2014 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv
There’s no space that His love can’t reach
There’s no place where we can’t’ find peace
There’s no end to amazing grace

Take me in with Your arms spread wide
Take me in like an orphan child
Never let go
Never leave my side

I am
Holding on to You
I am
Holding on to You
In the middle of the storm
I am holding on
I am

Love like this
Oh my God to find
I am overwhelmed
With a joy divine
Love like this sets our hearts on fire

This is my resurrection song
This is my hallelujah come
This is why it’s to You I run

There’s no space that His love can’t reach
There’s no place where we can’t find peace
There’s no end to amazing grace

Singer/Songwriter: David Crowder (with Ed Cash)

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Have you ever felt you would never be at peace?  Have you ever felt like an orphan, all alone in this world?  Yep, me too.  More times than I would like to count.

I can be worse than a dog with a bone. Replaying events and conversations in my head… worrying and fretting.  I am unable to still my mind.     Peace is elusive. These verses reassure me:

Psalm 29:11(HCSB)
The Lord gives His people strength; the Lord blesses His people with peace.

Psalm 35:27 (NLT)
Great is the Lord, who delights in blessing his servant with peace!

John 14:27 (NLT)
I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give.

John 16:33 (NIV)
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.

And that is all the reassurance I need.  There is no end to God’s amazing grace.

I posted this song on my FaceBook timeline last week.  It resonates with me.  As this song plays in my head I am reminded that there is no place, there is no space His love cannot reach.

Psalm 86:13(AMP) reaffirms this:
For great is Your mercy and loving-kindness toward me; and You have delivered me
from the depths of Sheol [from the exceeding depths of affliction].

If He can deliver me from my afflictions—from the very depths of Hell—His love can reach whatever mucky pit I am in.  The only place you and I can find love like this is wrapped in God’s arms.  His arms are always open wide just waiting for us to run to Him.  I am overwhelmed with joy.

So I run to Him — daily.  When things are good AND when things aren’t so good.  I hold on to Him tightly, especially during the storms.  He never lets go.  He never leaves my side.

This is my resurrection song
This is my hallelujah come
This is why it’s to You I run

I am holding on to Him. What are you holding onto?

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Thank You

July 17, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

Blessed are those whose ways are blameless,
who walk according to the law of the LORD.
Blessed are those who keep His statutes
and seek Him with all their heart—
they do no wrong
but follow His ways.
You have laid down precepts
that are to be fully obeyed.
Oh, that my ways were steadfast
in obeying Your decrees!
Psalms 119:1-5

I remember growing up and receiving praise from a parent or teacher…that is one of the best feelings out there!  I see the delight in my children’s eyes when I thank them for listening, and when I let them know how much I appreciate their good behavior.  Even as adults we enjoy hearing “Way to go!” when we are recognized for doing well.  This is what God is doing here.  He is praising those who are blameless, those who follow His direction, and those that obey.  Now, He isn’t condemning those who may not be doing these things.  This is a sign of His unconditional love!  This verse wasn’t followed by a reprimand; it is a special message to those who are intentional in following Him, intentional in their obedience.

David ends this particular passage with these words:

You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed.
Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees!

David is stating his intentions—his desire to be obedient.  God didn’t simply tell us to listen to Him.  He has given us detailed instructions on living life.  He gave us an entire ‘how-to’ book, a manual for life.

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Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your instructions, for the ‘how-to’ guide that You have made available to us. Like David, I pray that we are steadfast in obeying Your commands and unwavering in following Your instructions. In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.

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Dive

July 17, 2014 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

The long awaited rains
Have fallen hard upon the thirsty ground
And carved their way to where
The wild and rushing river can be found
And like the rain
I have been carried here to where the river flows, yeah
My heart is racing and my knees are weak
As I walk to the edge
I know there is no turning back
Once my feet have left the ledge
And in the rush I hear a voice
That’s telling me it’s time to take the leap of faith
So here I go

I’m diving in, I’m going deep, in over my head I want to be
Caught in the rush, tossed in the flow, in over my head I want to go
The river’s deep, the river’s wide, the river’s water is alive
So sink or swim, I’m diving in (I’m diving in…)

There is a supernatural power
In this mighty river’s flow
It can bring the dead to life
And it can fill an empty soul
And give a heart the only thing
Worth living and worth dying for, yeah
But we will never know the awesome power
Of the grace of God
Until we let ourselves get swept away
Into this holy flood
So if you’ll take my hand
We’ll close our eyes and count to three
And take the leap of faith
Come on let’s go

I’m diving in, I’m going deep, in over my head I want to be
Caught in the rush, tossed in the flow, in over my head I want to go
The river’s deep, the river’s wide, the river’s water is alive
So sink or swim, I’m diving in, yeah
I’m diving in, I’m diving in, yeah
I’m diving in, yeah, here I go
Come on let’s go

 Singer/Songwriter: Steven Curtis Chapman

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What does it mean to take a leap of faith?  It means to dive in completely…to trust God with everything and hold nothing back.  No borders.  No fear.  Just complete and total faith in Him.  Wherever He calls you.  Knowing His plans for you are good as Jeremiah 29:11 states.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,
plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

This excerpt from the devotional section of CBN.com sums it up so beautifully.

“The Bible says, in James 2:26, that faith without works is dead. I have learned that faith with works (action) is alive. Faith without works (action) can become an unfulfilled fantasy. For if I have faith that God is leading me, but I do not follow or act on it, then faith turns to doubt and my inaction leads to death; the death of my faith and the death of my dream. This is a horrible state in which to exist.

Unfulfilled faith creeps into one’s life like oil into water. Just as oil pollutes, leaving a nasty film which ruins the purity of the water – so doubt, solidified by inaction, covers the purity of faith; rendering it polluted, unfit, and unusable. Faith activated by works (action) skims the doubt that covers the water of life, cleans it, and recovers the purity of the gift that obedience brings to fruition.

We must be doers of the word and not just hearers. It is so human to hear the word, rejoice in what we hear, and then…. ponder. Pondering plants seeds of doubt, which grows into the mighty tree of procrastination, that bears the poisonous leaves of inaction.”

www.cbn.com/spirituallife/Devotions/markland_leap

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Oh Father, may we choose to take that leap of faith and dive in fully and completely, trusting in You.  Knowing that there is supernatural power in the flow.  In over my head I want to go…in Jesus’ name…amen!!!

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

Stay On Course

July 16, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

You’re blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God.
You’re blessed when you follow His directions, doing your best to find Him.
That’s right – you don’t go off on your own; you walk straight along the road He set.
You, God, prescribed the right way to live; now you expect us to live it.
Oh, that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set.
Psalms 119: 1-5

I am human. I have freewill to do what I please and I’m imperfect when I stand alone. Psalms 119:1-5 talks about ‘staying on course’; some translations use the word ‘blameless.’   Thinking about being blameless can be overwhelming—depending on how you decide to look at it. If I try to be blameless with no help then, yes, I am going to cry. If my blamelessness is dependent on a perfect God then, He’s got it taken care of.

I prefer the translation using “stay on course” because this deals directly with my freewill. I can choose whether I will tithe or help a person in need when I have the means or listen to the beckoning of the Holy Spirit. I can choose to read my Bible or not.

It’s not always easy to stay on course. Life happens even with the best of our intentions. Do not be discouraged by your “humanness” though (we all have some). Even some of our favorite people in the bible had to deal with their “humanness:”

  • The disciples were tired at Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-46)
  • David was bored and ended up with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11)
  • Moses got frustrated and disobeyed God by striking the rock (Numbers 23:1-13)
  • Cain got angry and killed Able (Genesis 4:1-16)
  • Abraham and Sarah got impatient with God (Genesis 16:1-4)
  • Peter was scared and denied Jesus (Matthew 26:69-75)
  • Peter got distracted on the water (Matthew 14:30)

Oh, how thankful I am that I serve a God who is perfect in all that He does! He even came up with the perfect plan to make me perfect in His eyes through Jesus Christ. “Humanness” is nothing compared to the Cross. Don’t get me wrong, we still have self-control that needs to be exhibited when our “humanness” rears its ugly head, but to know that we don’t have to strive for perfection lightens the load of living significantly.  Stay on course.

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Lord, help me to stay on the path that you set out for me.  Amen.

 

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