November 21, 2024

Singing to Infinity

August 29, 2014 by

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Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob!
Psalm 81:1

Disney’s Frozen is one of those hits that just don’t leave your mind a few days after watching it. For kids and toddlers, mainly girls, it has been a huge hit. Try finding an Elsa costume in a Disney store. It’s not happening most days. The music itself is not going away either. This music has stuck around longer than most one-hit wonders. It’s amazing. My daughter is three, and all she has to do is hear the first strains of Let It Go, and she breaks into song. She almost knows the entire song word for word. My parents were amazed at how much she knew.

However, worldly songs and things are only finite.  Our love of them should not interfere with our love and wanting of God.  When things begin to interfere with our relationship with God, they become idols.  Worldly things can grab such a strong hold over people that they lose sight of what is really true in this world—God’s love and a relationship with Him.

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
Acts 3:19

But yet we can have an infinite love and life.  We cannot let the worldly things get in our way.  If we repent and accept a relationship with God, our sins will be blotted out.  Our lives will be refreshed by the Spirit and love of God.  We shall always be in His Presence.  We are able to rely on the strength of God when we are down, sick, or in need.  He is our Rock and Shield.  All we have to do is have faith.

When our relationship with God is strong and unbroken, we are so much more than we could be without Him—which is weak.  We can sing to the moon and back about His love and saving grace.  We can shout to the Lord about His wonderful and fulfilling love.  With God as our strength, we can fight any fight that we are thrown into.  We can help those who need it, and we can share the joy of loving God.

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Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your love.  Thank You for Your grace.  Without You, we would be weak.  You give us strength to get through these troubling days.  You love us like no one else.  You are our Rock and Strength.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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God Our Strength

August 28, 2014 by

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Sing for joy to God our strength, shout aloud to the God of Jacob!
Psalm 81:1

Jacob is an excellent example of a man who knew God gave him strength.  In times of trouble he called on God who helped him overcome the challenges.  He had run away from Esau and met Laban (his uncle who also became his father-in-law.)  He worked for 14 years to get his best wife.  In all those years Jacob endured painful circumstances through his God who gave him strength.
We can also do the same through Christ who strengthens us. We can trust God for His strength.

Blessed are those whose strength is in You, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
Psalm 84:5

In Psalm 89:21, God is saying, “My hand will sustain him, surely My arm will strengthen him.” This promise is for you and me. God’s promises are Yes! and Amen!  Let us embrace this truth that His arm will strengthen us.

It is about 2-3 weeks now I have been down with pain inside me due to feeling not favored, and not loved, etc., due to failing in my exams many times in the same subjects.  I could not even stand in prayer because of the pain and disappointment.  But I am here to tell you that I had an encounter with God, Christ Jesus, and the Holy Spirit in their Trinity—Who confirmed to me that this is not the end of the world…and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And that God REMAINS God…He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

At first it wasn’t making sense, but later I came to realize that “NOTHING can separate me from the love of God” and so, with that feeling, I am up again. I may have been dropped down but not knocked out!!

I beseech you, my dear friends, we need to give it all to God in prayer and in Jesus’ name. And He WILL answer us. And give us His strength when we are weary. He gives strength to our weak souls.

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Father, I thank You for Who You were, Who You are, and Who You will be forevermore. You are such an awesome God, the Creator of the universe. The heavens and the earth are full of Your glory. Holy are You, Lord! We glorify Your Holy name. May we always find strength in Christ Jesus Your son. May He give us the strength we need to carry on! We need You more than ever before. Dwell in us always because on our own…we cannot make it. Let Your joy be our strength. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen!!!

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He Is Our Strength

August 26, 2014 by

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Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob!
Psalm 81:1

It is the simplicity of this sentence that grabs my attention—a simple act that makes such a difference.  In life there have been countless times when God has proven His love for me, countless times when the only way I made it through a situation was by relying on God for my strength.

I look at what God for Jacob and for Israel.  I look at the battles won, the victories celebrated, and I know that the glory for those victories belongs to God.  He gives strength in the tough situations, He gives strength in day-to-day life…and everything in between.

Shouting for joy is a simple request compared to what He has accomplished in my life.  I’ll sing His praises to my kids, to my husband, to my friends and family.  I’ll thank and praise Him in my quiet time, when I’m driving, during soccer practice, while working, and whenever I can because it is in these times when His strength sustains me.  It’s in the everyday when His strength surpasses the weakness of my flesh.

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Let’s Pray:  Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, teach us how to sing Your praises! Thank You for accepting our songs and shouts, for reminding us that what we have to offer in thanks is good enough.  Thank You for the victories in the everyday and in the tough spots.  Your love gets us through it all.  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

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The Comfort of God

March 17, 2014 by

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We have now entered the season of Lent.  For many Christians, Lent is taken as a time of preparation for the celebration of Easter where God miraculously redeemed mankind by resurrecting His Son from the dead. It is also a time to consider what Jesus said and did; and how we should be living in light of His Words.  ✞ ♥

During this season, here on the Seeking Him devotional blog, we have chosen to focus our devotionals on Jesus’ instructions and admonition communicated in Matthew chapter 5—the Beatitudes.  Jesus said, “Blessed are…” and He went on to give instruction as to how to be “blessed.”  To be ‘blessed’ is to ‘be happy, or to be envied.’   Truly for the Christian, we ARE blessed—oh, how very blessed we are!  Those who observe our lives should clearly be able to tell that we ARE blessed—and that we KNOW it! ✞ ♥

Please consider Jesus’ instructions along with us.  We pray that our words will encourage you and spur you on to be prepare your hearts for the joyous celebration of His Resurrection!  ✞ ♥

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Matthew 5:4

We have all lost loved ones and friends.  It is part of life.  It is our payment for sin.  We hurt when someone we know dies.  It is part of human nature to mourn and miss those who have passed onto God’s Presence.  We wish that we could hold them here, but God knows when it is time for them to come home.

I remember when my grandmother died.  There were many people at her funeral—more than I expected.  It was a comfort to know that people cared about our family. As per Southern tradition, many friends provided our family with food. It in its own way, this was comforting, but I still mourned the death of my grandmother.

God is our Refuge and Strength, a very present help in trouble.
Psalms 46:1

God blesses us by bringing people around us when we need them.  We know that we can turn to God when we are at our lowest.  We know that God will comfort us with His abundance of love.  There is enough for all to take joy in.  God is our Refuge in our sorrow.  He may not be here physically, but He helps our spirit rebound from the pain it feels for any loss.  He sends people into our lives to be the physical comforters.  They do His work by being there for us when we need them most.

God blesses us in our mourning by providing those people who can help us grieve and help us move on. When we, ourselves, pass into His presence, we will not have a reason to mourn because it will be a moment of great joy.  We will not have any pain.  We will be in God’s Presence and be worshipping Him.  He will comfort us Himself once we cross into His Presence.

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Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You for the comfort You bring us.  You bless us most when need it.  You are our Refuge, and we are grateful for Your love and comfort.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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His Way Is Perfect

February 11, 2014 by

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As for God, His way is perfect;
The word of the LORD is proven;
He is a shield to all who trust in Him.
For who is God, except the LORD?
And who is a rock, except our God?
It is God who arms me with strength,
And makes my way perfect.
Psalms 18:30-32

“Mom! its not working!”  “Guys, how are you doing it?”  As my boys proceed to tell me how they are using the way they devised (I don’t even know how they came up with this method), I chuckle to myself, knowing that it wouldn’t work, and knowing that this was going to happen.  They weren’t going to do it the way I suggested they do it because I have given birth to the most independent and stubborn boys in the world.  Who knew that lining books back into a bookshelf could be so difficult?

This isn’t new, all three of my children have the “I’m going to try it my way first,” mentality when they set out to accomplish tasks.  Many times the end result is less than what we all hoped for.  Similar situations are seen in the daily lives of most parents, even our Heavenly Father.  His children are stubborn, we like to try it our way.  He tells us or shows how to do something and we turn around and do it how we see fit, and  the outcome is always less than we hoped for.

Though my ways are far from perfect, my boys have learned that they may work  better.  But His ways are perfect, and when we follow His ways, He will shield us from the unpleasant side effects of trying our own ways first.  Thankfully God is forgiving, and we get do-overs.  He gives us chance after chance to do it His way.  Time after time, He has shown me that His Word is proven.  Time and time again He has been my Shield, my Strength, and my Rock.  He has done so even when I tried my way first…when I didn’t trust Him as I should have.  He was waiting for me, His arms outstretched, ready to show that His words rang true.

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Let’s Pray:  Dear Heavenly Father, You know better than we do that we don’t always do things Your way, yet You love us regardless.  We fight, we argue, we do things how we want to.  But You are always there, arms outstretched.  Always our Shield, always our Rock, always our Strength.  Thank You.  In Jesus name, we pray, Amen.

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Our Refuge and Strength

December 31, 2013 by

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God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah
Psalms 46:1-3

Refuge.
Strength.
Ever-present.

The earth is giving way, mountains are falling, waters are roaring and foaming, other mountains are quaking and surging; these are the Biblical terms for what we now-a-days call “all the stuff that happens in our life.”

These days, week, months and even years are the times when we search for a safe place to hide. We search for something and someone to give us the ‘oomph’ we need to conquer what we’re facing. Unfortunately we look everywhere else instead of where we should be looking. This past Sunday in church the pastor talked about how the Bible is our ‘instruction manual for life’— it tells us everything we need to know when we need to know it.

So when we need that safe place and when we need that source of strength we simply need to turn to God. He tells us clearly that He is our Refuge, He is our Safe Place, and He is our Strength, the Power we need to get through what we’re going through.
I know that this is at times much easier said than done. I know that when our seas are surging and when our mountains are falling that we want to fix life ourselves, and we may find our refuge in worry and fear, we may find our strength in what we feel we can do to sort out whatever may be going on.

The New Year is upon us and I want to challenge myself, and others, to live this passage in 2014. For myself I plan to write it in my planner. One day reminding myself that He is my Refuge, the other day reminding myself that He is my Strength. Do what works for you; remind yourself that when the stuff in life happens that we have a Refuge, and that that safe place will be our Strength to move forward.

Let’s Pray:
Dear Heavenly Father, You have given us all we need to live our lives. People ask if life comes with an instruction manual…some say no, but the true answer is ‘yes.’ This manual tells us that you are our Strength and Refuge. Lord, please give spiritual sensitivity to us so that we remember this in times of trouble. Let us run to You rather than to fear and worry. Thank You for a safe place—a Refuge, and thank You for the strength to live this life. In Jesus name we pray, amen.

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