Seeking Him devotional

Loving Our Enemies

September 15, 2015 by Ahmee Bronaugh

If only You would slay the wicked, O God!
Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!
They speak of You with evil intent;
Your adversaries misuse Your name.
Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord,
and abhor those who rise up against You?
I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies.
Psalms 139:19-22

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Did Jesus agree with sinning? No. But yet he was still able to mingle among sinners. Jesus did not stand apart from them and shake his finger at them. Not our Jesus. That is just not how He operated. Remember last week, I said God shows us our yuck without making us feel yucky. Jesus jumps right on in and mingles, he builds a rapport with people instead of throwing stones and He makes connections. When Jesus met up with the Samaritan woman at the well, He did not tell her how horrible she was, instead He stated, “… then neither do I condemn you… Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:11).

We are so quick to point fingers at other people, especially non-believers. We cannot hold non-believers to the standards we would believers – they don’t believe what we do. Our first goal should be to win them over and show them God’s love and mercy. I say this in regard to Psalm 139:22, where it says, “I have nothing but hatred for them, I count them my enemies.” The psalmist does say this, but we have been called to love those in the world.

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
Matthew 5:44

As followers of Jesus, He obey His commands…and if He said that we are to love our enemies…then we are to love our enemies. He is not saying “Love all the sin that your enemies do.” Nope. He is saying—love the person, hate the sin.

Sin is something that we human beings have been cursed with; so we all are familiar with it. Some us run from it…some us hide from it…some of us try to ignore it. But how we deal with OUR sin as believers is different than how others outside of our belief system do. It’s so easy to say, “Well, that <someone else’s actions> is wrong.” But have you ever stopped to think why it’s wrong? A lot of the stuff that we believe is wrong is based on things that we have read in the Bible. We believe that our Lord God has set forth instructions so we can tackle this life we are living. But, if someone does not believe in God or serve Him or read the Bible, why should they care if He thinks they are sinning? (This is geared towards people who truly see nothing wrong with what they are doing.) We, as believers, can introduce them to God first, and let God work his ever-changing-power on them.

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Lord, help us to know how to handle the uncomfortable situations we experience in life and give us guidance to know what to do. Thank You, Lord!

Filed Under: Seeking Him Daily Devotional Tagged With: ahmee bronaugh, daily devotions, Girlfriends Coffee Hour, Jesus told us so, john 8:11, Loving our Enemies, Matthew 5:44, psalms 139:19-22, Seeking Him devotional

Attitude Towards Righteousness and Wickedness

September 14, 2015 by Ann Mwafulirwa

Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate Thee?
and am not I grieved with those that rise up against Thee?
Psalm 139:21

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Having meditated on God’s great love for him, the psalmist reciprocates with great love and loyalty to his Lord. His anger is stirred against those who oppose and blaspheme God’s wonderful name. In deep sympathy with God and His cause, he so identifies himself with the Lord that he hates what God hates and loves what God loves.

You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy.
Hebrews 1:9

This shows that it is not enough for God’s children to love righteousness, they must also hate evil. We see this clearly in Christ’s devotion to righteousness (Isaiah 11:5) and His hatred of wickedness in His life. Christ’s faithfulness to His Father while on earth—as demonstrated by His love of righteousness and hatred of wickedness—is the basis for God’s anointing of His Son. In the same way, our anointing will come only as we identify with our Master’s attitude toward righteousness and evil.

The psalmist is grieved and distressed by all the evil and immorality around him. We, too, who have truly seen the Lord’s salvation, and received His love and goodness should find no love within ourselves for the world and its ways (1 John 2:15-16).

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Dear heavenly Father, I thank You because You are my God to Whom I bring my cares and You take care of me. I come before Thy throne of grace, Lord, with my prayers and supplication that You, dear Lord, would create in me an attitude that loves righteousness and hates evil. This I ask in the name of Jesus, my Savior. Amen!!!

Filed Under: Seeking Him Daily Devotional Tagged With: 1 John 2:15-16, ann mwafulirwa, daily devotions, GCH, Girlfriends Coffee Hour, hebrews 1:9, isaiah 11:5, love righteousness hate evil, psalm 139:2, Seeking Him devotional

Change My Heart, o God

September 13, 2015 by coleen hayden

O that You would kill the wicked, O God;
Go away from me, therefore, men of bloodshed.
For they speak against You wickedly,
Your enemies take Your name in vain.
Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
I hate them with perfect and utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.
Psalms 139:19-22

Change my heart, oh God
Make it ever true
Change my heart, oh God
May I be like You

You are the Potter
I am the clay
Mold me and make me
This is what I pray

{friends, this week the verses from Psalm 139 that our devotionals will focus on are not the prettiest…not the most praise-filled…not any thoughts to emulate. these thoughts of the psalmist are a response, a reaction to things happening in his life…and his outraged cries to his God. what a gracious God that He allowed him to speak from the depths of his heart…and that He allowed us to read and ‘hear’ these words. we, too, at times respond like this to evil and persecution. But we know that Jesus taught that LOVE is the response…and to NOT hate our enemies. as such, like the psalmist, we need to change our thinking, our responses. we need God to help us to change our heart. This song is a great tool to do so. I pray for you (please pray for me, too!) that we will seek God asking Him to change us, to mold us, to help us to be like Him.}

Filed Under: Seeking Him Daily Devotional Tagged With: Change My Heart O God, coleen hayden, daily devotions, eddies espinosa, GCH, Girlfriends Coffee Hour, psalms 139:19-22, Seeking Him devotional

This Week…Psalms 139:17-18

September 11, 2015 by coleen hayden

How precious to me are Your thoughts, God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand—
    when I awake, I am still with You.
Psalms 139:17 and 18

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This week, here on the Seeking Him devotional blog, we have continued along in our series on this wonderful chapter, Psalm 139. Our devotional writers have reminded us how vast, how precious, how awesome are God’s thoughts of us. Here are a few of their thoughts….

In Thoughts, Tina reminded us about being still and waiting on God….

David was a great example of waiting and sitting before the Lord. He would go to a quiet place and meditate on the great love God had shown him and his family…David was wonderful at being humble. He did not let the fact that he was a king stop him from baring his heart and soul to the One who formed him in his mother’s womb.

As we wait on God to answer our prayers, we may become discouraged thinking, “He does not care about my little issue…” or, “I have asked way too many times about the same thing….” Let’s change our thoughts. Let’s see how they align with Scriptures. God wants us to acknowledge that He is first in our lives (not second, or third, or even fourth). We need to train ourselves to put Him first in all that we do, all that we think, and all that we are.

❦

In What He Thinks of Me, Ahmee reminded us of Who’s thoughts of us we should be concerned….

…However, not all opinions should be accepted. In fact, before we accept anything about ourselves we should prayerfully go to God. He can show us our flaws in a different light and show us what He thinks and show us how to change. God does that. Now, if God says that it is so, then it is so.

…We are loved and thought very highly of. God sees our potential and loves us right where we are.

Filed Under: Seeking Him Daily Devotional Tagged With: coleen hayden, daily devotions, fearfully and wonderfully made, GCH, Girlfriends Coffee Hour, psalms 139:17-18, Seeking Him devotional, weekly recap

Thankful to be in Your Presence

September 10, 2015 by coleen hayden

How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with You.
Psalms 139:17-18

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How awesome is this Truth, oh Lord, that Your thoughts of us are vast…and, really, uncountable! This Truth humbles us! And yet it also leads us to draw closer and closer to You, our Faithful God! May our hearts and our thoughts of You be as the psalmist communicates as we meditate on this passage. May we recognize the privilege of being in Your presence. May the thought of Your presence be oh-so-very precious to us. We love You and adore You, dear God! We pray these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Filed Under: Seeking Him Daily Devotional Tagged With: coleen hayden, daily devotions, GCH, Girlfriends Coffee Hour, Prayer, psalms 139:17-18, Seeking Him devotional, thankful to be in Your Presence

How Precious To Me Are Your Thoughts

September 9, 2015 by coleen hayden

How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with You.
Psalms 139:17-18

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click here to listen to a beautiful chorus to help us memorize this passage.

The Verses Project
written by Ryan Delmore

Filed Under: Seeking Him Daily Devotional Tagged With: coleen hayden, daily devotions, GCH, Girlfriends Coffee Hour, psalms 139:17-18, ryan delmore, Scripture memorization, Seeking Him devotional, the verses project

What He Thinks Of Me

September 8, 2015 by Ahmee Bronaugh

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You.
Psalms 139:17-18

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Have you ever been out of sorts because someone you know (or even someone you don’t even know at all) said something about you?

“Wow, she’s fat.” “Well, isn’t she just stupid!” “She’s mean.”

This happens. Most people aren’t so bold to say things to your face, but some people don’t know how to whisper. I think the worst of it is when you have someone come to you and tell you that someone else was talking about you. How do you handle it…what do you do? Do you mull it over? Do you try to take the comments as criticism and determine whether it is legit or not? Do you confront the person? Or do you internalize what they say and let it effect how you think of yourself?

The thing is this…I believe that it is important to listen to our trusted friends. If your boss gives you constructive criticism then you should mull it over and take it into consideration. However, not all opinions should be accepted. In fact, before we accept anything about ourselves we should prayerfully go to God. He can show us our flaws in a different light and show us what He thinks and show us how to change. God does that. Now, if God says that it is so, then it is so.

I remember one day I was driving home…something had happened at work and I was very upset. I started to pray. Through tears and screaming I began to explain to God why the situation wasn’t fair and how I was being mistreated! I can’t remember now exactly what it was about, but I do remember clear as day that the Lord spoke to me and told me, “But you do the same thing to me.” I was stopped dead in my tracks. The very behavior I was upset with was a behavior that I did myself…and to the Lord, of all people! The Lord has a way of showing us our “yuck” without making us feel “yuck.”

In our focus verse this week, the psalmist says to God,

How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand
—when I awake, I am still with you.

We are loved and thought very highly of. God sees our potential and loves us right where we are.

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Lord, help me to address the areas in my life that are lacking Your light. May I seek Your guidance in shedding Your light on these areas. Help me to cast away, and not internalize, the negative things people say about me and to me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Filed Under: Seeking Him Daily Devotional Tagged With: ahmee bronaugh, daily devotions, Girlfriends Coffee Hour, God loves us, people's opinions vs. God's opinion, psalms 139:17-18, Seeking Him devotional, What He Thinks Of Me

Thoughts

September 7, 2015 by Tina Marin

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You.
Psalms 139:17-18

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Thought

– an idea or opinion produced by thinking or occurring suddenly in the mind

Being in Israel this past summer, I understand more fully sandy, hot and dry. I think about the areas where Jesus would have walked and what He created—it is so awesome. There are still things we are processing. It truly puts life and our efforts into perspective.

When we were in Israel, we traveled to many of the traditional sites, learned a lot of history, and soaked in the Israel that God is still blessing and is causing to bloom. For it truly is! The crops are plentiful, the people are thriving, and they are in peace within their country. There is a military presence in the city of Jerusalem, especially on the Temple Mount, but we never felt threatened or tense.

God is awakening His people to serve Him in new ways. He is inspiring the scientists to discover new things; the people are creating new techniques and procedures for medical purposes; and all they need to do is be quiet and think. To ponder the things of their chosen fields. And that is what we need to do—be still and wait on God to speak to us. As we wait, He will bless us.

David was a great example of waiting and sitting before the Lord. He would go to a quiet place and meditate on the great love God had shown him and his family.

Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said:
“Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?”
2 Samuel 7:18

David was wonderful at being humble. He did not let the fact that he was a king stop him from baring his heart and soul to the One who formed him in his mother’s womb.

As we wait on God to answer our prayers, we may become discouraged thinking, “He does not care about my little issue…” or, “I have asked way too many times about the same thing….” Let’s change our thoughts. Let’s see how they align with Scriptures. Or how we go about asking God—demanding from Him or thanking Him for all of the great and wonderful things we have before presenting our requests. God wants us to acknowledge that He is first in our lives (not second, or third, or even fourth). We need to train ourselves to put Him first in all that we do, all that we think, and all that we are. Then all else will line up with God’s Word and His will for our lives.

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Father, we come humbly, thanking You for the goodness and mercy You have shown us. You know our hearts and our needs better than we do. Help us to learn Your ways and Your will for our lives. May we pass on your most excellent ways to our children, friends and loved ones as You grant us the favor to do so. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Filed Under: Seeking Him Daily Devotional Tagged With: 2 samuel 7:18, being still and waiting, daily devotions, Girlfriends Coffee Hour, psalms 139:17-18, Seeking Him devotional, Tina Marin