Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Honey for the Heart: God is in the midst

Welcome (back) to 
...where I share different verses from the Psalms every week!
 May you find truths about God, yourselves, and living life in the images and word pictures shared here! 

It's been several months since I shared from the Psalms... 
may God's words sooth our souls and calm our hearts.


God is in the MIDST! 
I love how  Psalm 46:1-7 reminds us that 
NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, HE IS WITH US AND HE IS OUR STRONGHOLD(vs. 7)

"God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble."(Ps. 46:1)

 He's our refuge! We have found Him so, 
He has engaged to be so, 
and He ever will be so. 
Are we pursued? God is our refuge to whom we may flee, and in whom we may be safe and think ourselves so; secure upon good grounds!

God is our strength and our help, 
a God all-sufficient to us; 
therefore we will not  fear. 
Those that, with a holy reverence, fear God need not with any amazement 
to be afraid of the power of hell or earth. 

"If God be for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31

God is our strength, to bear us up under our burdens, to fit us for all our services and sufferings; He will by His grace put strength into us, and on Him we may stay ourselves.

"...though the earth gives way,
    though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
    though the mountains tremble at its swelling. 
 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;

    He lifts his voice, the earth melts." (vs.2,3)



God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved,

  God has assured His church of His special presence with her and concern for her; His honor is embarked in her, He has set up His tabernacle in her and has undertaken the protection of it, and therefore she shall not be moved.

"He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”
verse 10


God has been SO graciious and kind! I continue in my pursuit of grateful sharing at "Multitudes on Mondays", as I  Dare to Share the gifts He gives!

1,724 - Getting to spend time with our son...




1,725 - 
watching the fireworks over the lake.
....especially the grand finale'!

1,726 - A beautiful day, relaxing with family (and hubby) by the lake!
1,727 - All together on a pontoon ride...

1,728 - Taking the grandkids tubing on the lake!
1,729 - Smiling faces!
1,730 - Laughing, till our faces hurt!
1,731 - Having lunch by the lake. 

1,732 - Family!!!!!!!



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Monday, June 30, 2014

Prayer that Strengthens Our faith

Why pray? 
I know there are many reasons that we are told in God's Word to pray. Prayer has led me on a journey of faith-growth. Even though, if asked, I would say that I don't feel like my faith is any stronger, I do notice that I have learned to lean into Scripture prayers and God's promises to His faithful children.

Re-learning to pray:
Not too long ago, I took a month off from blogging to allow more time to devote myself to some things that I had let go from doing on a regular basis. One of those things was spending more time in prayer and in the Bible. It's not that I didn't spend any time in God's Word before that, but it just seemed like prayer had become a chore and there wasn't the deep desire that I have had to pray in previous years. 

One of the main things I wanted to spend more time in prayer for was my son, who lives on his own now and has walked away from the faith he grew up with all of his life. The revelation of this fact was confirmed by my son, himself on, of all days, Easter Sunday. It crushed me to hear that from him, but it also woke up inside of me the deepest and most urgent need I've ever had to be in constant prayer. From that moment forward, I have daily sought God's promises and prayed numerous prayers from Old Testament Books like the Psalms, Isaiah, and Jeremiah as well as New Testament Scripture verses that reveal God's promises. These prayers have really helped me to have a strong faith, as He leads me to these, as well as many other verses. 

Lord, I trust in you;
    let me never be disgraced.
    Save me because you do what is right.
 Listen to me
    and save me quickly.
Be my rock of protection,
    a strong city to save me.
 You are my rock and my protection.
    For the good of your name, lead me and guide me.
 Set me free from the trap they set for me,
    because you are my protection.
 I give you my life.
    Save me, Lord, God of truth.
I will be glad and rejoice in your love,
    because you saw my suffering;

    you knew my troubles.
 
You have not handed me over to my enemies

    but have set me in a safe place.
 Psalm 31:1-8

A Lesson In Prayer: 
At first my prayers were fervent and intentional. I even found strength through times of fasting. 

But then, slowly, but surely, I began to feel resentment well up inside me. I ignored it, when it first took root. But it kept creeping into my thought life. I found that my prayers were turning into a match of faithfulness...saying, "Lord, I've been faithful lately, so I'm claiming Your promises for now. Fulfill them, now."
And when He didn't, those feelings welled up, again.

 I knew I had to seek forgiveness for my wrong thinking and remind myself that God's wisdom is greater than my thoughts can even fathom. I must pray for peace, patience(very difficult subject for me), and a stronger faith. 

 I'm still working on gaining these things in my life and my heart. It is a process that requires me to spend time with God, so I can hear Him speak to my heart more clearly. Fasting was taking some of that focus away for me. So, I stopped fasting, for now. Prayer, though, is a different story. I continue to pray for my son and for myself. There are many days that that's all I lean on to get me through.

 I hope that the Lord is prompting you to search Him fervently and that through prayer you also notice how your faith is strengthened.
------------------------------------- 
Once again, I'm sharing for "Multitudes on Mondays", as I  Dare to Share some of the gifts that God has been so gracious to put into my life. 

1,714 - Gaining a new understanding of prayer that strengthens my faith.
1,715 - A good day of fishing!
1,716 - Meeting up with a dear friend and counselor, who knows my heart, listened to me share, and shared some timely wisdom with me.
1,717 - Puffy clouds
1,718 - Sunshine...one of my favorite things God has made!

1,719 - Enjoying a cool swim in the lake with my little canine friend.
1,720 - Making and eating homemade Chicken Enchiladas...my hubby's favorite meal.
1,721 - My wonderful hubby, who often does things for me out of the kindness of his heart, without me asking him.
1,722 - Learning the difference - when to take heed to the quote below:

1,723 - Thunderstorms - we had a mean one last night. They remind me of how great and mighty God is.

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Wednesday, June 25, 2014

God and Light

Welcome back to my blog! I'm so glad you came to read my post today...

Once again, I find that if I ask God to open my heart to a certain verse or theme to post about, He provides. Last week, I found myself sharing on rain and water...
This week, it seems like all I've read and listened to were about   light and shining God's love to the world. Several verses are described in the Bible with the word "light" in relation to who God is and who we, as His followers, are.
  • God created light 
"And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light." (Gen.1:3)
  • God is Light.
"the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." (1 John 1:5)
  • Jesus is the Light of the world.
"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12)

  • We can walk in the Light and in fellowship with Him and with one another.

"But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin." (1 John 1:7)
  • We are the light of the world, as well.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.(Matt. 5:14-16)
I especially am reminded how we are a light in a dark and dreary world in a song by Kari Jobe.

  • His Light guides us.
"Your word is a lamp to my feet
    and a light to my path." (Psalm 119:105)

 These, and many more verses in the Bible, describe just how God shines His light (which cannot be put out) in our lives.

"For with you is the fountain of life;
    in your light do we see light." (Psalm 36:9)

 

This past weekend I had a wonderful opportunity to meet up with some friends that I hadn't seen in a very long time, which was AMAZING! But that wasn't the least of it! Their daughter, who is a beautiful singer, is in a band and played live at a music festival...and we got to see her, as well! One of her songs was (of course) about light and how we, as Christ-followers, must "GLOW' for Jesus!! 



May the love of Christ "GLOW" for the world to see in each of our lives!!

 Once again, I'm sharing for "Multitudes on Mondays", as I  Dare to Share some of the gifts that God has been so gracious to put into my life. 
1,707 - Great Christian music!
1,708 - Getting to see old friends.
1,709 - Finding someone, last minute, to watch our dogs, while we were away for the weekend!
1,710 - Safe travels and the Lord's guidance, when we got lost in the night fog on the way back from the music festival.
1,711 - Great weather during our time in Ohio.
1,712 - The presence of God in a lit-up sky, full of bright fireworks.



1,713 - As always, Chris Tomlin's music!!


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