Tim McGraw- "If You're Reading This"
My husband shared this video with me last night, and it made me cry. It made me cry for all those families that won't see their sons, daughters, husbands, wives, fathers and mothers come home, because they've gone Home. I wanted to take a moment and honor those souls that fight for our freedoms.
Now, I have a lot of feelings about war. I would prefer to pretend it didn't exist, honestly. I would prefer to forget that we're in the midst of one. I don't watch the news, and generally steer clear of anything that might be remotely negative. I'm a bit of an ostrich that way. (You know, sticking my head in the sand.) My eldest daughter told me a couple years ago that she wanted to be in the armed forces and I became sick with dread! How much more so must those other mothers and wives feel when their family members join. And yet they are proud of what they are doing. I may not like to think about it, but I am proud of them too.
We have a unique opportunity here in the U.S., and that is to be part of a democracy unlike any other. One of the most important to me is our religious freedoms that we so often take for granted. But that freedom has a price. A VERY HIGH price! That is the lives of our sons and daughters and the lives of our enemy's sons and daughters. The price is human life. Not a price I like the idea of paying. Should the time come when I must though, I would like to think that someone would take the time to honor my family members as well. So for all of you that pay that price for me, I honor you today. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, and the depths of my soul. You are appreciated and prayed for.
--Lord, I ask your blessing on our troops and their families. I pray for peace in the hearts of those that have lost loved ones. I thank You that You welcome them home, those that believe in You. I thank you that I live in a country that allows me to worship You without the cost of prison or death. I thank you for those people that are willing to sacrifice their lives to allow me to continue to have that freedom. I pray all these things in Jesus' Holy Name. Amen.
There is no "MORE" to this post.
Showing posts with label God's providence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God's providence. Show all posts
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
THE WILL OF GOD IN THE CHANGES OF LIFE by Gail Rodgers
Blog Owner's Note: Though I don't ordinarily post other author's devotions on my blog anymore, I'm doing so today because I have a friend that could use this message. I'm hoping that they visit my blog today, and that it helps clear some things up. Now on to the Devotional:
Change. It comes to all of us on our journey. Some of the changes we embrace heartily and with anticipation. Other changes are more difficult.
Being God's children we know He has a plan for our lives. Yet at times we long to know... does it include this move, this change? Sometimes we have a hard time figuring it out. Is this an opportunity from the hand of God? Can we know His will for our lives for sure?
As we seek to know God's will we find that His word reveals fresh insight.
"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
When we know nothing else of God's will, we do know these three things. We are to be joyful, prayerful, and thankful! The perplexity of our anxious wondering can hinder these things in our lives. Joy fades when fear and anxiousness creep in. When God seems silent on a matter we can find our prayers dwindling. The attitude of gratitude is hard to maintain as we worry about making the right choice.
We choose. In every change and every uncertain step... we choose. Either we continue to stew about what God's will is...or we embrace what we already know is His will as taught right from His Word. We ask Him to cultivate in us a thankful spirit, a joyful heart and a prayerful attitude.
Over time the way becomes clear. God shows us that He is more interested in our internal state than in our external location. Once we get His perspective, peace can settle into the soul. He can be trusted to open and close the right doors.
Make a conscious effort to ask the Holy Spirit to help you to be joyful and thankful today. These are not our natural reactions in situations of uncertainty.
~Father God,
In the midst of the uncertainty of my life I ask that You would help me to make the most important change...the change in me. I ask that You would help me to have a joyful attitude, a thankful spirit and a praying heart. Work in me by the power of Your Holy Spirit today. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
Change. It comes to all of us on our journey. Some of the changes we embrace heartily and with anticipation. Other changes are more difficult.
Being God's children we know He has a plan for our lives. Yet at times we long to know... does it include this move, this change? Sometimes we have a hard time figuring it out. Is this an opportunity from the hand of God? Can we know His will for our lives for sure?
As we seek to know God's will we find that His word reveals fresh insight.
"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
When we know nothing else of God's will, we do know these three things. We are to be joyful, prayerful, and thankful! The perplexity of our anxious wondering can hinder these things in our lives. Joy fades when fear and anxiousness creep in. When God seems silent on a matter we can find our prayers dwindling. The attitude of gratitude is hard to maintain as we worry about making the right choice.
We choose. In every change and every uncertain step... we choose. Either we continue to stew about what God's will is...or we embrace what we already know is His will as taught right from His Word. We ask Him to cultivate in us a thankful spirit, a joyful heart and a prayerful attitude.
Over time the way becomes clear. God shows us that He is more interested in our internal state than in our external location. Once we get His perspective, peace can settle into the soul. He can be trusted to open and close the right doors.
Make a conscious effort to ask the Holy Spirit to help you to be joyful and thankful today. These are not our natural reactions in situations of uncertainty.
~Father God,
In the midst of the uncertainty of my life I ask that You would help me to make the most important change...the change in me. I ask that You would help me to have a joyful attitude, a thankful spirit and a praying heart. Work in me by the power of Your Holy Spirit today. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Why Temptations? by Shalene Kearney
Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. James 1:12-14 NKJV
Satan desires that we should fall away from the hope that God has given us. He does so with lies and half truths. He offers us that which we think we want, and when we accept it, and have sinned in the process, he drags us down with guilt and lies about our continued salvation. He does not want us to continue to glorify the Lord. Because in so doing, we may just reach another who needs to hear that we all fall short of His glory.
Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The Spirit is willing but the body is weak. Matthew 26:41 (emphasis mine)
Why do we believe the deceiver's lies?
Because he offers us what the "everyone else has." That is, what society tells us is acceptable and/or desirable. We listen because to resist is to deny ourselves. This is not easy to do. Many of us are taught from the moment we are able to think on our own that independence and self sufficiency are good things. I beg to differ.
God calls us to be utterly dependent upon him and to acknowledge that without Him we would have nothing. For He provides all. It all belongs to Him. We are only stewards of that which we have been given. Keeping this in mind, always, should make it easier to avoid temptation.
Who provides food for the raven, When its young ones cry to God, And wander about for lack of food? Job 38:41 NKJV
I think the Pope (I don't know which one, as my source did not list it, and I am not Catholic.) said it best, this way:
Concerning God, His Works, Providence:
"This term, in its widest application, signifies the Divine Presence in the world as sustaining, controlling, and guiding to their destination all things that are made. The will of God determines the end for which His creatures exist; His wisdom and His goodness appoint the means by which that end is attained: in the conservation of the frame of nature, in the care of all creatures that have wants, in the government especially of intelligent and probationary beings; and His power ensures the accomplishment of every design."--Pope
To summarize: We are tempted by the deceiver into thinking that the Lord will not provide for all our needs, because we intertwine our needs with our wants. God does not promise to provide all our wants. And in fact, does not because to do so would make us like spoiled children. God is not a "feel good" God. How many people would you want around you as your "friends" if they were only there because of what you could give them? And not because they truly wished to be with you and be a part of your life? God gives us what we need to become the person he created us to be. If that means that we do without materially, then that's what he gives us, or doesn't give us as the case may be. He also disciplines us, by allowing our choices to have consequences. If we choose to listen to the deceiver's lies, we will face consequences. God is merciful, though, and all that repent will be forgiven.
--Lord, I pray today that my words reach the eyes of someone that needs to hear this message. I ask that you continue to use me to reach those that are bogged down by the guilt of sin. Use me to encourage them to repentence and to avoid temptations. Relying only on Your divine providence. I pray that you also cleanse me of my sins today Lord, and that You forgive me for any and all attempts to give into temptations. I pray these things in Jesus' Holy Name, Amen.
Satan desires that we should fall away from the hope that God has given us. He does so with lies and half truths. He offers us that which we think we want, and when we accept it, and have sinned in the process, he drags us down with guilt and lies about our continued salvation. He does not want us to continue to glorify the Lord. Because in so doing, we may just reach another who needs to hear that we all fall short of His glory.
Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The Spirit is willing but the body is weak. Matthew 26:41 (emphasis mine)
Why do we believe the deceiver's lies?
Because he offers us what the "everyone else has." That is, what society tells us is acceptable and/or desirable. We listen because to resist is to deny ourselves. This is not easy to do. Many of us are taught from the moment we are able to think on our own that independence and self sufficiency are good things. I beg to differ.
God calls us to be utterly dependent upon him and to acknowledge that without Him we would have nothing. For He provides all. It all belongs to Him. We are only stewards of that which we have been given. Keeping this in mind, always, should make it easier to avoid temptation.
Who provides food for the raven, When its young ones cry to God, And wander about for lack of food? Job 38:41 NKJV
I think the Pope (I don't know which one, as my source did not list it, and I am not Catholic.) said it best, this way:
Concerning God, His Works, Providence:
"This term, in its widest application, signifies the Divine Presence in the world as sustaining, controlling, and guiding to their destination all things that are made. The will of God determines the end for which His creatures exist; His wisdom and His goodness appoint the means by which that end is attained: in the conservation of the frame of nature, in the care of all creatures that have wants, in the government especially of intelligent and probationary beings; and His power ensures the accomplishment of every design."--Pope
To summarize: We are tempted by the deceiver into thinking that the Lord will not provide for all our needs, because we intertwine our needs with our wants. God does not promise to provide all our wants. And in fact, does not because to do so would make us like spoiled children. God is not a "feel good" God. How many people would you want around you as your "friends" if they were only there because of what you could give them? And not because they truly wished to be with you and be a part of your life? God gives us what we need to become the person he created us to be. If that means that we do without materially, then that's what he gives us, or doesn't give us as the case may be. He also disciplines us, by allowing our choices to have consequences. If we choose to listen to the deceiver's lies, we will face consequences. God is merciful, though, and all that repent will be forgiven.
--Lord, I pray today that my words reach the eyes of someone that needs to hear this message. I ask that you continue to use me to reach those that are bogged down by the guilt of sin. Use me to encourage them to repentence and to avoid temptations. Relying only on Your divine providence. I pray that you also cleanse me of my sins today Lord, and that You forgive me for any and all attempts to give into temptations. I pray these things in Jesus' Holy Name, Amen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
