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My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26 (New King James Version)

Knowing the truth about myself and the truth about God is a prerequisite for growth and development in the Christian life. As long as I live deceived or misinformed about either I will fail to mature in my faith and experience transformation at any level. If I am not careful I will make the mistake of trying to present to God what I KNOW He wants my life to be like rather than what I presently am. God is not into appearances whereby I try to appear to be more than I am. He wants authenticity, transparency, and honesty. Those are the attributes I need to harness as I come into His presence. Within an atmosphere of openness I must also learn the strength and freedom that comes from acknowledgement. Not only acknowledgement of my reality but acknowledgement of all that God is as well.

David knew the power of truth telling prayers. He made it a practice of stating a truth about himself and then followed it up with the truth about God. Today’s verse is an example of that. In essence he was saying, “I am weak, but You, O God, are my strength.” It was an “I am, You are” conversation. There are times God does the same thing. They are found in His statements of “I am the shepherd, you are the sheep. I am the vine, you are the branches. I am the potter, you are the clay.”

I have not always seen the necessity or benefits of such prayers. I now sense and accept His invitation to approach Him with Psalm 73:26 type prayers. They may sound somewhat like this…”Father, I have been wounded, You are my healer. I am empty, You are my filler. I am unsure, You are my teacher. I am lonely, You are my companion. I am in need, You are my supplier.” It is not long before I feel an internal shift and a radical change in my demeanor. When that happens praise erupts. There really is no God like our God.

As I learn there are no limits to what I can bring to Him, say to Him, and admit to Him my prayers take on an intimacy and depth God and I both delight in.

Father, Keep teaching me how to approach You in new ways. I thrive under the shadow of Your wings. Amen.

Psalm 23 - Kathy Troccoli
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVYh63ZF_Vo

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

Still Under Construction

Then the same Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundation of the house of God which is in Jerusalem; but from that time even until now it has been under construction, and it is not finished. Ezra 5:16 (New King James Version)

Due to opposition, the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem had ceased for a time. Formerly, the king of Persia had ordered it to be rebuilt and it was to be funded out of his own treasury. When a new king came on the scene, a false report led to his ordering the temple work to cease. Subsequently it did cease until that order was reversed. It was reversed when he saw that in truth his predecessor had given the original order. Prior to that discovery, a letter had been sent to him and it included a report on the temple work….the foundation was laid, “but from that time even until now it has been under construction, and it is not finished.”

When I read that phrase I instantly thought of my life as a Christian. The foundation was laid in Christ. All that would follow would be built upon it and it is more than adequate to sustain me. But I am still under construction…..I am still not finished. If I fail to see that or fail to understand that the construction will continue throughout my entire life, I will place undo pressure upon myself to reach a finished product. Discouragement will set in as I see the many things that still must be done.

This morning I am resting in some truths. God is the Master Designer and Builder of my faith. He has His eye and hand on me as He molds, prunes, and forms me into the image of His Son. He has assured me that what He starts He completes. His plans and purposes will be fulfilled through His working. Yet the aspects of the journey are often subject to my obedience, submission, and cooperation. As I make choices throughout each day, consequences will result. Lessons to be learned may have to be extended due to my own attitude and attention. Despite even that, I know that I know He will get the job done. He will take this lump of clay, this sheep, this fragile vessel, this marred person and will one day present me faultless, blameless, and complete before His throne. I look forward to that day and I joy in the thought!

Father, indeed the foundation has been laid! Thank you for continuing what you started in me. I praise You for what You will accomplish. Amen.

Potter's Hand - Hillsong
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDAITgJXO1I

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

What Was Lacking

Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Psalm 106:1 (New International Version)

Yesterday was a day of feeling unsettled, uneasy, unsatisfied, and unhappy. I spent a better part of the day discouraged, disheartened, and in an internal seething mode. I felt it and others noticed it. It did not take long for God to begin to reveal the problem to me. It wasn’t my circumstances but rather my heart response to those circumstances. My focus had shifted from a God centeredness to negatively viewing life. Miserable does not begin to describe it. I knew I had lost my joy, my purpose, and my thankfulness. The wrong motives of my heart became prominent and began to steer me in wrong directions. Physically I felt drained and emotionally I felt weak.

God’s first word to me was to begin thanking Him. I’ll admit the list was short at first. Not because there was not an abundance of things to be thankful for but because my heart was in need of priming much like a water source that has not been active for a while. If given enough time, callousness can set in with grumbling, murmuring, and complaining and the softening of the calloused heart and mind takes time as well. The “softening” followed two significant steps. First, I had to spend time admitting my own heart attitudes that were wrong. Second, I spent time with some women in a Bible study last night who helped redirect my focus on to God. They encouraged me through their words and examples to let go of what I wanted and embrace what God wanted.

This morning, the thanks flows easily from my heart and mouth. With that thanks comes a change of perspective, a relinquishment of “rights”, a joy, a strength, and a sense of well being. If yesterday was a dungeon of sorts, today is an open field of wonder! I find it interesting that the only things that really changed were my attitude, my thoughts, my focus, and my desires. Yet, those changes make everything else look and feel completely different.

Living my life with an unthankful spirit is much harder than living with a thankful one. Hence, Jesus’ words ring in my ears, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” What He places on me in the way of kingdom principles is definitely more conducive than what He helped me take off and give to Him.

Father, You have once again given me beauty for ashes, strength for fear, and gladness for sorrow. Your exchanges never cease to amaze me! Amen.

Give Thanks - Don Moen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBpv-ZzcQD8

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

Reality Check

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. Psalm 34:19 (New King James Version)

I have been spending some time in the Psalms this morning. I didn’t want to leave! The Lord was reminding me through David’s words that life is full of trouble and He is the only true Deliverer. While difficulties marked his path, praise flowed from his lips. Countless times he asked God to forgive, deliver, preserve, protect, and defend him. His was not an easy life but he knew where to take every uneasy aspect of it. He knew how to pour his heart out to God. When circumstances over whelmed him, enemies attacked him, fear consumed him, sin ruled him, friends abandoned him, and afflictions accompanied him, he brought it all to the throne of grace and allowed God to bring peace, rest, and delight to his soul.

When I started on this journey six years ago, I had a lot of misconceptions. I thought I could get to the point where the hurts and hassles of life would no longer affect me. I thought it was possible to live without pain, disappointment, loneliness, and emptiness. And when that did not happen, I struggled with thoughts of failure and wondered what I was doing wrong. I looked at individuals whom I THOUGHT had nothing but good days, who handled every situation correctly, and experienced only joy, satisfaction, and victory every step of the way. I desperately tried to accomplish the same thing in my own life and couldn’t do it. How naïve I was! There are no such people on this planet.

My premise was all wrong. Life is full of trouble and I am the cause and recipient of some of it. We all are! As long as we possess a sin nature and live in a fallen world we are going to experience heartache and failure in one form or another. But that does not mean that is all we will experience. In the midst of any storm, God is the anchor of our soul. He is our deliverer, healer, restorer, and constant companion. He longs to strengthen us, dry our tears, comfort our hearts, and renew our spirit. But that will not happen if we remain at arms length. It starts by acknowledging the truth about ourselves and our circumstances as well as the truth about God. Pour out our hearts to Him, YES, but also proclaim His attributes! Psalm 18 is an excellent example of how to do just that.

I invite others to learn what I am learning. The abundant Christian life does not mean the absence of sin, heartache, and trouble. It means knowing Who to take it all to. It means learning to cry on God’s shoulder, seek His counsel, and follow His heart.

Father, I am between the Garden and Heaven therefore I need Your grace, mercy, strength, direction, and protection every step of the way. My needs are constant therefore my dependency upon You must be constant as well. Amen.

Help Me God - Kathy Troccoli
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-wL7KWO8Ys

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

In Such a Time as This

In the time when thou shalt be broken by the seas in the depths of the waters thy merchandise and all thy company in the midst of thee shall fall. Ezekiel 27:34 (King James Version)

Tyrus was a city of great wealth and importance in Old Testament times. Many nations where part of her commerce on the sea. Ezekiel 27 lists many who bought and sold merchandise from her and helped to build her into quite an empire of enterprise. But Ezekiel prophesied of a day when all her notoriety and importance would fall along with all who brought her that notoriety and importance.

Have you ever come to such a place of brokenness? All that you have looked to for identity, affirmation, acceptance, and significance has fallen and you are left with the reality of who you are in your aloneness and vulnerability? How many people and possessions would have to be removed from your life before reality would fill you with profound fear? What would it take to shake you to the very core of yourself and leave you wondering if you are going to actually survive the crash?

One author stated the ease with which we live our lives when all is going well and we are surrounded by the support of loving people in our life. But is that still the case when the props are removed and the sources of security are no longer in place? What does our internal world look like when we are forced to see wherein our security and significance is rooted? Who and what of this life would have to be removed before we could honestly say, “God is my All in all! He is my Everything!”

Disappointment eventually marks my path whenever my expectations, longings, and desires are directed toward anyone but God. He warns of the dangers and emptiness that result when I turn from the Fount of living waters and look to broken cisterns to quench the thirst of my soul. He knows the hindrances to the very wholeness and healing I long for. He has even brought an example across my path of one who at one time mirrored my own experiences. Her present freedom in Christ has fueled a spark of hope for me.

I take seriously the fact that some may be reading this who sense the truth of these words for themselves. They too have seen the futility of allowing anything or anyone besides God to be their Source of life. May each of us stand before Him today in honesty and openness. He offers healing and wholeness. Will we dare to receive it?

Father, You alone know the depths of my struggle and brokenness. I have experienced many things with You and realize afresh the experiences are not over. Teach me how to accept Your extravagant gifts of wholeness and healing. Amen.

Above All - Michael W. Smith
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjYiEyu8Si8

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

This Too Shall Pass

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes,: and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away. Revelation 21:4 (King James Version)

It is hard to imagine that one day we will no longer experience the brokenness, heartaches, and difficulties of life. The book of James tells me this life is just a vapor (a brief moment) compared with eternity. So no matter what I am facing I have the assurance it is temporary. I long for the day when today’s verse becomes my never ending reality.

Realize that whatever hurt, disappointment, or loss you are experiencing at the moment can also be slipped into this verse. It will one day be gone! I would invite each of us to make a list of the things that will not be following us into Heaven. Mine would include broken relationships, loneliness, fear, grief, strongholds, wrong mindsets, neediness, looking to people for what only God can give me, emptiness, and personal failures. I think of the many attitudes that will pass away: anger, envy, jealousy, competition, pride, lust, greediness, self centeredness, unforgiveness, and unthankfulness. My mouth will never again speak something that is untrue, unkind, or unnecessary. Not one painful thing from this life will be able to touch me in Heaven.

I need this reminder as I go through my day. When life gets hard I can look at the problem and say with absolute confidence, “THIS too shall pass!” I can rest in the fact that it will not always be like this. I look forward to the day when I am whole and nothing is in need of being fixed. I look forward to the day when all relationships will be as they should be. No cold shoulders, no rejection, no abandonment, and no walking away.

It has been said, for the believer, this life is the closest they will come to hell and for the non believer this life is the closest they will come to Heaven. I am saddened by the fact that what I have shared in today’s devotional is not for everyone. Today’s verse will not be their experience. Eternity for some will be just the opposite. One author’s words struck me when he viewed hell with a sign as you entered which said, “Abandon all hope.” I wish that upon no one! Jesus offers forgiveness of sin, relationship with God, and eternal life in Heaven. I pray that each person reading these thoughts this morning has accepted Him as Savior or soon will do so.

Father, I long for Heaven when my faith will become sight. When You wipe away all that makes life difficult in this world. I rejoice in knowing I will be with You and all those who know You. Even so come, Lord Jesus! Amen.

I Can Only Imagine - Mercy Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xwzItqYmII

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

What God Can Do With One

When he was but one I called him, then I blessed him and multiplied him. Isaiah 51:2 (New American Standard Bible)

God took one solitary man by the name of Abraham and brought forth an entire nation. Like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashores the number of that nation is vast and innumerable. Jesus took one little boy’s lunch and fed over 5,000 people with it. One widow in the days of Elisha saw a jar of oil fill many containers. One widow in Elijah’s day saw a little oil and flour provide meals for her, her son, and Elijah for 3 years until a famine had ended.

What do these miraculous stories all have in common? God took people and objects far beyond their original capabilities. He was able to get more mileage out of each than what was formerly thought possible. When God touches a life, an event, a circumstance, or an object He has no limits. No boundaries. No inabilities.

I have heard it said that sin will take you further than you want to go, cost you more than you want to pay, and hold you longer than you want to stay. But God is able to operate in much the same way. God can take you further than you hoped to go, reward you more than you hoped to receive, and use you in more ways than you ever dreamed.

When He looks at us, He does not see just one individual. He sees potential, opportunities, and dreams. He did not stop multiplying and blessing when the Bible was completed. He still takes what we hold in our hands and goes beyond our own design and purpose.

One aspect of faith is believing God can do ANYTHING! When His hand touches a life the results are amazing. He still desires to be fully involved in our life. He still takes objects in His hands and multiplies what is there. Today I am challenged to see what God will take farther than I thought possible. He knows my personal fears and apprehensions even better than I do. He knows my intimate thoughts, dreams, and ambitions. He knows and yet none of that stops Him from working in and through me. He simply reminds me that His plans and purposes are higher than my own and His ability to carry them out extends beyond my ability to always see it. He daily invites me to trust Him and fix my eyes on Him rather than on the limitations, hindrances, and impossibilities that so often dance across the floor of my imagination. He will not give up on me and throw up His hands in exasperation. His investment and involvement in my life is never in vain.

Father, You are still able to do so much more than I can imagine. Fulfill your dreams for me. Amen.

Take My Life (And Let It Be) - Chris Tomlin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0Byp7aK2DA

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.