May my cry come before you Lord; give me understanding according to Your word. May my supplication come before you; deliver me according to Your promise. May my lips overflow with praise, for you teach me Your decrees. May my tongue sing of Your word, for all Your commands are righteous. May Your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen Your precepts.(Psalm 119:169-173
God's word is so delightful. It is full of life and fills you with so much hope. I have found that no matter what situation I face, God's word has the answer. When I am feeling down or like I have no hope there is refuge in His word. If my body doesn't feel 100% His word lifts me up. When I feel like I have messed up over and over again and without anyone's help start to walk in condemnation, His word is right there to turn me in the right direction. When I don't want to talk to anyone about a situation He hears the sounds that come from my heart and answer them with His word.
I never want to stray or be far away from God's word and like David said in the Psalms, " My heart is set on keeping Your decrees to the very end." (Psalm119:112 NIV) It means more than life to me. It is my compass when I have no idea the direction I am heading. When I have no vision other than what's right in front of me, His word leads me.
Literally His word fills every void there is in my life and it will be the song I sing every day of my life.
I want to encourage you today not to let any book, any counsel, any conference, any therapy take the place of God's word in Your life. Seek His word first for in it is the very answer that you have searched all over for.
If you have neglected His word, run to it as quickly as you can. If you have devalued it, restore it to it's rightful place immediately. Whatever need there is in Your life right now, replace the thought of it with the word of God and see your needs met.
If your prayer life is lacking, get into His word.
If you feel hopeless, let His word become your hope.
Get to know Him through His word.
Let His word become your biggest resource.
I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His people, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. (Ephesians 1: 17-19)
Blessings,
Vickie
Monday, November 23, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
The Promise of Harvest
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as His children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined - and everyone undergoes discipline - then you are not legitimate children at all. Hebrews 12: 7 & 8
Our parents disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12 10 & 11(NIV)
For a long time I envisioned discipline as a consequence of doing wrong. As children we experienced it from our parents and when we became parents we administered it. Not to say that viewpoint is wrong, discipline does come as a result of disobedience. However during my devotional time this morning, in reading the passage of Hebrews mentioned above, my heart focused on the very first part of verse 7 : Endure hardship as discipline. I saw that even though I may sin and need to chastened by the Lord sometimes, there was another form of discipline I was called to endure. It was the discipline that came not from my sinning but from the hardship that life sometimes throw at me.
God never lets our situations go to waste and the writer of Hebrews was saying to me, even in the midst of hardship that you didn't necessarily bring on yourself, God is working, so endure. God can take the unfortunate circumstances of our lives and use them to shape us. He can take them painful though they may be and teach us how to become men and women of holy character.
My family is facing some hardships now, as many families are, but God spoke to my heart this morning and said, Vickie this may be painful now, but if you would endure, this same hardship will produce a harvest of righteousness and peace. This is your training ground for the new level I am taking you to. Don't grumble, don't complain, there is better waiting for you. If I didn't love you, I would just watch on the sidelines, hoping that you all make it out in one piece. Instead I am Your Lily of the Valley, right there with you, using this time to perfect you.
My encouragement to you today is to endure. Endure whatever hardship you are facing now. Endure it as discipline. See it not as punishment but see it as discipline from a loving Father, for He disciplines us for our good.
Blessings,
Vickie
Our parents disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12 10 & 11(NIV)
For a long time I envisioned discipline as a consequence of doing wrong. As children we experienced it from our parents and when we became parents we administered it. Not to say that viewpoint is wrong, discipline does come as a result of disobedience. However during my devotional time this morning, in reading the passage of Hebrews mentioned above, my heart focused on the very first part of verse 7 : Endure hardship as discipline. I saw that even though I may sin and need to chastened by the Lord sometimes, there was another form of discipline I was called to endure. It was the discipline that came not from my sinning but from the hardship that life sometimes throw at me.
God never lets our situations go to waste and the writer of Hebrews was saying to me, even in the midst of hardship that you didn't necessarily bring on yourself, God is working, so endure. God can take the unfortunate circumstances of our lives and use them to shape us. He can take them painful though they may be and teach us how to become men and women of holy character.
My family is facing some hardships now, as many families are, but God spoke to my heart this morning and said, Vickie this may be painful now, but if you would endure, this same hardship will produce a harvest of righteousness and peace. This is your training ground for the new level I am taking you to. Don't grumble, don't complain, there is better waiting for you. If I didn't love you, I would just watch on the sidelines, hoping that you all make it out in one piece. Instead I am Your Lily of the Valley, right there with you, using this time to perfect you.
My encouragement to you today is to endure. Endure whatever hardship you are facing now. Endure it as discipline. See it not as punishment but see it as discipline from a loving Father, for He disciplines us for our good.
Blessings,
Vickie
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