REVERENCE FOR GOD

 Isaiah 25:1 (CEB) "LORD, you are my God. I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, planned long ago, faithful and sure."

I have learned throughout the course of time that God is most worthy of praise, worship and honor. Many times when I pray, either in spoken or written prayer, I take the time to voice praise to God. It is a right and correct thing to do rather than simply rattle off a list of requests then say amen. God is not a genie in an invisible bottle, nor is He a good luck charm or candyman, present in our lives to fulfill our greatest desires. He is almighty God, the Creator of the Universe and man's first breath. Without a God we would not exist. Some choose to not believe that; billions do.

Proverbs 1:7 states that "wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord". Fear in this case means a reverential awe or respect. We need not be afraid of God, simply respect and revere Him for who He is. We can readily show that by making it a natural outpouring of our prayers, then allowing it to spill over into our lives. Embrace God and surrender to His plan for you.

WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!!

FULL IMMERSION

Deuteronomy 6:5-8 (CEB) “Love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your being, and all your strength. These words that I am commanding you today must always be on your minds.  Recite them to your children. Talk about them when you are sitting around your house and when you are out and about, when you are lying down and when you are getting up.  Tie them on your hand as a sign. They should be on your forehead as a symbol.”

If we were to give this set of verses a one word description it could easily be IMMERSION.

IMMERSE (def):  To engage wholly or deeply; absorb; to involve deeply; engross.


We are called to immerse ourselves in Christ. We are to seek to be a little more like Him is all we think, say and do each and every day. It is no small task we face because distractions are all around us. They pull at us and entice us regularly. We must be ALL IN, as my pastor would say. God wants to use us. His word guides and directs us in all things. Are we reading it? I, like you, squirm and wriggle when I try to sit still for too long. I, like you, must ask God to enable me to sit still long enough to be fed. Like toddlers in high chairs who want to amble about the house rather than sit still and eat their sustenance, we fight that which we need the most.

We all must stop, take a deep breath and ask God to 1) forgive our negligence, 2) ask Him to energize our faith, 3) fill us once again with a deep desire to know Him and His word and 4) help us be more like His Son. It can be a slow, painful process, but in the end our lives will be enriched beyond our comprehension.  Allow yourself full immersion.

WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!!

RANDOM RAMBLINGS 17

Life is too short to worry about things that we have no control over. We drag along behind us things from our past that are history. OUR history. It can't be altered in any way. A repeat performance can be averted by learning from the past, but dwelling on it is highly counter productive. I tend to over process things ... a lot of things. I allow things from my past to haunt me. It should remain in the past, but I keep pulling it into the present and spoil my mood, my day and the day of those around me. It is ridiculous really. Do you have that problem too? God is willing to deliver us from those things that haunt us from our past. Satan throws them up in our face quite a bit. He knows how to distract and depress us. It doesn't have to be that way. God is ready, willing and more than able to lift us out of whatever funk we create for ourselves. It's not His fault that we suffer as we do regarding our past mistakes. WE are the ones that allow them to dance through our minds, driving us deeper into a pit of despair. There is nothing that is impossible for God. He is the One who created us; He can bring us out of it. With one word from God everything can change. So a rebuke of the devil is in order and a raising of my countenance is the result. We are called to live a life of faith and trust that provides for us hope for all our tomorrows. Surrender your past to your Heavenly Father and see what happens.

WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!!

FOLLOWING HIS FOOTSTEPS

Job 23:10-11 (CEB) “Surely he knows my way; when he tests me, I will emerge as gold. My feet have stayed right in his tracks. I have kept his way and not left it, “

We serve a faithful God.  We can be assured that when we follow in His footsteps we will be blessed. I constantly pray that God will bless this person or that person. What exactly does that mean?

BLESS (def): To invoke divine favor upon; to confer well-being or prosperity on.

If we stay the course and not meander off onto the side paths that life presents to us; if we follow HIS way and not our own, we will receive divine favor. God is watching. He is aware of all our comings and goings. He knows our thoughts even before we think them. In your life ponder this; would I think, say or do what I am about to think, say or do if Jesus Christ were standing or sitting right beside me. Would I? It’s a fair question and one that we need to soberly consider on a continual basis. Those things that we think, say and do are as a representative of God. He didn’t have to save us from our sin and from ourselves, but He chose to because He loves us. How are we showing the world our love for Him in return? God will test us, but not put us through more than we can handle to cause us to grow in our faith and trust of Him. WWDJ? (What Would Jesus Do?) is not simply a catch phrase, but rather something we should take seriously each and every day we live our lives. God wishes to bless us beyond measure, but bad behavior is never rewarded. Surrender your ENTIRE life to God today.

WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!

GOD IS UNCHANGING

Psalm 73:28 (CEB) “… It’s good for me to be near God. I have taken my refuge in you, my LORD God, so I can talk all about your works!”

REFUGE (def): Protection or shelter, as from danger or hardship; A source of help, relief, or comfort in times of trouble.

Everyone has troubles from time to time. It’s part of life. Sometimes our troubles seem to overwhelm us, like waves on a storm tossed sea. Think of the apprehension Peter must have felt when asked by Jesus to get out of the boat the disciples were in and come walk to Him. Raging seas all around him; the wind was whipping up the waves. We are not talking about a placid surface Peter was being asked to climb onto. He had the faith to make the initial step, but once on the surface of the water he became distracted by his surroundings. Think about how his apprehension must have changed to terror when he started to sink. His faith wasn’t enough to keep him afloat, however, it is important to note that Jesus was there instantly to take his hand, they were immediately back in the boat and the winds became still.* Christ will never leave us nor forsake us.** Never. The ever watchful eye of God is aware of all our comings and goings and will not let us fall unless we insist on it through our own ignorance and arrogance.

God is our refuge in time of trouble. He is our shelter, our comforter, our one and only true source of help in this crazy, mixed up world we live in. God is the only One who never changes. He is the model of consistency. He is always the same. God can be relied upon. That is why He and He alone can be trusted to take care of us and deliver us from calamity. Stay close to God. Surrender your entire life to Him today.

WALK WITH THE KING TODAYAND BE A BLESSING!!

* Matthew 14:29-33 Common English Bible (CEB)
** Psalm 37:28 Common English Bible (CEB)