Mercy for Monday

So, my week has started off with a bit of a "jump start", and I didn't get my merciful Monday post done before Monday began. So, it will have to be an ending for Monday!

Father God, we are grateful for Your mercy this day. . .that you continue to be mindful of us after so many years of rebellion. And, today, we pray Phillipians 4:4-7:

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!"
Joy is found in You Lord and only You! Help us to be grateful and thankful for You alone!
"Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near."
Thank you for being a God who is close, not far away. Near not only in presence but in Your knowledge of me!
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God."
Help me to cast my worries on You. I trust that Your timing is perfect. Help me to lay my concerns and requests at your feet while thanking You that You are already answering.
"And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
May your spirit of peace overcome my heart. May my mind rest from the wrestling within. Guard my heart that no one can steal the peace you give. Thank you Father for Your mercies this Monday! They are new every morning!

Devotion Day

Thinking on the Passover & the Feast of First Fruits fulfilled through the Death, Burial, & Resurrection of Jesus Christ:

This week started off with a fabulous Sunday School lesson of reading through the scriptures about the crucifixion of Christ. Just meditating on His humble path to the cross! And, why a cross you might ask? For you and for me. I love how Psalms 8:4 puts my thoughts (& probably yours to if you understand being freed from bondage!), "What is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him?"

Since the week started so focused, I wanted to try to keep stay focused this week. . .every day. I found that when I open my ears and tune myself to Him that He provides amazing worship! Thank you Jesus! You are ALIVE and well!

Because I am starting a study of Isaiah and I love that it is the Old Testament leading us to Christ, I wanted the devotion this morning to simply be an old testament prophesy about our Messiah! I hope that you know this Jesus. . .the power that He holds! May the reading of His word bless you today because it is a GOOD Friday!

Isa 53:3-11 (NASB)
"He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;

And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried;

Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities;

The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.

All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way;

But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.

He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth;

Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,

So He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away;

And as for His generation, who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?

His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death,

Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief;

If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.

As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied;

By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many,

As He will bear their iniquities."

I lift my hands to believe again, Lord! You are faithful God forever! Let faith arise! And, open my eyes! (Words adapted from Chris Tomlin's new song "I lift my hands")

Mercy for Monday

I think Mondays are hard days. Back to the grindstone. Diving into the world. I really don't like it! I prefer to have everyday be the weekend. Safe at home with my family. That being said, I thought I would try to start off Monday by using a Psalm to pray over the week. I hope this helps you too! What better way than to use the Word to ask for mercy as we start the week!

(Adapted from Psalm 130; a song of ascents)

Out of my deepest despair, I cry to you God! Please hear my cry! May your ears be attentive to the voice of my petitions. If you marked down my sins, how could I stand? But, praise Jesus, there is forgiveness with You, that you may be shown reverence! I am waiting for the Lord. In Christ, I hope! All His children, hope in Him, because with the Lord is lovingkindness (convenant love!) and endless redemption! He will and has redeemed us all from our sins! Praise Jesus!

A Psalm, which was a reminder to Israel that redemption was coming to wait on the Lord and to remember His lovingkindness. A reminder to us, grafted in as children of the promise, that he has brought redemption and to wait on the Lord for His imminent return by thinking on his lovingkindness! Be reminded of His mercy on this Monday!

Devotion Day: God's Promises

Worth continuing. . .

So, last week our devotion focused on the “word” of God. That it was active, living, and blessed. It’s sharp and is able to divide truth from fiction.

As I was reading (for entertainment) this week, I started thinking about “confessing the word”. Confessing referring to the following: “to tell, make known”. Word referred to as “what God says in the Bible”. There are a lot of things that we can confess. Confess the sins of our neighbor, confess the mess we are in, confess the “events of the day”. However, as I was reading, I was challenged with “How often do I confess His Word?” When life isn’t going like expected, I can confess all my trials OR I can confess the promises of His Word. Demonstrating that even though what I see in the moment does not look so good that He already has promises spoken over my life. So, why don’t I just “confess it”? I’m not a “name it and claim it” sort of gal, but I do believe that every word in the Bible is absolutely true (E.W.I.T.B.I.A.T). And sometimes, I just need to be reminded.
Isa 55:11 says, “So will My word BE which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”
Isa 40:8 says, “The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”

So, let’s remember some of His promises together! Use them today as you pray. You can’t go wrong praying the scripture because you KNOW that His will is in His word!
• Jeremiah 29:11-13: 'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”
• Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."
• Rom 8:37-39 “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
• Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
• Philippians 4:19 “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Wow, that’s a LOT of supply when you think about His riches!)
• Zephaniah 3:17 "The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.”
• John 14:1 "Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”
• Hebrews 13:5 “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU"

There are so many more!! Please add in the comments as God brings them to your mind!

I want to leave you with the best one of all. . .(well, they are all good!)
• Romans 10:8-13: “But what does it say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART"--that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. The Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."
(All scripture from the NASB)

May God bless you today as you pray His Word over your life and the lives of others!

Devotion Day

Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts & intentions of the heart."

Living:
Greek word: zaō
Defined:
•living water, having vital power in itself and exerting the same upon the soul
•active, blessed, endless in the kingdom of God

Active:
Greek Word: energēs
Defined:
•Used as “effective” in Philemon 1:6 “Your faith may become effective through the knowledge. . .”

Sharper
Greek Word: tomos: derivative of temno with a more precise meaning single cut versus repeated.
Defined: Sharper
1 verse in Greek with this word (from what I understand)

The Word of God is living, active, blessed, exerts vital power upon the soul and is endless in the kingdom of God. It is effective, not inactive or sedentary . . .just as Philemon 1:6 when Paul & Timothy prayed, “that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ's sake.” It’s active and sharp. From what I could understand, the Greek word for “sharper” is tomos and is a derivative of temno with a more precise meaning of a single cut versus repeated cut, such as in hacking. God’s word does not hack away but rather uses the skill of a master surgeon (The Great Physician does more than heal) in order to cut with precision that, in the end, would bring about healing and restoration to our souls. His Word is important in that it divides truth from fiction. In a world that constantly tells us that it’s “all about us” and “you’re OK as long as you are happy”, we need something sharp to “take out” the sickness that plagues us. His word is alive; therefore, if it lives in us, should it not be active. Should we not be offering life, true life, to those around us.

The word is referred to as the sword in Ephesians 6. In Revelation 1:16, it says, “. . .Out of His (Jesus) mouth came a sharp two-edged sword. . .” The scripture is the word of God. Jesus is referred to as ‘the Word becoming flesh’ (John 1).

In putting all these verses together, it makes me think. . .what is coming from my mouth? If the Holy Spirit resides within me, then the “words” coming from my mouth should speak life, should be truth, should help in healing. This reminded me of the verse from James 3:8-9, “But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord & Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God.”

Guilty. Lord, help me use my tongue to be uplifting, edifying, and speaker of the truth. Continue to use your Word, sharp and active, to grow me in this area.

I pray that in some way God’s word was able to guide you today! May you be blessed!

Engraved

I used Isaiah 49:15-16 as the "theme" verse because I find it amazing! What's amazing? That the Creator God, the Alpha & Omega, the Mighy Savior, the Great Physician, God Almighty, Jehovah Jireh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. . .would remember me! That He would love me so much that He would "engrave" me on the palm of His hands. That the "engraving" would also designate His love through the cross, the nail-pierced hands. This engraving gives support to John 10:28 when Jesus says,

"I give them (my sheep) eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand."

I guess it is kind of hard to snatch me if I am engraved!!!!!!!!

Getting Started

I find starting a blog is the most challenging. So, I thought I would just begin with an explanation of what you might find here:

• A weekly devotional of something from the Word of God that He has been leading me through


• A quote from a book or person that has inspired me during the week


• A moment of thanksgiving, time to remember what God has done


• And, I hope many comments from others either asking questions, answering others' questions, or adding your own element of what God has shown you in reading His Word

Thank you for joining me on my own journey to deepen my faith and to keep myself digging into His Word!