"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17
God knows what we need to hear, just when we need to hear it! I love serving a God who cares deeply about the things that concern His children! God has proven this truth to me many times! I thankful that man’s sinfulness and pride doesn’t determine our outcome! God’s promise to His children and his plans will ALWAYS prevail! Thankful to serve a God who is always bigger than any system and the final authority over everything! Friends, if your finding yourself in a difficult situation, lift your voice to the Lord! He knows your heartache and will move mountains to ensure his children are cared for and he will grow and strengthen you in process!
Opening God’s word in the morning is the greatest blessing and way to begin your day! Recently, I’ve been reading slowly through Psalms. Such profound authenticity, compassion, comfort, & wisdom is found in this wonderful book!
The thing that has stood out to me the most about Psalms, is the manner in which it boldly, yet discreetly gives insight into how to live our lives abundantly! Typically, this is offerered in gentle “action” statements, that can easily be missed if reading through swiftly.
The action statement from my reading today that stood out the most, is found in Psalm 63:1-8…
“You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you, in a dry and patched land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and glory, Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied as with richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.”
Wow! This passage shows tremendous emotion, dependence on God, and a desperation to seek Him! It begins with “EARNESTLY I SEEK YOU!”
When is the last time you’ve “EARNESTLY” sought God???
Often, I hear people question God’s realness and ask why He never speaks to them. I believe the answer to those questions, typically lie in the “action” statements throughout scripture. People want God to deliver them, help them, and save them… But, sadly they don’t want to surrender their lives over to Him! They don’t want to discipline themselves to build their relationship with God! They WANT God, but don’t NEED Him! They desire joy, but don’t actively pursue God’s abundant joy! They want Him, without actively desiring Him!
The Bible clearly shows an action part on our end…
WITH ALL YOUR HEART… SEEK HIM… LOVE HIM… FOLLOW HIM…
We can’t build a relationship with anyone who we regularly push away, fail to make a priority, rarely speak to, or never take time to intently listen to their heart!
Trust me, when we put into practice the “action” piece in our relationship with God, he will show up in mighty ways! In fact, he will begin to regularly knock your socks off with answered prayers, provisions, and guidance!
He will meet you in your surrender!
Friends, earnestly seeking God is a lifelong journey! At times I’m on fire for Him and other times I grow weak in my seeking of Him! After a short time of wandering on my own, I feel it deeply and it feels like, I’m living a spiritually dry and parched life, as if I’m spiritually dying of thirst!
The good news… the GREAT news is this… Once I begin to “earnestly” seek Him, he shows up! He quenches the spiritual thirstiness and neediness of my soul! He’s amazing like that!
I can’t imagine living this life without a Savior!
Earnestly begin seeking Him today! You WILL begin to see the direction of your day, week, year, and life change! You WILL begin to see Him show up in mighty ways!
Psalm 59 spoke loudly to me this morning! There is no better way to begin a new day, than in God’s word and allowing Him to lead and direct your paths! He rewards obedience!
The verse that particularly stood out today…
Psalm 59:9 & 10 “You are my strength, I watch for you; you, God, are my fortress, my God on whom I can rely.”
God is telling us in this passage that he’s got our back, he’s our shelter in the storms of life!
He also is quick to tell us, he requires “action” on our part! We are to “watch” for Him! We must be mindful of His presence and always looking for him to show up in our everyday lives!
So often, I fail to actively “watch” for God and get frustrated when he doesn’t quickly fix the problems surrounding me. Once I stop and acknowledge his presence, I see him at work in the midst of the trials of this life! Occasionally, he answers a prayer request ASAP, and I absolutely love to see these immediate answers to prayer requests! Other times, he allows a concern to linger for awhile, but reveals his presence, love, and compassion in the midst of the storm! I have learned that it is during these longer trials, that God’s presence is revealed in the most powerful ways!
Friends, Are you in the midst of a struggle today? I encourage you to actively “watch” for God! Once He knows we’re seeking Him, he reaches out to us! “Seek and you will find!” Call out to him! Look for him in the nighttime sky and the sunrise! Watch for him in the eyes of people, in the simple blessed moments of special family, friend, and life moments!
He’s there! He’s waiting! He Is longing for you to call out to Him! He’s ready to help you through this trial!
In our nation there has been tremendous unrest, tension, violence, hatred, and wide discrimination across the board! I can’t turn on the news anymore without my heart breaking and my gut sinking! I’m sure you’ve felt the very same feelings, regardless of what political side your on or what is going on in your personal lives. We all have one thing in common, we’re all distressed! In the midst of a pandemic, we’re also dealing with the issues facing our nation, the difficulties in our personal lives, and the stress of an upcoming election. Conflict is rampant in the news, our cities, and even in our own homes and churches. Where can we find peace in the midst of the chaos surrounding us? We can always find “peace” at the end of ourselves! When we “STOP” the running, worrying, spiraling, and busyness and truly sit at the Lord’s feet, something miraculous happens.
At the end of ourselves, when we run into His arms, He receives us and shows us the way!
Mathew 7:7-8 says, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye. shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh. findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
Our job is actually easy… All we need to do is “ask”, “seek”, and “knock”. It’s only difficult because it requires a laying down if our pride and coming before God humbly asking, seeking, and knocking for His interceding! Through this process, the God of the universe settles our hearts and minds!
He truly does care about each and everyone of us! He gives us strength, wisdom, and peace. He’s a Mighty shelter from the stress rampant all around us!
Friends, the Lord rewards obedience!!! This morning Satan tried to lure me away from scripture with a storm, fatigue, stress of home buying/selling, worries about our nation, work, etc. Today, rather than obeying the flesh and heading back to bed, searching the web, or working to get things done. I ran to God! The peace and joy on the other side is wonderful!
Are you anxious, weary, downtrodden, out of sorts, irritable, worried, fearful….? Take it to God! He’s ready to receive you into His arms and show you the way to eternal peace and joy!
I encourage you today to read Psalm 57… “Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in you I take refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed… Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the Earth… My heart is steadfast, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music!”
In the midst of a personal battle, a family battle, a church battle, a national battle, or a worldly pandemic…. We can remain “steadfast”… but only when we seek God with all our hearts!
Today I woke up and felt discouraged with the issues surrounding our world and nation. This morning I had decided over coffee to hold off on my quiet time and spending time with God, until later in the afternoon. As the day went on, I found my soul on edge, sad, and definitely discouraged!
Fighting tears, I told my husband I was discouraged about everything in our culture and the implications of the virus; He lovingly responded by saying, “Seems like you need to spend time with God and read your Bible!” He was soooooooooo right!
Several minutes later, I took my daughter to the pool and opened up my devotional and Bible to find God was speaking right into my discouragement! Within moments he spoke right into my lack of focus on God and reminded me of the beautiful surrounding me!
Spending time with God didn’t make the virus disappear, or the pools and playgrounds reopen, or make all the tension and conflict in the world disappear! It calmed my soul, by giving me a God- centered perspective, rather than a worldly discouragement.
Yes, our world seems like it’s out of control! Yes, our nation feels like it’s gone completely mad! Yes, it feels inconsistent in rules, regulations, and what is acceptable for different groups of people! Yes, if I continue to focus on the news, Facebook, the closed pools & playgrounds around our nation, the disgruntled people from all political sides, and the struggles in our midst; I will feel downright discouraged, depressed, and frustrated! I will feel no peace, if I fail to seek God! When I seek God, I find a deep inner peace!
In fact, if I seek God’s face through reading my Bible, prayer, and worshiping him through song and nature; I will feel like rejoicing! I will have heathy and appropriate emotions and reactions to the world’s events! I will not be overcome with negative emotion, because I will have a deep peace and assurance that God is in control!
Today, I am thankful for a God who understands, loves unconditionally, is always in control, provides stability in the midst of instability, and calms his children in the midst of life’s storms and tribulations!
Friends, take some time and focus on Jesus today! Read his word, talk to him, worship him; You will find instantaneous peace in a world gone mad! You will find peace in a world of brokenness, tension, sadness, discrimination, and heartache!
John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
I love these people, more than life itself! Brings such joy to my heart to sit in church with my family who loves God and desires to serve Him! This was my dream as a child, to have a family who attended church together, and loved God and one another! Dreams do come true, when you love to serve God and hold to him through the good and the bad! I am grateful for my God and the blessing of my family!
Psalm 37:4 “Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
Breaks my heart to see people who claim to be God’s people, taking comments out of context, and posting an untrue version of political issues. I have seen people make a blatant statements regarding an article, video, or speech of a political figure or issue. Astonished, I look into the matter further, often to find a misstatement or a spreading of the truth. Which in all honesty, is fully intended to stir up conflict! Thus, creating more hate and tension! In a world with an over abundance of conflict, if Christian’s aren’t honest peace makers who deal with political issues in a Christ-like manner. Than, we’re all in trouble! In times like these I’m reminded of a verse.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
In order to deal with conflict, hate, and tensions in our world, country, and personal lives; It is essential to “speak the truth in love”! Speaking out of anger, frustration, bitterness, attention seeking, or ignorance…. Will only persist in offering more of the same! Spreading love requires a continual searching of our hearts and minds! Holding our heart and minds to God’s word and heart is the only way we can respond in a manner in which will better the world we all have to live in.”
“The definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting a different result!”
It will NOT work! It will only stir up the opposite of what is needed to make our world, country, churches, and personal lives, a more peaceful, joyous, and enjoyable place!
Food for thought!
By the way, This is the reason, I rarely post anything political or speak politics in my office! One day I will face the God of the universe and I will be responsible for my actions! Even what I post on Facebook! I certainly, don’t want to be responsible for stirring up ungodly hate and tension!
Am I perfect? Absolutely not! I have posted, said, or done things on the fly; with very little thought and paid spiritual and relational consequences. Experience is one of our loudest sources of understanding! Learn from experience and STOP repeating the same mistakes!
My motto: “Think (pray) before you speak! Think (pray) before you act! Think (pray) before you post!”
This motto has saved me a lot of unnecessary turmoil!
Speak, act, or post only when the Holy Spirit heeds; All while ensuring your actions align with God’s word!
Breaks my heart to see people who claim to be God’s people, taking comments out of context, and posting an untrue version of political issues. I have seen people make a blatant statements regarding an article, video, or speech of a political figure or issue. Astonished, I look into the matter further, often to find a misstatement or a spreading of the truth. Which in all honesty, is fully intended to stir up conflict! Thus, creating more hate and tension! In a world with an over abundance of conflict, if Christian’s aren’t honest peace makers who deal with political issues in a Christ-like manner. Than, we’re all in trouble! In times like these I’m reminded of a verse.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
In order to deal with conflict, hate, and tensions in our world, country, and personal lives; It is essential to “speak the truth in love”! Speaking out of anger, frustration, bitterness, attention seeking, or ignorance…. Will only persist in offering more of the same! Spreading love requires a continual searching of our hearts and minds! Holding our heart and minds to God’s word and heart is the only way we can respond in a manner in which will better the world we all have to live in.”
“The definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting a different result!”
It will NOT work! It will only stir up the opposite of what is needed to make our world, country, churches, and personal lives, a more peaceful, joyous, and enjoyable place!
Food for thought!
By the way, This is the reason, I rarely post anything political or speak politics in my office! One day I will face the God of the universe and I will be responsible for my actions! Even what I post on Facebook! I certainly, don’t want to be responsible for stirring up ungodly hate and tension!
Am I perfect? Absolutely not! I have posted, said, or done things on the fly; with very little thought and paid spiritual and relational consequences. Experience is one of our loudest sources of understanding! Learn from experience and STOP repeating the same mistakes!
My motto: “Think (pray) before you speak! Think (pray) before you act! Think (pray) before you post!”
This motto has saved me a lot of unnecessary turmoil!
Speak, act, or post only when the Holy Spirit heeds; All while ensuring your actions align with God’s word!
My Bible reading for today, really spoke to me! Hope it comforts you too! God’s word has a way of reminding us that he is control and will hold the faithful up, even in the midst of trials! All while showing his love and compassion and protection! How he does this, is a wonderful mystery to me! Be blessed today friends! Love, Crystal
“Though you probe my heart”…. I love the idea of God “probing” my heart. God probes and searches our heart out of love and His desire for us to be refined and more like Christ! “Search my heart, O’ God, see if there is any wicked within me!” We should regularly ask God to search the deepest recesses of our heart and be teachable to the Holy Spirit. Satan is conniving and has a way of manipulating us into sin, has an impeccable way of veering is off of God’s holy and perfect plan for our lives! God’s perfect plan is the only way to find joy, peace, contentment and fulfillment on Earth! Be blessed today! Allow God to “probe” your heart today! Blessings! Crystal
The Flame Within 