Searching for Significance

^{“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are Mine! “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.}

Isaiah 43:1-2 (NASB – NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE)

Do you remember the hit song by Dean Martin, “You’re Nobody till Somebody Loves You”? Such lyrics bottom-line our deepest concern. We want our lives to matter, to mean something. Our deepest fear is of coming and going—and nobody knowing! 

We strive with our lack of education, our spot on the financial totem pole, and our looks. That’s why it bothers us when a friend forgets to call, or a teacher forgets our name, or a colleague takes credit for something we have done. 

We crave attention, drop the names of important people in conversations, and put flashy hubcaps on our cars. Fashion designers tell us, “You’ll be somebody if you wear our jeans.” So we go out and spend half a paycheck on a pair of Italian jeans. But then—horror of horrors—the style changes from tight to baggy, faded to black, and we’re left wearing yesterday’s jeans, feeling like yesterday’s news. 

Simply stated: You can’t outsource significance. It’s an inside job. Your sense of significance must come from someone you trust, someone you know will never change, someone who knows the worst about you and always believes the best. And there’s only one such source: God. 

So read on: “Thus says the Lord, who created you…who formed you…Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned…For I am the Lord your God…you [are] precious in My sight” (vv. 1-4 NKJV).

God Heals our Wounds

Allow God to Heal Your Broken Heart and Bind Up Your Wounds!

Broken: reduced to fragments; fragmented; ruptured; torn; fractured; not functioning properly; out of working order. 

Is this how you feel?  Do you feel like your heart has been reduced to fragments? Ruptured, torn, fractured? IT REALLY HURTS!  It’s like your heart has been shattered into many pieces.  You may feel crippled emotionally and exhausted physically. Ask God to help you, to strengthen you and to heal you. Hand it all over to Him, trust in Him and allow Him into those broken places.

There is healing for the broken hearted.

God, who is the greatest Physician ever, will come in and perform heart surgery on you. Can you picture Him lovingly fitting all those little pieces back together again? God will mend your broken heart!

Healing is a process though, so try to be patient, it may take time, but God’s timing is always perfect.  He will heal you and strengthen you and perfect you.  Just open up your heart to Him and allow Him to do surgery on you.  

Read Psalm 147:3- He heals (to sew together or mend) the broken hearted and binds up their wounds

Read Isaiah 61:1-3  He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted

Read Jeremiah 30:16- But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,' declares the LORD, 'because you are called an outcast, Zion for whom no one cares.'

God loves you so much and He will take the time to personally reach down and bind up or bandage all your emotional wounds.

Beauty for Ashes (resource: Gen3x)

Where do we draw the line?

Ummm.....I believe when we do what pleases God, He is pleased.

Psalm 37:4-7

4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass . 6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. 7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass .

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Give Thanks to the Lord for HIs Mercy Endures Forever

Psalm 118

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
    His faithful love endures forever.

2 Let all Israel repeat:
    “His faithful love endures forever.”
3 Let Aaron’s descendants, the priests, repeat:
    “His faithful love endures forever.”
4 Let all who fear the Lord repeat:
    “His faithful love endures forever.”

5 In my distress I prayed to the Lord,
    and the Lord answered me and set me free.
6 The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear.
    What can mere people do to me?
7 Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me.
    I will look in triumph at those who hate me.
8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to trust in people.
9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to trust in princes.

Dear No One

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The Truth That Sets US Free

                 TO THE JEWS WHO HAD BELIEVED HIM, JESUS SAID, “IF YOU HOLD TO MY TEACHING, YOU ARE REALLY MY DISCIPLES. THEN YOU WILL KNOW THE TRUTH, AND THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE.”

JOHN 8:31-32 (NIV – NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION)

THE TRUTH THAT SETS US FREE

God desires the best for each of His children, but sometimes we become trapped in habits, thoughts, and negative emotions that interfere with His plans for us. However, Jesus offers us a way out. If we'll continue in His Word, we'll know the truth that sets us free from whatever is holding us in bondage.

To "continue" in the Word means to be consistently reading and applying it to our lives. Then we'll know what God says and be able to recognize the traps that threaten to ensnare us. What's more, we'll understand the benefits accompanying our salvation that enable us to stand firm in truth without being led astray. Those benefits include . . .

• Our position: Through faith in Christ, we've entered into a personal relationship with   

                          God. Now, as His children, we have ready access to His throne along  

                          with the assurance that He'll hear our prayers.

           

            • Our provision: God gave the Bible to guide and encourage us in all situations.

            • Our promises: By relying on the promises He has given us, we'll become partakers of           

                                        God's nature and escape the world's corrupting influence (2 Pet. 1:4).

          

            • Our protection: As we walk obediently with Christ, He strengthens and protects us so  

                                          we won't fall into the traps of the evil One (2 Thess. 3:3).

The first step to living in freedom is to recognize any sins, attitudes, or negative emotions that are dominating your life. Then get grounded in the truth of Scripture and claim God's promises and provisions by faith. He's ready to deal with any type of bondage the moment you cry out to Him for help.

This devotionals has been brought to you by Intouch ministries: http://www.intouch.org          

When God Shows It To You.....

“THEIR EYES WERE OPENED AND THEY RECOGNIZED HIM.”

              LUKE 24:31 (NIV – NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION)

WHEN GOD “SHOWS” IT TO YOU

One day Jesus touched the eyes of a blind man and he exclaimed, “I see men as trees, walking” (Mk 8:24). In other words, “I see something, but it’s not completely clear yet.” So Jesus touched him again, cleared his perceptions, removed his limitations, and set him free to become the man God made him to be.

Without a God-given vision you’ll stumble through life blind to who God is and what He can do; blind to who you are and what He can accomplish through you. Thomas Edison “saw” incandescent light before the first electric bulb ever glowed. It’s what sustained him through thousands of failed experiments. Bill Gates “saw” a PC in every office and home, while the so-called experts were busy announcing, “It’ll never happen in our lifetime.”

Forty years before Israel set foot in the Promised Land, Moses “saw” it (See Heb 11:27). God can be doing all sorts of things, yet you don’t see them because you’re spiritually blind. Remember the two disciples on the Emmaus Road? It was only after Jesus had walked with them for seven miles and explained the Scriptures to them that we read, “Their eyes were opened and they recognized him.”

When you begin to see God at work in your situation, your fear is diminished and your faith is strengthened. How does He reveal Himself? At church? Sometimes. But mostly He opens His Word and our understanding, and we start to see Him in a way we never have before. So today pray, “Open my eyes that I may see” (Ps 119:18 NIV).

Put Your Heart Into It

“I will bless the Lord at all times…” 

PSALMS 34:1 (NKJV)

Put Your Heart into It!

If you shout your lungs out at a ball game on Saturday but sit silent and subdued when it’s time to worship God on Sunday, maybe you’re more excited about sports than spiritual matters. Ouch! A great definition of worship is “worth-ship.”

What worth do you place on God and your relationship with Him? You say, “But sometimes I don’t feel like praising God.” Feelings have little to do with it! A good relationship isn’t based on emotion but on commitment. The Bible says, “Let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name” (Heb 13:15 NKJV).

Note the words “continually” and “sacrifice.” With God, the praise that costs is the praise that counts! Imagine someone with a good job, a good family, and good health praising the Lord in church. Now imagine somebody living alone, shut in by sickness, who raises his or her feeble arms and lifts their voice in praise. Which one do you think gets the highest marks? The Psalmist said, “From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised” (Ps 113:3).

This Psalmist scheduled praise-breaks throughout his day: “Seven times a day do I praise thee” (Ps 119:164). We have tea and coffee breaks; he had praise-breaks! If you want to change your environment and your attitude, start praising God throughout the day. Not only will you bless the Lord, He will bless you in a hundred and one different ways. Don’t take anybody else’s word for it—try it and see!

This devotionals has been brought to you by TVT ministries: http://www.TVT.tv       

This Devotional is in line with 6am Prayer today!!

"I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.”

JOB 23:12 (NIV – NEW INTERNATIONALS VERSION) 
The Bible Is—God Speaking to You

Psychologists are agreed on this point: people only keep doing what rewards them! So when Bible reading becomes unrewarding, we quit. As a result we feel guilty, and become spiritually weak and discouraged.

Your soul can no more thrive without God’s Word, than your body can thrive without a daily intake of food. The Bible says, “He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (Dt 8:3 NIV).

One of the dangers of the iPhone is that you begin to live on “hits” of information and short messages limited to 140 characters or less. This creates spiritual ADD (attention deficit disorder). God cannot be reduced to a limited word count or a few hurried moments in your day. To prosper, you must meditate day and night on the Scriptures (See Ps 1:1-3).

You say, “But I don’t have time to read the Bible.” How much time do you spend each day watching television? Hours? If you find television to be rewarding, but not God’s Word, your soul is in need of intensive care! If you want to change your life, change your habits and start reading the Bible. Job, who had more trouble than any of us will ever see, said, “I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.”

This devotionals has been brought to you by TCT ministries: www.tct.tv

National Thank You Month – January

“When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning light, for your life and strength. Give thanks for your food, and the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies with yourself.” Tecumseh, Shawnee Chief

 

 

 

As adults, we sometimes forget to be thankful.  We often focus on the difficulties and on the things that are not going right, and sometimes we lose sight of the things that are going well and the blessings that we have received.

 

 

 

Tips For Celebrating National Thank You Month:

• Make a list of all that you are thankful for in your worklife and personal life.  Be specific.  True blessings are the things in your life that resonate importance and touch your core.
• Look at that list when you are feeling down and use it to pick up your spirits and keep you moving forward

Life is never perfect and there are always more mountains to climb.  But remember what you have achieved and never forget the blessings that you have received along the way.

 
 
If you have some strategies to share – comment on this posting!