Tag Archives: God

God’s Resolutions

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Happy New Year

At this ending of the year many are making resolutions to bring in the new.  Things like lose weight, exercise more, learn more, read more and on and on and on…  Interestingly these re-solutions to old problems last for only a few days, perhaps weeks at best.  As I thought about this it crossed my mind that God has SOLUTIONS and has spelled them out very plainly for us in His Word.  We only need to believe that He can and will do what He says He can.

10 Solutions from God (I have capitalized the solution.)

  1. DON’T WORRY, because I am with you.  DON’T BE AFRAID because I am your God, I will make you strong and will help you: I will support you with my right hand that saves you.          Isaiah 43:1-3
  2. The LORD’S LOVE never ends; His mercies never sop.  They are new every morning;  LORD, Your loyalty is great.  I say to myself, “The LORD is mine, so I hope in Him.”  The LORD is good to those who HOPE IN HIM, to those who SEEK HIM.     Lamentations 3:22-25
  3. COME TO ME, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you REST.  Accept my teachings and LEARN FROM ME, because I am gentle and humble in spirit, and you will find REST for your lives.   Matthew 11:28-29
  4. God will show His MERCY forever and ever to those who WORSHIP and SERVE HIM.    Luke 1:50
  5. The LORD your God is with you;  the mighty One will save you.  He will REJOICE over you.  You will REST IN HIS LOVE; He will sing and be joyful about you.   Zephaniah 3:17
  6. WAIT and TRUST the LORD.  DON’T BE UPSET when others get rich or when some else’s plans succeed.  DON’T GET ANGRY.  Don’t be upset; it only leads to trouble.   Psalm 37:7-8
  7. I tell you the truth, whoever HEARS what I say and BELIEVES in the One who sent Me has eternal life.  That person will not be judged guilty but has already left death and entered life.    John 5:24
  8. In Christ we can COME BEFORE GOD with freedom and WITHOUT FEAR.  We can do this through faith in Christ.  Ephesians 3:12
  9. Anyone who speaks should SPEAK WORDS FROM GOD.  Anyone who serves should SERVE WITH THE STRENGTH GOD GIVES so that in everything God will be praised through Jesus Christ.  Power and glory belong to Him forever and ever.     1 Peter 4:11
  10. Let the teaching of Christ live in you richly.  Use all wisdom to teach and instruct each other by SINGING psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with THANKFULNESS in your hearts to God.  Everything you do or say should be done to OBEY JESUS your Lord.  And in all you do, GIVE THANKS to God the Father through Jesus.       Colossians 3:16-17

There are so many solutions in the Word it was hard to choose just 10.  That really is the gist of this short article…the solutions are in the Word.  I hope that every believer will spend more time this year, in the Bible, searching for God’s Solutions.

Heavenly Father, my One and Only, You alone are worthy of my praise.  How can I ever give thanks often enough for the Words You have breathed on every page of the Bible.  Oh, Lord, help us all have an uncurable passion for You and Your Word.  I lift these words before the Throne in the Precious Name of Jesus.  Make it so!

Scriptural passages from The Holy Bible, New Century Version

I Wonder As I Wander

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I Wonder As I Wander is one of the most beautiful of all Christmas Hymns.  It was originally published in Songs of the Hill Folk in 1934.  It tells of the longing to understand why Jesus came to earth for each one of us.  The haunting melody speaks of that lonely longing so many Believers experience at this time of year.

John Jacob Niles, who created the melody and penned most of the words based the song on a fragment of a song he had heard while attending an evangelistic meeting in the mountains.  In his own words…

A girl had stepped out to the edge of the little platform attached to the automobile. She began to sing. Her clothes were unbelievable dirty and ragged, and she, too, was unwashed. Her ash-blond hair hung down in long skeins…. But, best of all, she was beautiful, and in her untutored way, she could sing. She smiled as she sang, smiled rather sadly, and sang only a single line of a song.                                  Pen, Ron. “I Wonder as I Wander”. A Kentucky Christmas (George Ella Lyon, editor). University Press of Kentucky (2003), p200–201. ISBN 0-8131-2279-1.

I can see the shadows and shapes of the dark Appalachian Mountains as I listen to this beautiful piece of music.  I can almost hear the Heavenly Hosts singing…Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, goodwill toward men!   –Luke 2:14

http://youtu.be/jQqp6hpBpd8

Heavenly Father, during this waiting time, the Advent of Jesus return, keep me mindful that the loneliness I sometimes feel is Your Spirit within waiting to be rejoined with You.  As I anticipate with great joy Your return not as a Baby but as my Redeemer grant me the peace that comes from knowing that You are my One and Only.  Glory be to God in the Highest!

Showing God’s Face on Facebook

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I truly enjoy Facebook.  Communicating with friends and family over long distances when I can’t personally visit is great.  Having private pages for family, church, and prayer groups is an awesome tool.  I have laughed, cried, been overjoyed and frustrated.  Yes, I even relax playing Farmville ($7,000,000 farm) and Mahjohng. 

I’ve been seeing a lot of negative, untrue, vicious, profane posts and wonder why I would see some of these things from anyone, including believers.  Is it because people think that because it’s in cyberspace it’s not real?  Get real!  Did you know that Twitter allows the Library of Congress to record every open Tweet for historical purposes?  Do we realize that negative, untrue, and mean posts hurt just as much as the spoken word?  Are we aware that the computer, games, even social sites like Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, etc. can replace the One and Only God as a god?

God has some very good Rules that really do apply.  Let’s take a look…

Exodus 20: 3   You shall have no other gods before Me…that includes Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, online games, chatting…anything that takes the place of God in our lives.

Exodus 20:7  You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.   How many OMG’s do you see or even hear daily?

Exodus 20:16  You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.  Basically, don’t lie about anyone.  That certainly includes political postings.

Ah, Lord, God, every perfect gift comes from above.  You have given us the knowledge and ability to create the internet and new forms of technology.  Help us, Lord, to use them for Your glory and for furthering the Kingdom on earth.  This prayer is lifted in the precious name of Jesus.   Make it so!

Attention!

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attention icon.

How does God get your attention?  Does He quietly grab you in the calm of a new morning?  Does He speak through another person on a life issue?  Does He give you a ‘DeNozo’ (a tap on the head to say – – really?!)

Why does He need to get our attention?  In the day-to-day stuff of living we tend to start depending on ourselves to much and He needs to remind us who is really in control.  Through the phone ringing, dishes, laundry, taking the cat to the vet, mowing the lawn, waiting in line, daily issues He wants us to remember He is there.

So, then, how do we react?  Are we angry, irritated, grouchy, grumpy….  When these attention grabbing issues happen we often display whatever is in our hearts/minds at that point.  Proverbs 23:7 reminds us that what we think is who we are.  Jesus said in Luke 6:45 that a man speaks out of the nature of the heart.

Long Lines for the Bus

Do we consider these reminders of God’s control as a part of our daily joy?  James 1:2 says to consider it pure joy when we face trials of any kind.  Imagine what might happen if you’re having one of those days where the irritations start upon waking and just continue to pile up and you remember to ‘consider it pure joy’.  Would that change our behavior, demeanor, and attitude?  Hm-m-m-m-m–m-m

More than anything God wants us to become totally dependent on Him for every one of life’s issues.  He wants us to come to Him when we’re tired of the drama and the interruptions.  He is waiting to hear every good and bad part of our day.   He wants us!

Almighty, Most Holy Father,  my life is Yours.  I place all my good and bad in Your hands.  Take control of all today’s issues.  Let me find joy in everything that will happen.  Let me know Your Presence.  Keep me connected to You in every part of this day.  Make it so!

Staying Power

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Luke 15:4  “Remain in Me, and I in you.”  Remain, stay, abide, survive, (to) last.  These words reflect the power in the concept of this verse.  When I am connected to my Jesus, He is connected to me.  While I am waiting on Him, He is waiting with me.

A beautiful, old hymn says this very well:                                                         Abide with me, fast falls the eventide;                                                            The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.                                                   When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,                                                       Help of the helpless, O abide with me.                                                              I need Thy presence every passing hour;                                                         What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?                                     Who like Thyself my guide and stay can be?                                             Through cloud and sunshine, O abide with me.

Stay with God…through dishes, dust, and laundry…and watch the Spirit show up.                                                                                                           Stay with God…through hurts, losses, cruel words, and sadness of this world…and watch the Spirit show up.                                                            Stay with God…when there is not enough time to do it all…and watch the Spirit show up.                                                                                                 Stay with God…                                                                                       Heavenly, glorious Father, I want to stay with You no matter what.  Walk with me and teach me, guide me, forgive me, and make me more like You.  Make me aware of the Spirit throughout this day.  Keep me totally focused on You, my God and my King.  I lift this prayer in Jesus name…Make it so!