Psalm 20:4 - God makes our hearts desires and His plan for our lives one and the same

“May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your purpose.”

Psalm 20:4

God wants to grant you your heart’s desires. He is a good, loving Father and He takes pleasure in blessing you. Just as you take pleasure in blessing your wife, husband, children, grandchildren, and those you love. God also wants you to fulfill the purpose He has for your life. He has a plan and a purpose for your life. Your life has meaning. There’s things He wants to do and accomplish in this world through you to touch this world for Jesus Christ. One of the nice things that I have come to know about growing in the Lord is that your personal, heartfelt desires and His purpose for your life become one and the same as you have become one with the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. This is so exciting. This isn’t true about everyone, but to those that have crucified the flesh and its desires it is.

Father, Psalm 37:4 says “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” We thank You for all the many times you have given us the desires of our hearts. Thank You for being such a good, loving Father. You are the best! Fulfill your plan and purpose in our lives. Accomplish things in this world through us for the glory of Your Son. We want to touch this world for Jesus Christ. May our personal, heartfelt desires and Your purpose for our lives be one and the same. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. 

Psalm 4:3 - He Has Set Apart for Himself Him Who Is Godly

“But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly; the Lord will hear when I call to Him.”

Psalm 4:3

God has set the godly apart for Himself. The godly conform to His laws and wishes. They are devout, pious. They are devoted to the Lord and worship and revere Him with all their being. Their lives flourish. Psalm 92:12 says that “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree.” They live a quiet and peaceable life. 1 Timothy 2:2 says “that all may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.” They try to do what is right all the time as they want to please Him. They want to live a godly life. They have faith. They are patient. They are gentle and winsome.1 Timothy 6:11 says that God wants us to flee evil and “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, [and] gentleness.” And because of these things the Lord hears their prayers. The godless are just the opposite. They are sinful, wicked and evil. They do what their flesh desires to do all the time. They don’t acknowledge Jesus’ lordship in their lives and resist the Lord (and His Holy Spirit) when He tries to do a work in them that would make them godly. 2 Timothy 3:5 says that they have “a form of godliness” but deny its power in their lives. It even goes on to say “from such people turn away!” Remember, you are very special! You are set apart for Him. Live a godly life, one that has no regrets. You will be happier that way for God blesses the righteous, but His curse is upon the wicked. Proverbs 3:33 says “The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked, but He blesses the home of the just.” Be happy. Be blessed.

 Our Heavenly Father, whom we love and adore. May we lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. May we purse righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. May we allow You to do a work in us making us more godly, like Christ. Bless our individual lives as well as our homes. Thank You for setting us apart for You. Thank You also for hearing our prayers. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Galatians 2:20 - God wants to live in and through us

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and by the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Galatians 2:20

We are Christ’s representatives. Christ wants to live in and through us. He wants us to invite and allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. God doesn’t want us to be casual Christians. He doesn’t want us to live lukewarm lives. Many Christians today are just this way. They attend church, pray once in a while, read the bible every now and then, and think they are right with God. These things are good, but God wants so much more. He wants us to have a daily relationship with Him. He wants us to think of Him all the time. He wants to walk with us and talk with us while we are on our merry ways. He wants to be our very best friend and constant guide and companion. He wants to live, abide and dwell in us. He even wants to live His life through us. He wants to use our spiritual eyes, spiritual ears, hands and feet to make a difference in the lives of those around us. He has given each of us gifts and abilities and we are to use those gifts for Him. God doesn’t force us to allow Him to flow through us. He works only by invitation. He won’t overstep the boundaries of our free will. Make a decision today to allow Him to flow through you. You can do this by faith. If you do this, you will find the abundant life He has promised for you.

Father, we are so blessed. The God that created the world loves us. You sent Jesus to earth as a babe to forgive us of all our sins and to reconcile mankind with Himself. This is absolutely amazing. And to think that You have sent Your Holy Spirit to abide within us is almost too much for us to comprehend. But You have done just that. You want to live in us and You want to live through us. You don’t force Yourself on us. You work only by invitation. Today, by faith,  we invite You to do just that. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.     

Galatians 5:22 - The fruit of the Spirit

“But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

Galatians 5:22-23

The fruit of the Spirit is the evidence of the God’s Holy Spirit in a person’s life. The closer you get to Christians who truly walk in the Spirit, the better they look and the more you want to be around them. You can see that they walk in love and they love others immensely. They are joyful. They are longsuffering and patient. They are kind. They are good. They are faithful. They are gentle. They exercise self-control. These are the people that you see Jesus in. And because of their walk with Christ others can see and know that He is real. They radiate integrity and you know that you can trust them. They aren’t perfect, but then they don’t claim to be. They are the “real deal” and readily admit their shortcomings and ask for forgiveness when they have done wrong. Oh, how His people need to be filled with the fruits of His Spirit. May God cause His fruits to increase in our lives, all to the glory of Him.

Father, You are the producer of the fruits of the Spirit, we are merely the bearers. May You produce Your fruits in our lives. We are dependent on You. Do a good work in us. May we be sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit so others can see You and Your fruits in our lives. We want to be people of integrity. We want to be the “real deal.” We want others to trust us. We want to bring glory to You. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Psalm 55:22 - Do your best to get out of the pit

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.”

Psalm 55:22

Anxiety is not good. It destroys our peace, clouds our perception, consumes our thinking, causes mental agony, and takes away our joy. It is during these times that we need to cast our burdens on the Lord. His Word tells us that if we do this He shall sustain us and we won’t be moved. Have you ever cast your burdens on the Lord only to pick them up again? Sometimes casting our burdens on the Lord is a struggle and very hard to do. It is hard for us to let go. It is hard for us to get those thoughts and problems out of our minds. But we must fight and war in the spirit. We are in a spiritual battle. We need to pick up our spiritual weapons and use them. We can pray in the Spirit at the Spirit’s leading, we can praise and worship Him, we can seek His face, and we can cling to His Word and use it. The enemy would like nothing more than to keep us in a pit. Don’t wallow in that pit. Get up out of it. I know that I had to do this just today. There was a situation that popped up. A couple of us prayed about about the decision and asked for wisdom in what to do. The Lord was good and gave us wisdom. But just knowing that someone was “stewing inside” and not happy kept me down and all I wanted to do was to lay in bed and ponder the situation over and over again. It was like I was in a pit and couldn’t do anything. Finally, I decided once and for all to give it all to the Lord and to trust Him for the outcome and for taking care of someone’s heart and attitude. I grabbed my devotionals and read them, praised the Lord in song, prayed in the Spirit at the Spirit’s leading, etc. I found out that He is faithful and He did sustain me. I also found out that He wouldn’t allow me to be moved. I don’t know if you are anxious today. But if you are anxious and if you are in a pit do your best to get up out of it. Use your weapons. They are mighty!

 Father, we know that anxiety is not good. It destroys our peace in You, clouds our perception and spiritual eyes, consumes our thinking, causes mental agony, and takes away our joy. Lord, You do not desire this for us. May we cast our burdens on You once and for all. You are trustworthy and we can trust You with everything. We can trust You with the outcomes. You know what is best for everyone. Do a work, Lord. May we not be moved. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Psalm 42:1-2a - Jesus wants to quench our thirst

“As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”

Psalm 42:1-2a

God’s greatest desire for us is for us to be closely related to Him. He made us to thirst for Him as a deer thirst for water. He wants to quench our thirst. John 7:37-38 says “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” Notice we drink from Jesus. It says “come to Me and drink.” From the water that we drink (from Jesus Himself) comes rivers of living water. It says “out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” We will automatically spill out to others as He has spilled out to us. It doesn’t depend on our gifts, talents, skills, college education, abilities, personalities, or looks. It’s all Him and it comes from His blessed Holy Spirit. Colossians 2:7 says “Let your roots grow down into Him and draw up nourishment from Him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all He has done.” Go to the Lord. Listen to Him. Watch for Him. You will find life and obtain favor from the Lord. Proverbs 8:34-35 says “Blessed is the man who listens to Me. Watching daily at My gates, waiting at the posts of My doors. For whoever finds Me finds life. And obtains favor from the Lord.”  Don’t think about what you can do for Christ, but never underestimate what He can do through you. J

Father, as the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants our souls for You. May we come to You daily and drink. May rivers of living water flow from us. May our roots grow down into You and draw up nourishment from You, so we will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth we were taught. May our lives overflow with thanksgiving for all You have done. May come to You regularly. May we listen to You. May we watch for You. May we find life and obtain favor from You, Lord. May we not worry about what we can do for You, but may You do great things through us. We want our lives to bring glory to Your name. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Psalm 119:133 - Sin is Not your Master

“Direct my steps by Your Word, and let no iniquity have dominion over me.”

Psalm 119:133

I was blessed with quite a lot of time in God’s presence today. I did my devotionals, prayed, and read God’s Word. I even told the Lord, “Not my agenda today, but Yours.” I was in His presence for a long time before I felt led to do anything. And when I did I rejoiced when I came across these words “Direct my steps by Your Word, and let no iniquity have dominion over me” (Psalm 119:333). I was looking for Him to direct my steps and my hearts desire was that no iniquity have any dominion over me today as well. As I shared earlier I had lost 70 pounds and then recently I have gained 50 of those pounds back. It’s my own fault. I ate to my hearts delight. Gluttony is a sin and I know I need deliverance over that. Thank God I was able to exercise self-control yesterday. And I thank God for He is helping me to exercise self-control today. I know that I could not stay on track on my own. He is being kind and is giving me scriptures to help me battle my flesh. Today he gave me Psalm 119:133. He also gave me Luke 11:4 “…And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” You may not be having a problem in the area of your eating. Your sin may be different. Maybe you battle with idolatry, anger, greed, pride, bitterness, unforgiveness, gossiping, jealousy, envy, etc. Confess these things as sin to Him and ask Him for His deliverance from those sins. He is mighty and He is able. These scriptures can apply to your situation as well. Hide His Word in your heart. It is alive and His Word inside of you will do a work in your heart and life. We can’t change ourselves, but He has the power to change us and deliver us from all our sin. Christ died not only to forgive us of our sins, but to break sins control from our lives. We are not to be slaves to sin, we are to be slaves to righteousness. Praise God for that!

Father, direct our steps by Your Word. Let no iniquity have dominion over us. May we not be slaves to sin, but slaves to righteousness. May we hide Your Word inside of us and may it be alive in us so we do not sin against You. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.