Tag: Bible

Be Encouraged

1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

I have had a couple of weeks. We all do from time to time. The pressures of life start to pile up and you start to feel overwhelmed, depressed, or anxious. You may find yourself in deep thought, disconnecting from others because you are frozen in fear or indecision.  Or you may submerge yourself into every project you can find just to avoid thinking about what is really going on. But then, God….

God sees you. God knows what is going on in your mind and in your life. He cares about what you are dealing with and wants to help you. How? Through His word (the Bible) and through His people. In Jeremiah 29:12-13 it says “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 seek me with all your heart.” Isn’t that encouraging to know? That God listens to you and when you seek Him, you will find Him.

The Bible also says in 1Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” God uses His people to intervene in other people’s lives. God puts people in your path that either need encouraging or can encourage you. This encouragement from God will build you up. I received a card on Friday from a dear lady with a compassionate heart and a loving soul. She noticed that I was troubled a few weeks ago and sent words of encouragement to me. The card arrived at just the right time. God’s timing. When I read what she wrote it took my breath away. She wrote just what I needed to hear. Spoke to exactly what I was struggling with. There is no doubt in my mind that God was behind it.  God sees me and encourages me.

Thank you, God, for your perfecting timing and for your words of encouragement. Thank you for your promise to listen when I pray. Fill me with your Holy Spirit so that I may be guided to be an encouragement to others. Amen

Light My Path

Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Navigating through life is not easy to do. Everyday you make hundreds of little decisions about where to go and what to do. Decisions about how to react to things that happen to you, decisions about how to treat others, decisions between doing what is right and doing what is wrong.

The world we live in today tells us to do whatever makes us happy. If you can make more money or it feels good, you should do it! If someone else gets hurt in the process, well that is unfortunate for them. It seems like the world’s moral compass is broken.

So, do not look to the world for guidance. Turn to God. Psalm 119:105 says that God’s word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. When the world says, “Do it”, what does God’s word say? Check for yourself. Study the Bible. When you spend time with God’s word, you will be able to see clearly and stay on the right path.

Heavenly Father, thank you for your precious word and for lighting the path that you want me to follow. Amen.

Technology and The Bible

Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ. (NLT)

Technology.  I don’t understand how an image that is 100, 500, or even 1,000 miles away can reappear on my computer screen in my bedroom.  I don’t understand how it works, but it brings me so much joy.  I am comforted by it.  I can see and hear my Mom and Day and know that they are safe.  I can sing Happy Birthday to my sister and see her excitement. 

I can share technology with other people and they can experience the same range of emotions too.  In that way, technology is like the Word of God.  When I read the Bible, I am comforted by the words I read.  I can share God’s word and I see it bring joy to other people too.  Simple words that individually are just words put together brings happiness and comfort to me every day.  I honestly don’t understand how it happens.  But I still want to share it.  I want other people to feel the same way, have the same experience. 

My soul is filled up.  Don’t you want to feel that way too?  Don’t you want that empty feeling to go away?  The only way to do that is through the Word of God.  Everything else is temporary. The Word of God will fill the empty space permanently.  It will bring you peace, and forgiveness, and a joy that you will want to share with other people too.  Jesus did all the hard work while he was here on earth.  When he left, he left the Holy Spirit here to help us.  Open your heart to hear God’s Word and the Holy Spirit will do the rest.

Don’t have a Bible?  No problem. I’m sure you have a smart phone.  All you have to do is download the YouVersion Bible App (which is FREE) and click on Plans.  Then search for “Gateway”.  In the search results you will see “Fresh Start Bible One-Year Reading Plan”.  Click on that and then click “Start Plan”.  You can read the Bible by yourself or you can read it with friends.  The best thing about the YouVersion Bible App is that you can click a button (it’s at the top of the screen on my phone) that looks like a little speaker with sound coming out of it.  If you click on it, it will read the Bible verses to you.  SA-WEET!

Dear Lord, thank you for the people that created the technology we use everyday to stay connected to our loved ones.  Encourage me daily to use the same technology to dive into your word.  Amen.

How does God speak to you?

Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Have you ever heard someone say that they were talking to God and he gave them a word? What does that even mean? Did they hear an audible voice that said something like, “Hey Debra, I have a word for you today?” No, of course not. It would be nice if God lit a bush on fire like he did with Moses or spoke directly to you in a dream like he did with Joseph, but that is not usually how it works. 

It’s a good desire to want to hear God’s voice. But many times, we make it out to be a lot more mysterious and harder than it should be, because we look to the wrong places for God’s voice. It is actually very simple. The Bible is where God’s voice can be heard. So, if you want to listen to God’s voice, then you need to read God’s word.

I suggest that you set aside 30 minutes in the morning or evening and call it your quiet time. Protect this time. Add it to your calendar. Create a special space for your quiet time and let everyone in your household know that you have set aside this particular time of the day to seek the Lord. Then start off with a short devotional, a Bible reading and then prayer journaling. God’s Word will pop up to address your prayer concerns. Sometimes immediately, sometimes over time. But it’s those breakthrough moments that are the incredible miracles that cement our faith and cause us to crave more time with Him.  I read a quote online that said, “I was praying, talking to God and then I opened my Bible and God won’t stop talking to me!”

Heavenly Father, thank you for giving me the Bible so that I can hear your voice.  Please help me to set up a quiet time so that I can hear from you every day.  Amen