“You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.”  Psalm 32:7

Thought

Out of the attacks of evil come the victories of God and the victory chants of God’s people. Let’s find our strength and protection in our holy God! Let’s make God our hiding place, our source of security, and our hope in times of trouble.

Prayer

Father, thank you for the confidence I have in your power and your might to deliver me from every attack of the evil one. You are worthy of all glory, honor, power, and praise. In the name of your Son and my Lord, Jesus Christ, I thank you for deliverance and praise you for you might. Amen.

By Phil Ware
Used by Permission

From: Phil’s daily devotionals on https://www.verseoftheday.com

The post Hiding Place appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Hebrews 13:20,21

Hebrews is a rich book that elevates Jesus as the One who is superior over all, who is to be trusted wholeheartedly and followed faithfully. His once and for all sacrifice is a permanent, gracious offer of forgiveness. He will never abandon us, and he is worthy of our full allegiance. He is the ultimate revelation of God’s love.

The revelation and the challenges of Hebrews culminate in this blessing from the writer. He asks that this God of peace — this One who made an eternal covenant of commitment and promise through Jesus’ death and resurrection and who is the supreme Shepherd of all who follow him — equip us with everything needed to do his will.

This God who is supreme over all, who paid the ultimate price, who sealed the covenant with his own blood, is now alive and able to shepherd us. He is the One who is able and willing to equip us with everything good for doing his will. He aligns our lives with his and works within our character to shape us. All this is done through Jesus Christ.

Will you ask him to equip you with everything good for doing his will? Will you invite him to work within you what is pleasing to him? Will you rely on Jesus Christ and remain faithful to him?

May all glory for our lives point to him for ever and ever. Amen.

Jesus, you are supreme over all. You are the One deserving of my wholehearted devotion and I want all glory for my life to be given to you. Please equip me with everything good for doing your will. Align my heart with yours. I invite you to work within me whatever is pleasing to you. I rely on your power to change me. For your glory and honor! Amen!

By Donna Mitchell
Used by Permission

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“For all the animals of the forest are mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird on the mountains and all the animals of the field are mine.”  Psalm 50.10-11

When I pray, do I pray as if my God owns the cattle on a thousand hills?  Or more like He has a few coins in his pocket He can give me?  Do I really believe my God is resource rich or hopelessly poor?

If you were to hear my prayers you might think the latter.

I find myself praying hesitantly, crossing my fingers and hoping that God will answer.  I don’t ask for too much and I rarely step out in faith believing He will answer.  It isn’t really that I don’t believe God can do what I’m asking but more will He do it?  But, is this just an excuse so that I don’t look like a fool when God doesn’t come through for me?  I wonder . . .

How does God wish I would pray?  What is His heart’s desire?

I confess my tendency to put God in a box.  I want Him Small. Convenient. Controllable.  I want Him to wipe away my tears, love me unconditionally and soften the jagged edges of my life.  I don’t want Him to ask me to do something that makes me uncomfortable, or to go someplace I have no desire to go or put me out on a limb that might very well break!

But is that really what I want?  A God who is safe, mediocre and blasé?

I wonder . . . Would that God have even bothered to send His only Son to die for me so that I could have eternal life, true life?

It’s time to let God out of the box!

God is bigger than I will ever understand.  Greater than I can ever imagine and more powerful than a locomotive!  He’s my true Superhero!  So what is keeping me from praying Superhero prayers?

When I believe little, my prayers are little and God answers little.  When I believe BIG, my prayers are BIG and my God answers BIG.

My God owns the cattle on a thousand hills.  He knows every hair on my head.  He hung the stars in space and calls them each by name.  He formed the dry land with a word.  He tells the wind where to blow.  He never slumbers or sleeps.  He dresses the flowers and knows every bird.  He is intimately acquainted with all my ways.

God is out of my box!

Lord, I’m sorry for making you small.  You are so much more! . . . I want to spend the rest of my life discovering Your greatness.  Today, I’m letting You out of the box that I placed You in.  I want to believe Big because You are Big.  Teach me. I’m Yours. Amen.

by Kristi Huseby
Used by permission

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“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.”    Isaiah 5:20-21

Man has had a curious fascination with evil from the beginning. In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve had a full knowledge of goodness because they had a very close relationship with the all-good God. Goodness was written on their hearts and they had never sinned.

Eve believed the lie from Satan that evil would not harm them and that God was keeping something good from them. And so, she took of the fruit and offered it to Adam, who also ate it. Immediately, they entered the realm of evil. They came face to face with God who alone is Goodness. Nothing would ever be the same for them.

Who are you, a human with a sinful nature, to think you can draw near to evil and not be affected by it? How can you feel safe being anywhere near it? Look closely at Adam and Eve in their perfection before they disobeyed God. Ponder the outcome for the devil as he fell in his pride as described in Isaiah 14:12-15.

Where will your end be if you seek after evil? You were taught differently when you came to Him and your understanding isn’t darkened anymore by the lie that He is keeping you from something good.

Father, we pray that you would deliver us from evil. Thank you for the Holy Spirit who helps us in our weakness. Give us help in the hour of testing to put all our trust in you alone. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 By Rich Vega
Used by Permission

Rich also write for :  www.thelife.com/dailydevotions

Learn more about knowing Jesus at: https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/four-laws/

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“The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.”  James 3:17-18

Thoughts on Today’s verse

Now I know why righteousness is so hard to find: there aren’t many sowers! Heavenly wisdom is full of sacrificial earthly action. That’s a powerful reminder to me that wisdom is not what you know but what you sow!

Prayer:

Holy and Wise Father, thank you for demonstrating purity, peace making, consideration, submissiveness, mercy, good fruit, impartiality, and sincerity in Jesus. I ask for the power and the courage to demonstrate those qualities this week as I seek to live more like him. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

by Phil Ware
Used by Permission

From: https://www.verseoftheday.com

The post Heavenly Wisdom appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man whom You discipline and instruct, O Lord, and teach out of Your law, that You may give him power to keep himself calm in the days of adversity.” Psalm 94:12-13 (AMP)

As I take a look at our key scripture, I am reminded of God’s love for us.

We are truly fortunate to have a Father that disciplines and instructs us. It is our job to be teachable and make sure we are paying attention.

This verse also stresses that the Lord gives us power to keep ourselves calm in the days of adversity. I believe it is a direct result of what we learn from the wisdom God gives in His Word. It is good to know that our God is strategic. Everything He does has purpose.  Nothing that we encounter surprises Him. He uses the hardships of our journey to mold us into a vessel that is pleasing to Him.

When you are faced with difficult issues take time to consult the Word of God. It is through His word that we find the ammunition that is needed to keep us firmly planted as the pressures of life mount. My prayer for you today is that you will begin to desire the sincere milk of the Word. Allow it to strengthen you in your everyday walk. Be teachable as the Lord to trains and instructs you in the way that you should go. It will be well with you.

Father your word teaches us that we can trust you in our daily lives. I pray that we will take the time needed to learn the lessons that you are teaching us. I pray that we will be students of your word, desiring your word as our necessary food. Amen.

How do you handle life’s difficult issues?

By Mary Pinckney
Used by Permission

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There are two things I’ve been telling myself a lot lately…

* You’re stronger than you feel.
* You don’t have to have everything figured out right now.

I’ve never really had a mantra, but maybe now I do because I can tell you these two sentences have helped me breathe a little easier.

Not because of anything I’ve tried to do, but because of what I know God can do.

On those really rough days when I feel like everything might cave in on me, I remind myself that how I feel can’t always be trusted.

How I feel and what I know to be true don’t always line up.

I might feel weak, but I know God is strong.

When I feel defeated, I know God is never defeated.

“He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.” Isaiah 40:28b-29 NLT

I’m stronger than I feel because God’s strength never runs out.

How I feel depends on what I can see and what I know, but God knows what I don’t. He’s not surprised by events or taken off guard. He knows what’s coming next. He sees it all.

I’m stronger than I feel because God is in control. Every day. All the time. Which means I don’t have to have it all figured out. And what a relief that is because no matter how hard I try, I just can’t.

But God can. He is in the details. No matter how big or small, God knows every bit of His plans.

When I don’t see any possible way, God knows the way.

What looks impossible to me is never impossible for God.

He weaves all the details of life together in ways we can’t imagine or understand. But in ways that astound us and leave us in awe.

I don’t have to have everything figured out before I take the next step because God does have it figured out. He knows where He’s leading me. I just have to follow.

I’m stronger than I feel because God is stronger than I could ever be. And I don’t have to figure it all out because He already has it figured out. Down to the very last detail.

His plan. His way. And His peace that passes all understanding.

“The Lord gives his people strength.
The Lord blesses them with peace.”
Psalms 29:11 NLT

By Laura Rath
used by Permission

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The problem is not that God hasn’t spoken but that we haven’t listened.

Imagine your reaction if I were to take a telephone book, open it up, and proclaim, I have found a list of everyone who’s on welfare! Or what if I said, Here is a list of college graduates! Or, This book will tell us who has a red car. You’d probably say, “Now wait a minute, that’s not the purpose of that book. You’re holding a telephone book. Its purpose is simply to reveal the name and number of residents of a city during a certain time frame.”

Only by understanding its purpose can I accurately use the telephone book. Only by understanding its purpose can I accurately use the Bible!

The purpose of the Bible is simply to proclaim God’s plan to save his children. It asserts that man is lost and needs to be saved. And it communicates the message that Jesus is the God in the flesh sent to save his children.

Though the Bible was written over sixteen centuries by at least forty authors, it has one central theme – salvation through faith in Christ. Begun by Moses in the lonely desert of Arabia and finished by John on the lonely Isle of Patmos, it is held together by a strong thread: God’s passion and God’s plan to save his children.

What a vital truth! Understanding the purpose of the Bible is like setting the compass in the right direction. Calibrate it correctly and you’ll journey safely. But fail to set it, and who knows where you’ll end up.

What do you Want?

By Max Lucado
From: Let the Journey Begin: God’s Road map for New Beginnings
Used by permission.

To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:    
https://maxlucado.com/about-max/

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“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

Just about the time I think I am getting “tech savvy,” I get some new electronic device to figure out. It is incredible what these things can do, but the challenge is in getting them to do it.

Toyota recently announced that two new positions are being created in every dealership across the land to assist new car buyers in figuring out how to use the electronics in their new cars. I think they are called Electronic Usability Specialists or something like that.

New gadgets are designed to make life easier, but somehow they tend to make it more complicated. I have a hard time just remembering all of my passwords, much less how to use them.

One thing that hasn’t changed over the years is the simplicity of the Gospel. It is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and will be for evermore. It isn’t complicated and doesn’t have to be.

Here’s how one of the greatest theologians of all time, Charles Haddon Spurgeon expressed it.

“God be thanked for the simplicity of the gospel. The longer I live, the more I bless God that we have not received a classical gospel, nor a mathematical gospel, nor a metaphysical gospel; it is not a gospel confined to scholars and men of genius, but a poor man s gospel, a ploughman’s gospel; for that is the kind of gospel which we can live upon and die upon. It is to us not the luxury of refinement, but the staple food of life. We want no fine words when the heart is heavy, neither do we need deep problems when we are lying upon the verge of eternity, weak in body and tempted in mind. At such times we magnify the blessed simplicity of the gospel. Jesus in the flesh made manifest becomes our soul’s bread. Jesus bleeding on the cross, a substitute for sinners, is our soul’s drink. This is the gospel for babes, and strong men want no more.”

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9).

It doesn’t get much more simple than that and doesn’t have to be.
(a thought on life from John Grant )

by John Grant
Used by permission
John Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney

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“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you… In God I trust and am not afraid.” Psalm 56:3 and 11

Paradox: a statement or tenet contrary to received opinion or belief, especially one that is incredible, absurd or fantastic.

The psalmist is quick to admit that fear stalks his path. He says that his “enemies are in hot pursuit.”  He acknowledges that he is miserable, that he weeps. And in the middle of his fear, he chooses to put his trust in God.

Choosing. That’s the key. Author Stephen Macchia relates the story of his friend, Joanna (who) “is one of the most lovingly disciplined women of God that I have ever met.” He quotes his friend thusly: “The disciplines of choosing to live by faith and practicing the presence of God lead naturally into the disciplines of living a life of gratitude, a lifestyle of forgiveness and the ongoing willingness to wait patiently for Him to work in our lives in ways that please and honor him.”*

We choose to trust when we are afraid. As we trust we are not afraid. The beautiful paradox of trust!

From:*Becoming a Healthy Disciple

by Marilyn Ehle
Used by permission

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“‘One thing you lack,’ he [Jesus] said. ‘Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’ At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.”  Mark 10:21-22

This story used to confuse me. The young man had tried to follow the Ten Commandments. So why does Jesus discourage him by telling him he has to give away all he owned? Are we to do that as well?

I have heard a few stewardship sermons lean in that direction, but that doesn’t sit right with me. On the other hand, modern prosperity preaching that claims good Christians will receive riches galore as a reward doesn’t sound correct either.

Now, having lived life a lot more, I get it. Jesus knows where our priorities lie. Wealth meant the world to this young man. It was his status symbol and probably a source of pride since he’d achieved riches at such a young age. A biblical Bill Gates.

Jesus actually asked him to release his pride. The first commandment states that we should not put anything above God. So when the young man said, “All these I have kept since a boy” (Mark 10:20), Jesus knew the guy was mistaken. He had broken the very first one.

What if Jesus asked you to give up your prize possession, be it something material, another person, or perhaps an attribute? Remember everything belongs to God anyway. He has blessed you with all the things you cherish and the means to achieve them. It’s all in your attitude. The first step is to hand everything to him in faith and let him show you how to utilize or treat each one.

“Dear Lord, help me to place my priorities in your capable and loving hands. Everything belongs to you and I am just a steward of it. Help me to use what you give wisely and to the benefit of others before it becomes a source of pride for me. Amen.”

By Julie Cosgrove
Used by Permission

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“ You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its remotest parts And said to you, `You are My servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you.  Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’  Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored; Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.” Isaiah 41:9-11

Loneliness is a painful emotion that many people fear. Paul knew what it felt like, so his life and letters can offer us encouragement when we’re lonely. Yesterday we saw how the apostle was motivated by the presence of Christ. Now let’s look at what fueled His courage.

First, Paul experienced the strength of God. Often, the Lord allows us to come to the end of our own ability so that we clearly see His hand. Otherwise, we would attribute success to our own doing. For example, the apostle was facing possible death charges in court, and it must have been tempting to water down the truth in order to save his own life. But God enabled him to be forthright in once again proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ—fearlessly, boldly, and effectively.

Second, Paul knew he was fulfilling God’s will. Despite his dire situation, the apostle found satisfaction, energy, and joy because he was obedient to God. The believer’s reality is bigger than what meets the eye in the imminent moment.

Remember, even in painful circumstances, three truths are certain: Jesus stands with us; He strengthens us for whatever task our Father wants us to accomplish; and until our final breath, He will enable us to fulfill God’s purpose. Be comforted and encouraged by these promises of the living Lord.

By Dr. Charles Stanley
used by Permission

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