3.8.12

Psalms 51:4a Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;

My Thoughts

Wow oh wow! This says to me that we should treat every person in our lives, every person that we come in contact with just as if we are entertaining God. The devil is responsible for all the bad in the world. All the goodness in the world comes straight from God.  All love in the world comes from God! We are all created by God, He loves each and every one of us! We are a part of Him. When people mistreat us we need to send up prayers for them because the devil has used them for his evil. That mistreatment is the devil trying to get two people to sin by using one of them to create an angry situation.  When somebody loves us, when somebody is good to us it is a gift straight from God. When we are loving and kind we are allowing God to use us.  Even if the devil gets a hold of somebody else first and cause them to mistreat us, we should never allow the devil to use us by making us think we have "the right" to treat somebody the way they have treated us. I don't think we have to stand and be mistreated by somebody...but we don't ever have to act in a way that would make God sad with our actions either. 

One of the best examples I can think of is when somebody is angry or upset with us...and we can't see anything we have done wrong. If it were God standing in front of us we would say, no matter what the situation, "God I am so sorry that I did something that hurt you." We could, we are able to say that to the people we know, instead of getting on the defensive.  If we act in love, if we apologize even we have truly done nothing wrong, God will take care of the rest! God will put it in that person's heart... God will make sure all is right with us... if we make sure that we walk in God's love. If we treat people with kindness, respect and love. If we give people the benefit of the doubt always!  God will take care of the rest.

The thing is when people go about mistreating others..they are so in a place in their lives that the devil can get in and wreak havoc on their lives.. he has gotten them so out of control they no longer know right from wrong. Our loving response to them my be just the thing they need to set them back on track. We need to always treat people like who they are, Children of God... we need to treat each person  like we would if God himself were standing there in the flesh, holding their hand. That is just how we need to see each and every person, like the were standing there, with God, holding His hand. If we could see people that way, it would change forever how we acted toward everybody.

We may not can change the whole world with our actions... but we can change our world with our actions. If we change our world into goodness and love... people will see what we have and want it! We need to be a witness of God's love by how we live. We need to treat all that we do as if we are doing it for God Himself... because we are. What we do to others we do to God. If we can let this fact drop down into our spirits we will forever be changed. Oh and just imagine how wonderful that change will be!

3.7.12

Psalms 50:14-15 "Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep the vows you made to the Most High.  Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory."

My Thoughts

Make thankfulness our sacrifice!! We don't have to grow and feed and nurture a perfect lamb or bull to sacrifice to God... we just have to be thankful, truly thankful! We just have to remember to say "Thank you, God" and to keep our vows we make to God. That is all we have to do...so little compared to what the Children of Israel had to do! So little! Yet we can get through a whole day... with food to eat, with a warm house, with clothes on our back, with jobs, with a car that has gas in it, with our families!... with the technology to be in touch with our families when they are far away, many of us take medicine each day that keeps us well... we hear birds singing outside our windows.... we have entertainment at the touch of a fingertip...we have vast knowledge at the ends of our fingertips...and yet we forget to say, "Thank you, God!"

God says right here, "All you have to do is remember to thank me, and to do the things that you tell me you will do..then I will help you when you are in trouble." "Thank you God!" can it get any simpler than that??

Each time we see the faces of the people we  love we should say "Thank you!"  Each time we eat we should say "Thank you!" Each time we get in our cars and arrive somewhere safe we should say "Thank you!" Each time we take a pill that keeps our bodies working we should say "Thank you!" Each time we sit down to watch a show or movie on our TVs we should say "Thank you!" Each time we find the answer to a question when we type in just a few word, right in the comfort of our own homes, we should say "Thank you!" Each time a person smiles at us, or hugs us, or cares for us, that is a gift straight from God, we should say "Thank you!" Each time we ask forgiveness we should say "Thank you!"

With all those many words that God gives us each day, we should probable use half of them up with "thank yous" That is the only sacrifice that God ask us to make... a simple "Thank you!"

I know that I, myself need to get much better at this. I need to get so much better at this that it isn't a line in my prayer journal, because I do it so often that it doesn't have to be done at prayer time. It needs to be engraved on the inside of my glasses so that I am reminded constantly to say "Thank you" to God!

How many times will you say "Thank you, God! today?

 

3.6.12

My step-mother is in the hospital...they keep having to put her surgery off because things keep happening... please keep her in your prayers.

Numbers 6:22-27 The the Lord said to Moses, "Tell Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel with this special blessing: 'May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on  you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.' Whenever Aaron and his sons bless the people of Israel in my name, I myself will bless them."

My Thoughts

All the promises of the Bible become ours when we become God's.  All the things God ask of people in the Bible, He also ask of us. As I read this blessing I thought of how many people are missing out on blessings because we forget to pay attention to what God ask us to do. I was thinking of how many times lately, now that I am learning, that God has asked me to pray for people that I come in contact with... how many times he has give me the opportunity to say a prayer with people. I will learn this prayer! What better thing could you pray over anybody than God's blessings and protection... God's smile and God's favor... God's peace.

I have heard this prayer... I have read these verses... but today is the first time I thought of it as my responsibility to ask for God's blessings on people...I as so often for God to do things for people that I know and I love... but I am not sure that actually asked for these things that are so special.

This morning I thought I really need to pray this over my sweet husband who I love so much. Who God loves so much. I held his had and prayed this simple prayer over him. Of all the people in the world that I know I want God to bless Robby.  I will pray this prayer over my children soon too...when I can hold their hands.  And when God asked me to pray for someone I will pray this prayer over their lives!  There are so many people that I want God to bless. Now I have the words to ask for those blessings!!

3.4.12

Proverbs 10:25 When the storms of life come, the wicked are whirled away, but the godly have a lasting foundation.

My Thoughts

I love this verse... it is so comforting to know that God is there for us to get us through anything that comes our way!  I don't want to be whirled away... I love having that hope that comes from God.  I love calling on God when things get hard. The more I know God the more I feel Him near me in the hard times... the more I know God the more I want Him with me through the good times. God is so good. We are so blessed to have a God that loves us so very much! We are so blessed to have a God that wants so much for us!

3.3.12

Proverbs 10:23 Doing wrong is fun for a fool, but living wisely brings pleasure to the sensible.

My Thoughts

This can apply to so many things...but money is what gives me the best example of this.  If when we get paid we ignore our obligations that we have set up for ourselves.  You know those pieces of paper that we sign that say "I promise to pay this back in full with interest." or "I promise to pay my water, power, gas bill." Anyway we  ignore them completely...forgetting that a portion of this paycheck is vital to paying all the bills this month. We go and play, play, play spending money like a crazy person... it feels fun at the moment...then when the bills roll in we are left with such worry...by being a fool we end up with days and days of worry...sometimes months of worry all for one day of "fun."

If we live wisely, money wise, we set up a budget so that we can take an honest look at our money... we put back what is needed to pay our tithes,  all our commitments, we put back for those unexpected bills and if there is some left over we have a little fun.  Sometimes we have put ourselves in such a spot that we have to save a few weeks for fun, but that is OK. When we have lived sensible we get to enjoy the whole month...we have peace because we have done what we were suppose to do...then when our fun envelope builds up we get to go and have a blast, worry free!!

We have a choice here... living with pleasure all the time...and some fun, fun moments that don't worry us to death later.... of having some immediate fun and living in worry and strife.

Before we act on something "fun" we should always ask ourselves "Is this the wise thing to do?" (Andy Stanley) If the answer is no then we need to rethink our plans.  When we learn to say no to ourselves our lives get so much better... we have the opportunity to feel pleasure.

I need to ask myself... "Is it wise to knit now or should I do some housework first?" I would so enjoy my knitting if I got something out of the way first!  What do you need to ask yourself??

3.2.12

Proverbs 10:22 The blessing of the Lord makes a person rich, and he adds on sorrow to it.

My Thoughts

God adds no sorrow to the things he gives us!!  I wonder how many times we jump into something without waiting on God's blessings for us. How many times do we jump into a job... or a huge purchase without consulting God...then so much begins to happen with what we have go out and gotten into on our own.  If we had only consulted God first... then waited on His answer... we would have had no sorrow added to it! 

This applies to so much... how many times would we save ourselves sorrow if we just asked God first and waited on our answer? If we just ask God to please bless what we are about to say? If we ask God if we should make a purchase? If God blesses what we do... He adds no sorrow to it!! 

This verse has really touched my heart today!!  I can see clearly how God was not in so much of what I have done in life.... I know how much God has blessed me over the last couple of years!  I just need to make sure that I put God into everything, great or small.... I need to ask God for blessings over all that I do. I need to ask God and listen to his answer He has for me!

God is so good!!  God only makes good decisions for our lives... if God tells us no.. it is because he is protecting us...often from ourselves.

How many times we we change the choice that we are about to make if we stopped and said first "God please bless this thing that I am about to do." "God, please bless these words I am about to say." and if we thought about our words when we said, "God, Please bless this food I am about to eat."  God blessing are life changing!!  We need to call upon them in all that we do!

3.1.12

Proverbs 14:30 (CEV) It is healthy to be content, but envy can eat you up.

My Thoughts

Have you ever put something on the counter and it stayed there so long it became so much a part of the room that you quit noticing it? Of course you have most all of us have at some point. Our homes, our cars, the stuff we have all becomes this way when we don't stop to think about it...we get up and get dressed...do all that morning stuff and out the door we go never really seeing what is in front of us.  Then somebody comes along and has something that is new and shinny and we start wanting what they have! Often to the point of thinking "I never get anything we want, and it's not fair!"

As humans we do silly things...we have such silly thoughts all because we don't stop to look at the big picture! We could be the person that gets a new car every two years and be jealous of a person that drove their car until it was held together by wires when they finally get them a new car. We so often don't stop to think before we start to want!!

I believe that one of the reasons that God ask us to send up thanks to Him for all we have is so that we will take time to notice all that we do have!! We often have so much that we have storage buildings full because our houses won't hold what we have been given by God.  There are yard sells everywhere on pretty weekends where people are selling what the "had to have" so that can buy that thing "they can't live without."  Commercials on TV tell us "Look be jealous your neighbor has more!" "It's okay to spend money you don't have!" even if it is something we don't even need.

We make ourselves craze with envy!!  We exhaust ourselves paying for things that yesterday we "had to have!"  Sleeping pill companies can pay a fortune for commercials to compete with each other because people can't sleep from worry, worry about how they are going to pay for things they have already sold in yard sells. All because we get caught up in envy!

So much of what we put ourselves through could be stopped in its tracks if we just learned to be content... If each morning before we went out the door we stopped and thanked God for 100 of the things we see around us... A hundred things? Everyday? I bet if we listed 100 of the things we see in our houses each day, that it would take a lot longer than you can imagine to get through the list of all that is in our homes. It could take some people I know more than a week of thank you's to get through their closet.

Say you are a shoe collector... I collect knitting looms myself... LOL. But say you are a shoe collector, you love shoes!.. how much easier would it be not to envy somebody else's shoes if that morning you had looked at each and every pair of shoes you had and thanked God for each and every pair? It would so change our perspective!!  I know that if I were to take a "grateful inventory" of each and every loom I had I would find that I didn't need a new loom...I have one that will accomplish what I want. As much as I love my looms I forget to notice they are there and that I need to thank God for them!

Proverbs 14:30 tells us "It is healthy to be content, but envy can eat us up!"  We have medicine for that envy, it is called thankfulness. So next time we see a "pair of shoes" that somebody else has, lets stop and make a mental picture in our heads of each pair of shoes we have and thank God individually for every pair. Even if we have to wait until we get home to remember them all. Let's be thankful before we act on that compulsion and see if our envy goes away.