Simple devotions to inspire individuals to examine their lives. To further encourage individuals to spread the word to all people.
God came to spread peace and love to the entire world. Jesus did not die for a few but for everyone.
I ask you Dear Savior to use me to be an instrument of peace. May individuals that visit this blog feel the love that you freely give. In your Holy Name Amen.
Song inspired by the chapter: Song has been uploaded from YouTube.com and is not my original.
My thoughts about the
verses:
Two verses that impact
the entire world. God is to be
praised. This praise should not only
come from one group of people. The
praise needs to be lifted by people of all nations.
God does not just reach
out to one group of people. God loves
all of us. God’s love has no
boundaries. God loves each and every one
of us.
We can then lift our
voices in praise. Knowing that God loves
each and every one of us should lead us to lift our hearts in praise. Offering God praise fulfills the desires of
our heart. Our voices need to lift up
thanksgiving to God for all God has done for each one of us.
Jesus died for
everyone. Jesus did not come for a
select few. Anyone that desires the
grace of salvation is given it. Jesus
offers us hope and redemption through the sacrifice on the cross. We are given love through the salvation that
is the blood of the pure lamb.
We need to lift praises
up to Jesus. We are blessed with the grace
of Jesus so it is only right to offer thanksgiving to Jesus. Our life is forever changed with that
knowledge we need to worship Jesus in all of our actions. Our voices need to join in one accord
thanking the Messiah for the sacrifice that has led to our everlasting
life.
The Holy Spirit lives
within all that accept the gift of grace. The Holy Spirit guides us throughout our
life. The Holy Spirit lives within each
and every person that has turned to Jesus for Salvation. Our life has changed forever with the guiding
of the Holy Spirit.
We need to lift up our
praises to the Holy Spirit. We need to
thank the Holy Spirit that guides our life.
We need to lift up our voices in praise thanking the Holy Spirit with
filling us with inner peace. The heart
should desire to worship the Holy Spirit for we have found our peace and hope.
Prayer:
We praise you God. We love you for what you have done for
us. We thank you for the gifts that you
freely give to us. We lift up our voices
in praise. Help us to always remember
that your love has no boundaries. Help us
to remember to praise you for your love.
In the name of God we pray. Amen
Questions:
Have you accepted God in your life? Do you praise God for all that has been given
to you? Are you willing to accept that
God’s love is for all people? Will you
join with others throughout the world offering praises to God?
Song inspired by the chapter: Song has been uploaded from YouTube.com and is not my original.
My thoughts about the
verses:
This Psalm is about the
salvation that comes from death. God
will be there with us in our moments of despair. When we fear all is lost God is there to help
us. God is our helpmate and our
salvation. God will save us if only we
call upon the name of the Almighty.
Many of us will see this
psalm as a declaration of healing. We
want hope in our life and we can look at this psalm and say God helps the
people. We are desperate for someone to
come up with all the answers when we are sick.
We beg God will help us. We all
struggle with facing the end of our life. Many times in our life God will
answer those prayers and lead us to health.
We desire our loved ones
not to be ill. We beg and plea that we
will do anything if they are not suffering. We pray for healing. We pray for peace. We search out individuals that can bring
healing to our loved one. God does answer
our prayers. Think about all the times a
loved one was saved from what we thought was the inevitable sleep of death.
Yet, there are those
times when we do not receive the healing we desire. Many of us face illnesses that we one day
will lead to the end of our life. We
often see our loved ones struggle and succumb to death. In those moments we get angry with God because
we feel abandoned. We feel as if God has
left us when we most needed healing for ourselves or a loved one.
Yet, do we understand
that healing comes in many ways. I have
been there in my life. When my
grandfather got sick I pleaded with God to make him well. I did not want to see him suffering so I
begged for a miracle. As he slowly
slipped away my heart was broken. I felt
as if God had not answered my heart felt prayer.
That has been fifteen
years ago. Now I understand the truth
about the situation. My grandfather did
not suffer. He chose to go through
radiation for his inoperable brain tumor.
Because of that decision as he got sicker and sicker he never felt
pain. God answered all of our prayers by
not letting him suffer. My grandfather
held on so that each one of us could understand and accept what was
coming.
I look back now and
realize the miracle that came to me because of that moment of despair. I had been so angry with God that I had run
away from my Savior. I had decided to leave
my life without religion. I had felt so
betrayed by my friends and the church that I did not want to be around anything
that was religious.
Yet, in my despair I had
turned back to God. One of the last
things that I did for my grandfather was return to church. I had to have an outlet for the pain I was suffering. I can remember that day like it was
yesterday. I went to church that morning
and then went to the store. I picked up
a dozen roses for my grandmother and a bouquet of balloons for my
grandfather. I walked into his bedroom
and told him that I had started back in church.
I can see his smile. He didn’t ask
me where I was going that didn’t matter.
All he had ever wanted was for his children and grandchildren to trust
in God. I really feel as if that was one
of the happiest moments of my life.
What I came to
understand in that moment is that healing comes in more than one way. My grandfather had the healing of no pain as
he slipped farther and farther away from us.
My spirit was healed. All the
anger that I had carried those years was taken away that morning. My grandfather experienced my new life when
he still could talk and that is something that I will never forget.
One of the greatest ways
that healing comes to us is from Jesus.
Our spirit needs refreshing and renewal.
We need to let go of our anger and our pain. We need to turn our life over to Jesus. See what we have to come to realize is that
Jesus can help us carry our burden. We
may never find the physical healing that we need in our life. We may lose our loved ones to illnesses. Yet, if we trust in Jesus we can find the salvation
our soul needs.
If you listen closely to
the psalmist you will see that his soul was renewed. The psalmist had found inner peace that was
given by God. The pain and fear of death
was removed because God had taken charge.
God had brought the salvation that was needed.
We all know that our
bodies will enter that deep sleep of death.
Yet, if you have accepted Jesus into your life you soul enjoys
everlasting life. Our bodies may wear
down and become ill. Yet, if you allow
Jesus to live in your life you will find peace.
When you see someone
that is passing that has Jesus in their life you witness something
wonderful. They are not afraid of
death. They are ready to meet the maker
and go home. They know that people will
miss them. Yet, they also know that they
will one day see them if they ask Jesus in their heart. Their hope is in the knowledge and understanding
that Jesus is their salvation. Their most
coveted possession is their love of Jesus.
It is a blessing that we
too can receive. We can live our lives
with the knowledge that one day we will go to meet our Savior. When we are there amongst the angels and God
we will be forever in the presence of the one that loves us most.
No one can ever take away
your salvation from your transgressions.
Many will try to say that your lifestyle is sinful. Others may say that your actions are outside
the ways of God. Yet, if you trust in
God with all of your heart you will receive salvation. God is the only judge and will judge you
fairly. If your transgressions are
covered by the perfect lamb then God sees nothing but a purely cleansed soul.
When we finally accept
the fact that our healing is of our spirit we need to praise God. We need to lift our voices up in praise. We need to thank God for the healing that we
have received. We need to then live our
life with the thought of helping others find the salvation that our soul has received. God will walk with you and help others come
to the understanding that the true giver of peace and healing is God.
Prayer:
We thank you God for
your love. We thank you for healing us
both physically and spiritually. We
worship you for God you are worthy to be praised. We give you our life so that we may be an instrument
of peace. Help us dear God be the people
you have called us to be. Help us accept
you into our lives. We ask dear savior
that you cleanse us from our transgressions.
In the name of the Healer and Savior we pray. Amen
Questions:
Have you accepted Jesus into your life? Have you accepted the healing of salvation for
your spirit? Have you given your life
over to the Most High?
Song inspired by the chapter: Song has been uploaded from YouTube.com and is not my original.
My thoughts about the
verses:
People have a great
tendency to put things on pedestals and look up to them. We look TV and Movie Stars and we elevate
them to a super status in our lives. We
look at world leaders and we put them on elevated pedestals and many worship
them as if they were God. People put
ideas on pedestals looking up to their ideology as the right and only true way.
Yet, people and things
that are put on pedestals will eventually fall.
When they fall off of their pedestal our dreams and ideas are
broken. We often are shocked and are in
disbelief. We wonder how could this
happen. Were they not helping people? Were they not leading a life that others
should envy?
I can remember my friend
who a pastor was telling us that she was only human. People have a great tendency to look at
religious leaders as the ultimate example of Godliness here on earth. They assume that the religious leader does no
wrong. How can they lead a church if
they sin? How can they teach others
about God and at the same time do wrong?
Yet, what we miss is
that humans will always be human. We all
have character flaws that make us less than perfect. Only Jesus lived on this Earth and did not
sin. Therefor when we attempt to compare
leaders to God we are often disappointed.
We feel as if they have done us an injustice because they did not live
the perfect life we expected.
This does not only hold
true for religious leaders but others that we put on pedestals. Just think about all the movie stars that
people have looked up to. One by one
they fall off the pedestals that we have placed them on. We saw them as heroes in our life yet when
they do something that is different than we thought they would be we are
disappointed. How many stars have gone
from the top of the box office to the wasteland of stardom?
This can also be true
for world leaders. People all around the
world have leaders that they have placed on pedestals. They assume that the leader is trying to do
the best for the people. Yet, when
something goes wrong and people do not reap benefits they turn on the
leaders. They are ready to get rid of them
for one simple action.
Yet, some world leaders
make themselves into demigods. They take
on the role of the absolute figure of authority in the countries that they
serve. They punish people that do not
believe in their power. They take steps
to ensure that the masses will think of them in high regard. They use intimidation and fear to rule with an
iron glove. The people then see them as
something more than they are. Yet, eventually
their pedestals fall and the people that were under oppression turn against
them. They too are subject to being eventually
replaced by a new leader that the people hope will be fair and just.
We as people are
searching continuously for the perfect person.
We want someone or something to be the perfect thing to follow. We place people on pedestals because we desire
them to be as just and fair as our Savior.
We place ideas on pedestals because we dream that they will solve the
issues in our world. Yet, we have our
hearts broken over and over again by the things that we look up to.
We have to come to the
point that we realize that there is only one who can be placed on the pedestal
that we build. We have to come to that
point when we realize that God is the only who is true and just. We have to understand that the things of this
world will never truly satisfy all of our needs. We have to come to the point that all of our
days are spent worshipping the Creator and Savior of our life.
Yet, we find this
hard. We want something that we can
visually see. Yet, in our search we miss
the wonderful works that God does each and every day. If we would only look around us we would see
the miracles and the reasons to worship only God. We have to come to the conclusion that our
life will complete when we offer our praises up to God.
Prayer:
We praise you Dear God
for your wonderful ways. We thank you
for being there when we were searching for peace and justice. We praise you for loving us just the way we
are. Help us today not to put people on
pedestals. Help us remember that people
and our ideas all have flaws. Help us
show others the reasons why they need to serve and worship you. Be with us this day so that we may be a light
that shines brightly for you. In the
name of the Almighty we pray. Amen
Questions:
Have you place people on pedestals in your
life? Have you ever been disappointed by
someone that you looked up to? Do you
follow an idea that has led you astray?
Have you come to that point in your life when you realize God is the
only one to look up to? Are you willing
to worship God with all of you heart, mind and spirit?
Song inspired by the chapter: Song has been uploaded from YouTube.com and is not my original.
My thoughts about the
verses:
In our deepest moments
of distress God is our salvation. God
has power over the entire world. The
world trembles around the majesty of God.
It is through the power of God that we are saved from our struggles and
despair.
The world trembles in
the presence of God. Imagine standing at
the sea and seeing the water open so that you may find the promise land. You can only imagine what was going through
the minds of the Israelites as they stood facing inevitable doom. The Egyptians had freed them yet were now
chasing them. The sea stood before them
and they had their backs to the wall.
They had to feel like there was no way they would escape their doom. Moses raised his staff and the waters
opened. It was trust in the Savior of the
world that led to the salvation of the people.
They came into a barren
land. They thirst for water and
food. God sent them manna from
heaven. They had all they needed in
their time of hunger for the gift was freely given by God. The very rocks sprang forth with water so
that they may have something to drink.
Their trust in God had led them to their salvation. God did not abandon them even though they
would forget about the grace that was given to them.
The mountain trembled as
God came to Moses. The earth was blessed
by the presence of the Savior. The
people were given the very thing that they needed to survive. They were allowed to see the power of
God. Imagine being Moses on the
mount. You have gone there to pray to
God. Your trust in God is very
strong. Then the very presence of God
comes to you. You see the majesty that
is God.
People need to realize
that God is the same today as in times past.
God rules the world with peace and grace. God saves the world in their times of despair
and distress. We only have to look upon
the Savior to be rewarded with everlasting peace. Our lives can be changed forever because the
presence of God will live within you if you only will give your life to the
Savior. The peace and redemption that
came during the wanderings in the wilderness can come to us. We can feel the power of God all around us if
we will only stop and see what God is doing throughout the world.
Prayer:
We praise you Holy
God. We offer up thanksgiving for the redemption
that you give to each and every one of us.
Help us give our lives over to you.
Help us see the wonders of your work.
We ask that you come into our life and bless us with your saving grace. In the name of the Savior of the World we
pray. Amen
Questions:
Have you given your life over to God? Have you stopped and evaluated your
life? Have you felt the power of God
working through you? Is today the day
that you lift praises up to the savior of the world?
Song inspired by the chapter: Song has been uploaded from YouTube.com and is not my original.
My thoughts about the
verses:
This is a simple psalm
with a very important message. We are to
praise God. The overflowing of the
spirit will lead us to praise the Holy One.
There are so many reasons to be joyful and to thank God.
God is great. God created the heavens and earth. God is here with us day and night. We are never alone for the creator walks by
our side in all situations. In this we
need to praise our God.
God is the ruler of all
the heavens and earth. God reigns over
the land with justice and peace. God is
a fair ruler that offers hope to all that will ask. God stretches out grace to the world. The ruler of the world wants to be the guide
of your life. It is up to us to open our
lives up so that God can lead us to where we need to be.
God helps those that are
in need. God is there for us all the
time. God helps us when we are in
distress. God feeds the poor, clothes
the needy and saves the lost. God wants
all humankind to have their needs met.
The very basic needs of life are given by the one that loves us.
We need to think back to
all the times that we felt that all was a loss.
We were struggling and felt that we would not survive. Maybe the cupboard was bare. Maybe the roof over our head was being taken
away. Yet, by some miracle a gift was
given to us that kept us going.
I know for me this has
happened throughout my entire life. I
can remember the times that I felt lost.
I can remember sitting and wondering if my electric would stay on for
just one more day. Then out of nowhere
help came. The generosity of a friend
came at just the right moment. Money that I didn’t expect showed up. People that didn’t even know me gave me help.
2013 was a rough year
for me and my family. I had multiple
surgeries. I had to leave my job because
I could no longer work. My house went
into foreclosure. There were times that
we had very little in the house to eat.
We were scraping by just to survive.
Then 2014 happened with
its many miracles. One by one our
troubles and cares slipped away. We were
able to save the house. We started receiving
extra money which kept the house full of food and the utilities on. We even were able to go on two trips which we
hadn’t been able to do in years.
We praised God and thank
God daily for everything that was happening.
It is amazing how God can turn your most lost moment into the most
rewarding moment of your life. It was
there in 2013 that I started writing this blog.
I was so lost and felt like there was nothing that I could do to make
things better for myself. I turned my life
over to God and began reading the word of God.
I felt led by the spirit to start writing and sharing the joy that was
coming into my life. Things were still
bad financially but there was an awakening happening in my life. A time when I learned that the only one that
I needed and could depend on was my Savior.
I accepted Jesus as my
savior over 30 years ago. God has walked
with me and lived within me a very long time.
Yet, it was in the moment of my greatest despair that I learned to
praise God. It is amazing when you look
back and think about all the things that have happened in your life. I will never be financially rich but that is
okay. I am spiritually rich and that is
the greatest of all feelings.
Anyone can have that
awakening in their soul. The moment when
that they realize that God is there helping them through life. They can find that joy when they rededicate
their life to God. The first and most
important step to an awakening in your life is to accept the free gift of
grace. The second step is to turn your
life over to God. The last step is to
praise God. Your soul will be awakened
and your life will never be the same.
Prayer:
We praise you dear
God. We lift our voices in thanksgiving
for you are worthy to be praised. We
give our life over to you. Help us be
the voice that helps others find your light.
Help us be Jesus to someone today.
In the name of the Savior and Peacemaker we pray. Amen
Questions:
Today is a good day to
analyze your life. Look at your life and
see if you are serving God. Are you in
one of those moments in your life when you feel the crushing weight of the
world around you? Have you asked God to
step in and take away the hurt that you are dealing with? Have you found the peace that comes from
serving God? Have you given your life
over to praising the One that has given you the miracles that you need to
survive? Have you asked Jesus to come
into your life? Have you accepted the
gift of grace?
Song inspired by the chapter: Song has been uploaded from YouTube.com and is not my original.
My thoughts about the
verses:
This Psalm discloses the
riches that one receives when they worship and follow God. See we become saints in the Risen Savior when
we give our life wholly over to God. A
person that lives with their hearts focused on God will receive blessings that
no one can ever take away from them.
They have gifts that make them the richest people in the world.
Now I am not saying that
you will be a rich person as far as worldly possessions. Possessions of the world will fade and
disappear. The gifts that we have are
must more important than gold or silver.
Our gift is the gifts of the spirit.
We are blessed with joy
and contentment. Haven’t you ever seen someone
that is happy just because they are alive?
They do not need lots of money or possessions instead they are happy
with the little things that they do have.
They are filled with the spirit.
Their joy becomes contagious for they are showing God’s love through
their praise.
We are blessed with
love. Haven’t we all seen people that
love everything around them? They have
so much love that they share that it is just flows out of them. They have friends because they are a true
friend. They love people without
expecting anything in return. They help
people because they love those that are around them. They love with an open a pure spirit. They give without ever expecting it to be
returned. They are the ones that people
think about when they are feeling lonely.
They have no enemies because they love all God’s children.
We are blessed with
peace. Haven’t we all known someone that
is at rest with what they have and where they are in their life? They have this calmness about the way they
live their life. They are the people
that we turn to when we feel strife around us.
They can calm us by their simple words.
They would prefer to love you that fight with you. They allow God’s spirit of justice to
flow. People follow them because they
are leaders who only want the best for all people.
See God blesses us when
we give our life wholly over to God. We
are anointed with gifts that help us make it in this world. When you are filled with the gifts of God you
praise God in all that you do. You are
centered on giving love and thanksgiving back to your savior. Your life feels complete because you know the
power of grace.
You have accepted the
gift of salvation. A saint is someone
that wants to do the will of God. They offer
their lives over to God in service. They
do small and big things to help others reach their level of understanding. They are there supporting those that feel
alienated by the world.
I am sitting here
tonight thinking about the recent events in Ferguson Missouri. There are two types of people that we came to
learn about from this event. The one
group wants the world to change while the other group changes the world.
See the people that
rioted and burned buildings were filled with anger. They were overcome with grief and emotion. They wanted the world to change for
them. They wanted people to change their
behavior and accept them for their differences.
The other group walked
in peaceful protest. They knew that they
could make the difference. They did not
leave it up to others to change the situation instead they went to the streets
showing in peaceful demonstrations the wrongs of society. They marched with the hope that people would
see that we are not different that we are all humans. Therefor we all need to be treated with the
same dignity and respect.
News Media often spend
their time capitalizing on the ills of society.
They would rather show the burning buildings than the peaceful demonstrations. Violence in today’s world sells. Yet, it is peaceful actions that change the
world.
We have to come to
realize that as saints of God we need to stand up for those that are
marginalized in society. We need to
champion for rights that make us all equal.
God doesn’t see anyone group as more deserving than the other.
Therefor we as followers
of God must help others find the same joy that we have. We must show our love to others so that they
can see Jesus through us. We must change
the world through peaceful solutions.
God has given us all the gifts that we need yet it is up to us to decide
to share what God has given us or keep it buried inside of us.
You will come to find
out when you are living a life that helps others you are praising God. That everything that you do leads to someone’s
life being blessed. It may seem as what
you are doing is something very small yet to someone you can be the Jesus that
they need in their life. Saints are
blessed because they willingly give their praises to God. They are blessed because they have received the
true gift of eternal life.
Prayer:
We praise you Dear Holy
God. We lift our voices in thanksgiving
for all that you have done in our life. We ask right now God that you help us
be change in this world. Help us share
the abundance that you have given to us.
Help us be the people that you have called us to be. In the name of the Creator we pray. Amen
Questions:
Have you accepted Jesus in your life? Have you accepted the gift of grace and
mercy? Are you sharing the love that God
has given to you to others? Are you
being the change that the world needs today?
Song inspired by the chapter: Song has been uploaded from YouTube.com and is not my original.
My thoughts about the
verses:
It is easy to think that
we have no choice but to praise God. As
if the praising of God is a requirement of the law. There are many times in our life that we
offer praise because we see others doing it and we follow suit. We interpret our need to worship God as a way
of returning thanks for things that have been given.
Yet, is it not better to
praise God because you feel the desire to praise God. Think to those moments where your praised God
because you were just fully wrapped up in the spirit. The only way to release the spiritual energy
that had been built up within you was to praise God. Think about those moments where you did not
thank God because you felt like you had to but because you truly wanted to.
We often have to be
reminded to praise God. Many of the
Psalms remind us of the things that God has given to us so that we may remember
to worship our God. Yet, we must come to
the realization that our best times of praise is when it comes from a willingly
heart. We need to understand that the
most natural response that we have in life is to offer praises up to God.
It is sometimes hard in
this world to see reasons to praise God.
There are struggles that we face.
There are times of war and anguish happening right in front of us. We get lost in the bad that is
happening. Yet, if we look around we can
find the blessings that happen around us daily.
We need to allow God to
work within us. We must come to the
point that we realize that God needs to be praised even for the small things in
our life. You will find that your life
will change when you allow your spirit to feed off the power of God. No longer do you see the negative side of
life. Instead, you start seeing the
small blessings God has put before you.
Your spirit rejoices and
automatically you begin to praise God.
The Holy Spirit fills us daily with an abundance of love and grace. Once you feel the emotion building you will
see that it is God that is guiding your life.
Even in situations that seem bleak you will find the silver lining.
I watched an interview
today of a woman I admire. She is someone who gives to the community because
she feels blessed. As she faced cancer
she did not let it get the best of her.
The first thing she did was encouraged people to show her support by
helping one of her many causes in the community.
As I watched her face
today I saw the tears of blessings in her eyes.
She was filled with the Spirit of God.
She felt blessed that God had made her body whole. She was thankful for the communities
support. There were several moments
that stood out to me. Even as she was recovering
from very serious surgery she had taken the time to go to events that helped
the community.
Yet, it is what she said
at the end that made me think about the way I live my life. She said that one thing that people could do
is look at their life and thank God for the blessings that they had. To evaluate what they had and share with
those in need. I came to realize for me
that this blog is that overabundance of love that God has given me. I am not financially wealthy but I am
spiritually wealthy. I am glad that it
is my spirit that is filled with wealth.
I might not be able to give anything more than encouragement to
others. Yet, isn’t that my way of
praising God each and every day.
Evaluate your life. Look at all the things that God has given you
in abundance. Isn’t there something that
you can offer up to God in praise?
Remember it isn’t just our singing that gives God praise it is also
helping others. A willing spirit will
lead you down a path where everything that you do will offer up praise to
God. Sometimes you might feel that you
can give no more. Yet, if you give
praise willingly from your heart you will soon find that you always have enough
to continue praising God.
God is full of abundant
wonderful deeds. Our very salvation came
through the gift of love. We need to
look around ourselves each day see what God has and is doing. We then should just allow our spirit to lead
us in thanksgiving. Our spirit is willing
yet are we willing to praise God?
Prayer:
We praise you God. We thank you for all that you have done. We worship you for the many miracles that
happen each day of our life. Help us to
allow our spirit to shine for you. Help
us willingly give you the praise.
Prepare our hearts and minds so that we will give you praise without
ceasing. In the name of our Holy God we
pray. Amen
Questions:
Do you praise God with a willing heart? Do you allow God to move freely within
you? Have you thought about all the
tings God does for you every day? Isn’t
today a good day to start singing praises without end to the one that is most
Holy?
