Daily Bible Reading - Monday September 14th
Didn’t September just start? It’s already half way gone, my goodness time is on the run. That makes what Paul has to say during Galatians even more crucial. Paul wrote this letter to the Christians in Galatia because he believed the good news about Jesus. But some Jewish false teachers had visited them, the false teachers may have been ordinary Jews, but they may have been Jews who seemed to trust Jesus. However, those Jews were jealous of Paul and they had spoken against him. They said that Paul was not an apostle. And they said that the Christians had to obey the Jewish laws. These laws controlled people. Some of the Christians in Galatia believed the false teachers. Paul was very worried about the Christians. So he wrote this letter to teach them the truth again. He reminded them about the true liberty that Jesus gives. It’ll be an interesting book to read this next few days. Proverbs goes right along with what Paul is preaching in Galatians. “Commit yourself to instructions, listen carefully to the words of knowledge."
Today’s Reading
Isaiah 15:1-18:7
Galatians 1:1-24
Psalm 58:1-11
Proverbs 23:12
Daily Devotional
"Bless our God, O peoples, give Him grateful thanks and make the voice of His praise be heard"
(Psalm 66:8, AMP)
Do you know why praise is so important? When you give God praise, you are putting yourself in a position of power. You are connecting with Him and strengthening your inner man. You are watering the seeds of destiny He has placed on the inside of you.
If you are believing God for something specific, all throughout the day just thank Him that the answer is on the way. "Father, thank You for my new job." "Thank You for restoring my marriage." "Thank You for healing my body." When you live with an attitude of thanksgiving, you are putting your faith to work and activating God's supernatural power in your life. You are making progress toward seeing those promises fulfilled.
Make the decision today to water those seeds of destiny with praise and thanksgiving. Put God first and acknowledge Him in everything you do. Soon, you'll see those promises take root, and it won't be long before they flourish into the abundant harvest the Lord has prepared for you!
A Prayer for Today:
"Heavenly Father, I choose to bless You and give You thanks. You alone are worthy of my praise. You alone are faithful and just. I trust You today with everything that I am, knowing that You have good things in store for me. In Jesus' Name. Amen."
I Corinthians 15:57 - But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
I'm going to just write some of the things that ministered to me the past few days, such words of comfort, wisdom, understanding and such...
Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place...
... wash me and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness... I LOVE THAT!
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me. That old song has been running thru my mind the past couple of weeks as I realize how very important these words are in my life!
If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land;...
they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. Oh boy do I need to set up and take note of these words of "wisdom" sometimes!
I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever. I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good.
Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds.
The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy... and he will be a sanctuary;... Oh how at times I seem to need a sanctuary!
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.... That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. I wish I could say I am able to fulfill these words with success but I am not always able to knowing that they are the very words of truth! It's a good thing His grace is sufficient... for my failures as well!
Listen to my prayer, O God do not ignore my plea; hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught...
"Oh that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest...."
Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fail.
But as for me, I will trust you.
...from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him ~ the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of Knowledge and of the fear of the Lord ~ and he will delight in the fear of the Lord....
Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. I really like the wording of this small portion...
.... and his place of rest will be glorious! Wow!
When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
I am under vows to you, O God; I will present my thank offerings to you. For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life. Oh how I truely want to be thankful for what the Lord has done for me or allowed not to happen in my life!
I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
Sing to the Lord for he has done glorious things;... Shout aloud and sing for joy..
The poorest of the poor will find pasture and the needy will lie down in safety. What hope there is in these words!
For sure he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives in God's power. Now that excites me!
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you...
...our prayer is for your perfection... authority... for building you up... Aim for perfection,... live in peace...the God of love and peace will be with you.
... for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings...
God sends his love and his faithfulness...
My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;
In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it ~ one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness.
Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.
I have not written these words in their context but thought of how encouraging they are any way you look at them! I love how a large portion of the Word is like that... you can take so much of it and apply it to many situations and it is just as relevant as for the reason it was written!
I hope you can see the continuing goodness it has for your life.
Blessings again to all...
Bec
