Archive | July 2014

Set My Soul Afire Lord

Jul31

Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus. — Acts 4:13

Were Peter and John uneducated? I believe they were educated by the Master Himself. It must have been a different education because “they” were amazed and recognized that Peter and John had been with Jesus. They were different. They had performed a miracle in the name of Jesus. What about today? Are miracles still possible? Is Jesus still alive?

Today we lack, my opinion and observation, being recognized as being with Jesus. I do know some who have sat at the Saviors feet and been instructed by His Word and Holy Spirit. I bet you know a few yourselves. You can just tell that they have been with Jesus by their countenance. Many of those have a passion for the things of God. A heart like God’s. How does one get a heart like God? A passion for the things of God? From God Himself. From sitting at the feet of Jesus and learning from the Master.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will be converted to You.

Psalm 51:10-13

Time spent at the feet of Jesus allows the Lord to do a work in us. It is by His power, and His only, that we can have a clean heart. Surrender to His ways. He will renew our spirit to be steadfast in the passion He puts in our heart. He has given us the Holy Spirit to guide our steps, our way, our coming and our going. He will sustain a surrendered, sacrificial and willing heart. Why would God do all this? So that we can teach transgressors His ways and see the awesome glory of God as sinners are converted to Him. Your daily time of seeking the Lord is so very important. God can use you. Spend time at His feet so He can set your soul afire.

  • Set my soul afire Lord
    Set my soul afire
    Make my life a witness
    Of Thy saving pow’r
    Millions grope in darkness
    Waiting for Thy Word
    Set my soul afire
    Lord set my soul afire — Chorus to Set My Soul Afire

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

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Where Is Hope?

Jul30

For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. — Romans 15:4

Is hope lacking in your life? As you look around you are people moving through life with no hope?

Hope can be found in the pages of a best selling book — the Bible. Do you need encouragement, direction, comfort, courage, hope? Open the Word of God and seek what you need. For whatever was written in earlier times was written for us — the Old Testament and the New Testament. And not only is the Bible a great source of hope for us but as we find our hope in the Bible we can share that hope with the world that is in need of hope also.

Seek the hope found in Jesus Christ through perseverance as you study the Word and are encouraged by the Scriptures. Then share the gift of hope with others.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Press On

Jul29

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. — Philippians 3:14

Running the race of life for Jesus is fulfilling our individual call of God on our lives. Pressing on is moving forward — conditioning ourselves for the run by practicing the Word of God, by keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ, serving Him everyday in word and deed.

Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, (Hebrews 6:1) Imagine a child just learning to walk. They try and try and try again pressing on toward the goal of reaching their parent’s outstretched arms. Can you imagine God holding out His outstretched arms encouraging you to press on to the prize that awaits you? The prize of perfect, undefiled, eternal fellowship with God in heaven. He is there ready to pick us up when we fall. Persevere to the end of the race. Press on to cross the finish line.

If you are not growing in your faith you are out of the race. How is your walk (or should I say run) going? Are you pressing on? Are you practicing the Word of God daily? Are you spending time with Jesus every day? Do the things you say and do bring glory to God? Keep your eye on the goal.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. — Hebrews 12:1-2

What A Day That Will Be

Jul28

Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. — 1 John 3:2

I’m out visiting a friend and her Pastor husband in Illinois this weekend and had the privilege to worship with them yesterday morning and evening. In the morning service Pastor Alan asked the congregation, “Who wants to go to heaven?” Surprisingly, at least to me, was how abnormally quiet it was. Finally someone yelled out “I do, but not yet”. Alan spoke my sentiments when he said that he was ready even if it was today.

I can only imagine what a glorious day that will be when we see Jesus just as He is. I’m anticipating it to be spectacular, wonderful, surpassing all I could possibly imagine. We sang the following hymn also:

What A Day That Will Be

There is coming a day when no heartaches shall come
No more clouds in the sky, no more tears to dim the eye
All is peace forevermore on that happy golden shore,
What a day, glorious day that will be.

Chorus:
What a day that will be
When my Jesus I shall see,
And I look upon His face,
The One who saved me by His grace;
When He takes me by the hand
And leads me through the Promised Land,
What a day, glorious day that will be.

There’ll be no sorrow there, no more burdens to bear,
No more sickness, no pain, no more parting over there;
And forever I will be with the One who died for me,
What a day, glorious day that will be.

Chorus:
What a day that will be
When my Jesus I shall see,
And I look upon His face,
The One who saved me by His grace;
When He takes me by the hand
And leads me through the Promised Land,
What a day, glorious day that will be
What a day, glorious day that will be.

Are you secure in your everlasting destination? Are you anticipating seeing Jesus face to face? Seek Him while He may be found so you may know what a day that will be!

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

The lyrics and music to the Gospel song, “What A Day That Will Be” is by Jim Hill.

Worship In Holy Array

Jul27

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him; Worship the Lord in holy array. — 1 Chronicles 16:29/Psalm 29:2

What do you bring to the Lord on Sunday (or your day of congregational worship)? Is your offering of worship an offering of praise? A fruitful offering?

God wants us to worship in holy array. Is “holy array” your physical appearance or is it a heart ready to worship in spirit and truth? Is your offering a fruit of the Spirit — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control?*

God does not see as man sees for God looks at the heart, a heart that has been circumcised. You can come to church all dressed up and looking good but what does your heart look like? Put aside the flesh and worship as you have never worshiped before. Worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus. Totally surrender to the Spirit of truth with a heart full of the fruit of the Spirit.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

 

But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. — Leviticus 19:24

*Galatians 5:22-23

for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, — Philippians 3:3

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” — 1 Samuel 16:7

God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” — John 4:24

Seek, Wait, Hope

Jul26

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him. — Lamentations 3:24-25

“The Lord is my portion.” He is my inheritance. He is all I need. He is everything I could ever want or need in this life and especially in the next. For without Him I would never experience eternal life with Him. Because He is all I will ever need I hope in Him. My soul is confident to say, “I have hope in Him”.

God’s eye is on those who hope for His lovingkindness, on those who fear Him. (Ps. 33:18) To have God’s eye on you holds so many promises and peace. To revere His holiness and purity. To revel in His love and blessings. To have peace in His protection and care. Those are for those who hope in Him.

God is good to those who wait on Him. As in yesterday’s devotion, we hear from Him when we take the time to wait on the Lord. He is good to us when we wait on Him. He wants to give us blessings, guide us in our day, help us on our journey of life to fulfill His purpose for us. All those are good things. He is good to those who wait for Him. Wait for His triumphant return. Hope.

While we wait we can seek His face. Longing for the Lord my soul diligently seeks Him. This too is good. Seek the Lord and His strength, seek His face continually (Ps. 105:4). Wait on Him. Hope in Him.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

At night my soul longs for You, Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently; For when the earth experiences Your judgments The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. Isaiah 26:9

WAIT!!!!!!!!?

Jul25

I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait, And in His word do I hope. My soul waits for the Lord More than the watchmen for the morning; Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning. — Psalm 130:5-6

Wait. . . Wait . . . Wait . . .

That is a four letter word to us today. No one likes to wait. We look for the shortest line in the grocery store. When we ring the bell for service we want someone to answer that bell right away. When we sit in the doctor’s office waiting room we keep looking at our watches, or cell phones, to see how much they are running behind. We just don’t like to wait. It is an inconvenience. We are always in a hurry. To go where???

In our hurried lifestyle today we miss out on a lot. We don’t take the time to really listen and notice our children. They are just an added burden to the hurried lifestyle. We can’t seem to find a smile to share with someone as they hurriedly pass us by. We don’t notice God’s awesome creation — new life in the Spring, the beautiful blue sky and green grass of Summer, the colors of Fall and the pure white of Winter snow or the bare trees awaiting Spring. There is that “wait” again. The trees waiting for the blooms of Spring to dress them again. We tend to half listen to conversations we have with others and then wonder why communication is the biggest problem in relationships.

The biggest communication problem today is the lack of hearing the voice of God. We are too much in a hurry to spend time waiting on the Lord. Yet when we do wait upon the Lord we can hear His still small voice of direction, encouragement, love. My hope for the future is found in the waiting room of the Lord. He is my hope. He is my direction into the future. He guides my steps and my ways. Without Him I am merely walking blindly into the future with no direction or encouragement.

Take time to wait on the Lord. He is so worth it. Hope for the future and peace for the present.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Hope For The Future

Jul24

“There is hope for your future,” declares the Lord, “And your children will return to their own territory. — Jeremiah 31:17

I believe there is no greater joy than when you see the years of prayer you put in for your children begin to be answered.

My husband and I have often discussed how we were not the best parents but did the best we could — most of the time. We both believe it is by grace that our children managed to survive our rearing of them. I thank God that He is perfect and loves my children more than I could ever love them.

All our children have reached adulthood, despite their parents, and have not always followed our advice and counsel nor that of the Lord. They have wandered out into the world and made mistakes — but haven’t we all. In my 21 months away from my family I focused a lot on praying for my husband and kids, many times on my knees crying out on their behalf. My children were introduced to Jesus, all making a profession of faith, and then wandered into the world without Christ. It has just been recently that I see the miracle transformation taking place in all of them and I am ecstatic.

Rebellion from attending church has been turned into faithful consistent attendance. Never seeing them open the Word of God to asking where their Bible is, and seeing them reading it. Finding one in prayer and meditation with an open Bible. Alienation from church and Christians to a desire to fellowship.

The point of this is that my ever faithful God, in His perfect timing is answering my prayers and my tears are now tears of joy. Thank You Lord God for listening and for answering. Thank You for what You are doing in the lives of my children. May You continue to be glorified in their transformation. There is hope for my future and theirs.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

God Gave Light

Jul23

thFor God expressed His love for the world in this way: He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not face everlasting destruction, but will have everlasting life. 17 Here’s the point. God didn’t send His Son into the world to judge it; instead, He is here to rescue a world headed toward certain destruction.

18 No one who believes in Him has to fear condemnation, yet condemnation is already the reality for everyone who refuses to believe because they reject the name of the only Son of God. 19 Why does God allow for judgment and condemnation? Because the Light, sent from God, pierced through the world’s darkness to expose ill motives, hatred, gossip, greed, violence, and the like. Still some people preferred the darkness over the light because their actions were dark. 20 Some of humankind hated the light. They scampered hurriedly back into the darkness where vices thrive and wickedness flourishes. 21 Those who abandon deceit and embrace what is true, they will enter into the light where it will be clear that all their deeds come from God. — John 3:16-21 (The Voice)

God gave us the Light. Come to the Light. Bow before Jesus in prayer. Know the Light. Read God’s wonderful story of Jesus in the Bible. Seek the Light and worship the Light. Jesus is the light of the world.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Mustard Seed

Jul22

And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would obey you. — Luke 17:6

My faith does not determine what God can do. With God all things are possible. God’s plan will be fulfilled despite my level of faith. The size of my faith is not the issue. The object of my faith is.

I have heard — praise God, not for a long time — someone say that the reason a prayer was not answered was because you didn’t have enough faith. My response to this, “When did God determine how He would answer prayers by how much faith I had?” God is God and does not need counsel from me. “I only need enough faith to see what God can do and once I see that, a mustard seed of faith is all He needs to do the impossible.”*

Ask God to use your mustard seed of faith to do the impossible in your life for His glory.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

 

*Grandpa Pearson p.9, 50 Days of Unleashing Hope Daily Devotionals, Ray Johnston