Tag Archive | God

If You Diligently Obey

Mar4

Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. Deuteronomy 28:1

Did you ever notice how closely our obedience is connected to our blessings? We aren’t obedient to receive blessings — we can’t work our way to blessings or heaven — but through our obedience God blesses us. Just like our kids — we desire to bless them but if they are disobedient it would be detrimental to bless them. We require and expect our children to be obedient. God expects the same from His children (us).

This verse says, “God will set you high above all the nations”. I couldn’t help but be reminiscent thinking about great nations of the past who prospered when they were walking in the obedience of God. One such nation was the United States known to be established on Biblical principles. It was a nation that posted the Ten Commandments in it’s court houses, that had prayer in schools to the One and only God. It was a nation that was set above all the nations of the earth. God blessed this nation.

Just as Israel was blessed and prospered throughout history they were also disciplined for disobedience. It saddens my heart that this country draws further and further away from God. Fortunately God loves us enough to discipline us but unfortunately we are not responding. Our nation needs to turn back to obedience to God. As His people we must unite through the Holy Spirit and bathe our country in prayer and be an example as we are obedient to the Lord God Almighty.

Hear the cry, O Lord, of your remnant. Amen.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

The Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, — Deuteronomy 28: 13

Teach Them

Mar3

You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. — Deuteronomy 6:7

Yesterday’s devotional was a plea to keep the commandments of God on your heart. Diligently keep watch over your soul so that your heart does not depart from what you have learned from God all the days of your life. Remind yourself by telling of the goodness of God to your children and/or grandchildren.

The closer my walk has become with the Lord Jesus, the more I see analogies in my life. Often life events, everyday ones as well, will have me sharing the Lord’s words or biblical events that spring into my mind. On one such occasion the church start my husband and I attended had a booth at a community event. When it came time to pack up, we had 4 of us folding up a canopy. Each of us grabbed a leg and met in the middle. As we were coming together I just said, “This is like the Holy Spirit drawing us together as one.” My sweet friend came back with, “Sharon, does everything have to be about God?” She of course was teasing me.

When we walk closely with the Lord He opens our eyes to opportunities to share Him. In everyday life we can see things that can be correlated with Scripture. Make every moment a teachable one by staying connected with Jesus and His Word. He makes opportunities for us to speak of His glory. So share those moments with your children and grandchildren and everyone you have a chance to whether you are sitting in your house or walking by the way, when you rise up and when you lay down. Sun up to sun down.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons. — Deuteronomy 4:9

The Words of My Heart

Mar2

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. — Deuteronomy 6:5-6

I know I have done a devotional on the first and foremost commandment before but I believe it is worthy of repeating again and again just as it is in the Bible. The focus this time will be more on verse 6.

Moses was serious about His relationship with God and fulfilling His purpose. He wanted the Israelites to be serious about it too. Is your relationship with the Lord and His purpose for you a serious matter in your life? Is it important enough to share with others? Do you impress the Word of God on your heart and soul?

This is really not an option. It is a commandment. So if you love the Lord your God, you will read His Word, pray for understanding, and practice what you read. Be a walking testimony of God’s Word. Maybe that would be like binding them as a sign on your hand or as frontals on your forehead. Be so transparent that Jesus is seen written all over you and when you speak you proclaim the words of God. Be a blessing.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. — Deuteronomy 11:18

Hear, O, Israel!

Mar1

“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! — Deuteronomy 6:4

The Lord your God shows Himself in your life that you may know that He is God. He shows us, if our eyes are open to Him, through trials, signs and wonders, by war and by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. He is the same God of the Old Testament who fought, protected, and provided for through trials and terrors. He is still a God of signs and wonders. He is the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

One God and Father who is over all, through all and in all. So know, truly know today, and take it to heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other. He is mighty, caring, loving, forgiving, merciful and wants you to know Him so He can bless you. Don’t delay, seek Him today.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

Or has a god tried to go to take for himself a nation from within another nation by trials, by signs and wonders and by war and by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm and by great terrors, as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? To you it was shown that you might know that the Lord, He is God; there is no other besides Him. — Deuteronomy 4:34-35

Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other. — Deuteronomy 4:39

one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. — Ephesians 4:6

Testimonies Of Faith

Feb28

Their belief in the truth that they have been taught must be strong and steadfast so that they will be able to teach it to others and show those who disagree with them where they are wrong. — Titus 1:9

Is this discipleship? You bet. We are to pass on what we have learned. As much as I love the Word of God it does not do much good for me or those around me if I don’t live it out. When I live the Word of God my life becomes filled with testimonies of God, testimonies to share of His glory, to tell of the things which my eyes have seen.

To live out the testimonies of God I need to implant His Word in my heart. This helps me to keep the faith and a good conscience. It helps me retain the standard of sound words which I have heard, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. I must hold steadfast and strong to the word I have been taught through God’s Word, through other brothers and sisters in Christ, and an intimate relationship with Jesus.

We are not only to teach and learn from one another but to also be a witness to those who do not know the Lord.  We can help those who disagree with the Word by our faithful walk as it makes them aware of their wrong thinking. Let us shine for Jesus and pass His Word on to others by our actions and the testimonies of God’s work in our lives.

Testimonies are encouraging and uplifting to others. Please feel free to share testimonies of God’s work in your life. I would be encouraged by them as I know others would be too.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

“Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons. — Deuteronomy 4:9

keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. — 1 Timothy 1:19

Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. — 2 Timothy 1:13

Seek While You Can Find

Feb27

 Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously. — Isaiah 55:6-7

Now is “the day of salvation”. Seek the Lord while He can be found. One day in your life the time will come when the decision whether to have a relationship with Jesus Christ will be made for you. What could have been your freewill acceptance of Jesus will actually be your freewill rejection of Him.

So turn to Him now, seek Him while He can be found. He is calling to everyone from one end of the earth to the other. Know that He is God and there is no other. Call to Him and He will hear you, cry to Him and He will say, ‘Here I am.’. Jesus will help us when we decide to wash ourselves, make ourselves clean; remove the evil of our deeds from His sight and cease to do evil.

Then, O glorious day, our Lord God will wipe out our transgressions and remember our sins no more. For some of us that day has already been realized. We now walk in the brilliant light and trust of the Lord Jesus, standing firm with endurance even if the mountains may be removed and the hills shake knowing His lovingkindness will not be removed from us and His covenant of peace will not be shaken because the Lord has compassion on us. Hallelujah!!!

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

for He says, “At the acceptable time I listened to you, And on the day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is “the acceptable time,” behold, now is “the day of salvation”— 2 Corinthians 6:2

Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other. — Isaiah 45:22

“Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness, — Isaiah 58:9

Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, — Isaiah 1:16

“I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins. –Isaiah 43:25

“For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, And My covenant of peace will not be shaken,” Says the Lord who has compassion on you. — Isaiah 54:10

 

Missionary Moment

Feb26

How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? — Romans 10:14

God is so amazing! He speaks to us in our language, giving us examples in life to correlate with His Word. I was absolutely blessed this morning when I checked my stats. I had received 4 views from Lebanon and 1 from Russia.

As I was pondering on this thought, my Mom asked me what I was thinking about. I shared with her that when my husband and I were at Seminary we contemplated seeking missionary opportunities. With God’s leading we decided that we had a vast mission field in our own backyard. I thought how hard it would be to pick just one place to go to minister – Africa, Indonesia, Thailand, Brazil, Philippines – see what I mean? God just opened our eyes to see this is where He wants us – United States.

God has so blessed me with this website. The thought of having one would never have crossed my mind 3 years ago. I prayed about it for about a year when God and I started this adventure. He is the One who guided everything and put the plan into action. Now barely 2 months into it He has blessed me by letting me be a missionary not only in my backyard (United States) but around the world. My heart is elated.

The visits to my website are left up to God’s leading. I have told very few people of this site and trust the Lord God to lead those He would have to come and read. How can they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How can they believe in whom they have not heard? How can they hear if we don’t tell. I thank God for giving me the words every day to write for His glory and for the world to hear. Thank You Lord God for allowing me, by the power of the Holy Spirit I received, to be Your witness in Jerusalem (United States), and in all Judea (Lebanon) and Samaria (Russia) and even to the remotest part of the earth.

One promise I can hold to: His word will not return to Him empty, without accomplishing what He desires, and without succeeding in the matter for which it is sent. Thank You again Lord for allowing me to be Your ambassador to the world as I share Your Word with them.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” — Acts 1:8

So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. — Isaiah 55:11

Debt Testimony

Feb25

I was warned. Young married couples tend to go into debt when first married because they need (want) so much. They want what Mom and Dad worked 25 years to get. My husband and I did pretty well in the beginning then we bought our first house. That was instant debt but so much more was added because we need new furniture, new appliances, new lamps, and the list goes on.

Before long we were up to our eyeballs, okay, over our heads in debt. We were struggling to make it from paycheck to paycheck. My husband and I were getting tired of being in debt so we decided to give our debt to the Lord. We were also convicted that we needed to pay our debt because we created it.  We started by repenting of using God’s provisions for selfish reasons, for mismanaging the things He had given us and promising to give Him control of our finances.

At the top of that list was tithing. We started with a little step of faith by tithing off of our net income for one year. We had to trust the Lord at His Word and so after that one year we started tithing off of our gross income. It never ceased to amaze me how month after month He met all our needs and we still had money left over. His word proved true. (Malachi 3:10)

My husband and I took a class at church, Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University, and started to practice some of the principles in that program. We started to pay off credit cards and loans and our indebtedness declined. It was still a struggle but learning to lean on the Lord and trust Him was the benefit of our journey.

At one point in this journey my husband left his job but we continued to tithe, even the 2 weeks vacation he received when he left. That turned out to be a testimony to the person who collected the tithe in our Sunday School class. She wanted to give it back but we insisted that it was God’s money and He would take care of us,  which He did.

It took 5 long years to get us out of debt. God is wonderful. It was not easy and we suffered through it. We ended up losing our house to fire and I lost my job in the midst of this but through it God delivered us from debt. My husband and I have been debt free for 13 years and we do not own a credit card and have not for over 13 years. Without a credit card I have to trust God for my provisions. As yet He has not let us down.

When I look at the lessons learned from this experience the one that stands out the most is that an extreme debt has to be paid by suffering. Just as Jesus suffered to pay our debt. He paid my debt on Calvary and that is for eternity. My financial debt was paid by my suffering but God was there through it all. I learned that I can trust Him with my needs. He is all I need. Jesus is sufficient.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. — Malachi 3:10

Do You Hear?

Feb25

Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” — John 18:37

Jesus speaks. Are we listening? Do we recognize His voice? Jesus says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;”. If we are His sheep who hear His voice then we will be following Him. That means we are obedient, putting our faith and trust in Him, walking in His ways. We have a relationship with Jesus. When we have a relationship with someone we can recognize their voice before we even see them. We have yet to see Jesus face to face but we should recognize His voice.

Through our relationship with Jesus, grace and truth are realized. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:7). This Truth, Jesus Christ, sets us free. In response to His voice we come and are saved from the wrath of God, from our own demise. In response to Christ, we desire to hear His voice. We seek His Word, listen to teachers and preachers, and in quiet prayer we listen for the still small voice of our conscience.

As we develop our relationship with Jesus we start to recognize His voice more and more. We know Him intimately and when others speak we are able to decipher the spirit of truth from the spirit of error. Those who are of God hears the words of God.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; — John 10:27

For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.– John 1:17

and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” — John 8:32

We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. — 1 John 4:6

He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.” — John 8:47

I Love The Way You Love Me

Feb24

Lord, I love the way You love me

You are so good to me
Lord, I love the way You love me
For eternity.
God, I love the way You love me
In the way that You direct.
God, I love the way You love me
Always to protect.
God, I love the way You love me
You’ve always got my back.
God, I love the way You love me
In You I never lack.
God, You are amazing
That You would love even me.
So much that You would send
Your Son to Calvary.
Jesus, I love the way You love me
In Your faithfulness so true
Jesus, I love the way You love me
Help me to be faithful too.
Continually seeking Him,

Sharon