Tag Archive | life

The God Who

Dec19

The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ — Acts 17:24-28

The God who …
Made the world and all that is in it.
Is Lord of heaven and earth.
Needs nothing.
Gives.
Is our life and breathe.
Knows our life.
Sets boundaries (giving security and direction)
Is near.

Why? Because that is who God is. So seek Him now for in Him we live, move and exist as His children.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Jesus Is

Dec2

Now for several days he was with the disciples who were at Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” All those hearing him continued to be amazed, and were saying, “Is this not he who in Jerusalem destroyed those who called on this name, and who had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?” But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding the Jews who lived at Damascus by proving that this Jesus is the Christ. — Acts 9:19-22

The power of Christ in us. He can transform anyone. No one is beyond His power to transform. No sin is beyond His power or compassion to forgive. Simply by humbly confessing Jesus Christ as the Son of God and admitting that it is really only Him who can give forgiveness and life.

Won’t you allow Jesus into your life and let Him transform you? You’ll never regret it.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Released Then Reported

Nov17

When they had been released, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. — Acts 4:23

Peter and John had just been released after being arrested for speaking about Jesus. Where was their first stop? Immediately returning to other believers and telling them of the events that brought glory to God. Not only did this encounter cause those who witnessed it to praise the Lord, giving Him glory, but also brought glory to God in those who heard the testimony of Peter and John.

Testimonies bring about encouragement in the believer, salvation to nonbelievers, and glory to God. Are you sharing testimonies of Jesus’ work in your life? If not what is stopping you?

Share a testimony today and you’ll be a blessing.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

To Speak Or Not

Nov16

And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” — Acts 4:18-20

Do you ever think about what your response would be if confronted by the law and told not to share Jesus? Has Jesus made such an impression in your life that you are willing to risk imprisonment, ridicule, your very life? Is Jesus so alive in your life that you can’t stop speaking of what you have seen and heard?

If not, what needs to change about your walk with the Lord? Are you reading His Word, seeking Him through prayer, loving Him with ALL your heart, soul, mind, and strength and heeding His words in obedience?

Today is the day to make a change. Take time during worship to come face to face with where you are spiritually and humble yourself before the mighty God confessing, repenting and let the healing begin to bring you back into a right relationship with God so that you are effective for His glory.

God bless your worship today.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Sacrificial Worship

Nov9

Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies so as not to serve or worship any god except their own God. — Daniel 3:28

How much are you willing to give up to worship the One and Only True God?

Praying your worship today is a sacrificial one. Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. (Romans 12:1)

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Devoted to Prayer

Nov4

These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers. — Acts 1:14

Jesus had just ascended to heaven. The disciples and women who followed Jesus met together to pray. Not just a quick prayer meeting but they devoted themselves to prayer. Devote: to concentrate, to dedicate. Their Master, their Hope had left them after He changed their lives.

Have you been there? Feeling hopeless as if Jesus was no longer in your life? You don’t see His hand at work or feel His presence? Every life endeavor seems more than you can handle? The joy and hope has been sucked from you, leaving you dry? When was the last time you had a heart to heart with Jesus? The last time you bowed down before Him and worshiped Him with no inhibitions, no agenda, just genuine, devoted prayer with the God of the universe?

The participants in this verse devoted themselves to prayer as a group. How often do you attend corporate prayer meetings? “These all with one mind” focused on Jesus brought them together to pray. I believe a church, family, group that prays together will be of like mind. There is only one Holy Spirit and prayer unites those who pray together. If more congregations devoted themselves to prayer there would be less disgruntled people in church. They would be of like mind.

Not only does prayer bring unity but it brings power to accomplish God’s plan for the church, the family, the individual, the group that gathers for God’s purpose. Without prayer our endeavors are weak and many times wasted. We need to go back to the basics of humble prayer and see the power that is there as Jesus answers those prayers.

Are you or will you become devoted?

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

The Greatest Thing In All My Life: Serving You

Oct29

Mark Pendergrass
The greatest thing in all my life is serving You.
The greatest thing in all my life is serving You.
I want to serve You more; I want to serve you more.
The greatest thing in all my life is serving You.

http://music4christ.cjb.net

As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. — 1 Peter 4:10-11

serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews; — Acts 20:19

not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; — Romans 12:11

Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; — Romans 12:6-11

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

B.I.B.L.E.

Aug19

With Your counsel You will guide me, And afterward receive me to glory. — Psalm 73:24
For such is God, Our God forever and ever; He will guide us until death. — Psalm 48:14

God’s counsel is for all of life. He has not left us to flounder in this world without Him. It is His character to guide us. What comfort it is to know that He loves us, desires us to trust Him as He guides us, and will not stop guiding us until death when we are ushered into glory.

Remember that God’s word is truth. Those times when you feel like life is overwhelming and you have no direction, cling to God’s promises. His counsel is what guides. Where do we find His counsel? In the Holy Word of God, the Word of Truth, the Bible. God has a wealth of information, counsel, guidance right at our fingertips. What is stopping you from receiving His counsel? Seek Him today and know the counsel of our Lord to guide you until death.

One of my sons has an acronym for Bible:
Basic
Instruction
Before
Leaving
Earth.
I thought it fit for this devotional.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Live in Grace

Aug17

And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain — for He says, “At the acceptable time I listened to you, And on the day of salvation I helped you.

God’s timing is always perfect and aren’t we glad that at the acceptable time He listened and helped us on the day of our salvation? Let us not receive this grace in vain. ”Behold, now is “the acceptable time,” behold, now is “the day of salvation”—

Let our talk reflect our walk and our walk give no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited, especially the ministry of Jesus in us.

How do we do this? In everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, in beatings, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger, in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, in the word of truth, in the power of God.
In much endurance by the power of God!

By the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, The armor of God (Ephesians 6:14-17) and prayer. (Ephesians 6:18)

By glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; regarded as deceivers and yet true; as unknown yet well-known, as dying yet behold, we live; as punished yet not put to death, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing all things. In every second, minute, hour, day and night of our lives. Serving and encouraging others to live enduring lives, surrendered to Jesus.

we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. — 2 Corinthians 4:8-11

God’s blessing and strength as you put on the armor of God, pray and receive God’s grace and live it with no regrets. Let us not receive God’s grace in vain.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Step By Step

Aug8

Now the Lord said to Abram,

“Go forth from your country,
And from your relatives
And from your father’s house,
To the land which I will show you;
And I will make you a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing; — Genesis 12:1-2

Four days a week I walk four miles in the morning. On two of those days I take a very long path down hill at the beginning of my walk and, you guessed it, I have a very long hill to climb at the end of my walk. That can be pretty taxing the last quarter mile of your walk.

The other day my walking partner and I took that particular route walking a total of five miles and it was a chore to get up that hill. I thought I was going to pass out and for the next two days, thank the Lord it was the weekend, I paid a price with a very painful hip. That is not why I am writing this. On this particular day I looked up the hill desiring the top to come but it seemed so far off. It was as if the top kept creeping away the more I walked. It was grueling trying to keep my eyes on the top of the hill and realizing I still had so far to go to get to the top.

The following Tuesday I took that route again but when I got to the end I didn’t look up the hill. I focused on my feet and each step I took. As I went along I kept focused on the moment and enjoyed each step. By the time I looked up I had conquered most of the hill and so the short distance left was not much of a challenge.

As I thought about the difference in these two days my mind wandered off to how God gives us instruction as we need it. With Abram it was go. Abram under the direction of the Lord set out to “the land which I will show you”. How is that for direction? All Abram was told was to “go forth from your country and from your father’s house”. All Abram had was the Word of God and a promise. How’s that for trust? One step. One step of faith. Trust in the One God.

God directs our steps, path, each day. We only see a portion of the picture He is painting of our lives. I think that is a good thing. If we actually saw some of the things God has planned for us I think we would turn tail and run down the hill. On the other hand sometimes we long so much for what God wants us to do that we tend to not notice each step along the way. We miss out. God is building us into His perfect child one step at a time. Each step draws us closer to the fulfillment of His plan. Let us not forget to enjoy the journey. Trust each step to the Almighty. The reward is still waiting when we get there but let us not regret the steps it takes to reach it.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon