Just a quick thought for today:

I was reading through Proverbs 9, when I saw something I'd not seen before. Verse 6 says "Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of understanding." What stood out to me was the contrast of plural and singular. We are commanded to leave our simple ways (plural), and instead, to walk in the way (singular) of understanding. There is only one way to understanding.

So what is the way? Well, prepare to be a good Sunday School student, because the answer is JESUS! (was it just me, or was the answer to Sunday School questions always Jesus?!)

Have a read of John 14:6
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me".

Jesus is the way. Not only that, He is the ONLY way. I know that the Proverbs verse wasn't talking about coming to the Father, but I still think it applies. If we want to come to the Father, if we want to have understanding, if we want something of value, follow Jesus. He is the one true way.

I have no idea whose day it is but I thought I'd pop in here with a verse God kept dropping in my spirit as I was praying/journaling:

James 1:5-6 (New International Version)

5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

This verse kept popping up most likely because I was asking for wisdom and guidance and just something I thought I ought to share.

Remember if anyone here ever needs to talk, I'm around

I just love how God can use anything to encourage us. Today, I was writing up 2 pages of notes on teh book of Galatians (fascinating book, you should have a read!), when I came across a verse that sums up what I was trying to tell a friend last week. In the middle of me reading the passage simply to know what it said, God encouraged me. I wasn't reading to get encouragement, yet that is what He gave me

Galatians 5:25 wrote:

Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives.

God doesn't just want us to follow Him when it suits us, or if He leads us somewhere we want to go. The apostle Paul encourages us to follow the Spirit in EVERY PART of our lives. And do you know what that means? Yup, it means in ALL things! So let's do it! Let our lives be dedicated to following Him in all things.

_________________
*Larissa*

It may not be your day, but it may be your moment

This was my "Girlfriends in God" devo today and I really enjoyed it so I thought I'd pass it along.

August 27, 2009
Stepping Out in Faith
Mary Southerland

Today's Truth

Hebrews 11:6 (ICB) "Without faith no one can please God. Anyone who comes to God must believe that He is real and that He rewards those who truly want to find him."

Friend To Friend

Billy Graham once said, "Most of us do not understand nuclear fission, but we accept it. I don't understand television, but I accept it. I don't understand radio, but every week my voice goes out around the world, and I accept it. Why is it so easy to accept all these man-made miracles and so difficult to accept the miracles of the Bible?"

Faith can be defined as "confidence or trust". We all have faith. We walk into a room and flip a switch, believing in faith that light will result. We sit in a chair, confident it will support us. We go to a doctor who is a total stranger. He gives us a prescription that we can't read, which we take to a pharmacist we don't know. We are given a bottle of mysterious pills and we gobble them down - all in faith!

Our problem is not a lack of faith. Our problem is where we place our faith. Faith is more than just believing. It is acting on that belief. The story is told of a woman who lived in a remote valley in Wales. When electricity came to the rural area, one of the first customers was a young woman with a large family. However, the electric company soon noticed that the woman was using a very small amount of electricity each month and suspecting a problem with the installed equipment, they sent a repairman to check the meter. After a close inspection, the worker found the equipment was installed properly. Confused, the repairman knocked on the front door to give the woman his report. "We've inspected the meter which seems to be working properly. The only thing I can figure out is that you are not using the power that is available to you. Don't you use any electricity?" the repairman asked. "Oh yes" she said. "We turn it on every night to see how to light our oil lamps and then we switch it off again."

We often approach God's power in the same way, knowing it exists but failing to appropriate that power. Instead, we work diligently in our own strength until that strength is gone and we are left feeling empty and without purpose. That is not God's plan.

Hebrews 11:1 What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see. (NLT)

We are not saved by faith plus works. We are saved by faith that leads to good works. We attempt to build a life on the flawed premise that if we do enough good works, God will be pleased. However, those works are useless and count for nothing unless the heart motivation behind them is one of faith. Faith is the altar of powerful living because faith pleases God. I often picture my Father watching with delight as I step into the unknown, walk straight through my fear and trust Him to be there. I truly believe God loves big dreamers, children who take Him at His Word and walk by faith...not by sight. Go ahead! Take that first step of faith today!

Let's Pray

Father God, I pray that my heart and mind would be childlike in the matters of faith. I choose today to accept Your plan without understanding that plan. I choose to believe You and Your Truth, even though that truth is hard to believe. I choose to keep my gaze on You and my glance on circumstances. I want to be a woman of faith, Lord. I want to please You by stepping out in faith.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.