Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.

When thinking about this passage, I've always had the image in my mind of about four paths in a dark forest (don't ask me why!), and one path would be lit up with a spotlight to show that it is the correct one.

But maybe it's not always like that. There are times when all four paths are lit up and good be good options, but on closer inspection you see that three of them have "do not cross" tape across them. Maybe two paths are lit up, and you have to make the choice (best made through prayer, reading Scripture and seeking godly counsel). Maybe something else altogether. The point is that God will show you which path to take, however He does it.

This is where the first part of the passage comes into effect. Trust in the Lord! Trust that the path He has shown you is indeed the right one. But remember - you have to take a step along the path He shows you. It's no good just looking!

Proverbs 2:1-6

My child, listen to what I say,
and treasure my commands.
Tune your ears to wisdom,
and concentrate on understanding.
Cry out for insight,
and ask for understanding.
Search for them as you would for silver;
seek them like hidden treasures.
Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord,
and you will gain knowledge of God.
For the Lord grants wisdom!
From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

I don't know how many times I've asked god to give me wisdom. Yet, it is me, not Him, who has to take action. I have to "tune [my] ears to wisdom" (v2) - the wisdom is there, and if I want it, I'd better listen!

I'm not saying it is wrong to ask for wisdom - far from it! Verse 3 says that we are to "cry out" and "ask" for insight and understanding. Of course, you'd better be asking God if you want true wisdom (v6), not wordly wisdom.

However, don't just ask and wait - tune in on what God is saying!

Great devotion, Larissa. Thanks.

1 Peter 2:4-8

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says:
"See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame."
Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
"The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone,"

Who or what is the capstone of your life? A capstone, also called the cornerstone, was crucial to the building it was a part of. It was what held the building together - without, the building would crumble. So maybe I should phrase my question like this:

What, if lost, would make your life crumble?

If your internet access was cut, how much would that affect your life?
If you lost the ability to do well at school/college/work/sport?
What if you lost your friends?
What if you lost your family?
What if you lost Jesus?

So many things in life are important, but the most important is Jesus. He needs to be our capstone. He needs to be the one without whom our lives would crumble. The greatest commandment is not that we love our internet connection, abilities or relationships with others, but that we "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matt. 22:37), then we are to love others (Matt. 22:39).

Have a think today about what is your capstone... and do some building replacements if necessary!


_____
devotion based on sermon by Pastor Clayton, BCSA, 3/3/09

Proverbs 22:29

Do you see a man skilled in his work?
He will serve before kings;
he will not serve before obscure men.


Do you ever feel that no one notices when you do a good job? Maybe you feel like everyone notices your mistakes but never see the good?

Well, take heart, the Lord notices. Proverbs 22:29 says that skilled people will serve before kings. And do you know who the ultimate King is?
Yup.
It's God.
He sees the "skilled" work you do, and He will use you (yes - YOU) to serve Him. What an honour!!

So remember, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31) - He's the one watching

Proverbs 1:10, 33

My child, if sinners entice you,
turn your back on them!
...
But all who listen to me will live in peace,
untroubled by fear of harm.

What do you do when someone asks you to join them in doing something wrong?
Do you join them?
Say no but hang around to watch?

Well, the Bible tells us how we are to respond (isn't it funny how often the Bible actually shows us what we should do...?) We are to "turn our backs on them"! Temptation is a serious thing, and to fight it we need to do more than just speak against it - we must take action! Response to temptation must be active, it cannot be passive, lest we get pulled into sin.

But when someone wise offers to share with you, don't even think about turning your back (The "me" in verse 33 refers to "Wisdom" - see verse 20.) On the contrary, LISTEN TO THEM! Seize the opotunity to learn, and then you will "live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm."


May God bless you with an oppotunity to grow in wisdom today.

Philippians 1:3-6
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. NIV

Every time I think of you, I thank my God. And whenever I mention you in my prayers, it makes me happy. This is because you have taken part with me in spreading the good news from the first day you heard about it. God is the one who began this good work in you, and I am certain that he won't stop before it is complete on the day that Christ Jesus returns. ESV

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. NKJV

I've been going through Elizabeth George's 'Becoming a woman of Peace' that goes through Philippians with my women's study group and we read this verse the other day.

Just before I went to the study I had one of those moments where you realise a truth from God's word. We sing a song that goes 'He who began a good work in you....will be faithful to complete it....in you'. As I was thinking on this passage a few things struck me:

1) God is doing a work in us
2) It is God who started that work
3) The work is a good work
4) God will finish that work

And then I thought, wow, thats pretty incredible right? But there is something the passage doesn't say. It doesn't say that that good work which God is doing in us is going to make us happy. It doesn't say that it will be easy. It doesn't say that it will be what we want or expect or plan. In fact it may be directly opposite to what we hope for or dream or plan. But that thought should be far from us because it is not OUR work - it is God's, and it is a GOOD work. And we can trust that God is faithful and will finish that work in us. Finish - complete - perfect. We don't know what that looks like but we can trust that God does!

So whatever we do and wherever we go we can trust that God has begun a good work in our lives and hearts and that He is constantly working within us to finish that work - and that His work and His plan is good. And in that thought we can have ultimate, true peace.

AMEN. Thanks Heidi

I don't have anything written that I feel led to share, but instead wanted to share this Psalm:

Psalm 17


1 Hear, O LORD, my righteous plea;
listen to my cry.
Give ear to my prayer—
it does not rise from deceitful lips.
2 May my vindication come from you;
may your eyes see what is right.

3 Though you probe my heart and examine me at night,
though you test me, you will find nothing;
I have resolved that my mouth will not sin.

4 As for the deeds of men—
by the word of your lips
I have kept myself
from the ways of the violent.

5 My steps have held to your paths;
my feet have not slipped.

6 I call on you, O God, for you will answer me;
give ear to me and hear my prayer.

7 Show the wonder of your great love,
you who save by your right hand
those who take refuge in you from their foes.

8 Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings

9 from the wicked who assail me,
from my mortal enemies who surround me.

10 They close up their callous hearts,
and their mouths speak with arrogance.

11 They have tracked me down, they now surround me,
with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground.

12 They are like a lion hungry for prey,
like a great lion crouching in cover.

13 Rise up, O LORD, confront them, bring them down;
rescue me from the wicked by your sword.

14 O LORD, by your hand save me from such men,
from men of this world whose reward is in this life.
You still the hunger of those you cherish;
their sons have plenty,
and they store up wealth for their children.

15 And I—in righteousness I will see your face;
when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.

Exodus 23:27-30 (KJV)

Quote:

"I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee. And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee. I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land. "

I have been really challenged by this concept lately. The idea that God's timing is not my timing. So many times I can be impatient. I think, "God, if this is something You want me to do, why can't I do it now?!"

But I am learning that God's timing is perfect and His waiting is with reason. Here, He tells the Israelites that he will not be removing their enemies within a year. I can imagine... God promises to give them this land, tells them to take it but then turns around and says, "Yeah, I am not taking out your enemies for a while." I would think, "Say WHAT?!?" But He has a reason. If the enemy was kicked out, then the land would become desolate. Israel wouldn't have time to settle in properly.

Instead, God says that He will remove them little by little. Sometimes, that is how He leads us. Does He want us at point A? Eventually. Be patient and follow His leading. Don't run ahead. He has a reason for waiting.

Psalm 51:15 (NKJV)

"O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise."

First off, I'm not good at writing out things like this, I'm much better at talking, so bear with me!

Yesterday Timothy and I were quoting (i.e. quoting the passages of the Bible he knows (and the couple that I know that he doesn't!) this Psalm and as we read verse 15 I thought, 'Do I do this?' I immediately thought of this verse:

Luke 6:45 ~ "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks."

If God opened my lips and I spoke out of the abundance of my heart, would I show forth His praise? I have to admit that more often than not I would fail. We need to be praising God in our hearts as we go throughout our day, and if we're praising Him there will be no room for complaining, selfishness or discouragement. So my encouragement to you all today is to praise God in your hearts, no matter what struggles you have or things go wrong, may our hearts be fountains of praise to our awesome God!

(ahhhh I had nearly finished and the page went backwards and I lost the lot!!!)

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thess 5:16-18 NKJV.

Verse 17 says 'pray without ceasing'. That verse is continually on the back of my mind. Just one of those that always seems to stick with you!

So it got me thinking the other day - what does it mean to pray without ceasing? Do I have to spend hours on my knees? What does it mean to pray?

Well I reckon we all go through seasons in our lives. A few years ago I would get woken by a text message from Will and we'd get up and read and pray at 5.30am almost every morning. We did it for quite a while - but it doesn't happen anymore! These days I probably don't spend half the time I used to. Then I know some old ladies (and men) who have very little to do during the day, so they become amazing prayer warriors! There really is no excusing our prayer life, or lack thereof, but I think we do need to realise that there are different times and seasons we go through in our lives.

So back to prayer - I've been reading Exodus and its clear Moses was a man of prayer. Nowhere does it say he would get up at 5 every day and spend the first 3 hours talking to God - no, the moment he had an issue, he would drop everything and cry out to the Lord. Wherever he was! Flipping forward to the NT, Jesus gave his disciples a pattern for prayer - the Lord's prayer. Did he mean to recite it daily and that was it? I think not, but it is something we can use as a pattern for our own prayer. Then Jesus himself prayed - and what awesome prayers are they! He just pours out his heart to His Father and it is the most natural thing in the world for Him. Then Paul! The guy who said 'pray without ceasing' was often traipsing around Asia or evangelising Roman soldiers or writing amazing letters - when did HE have time to pray?

Well it looks like prayer is more than our churchified view of getting on our knees with a shopping list every day. Here is a quote I enjoyed:
If we are willing to spend hours on end to learn to play the piano, operate a computer, or fly an airplane, it is sheer nonsense for us to imagine that we can learn the high art of getting guidance through communion with the Lord without being willing to set aside time for it. It is no accident that the Bible speaks of prayer as a form of waiting on God. - Paul Rees.

Waiting on God... wow, I like that. Prayer is much much more than a shopping list we offload at the start of the day and tick off at the end. To me, the level of prayer is directly proportional to our relationship with the Lord. To me, God cares about the little things just as much as the big things. The way I see it, God wants us to be in constant communion with Him - about every little thing. Praying for ourselves, for others, for big things, for little things. For temporary things, for eternal things. He wants us to be waiting on Him. Constantly.

This has gone on way too long but hopefully it made a bit of sense

It wasn't too long, and it made perfect sense! (to me at least )

Wow, I ran a tuturial at college on a totally different topic, but this verse was a key verse that was mentioned. I'd somehow forgetten it... and I KNOW I need reminding of it! So thanks for sharing Hy!

So I have the internet again, and as no one has done a devotional today, I thought I could still do it...

The devotional I'm doing today comes from a book called One-Minute Prayers. I read this particular one sometime ago and loved it! It's a really great prayer, it was so relevant to what I was going through at that stage and was really comforting... Ok so this is exactly as it is in the book



Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself (Matt 6:34)

It seems like I am always comparing my life plan to that of others. I wonder if I am behind for all I hope to have or accomplish. God, forgive me for this constant and worthless use of energy. Grant me the discipline to break the habit of letting my concerns for tomorrow control my today.

My life will unfold in the way You intended for me. There is comfort in knowing I do not need to catch up with anyone else's plan. I have a custom-made plan and I am right on schedule.

Sorry folks this is a little later in the day but here goes...

Lately I've been becoming convicted of a false note in my life. I can sing songs about how Jesus is my all in all, how He is my highest priority etc. But when it comes down to the rub, to the daily grind of life, like how I'm gonna spend my time things don't add up quite right. Don't get me wrong I do love Jesus, I love Him more and more. I'm growing in that relationship. But there is a problem, I'm dealing with the flesh. With those other 'gods' that force their way in and demand my devotion.

When I give way to those other things I don't experience the abundant life that Jesus promises in John 10:10. "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." I feel the death that comes with turning away from Life. It's scary (and I know I'm not the only one dealing with this) that when I choose those other things I'm choosing death. I'm slapping my Savior in the face. :cry:

Lets go all out for Jesus and turn from the death and darkness to the Light and Life in Jesus.

Libby