"He Is Still The Same"

"This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

 As I sought the Lord for the word this morning, I knew He laid this verse on my heart. My first thought was... but I have already written numerous devotions on this verse. He replied back ... it is still the day that I have made. 

 

No matter how many times we may write about it, no matter how many times we may preach from this verse, today is still the day that He has made. That being said, He is still the maker of the day. He is still watching over the day. He is still meeting each need we have today. He is still with us today. He is still fulfilling His promises to us today. He is still providing us with strength, grace, peace, assurance, wisdom, instruction, healing, deliverance-- or whatever we need to make it through the day. He is still loving us today. He still desires to walk and talk with us today. 

 

With the passing of each day, comes a brand-new day. And in each new day the Lord still remains the same. Each day when it arrives is "this" day. It is this present day, not a past day, nor a future day. Therefore, He is a present God today. He is still faithful this day as He has been every day. So, look to Him this day. Walk with Him this day. Lean upon Him this day. Trust Him this day. Because He remains the same, and is the same yesterday, today and forever.

 

Have a great day. This is still the day that the Lord has made, and He is still the same today as He has always been.

 

For further reading:

Hebrews 13:8

Malachi 3:6

"No Mystery To Him"

"O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me." Psalm 139:1

Years ago, my dad and I were exploring my grandfather's shed-- this was many years after my grandfather had passed away.  In the shed, hid against a wall I found an old portrait of a lady. You could tell the portrait was very old by the way she was dressed and the kind of paint that was used. I assumed it had to be a relative but didn't know who. The frame was so far gone that it was unsalvageable, but I rescued the picture and hung it in a bedroom. 

Recently, my cousin and I were talking about the picture, wondering who she was. In the past I had asked all of the older family members-- aunts, uncles, cousins-- and no one knew. My dad didn't know. My mom didn't know. No one on either side of the family could identify the lady in the portrait. So, my cousin and I have decided to name her, The Mystery Lady! 

As I thought about this "Mystery Lady", wondering that no one knew who she was, I started thinking about the Lord. We may not know who she was, but He does. He knows not only who she is, but everything there is to know about her-- when she was born, when she died, if she was married, had children, or had a job. Then it made me think about how that God knows us. He knows us, we are no "mystery" person to Him. He knows our name, the number of hairs on our heads, the thoughts we have before we think them. He knows what we will be doing tomorrow, what we will be doing ten years from now. 

The more I thought about this, the more grateful I became because I am not a "mystery" to the Lord. Others may not know me. But He does. Like the song says, "He knows my name". I am known by Him personally. What joy, peace and comfort that brings to my heart. It can yours too to think that the God of the universe, the Creator of all, knows you. 

Have a great day. You are no mystery to God. He knows just who you are.  

"Trust His Leading"

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" Jeremiah 17:9 

You all have heard the phrase- "Be led by (follow) your heart". It's a sweet thought and popular one, but a wrong one. It is dangerous, in most cases, to be led by your heart. The Bible says that our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked. They will often lead us astray, because they lead us toward their own wants and desires. 

 

There is only one sure way to be led-- by the Spirit of God. The Spirit will never lead us in the wrong direction. He will never lead us in a way that is destructive or hurtful. He will always lead us on the path of life. Whereas our own hearts see something they want and will pursue it often without regard to whether it is best for us and will actually convince us that it is the best. How many people have pursued "pipedreams" because their hearts wanted to do it. How many have been in relationships with the wrong person because their heart wanted it. Even Christian people- they convinced themselves that it was the right thing to do because it "felt" right in their hearts. 

 

The only time we can trust our hearts in leading us in the right direction is when our hearts are totally surrendered to the Lord and have been sanctified to His will. It is only when He creates in us a clean heart-- removing the deceit and wicked desires-- that we can trust that the motives of our hearts are pure. It is only when we love the Lord with all our heart that there is no room for any of our own desires to lead us.

 

No, we can't be led by our hearts. But God Himself promises to lead us as we seek Him. We can't trust our hearts, but we can trust that as we surrender them more and more to the Lord, He will put His desires within them. When He does, we can trust that though we can't be led by them, they will not be able to lead us astray as they once did.

 

Have a great day. We can't be led by our hearts, but we can be led by the Spirit of God. 

 

For further reading:

Romans 8:14

Mark 12:30; 7:21,22

Psalm 51:10

Jeremiah 24:7

"Praise-Worthy"

"Praise ye the Lord. Praise, O ye servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord." Psalm 113:1 

We are all quick to call upon the Lord for help when we are in trouble, but when was the last time you spent some time just praising Him. Time not asking Him for anything but instead thanking Him for all that He has done for you. The ten lepers were quick to ask Jesus for healing, but only one came back and gave Jesus praise for it. 

There are numerous verses that admonish us to praise Him, and for various reasons.

 

He is praised for His avenging power. (Judges 5:2) Have you praised Him for avenging you before someone who was working against you? 

 

He is praised for His goodness. (Psalm 106:1) Has He been good to you? 

 

He is praised for His merciful kindness and truth. (Psalm 117:2) Has He showed you kindness? Has He been merciful to you when He should not have been, because you deserved punishment? He has given you truth through His word to guide and direct you through life. Should you praise Him for that? 

 

He is praised for His delivering power. (Jeremiah 20:13) Has He delivered you-- from sin, for a bondage, from a near fatal accident, from those who were trying to destroy you, from an illness? 

 

Just what has He done for you that is praise-worthy? The greatest thing He did for me was to send His Son Jesus to die on the cross and pay the price for my sins and take my punishment so that I could have eternal life. Personally, if He never did anything else for me that would be plenty enough reason for me to never stop praising Him. How about you? 

 

He is worthy to be praised, and if He has done anything for you, you should give Him praise every day. 

 

Have a great day. What has the Lord done for you? Isn't that cause to praise Him?

 

"Hope In The Word"

"I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope." Psalm 130:5 

Did you ever place your hope in what someone else said? As a child your parent may have told you they would take you somewhere, but they didn't. A spouse made a vow to love you always but filed for divorce later. The government makes promises of providing us with wonderful benefits, but it is false. A boss promised you job security but then the business failed, and you were without a job. A lot of people make lots of promises but don't always keep them. They say one thing but do another. We have all done that ourselves. I have made promises that later I was unable to keep. I have said something but circumstances beyond my control prevented me from fulfilling my word.

 

I am here to remind you this morning that God is not like that. We can put our hope in His words. He doesn't make promises He can't keep. He doesn't go back on His word. He doesn't let circumstances control the validity of what He says. He doesn't say one thing then act in another manner. His words are not only true, but they are truth. His words are eternal. They will never pass away. They are powerful. They were what God used to create the universe. His words are what continues to hold it all together. And while we may not always be able to put our hope in the words of another, we can always put our hope in what God says.

 

Have a great day. You can't always place your hope in the words of another, but you can always put your hope in God's word.

 

For further reading:

Psalm 119:81,114

Matthew 24:35

Hebrews 11:3

John 17:17