"The Words You Are Saying"

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

"I will rejoice".  This has to do with the state of your heart, but it also has to do with the words of your mouth.  Your words should have the evidence of "rejoicing".  That means your words should be happy words, words of praise, words of thanksgiving, words of peace, words of edification and encouragement.  They should be words of blessings, words that express joy, praise and faith.

"I will rejoice".  Rejoicing does not contain words of doubt, fear, or unbelief.  They are not words of murmuring, criticizing, bitterness and complaining.  They are not words of moaning and self-pity, gloom, despair, fretting or hopelessness.   

What will your words be today?  What words will you speak?  What will come out of your mouth?  Will your speech be full of words of rejoicing or will you speak negative words of despair?

Have a great day.  What words will come out of your mouth today?  Words of rejoicing?

For further reading:
Psalm 19:14; 34:1; 51:15
Proverbs 8:8

Coffee Break Update

Good morning, all. I know you have been wondering why I have not been sending out the devotional over the past several weeks. Some have contacted me to find out. Most of those who are on Facebook already know. Several weeks ago, I had a pretty bad fall. I was in town and tripped in a parking lot over a speed bump. I landed very hard on the asphalt. I wound up having to go to the emergency room. I had x-rays on my arm, ribs and knee (15 x-rays in all). Thankfully, the x-rays only showed a fractured arm. But I was unable to walk on my leg for a few days. Long story short... I was not able to use my hand for a while, so it was hard to type, or do anything, one handed. This is why I did not send out an explanation as to why I was not sending out the Coffee Break. I am much better, but my arm is still fractured, and I am still in pain on occasion. My hand still hurts when I use it too much. I will be going back to the doctor for more x-rays in another week. 

I praise God for protecting me during the fall. It could have been much worse. I could have had multiple broken bones, etc. God is good. He has been with me and is healing my body and giving me strength. I hope to start back sending out the Coffee Break this week. If you don't get one for a day or two, you will understand. Thank you all for the prayers. Our God is so wonderful. I give Him glory and am rejoicing in tribulation!! Have a blessed day!! 

"Getting To Jesus"

"Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. So, they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves. "But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to Him." Mark 6:33

The text is pretty self-explanatory. The disciples of Jesus had been so busy ministering and teaching that they didn't even have time to relax and eat. So, Jesus told them to get away from the crowd and rest. They got in a boat to go to a secluded place. The people who saw them departing recognized Jesus. Instead of staying where they were, they started following Him, running along the shore to get to where He was. They outran the boat and were there when Jesus arrived. 

The thing that spoke to me from this account was the fact that the people made every effort to get to where Jesus was. They ran on foot to get to Him. They ran quiet a distance. They did not stop. They did not give up. They did not quit. They did not turn around and go back to where they came from. They pursued Him and they were determined that nothing was going to stop them. 

Are you pursuing Jesus? Are you willing to do whatever it takes to "get to Him"? Are you determined not to stop, give up or turn around until you reach Him? They wouldn't and didn't give up. They had one goal-- get to Jesus! Is this your goal as well? Is it your goal in the good times as well as the bad times? Our one main goal and heart's desire should be to be wherever Jesus is-- and not let anything stop us.

Have a great day. Is pursuing Jesus the goal and desire of your life? 

"Wicked In Thought"

"The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts."  Psalm 10:4

The wicked have too much pride to seek God.  They think they don't need Him because they know it all already.  They think they can take care of themselves well enough without Him.  They believe they are strong enough, have enough power and are wise enough to do life on their own without God.  If they think about Him at all it is in the sense of-- who needs Him, that is if He is even real. 

What we have just stated is the attitude of the wicked, it should never be the attitude of the righteous-- those who have come to Jesus Christ as Savior and had their sins forgiven and lives changed by His grace and power.  Instead, the opposite is true for us.  We denounce pride and humble ourselves before God.  We acknowledge our total dependency upon Him.  We know we can't make it without Him.   The Lord God is always in our thoughts.  Meaning that our minds stay focus on Him and His word.  It means that we think about Him during our waking hours.  It also means that we acknowledge Him in every decision that we make-- knowing we don't have the ability to direct our own lives.   

Which of these two best describes you?  Are you righteous but still acting and thinking like the wicked?  Do you acknowledge God in all your ways, or do you think you can do it on your own without Him?  Do you think about Him only when you need Him, or is He the sum of all your waking thoughts?  Do you seek Him daily, continually, or only on occasion?  Are you full of pride?  Are you a "know it all"?  As Christians, we should not follow the way of the wicked, we are no longer like they are.  We once were but the Lord changed us-- if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature, old things pass away and all things become new. 

Have a great day.  Are you a Christian but are still acting like the wicked?  If so, something is wrong.

For further reading:
Proverbs 3:6
2 Corinthians 5:17
 

"He's Mindful Of You"

"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained."  Psalm 8:3

When you look at the magnificence and the vastness of the universe, then you look at man in comparison, we are not even a "speck" in size.  Once you go so far into the atmosphere, we disappear from sight.  Yet, God is mindful of us.  More mindful of us than any other of His creations.  So mindful of us that He sent His One and Only Begotten Son into this world to save us from our sins.  He didn't send Him for the stars, the moon, the sun, the planets, the trees and other plant life, nor did He send Him for the animals, fish and reptiles.  He sent Him for us-- this less than a speck in the universe.

Never think that God doesn't care about you.  Never think that He doesn't see you and isn't aware of you.  Never think that you are too small for Him to notice.  He loves you.  He cares about you.  He sees you.  He knows where you are.  Even the billions of stars and the vast galaxies can't hide you from Him.  He is mindful of you and where you are.

Have a great day.  Man is so tiny in comparison to the vastness of creation, yet God is mindful of us.  He is mindful of you.

For further reading:
Genesis 1:1
John 3:16
Psalm 139