"His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies." Psalm 112:8
I looked up the word "established" and discovered that in this verse it meant- to be upheld, sustained, aided, propped, unmoved. When fearful times come, we do not have to be afraid. When the enemy comes against us, we do not have to be afraid. When devastation comes, we do not have to be afraid. When everything rises against us, we do not have to be afraid. How is that possible? Because our heart is "established". It is upheld and propped up by our trust in the Lord. Therefore, these things do not have to move us. We can be unmovable during times that threaten to shake us to our very core. We can still have peace in the midst of the storm.
The three Hebrews were unmovable in their faith even when faced with the threat of being thrown into the fiery furnace. Daniel was unmovable in his faith when faced with the threat of the lion's den. Job, even though he questioned what was happening to him and why he was going through such calamity, was not moved in his heart though his world had collapsed around him. All of these faced great trials and were in life threatening situations, yet they were not afraid because their hearts were established in the Lord.
What does having an established heart mean to us? It means that we do not have to fear either. Why? Because our hearts and lives are upheld by the Lord. He is the One who keeps us; aids us; props us up; watches over us; delivers us from evil; preserves our lives and is with us always. Is your heart established in Him? Do you trust Him with your whole life? Do you rest in His ability to take care of you- no matter what? Do you know that He is in control of your life regardless of what may be coming against you? Do you rest in the knowledge that He loves you and is with you? When our hearts are established in our faith in Him, we will not be moved.
Have a great day. Is your heart established in the Lord?
For further reading:
Psalm 46:1-3; 37:17,34
Job 13:15
Isaiah 26:3
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Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell
and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from
About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.
Please feel free to
call (601) 833-5278 or
Email: mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net
Visit us on the web: www.mastersbusiness.org
You are welcomed to make copies and distribute them free of charge.
You may also forward them via e-mail or post them to your website - leaving the whole message in tact.
Please remember to give credit to
About the Master's Business Ministry.
Take time to visit our on-line Christian magazine and blogs.
http://livingstonesmagazine.homestead.com
Monday, March 14, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
"My Shepherd"
"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. " Psalm 23:1
I love this... "the Lord is MY shepherd". That's personal. The Psalmist didn't say He was their shepherd, or her shepherd, or his shepherd, or someone else's shepherd, (although He is to all who will place their faith in Him) he had an assurance that He was "his" shepherd on a personal level. There is so much comfort and peace that comes along with this knowledge. So many people have a hard time seeing the Lord on a personal level. But He is a personal God who wants to be personally involved in your life and have a personal relationship with you.
Because He is MY shepherd I know that He will take care of me- He will meet and supply all my need (I shall not want). He will restore my soul when I become faint. He will lead me, be with me when the enemy comes, anoint me with oil, He will bring me into places of rest, He will comfort me and keep His eyes upon me.
Can you say along with the Psalmist today that the Lord is "MY" shepherd? Do you know Him in this personal, intimate way? Is He leading your life? Are you following Him? Are you placing your life in His loving care? If not, today you can turn to Him and ask Him to be your Savior, your Lord and your Shepherd.
Have a great day. The Lord is MY shepherd- the overseer of my life.
For further reading:
Psalm 23
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Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell
and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from
About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.
Please feel free to
call (601) 833-5278 or
Email: mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net
Visit us on the web: www.mastersbusiness.org
You are welcomed to make copies and distribute them free of charge.
You may also forward them via e-mail or post them to your website - leaving the whole message in tact.
Please remember to give credit to
About the Master's Business Ministry.
Take time to visit our on-line Christian magazine and blogs.
http://livingstonesmagazine.homestead.com
I love this... "the Lord is MY shepherd". That's personal. The Psalmist didn't say He was their shepherd, or her shepherd, or his shepherd, or someone else's shepherd, (although He is to all who will place their faith in Him) he had an assurance that He was "his" shepherd on a personal level. There is so much comfort and peace that comes along with this knowledge. So many people have a hard time seeing the Lord on a personal level. But He is a personal God who wants to be personally involved in your life and have a personal relationship with you.
Because He is MY shepherd I know that He will take care of me- He will meet and supply all my need (I shall not want). He will restore my soul when I become faint. He will lead me, be with me when the enemy comes, anoint me with oil, He will bring me into places of rest, He will comfort me and keep His eyes upon me.
Can you say along with the Psalmist today that the Lord is "MY" shepherd? Do you know Him in this personal, intimate way? Is He leading your life? Are you following Him? Are you placing your life in His loving care? If not, today you can turn to Him and ask Him to be your Savior, your Lord and your Shepherd.
Have a great day. The Lord is MY shepherd- the overseer of my life.
For further reading:
Psalm 23
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell
and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from
About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.
Please feel free to
call (601) 833-5278 or
Email: mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net
Visit us on the web: www.mastersbusiness.org
You are welcomed to make copies and distribute them free of charge.
You may also forward them via e-mail or post them to your website - leaving the whole message in tact.
Please remember to give credit to
About the Master's Business Ministry.
Take time to visit our on-line Christian magazine and blogs.
http://livingstonesmagazine.homestead.com
Thursday, March 10, 2011
"Value"
"And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head. And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made?" Mark 14:3,4
A couple of days ago I gave this definition of value: "The value of something is determined by the price that one is willing to pay for it." In the account above this woman took her greatest possession and poured it out on Jesus. She did so completely and without reservation. She held nothing back. This bottle represented her future, her security, her wages, a lot of hard work, her savings, it was basically all she had. Yet she freely gave it up on Jesus. From our estimation, based on the definition of value as stated above, this woman highly valued Jesus- He was worth everything.
In this same account we see another group of people- the ones who sat by and watched as this woman poured out her best and all she had on Jesus. They didn't pour anything out on Him- they gave Him no gift, they laid nothing at His feet, they were there empty handed. All they had was criticism for what she did. Based, again, on this same definition of value, we can conclude not only by the fact that they gave Jesus nothing but by their remarks that they considered Him "valueless". They called what she did a "waste". They considered it a waste to pour such costly and precious ointment on Jesus. To say it was a waste to pour it on Jesus was saying that He was of no value- the only way you waste something is if you use it on something that has no value.
There were two groups of people represented in the verses above- those who value Jesus and those who don't. Which group are you in? Is He worth everything you have? Do you give Him your best, a little, the leftovers or just enough to get by? Do you consider it a waste of time to spend time in prayer and reading His word? Do you consider it a waste to support the work of His Kingdom with your time, money or talents? If so, then you are saying that He has no value, or very little. The other day I also said that He placed a high value on you because He gave up all He had for you- His life. There is no question about how highly He values you, the question is, "How highly do you value Him?".
Have a great day. How valuable Jesus is to you is determined by what you are willing to give to Him.
For further reading:
1 Corinthians 6:20
John 12:1-5
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell
and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from
About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.
Please feel free to
call (601) 833-5278 or
Email: mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net
Visit us on the web: www.mastersbusiness.org
You are welcomed to make copies and distribute them free of charge.
You may also forward them via e-mail or post them to your website - leaving the whole message in tact.
Please remember to give credit to
About the Master's Business Ministry.
Take time to visit our on-line Christian magazine and blogs.
http://livingstonesmagazine.homestead.com
A couple of days ago I gave this definition of value: "The value of something is determined by the price that one is willing to pay for it." In the account above this woman took her greatest possession and poured it out on Jesus. She did so completely and without reservation. She held nothing back. This bottle represented her future, her security, her wages, a lot of hard work, her savings, it was basically all she had. Yet she freely gave it up on Jesus. From our estimation, based on the definition of value as stated above, this woman highly valued Jesus- He was worth everything.
In this same account we see another group of people- the ones who sat by and watched as this woman poured out her best and all she had on Jesus. They didn't pour anything out on Him- they gave Him no gift, they laid nothing at His feet, they were there empty handed. All they had was criticism for what she did. Based, again, on this same definition of value, we can conclude not only by the fact that they gave Jesus nothing but by their remarks that they considered Him "valueless". They called what she did a "waste". They considered it a waste to pour such costly and precious ointment on Jesus. To say it was a waste to pour it on Jesus was saying that He was of no value- the only way you waste something is if you use it on something that has no value.
There were two groups of people represented in the verses above- those who value Jesus and those who don't. Which group are you in? Is He worth everything you have? Do you give Him your best, a little, the leftovers or just enough to get by? Do you consider it a waste of time to spend time in prayer and reading His word? Do you consider it a waste to support the work of His Kingdom with your time, money or talents? If so, then you are saying that He has no value, or very little. The other day I also said that He placed a high value on you because He gave up all He had for you- His life. There is no question about how highly He values you, the question is, "How highly do you value Him?".
Have a great day. How valuable Jesus is to you is determined by what you are willing to give to Him.
For further reading:
1 Corinthians 6:20
John 12:1-5
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell
and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from
About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.
Please feel free to
call (601) 833-5278 or
Email: mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net
Visit us on the web: www.mastersbusiness.org
You are welcomed to make copies and distribute them free of charge.
You may also forward them via e-mail or post them to your website - leaving the whole message in tact.
Please remember to give credit to
About the Master's Business Ministry.
Take time to visit our on-line Christian magazine and blogs.
http://livingstonesmagazine.homestead.com
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
"Shall Follow Me"
"...He leadeth me ...." Psalm 23:2
"He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake." (Psalm 23:2,3) Twice in these two verses it is said that the Lord leads us. He is the Shepherd and we are the sheep. The role of the Shepherd is to lead and the role of the sheep is to follow. It is not our place to do the leading- we can't. He is the leader, the one we are to follow. This is the charge that Jesus gives to those who would put their trust and faith in Him as Savior and Lord. "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." (Matthew 16:24)
We can make the choice to either follow Jesus and let Him be the leader, or we can choose to step in front of Him and take the lead ourselves. If we do the leading, we will always wind up going in the wrong direction, we will get ourselves into trouble and we will make a mess of our lives. (We have all seen the results that come from doing the leading- we have all done it at one time or other.) But when we will step back and let Jesus do the leading, we will reap a blessing, and a promise. He promises that if we will "follow Him", then He will cause something to "follow us"-- "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." (verse 6)
As we are being led by Him, then His goodness and mercy follows our lives. What a wonderful promise! And not only does it follow us just today, but everyday ("all the days of my life"). When we surrender the lead of our lives to Him, there is nothing but benefits that come from it. We have Him making the decisions, rightly dividing our path before us, leading us in the right way, keeping us out from destruction, and we have His goodness and His mercy following us everywhere we go.
Have a great day. If we follow Him, then His goodness and mercy will follow us.
For further reading:
Proverbs 3:5,6
John 10:11,14, 27
"He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake." (Psalm 23:2,3) Twice in these two verses it is said that the Lord leads us. He is the Shepherd and we are the sheep. The role of the Shepherd is to lead and the role of the sheep is to follow. It is not our place to do the leading- we can't. He is the leader, the one we are to follow. This is the charge that Jesus gives to those who would put their trust and faith in Him as Savior and Lord. "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." (Matthew 16:24)
We can make the choice to either follow Jesus and let Him be the leader, or we can choose to step in front of Him and take the lead ourselves. If we do the leading, we will always wind up going in the wrong direction, we will get ourselves into trouble and we will make a mess of our lives. (We have all seen the results that come from doing the leading- we have all done it at one time or other.) But when we will step back and let Jesus do the leading, we will reap a blessing, and a promise. He promises that if we will "follow Him", then He will cause something to "follow us"-- "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." (verse 6)
As we are being led by Him, then His goodness and mercy follows our lives. What a wonderful promise! And not only does it follow us just today, but everyday ("all the days of my life"). When we surrender the lead of our lives to Him, there is nothing but benefits that come from it. We have Him making the decisions, rightly dividing our path before us, leading us in the right way, keeping us out from destruction, and we have His goodness and His mercy following us everywhere we go.
Have a great day. If we follow Him, then His goodness and mercy will follow us.
For further reading:
Proverbs 3:5,6
John 10:11,14, 27
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
"I Can Do It"
"I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." John 15:5
If you have ever raised children you know how independent they can be. I saw it in my daughter when she was a little girl and now I am seeing it in my three year old granddaughter. The thing that you notice in all little children is their "ability" to be able to "do it" regardless of what it is. They think they can do anything. My granddaughter tells me all the time, "I can do it". I start to help her with something and her reply is always, "I can do it". When a child says, "I can do it", what they are really saying is, "I don't need any help".
Like I said earlier, I have noticed this in little children, I have also noticed this in us as God's children. We often have this same independent spirit with Him. How many times have you been guilty of thinking that "you can do it"? I have. I have tried to solve problems on my own, tried to decide what direction I should take, tried to produce character in my life through my own ability and tried to crucify this flesh in my own strength- without God's help. I thought I could do it only to discover that I can't, and I discover that when I fall flat on my face after attempting it on my own. As much as we would like to think that we can do things on our own, as much as we would like to think that we are that smart, that strong, that talented, the truth is that without the Lord we are nothing and can do nothing. It is in Him that we live and move and have our being. There is a reason the verse reads, "I can do all things 'through Christ', which strengthens me." If I could do it on my own without His help, it would have simply stated that, "I can do all things."
The bottom line is that when when it comes to living the surrendered life, winning victories over the enemy and the flesh, when it comes to accomplishing the assignment we have been given and the work that we are to do, we need help- we need God's help. To think that we don't is prideful, stubborn and immature. My granddaughter will reach a point where she really "can do it" on her own in some areas, but you and I will never reach a point where we will not need God's help in everything.
Have a great day. We cannot do it independently of God, no matter what it is, we will always need His help.
For further reading:
Philippians 4:13
Acts 17:28
John 5:19
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell
and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from
About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.
Please feel free to
call (601) 833-5278 or
Email: mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net
Visit us on the web: www.mastersbusiness.org
You are welcomed to make copies and distribute them free of charge.
You may also forward them via e-mail or post them to your website - leaving the whole message in tact.
Please remember to give credit to
About the Master's Business Ministry.
Take time to visit our on-line Christian magazine and blogs.
http://livingstonesmagazine.homestead.com
If you have ever raised children you know how independent they can be. I saw it in my daughter when she was a little girl and now I am seeing it in my three year old granddaughter. The thing that you notice in all little children is their "ability" to be able to "do it" regardless of what it is. They think they can do anything. My granddaughter tells me all the time, "I can do it". I start to help her with something and her reply is always, "I can do it". When a child says, "I can do it", what they are really saying is, "I don't need any help".
Like I said earlier, I have noticed this in little children, I have also noticed this in us as God's children. We often have this same independent spirit with Him. How many times have you been guilty of thinking that "you can do it"? I have. I have tried to solve problems on my own, tried to decide what direction I should take, tried to produce character in my life through my own ability and tried to crucify this flesh in my own strength- without God's help. I thought I could do it only to discover that I can't, and I discover that when I fall flat on my face after attempting it on my own. As much as we would like to think that we can do things on our own, as much as we would like to think that we are that smart, that strong, that talented, the truth is that without the Lord we are nothing and can do nothing. It is in Him that we live and move and have our being. There is a reason the verse reads, "I can do all things 'through Christ', which strengthens me." If I could do it on my own without His help, it would have simply stated that, "I can do all things."
The bottom line is that when when it comes to living the surrendered life, winning victories over the enemy and the flesh, when it comes to accomplishing the assignment we have been given and the work that we are to do, we need help- we need God's help. To think that we don't is prideful, stubborn and immature. My granddaughter will reach a point where she really "can do it" on her own in some areas, but you and I will never reach a point where we will not need God's help in everything.
Have a great day. We cannot do it independently of God, no matter what it is, we will always need His help.
For further reading:
Philippians 4:13
Acts 17:28
John 5:19
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell
and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from
About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.
Please feel free to
call (601) 833-5278 or
Email: mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net
Visit us on the web: www.mastersbusiness.org
You are welcomed to make copies and distribute them free of charge.
You may also forward them via e-mail or post them to your website - leaving the whole message in tact.
Please remember to give credit to
About the Master's Business Ministry.
Take time to visit our on-line Christian magazine and blogs.
http://livingstonesmagazine.homestead.com
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