Father, I am listening to You now. Help me to hear clearly what You want to teach me. So when I hear from You Lord, please give me Your strength to trust Your Word and follow You. Please help us be what You want us to be today Lord. Amen
Acts of mercy…Matthew 25: 34 – 40
This parable describes acts of mercy we all can do every day. These acts do not depend on wealth, ability, or intelligence; they are simple acts freely given and freely received. We have no excuse to neglect those who have deep needs, and we cannot hand over this responsibility to the church or government. Jesus demands our personal involvement in caring for others’ need.
Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me in. I needed clothes, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you looked after me. I was in prison, and you came to visit me. Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?”
Free yourself…
Lord, teach us how to delegate to others the things that they can do. Help us encourage them to become leaders. Also, teach us to do the things that only we can do, that way no one person becomes overwhelmed by doing a good service.
In Exodus 18, Moses was doing too much for the Israelites. His father in law Jethro had to teach Moses how to delegate some of his responsibility to others. Every feel like you are the only one who can do things “ right”? When we keep doing “everything” by ourselves and not delegate to other, we become worn out. A trick of the devil is to wear us down to the point of being stressed, and even causing illness.
Ask God to show you those who can become leaders around you. So give others some responsibility to own. Encourage them to succeed, and pray that God will help them to become leaders. In doing so, you will free yourself up to do a better job at the things that only you can do. It will restore and refresh your soul.
Some problems…
…can be solved by careful thought or by rearranging our priorities. Some can be solved by discussion and good counsel. However, some problems can only be solved by prayer. Prayer quiets our thoughts and emotions and prepares us to listen.
Stuck between a rock and a hard place…
In Exodus 14:1-19, the Israelites were stuck between the mountains and the sea. We may sometimes feel trapped in our jobs, relationships, situations—as a result of circumstances. We may begin to feel like our hands are tied—we are doomed—no way out of the situation—trapped! That is exactly how the Israelites felt too! A physical mountain on one side and the sea before them—and coming behind them were the Egyptians. Coming for the kill! The Israelites felt doomed! So we feel that way too when we can see no way out, and we feel the full court press of our enemies coming to destroy us! We may feel fear, despair, and start to complain about our situation— even question if God sees what’s about to happen to us! The Israelites certainly felt that way.
However, by focusing on how God has been faithful in the past and brought us through, we can face crises with confidence that God will do it again. Rather than fearing and complaining, trust God. Even Moses prayed to God to intervene and help them. Gods reply to Moses was, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on toward the sea”! Sometimes we know what to do, and we must just do it! Don’t keep praying to God, asking Him for more guidance. Just do what you know you are supposed to do! Moses got it! He told the Israelites to stand still and see the deliverance The Lord will bring!
I say to you today! If God is telling you to move ahead on something, do not wait any longer, move forward. You are not going to drown if you trust in God! I know it may seem like you will lose all you have. Only trust God. It may seem like there’s no way you are going to get out of this one; you are running into a brick wall! However, stand still and see what God will do! Time to act! You know the end of the story with the Israelites, they pressed forward, and God parted the sea for them to cross over! God has brought you to this place between a rock and a hard place so that you will know to trust Him only. So when He delivers you, you will know that no one did it but God! Trust God to rescue you from your enemies today! I am not going to list what your enemies could be, you know them. Just do what you know God wants you to do! Move forward and watch Him deliver you from your enemies today!
Thank You Lord for Your Word.
Don’t give God your leftovers…Serve Him first
- Thanks to God is something we should do every day. We should express our thanks to Him first not after we have done all we needed to do. There is a blessing in our leftovers, but we should not give our leftovers to God. Give what we have First to God and watch what He does with our leftovers!
- God deserves the first fruits from our increase. Not what is leftover after paying your bills, after buying your gifts. (Leviticus 23:9-14)
- God deserves your time first, not what’s left at the end of the day. Give Him the best part of you. (Deuteronomy 17:1)
We wonder how we got caught up in greed, why we overextended our credit? Perhaps we are giving God leftovers. (Proverbs 3:11-12)
- God gives in abundance… He took two fish and five loaves of bread and feed 5,000 WITH leftovers. (John 6: 9-13)
- God gives abundant life…eternal life that begins immediately (John 10: 10)
Give God a little or your leftovers, and you will receive a little. Give to God cheerfully and generously; God can bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8)
So when you give to others generously, graciously and compassionately, then these qualities will come back to you with a bonus! (Luke 6:38)
Give God praise! Serve God before taking care of yourself or others. Tell others about God even when you do not feel like it. Serve others before serving yourself. In doing so, God will know that He is more important to us than our possessions.
Lord, you mean more to us than anything else. We serve You first, our best, not our leftovers today. So if our hands are found empty today, let our hearts send praise to our lips; offering our praise to the Almighty God. You can do anything you want, when you want to! In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
Thanksgiving…
On this Thanksgiving Day, I want us to take a moment to show our gratitude to God for spiritual and material things. I also want us to thank one another for the relationship we have with them. We thank God…
– for God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit
– for answered prayer
– salvation and forgiveness
– for protection
– for strength
– for comfort
– for patience
– for love
– for joy
– for healing
– for peace
– for hope
– for family and friends
– for shelter
– for transportation
– food and water
– for clothes and health
– for sweet dreams
– for memories of loved ones that have gone to meet Jesus
Also, we thank one another…
– for sharing God’s word
– for praying together
– for visiting the sick, widows, lonely, orphaned, those in prisons
– for going through good and bad times together
– for sharing meals together
– for your patience as we grow
– for your support
– for a hug and kiss
– for laughter and tears shed together
This list could go on, and on, and praise God for that! Every day is a day of Thanksgiving…even when our material blessings are few, our spiritual blessings are great and mighty!
We must know who we are…
– royal children
– we are sons and daughters of the Judge
– we have the best advocate for us on college entrance exams, reference for jobs, referral for a medical specialist
– we have the best friend, co-signer, coach, comforter, giver
Thanks! Thanks! Praise! For a God, who has everything we need both spiritually and materially! Know who you are today and why you are thankful! If you are not thankful then get to know Jesus! Call upon Him, spend time with Him! Thank Him for today for all He has done already! The lists above are just a sampling of what He does for us! Yes! He even died and rose again for us!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Don’t give up…
Inspired from Exodus 2:3-25. We all sometimes feel frustrated by how little we can do about the evil we see going on around us. Kids being hurt by adults, families broken by murders, lies ruining relationships, injustice on our jobs, and unfair treatment because of the color of your skin or your religious preference. What can we do to act against these things? Sometimes it is an activist for the rights of children or minority groups, sometimes it is a tough choice we might have to make to end a relationship, always it is to pray! No matter what we do, big or small, we must do our part then trust God to use our effort to fight against evil.
God does not need much from us to accomplish his plan for our lives. If we focus too much on how impossible it may seem to us to get out of our mess, we will find ourselves in a mess for a long time! However, we should concentrate on God, and His power to help us see the way out. Right now you may be unable to see through your troubles…focus instead on God and trust Him for the way out. This is all He needs to begin his work in you and for you!
Don’t worry about the wrong others have done and why it feels like their getting away with it. Sooner or later, doing wrong will catch up to them. Even if they are not caught in this life, they will still have to face God and give an account for their actions.
We may feel abandoned or isolated because of something we have done. Though we feel afraid and separated, we should not give up! Moses did not give up when he trusted God to deliver the Hebrews from Pharaoh, and we cannot either. NO MATTER HOW DARK OUR PAST OR BLEAK OUR FUTURE…TRUST GOD TO DELIVER YOU!
God’s rescue does not always come when we want it. God knows the best time to act. When you feel that God has forgotten you in your troubles, remember that God has a time schedule we cannot see. Only trust God and not what we hear, see or feel.
Lord, help us to trust Your plan for our lives. Your Word says, in Jeremiah 29:11, that You have a good plan for us that won’t harm us, but will prosper us. Your plan will give us hope and a future. Help us to do our part of Your plan and then help us to trust You to do Your part. You know the way out O Lord; help us follow You each day. No matter what things seem like, help us to remember Romans 8:28; for all things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose. We have read in Your Word Lord, where many Christians fell short of Your plan. Moses, for example, killed an Egyptian guard for oppressing, the Hebrews. You did not condone his actions, but You were able to be glorified in his life despite his actions. Be glorified in our lives Lord, despite our past failures. We thank You in advance for your mercy and help. We thank You for hearing our prayers. So we thank You for our deliverance and restoration. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen.
Where do we go now?
Our Heavenly Father knows all that we have need of. His Word says, to seek Him and His righteousness and all our needs will be provided. Matthew 6:33
He also said in Exodus 23:22, “But if you carefully obey My voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.” That means, He’ll crush our enemies and those that are against us! Or make them to be at peace with you!
And we know Isaiah 54:17, “No weapon formed against us shall prosper and every tongue that rises up against us shall by us be condemned.”
And finally, Philippians 4:19 says, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Not my limited bank account, not the loan officer, not by suing someone, but with His own riches that are in Glory!”
Look to Jesus!
Discouraged?
The feeling of having lost hope and confidence that something will or can happen is discouragement. In Psalm 43:3, we are told to allow God’s truth to provide the right path for us to follow and His light a clear vision to follow the path. When you feel surrounded by darkness and uncertainty, follow God’s light and truth. God will guide you. God’s truth is the Holy Spirit. You must place your total trust in Him, rely on Him for guidance and strength, and live as He wants you to live. 1 John 2:27
In God, there is no darkness. His truth will expose whatever exists in your path. He will guide you out of the darkness of sin. He will show you your errors so that they are clear and that you may change. 1 John 1:5
When you feel, discouraged God is your hope! He will make clear the way you are to go. Don’t try to figure it out; don’t waste your time trying to see the way out. Follow God’s way by knowing His Word and doing what it says to do—forget about the past, only trust God, not your best friend; just God. God hears your cry; He will rescue you! Praise Him because He is your Savior and God. He sees everything concerning you. He knows your situation. Come to Him now.
Brenda Messervy 