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Saturday, April 21, 2018

Posted on Apr 21, 2018 in Devotions |

Devotional for Saturday, April 21, 2018

“Which Do You Choose?”

by Dona Hake

Luke 12:22-32 Amplified Bible (AMP)
22 Jesus said to His disciples, “For this reason I tell you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; or about your body, as to what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens, for they neither sow [seed] nor reap [the crop]; they have no storehouse or barn, and yet God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than the birds! 25 And which of you by worrying can add one hour to his life’s span? 26 So if you are not even able to do a very little thing [such as that], why are you worried about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies and wildflowers, how they grow [in the open field]. They neither labor nor spin [wool to make clothing]; yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory and splendor dressed himself like one of these. 28 But if this is how God clothes the grass which is in the field today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You of little faith! 29 So as for you, do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink; nor have an anxious and unsettled mind. 30 For all the [pagan] nations of the world greedily seek these things; and your [heavenly] Father [already] knows that you need them. 31 But [strive for and actively] seek His kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. 32 Do not be afraid and anxious, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Jesus spoke to His disciples about guarding themselves against worry and not picking care regarding their body and clothing. He shared with them that life is more important than thinking about such things. If Jesus were walking among us He would speak to us the same thing. Can’t you hear Him right now…”Child, why are you worrying about tomorrow. Your tomorrow is in My hand alone to hold, so trust in me for I promise to take care of every one of your needs.” May we reverence and fear the God of the known.

“Don’t fear the unknown
Fear the God of the known…
Remember? Today is the
Tomorrow that yesterday you:
Feared?
Worried about?
or
Believed God for?
(which did you choose?)”
Arthur Burt

Do you remember when you laid your head on the pillow last evening? If the thought of your tomorrow entered your mind, did you fear it,? worry about it? or believe God for it? I love this challenging thought to end my day. This is another precious quote from Arthur Burt that I has blessed me as I have been reading over my notes when we visited him in North Wales. He spoke words that spoke depth and caused my heart to be greatly challenged. So today let us ponder these words.

The more we determine ourselves to live by faith, and trust the God of the known for the smallest of things we will see worry and fear begin to shrink in the face of our faith. Today let us meditate how He will clothe us and His provision will be made available to us upon our every need. He has us covered as we trust in Him!

Friday, April 20, 2018

Posted on Apr 20, 2018 in Devotions |

Devotional for Friday, April 20, 2018

“The Future Pearl In Your Life”

by Dona Hake

God is at work in us! Praise Him today for this truth. May we be reminded of the truth that we serve a God that is not moved by circumstances, He is not moved by time, and He sees only victory as He moves forward with us. He desires that we grow in the fruit of longsuffering…with people and in those circumstances that do not necessarily make us desire to jump for joy.

There may be times in which we squirm when things are not moving as fast as we would like but let us remember …God is at work. He is not moved by what He sees, and He sees the end of everything. Maybe there are times that we wish the irritations and trials of this life would just go away but I encourage you today to stand strong and see those irritations in a different light. Perhaps we can see those “uncomfortable to the flesh” circumstances as a time of learning and growing in the Lord.

I am sharing with you today a quote from notes that I took when I had the joy of visiting North Wales and sat under the precious fellowship and ministry of Brother Arthur Burt. He has since gone to be with Jesus but his words are so precious to my heart. While this quote may be specific to dealing with irritations with people it can also be applied to anything in our lives that we face.

“The man – the one that rubs you the wrong way –, and tests your patience can enlarge you in your distress. The pearl – a real pearl – comes out of the grain of sand that is the irritation within the oyster. There are “grains of irritation” in your life God has permitted for the future pearl.”

Arthur Burt

James 1:2-4 (AMP)
“Consider it nothing but joy, my [a]brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials. Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace]. And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing.”

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Posted on Apr 18, 2018 in Devotions |

Devotional for Wednesday, April 18, 2018

“…For the Purpose of Prayer”

by Dona Hake

In verse one and two of 1 Peter 4 Paul exhorts for us to arm ourselves with the same attitude Christ had as He suffered in His body. Jesus did not live His life for evil human desires but rather He lived for the will of God. In verse seven Paul goes on to exhort that we need to be clear minded and self-controlled for the purpose of prayer, and also that we love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

“…Therefore, be sound-minded and self-controlled for the purpose of prayer [staying balanced and focused on the things of God so that your communication will be clear, reasonable, specific and pleasing to Him.] Above all, have fervent and unfailing love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins [it overlooks unkindness and unselfishly seeks the best for others].”
1 Peter 4:7

As we keep God and His Word the priority in our life, our decisions and actions will proceed from a heart that desires to please Him. As we are sound-minded and self-controlled as Paul spoke, of our lives will be pleasing to our Lord for we will pray and communicate as He desires us to.

Let us stay focused on what He says is the most important thing for us today. Let us purpose to live in His love that promises to never fail, and no matter what or who comes against us, that love will remind and cause us to forgive, and rise above any offense or circumstance. Thank God for that love that will always steer us to keep our heart clean, and our mind focused as we do His will.

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Posted on Apr 17, 2018 in Devotions |

Devotional for Tuesday, April 17, 2018

“But You Lord…”

by Dona Hake

“Lord, I have so many enemies. So many people have turned against me. They say to themselves, “God will not rescue him!” Selah But you, Lord, protect me. You bring me honor; you give me hope. I will pray to the Lord, and he will answer me from his holy mountain. Selah I can lie down to rest and know that I will wake up, because the Lord covers and protects me. So I will not be afraid of my enemies, even if thousands of them surround me.”

Psalm 3:1-6 easy to read version

It is interesting to note here that in David’s time of trouble a song rose up in his heart. He was not sitting on his throne in a place of power, but he was rather running for his life from his rebellious son Absalom, and a host of traders. David reminds us that God is always for us no matter what our circumstances look like. No matter what people say, we can look up and know that our God is with us and He surrounds us with His shield. We can look up and say as David did, “But You Lord, protect me!” Maybe we will declare “But You Lord are with me.” “But You Lord are my provider.” No matter what, we need to acknowledge the Lord is with us and declare who He is in the situation.

I have encountered people in the midst of a trial…and there is a statement that I have heard and it greatly troubles my heart. One of the most grievous things I have ever heard a child of God say in the midst of a trial is “Where is God in all of this?“ Honestly, I cannot even explain how bad this hurts my heart to hear a child of God speak of the Lord in this manner. These words speak of one that really does not understand the loving and faithful character of God. They really do not understand that Jesus meant what He said when He declared that He would never leave or forsake us.

You may be reading this and thinking to yourself that you know that your Lord is always with you and you would never ever speak “ Where is God in all of this?” Well then I encourage you to meditate upon this for it may help you share with one that needs to hear truth in this area. Sometimes people just need to be reminded of the faithfulness of God. Sometimes they just need to see that there is light at the end of the tunnel but until they get to the end of that dark tunnel may they come to understand that the true Light is right beside them.

We as believers also carry that light and hope! We carry the answer within us and that is the Word of our Lord Jesus Christ. If God before us who can be against us?

“…So what should we say about this?

If God is for us, no one can stand against us.

And God is with us.”

Romans 8:31 – Easy to read version

Saturday, April 14, 2018

Posted on Apr 14, 2018 in Devotions |

Devotional for Saturday, April 14, 2018

“God Is Completing His Work In You!”

by Dona Hake

“I’ve never met a man who has given me as

much trouble as myself.”

Interesting isn’t it…at times we can be our own worst enemy for there are those days that we focus too much on what and where we are NOT rather that how far God has brought us. With any work that needs done in us there needs to be a time of waiting for His loving hand to work, and mold us with His loving hands. I guess there are all times we wished He would work a bit faster, but His wisdom encompasses more than we will ever understand. As He works, and we continue to humble ourselves under the work of His hand He promises that the transformation will indeed happen.

Be encouraged today that as you are applying yourself to do that which is right and good in His sight that His loving hand is at work in you. Guard yourself from focusing on your weaknesses but rather look to the God of strength to continue to work in you. Give thanks to Him for the gifts, the strengths and abilities He has blessed you with. As we keep our hearts humble and open to Him, He will be faithful to show us the areas in which we need to give attention. He leads and guides us into ALL truth in every area of our lives! God bless you.

Philippians 1:6 Amplified Version

“I am convinced and confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will [continue to] perfect and complete it until the day of Christ Jesus [the time of His return].”

Friday, April 13, 2018

Posted on Apr 13, 2018 in Devotions |

Devotional for Friday, April 13, 2018

“God’s Thoughts About You”

by Dona Hake

If you have not read my post from yesterday entitled “Become Like Children”, I would encourage you to do so. That post flows with today’s! I shared that I was teaching my little preschoolers all about the magnificence of our Lord God. We were learning a scripture from Psalm 89:11. “Everything in heaven and earth belongs to you. You made the world and everything in it.”

The children and I discussed how the Lord made the great ocean and all of its sea creatures, and then we began to talk about sand ! Since children love to learn to count at this age I began to share with them that counting the grains of the sand would be impossible. From there I begin to share with them the next verse. Psalm 139:17–18. “Your thoughts and plans are treasures to me, oh God! I cherish each and everyone of them! How grand in scope! How many in number! If I could count each one of them, they would be more than all the grains of sand on earth. Their number is inconceivable!” Today I will share with you what this scripture means to my heart.

The God of heaven and earth also knows each one of us down to the smallest of details. He observes our coming and our going, He watches over us as we sleep and He is there when we rise in the morning. He knows what we are going to say long before we say it because He knows our every thought. What an amazing feeling we should all have knowing how deeply He loves us and knows us inside and out. It really is beyond comprehension!

As I read this Psalm and think about the sands of the ocean it causes me to realize that I really cannot fathom how many thoughts the God of heaven has thought about me. In saying that it reminds me as well that His thoughts are different than mine because He sees us through His pure love, and His thoughts and ways will always be higher than how my mind thinks.

Isaiah 55:9 (ASV)

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways

higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

He sees our future through His eyes and He desires that our faith rest in Him. I am thankful that I serve such a loving God that loves me so much!

Thursday, April 12, 2018

Posted on Apr 12, 2018 in Devotions |

Devotional for Thursday, April 12, 2018

“Become Like Children!”

by Dona Hake

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child and set him before them, and said, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless you repent [that is, change your inner self—your old way of thinking, live changed lives] and become like children [trusting, humble, and forgiving], you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever [a]humbles himself like this child is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 18:1-4 Amplified Version

We should all desire to grow strong in our faith in the living God but oh that we would embrace remaining as a child in our hearts. A child will simply trust those that they believe in and love. Our Lord instructs us in this scripture that we need to rid of our old way of thinking. Honestly I do not know about you but sometimes some old ways of thinking hang can hang on more than we would ever admit.

May we humbly permit our Lord to continually examine our hearts that they remain pure and acceptable to Him. Jesus also encouraged those around Him to live a life that is changed and that they become like a child that is humble and willing to forgive.

I can remember teaching a group of preschoolers about the Bible verse found in Psalm 89:11 “Everything in heaven and earth belongs to you. You made the world and everything in it.” These little ones sat around me staring into my eyes with great anticipation as they waited to hear the teaching about what these words meant. At one point we talked about how God is just so magnificent! I began to focus on how He made so many sea creatures in the big beautiful sea. One my one the little ones were naming off the great sea creatures that they wanted to talk about. Once again their childlike excitement and joy over this truth stirred my heart, and I can see why Jesus advises us to remain as children. I began to share with them about how God is so great and full of wonderful wisdom, and He knew exactly how to make boundaries around the ocean. I said to them, “How does God make the ocean water only go so far, and then there is land? How does God separate the land from the sea?” Then I asked them, ” What is it that you walk on before you step into the ocean?” All their little hands were up in the air as they shouted, “It’s the sand!“ As they said this immediately my heart was impressed to bring to their hearts another truth,( I will share that one with you tomorrow!)

Today I encourage you to think about how everything in this heaven and earth belongs to your God, He made it and everything in it for us to enjoy and be blessed. Yet this truth should remind us how great our God is and His provision is great, so let us remain as trusting children, believing that He is able to do above and beyond all we dare ask or think in Jesus Name. His greatness should remind us to stay humble and trusting in His ability to take care of us.

Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Posted on Apr 11, 2018 in Devotions |

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

“Be Thou My Vision”

by Dona Hake

Proverbs 29:18 ( Amplified Bible, Classic Edition )
Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish; but he who keeps the law [of God, which includes that of man]—blessed (happy, fortunate, and enviable) is he.

Without God‘s vision it does not go well for us. One is left unrestrained if he has lacks the vision and revelation of his God. But if the believer guards his heart, guards God’s law, and obeys what he has been taught, this is the man or a woman that will be happy and blessed. This is the man or woman that will run with a God given vision in their heart. This is the life of living and being blessed according to His Word. Oh Lord of our heart, help us to press into your vision every day of our life.

“Be thou my vision, oh Lord of my heart

Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art

Thou my best thought by day or by night

Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light“

This is a portion of the lyrics from “Be Thou My Vision”. I love the first line of the lyrics “… Oh Lord of my heart.“ When we have made Him the Lord over our hearts, we are asking Him to take all control, we will seek out His vision for our life, and His presence will illuminate , guard, and direct our paths.

Today let us look to run with his vision. God’s Word says in Isaiah 40:31 “We shall run and not be weary.” Psalm 119:32 says “I run the same path as your commandments because you give my heart insight.” Hebrews 12:1 says “Run with patience the race that before us, looking onto Jesus.” These Scriptures should motivate and encourage our hearts to run with patience, run with insight, and run with strength as we run with His vision.

Monday, April 9, 2018

Posted on Apr 9, 2018 in Devotions |

Devotional for Monday, April 9, 2018

“God Is Always True To His Word”

by Dona Hake

Psalm 23:3 the Message version

“True to Your Word, you let me catch my breath

and send me in the right direction. “.

Jesus our Shepherd, the restorer of our soul…what a loving caring God we serve. Yet there are times that we need to be made to lie down in His green pastures. Our loving Lord will gently lead us if we permit Him to for we need to walk away from our own efforts and abilities that can rob us of His rest. It is as we get into His presence that our soul will experience the peace of His still waters. He promises to restore our soul with His life giving words, and the ministry of His Spirit.

As we purpose to feed and ponder His Word, our minds will be renewed to the truth. Once again He shows us that His way will straighten any crooked paths, and we will see clearly the direction of His perfect will for us. Our God is true to His Word, and He wants to perform His Word in our life. His Word never returns void for it accomplishes what He desires as we continue to hold fast and stand firm in our faith.

“So will My word be which goes out of My mouth;

It will not return to Me void (useless, without result),

Without accomplishing what I desire, And without

succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”

Isaiah 55:11 – Amplified Version

Saturday, April 7, 2018

Posted on Apr 7, 2018 in Devotions |

Devotional for Saturday, April 7, 2018

“Living Purposefully”

by Dona Hake

The man or woman with diligent hands proceeds from their hearts being consumed with a desire to live productively and prosper in everything they put their hand to. It is so wonderful to experience the fruit of our accomplishment after we have done what we know we have set our heart to do! May we all set out each day that we live looking for godly opportunities to buy up and glorify our God!

Ephesians 5:15-17

Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)

“Look carefully then how you walk!

Live purposefully and worthily and accurately,

not as the unwise and witless, but as wise

(sensible, intelligent people),

Making the very most of the time

[buying up each opportunity],

because the days are evil.”

Our time is so valuable and precious, and we must purpose to never waste a minute of it. I own a antique hour glass, and as the sand flows through it, there is a measure of time that passes. I love it’s visual reminder to me of how time flies by. This glass timer also reminds me that once that sand flows through it, that a particular time has passed, and I can not get it back. Many times people fail to realize the time they are living, and they are missing opportunities for some reason or other. As time passes so do certain opportunities if we do not seize them. Just as opportunities come and they call for our diligence in a specific time, there are also other things in life that require our diligence in order that we sow, reap, and enjoy blessings.

I encourage you today to desire the heart and hands of the diligent and be blessed. Guard you time and spend it wisely. Diligence is a good thing and it leads to abundant blessing!

Proverbs 21:5 Amplified Bible

“The thoughts of the [steadily] diligent

tend only to plenteousness…”