Posted on Nov 8, 2015 in Devotions |
by Dona Hake
Today I will continue to stir our hearts toward being thankful. In a few weeks we will celebrate Thanksgiving, and it bothers me to see that this is one holiday that seems to get lost in the shuffle between Halloween and Christmas. The stores now have to be careful what they call everything so that no one is offended. Let us as believers bring our thanks to Him as much as we can for He is worthy of our hearts blessing Him at all times.
Today let us joyfully look at another thing we are to be thankful for! I am thankful today for the loving and watchful eyes of God. You know that He misses not one thing! In one of the Psalms the psalmist proclaims that He will perfect that which concerns us. This scripture speaks to my heart, and reminds me that not one thing in my life goes unnoticed by the Lord, and for this I am thankful!
“The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever”
Psalm 138:8 KJV
We all have things we are dealing with at times. This is life, yet our Lord exhorts us to cast every care on Him, for He did not make us to carry our own burdens and cares. Sometimes it can be tempting to carry the “little” burdens on our own. I think the more we get into the habit of taking it all to the Lord the better off we will be. The more we take it ALL the more we will grow in seeking to do everything by His strength and wisdom. It is those little things, those little cares that we carry that will tempt us to live in our own ability. Corrie ten Boom says this about taking our concerns to Him:
Corrie ten Boom
“Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer
is too small to be made into a burden.”
~~~~~~~~~
and the scriptures tell us in Philippians 4:6-7 (ERV)
“Don’t worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks for what you have. And because you belong to Christ Jesus, God’s peace will stand guard over all your thoughts and feelings. His peace can do this far better than our human minds.”
When I read this scripture and I ponder what Corrie ten Boom said it reminds me of how tenderly the Lord desires to watch over us, and He cares about the smallest of matters. It should cause us to think more about how He knows what we need before we are even aware of the need. I think the deeper we understand this love the more we will run to Him with everything no matter how small it may be in our eyes. God is so good. Again, let us have thankful hearts that we serve a God that notices everything about us, and let us praise Him for His tender hands that are at work in our lives to do His will.
Posted on Nov 6, 2015 in Devotions |
by Dona Hake
As we look to ponder what we are thankful for, I want to exhort you today to thank Him for courage and strength. In this life you will have opportunity to be weary and afraid. We well know that weariness can keep us from moving forward in the will of God, and fear can turn us in the wrong direction. Fear can cripple our hearts and cause us to be double minded. Our God is the faithful one that says, “I SHALL strengthen your heart!” What a beautiful promise to rejoice and be thankful for! He has promised to keep us, strengthen our weary arms, and yet He exhorts us through this psalmist that we need to wait and take hold of courage.
Psalm 27:14(KJV)
“Wait on the Lord: be of good courage,
and he shall
strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.”
Many times we see small children have the hardest time to have to wait for something. We try to help them see that waiting for something that may take fifteen minutes really is not an eternity. Let us be honest though that we adults can all relate to times in which it is hard to wait for something. We have to wait in long supermarket lines, airport terminals, doctor’s waiting rooms, and the long line of traffic that seems to be backed up for miles. This kind of waiting can test our patience, and many times cause us to lose our peace. I am learning to take opportunities as these which seem to be an inconvenience to take a deep breath and just pray, think about the good things, or possibly just chat with someone in that long grocery store line.
There may be times that our faith is being tested, and the Lord is calling us to stand strong, and be of good courage even as we wait patiently upon Him. I found a few definitions of good courage that I loved and I wanted to share with you. It means to radiate warm confidence, and bold courage means living out the inner confidence within us. Today, may we hold fast to that courage that comes from the confidence that only God can bring to our souls. Let us praise Him and offer thanksgiving that we serve a God that says He shall strengthen our heart even in the waiting. I believe many times weariness sets in one’s heart simply because we are not drawing upon the strength of the Lord while purposing to stand in faith until we see the manifestation of what we are believing for.
Lord, we give thanks to You today for You are the One that has promised to strengthen our heart as we wait patiently upon You. You said you SHALL strengthen us, and we take You at Your Word. As we set our eyes on You, we thank you that a sweet confidence and courage will continue to grow within us. With thankful hearts we praise You for all that You are doing in our lives. In Jesus Name we pray, Amen!
Posted on Nov 6, 2015 in Devotions |
by Dona Hake
Psalm 145:1-3
“I will lift my praise above everything to You, my God and King!
I will continually bless Your name forever and always.
My praise will never cease—
I will praise You every day;
I will lift up Your name forever.
The Eternal is great and deserves endless praise;
His greatness knows no limit, recognizes no boundary.
No one can measure or comprehend His magnificence.”
The holiday Thanksgiving is one of my favorites, and this month I would to share some devotionals to cause your heart to think about the many good things that He has done for you! It can be so easy to take fore granted the things our blessings and the people in our life for granted, and we must be mindful that we are living with hearts that are full of thanks. Today I am encouraging you to think about how wonderful and good the Lord has been to you. Day in and day out He faithfully meets us as we open our eyes each morning. He is always there for us throughout our day. Even when we fall and mess up, again He is faithful. As the psalmist writes in verse three, God is much greater than anyone can understand!
The psalmist writes here that the Eternal is great and He deserves endless praise! Have you ever tried to figure out the word “eternity.” I have, and it never ceases to leave me speechless and in awe. This is just one of the many wondrous things about God that are far above and beyond our comprehension. Have you pondered how great His love is toward you today? Is it not the most wonderful thing to know that He loved you enough to send His Son to die for you? Have you stopped and thanked Him today for His forgiveness and paused to try to figure out the depth of His compassion that forgiveness brings to you? I marvel as I think about how He not only forgives us but He totally washes us clean and restores our souls. Oh that our praise toward Him for the salvation of our souls be great for He is greatly to be praised!
Let us think about more of His divine attributes…His grace and mercy recognizes no boundaries and they are new each morning as we face new challenges. No, we will never be able to totally comprehend His greatness, but we can always continue to offer thanks and worship to Him for all that He is to us! Give thanks to the Lord for there is no measure of His magnificence! Our Loving Heavenly Father deserves endless praise for His greatness knows no limit!!!
Posted on Nov 5, 2015 in Devotions |
by Dona Hake
Proverbs 30:5 Expanded Bible
“Every word of God ·is true [passes the test; is refined;
·He guards those [ They are a shield to those] who come to
him for ·safety [refuge].
God’s Word to us is flawless, and each and every one of His Words will shield us. We need not try to analyze this and try to figure it out but rather let us only believe that His Word is true. In your day of battle you are promised that His Word will shield you and keep you. It is in those times when the fiery darts of the enemy come to penetrate your soul that the Word of God that you believe and speak will be a protection, a refuge, and you will walk in victory. In the book of John it is written that Jesus said if we are faithful to what He says that we are truly His disciples. Praise God that truly knowing the truth and being set free go hand in hand!
John 8:31-32 (PHILLIPS)
“If you are faithful to what I have said,
you are truly my disciples. And you will
know the truth and the truth will set you free!”
Oh that we would be diligent to know His Word that we may be free in every area of our lives. Let us never add or subtract from His Word either.
Proverbs 30:6 says “Add thou not anything to the words of him, and thou be reproved, and be found a liar. (Do not thou add anything to his words, lest thou be rebuked, and be found a liar.)”
Again let us be reminded that God’s Word is perfect. Let us never add our own thoughts or opinions to the Word of God because His Word is total truth and nothing needs added to it. Father God, we thank you that You have made it so simple for us. Oh that our hearts would be faithful to all that You have said in Your Word. We are so grateful for the freedom that we have been blessed to live
and walk in because Your Word has set us free! We ask that Your Holy Spirit continue to teach us how to live and abide by Your Word in even the smallest of areas in our lives. We thank You for that. In Jesus Name, Amen!
Posted on Nov 4, 2015 in Devotions |
by Dona Hake
Every time I watch the news my heart and soul are so touched. It may be news about our country straying away from the beliefs of our founding fathers, or news of tragedy because of evil doers. I am a firm believer that we need to stay abreast of what is going on that we can hold these issues up in prayer yet we need to guard ourselves that our joy is not being quenched.
I encourage you to pray often and keep your heart in love, and faith. In those times in which we feel the world pulling us down we need to slip into His presence. Prayers can be whispered from our heart while we are on the job, walking through a grocery store, sitting at a desk, or washing dishes. Do not feel that there needs to be a perfect place or perfect time to pray, He is right there with us waiting to hear from us at any given time. In our need, He is there, and in His presence is all the joy we need to strengthen us. Let us tell Him our burdens and hand Him our cares so we can be free from trying to carry them on our own.
God desires that we live in the place of joy and peace that is spilling over to people around us. There are many around us that do not know and understand the key to staying above the storm waters of this life. As we exhibit a joy that does not change, they will notice and inquire of it. Today, look to stay in His presence no matter what is going on around us for the joy of the Lord IS our strength!
Psalm 16:11 (CJB)
“11 You make me know the path of life;
in your presence is unbounded joy,,,”
Posted on Nov 2, 2015 in Devotions |
by Dona Hake
Ecclesiastes 3:11 (AMP)
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He also has planted eternity in men’s hearts and minds [a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy], yet so that men cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”
I think this scripture is so precious, and it causes me to reflect on how God created us to need Him. He created each one of us with a special assignment in this life, and only He can accomplish it through us. I love how it tells us that God has planted eternity in every heart and mind that has ever lived. It is so very sad to hear when people decide to reject our loving Heavenly Father. There are those that deny Creation, and there are those that deny Jesus any place in their life. No matter how much one rejects truth, there will always be a hole and void in their heart, and they will try to fill it by living in their own ability, and serving the god of this world.Within the heart of man is a longing that only God can satisfy yet man who chooses to fill his needs and emptiness apart from Christ will never be fulfilled. I remember someone saying once that every man was created with a “hole” in their heart that only God is able to fill. How true this is.
I particularly want you to look at “man cannot understand the work God has done from the beginning to the end.” The beauty of this is that this is what makes God so great and almighty in all that He does. He is beyond us figuring Him out, nor should we try to comprehend His ways. If He wants you to understand, He will. Let us submit our lives and wills to Him, and simply trust Him. He has promised that as we trust Him that He will lovingly care for us, and we shall lack nothing.
Isaiah 58:11 (AMP)
“And the Lord shall guide you continually and satisfy you in drought and in dry places and make strong your bones. And you shall be like a watered garden
and like a spring of water whose waters fail not.”
Let God show Himself strong in you when there is no strength to be found. Permit Him to be the one to lovingly fill the void and emptiness in your heart. Permit Him to be your loving Shepherd in the dry lands for He will cause you to be as a well watered garden. It is not necessary to know how He does it for He alone is God, and all He wants is your trust!
Lord, we ask You this day to touch our hearts with fresh understanding of what our purpose is as we live this life on earth. We know that You and only You can satisfy every need that we have, and
we praise You for that. Cause us Lord to hear Your voice as we seek You with
our whole heart, and help us to continue to understand the way in which we are to walk. In Jesus Name, Amen!
Posted on Nov 1, 2015 in Devotions |
by Dona Hake
Most vehicles sound off a little signal of some sort to warn you that you are low in gas. If you are wise you pay attention to it, and make sure you stop and get gas! If you ignore it, you are sure to encounter an inconvenience. If you park your car in town and you fill your meter for one hour, you are given that one hour to complete your errands. If you do not get back on time and the meter is empty, you could be pulling a slip out from under your windshield wiper with a hefty little fine that you will have to pay.
There are things in this life that we are given control of, and we must be responsible for them. This also applies to us spiritually. While God does not want us to live in our own ability, He does desire that we live responsibly and diligently live by His Word and do His commands. He desires that we seek Him and His voice as He watches over our hearts. God so beautifully will speak and warn us to make adjustments, and we must be obedient and diligent to do as He says. Remember, He will not force you to do His Word, for He has given us a will to live in this life.
Today I want to share about us paying attention to our hearts being kept full and maintained by all the good things of God. May we take heed to the warning signals that the Holy Spirit puts in our path. God has made every provision for us to be full of Him and He desires that we be full and stay full that we may live the victorious life that He intends for us to live. How many things in life do we diligently pay attention to in the natural…our gas tanks, our bank accounts, the parking meter, food in the refrigerator, etc… We keep a mental note and physical notes that we are maintaining these things, yet our spiritual being could be dry and we could possibly fail to notice. If we are not staying full spiritually, we will eventually have to pay for it. If this be the case we will not have the strength that we need, therefore we cannot persevere. As our peace is no longer present, we will react to things in a way that is not as God intended.
Today, Let us praise God that He has made a way for us to live in the fullness of His life! Lord, we ask You today that You fill us up. We ask for Your wisdom and Your voice to impart to us all that we need each and every day. We thank You for the wonderful joy and peace You give to us as we place our trust in You and You alone! In Jesus Name, Amen.
Romans 15:13 ERV
“I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much joy and peace as you trust in him. Then you will have more and more hope, and it will flow out of you by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Posted on Nov 1, 2015 in Devotions |
by Dona Hake
Proverbs 27:19 (ERV)
“Just as you can see your
own face reflected in water,
so your heart reflects the
kind of person you are.”
This scriptures provokes me to think about the true spiritual condition of my heart. If I were to stand over a crystal clear pond and look in, my reflection would answer back at me or in other words I see myself. I would see myself for exactly what I am because the reflection does not lie. When you stand in front of a mirror you can not stand there and say, “this is not me!” or “I do not look like that!” Our reflections are speaking to us and telling us exactly what we look like. Now let us think about looking into the Word of God as a mirror. Do we permit God’s Word to show us the true condition of our
hearts? Do we permit His Word to correct and instruct us?
James 1:22-25
Amplified Bible (AMP)
“”But be doers of the Word [obey the message], and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth].
For if anyone only listens to the Word without obeying it and being a doer of it, he is like a man who looks carefully at his [own] natural face in a mirror;
For he thoughtfully observes himself, and then goes off and promptly forgets what he was like.
But he who looks carefully into the faultless law, the [law] of liberty, and is faithful to it and perseveres in looking into it, being not a heedless listener who forgets but an active doer [who obeys], he shall be blessed in his doing (his life of obedience).”
There will be those times in which we hear the Word and we may feel a bit convicted and we need to give heed, and be an active doer as this scripture tells us to do. This tugging at our heart is the Holy Spirit speaking to us to make changes, and this kind of change really is a good thing. This scripture is clear that we need to give heed to the Word we hear and read, and the living Word will truly reveal to us the condition of our heart if we permit it to. The Lord is loving, and He will help you to make the adjustments you need to be molded into His image. Today I encourage you to look into God’s law, and see yourself in light of what it is speaking to your heart. Purpose to not forget what His Word has spoken to your heart and be a blessed doer of His Word!
Posted on Oct 31, 2015 in Devotions |
by Dona Hake
Some days life really does seem like a complicated puzzle doesn’t it? I see the jigsaw puzzle as a great analogy of our life being put together day by day by the loving hand of our loving God. There are times we can get so focused on a particular area just having to fit because in our minds we just want to see that part of our life worked out. May we come to trust and believe that God is wanting to work on some other area of the “puzzle” or tapestry of His will for us. His ways and thoughts are always higher and greater than ours!
Today I am hoping that we be reminded to allow God to search the “pieces” of His specific will for our life that He may work through us. As we live each day may we remain humble and allow Him to work and fit the pieces together that are in His plan, not our custom made ideas. It is a comfort to know that God is the Master Planner and within His plan will always be perfect timing. Young or old, we can all get a bit impatient with God’s timing, and we need to be cautious of this. I always love when my Granddaughters ask how long something may take and if I say it will be in about five minutes, and I get this…”Grandma, that will be forever!” Makes me grin every time. How many times do we react to God the same way?
God wants you to know that He has a plan for your life and He works in your life as you permit Him to. As we stay humble, He will work out all things according to His plans and purposes in His perfect and masterful timing!
Romans 8:28 (DRA) “And we know that to them that love God, all things work together unto good…”
Posted on Oct 30, 2015 in Devotions |
by Dona Hake
Have you heard this quote??
“Just because a thought comes into my head
does not mean it has to come
out of my mouth!”
Sometimes people can be so blunt with their words, and quite honestly I am taken back that they are not considering how they are affecting people with what they are saying. I tease at times in the course of discussing people like this and I always say, “Their edit button for their mouth is not working, or has just gone totally bad!!” Our mouths can be used as tools to bring encouragement, peace, and love. Our mouths can also be used to bring hurt, sarcasm, criticism, etc…. May we daily seek the Lord that our mouths and minds be used as instruments of His love and goodness to those around us. Let us look at the psalmist’s prayer about our thoughts and words being pleasing to the Lord.
“May my spoken words and unspoken thoughts
be pleasing even to you,
O Lord my Rock and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14 TLB
I think that this is such a wonderful prayer that we could never pray enough. Oh that we would ask the Lord more often, “Is what I just said okay Lord?” or “Lord Is my heart right in this matter? I think Jesus wants us to view Him as our best friend, and we should be allowing our best friend to challenge our heart and bring accountability in our lives. I value the times when I feel a tug at my heart from my Best Friend in those times that my thoughts or words are not pleasing to Him. When He is Lord of our life, we will truly welcome His admonishment and disciplines into our life.
The Lord has promised to help us with all things that pertain to life and godliness, so be encouraged that it is His heart to help you walk victoriously. Paul wrote in Philippians how to keep our thoughts in line with truth. If we just purpose to think on good things…those things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, and of good report! Philippians 4:8.
