Sunday, February 5, 2017

 

 

 

Devotional for Sunday, February 5, 2017
“Our Lord Our Bread of This Life”

 

 

Jesus the Bread

by Dona Hake

 

Matthew 6:11 (CEB)

“Give us the bread we need for today.”

 

We all understand that we need to eat and drink to keep ourselves healthy.  Proper nutrition is vital in order to feel good and have the energy we need to get us through each day.     It is equally important that we are staying aware of our spirit being fed and nourished by the Word of our Lord, and our fellowship with Him.    Each new day presents us with  different demands, therefore we need to be diligent to read His Word and meditate upon it daily in order that our spirit, soul and mind are thriving on the Bread of Life.

God’s Word is our sustenance, and as we ask for Him to give us our daily bread we will certainly receive from Him.  His bread is our means of sustaining life and nourishment.  I encourage you today to seek Him for that which you need.  Is it a specific answer or need for direction?  Is there emptiness in your heart and pain?  Anything you need God is well able to give to you and He will give you nothing less than what you need to be sustained this day.

 

Matthew 7:7-10(ERV)

“Continue to ask, and God will give to you. Continue to search, and you will find. Continue to knock, and the door will open for you.  Yes, whoever continues to ask will receive. Whoever continues to look will find. And whoever continues to knock will have the door opened for them.

“Do any of you have a son? If he asked for bread, would you give him a rock?  Or if he asked for a fish, would you give him a snake? Of course not!



Saturday, February 4, 2017

 

Devotional for Saturday, February 4, 2017
“We Are God’s Handiwork”
 

 

 

God's Workmanship Religious Bulletin

by Dona Hake

 

Ephesians 2:10   (AMP)

“For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), [a]recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].”

 

How beautiful it is to meditate upon being made new in Christ Jesus!   The day we accepted Him all the old passed away and praise God ALL things became new.   Today let us praise our Lord for the work of His hand in our life and anticipate wonderful things to come!    Each one of us is a work in progress, and this should encourage our heart knowing that the God that created the heavens and earth is molding us and preparing us for another day.   Think about the work of His hand specific to your gifts and calling.     As we permit His hand to work in our life He will surely use us to show His glory in this world.  Each day our feet hit the floor we should be anticipating how He is going to use us.  Let us be mindful though that we do it with His strength and ability.  Let our steps and plans be directed by Him.

 

Philippians 2:13   (AMP)

“[Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while [a]effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and [b]delight.”

 

You may wonder how He desires to use you today.    I heard recently that we should not pray for opportunities to be used but we need to seize the many opportunities that are right before us for there are many.   He delights in using our ears to listen to those around us.  As we speak words, let them be words of edification to the one that may be down in their heart.  May our hands be those that work heartily unto Him!   Today I am looking forward to what He is going to do in my life  as His loving hands continue to mold and make me for His purposes! How about you?



Friday, February 3, 2017

 

 

 

Devotional for Friday, February 3, 2017
“The Thoughts of Our Lord”
 

Gods thoughts are as many as the sand

by Dona Hake

 

Psalm 139:17-18

“Your thoughts and plans are treasures to me, O God! I cherish each and every one 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!”

 

The Psalmist speaks in this chapter of how God has explored his heart and knows exactly who he is.  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!  How precious are the thoughts of our Lord!

 

As I read this Psalm and think about the sands of the ocean it causes me to realize that I really cannot fathom the greatness of our Lord’s thoughts about us.   How would we ever even begin to count them?  In saying that it reminds me as well that His thoughts are different than ours because He sees us through His pure love, and His thoughts and ways will always be higher than how our 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.

 
Today let us meditate upon the fact that He sees our future through His eyes and He desires that our faith rest in Him.  May we desire and seek to see things through the eyes of our Lord.   Let us be ever so thankful that we serve such a loving God that loves us so tenderly.   How sweet it is to know He watches over our every move.…how great is our God!!!


Thursday, February 2, 2017

 

 

 

 
Devotional for Thursday, February 2, 2017
“When We Are Guided By the Spirit”
 

God our guidance

by Dona Hake

 

“I feel like I’m on track!”  Have you ever said that?  I love the feeling that I know I am doing the right thing and all is flowing smoothly.  God desires to lead and guide us all the days of our lives. He also desires that we seek Him first and that we purpose that His Spirit is leading us.   I shared with you recently the importance of knowing God as you move forward.    His Word will always lead and guide us into all truth, and He promises to give us all things that pertain to this life and godliness.

 

Galatians 5:16   CEV

“If you are guided by the Spirit, you won’t obey your selfish desires.”

 

Many times we can fall to the weakness of following our own way or our own selfish desires.  We can also be guilty of knowing the Lord’s direction but trying to make things happen in our own ability.  As we trust Him for answers and direction He will always be faithful to direct us and keep us on track.

 

Have you ever heard the saying spoken when someone is needing to make a decision…”Maybe you just need to sleep on it.”  Never make the mistake of trying to make a decision when you are tired or upset emotionally.   We need to stop and rest in the Lord and also get the rest we need in our body.  I have had times where I have received answers to a particular need or leading in what I needed to do during the night while my body and mind were resting.  The Lord has a beautiful and tender way of quietly speaking in the quietness of the night.

 

Psalm 16:7 (ERV)
“I praise the Lord because he taught me well.

Even at night he put his instructions deep inside my mind.”

 

I praise God that He so tenderly desires to come along side of us in this life that we can know we are going the right direction!

 



Wednesday, February 1, 2017

 



Tuesday, January 31, 2017

 

 
 
 
Devotional for Tuesday, January 31, 2017
“Beware of the Entanglement of Sin”
 
 
 

Yesterday I shared a wonderful quote with you, and I will share again.

“Ships do not sink because of the water around them;
ships sink because of the water that gets in them.
Do not let what is happening around you
get inside you and weigh you down.”
 
 
Along with this quote we looked at Hebrews 12:1.   Let us look at this scripture again but today we will look at how sin can so easily and cleverly entangle us.
 
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses who by faith have testified to the truth of God’s absolute faithfulness, stripping off every unnecessary weight and the sin which so easily and cleverly entangles us, let us run with endurance and active persistence the race that is set before us,”  
 
While we looked yesterday at how unnecessary weight can hinder us, that weight can  actually be the “water in our ship”. Today we see that there are sins that can cause us to be entangled.  I found some interesting definitions of what it means to be entangled. They were:
to involve in difficulties,
to confuse or perplex.
 
One time I saw the most touching video of a deer that was tangled up in netting in the woods, and it laid helplessly.  It frantically and fearfully was trying to escape the trap it as in.   There were some men that wanted to help it and as they approached it,  the deer began to panic.   They spoke softly to it, and it soon seemed to understand that they were trying to help.   They carefully cut away that which was entangling the deer and the deer went free.
 
We must be careful to be diligent and watchful over our souls that there is not a sin that is cleverly trying to put us in a position in which the enemy can entangle us and consume us.  As we watch over our hearts and minds through prayer and fellowship with our Lord, He will help us to discern those clever attempts that the evil one tries to deceive us with.   Let us run with endurance and active persistence that race that is set before us in Jesus Name!
 
 


Monday, January 30, 2017

 

Devotional for Monday, January 30, 2017
“This Is What Can Weigh Us Down”
 
 
 
 
Today I would like to share a quote with you that I saw the other day on  social media.  It spoke volumes to my heart, and I wanted to share with you what the Lord showed me. Here’s the quote:

 

“Ships do not sink because of the water around them;
ships sink because of the water that gets in them.
Do not let what is happening around you
get inside you and weigh you down.”
 
 

Now with this scripture let us look at some scripture from Hebrews 12.

Hebrews 12:1 Amplified Version

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses who by faith have testified to the truth of God’s absolute faithfulness, stripping off every unnecessary weight and the sin which so easily and cleverly entangles us, let us run with endurance and active persistence the race that is set before us,”
 
The first words I want to look at today is the words stripping off every unnecessary weight. As I read this quote it reminded me of the fact that many times we are the ones responsible for sinking our own boats.  How is that? you might wonder…I think about times when we pick up cares that we have no business trying to carry.  It is amazing how we can just convince ourselves that picking up care and worrying about something is going to solve a problem. The Lord tells us in His Word to cast all of our care upon Him, for He is the one caring about us!   He does not want us to be burdened down with anything here in this journey on earth. He desires we run the race of our life with light hearts and minds that are free from care.  He does not want us to try to solve problems in our inability but rather that we let that to Him.  It is as we cast our care that we are really stripping off the  unnecessary weight that tries to slow us down and burden us.  
 

Today I want to challenge your heart to think about things you may be thinking about that have become a burden, and unnecessary weight and care in your mind. I encourage you to make a decision to just stop carrying it in your own ability, make a quality decision to give it to the Lord Jesus Christ in prayer.

Tomorrow I will continue to share my thoughts relative to this quote and Hebrews 12.   I pray your day is blessed in Jesus Name.



Sunday, January 29, 2017

 

 

 

Devotional for Sunday, January 29, 2017
“Jesus the Prince of Peace”

 

Jesus Prince of Peace

by Dona Hake

 
“…and His Name SHALL be called the Prince of Peace! Oh let us praise our Lord today for the peace He has brought to our lives. I am so grateful for that precious peace, and I cannot imagine this life without it. In a world full of changes, trouble and turmoil, He promised that He would leave us His peace. He said it would not be peace like the world gives so we know that His peace is not affected by anything we have to walk through. There is no valley too deep or storm so great that His peace cannot endure.

 

Jesus, the Prince of Peace desires that His peace rule and reign in our heart. He desires that we walk in His peace for His peace passes all human comprehension. When all is falling apart around us, His peace can calm our heart and bring it to rest.  Just as He desires that we not hide His glorious Light under a bushel, He desires that we emanate His precious peace to a world that needs to be touched by it.

 

 I encourage you today to think about that precious gift of peace that is always there for you.   He desires that His peace dominate your thoughts and act as the Umpire of your heart.  

“And let the peace (soul harmony which comes)
from Christ rule (act as umpire continually)
in your hearts [deciding and settling with
finality all questions that arise in your minds…”
Colossians 3:15
 
Father, we ask You this day to permeate us with Your peace that
passes the understanding of our minds.  May we display it in a world
in which peace is needed so desperately. May we also permit
Your peace to rule and reign even in the midst of life’s storms.
We are so thankful for You Lord, for You meet our every need.
In Jesus Name, Amen! 


Saturday, January 28, 2017

 

Devotional for Saturday, January 28, 2017
“He Gives All That We Need”

 

given us all things

by Dona Hake

 

Today I would like you to ponder with me how our Lord has faithfully promised to give us all that we need to live this life.  It is only by the power of God that any of us can remain strong and able to do His will for He has promised to give us ALL things that we need that pertain to this life and living godly.  When God says ALL He means ALL.  That means He will cause us to lack in no good thing as we ask Him.

 

2 Peter 1:3-4 (PHILLIPS)

“He has by his own action given us everything that is necessary for living the truly good life, in allowing us to know the one who has called us to him, through his own glorious goodness. It is through him that God’s greatest and most precious promises have become available to us men, making it possible for you to escape the inevitable disintegration that lust produces in the world and to share in God’s essential nature.”

 

We no longer need to strive to live a life pleasing unto to Him but rather draw upon Him as we come to know Him more intimately.  Let us live a life that looks to draw from His grace and live by it. It is as this becomes so real to us that the scripture in Philippians 4:13 will explode with power within us!

 

Philippians 4:13 (AMP)

I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].

 

Lord, we thank you this day that You empower us to live this life.   You give us grace for every need, and we are ready to do the work of our life that You have divinely assigned to  us.   We proclaim that we can live victoriously as we look to You for every provision that we need! In Jesus Name. Amen!



1.27.17

 

 

 

Devotional for Friday, January 27, 2017
“Seek First”

 

seek god first
 

by Dona Hake

 

Matthew 6:33-34

“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,

and then all these things will be given to you too.  

So do not worry about tomorrow. Let tomorrow

worry about itself. Living faithfully is a large enough task for today.”

 

I have shared over the last few days in particular about heaven filling our thoughts and the importance of focusing on the Lord in all that we do.   Today we will look at Jesus’ teaching about what we need to seek first above all things.   As Jesus was teaching upon the subject of seeking God’s kingdom first He was making a contrast between heavenly values with earthly values.  He was explaining that our first loyalty needs to  be to those things that do not fade away.  Earthly verses Heavenly…this is a choice that our hearts have to make to serve Him wholly.   He told them, “You cannot serve two masters.  If you try, you will wind up loving the first master and hating the second, or vice versa.  You must choose.”

 Jesus exhorted the people not to worry about their lives.  “Don’t worry about what you eat or drink, and don’t worry about what you will wear tomorrow.”    He pointed their eyes toward the sky and brought their attention to the fact  the birds do not store food for winter nor do they plant gardens.  They do not sow or reap yet they are always fed because the hand of His loving Heavenly Father feeds them.

 “And you are even more precious to Him than a beautiful bird.

If He looks after them, of course He will look after you. “

 Even today He desires that we do not consume ourselves with the worries of today or tomorrow for He knows exactly what we need to get us through each day.  Praise Him first and seek Him for every need in your life.  As we put Him first, He will see to it that all our needs are met!  And as Jesus spoke…”Living faithfully is a large enough task for today.”




6 Responses to “Devotional”

  1. Lisa Viands says:

    This is a good way of teaching the kids to forgive each other(Matt. 5:7). I like the power of this gentle scripture and lesson… Thanks!!

  2. Selena Neely says:

    Ralph &I are really enjoying your devotional together.

  3. Selena Neely says:

    Oh, what a wonderful reminder! I want to break the magnifing glass of worry and trust God for each step I take.

  4. Dona Hake says:

    It is interesting Selena how the more we worry the bigger and more magnified things get in our minds. Oh how important it is to trust our God for the smallest of things! Thank you for sharing!