Death Rehearsal

Today is my birthday and when I read this little devotional, I thought, how fitting.

I'm not anxious for death, but rather life especially on this day but hey, 

death could just be around the corner and it's something I can't act like it 

may or may not take place but what I can keep my eyes on is the 

author of life and on this day, and in the days to come I choose the gift of

life!

God  Bless.

Death Rehearsal

John Piper
Thou dost sweep men away; they are like a dream, like grass which is renewed in the morning: in the morning it flourishes and withers. So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:5–6, 12)

For me, the end of a year is like the end of my life.
And 11:59 pm on December 31 is like the moment of my death.

The 365 days of the year are like a miniature lifetime.
And these final hours are like the last days in the hospital
after the doctor has told me that the end is very near.
And in these last hours, the lifetime of this year passes before my eyes,
and I face the inevitable question: Did I live it well? 
Will Jesus Christ, the righteous judge, say 
“Well done, good and faithful servant”?

I feel very fortunate that this is the way my year ends.
And I pray that the year’s end might have the same significance for you.

The reason I feel fortunate is that it is a great advantage to
have a trial run at my own dying.
It is a great benefit to rehearse once a year in preparation
for the last scene of your life.
It is a great benefit because the morning of January 1
will find most of us alive, at the brink of a whole new lifetime,
able to start fresh all over again.

The great thing about rehearsals is that they
show you where your weaknesses are,
where your preparation was faulty;
and they leave you time to change before the real play.

I suppose for some of you the thought of dying is so morbid,
so gloomy, so fraught with grief and pain that you do your
best to keep it out of your minds, especially during holidays.
I think that is unwise and that you do yourself a great disservice.
For I have found that there are few things more revolutionizing
for my life than a periodic pondering of my own death.

How do you get a heart of wisdom so as to know how best to live?
The psalmist answers:

Thou dost sweep men away; they are like a dream, 

like grass which is renewed in the morning: in the

morning it flourishes and withers.

So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

(Psalm 90:5, 6, 12)

Numbering your days simply means remembering that your life is short and
your dying will be soon. Great wisdom — great, life-revolutionizing wisdom —
comes from periodically pondering these things.

The criterion of success that Paul used to measure his
life was whether he had kept the faith. This is what I want us to focus on.

And if we discover that we did not keep the faith this past year,
then we can be glad, as I am, that this year-end death is
(we hope) only a rehearsal, and a whole life of potential faith-keeping
lies before us in the next year.

From “I Have Kept the Faith”

Character Tests

If I haven't said it before, I'm going to say it now. I love Joyce Meyer and how her words make me think and pull on my heart to look deeper inside me so that I may grow in wisdom and knowledge.

This little devotional is exactly what I need in a time like this. Let's face it, this world is going to hell in a hand basket and instead of looking at the negative, I need something positative to exchange for the negative.

This little devotional gives some good practical things that I can wrap my mind around on how I should be living and to me, that's priceless.

God Bless.

Character Tests

by Joyce Meyer

Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the [uncompromisingly] righteous [those upright and in harmony with You]; for You, Who try the hearts and emotions and thinking powers, are a righteous God.
—Psalm 7:9

Have you found yourself wondering lately if the condition of this world can get any worse? Life is filled with challenges that test your determination and your faith in God. Whether faced with the impending threat of terrorism or with simple everyday hassles, the quality of your character is sure to be tested on a regular basis.

You must remember that God tests our hearts, our emotions, and our minds. What does it really mean to test something? Pressure is put on it to see if it will do what it says it will do. Will it hold up under stress? Can it perform at the level its maker says it can? Is it genuine when measured against a true standard of quality? 

God does the same with us. Ask God to give you grace to pass all your tests.

---

From the book Ending Your Day Right by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2004 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.

Cooperate With God's Plan

I don't cooperate well with others let alone with God. I'm a natural born fighter. I want what I want, when I want it.

Call it selfish, call it whatever you wish. I'm not proud of this fact by any means. But when I entered into this world I was force to fight for my life. My very breath even. There were so major complications surrounding my birth and my life in general. I was forced to come up with a plan of my own. 

Or at least I thought I had to but what I didn't realize it hasn't really been me who's kept me alive all these years but God and He seems to have a plan that I just can't see or don't want to see. In any case, I struggle with the thoughts of letting go and let God but that doesn't mean my heart really wants to. 

It's a weakness I have in me and this little devotional helps keeps me grounded and reminds me that there is something bigger that is running me life and He loves me more than I can possibly imagine.

God Bless.

Cooperate with God's Plan

by Joyce Meyer - 

For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.
- Jeremiah 29:11

God has a plan for every person and His Word clearly says it is a good plan. But Satan starts his dirty work early in your life, attempting to pervert and destroy God's good plan. He arranges for all kinds of disappointing, discouraging, hurtful, and frightening events to take place. And often he does a lot of damage.

But no matter how much you have been hurt, God can restore you. If you experienced a bad beginning, do not despair. God is in the business of repair, and His repairs are better than new. However this restoration will not happen automatically. You must believe the Word of God and fully cooperate with Him during the restoration process. Look to the one who loves you unconditionally and is the giver of all good gifts.

From the book Ending Your Day Right by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2004 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.

Indicators Of Greatness

I love this little devotional. 

It's great information and a starting point on what greatness is. 

This devotional is a tangible starting point in starting a study on what it takes to be great and when you come right down to it, greatness isn't at all that hard to achieve. The biggest obstacle? Your mind and what you think about yourself and others.

All that truly matters is how God see you, and to Him, you've been made great by excepting of what His son died for.

God Bless.

Indicators of Greatness

“…but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits” Daniel 11:32, KJV.

Great Activity

The enemy wouldn’t be fighting you so hard if you didn’t have something of great value inside of you. Even in this, know that it is not the activity of the enemy that indicates greatness, but the activity of God in your heart and life. Let Him continue His work in you.

Great Passion

When the fire within you is greater than the fire that surrounds you, you are headed towards great things for God’s glory.

Great Obedience

You are headed towards greatness when you can’t rest until you do what God is prompting you to do, even the smallest command. Know that there’s a special grace to do what He said, right at the moment when He said it.

Great Love

Your desire to please God must be greater than your desire to be hurt and angry.

Great Boldness

Even though you feel scared, choose to do it anyway–shaking and all. Don’t wait to feel brave. Obey God and bravery will come. You will grow more fearless with every victory.

Great Solutions

Don’t sit around complaining about the problem; be solution-oriented. Spend 10% of your conversation talking about the problem, and 90% of time discussing the solution.

Great Perseverance

With every challenge, become stronger. What the enemy meant for your bad, God will turn it around for your good.

Great Light

Let Him flood every dark and hidden place in your heart with His truth. Desire to receive His truth in your inward parts and He will cause you to be a great light in a grossly dark world.

Great Help

God will take you from being Forsaken to being Sought After. Because He has given you an assignment that’s too big for you to do alone, He will bring people to help you do the great work He’s given you.

Prayer: Father God, thank You for speaking directly to my heart. You are great and You are faithful. Have 

Your way in me and be glorified in my life. I receive all that You have waiting for me. In Jesus name, Amen.

________

© 2015 Daughters of the King Daily Devotionals. All Rights Reserved.

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Get Dressed

I know this little devotional is going to seem silly but to me, it potent in my life. 

I have a tendency to want to lay around in pajamas all day. I think to myself, what's the use. No one will see me anyway.

This should show you how down I can and have become. It's not like I don't care but. And that's the problem. There always seems to be a but and not a clear direction and follow threw.

It's a mind problem. I have one of the biggest one there is. Not sure if anyone can match it. What I need to realize is that God is where I am and I'm sure he doesn't like looking at pajamas everyday of the week when He tries to talk with me.  

I need to realize not only do I represent Him when I'm out and about but I also represent Him in my home and who's to say He might want to send someone my way but He can't because I'm to lazy, self-centered, and just a plain blah hum bug. 

So, let's get dressed and give God the best.

God Bless.

Get Dressed

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” Colossians 3:12-14.

When I wake up each morning, one of the first things I do is get dressed. I choose clothes which fit the weather, the day’s plans, and my mood. There is one outfit that never fails to look and feel amazing on me. It works for every mood, every possible weather scenario, and every single type of event. Do you have that outfit too?

The Bible tells us about this perfect outfit in Colossians 3:12-14. We should clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. It’s the most beautiful outfit, and it will get us the most wonderful compliments every time we choose to wear it. And you know the best part? Christ wore the same one!

What is the purpose of clothing? To cover us. To shelter us from the elements of the world. To keep us protected and unashamed. When we wear these characteristics on a daily basis, we are better equipped to handle anything that comes our way – including forgiving those with which we may have grievances. But just in case we are still worried, verse 14 takes care of that. Over everything, we will put on love, and love will bind everything together in perfect unity.

The next time you are getting dressed, as you put on your physical clothes – meditate on these verses. Then take a look in the mirror. I promise you – you’ve never looked better!

Prayer: Lord, thank you that you are compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, and patient! Thank you that you live out these characteristics perfectly. Help me to stay reminded to dress myself properly daily. Today, I put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. In Jesus’ name, Amen

________

© 2015 Daughters of the King Daily Devotionals. All Rights Reserved.

Designed by charity: themes

Our Priceless Bodies

Our Priceless Bodies

I have a problem with my body. I don't like it. I've got some form of genetic disorder that makes me look like I'm a freak.

So when I came across this little devotional, I immediately began to cry. I've never thought of my body and the way I am in the content of the words below. I need to change my thinking and I know I can't do that over night because every day, the disorder is still there. 

Is the problem with me? Or is there something more God wants to do where my body is concern? I'm hoping it's the latter. But I also am not stupid when it concerns the mind. 

So maybe if I take the first step and work on myself and the image I have of myself, maybe within the near future, my plans and God's plans for my body will line up and who knows what could happen. The possibilities are endless. 

God Bless.

My Father has made me.

Let’s look for a moment at something the Bible says about the material out of which the human body is made. Some of you probably do not know that the Bible has quite a lot to say about that.

It always grieves me when Christians downgrade their own bodies and talk about them as if they were inferior or of little importance. Brothers and sisters, our bodies are miracles. If your car was totaled in a wreck and you had to replace it, all you would need is a certain amount of dollars and you could purchase a new car. But if you injure even one eye, there is no way you can pay for a new eye. It is priceless. So it is with every other major organ of the body. It grieves me when I see Christians taking more care of their cars than they do of their bodies. That is a very foolish scale of values.

Psalm 139 is a psalm that David wrote as a meditation on the marvels of his own body. David said to the Lord,

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. (Psalm 139:14)

David was talking about his physical body. I wonder if you would agree to say those same words about your own body. It would change the attitude of some of you. Some Christians are almost burdened down with their bodies. They seem to wish that they did not have the problem of a body. That is a false viewpoint. Say these words aloud right now: “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

Thank You, Lord, for Your work in me. I proclaim that my body is priceless, and I say, “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” My Father has made me. Amen. 

Author Unknown

Have you ever really truly considered the power of the word of God?

Not only how much power the written word has to changes our life's but the person who is the word of God.

We truly don't understand the differences between the two and how much we can't have one without the other. Life is truly hanging in the balance and is waiting for someone to share just how much God loves people.

And to do this, let us begin by introducing ourselves as well as others to the bible and live a life according and when we do, the Man on whom all things belongs to will being to manifest Himself in a way that will change the direction this world has been going.

Let it start right here, right now.

God Bless.

DEVOTIONAL FOR SEPTEMBER 25

Life Hangs on the Word of God

John Piper
He said to them, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”(Deuteronomy 32:46–47)

The Word of God is not a trifle; it is a matter of life and death. 

If you treat the Scriptures as a trifle or as empty words, you forfeit life.

Even our physical life depends on God’s Word, 

because by his Word we were created (Psalm 33:6; Hebrews 11:3)

and “He upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:3).

Our spiritual life begins by the Word of God: 

“Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth” (James 1:18). 

“You have been born again . . . through the living and abiding word of God” (1 Peter 1:23).

Not only do we begin to live by God’s Word, 

but we also go on living by God’s Word: 

“Man shall not live by bread alone, 

but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3).

Our physical life is created and upheld by the Word of God, 

and our spiritual life is quickened and sustained by the Word of God. 

How many stories could be gathered to bear witness to the 

life-giving power of the Word of God!

Indeed, the Bible is “no empty word for you” — it is your life! 

The foundation of all joy is life.

 Nothing is more fundamental than sheer existence — 

our creation and our preservation.

All this is owing to the Word of God’s power. 

By that same power, he has spoken in Scripture for the creation 

and sustenance of our spiritual life. 

Therefore, the Bible is no empty word, but is your very life — 

the kindling of your joy!

From Desiring God, page 145