Thanksgiving, Singing and Talking of God's Good Deeds

SCRIPTURES OF THE DAY

1 Chronicles 16: 8 & 9

8 Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.

9 Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works.

It is not difficult to say thank you and to show appreciation to someone for the wonderful things that they do but sometimes we get caught up with the cares of our lives that we forget. We also forget at times to give God the glory and thanksgiving that He so duly deserve. Today, let's be found giving God thanks. Let's call upon His name. What a privilege and honor to be allowed to call on a Holy God. He takes time to listen and acknowledge each time we call on Him.

The last part of verse 8 just simply tells us to testify! Tell people about the things that God has done and is doing in your life. 

Sing. Sing a song to God today. Sing a published song or one that you make up and tell God how much He means to you. 

Be found talking today of God's wonderful works. If you purpose to do this you will not be found talking negative. 

If we follow the instructions of these two verses we will have a very pleasant and happy day.

Trusting God when I'm Afraid

SCRIPTURES OF THE DAY

Psalm 56:3 & 4

3 What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.

4 In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.

As Christians, I know we quote the scripture that says God has not given us the spirit of fear. I agree. This is a true statement. However there are times in life where we are fearful. Situations, circumstances, a sickness or even life itself can sometimes send a little fear in our hearts. Although we sometimes become afraid of these things we don't ever want to settle in the fear and develop a spirit of fear. Our scripture today says that when we find ourselves afraid we should trust in God. When we trust someone we can't at the same time fear that person. So, when we release the fear of the situation to God and trust Him then we release ourselves from being afraid. 

Once we release and trust God then we can praise Him. We can praise Him for His Word. It is in His Word that we can find answers to every situation. Notice again that we go right back to putting our trust in God in verse 4. It is vitally important to combat fear to trust in God. We can't fear what other people can or will do to us. God is greater than any person. Remember the scripture that encourages us concerning how all things will work together for us when we meet the criteria.(loving God and being called according to His purpose) We should also be aware of putting trust in our own flesh. Our trust and confidence should be put in God Almighty! 

Don't entertain fear. Trust God instead and watch how our Heavenly Father take control of the situation. 

I Speak Blessings Upon You

SCRIPTURE PASSAGE OF THE DAY

Numbers 6:22 - 26

22 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

²³ Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them,

²⁴ The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:

²⁵ The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

²⁶ The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

In our passage this morning God spoke to Moses and told him to speak to Aaron and his sons. Moses was instructed to speak blessings upon the children of Israel. So, today I take this opportunity to speak blessings unto you. 

I speak blessings to come to you today!

I speak that God will keep your mind as well as keeping you from all hurt and harm.

I speak that God will make His face to shine upon you today! You are the apple of God's eye.

I speak grace to overshadow you today! God's grace is sufficient and it will carry you through!

I speak God's countenance be lifted upon you!

I speak peace to you! Peace that surpasses all understanding.

Beloved this is my declaration upon you today. Go in peace and enjoy the blessings of the Lord.

The Great Sacrifice

SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY

John 15:13

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 

I continue in the spirit of Memorial Day. This scripture is talking about the love that Jesus showed when He laid down His life for us.If you allow me I will use this same scripture in reference to our fallen soldiers.  I think about the many many men and women who has paid the ultimate sacrifice-giving their life for us. My heart is full and grateful that I can enjoy the freedoms that their sacrifice has afforded me.

Please indulge me in giving them and their families honor for one more day. My friends let's not forget about the sacrifice and the many men and women who are still serving us and our great country. Don't forget to pray for them and their loved ones daily. Our country also needs our prayers. God gave us instructions to pray for those who are in authority that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life. Are we obeying the instructions? If not, repent and start today.  

May I take a moment to thank my own husband and son who has served and do serve now in the great uniform. 

Men and Women in the Armed Forces and family members, We thank you and appreciate you

Fallen Soldiers and family members- Thank you and we honor you.

Always Remember

SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY

Nehemiah 13:14

Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for the offices thereof.

Eulogy for a Veteran

By Unknown Author

Do not stand at my grave and weep.

I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the mornings hush,

I am the swift uplifting rush

of quiet birds in circled flight,

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry,

I am not there, I did not die.

Let's remember our fallen soldiers. They have paid the highest price for our comfort and freedom. Keep their families in prayer and never forget what they have done. 

To every soldier past and present, I extend a heartfelt thank you for your service and for your sacrifice!

To every family of those soldiers, I thank you for you are the backbone of these wonderful men and women. You often get overlooked but you continue to stand strong. Thank you.

Lastly, I pray for all the men and women of uniform and for their families. 

Dare to Dream

SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY

Daniel  7:1

In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters.

At the beginning of the year we talked about dreams and visions. We wrote down some goals and steps to accomplish to help us reach our goals. Well, today I ask you what has happened to your dream? Have you lost focus? Has your dream fizzled out in the midst of the cares of this world? 

I challenge you to go back and dare to dream. It is a good thing to dream. Dreams give us hope. Write down your dream and allow yourself to visualize yourself reaching your dream. Come on, What do you have to lose? Answer the challenge, Dare to dream.

A New Day and I'm Glad About It

SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY

Psalm 118:24

This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Praise the name of the Lord Jesus Christ! He has given us another day. What are we going to do within this day that God has given? Will we be depressed? Will we allow our situations to dictate our feelings and actions? My friends, let's rejoice and be glad. Let's start today with a glad heart. Count our blessings and realize that we are blessed people and our blessings outweigh the negative in our lives. Everything may not be what you want it to be but can I remind you that it could be worse. So, give God praise. He is keeping you and continues to bless you. Start this new day with a heart and mind set on being happy, glad and joyful.

God Will Sustain You

SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY  Psalm 55:22  Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer  the righteous to be moved. When life's burdens become overwhelming it is good to know that God has given us permission to cast our  burdens upon Him. The Lord of Lords and King of Kings has offered to carry our burdens. What a wonderful  opportunity. We don't have to buckle under the pressures of life because we can cast the burdens and pressures  on our wonderful sustainer. Sustain means: to support, hold, to keep up or keep going. God will support  and keep us going when we call on Him to be our burden bearer.  He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved simply means that God will never allow the  righteous to overtaken, over thrown or destroyed. He will keep you. Let's look at this scripture from the Message Bible. Pile your troubles on God’s shoulders—     he’ll carry your load, he’ll help you out. He’ll never let good people     topple into ruin.

My Hiding Place

SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY

Psalm 119:114

 Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.

There is an old song titled, "In the Word of God I have a hiding place". I liked that song. I used it literally in my life. There were times when things were pressing and situations were rough. I would get my Bible and read. When I would do this every problem and situation seemed to melt away. I used the Bible to be my hiding place. The scripture today tells us that God can and will be our hiding place and our shield. Do you have things in your life that you need God to shield you from? Do you need an escape from the storms in your life? Allow God to be your protector.

In order to utilize God as your hiding place and shield you must have hope in His Word. The cares of life sometimes seem to zap our hope. But today, I ask you to regain your hope. Your hope in God's Word and in life. When you lose hope in God's Word you forfeit all the wonderful promises that it contains. Don't allow the enemy to steal your inheritance. You must follow the example of Abraham who against hope believed in hope. Romans 4:18

I encourage you today to use God as your hiding place and your protective shield. Begin to release hope in God's Word and allow yourself to believe that what the Word of God promises will come to pass in your life.

A Prayer For Strength

SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY Psalm 18:2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

I got this prayer from prayers for special help.com. (link is at the bottom of this page) I wanted to share it. If you are in need of extra strength today I am praying for you and  please remember that there is no shortage of anything in God. 
Give Me Strength, Lord

Lord, you are Holy above all others, and all of the strength that I need is in your hands.
I am not asking, Lord, that you take this trial away. Instead, I simply ask that Your will be done in my life. Whatever that means, that is what I want.
But I admit that it’s hard, Lord.
Sometimes I feel like I can’t go on. The pain and the fear are too much for me, and I know that I don’t have the strength on my own to get through this.
I know that I can come to you, Jesus, and that you will hear my prayer. I know that it is not your intent to bring me to this point just to leave me in the wilderness alone.
Please, Lord, give me the strength that I need to face today. I don’t have to worry about tomorrow.
If you just give me the strength that I need today that is all I need.
Keep me from sinning during this trial. Instead, help me to keep my eyes on you. You are the Holy Lord, and all of my hope rests in you.
Thank you for hearing my prayer.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Read more: http://www.prayers-for-special-help.com/Prayer-for-Strength.html#ixzz2TqnjLsaf

Pray, Believe, Receive

SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY

Mark 11:24

²⁴ Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

The scripture of the day gives us a formula. It is a formula to receive the things that you desire. I know we pray and pray and pray but my question to you is what do we do after we pray? When we pray we must release our faith and believe that we will receive what we have prayed for. It is not enough to just pray.  When we don't follow a recipe we can't expect to get the desired result. Same thing with prayer. When we don't follow the formula laid out for receiving what we desire then we can't expect to get results.

From this day forward, use the formula. Pray, believe and receive. 

Model Prayer

SCRIPTURE PASSAGE OF THE DAY

Matthew 6:9-13

 ⁹ After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

¹⁰ Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread.

¹² And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

¹³ And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Thanksgiving in All Things

SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY

I Thessalonians 5:18

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

As parents we want our children to be grateful. We enjoy giving them things that they want and even surprising them from time to time with things that we know will make them happy. It zaps all the joy out of giving them gifts and special surprises when they receive these special tokens of our love and fail to say thank you. Well, we are God's children and according to our scripture for today His will is for us to be thankful people. We must not accept all of God's great gifts and fail to give thanks. You may say, I do give thanks for God's blessings. Allow me to push you a little further. We must give thanks even in our trials and storms of life. Now the scripture don't say that we have to be thankful FOR the trial or storm but we must be thankful IN the trial and storm. It says IN everything give thanks. That means in the midst of the trial, storm, disappointments, etc. it should still be our good pleasure to give God praise and thanksgiving. How can I do that? Well friend, it is easy to do when you know that all things work together for good. Romans 8:28.

I encourage you to try counting your blessing and focusing on how great your God is instead of how big your problem is. God is bigger than any problem, situation or circumstance. Give God thanks right in the middle of your situation and watch how much better you will feel. A thankful heart brings about a grateful attitude. A grateful attitude brings about a positive demeanor. A positive demeanor elevates you above negative situations. 

Have you taken the time to thank God today? If not, what are you waiting for? There is no time like the present.  

By Grace not Works

SCRIPTURES OF THE DAY

Ephesians 2:8 & 9

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: ⁹ Not of works, lest any man should boast.

At times in the Christian community, I think we get off track a little concerning salvation. We are saved by grace through faith. Romans 10:9 states: That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.We must have faith to believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. Our part is to confess and to believe. At that point we can accept the wonderful gift of salvation.
Now, here's where we miss the mark. Believing that our works will save us. There is no amount of works that will cause us to be saved. Salvation is not gained through works. You can work in every auxillary in the church and still not be saved. Your works is not going to save you. God knew that if it were by works we would be prideful and boastful. Our salvation comes only through grace and faith. It is not earned by the amout of work you do or the kind of work you do.
I am not discouraging you from working in the church. There are jobs to be done in God's house just like in our homes. Being saved causes us to want to do our part and help to get the jobs of the church done successfully however, we must be aware of the lie of satan that leads us to believe that we are saved by doing work.
Praise God today for the great gift of salvation. If you are not saved my friend, there is no better time than right now to give your life over to the Lord Jesus Christ. Recieve this great gift of salvation.
John 3:16 says
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Romans 10:9 & 13
9.That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
13. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
I invite you to call upon the name of the Lord today, right now. Ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins and to come into your heart and be Lord of your life.
If you have done this, I am happy to say friend that you are saved! Bless God!
Contact me if you have given your life to the Lord today. I want to send you some materials that will help you on this new journey.

In Honor of Mother's Day

SCRIPTURE PASSAGE OF THE DAY

Psalm 31

25    Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
²⁶ She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
²⁷ She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
²⁸ Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her

In honor of Mother's Day, I offer you Psalm 31. Please read the entire chapter. I want to pull on the 25th through the 28th verse. 
As women we have a natural strength. At times I believe that this inner strength sometimes overtake reality and we over extend ourselves believing that we can do it all. God made women strong in determination and we use this tool well. I will caution each of us to allow wisdom to operate in our lives and know when to say no to the things that shouldn't take priority in our lives.  

We are clothed in honour and although we have to cry sometimes and carry heavy burdens we have been promised that we will rejoice. 

A Godly and wise woman will allow wisdom to flow out of her mouth and speak kind words to all she encounter.

When we fall prey to idleness you can be sure that the enemy is not far off. We as women are charged to care for our homes, our children and our husbands. This my friend is a full time job. If we endeavor to do this job properly there will not be idle time. If we have been lacking in any of these areas let's pray and ask God to show us-to teach us how to adequately care for  all that He has given unto us. Our children, husbands and homes are a gift. Let's take care of them with the nurture and care that God would give. 

I can attest that your children will rise up and call you blessed as well as your husband. Mine have done so. Children may not agree with you or your choices when they are children but they do grow up to be adults and many realize then the value of their mother. Be encouraged ladies, continue to seek God on how to raise your children and how to love them. You may not see the glory of motherhood now and your children may not see your worth now but tomorrow is coming and my prayer is this, that  your household will realize how much you sacrifice, how much you labor and how much you love. 

To the men who is reading this post, my plea to you is that you honor the women in your life. God made them fearfully and wonderfully. Appreciate them and let them know each day their worth and value.

Happy Mother's Day to all. May you realize each day that God has given you a wonderful charge and He has entrusted you with the great gifts of children, home and husband. Please handle them with care.

Celebrating His Presence

Below is from the Book 40 Days with Jesus Celebrating His Presence by Sarah Young.

I wanted to share this with you this morning. Please enjoy.

I AM THE RISEN ONE who shines upon you always. You worship a living Deity, not some idolatrous, man-made image. Your relationship with Me is meant to be vibrant and challenging, as I invade more and more areas of your life. Do not fear change, for I am making you a new creation, with old things passing away and new things continually on the horizon. When you cling to old ways and sameness, you resist My work within you. I want you to embrace all that I am doing in your life, finding your security in Me alone.

It is easy to make an idol of routine, finding security within the boundaries you build around your life. Although each day contains twenty-four hours, every single one presents a unique set of circumstances. Don't try to force-fit today into yesterday's mold. Instead, ask Me to open your eyes, so you can find all I have prepared for you in this precious day of Life.

The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here, he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples. 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you." Matthew 28:5-7

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17

I pray this has blessed you. Embrace this day and allow God to have His way in you. It is God who is working in the midst, even though you may not feel His presence. To God be the Glory for what He is doing. Can you trust God even when you can't see the outcome? Can you trust Him enough to do things differently to acheive different results?

"I would rather walk in uncertainty and trust God than to walk in the security of routine that I have created for my life and miss the divine destiny for which I was created." - Alisa Moore

God, Do it Again

SCRIPTURE PASSAGE FOR THE DAY

Psalm 126 (Message Bible)

^1-3 It seemed like a dream, too good to be true,
    when God returned Zion’s exiles.
We laughed, we sang,
    we couldn’t believe our good fortune.
We were the talk of the nations—
    “God was wonderful to them!”
God was wonderful to us;
    we are one happy people.

             ^4-6 And now, God, do it again—
    bring rains to our drought-stricken lives
So those who planted their crops in despair
    will shout hurrahs at the harvest,
So those who went off with heavy hearts
    will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing.

Can you remember a time in your life when God came through for you. You couldn't believe how God worked it out. It was just amazing. You were rejoicing and so happy and excited about your God and your victory. Things in your life seemed to be going in the right direction. Do you ask yourself even while reading this, What happened? Do it seem like this time in your life is so far in the distant? Is life now clouded with despair and heavy burdens? Well, my friend I quote the 4th verse. God, do it again. Will you join me in asking God to bring victory back in your life again. To bring laughter and blessings back into your life. God, do it again. Now that we have asked God to do it again, we must look in anticipation for it to happen. There is nothing too hard for our God. God can and God will do it again.

Patience at Work

SCRIPTURES OF THE DAY

James 1:2-4

² My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
³ Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
⁴ But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

It is not an easy task when your faith is tried. At times it can shake the very foundation of your world. But the scripture tells us to count it all joy. Wow! Is it me or do the things that we are instructed to do in the Bible sometimes seem not to make a lot of sense. When my world is crumbling and my faith is on trial I am told to count it all joy. How can I possibly do this? By trusting God! When we are tryed it works patience in us. This is an area where most of us need a little if not a lot of work. The 4th verse says to let patience have her perfect work. If we allow our trials to work patience in us then we become complete. Have you ever thought about the work that patience do? Why do you think so many people lack patience? It's a hard area to conquer. Patience is like the last piece of a puzzle. It completes you and leaves nothing lacking.
I encourage you to work with your trials not fight against them. Allow patience to work in you while facing each trial. When patience is finished working within you you will find that the puzzle will be complete.
My prayer is that you not get anxious when your faith is tryed but that you allow patience to work on and within you that you may become complete and lack nothing. .

In Due Season

SCRIPTURES OF THE DAY

Galatians 6:8 & 9

⁸ For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

⁹ And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

At times we may get discouraged and feel like giving up on doing the good that we have been accustomed to doing. We may feel unappreciated and even unloved. We may feel as though we are the only ones giving and we never or rarely do any receiving. If that is you today, please allow me to offer you a couple of points from our scripture passage this morning.

POINTS TO PONDER

1. What are you sowing to? your flesh or your spirit? 

    It is easy to get discouraged when we neglect to feed our spirit man. There are things in life that keep us so busy but these things are corruptible. We must 

    take time to feed into our spirits. We must make a daily deposit into Bible reading, prayer and quiet time with the Lord. 

2. God has not forgotten about you. Your season is coming if you hold on. You must not faint and give up. If you find yourself weary, cry out for help. God is a 

    very present help in the time of trouble. Refocus, regroup and get back to doing those things that you know God requires and have called you to do.

In conclusion, let me remind you that God sees all that you do, all the efforts that you exert and all the burdens that you bare. Be encouraged to know that they are all on record in Heaven. You may not be getting your just do here on earth by man but God has an account with your name on it. Now, I am not saying that you must wait until you reach Heaven to receive. No, you will reap rewards here on earth as well however; I do want you to look to God for your rewards and not man. 

Get out of that slump and call on the name of the Lord God who is able to renew your strength and revive your spirit. Begin to speak to yourself and as David did encourage yourself. Hold your head up and understand that your new season is on the way. This season of discouragement stops today. Walk into your new season. A season of victory, joy and peace. 

My friends, my prayer for you today is that God will overshadow you with His love, that you will feel the anointing of the Holy Spirit pushing you into your season of newness and revival. 

Prayer Changes Things

SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY

James 5:16-18

16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

¹⁷ Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.

¹⁸ And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

Prayer changes things! I want to encourage you today to continue to pray. It may seem as though your prayers are not being heard but I want to encourage you today to keep on praying. Don't give in to your feelings. The devil plays on emotions. God is hearing your every plea and He is working on your behalf. Elias was a man just like we are and he prayed that it would not rain for a specified period of time. This shows us that we must be specific in our praying. We must also come before God with a pure heart. We must pour out to God earnestly! My friend God is hearing your prayers and it will work for your good. God always answers prayer. It may not be the answer we want but it will be the best answer for us.

The best way to see change in our lives and in the lives of our loved ones is through prayer. If you are lacking in your prayer life decide today to dedicate time to prayer. Communication with God on a daily basis is a must and a joy! Thank God we have the privilage to talk to God and we don't have to go through another man or woman but we can fall on our face and cry out to our God who hears our hearts cry. Prayer changes thing, prayer changes people and prayer changes situations! Have you prayed today?

Afflictions come but God Delivers

SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY

Psalm 34:19

 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.

There will be times in our  lives when we get discouraged. We may feel overwhelmed with negative situations and circumstances that never seem to go the way we want or planned. If you are there please allow me to encourage you with the scripture of the day.  It says many are the afflictions of the righteous. Now that may seem like an unfair statement. But we must realize that God never promised us a problem free life. Remember the scripture that says those who live godly shall suffer persecutions? (2 Timothy 3:12) But He did promise to always be with us and to strengthen us. The scripture didn't stop on a negative note. It continues with the Lord delivereth him (us, the righteous) out of all of our afflictions! What a liberating truth! God will deliver! Yes, you may be in the heat of your situation but you must have confidence that God is going to deliver. Be still and know that He is God and there is nothing too hard for God! God will deliver you from all your afflictions.