Promise for Today - Where to?

Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.

Psalm 25:4-5 NLT

Yesterday, I had to make a trip into downtown Houston. I hate driving down there, and it's worse now with construction on every road in Midtown. I used Waze, my trusted GPS, but thank God I had a friend with me who went to court reporting school in that area when she was younger; otherwise, I might still be caught in the surfeit of detours, opposite directional arrows, and road-closed signs. 

When my youngest granddaughter was little, we used to make up songs on how to get somewhere by singing about all the landmarks along the way. All the while, teaching her how to get to my house and back to hers.  It's important to know the way home.

Tonight, I felt like the Lord was reminding me that we're on our way to His house. Our heavenly home. Do we know the right way? Are we following His landmarks? Are we making sure to not lose our way?!?

God gives us His promise a few verses further down in Psalm 25:8-10. From The Message - "God is fair and just; He corrects the misdirected, Sends them in the right direction. He gives the rejects his hand, And leads them step-by-step. From now on every road you travel will take you to God. Follow the Covenant signs; Read the charted directions."

We're on our way to His house. Are we going the right way?

Prayer:

Father,
            Show us the right path, O Lord; point out the road for us to follow. We want to be with You in Your house. Correct us and lead us in the paths of Your righteousness. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Promise for Today - It's Okay to Be Different

Guest post - from "The Power of Being Thankful" by Joyce Meyer
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The sun is glorious in one way, the moon is glorious in another way, and the stars are glorious in their own [distinctive] way: for one star differs from and surpasses another in it beauty and brilliance.

1 Corinthians 15:41  AMP

We are all different. Like the sun, the moon, and the stars, God has created us to be different from one another, and He has done it on purpose.  Each of us meets a need, and we are all part of God's overall plan.

Thankfully, we can be secure people, knowing God loves us and has a plan for our lives. We don't have to be threatened by the abilities of others. We can be free to love and accept ourselves and one another without feeling pressure to compare or compete. 

When we struggle to be like others, not only do we lose ourselves, but we also grieve the Holy Spirit. God wants us to fit into His plan; He doesn't want us feeling pressured to fit into everyone else's plans. Different is okay; it is alright to be different.

Prayer of Thanks

Father,

          You have created me to be distinct and unique, and I thank You for that. With Your help, I'm going to avoid the temptation to compare myself to others. I'm going to be secure in who You've created me to be today. 

In Jesus' Name

Promise for Today - How Did We Get Here?

No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Philippians 3:13-14 NLT

It seems like the older I get, the faster the years go by. Seems like New Year's Day was just the other day, and here we are in mid-February already.

We have to ask, how did we get here so fast? Not just this year, but life in general? And where are we going? Did we promote someone in our lives to traffic control who had no business blowing a whistle and telling us where to go? Did we decide to take a shortcut along the way and then miss our turn? Were we distracted from our directions and then had to detour? Have we been sidelined by only focusing on the tough things that have happened?

Today's Promise is one of Paul's greatest teachings - "I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead..." Let's not focus on what we've lost. Rather, let's thank God for what we've had for as long as we had it. If you're going to look back, I challenge you to look for the good because there's plenty of it. Square one - God is still on His throne. You're still breathing. He still has a plan and purpose for your life - plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Prayer:

Father,
           We pray this prayer from Guideposts, please keep Your hand of direction on us to strengthen our lives. Not by shielding us from sorrow and pain, but by strengthening us to bear it if it comes. Not by making our path easy, but by making us sturdy enough to tread any path. Not by taking hardship from us, but by taking all cowardice and fear from our hearts as we meet hardships. Not by granting us unbroken sunshine, but by keeping our face bright even in the shadows. Not by making our life always pleasant, but by showing us where men and Your cause need us most and by making us zealous to be there and to help. Father, let our joy be found in You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

God's Box of Chocolates--A Valentine's Day Devotional

Guest author: LauraLee Shaw  

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Everywhere I look near Valentine's Day, there's chocolate: boxes of chocolate in all the stores, chocolate on tv promising to be the only love you need, chocolate Girl Scout cookies--CHOCOLATE! I even saw chocolate Altoid breath mints in the grocery checkout aisle the other day! I think that's what led me to remember the famous quote from Forrest Gump: "Life is like a box of chocolates...you never know what you're gonna get." (I even remembered it with his accent.)

In reality, that phrase can be true in many ways. We wake up every morning completely unsure of what the day may hold for us. We've made our plans. Sometimes they even happen the way we make them. But we never know for sure, do we?

The days that come with caramel in the middle are my favorite. The ones with the strawberry goo are just so so--but the ones with coconut--YUCK! I'd rather go back to bed. Then there are the days where tragedy or difficult times come out of nowhere, and the chocolate sits in the pantry untouched...there's no sweetness to be had in those moments, it seems.

God knows that life, as it pertains to circumstances, is uncertain for us. That's why He comforts us and reminds us so many times that He is our constant companion, our steadfast friend, our consistently loving God and Savior. He doesn't keep promises the way we do:

"When people make promises, they guarantee them by appeal to some authority above them so that if there is any question that they'll make good on the promise, the authority will back them up. When God wanted to guarantee His promises, He gave His word, a rock-solid guarantee--God can't break His word. And because His word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable." (Heb. 6:16-18, the Message)

You see, no matter what chocolate we are "in the middle of" right now, He is there--with the certainty of His promise today as well as His hope of heaven in the future. Listen to how the verse above continues to encourage us: (vs.19-20)

"We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It's an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up His permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek."

I love the visual picture of grabbing on to Him with both hands as He runs ahead of me to the Father. That makes me able to get up today and praise Him for whatever comes my way. This faith, this confidence, this hope is our unbreakable spiritual lifeline--HIS love for us no matter what, when, how or why. Let's binge on His priceless box of chocolates today...the sweetest and most satisfying of them all.

"Taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him."
Psalm 34:8

LauraLee Shaw is a disciple of Jesus Christ disguised as a wife, mom, writer & speaker. She is a contributing author to "Women of Passions," and a writer for "Internet Cafe Devotions." You can visit LauraLee at
http://faithcoloredglasses.com
http://facebook.com/FaithColoredGlasses

Promise for Today - Standing and Staring

“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven?"
Acts 1:11a NLT

How often do we do the same thing? Jesus had just told them to go be witnesses of Him, and then He left... and left them staring into an empty sky. It was angels who came and asked why they were still standing there...

Well, I'm no angel, but I will ask: how long are we going to stand and stare - completely devoid of forward motion - and not do what He's told us to do?!? What is it He's asked you to do? 

This is the Book of Acts... The time is getting shorter every day.

Prayer:

Father,
         Unstop our ears to hear Your still, small voice. Fine-tune our hearts to first-time obedience. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Friends' Fave - To the Endth Degree

He [Jesus] is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
1st John 2:2 ESV

The true expression is actually 'to the nth degree'... meaning to the absolute most. Limitless. Immeasurable. Unfathomable.

According to the dictionary, the expression 'to the nth degree' comes from mathematics, where to the nth means “to any required power” (n standing for any number).

When I read our Promise for Today, it hit me on a new level about how wide, how deep Christ's love for us was/IS to be the payment for us - to forgive ALL the sins of the whole world. Think about that. Seriously... the whole world - everyone - for how many years? And according to Matthew 28:20, ASV, Jesus promised, "...and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."

To any required power - that's love to the "endth" degree!

Prayer:

Father,
           We pray as Paul prayed for the Ephesians, For this reason I bow my knees to You, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that You would grant us, according to the riches of Your glory, to be strengthened with might through Your Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith; that we, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that we may be filled with all the fullness of You, O God. Now to You who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to You be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. In Jesus' Name we pray, Amen.

Promise for Today - Doubting

How I love you, Lord! You are my defender. The Lord is my protector; he is my strong fortress. My God is my protection, and with him I am safe. He protects me like a shield; he defends me and keeps me safe. I call to the Lord, and he saves me from my enemies. Praise the Lord!
Psalm 18:1-3 Good News Translation

The enemy of our souls is always trying to defeat us, demean us, distract us, trying to get us to be disappointed in God our Lord. And when we try to be strong, fighting in our own strength, we lose. And when we lose, it just seems to reaffirm satan's lies.

We've talked before about what standards we use to conduct ourselves. For Christians, the ultimate standard IS the Word of God, the Bible. It is applicable for every situation, every circumstance, in other words, for EVERYTHING.

If you find yourself in tough circumstances right now, you can praise your way out of them by praying His Word back to Him. Isaiah 61:3 tells us to put on the garment of praise to overcome the spirit of heaviness. Charge the atmosphere, proclaiming His goodness to you and for you. A plethora of declarations is readily available in David's psalms. Avail yourself of them. His Truth wins out over the facts every time.

Prayer:

Father,
           I will sing to You as long as I live; I will sing praise to You while I have my being. I shall sing of Your strength; Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning, For You have been my stronghold and a refuge in the day of my distress. You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings, I sing for joy. You, Lord, are my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in You, and I am helped; therefore my heart exults, and with my song, I shall thank You and lift You higher. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen