Category: Holiday

 

 

Romans 1:9 "For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;"

Ephesians 1:16 "Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;"

I Thessalonians 1:2 "We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers"

Philemon 1:4 "I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers,"

 

Today, I am so SO thankful for friends and family who pray for me…

Because I know they DO pray for me…a LOT!

In fact, if you are reading this, YOU have probably prayed for me…

And I am so grateful for that!  Thank You!!!

It leaves me feeling that I am in debt to those who lift my name to the Lord, and I try my best to pray for them often, too.

I also appreciate that the Holy Spirit often leads me to pray for this one or that one, without even knowing their needs or struggles.  When they come to mind, I try to pray as I want them to pray for me.

Prayer is such a priviledge.

It is communing with our Heavenly Father.  It is an act of intimate conversation.  It is something we should never take for granted. 

Thank you, Lord, for letting me pray, and thank You, too, for the pray-ers who pray for me!

In Him,

Alesha

 

Matthew 15:[34] And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.
[35] And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.
[36]
And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake
them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
[37] And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.

I am so thankful for God's constant provision. 

Whatever I have need of, He provides – in His way and in His time.

Sometimes, I don't quite understand or approve of His way and His time.  I'd rather He work according to my plan and timetable; but inevitably, as His plan unfolds, I see that it was best for me.

I'm sure the little boy had a few uneasy moments when the disciples carried his lunch over to Jesus; but as we all know, he did not go away hungry that day.  His tummy was filled and all his needs were met.

His childlike faith is our example.

Whatever you need, God will provide. 

Philippians 4:19 "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

He has promised, and as the old saying goes,

"God has never broken one promise spoken."

Trust Him today.

In Him,

Alesha

 

Jonah 2:[1] Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly,
[2]
And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he
heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.
[3]
For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the
floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over
me.
[4] Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.
[5] The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.
[6]
I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars
was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption,
O LORD my God.
[7] When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.
[8] They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
[9] But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.
[10] And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.

 

I am so thankful for second chances.

And third chances.  And fourth.  And fifth.

Let's face it…God's mercy will allow us to begin "again" – over and over again.  He will never deny a repentant heart His forgiveness and strength to start over in obedience.

While Jonah's disobedience was SO blatant, (God said, "Go to Nineveh, " and Jonah hopped on board a ship going in the exact opposite direction!), often our own disobedience is not so clear to us.

There have been times that I moved forward in disobedience to God and didn't even realize it.  It may have been weeks or months later that the slow realization began to dawn on me:  "The Lord does not want me involved in this."

Sometimes, I think, I have spiritual ADD or ADHD!  I just don't pay attention.  I don't listen carefully.  I don't catch the subtle messages that my Heavenly Father is graciously giving me; and that's all because I am so busy, busy, busy…being busy, thinking busy thoughts, reading everything but His Word, listening to all other advice rather than seeking His, trying so hard to take care of things in my own power.

Those are the times – when my disobedience finally comes to my attention – that I am SO SO thankful for second chances.

He allows me to step away from my sin, He lets me see what He would have me to do instead, and then – miracle of miracles – He gives His divine aid to my efforts of obedience.  He blesses me abundantly when I finally begin to be do what He wants me to do.

How He can be so loving to me is something I don't understand, but I pray that my gratitude for it colors every minute of every hour of my every day.

I don't ever want to get used to God's forgiveness and His eternally-offered "second" chances.

How about you?  Has the Lord ever gifted you with a second chance?  I'd love to hear about it!  You can leave a comment by clicking the word "comment" below.  It will open up a comment box for you to write in. 🙂

In Him,

Alesha

 

 

Daniel 6:[5] Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against
this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his
God.
[6] Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever.
[7]
All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the
counsellers, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a
royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a
petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he
shall be cast into the den of lions.
[8] Now, O king,
establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed,
according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.
[9] Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.
[10]
Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his
house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he
kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks
before his God, as he did aforetime.

 

Even when it was ILLEGAL for Daniel to pray and give thanks to God, he did it anyway.

I am SO thankful for these examples that God has given us in His Word.

I need to know that other Christ-followers experienced fear and pain and anger and bewilderment.  I need to know that they knew the same human emotions that I feel, and that they faced temptation just as I do.

More importantly, I need to know that they were obedient to the Lord, in spite of their emotions; and that they lived victorious lives for Christ in the midst of difficult situations.

Today, I am so thankful for the stories of Daniel, Samson, Esther, Mary, Paul, Jael, Gideon, David and Mephibosheth.

They encourage me to live for my God, in spite of circumstances, knowing that the He will bless as I obey Him.

Whose story is encouraging you today?  Feel free to share it with me in the comments.  I'd love to hear from you!

 

Blessings,

Alesha

 

 

 

 

Psalm 119:62 "At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgments."

 

Psalm 119:162 "I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil."

 

Psalm 119:175 "Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee; and let thy judgments help me."

 

The Bible is the only way we have to know the mind of God.

If I want to know God more intimately, I only need to read His Book to learn of Him.

Our churches, and our personal lives, begin to crumble when we mistakenly think that we can substitute activity for quiet time spent in God's Word.

 

"Right now we are in an age of religious complexity.  The simplicity which is in Christ is rarely found among us.  In its stead are programs, methods, organizations and a world of nervous activities which occupy time and attention but can never satisfy the longing of the heart.  The shallowness of our inner experience, the hollowness of our worship, and the servile imitations of the world which marks our promotional methods all testify that we, in this day, know God only imperfectly, and the peace of God scarcely at all. ~A. W. Tozer

 

The simplicity of Christ is found in the reading, studying and meditating upon His Word, the Holy Scriptures.

It is the very mind of God, in my language, and is accessible to me at any time.  Thank God that I can still enjoy a freedom that is unknown to so many the world around.

On this election day, I pray that you are voting for a candidate who will not only uphold the truths of God's Word, but one that will work to ensure our freedom to own and read that Word in this great country of ours.

God bless America and thank You, Lord, for Your perfect, infallible, inspired Word!

Blessings,

 

 

Psalm 106:[43] Many times did he deliver them; but they provoked him with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity.
[44] Nevertheless he regarded their affliction, when he heard their cry:
[45] And he remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his mercies."

 

I am thankful today that God wants me to want Him.

Even when I sin and disobey, even when I allow my sin to enslave me, even when I turn my heart from Him, He shows mercy when I cry out to Him.

He wants me to know Him, to love Him, to see His glory.

He is not content with my complacency, and will orchestrate my failure simply to draw my heart back to Him.

 

A. W. Tozer said it this way in The Pursuit of God
:

"He waits to be wanted."

 

This is amazing to me.

He created me.  He first loved me.  He drew me to Himself in salvation.

But He is not content with that.

He wants me to know Him more.

And just how much, I wonder, do I want to know Him?

It gives us much to think on, doesn't it?

Blessings to you,

Alesha

 

Psalm 79:[9]Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy name's sake.
[10]
Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God? let him be known
among the heathen in our sight by the revenging of the blood of thy
servants which is shed.
[11] Let the sighing of the prisoner
come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou
those that are appointed to die;
[12] And render unto our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord.
[13] So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will shew forth thy praise to all generations."

 

I am so thankful that God's team wins.

There are days when it seems that Satan's minions are overrunning us – in our government, in our workplace, even in our churches.

But ultimately, God is keeping score.

He knows who HIS people are, and He knows those who are not – whether they are blatantly attacking Him or whether they are hiding among His real children, pretending to be what they are not.

God knows.

He will have the final say.

He will separate the wheat (the genuine Christians) from the tares (those who do know know Him).

No matter how insane or wicked this world may get, I know that I am on the winning side!

So when it seems like your world is in a mess, comfort yourself in knowing the outcome of the "game."

 

Revelation 11:[15] And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices
in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of
our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
[16] And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,
[17]
Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast,
and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and
hast reigned."

 

Our God will forever reign.

Never forget that!

Blessings,

Alesha