The dictionary defines humble as one who is aware of their shortcoming and not proud.  That is a hard thing to achieve on a day to day basis.  However, humility of heart is what the Bible calls a contrite heart and is something God desires for me.  Psalm 51: 15-17 “O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.  For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit , a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”  These verses tell us that God is not fooled by the things we do outwardly that look good, but He wants us to be spiritually humble, broken hearted over our sin.  If we desire to please God, we need to have a spirit that is seeking forgiveness and renewal for our souls.  God will always look favorably on a humble heart.  James 4:6 “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”  Seek Him with a humble heart that mourns over your sin and ask His forgiveness. You will be renewed in spirit.

Seeking renewal for my spirit and soul,

Linda

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.  Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.”  Psalm 51:1-2

Lent is a time for us to clean up our souls.  Since we have no power to do this- no amount of good deeds can make us clean, our only hope is to fall upon the mercy of God and ask His forgiveness.  He alone can make us clean and wash away our sin.  How does God do that?  Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrated his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  God loved us so much and wanted to bring us into a right relationship with Him that he willingly sent Jesus to save us.  That could only be achieved through Jesus and His death on the cross.

Prayer:  Thank you Jesus for dying for my sins and bringing me to a place where I can have a relationship with you.  You and you alone can make me clean.  Forgive my sins and create in me a clean heart, open and willing to listen and obey.  Make these 40 days of Lent a time of renewal and hope for my soul.

A thankful and prayerful beginning to Lent,

Linda

 

 

 

Lent.   As we approach this time of reflection and confession, I am struggling through my own grief over the loss of my son.  I am looking forward to being in God’s Word and writing each day as I pour my heart out to you and my Savior.  I do pray that my mediations will be uplifting and help you to focus during this season of preparation as we move towards Easter and the celebration of Christ’s victory at the cross.  Christ’s death and resurrection mean freedom from sin, the reality of eternal life and hope for our lives.  Take time today to consider what Christ has done for you.

Hebrews 10:22-23 “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.  And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.” Did you know that your profession of faith is something you need to hold onto and claim with hope?  Scripture tells us over and over that God is faithful.  He was a promise keeping God to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all the children of Israel.  He was a promise keeping God to Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Silas and all the early Christians in the New Testament.  He is a promise keeping God to you and me.   Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”  James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”  God is immutable, unchanging.    We can trust in Him.  Hold fast as today’s verse tells us knowing God is faithful.  Let the faithfulness of God move you to love and good works.  Walk with Him in faith, full of hope and goodness!

Depending upon our faithful God,

Linda

One of the most important characteristics of God Almighty is His faithfulness.  We depend upon His faithfulness daily and know that He will uphold us and be with us. Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD you God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”   We know God is faithful and will keep His promises.  Hebrews 10:23″Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we process, for he who promised is faithful.”  We also know and depend upon God’s faithful forgiveness 1John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”  Those are just a few of the ways God is faithful to us.  When we say we want to be more like Jesus, that means we want to take on God’s character.  God wants us to be faithful.  Here are a few ways God desires us to be faithful:  in witnessing, praying and loving others.

God tells us in Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”   Are you showing your faithfulness to Jesus by telling others about His great love and forgiveness?    What about praying?  1 Thessalonians 5:17 says “pray continually” and James 5:16b says “pray for each other so that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”   Do you pray for other so they can be uplifted and healed?   Loving is easy to say but difficult to do.  1 Corinthians 16:13-14 “Be on guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.  Do everything in love.”   Are you struggling to love others with Christ like devotion?

The Lord knew I needed to write about faithfulness today and immerse myself in His Word.  Recently, I lost my son Steven.  I trust in God’s faithfulness and know he is now with Jesus but the reality of his passing is still shocking and very painful.  He was only 31, and I thought he had so much more to give and receive in life.  God knows us and has numbered our days, and I trust Him that though Steve’s time was short he touched many lives.  I have been mightily touched by the prayers of the saints offered up for my family and me.  I have truly felt the loving arms of Jesus surround me.  As I read cards and posts that people are praying for me, there is a peace and wholeness that comes into my soul.  I will never again take prayer for granted, as I am assured that praying for others is something they can feel and uplifts them as nothing in this world can.   Thank you for your prayers.  I have truly been touched by the hand of God.

In love and with a prayerful heart,

Linda

 

I thought the best way to approach this word, goodness, was to first look it up in the dictionary.  The definition given for goodness is the state or quality of kindness, generosity and excellence of character.  It also says that goodness is the essence or most valuable part of something and it is a euphemism for God.  This helped my focus, as the Bible speaks of goodness as a quality that God desires for his children. It is one of the fruits of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22.  Goodness is a result of being with God, being indwelt by God and knowing Jesus as our Savior.

In Genesis, God proclaims His creation as being good after each day, Genesis 1.   When God created man He said it was very good. Genesis 1:31.  Before sin entered the world, all of creation was good in God’s eyes.  After the fall of man into sin, the world was permeated and clouded by sin.  The purity and goodness of man was gone and God alone was good.   God is good and scripture encourages us that looking to God we will see goodness.  Psalm 34:8 “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who take refuge in him.“  Psalm 100:5  For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generation’s.”   Nahum 1:7 “God is good, a refuge in times of trouble.  He cares for those who trust in him.”   Goodness is part if God’s character.   He desires that we have this character trait too.  Scripture tell us that since man is sinful, he is not good.  Psalm 53:3b “there is no one who does good- not even one.”  Mark 10:18 and Luke 18:19 “Why do you call me good? Jesus answered, ” No one is good- except God alone.”   Romans 3:12 “All have turned away, they have  together become worthless;  there is on one who does good, not even one.”     So how are we to attain this character quality that God desires for us?  In Christ alone do we find the power to behave with goodness and reflect the quality of goodness in our lives.  Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  2 Corinthians 9:8 “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need you will abound in every good work.”   Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”  Tell us that the power of Christ in our lives will bear the fruit of goodness.  Look to Christ and depend upon Him each day to help you to walk with goodness and show others the goodness of Christ.  Micah 1:8 reminds up “He has showed you, O man, what is good.  And what does the LORD require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”    Endeavoring to live a life for Christ filled with His goodness pleases God!  Is this your desire?   Will you lay yourself before Him and ask His help and guidance to better reflect His goodness and mercy to others?

Striving to walk with goodness,

Linda

 

Isaiah 63:7  “I will tell of the kindnesses of the LORD, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the LORD has done for us-  yes, the many good things he has done for the house of Israel, according to his compassion and many kindnesses.”

What can you thank and praise God for today?  What kindness has He shown you and your family recently?  I am eternally grateful for His love, mercy and forgiveness through Chris Jesus.

Living as a result of His great kindness and mercy,

Linda

I started this series in October and since the Advent blogging is past I wanted to get back to this study.  So far we have discovered that God wants us to have: holiness, love for others, joy, peace and patience in our lives.  Today we are adding kindness to this list of desirable attributes.

There are many examples of kindness exhibited by people in the Bible.  David showed kindness to his enemy Saul’s crippled grandson, Mephibosheth.   Saul’s son Jonathan was David’s friend and he sought to show kindness instead of hatred.  (2Samuel 9)  Also, Boaz showed kindness to Ruth and Naomi in letting them glean from his fields.  He was a distant kinsmen who claimed them in kindness.  Can you recall people who you showed kindness to in 2015?

Scripture tells us in Proverbs 21:21 “Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness and honor.   Zechariah 7:9 “This says the LORD of hosts, ‘Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another,'”   God wants us to purse actions that reflect His character and show kindness to others.  I love the verse in Jeremiah 9:24b ..”that I am the LORD who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight.”   God is a god of kindness who delights to show us kindness.  His greatest act of kindness was to send Jesus, His son.  Titus 3:4-5 “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteousness things we had done, but because of his mercy.”   There is no amount of right or kind things we can do to deserve being saved.  He saved us because of his kindness and mercy.

Who can you show kindness to this week?  Is there an elderly person that needs a call or visit, a kind word for your coworker or spouse or a gentle kind touch for a child?   Seek to show God’s kindness this week and know you are reflecting God’s character in your actions.

Open to kindness,

Linda

 

 

Starting a new year is daunting at times.  I think I am overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of work, setting goals for the year, looking ahead to what I want to do and/or accomplish.  The last couple of years I have tried to focus on Lamentations 3:21-23 “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:  The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”  God wants us to have HOPE!  He wants us to get up each day and claim His promise of hope and mercy.  He is true to His character and His faithfulness is great, unending and full.

I pray this encourages you as you begin the New Year, 2016.

Linda

I chose this verse to begin my new book, Promises for Dynamic Living.  Memorize it and claim it for a dynamic 2016!