About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and
singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners
were listening to them.
~ Acts 16:25
What is your default setting? When you’re in trouble, what do you do? When you’re in abundance, do you praise God? Maybe you will eventually. Maybe that’s your first instinct. I want turning to God to be my first instinct. I also want to follow the Holy Spirit to God.
Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into prison for doing God’s work, and yet they stayed up into the night praying and singing hymns to God. They didn’t sleep or curse God or beg that He would let them out. They focused their strength on God, trusting that He would work this for good (Romans 8:28).
Seek God first just as Paul and Silas did (Matthew 6:33). You don’t need to know exactly what to do in every situation you encounter. You don’t even need to know every situation. All you need to know is that God is in control and He has promised to work in your situation for the good of those who love Him. Seek God. He will tell you what to do. He will provide for you both in your essentials and in your abundance. So turn to God.
The next time you’re faced with a tough circumstance or you’re tempted or you don’t know what is going on, see what you do. Ask God to bring this post back to your mind then. Is your first thought or action to rely on your strength and training? Is it to ask for help? Is it to turn to God? What do you end up doing? Ask God to bring your focus to Him so you will act according to His will, whatever that means in your situation.
Read further:
Acts 16:16-40; Romans 8:28; Matthew 6:33
Showing posts with label trust. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trust. Show all posts
Monday, June 6, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Armor of God: Breastplate of Righteousness
Stand firm then, with the breastplate of righteousness in place
~ Ephesians 6:14
Righteousness comes from God. “Abram believed the LORD, and He credited it to him as righteousness.”1 Righteousness can’t be attained by works or by fulfilling the law. This is yet another example of God’s grace because we are not good enough or worthy enough to be righteous on our own.
Righteousness has spiritual power for spiritual protection.2 The Armor of God is not physical, but it also not for physical protection. Prepare physically and wear corporeal armor to protect you from attack in the body; prepare spiritually by reading the Bible, praying, and having a personal relationship with God and put on the Armor of God to protect yourself from spiritual attack.
Do you believe the LORD? Do you trust that God will protect3 you spiritually? Have you put on the full Armor of God?
1 Gen 15:6, See also Isaiah 61:10, 2 2 Corinthians 6:7, 3 Genesis 15:1 “Do not be afraid, Abram/ I am your shield”
Read Ephesians 6
~ Ephesians 6:14
Righteousness comes from God. “Abram believed the LORD, and He credited it to him as righteousness.”1 Righteousness can’t be attained by works or by fulfilling the law. This is yet another example of God’s grace because we are not good enough or worthy enough to be righteous on our own.
Righteousness has spiritual power for spiritual protection.2 The Armor of God is not physical, but it also not for physical protection. Prepare physically and wear corporeal armor to protect you from attack in the body; prepare spiritually by reading the Bible, praying, and having a personal relationship with God and put on the Armor of God to protect yourself from spiritual attack.
Do you believe the LORD? Do you trust that God will protect3 you spiritually? Have you put on the full Armor of God?
1 Gen 15:6, See also Isaiah 61:10, 2 2 Corinthians 6:7, 3 Genesis 15:1 “Do not be afraid, Abram/ I am your shield”
Read Ephesians 6
Monday, May 16, 2011
I shall not be in want
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
~ Psalm 23:1
A shepherd takes care of all the needs of his herd of sheep. If they need anything, the shepherd will get it for them. The sheep trust the shepherd to provide and protect. God is the Good Shepherd (John 10:11). How much more will He provide and protect?
God takes care of you. If you’re worried, give your worries up to Him. If you are afraid, run to Him for comfort. If you are in need, trust that He will provide. When everything is going well, know that God is the cause. He is holding on to you and will never let you go.
Read Psalm 23
~ Psalm 23:1
A shepherd takes care of all the needs of his herd of sheep. If they need anything, the shepherd will get it for them. The sheep trust the shepherd to provide and protect. God is the Good Shepherd (John 10:11). How much more will He provide and protect?
God takes care of you. If you’re worried, give your worries up to Him. If you are afraid, run to Him for comfort. If you are in need, trust that He will provide. When everything is going well, know that God is the cause. He is holding on to you and will never let you go.
Read Psalm 23
Sunday, May 15, 2011
God's Voice
"The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd
of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him,
and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his
own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has
brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them,
and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.
But they will never follow a stranger; in fact,
they will run away from him because they do not
recognize a stranger’s voice."
~ John 10:2-5
God calls you and knows you by name. Do you know His voice? When He speaks to you, do you listen and follow Him? Sometimes it seems really easy to ignore God’s voice and say you didn’t know it was Him. But you know and God knows that that’s not true. Obeying God is not always easy, but the Good Shepherd will never lead you astray.
The enemy will lead you astray, though. Don’t listen to a voice that isn’t God’s. Don’t listen to advice that is contradictory to God’s teaching. Be active in not listening; run away from the enemy and his lies.
+Read John 10
of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him,
and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his
own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has
brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them,
and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.
But they will never follow a stranger; in fact,
they will run away from him because they do not
recognize a stranger’s voice."
~ John 10:2-5
God calls you and knows you by name. Do you know His voice? When He speaks to you, do you listen and follow Him? Sometimes it seems really easy to ignore God’s voice and say you didn’t know it was Him. But you know and God knows that that’s not true. Obeying God is not always easy, but the Good Shepherd will never lead you astray.
The enemy will lead you astray, though. Don’t listen to a voice that isn’t God’s. Don’t listen to advice that is contradictory to God’s teaching. Be active in not listening; run away from the enemy and his lies.
+Read John 10
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