BE STILL

Still can mean calm, quiet, unmoving, or at rest. There are passages in the Bible that instruct us to ‘be still’ or to ‘be silent.’

This instruction may have several purposes: 1) to require our silence, so that we will focus upon God, alone; 2) to instruct us to be tranquil and at peace; and 3) to direct us to subdue every instinct to God’s will.

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. (Ps 46:10 ASV)

But the Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before him. (Hab 2:20 CEB)

Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling. (Zech 2:13 ESV)

Being still, silent, and at peace will bring about a great ability to focus upon the Lord. It’s a good time for prayer and thanksgiving, as well as for a reverential form of worship. Obviously, there’s definitely a time for joyful, loud, expressive worship, too. But when the Holy Spirit leads us into a still and tranquil time of prayer, we should be sensitive and responsive to that leading.

One form of “being still” is to step away from our busy lives in order to connect with God. This is a time to stay focused on God’s vision for our lives and to listen for His direction and guidance. The obvious follow-through is our obedience to what we hear the Lord saying to our hearts.

What is the purpose of stillness? Being still before the Lord brings us clarity. It draws us into the moment and gives us time to clear the clutter and clamor out of our minds and hearts. It helps us to hear God’s voice more accurately. Stilling our hearts before the Lord helps us to stop striving and to surrender our circumstances to the Lord. In whatever situation you find yourself today, take some time alone with the Lord.

Can Anything Separate Us from God’s Love?

Here’s something positive to focus upon and to meditate upon. God’s love for us is stronger than any force that would try to interrupt it or stop it. His love for us is eternal, unfailing and sacrificial.

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8:38-39 NKJV)

And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. (Eph 5:2 NKJV, underscoring added)

“I made your name known to them, and will continue to make it known, so that the love you have for me may be in them and I myself may be in them.” (John 17:26 ISV)

Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. (1 Cor 13:8 NKJV)

Most human beings desire and need to feel loved. It is a normal and healthy need that I believe our creator God instilled in us. And since God is love (1 Joh 4:8), He is the perfect One to fulfill the need that we have for love.

From the Bible verses I’ve included above, you can see a small sample of what God has to share with us in His Word about His wonderful love. The best way to learn about His love and the enduring nature of it is to read and to meditate upon His Word. His Word is not only His promises to us but His Word is also His will for us!

God has created each one of us to be in a loving and lasting relationship with Him. Turn to Him when you need comfort and reassurance. Pray to Him when you need human arms to hold you, help you and to comfort you. He will send you some friends or relatives who will be able and willing to meet your need for love. Glory to God!

[C1]

Don’t Put Faith in Wealth

The Lord urges us in His Word to avoid trusting in riches just like we would avoid a plague. True wealth is given by God to the righteous. Let’s read the Scriptures.

He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like foliage. (Pro 11:28)

Here is the man who did not make God his strength, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness. (Ps 52:7)

Why do you brag about your strength? Your strength is exhausted,you rebellious daughter. You trust in your treasures, never imagining who would attack you. (Jer 49:4 CEB)

Don’t trust in violence or depend on dishonesty or rely on great wealth. (Ps 62:10 CEV)

Jesus said clearly in Mark 10:23-25 that it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for people who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of heaven! Wow!

Jesus told a parable about a rich fool in Luke 12:16-19. This fool had accumulated so much wealth that he had to build larger barns to hold it all, and then he decided to ‘eat, drink and be merry.’ And God said to him (v. 20-21): But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ ²¹“So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

This is wisdom from God for us. In providing for ourselves, our children, and our retirement, we mustn’t allow ourselves to start trusting in and relying upon the money that we have set aside for emergencies or for a retirement fund. Our faith in God and our relationship with the Lord Jesus must always be the main focus and core of our lives.

Even though the Lord gives us power to get wealth (Deu 8:18; Ecc 5:19), we must never lose sight of the fact that this is a GIFT from God. It is a reason for thankfulness and rejoicing over the goodness of God. We need to consider this blessing as part of our heritage from God, and by acknowledging God’s central part in it, we may then rejoice in our labor.

Let us daily concentrate upon our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our righteousness. Here are worthy things upon which to meditate:

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace – Isa 9:6
Redeemer – Isa 59:20
Immanuel (God with us) – Mt 1:23
King of the Jews – Mt 27:37
Lamb of God – Joh 1:29
Bread of Life – Joh 6:35
Living Stone, Cornerstone – 1 Pet 2:4-8
Alpha and Omega – Rev 22:13

We must intentionally make Jesus the heart and focus of our entire lives. Our trust and our entire reliance should eternally be upon Jesus Christ, who is our life! (Col 3:4) May God richly bless you.

Two Things That Can Never Be Changed

God’s promises and God’s vows are two things that can never be changed. What a firm foundation for faith this fact provides for us!

The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations. (Ps 33:11 NKJV)

So when God wanted to prove for certain that his promise to his people could not be broken, he made a vow. ¹⁸God cannot tell lies! And so his promises and vows are two things that can never be changed. We have run to God for safety. Now his promises should greatly encourage us to take hold of the hope that is right in front of us. (Heb 6:17-18 CEV, emphasis added)

The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying, “Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, and as I have purposed, so it shall stand. (Isa 14:24 NKJV)

The Bible tells us in various passages and in different language that God cannot and will not lie. (Tit 1:2; Isa 40:8) You can count upon and rely upon the promises of God. His Word is tested and true. Let’s see what else the Bible says about this.

Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. (Pro 30:5 NASB)

Your word has been tried and tested; your servant loves your word! (Ps 119:140 CEB)

Your kingdom will never end, and you will rule forever. Our Lord, you keep your word and do everything you say. (Ps 145:13 CEV)

We must stand upon the truth of the Word of God and rely upon His promises to us. God is the One who guarantees that His Word will most certainly come to pass, and all that we need is faith and perseverance. Don’t give up and don’t watch the clock or the calendar! Focus upon God’s nature and His faithfulness. Focus upon His love for you and upon His past blessings upon you. Meditate upon all of the answered prayer that you have received, and remember that God hasn’t changed.

God is the only Being who is the very definition of reliable. Praise the Lord most High!

Longing for Our Heavenly Dwelling

Here’s a truth worthy of deep reflection:

Our spirits within us long for our heavenly, eternal home. We yearn to have our flawed, imperfect humanity swallowed up by eternal life and eternal love.

For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. ²Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, ³because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. ⁴For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. (2 Cor 5:1-4 NKJV, emphasis added)

He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; the rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken. (Isa 25:8 NKJV)

For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. ⁵⁴When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” (1 Cor 15:53-54 NIV)

When Isaiah 25 speaks of God wiping away tears from all faces, I believe that He is referring to our arrival in heaven, when all of our past shame and guilt AND any possibility of future sin will be extinguished forever.

All sorrows, sins and shortcomings from our earthly lives will be forgotten, and the prospect of eternity in the presence of our God and King will be our entire focus and purpose.

Just think about eternity spent in an atmosphere of perfect, unconditional, unfailing LOVE! That is our beautiful, blessed destiny.

Our Need for Improvement

This article is a reminder for each of us to focus upon our own, individual need for improvement rather than to look around at other people’s failings.

Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? (Mt 7:3)

The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. (Lk 18:11)

And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. ⁹But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. (Joh 8:7-9)

As human beings, we have a tendency to look at other people and compare ourselves to others. Most of the time, we do that when we want to see ourselves as “not being so bad.” Other times, we look around at the circumstances of other peoples’ lives and we feel jealous. It is not good to compare ourselves to others; it is what the Bible would term as foolishness.

As the verses shown above demonstrate, we should never focus on other people. (2 Cor 10:12)

Also, there are a number of Scriptures instructing us to avoid comparing ourselves. (Exo 20:17; Mt 7:1-2; Joh 21:22)

Rather, we should focus upon Jesus Christ and yearn to follow in His footsteps. As we focus upon Christ, He will shower us with His love and encouragement. He will give us a purpose and a plan for our lives, as well as all of the grace and mercy that we will ever need to fulfill that plan. (Jer 29:11; 32:19; Pro 16:4; 19:21; 1 Cor 2:9)

Let us trust the Lord Jesus to transform us in His own way, in His own time. We are His workmanship, and He will see the work through to its completion. (Eph 2:10; Phil 1:6) Just trust Him and trust His plan for you! God bless you.

His Unfailing Mercy

Our God is a God of unfailing mercy. Hallelujah!

Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. (Lam 3:22-23)

Nevertheless in Your great mercy, You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them;
for You are God, gracious and merciful. (Neh 9:31)

Has His mercy ceased forever? Has His promise failed forevermore? (Ps 77:8)

And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation. (Lk 1:50)

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, ⁵even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), ⁶and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Eph 2:4-7)

All of the Bible verses shown above attest to this truth; and there are many, many more Scriptures concerning God’s mercy than those that I’ve chosen to share with you here.

This is extremely important to us (human beings) because we tend to fail frequently in our efforts to live holy, obedient, godly lives. When we sin, we know that we can confess our sins, and God will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 Joh 1:9)

By the unfailing mercy of God, His perfect salvation covers and obliterates ALL of our sins: past, present, and future. The only requirements on our part are that we live obediently to the Lord and His Word; continue in a loving relationship with our Savior; and that we never renounce Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.

Despite the distractions of daily life, we must remember to focus on the goodness of God and His continuing, unfailing mercy upon us. By His mercy and grace, we are enabled and empowered to bring Him glory and honor through our testimonies and our lives. May His Name be exalted forever.

God Satisfies Us with Good Things

. . . for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. (Ps 107:9 NIV)

Psalm 107 is a song of praise to God for His many blessings. He gives food and drink to the hungry and thirsty. Praise God!

The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing. (Ps 34:10)

When we focus upon the Lord and upon His promises to us, and ask Him to provide what we need, believers will receive answers to prayer.

. . . who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free. . . (Ps 146:7) The Lord feeds and delivers all those who trust in Him.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. (Mt 5:6) Those who crave God’s spiritual blessings shall be filled or overwhelmed with them thanks to the salvation that God has supplied through Jesus.

He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. (Lk 1:53) We can trust that when we are hungry or needy for God’s help and deliverance, He will faithfully meet all of our needs through our Savior and Lord, Jesus.

Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagles. (Ps 103:5) By God’s generous hand, believers can retain youthful vitality like the eagles.

For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. (Ps 84:11) This verse insists upon the goodness of God by stating—unequivocally—that there is NO GOOD THING that God will deny to or withhold from the upright.

If you are a born-again believer in Jesus Christ, then you are justified by the blood of Jesus and you qualify as “upright”!! These precious and reliable promises are for you. Hallelujah!

decidingvoteblog

You are the Deciding Vote! In your life, you can make decisions that will help you and bless you.

Tag: focus