Acceptable Thoughts, Acceptable Words

 Psalm 19:14; Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.

Dr. James Dobson said this about the words we say: "Words are not only remembered for a lifetime, but if not forgiven, they endure beyond the chilly waters of death." 

I remember many hurtful words that were said to me by family, teachers, church family, and neighbors. And even if those who said them are no longer living, they are still remembered words. Words spoken to us as children are often much harder to forgive and get past than those hurtful words that are spoken to us as adults. And I must confess, if I choose to think about them, even though the person who said them is gone, they still hurt. Yes, we can forgive what was said, but for a long time after we've forgiven the person who said them, they can still sting, they can still hurt.

David knew the power of the spoken word. Spoken words build up, they tear down. They forgive, they hold a grudge. They speak hope, they speak defeat. They speak peace, they speak strife. They criticize, they compliment. They express love, they express hate. But David also knew that what we think about is equally important. What we think about, what we feel in our hearts, fuels what we say. Before it becomes a spoken word, our thoughts have already formed the content of what we will speak. When we purposely meditate on love, forgiveness, hope, peace, we will soon discover that those are the words we say. David knew from much experience just how powerful (and hurtful) his words could be. And he also knew that when our words are filtered through a heart that meditates on God, they will always be acceptable.

Today, meditate on God and His goodness, His gentleness, His kindness, His unconditional love, His protection, His loyalty to you. And from those thoughts about God, speak good things into the lives of those you love. (And don't forget to speak good words into your own life as well!)

Penny. 

Do You Believe God?

Do you believe God? I mean really, really believe Him? Paul did. In Acts 27 Paul, Luke, and many others (276 to be exact!) were on a ship bound for Rome. In verse 14 they found themselves in a cyclone and in verse 20 "all hope that we should be saved was taken away." And right there in the midst of their hopelessness Paul told them this: "Tonight there stood beside me the angel of God, the One to Whom I belong and said, fear not Paul, you and all on board will be brought to Caesar."

And then in verse 25 Paul said these words: "Be of good cheer, for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me."

God has told you in His Word Who He is, and He has promised what He will do. Believe Him. To believe that God is Who He says He is and that He can do what He's promised to do is a choice that only you can make for yourself. You either believe Him or you do not. Friend, choose now to "believe God that it will be even as it was told me." That one act of faith will literally change your perspective from doom and gloom to a biblical world view of faith, trust, healing, power, safety, security, and most of all hope. With those words, "I believe God," Paul turned a hopeless situation into a hope that God is in control of every circumstance of our lives and He will do for us everything that He has promised.

Do you believe Him? Really believe Him?

Have a great day and no matter what, believe God.

Penny

I hope you'll share this post with someone who is struggling in their belief; not believing IN God but believing God will do just as He's promised He will do. I'd love to hear your comments. 

Ask God to "Establish" You.

Life is hard. Some days are just more difficult than others. Whether it is a prayer you are waiting on God to answer, or wisdom to know how to handle a situation that threatens your peace, 2 Thessalonians 2:17 is a verse you can pray with confidence, knowing God will hear and answer: "Lord, comfort my heart, and establish me in every good word and work."

The word establish means to set something in place. Ask God to "establish" you today: He will establish you as you speak, giving you just the right words at the right time, and He will establish you as you work for His glory and in whatever you do in His name.

God wants you to succeed in living your life for His purpose and for His glory. He will "set you in place," He will "establish" you to do just that. 

2 Thessalonians 3:2; But the Lord is faithful, Who shall "establish" you, and keep you from evil.

What Are You Afraid of?

 As Jesus slept soundly in the boat, His head resting comfortably on a pillow, the storm raged, and His disciples were afraid. After many fearful moments they went below deck, woke Jesus and said, "Master, don't You even care that we are about to die?" Jesus immediately rebuked the wind, told the sea to be peaceful and calm, turned to the disciples and said, "Why are you so afraid? Why do you have no faith? (Mark 4:35-41)

When I allow my fear to dictate my faith, I have lost sight of the power of God to deliver me from the storm I am going through. But here's the good news! Even when I allow fear to overshadow my faith, God is still there to bring my circumstances together with His power to build me up again and give me His grace to overcome the fear. Isn't He awesome? He gave me the faith to be saved, then throughout my life He increases my faith to sustain me through every fear.

What are you afraid of today? Tell Jesus all about it, don't leave out a single detail, He will speak to your storm, and bring peace and calm to your fearful heart. I know He will do it for you; He has done it for me. I love Him so much.

Penny

He Is My Redeemer

I don't know about you, but past hurts and memories can often flood my mind and bring on stress, low self-esteem, and even depression that can plague me for hours and sadly, even days. Recently I was reading Psalm 44, and I read in verse 26 something I have read many times before, but it spoke to me in a new way. 

Psalm 44:26; Arise for our help and redeem us for Your mercies' sake.

To redeem means to "regain possession of something in exchange for payment." When Jesus died on the cross of Calvary He redeemed or regained possession of what the enemy had stolen. He defeated Satan. He redeemed my soul, but He also redeemed every part of me: my sin, my failure, past hurts, bad memories, He bought back all of it. He will redeem every part of you, too. 

Whatever is causing you emotional pain today, ask God to redeem it. Pray, "Lord, redeem this hurt, (name the hurt) and redeem it for Your mercies' sake." He will. He is my Redeemer.

Redeem Lord every hurt, redeem every shame.

All my fear, all my dread, redeem in Jesus' name. 

When my thoughts overflow, when my mind just won't cease,

Take back the enemies' hold, give me peace, sweet peace.

Thank You Lord that You are my Redeemer.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Penny                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Lord, "Establish" Me Today

 Life is so hard. And some days are just harder than others. Whether it is a prayer you are waiting for God to answer, or wisdom to know how to handle a situation that threatens your peace, 2 Thessalonians 2:17 is a verse you can pray with confidence, knowing God will hear and answer: "Lord, comfort my heart, and establish me in every good word and work."

Ask God to "establish" you today: He will. He will establish you as you speak, giving you just the right words at the right time. He will establish you as you work for His glory and in whatever you do in His name.

2 Thessalonians 3:2; "But the Lord is faithful Who will "establish" you and keep you from evil."

God delights in His word, and He delights in our prayers. When we put the 2 together, we have supernatural power in prayer and the enemy cannot stand in the supernatural power of God. Ask Him to establish you today.

Penny

Kind, Tenderhearted, and Forgiving

Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32.

I recently was walking into a restaurant and there in the landscaping, right beside the door was a rock, painted blue, and in big white letters were the words, Be Kind. Maybe you've seen painted rocks with words like Compassion, Love, Hope, Joy, and just those one or two words made you smile, made you want to do better at being a kinder, gentler, more forgiving person.

In Ephesians 4 the apostle Paul told the church at Ephesus that it is important how believers treat each other. And in verse four he shared three very simple, yet powerful words that can change any relationship from tense and stressed, to calm and sweet. (yes, sweet)

Kind. Just be kind. It costs us nothing to smile, it takes hardly anytime at all to open a door for someone, pick up something that has fallen from an older ladies' cart in WalMart, or allow someone  who has 2 items at Kroger to go ahead of your loaded down cart. Just be kind.

Tenderhearted. Tenderhearted is defined as having a kind, gentle, sentimental nature. It may take some cultivating on our part, but I believe anyone can develop a tender heart toward those who are sad and hurting. To be tenderhearted means to have empathy and compassion toward someone in need. All it takes is to imagine yourself in the other person's shoes and treating them the way you would want to be treated.

Forgiving. I must confess, I can sure hold onto old hurts. And the more I "entertain" those old memories, the bigger they get and if I'm not careful, they will consume me and manage to invade every part of my day. Paul wrote in Colossians 3 that we are to forgive as Jesus forgives (immediately) and not to wait until we "feel like it." Forgiveness is the mark of a maturing Christian.

I have found that my day goes better when I am kind, when my heart stays tender, not judging, and when I forgive the person who hurts me. Kindness, responding tenderly to those who are hurting, and forgiving others will start the healing process in them, but it really starts the healing in me.

Have a good, Good Friday. I hope you will attend church this Easter Sunday.