Daily Devotion for 4/29/11 Have you been "burned"?

Happy Friday everyone!!!! Hope everyone has had a blessed week so far. Let's get in to today's devotion

Today's Topic: Have you been "burned"?
Scripture Text: Hebrews 12:15

"Watch out that no [bitter] root...grows up [among] you"

Have you been burned by people? You're not alone. At some point in all of our lives, we have. But instead of being consumed by that negative spirit, God tells us to forgive it, and let it go. When you deny your true feelings about the situation and allow those feelings to stir up below the surface, you give the Devil complete advantage over you. Deal with these feelings spiritually and on a scripture level and you'll go from a bitter spirit to a better spirit.

So are you struggling with a bitter spirit today? If so, try doing these three things:

#1 Forgive: Forgiveness is not based on an emotion. Don't wait until you "feel" like doing it.Just decide today within yourself to do it and to let the offense go. When you do, God's Spirit will calm your emotions help you to overcome the urge to retaliate. Release yourself from the "I'm not ready to forgive spirit" so that you remove the chances of becoming bitter. Jesus said "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy" (Matthew 5:7)

#2 Pray about it: The moment you sense resentment, turn to God and He will give you the strength to act in love rather than anger. When you commit to living this way He promises to give you "Power to keep [yourself[ calm in the days of adversity" (Psalms 94:13)

#3 Think Scripturally: Look up every verse you can find on showing forgiveness [you can typically look in the back of your Bible for these verses] and meditate on them. Remember, each time you choose to do the right thing, a little more of the old you dies and the new you develops. That's how God prepares you for greater blessings. But you must be in position to receive it. So decide now that although you've been "burned", you won't become bitter.

Is there someone that you need to forgive on today? Surely if God can forgive us of our sins, we can forgive someone else. Take a moment to think back on the many times you have had to ask God for forgiveness...

Song of Inspiration: "Me Again" - J Moss

"Forgive me O Lord, it's me again"

http://youtu.be/Ln2qHYnM-WQ

Have a wonderful weekend. Please keep my family in prayer as we prepare to head up to Philly on Sunday for a funeral. Have a blessed and safe weekend everyone.

God is Love, and I love me some you!!!


:: LA ::

Daily Devotion for 4/28/11 How to have a personal revival

Good Morning Everyone!!! How many of us need to have our souls revived! Point to yourself and say "Revive me Lord"
Today's lesson focuses on ways/steps that lead to a personal revival. Hope your week has been going well :) Let's go!

Today's Topic: How to have a personal revival
Scripture Text: Psalms 80:18

"Revive us, and we will call upon Your name"

So let's get started. Take a look at these principals:

#1 Get thoroughly dissatisfied at yourself Complacency is the enemy of spiritual progress. A complacent soul is a stagnant soul. So take a look at yourself. Have you become stagnant during your course of spiritual development? What can, or do you need to change?

#2 Set your face like a flint toward a sweeping transformation of your life Timid experimenters are tagged for failure before they start. We must throw our whole soul into our desire for God. Ask yourself "Am I really giving God 100% of me? or am I half-steppin?

#3 Put yourself in the way of blessing It's a mistake to expect God's help to come as a windfall apart from conditions known and met. There are plainly marked paths which lead straight to the green pastures; let us walk in them. To desire revival, for instance, and at the same time neglect prayer and devotions, is to wish one way and walk another. Are there paths that God has laid out to you but you refuse to walk on them?

#4 Do a thorough job of repenting Do not hurry to get it over with. Hasty repentance means shallow spiritual experience and lack of certainty in the whole life. Let godly sorrow do her healing work. Until we allow the consciousness of sin to wound us, we will never develop a fear of evil.

#5 Make restitution wherever possible If you owe a debt, pay it, or at least have a frank understanding with your creditor about your intention to pay, so your honesty will be above question. If you have quarreled with anyone, go as far as you can in an effort to achieve reconciliation.

#6 Bring your life into accord with scriptures as are designed to instruct you in the way of righteousness An honest man with an open Bible, a pad and a pencil, is sure to find out what is wrong with him very quickly. Self examination should be made while on your knees. As God's commandments are revealed to us, we are to rise and go forth in obedience

#7 Be serious minded You can well afford to watch less tv and do more reading. Every time we refuse to break away from the tv, every spiritual impression will continue to be lost on our heart.

#8 Deliberately narrow your interests Too many projects use up time and energy and pull us away from God

#9 Have faith in God Begin to expect. Look up toward the throne whre your advocate sits at the right hand of God. All of heaven is on your sid. God will not disappoint you.

The psalmists says, "Restore us...and we shall be saved!" (Psalms 80:19) Sometimes we need to be saved from ourselves! We need to be saved from the influences and all the things that continue to pull us away from God. Once saved, we can begin to fulfill the purposes for which we have been redeemed and called into His kingdom.

If you desire it, you can have a personal revival.

Restore yourself today.

Song of Encouragement: http://youtu.be/A-XGNb6G1OA

Have a blessed day everyone!!! I've been praying for you and will continue to pray for you.

Peace and Blessings

:: LA ::

Daily Devotion for 4/27/11 God will surprise you

Happy Wednesday Folks....late start to the day but thankful to be able to see the day

Today's Topic: God will surprise you
Scripture Text: Isaiah 43:19

"See, I am doing a new thing"

Can you imagine Moses' surprise when God talks to him from a burning bush? As doors shut without explanation, Paul is surprised by a man from Macedonia calling to him in a vision, "Come over and help us" (Acts 16:9) Well, He's still the God of surprises who says, "See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?" Ah, there's the challenge--our perception. WE fail to recognize God at work! Maybe you're saying, "I've prayed, claimed God's promises, done all that I know to do, yet nothing seems to be working for me" Then try this promise: "There will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you" (Isaiah 30:18) Notice the word "wait". God has a plan and a time table. "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails" (Proverbs 19:21) Even when YOUR plans flounder, if your heart's right God will still make things turn out for your good and His glory. When it comes to God's guidance, here are some things you need to know:

#1 Ideas go away, but His direction stays. There's persistence in His leading; that's why time is on your side.

#2 His direction is impossible to follow without his help. He plans it that way. "Without me you can do nothing" (John 15:5)

#3 His direction usually begins with discomfort. "Like an eagle that stirs up its nest...The Lord...led him" (Deuteronomy 32:11-12)

A baby eagle is shocked when its mother forces it out of the nest, but that' when it "finds its wings." Think about it!


This devotion is definitely something to think about...Have a blessed day everyone!

Peace and Love

:: LA ::

Song of Inspiration: "Wait on the Lord" Donnie McClurkin/Karen Clarke Sheard

http://youtu.be/5JO1IlDxNEo

Daily Devotion for 4/26/11 Samson and Delilah

Good Morning Fam!! Back at it for the week. Sorry about the missed devotion on yesterday. I took the day off from everything to rest up. I'm back now :)

Today's Topic: Samson and Delilah
Scripture Text: Judges 14:1

"Samson went down"

Samson lost everything because of the following things:

#1 Wrong relationships: When God says no to a relationship He's not being punitive, He's being protective. "But I feel so good when I'm with them" "It feels so right when we're together", you say. God sees where the road leads, you don't! It's better to want what you don't have, than end up with what you can't handle [So true!]

#2 Willful disobedience: Three times in the scripture we read the words "Samson went down." The third time it was to Delilah! So, is this relationship taking you up or down? Who is your Delilah or Samson in your life? "My old companions fare thee well; I will not go with thee to hell" the Bible says "Samson went down" to Timnath and married a Phillistine girl, breaking God's law. And even though she betrayed him "the Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of their men" (Judges 14:19)

Perhaps Samson thought God would excuse him because he was "special". No, "He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, will suddenly be destroyed" (Proverbs 29:1) Repent, before you run out of time!!

#3 Misplaced Confidence: "[Delilah] said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!' So he awoke...and said, "I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!" But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him. Then the Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and brought him down" (Judges 16:20-21)

When God's blessing is no longer upon what you're doing, it's time to realize:

a) That there's sin in your life and you must deal with it
b) That the secret of your strength is in God, not you

So who's your Samson/Delilah? Is there someone or something you need to be freed from? Don't hold on to things or people that God is trying to free us from. He'll give you the strength to pick up the pieces and move along and to the place he intended us to be in the beginning. The pathway is clear just look! All the answers and resources we need are right in front of us!

This one gave me a lot to think about. I hope it can help someone else on today as well.

Have a Blessed day everyone! I'm praying for you :)

Peace and Love,

:: LA ::

Daily Devotion for 4/22/11

Greetings Friends and Family...

Today I ask that everyone take a few minutes out of their day today pray for someone you know. It can be friends, family, co-workers, etc. If you don't know who to pray for, pray for the members of this group. There are so many things happening within our communities and even within our own homes. Children are dying, folks are innocently being incarcerated, people are struggling with illnesses and oh so much more. I pray that on this day and every day, that God continues to bless and keep you. May his peace and love surround. May joy fill your hearts. I know it's not the devotion you were expecting but I think it is needed on today. Send a prayer up for yourselves. Some of us are going through during this season.

Remember I am always here if you need me. Peace and Love Family. Happy Good Friday.

Remember the reason for the season. Have a blessed weekend everyone!

http://youtu.be/JVBZxl1knMQ

If no one else has told you today, I love you!!

SN: Happy Birthday to one of our readers...You know who you are :)

Leslie

Daily Devotion for 4/21/11 Be led by God, not by others

Good Morning Lovelies...Today's a new day!!! Hope you're doing well thus far...The weekend is almost here!

Today's Subject: Be led by God, not by others
Scripture Text: Romans 8:14

"Led by the Spirit of God"

God will help you to be all you can be, but He will never help you to be somebody else. When you try to be somebody else, you lose yourself in the process. God wants us to fit into His plan, not yield to pressure and try to fit into someone else's. It's all right to be different; different is okay! Find out what you're good at, throw yourself into it wholeheartedly and you'll start to experience true joy. Besides, when you try to do what somebody else is good at, you generally fail, right? That's because God hasn't assigned you to do what they are doing, or at least not in the way they're doing it. But that doesn't mean that you aren't good at anything.

Here's an important key: focus on your potential, not your limitations.

We all have limitation and we must accept them. That's not a bad thing, it's just a fact of life. Actually, its wonderful to be different without feeling like there's something wrong with you. Spiritually mature people know that God loves them as they are and has a purpose for their life, so they're not threatened by the abilities and accomplishments of others. They enjoy what other people do, because they enjoy what they themselves do.

Paul writes: "Let us not become...competitive...envying and...jealous of one another" [Galatians 5:26] In the end, what matters most is being able to say as Jesus said, "I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do" [John 17:4]

Any time you can say that, you did it right!!!


Have a blessed day folks!!!

Love me some you

:: LA ::

Daily Devotion for 4/20/11 Be led by God, Not Others

Happy Wednesday Folks!!! It's the middle of the week and that much closer to the weekend. I hope everyone's week has been blessed thus far. Here we go!

Today's Topic: Be led by God, not others
Scripture Text: Romans 8:14

"Led by the Spirit of God"

Life is like a maze; it's easy to get lost. Pressure comes at us from every direction to keep others happy. We study the important people in our lives, trying to decide what they want from us and how to give it to them, and in the process we lose ourselves. You need to stop and ask "Who am I living for? Why am I doing the thing I do?" Paul writes: "Having gifts...that differ...let us use them..." (Romans 12:6)

So what has God called and equipped YOU to do? Those who succeed at being themselves don't allow other to control them because they are led by GOD.
"As many are led by the Spirit of God, these are song of God" Don't be upset because people place demands on you. It's your life, take charge of it! [This is on time right here] The pressures you feel right now may not be coming from others at all; we all do things we'd rather not do. We do them because we love others, and in so doing we show the fruit of the Spirit [Galatians 5:22] But that's different from being controlled by your own insecurities or the endless demands of others. When you try to become everything to everybody, you get lost in the process. Plus, when you live for people's approval, you risk forfeiting God's.

I know from personal experience that you put more stress on yourself by living for others rather than living and doing for God. It's not worth it, trust me. Life became so much easier to handle, even with all the ups and downs, once I started fully living for Christ and for his approval and not the approval for man.

Prayer for today
"Lord what do you want me to do?"

That's all for today folks. Remember to pray for someone today ;) I'm praying for you!

Love me some you :)

:: LA ::

Daily Devotion for 4/19/11 The Spirit's Help

Today's Topic: The Spirit's Help
Scripture Text: Romans 8:18-30

"We do not know how to pray as we ought, but [the Holy Spirit] intercedes with sighs too deep for words."

MY elderly mother suffers from dementia. She is becoming increasingly dependent, confused, and unable to manage independently. She suffers, but the family members who care for her also suffer as we try to meet her increasing needs and help her remain in her home. Caring for a relative with dementia becomes a terrible dilemma when the burden is too heavy and the family must make difficult decisions.

Times such as these make it hard to find the words to express how we feel when we pray. Our struggles seem insurmountable, overwhelming. Sometimes when we do pray, our prayers appear to hit the ceiling and rebound unheard. We can only place our situation (impossible as it seems), in God's hands and take comfort from Paul's words that the Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf "with sighs too deep for words."

When we don't know what to pray or how to pray, we can trust that the Holy Spirit knows our despair and speaks for us in ways we cannot. We can take comfort that God always knows our sorrow even when we cannot find words to express it.

Anne Rasmussen (Somerset, England)
Prayer
O Lord, when we do not know how to pray, help us to believe that the Holy Spirit is interceding for us and bringing our needs to you. Amen.

Thought for the Day
While words may fail us, the Holy Spirit never does.


Prayer Focus

Families facing tough decisions

Peace and Blessings Everyone...

Pray for someone today!

Love y'all

:: LA ::

Daily Devotion for 4/18/11 Stay in touch

Good Morning Folks! Happy Monday. I needed this one this morning. Have a great day!

Today's Topic: Stay in Touch
Scripture Text: John 15:1-11

Jesus said, "Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me."
-John 15:4 (NRSV)

AFTER my church's Palm Sunday service, I brought home two palm-like branches. On a whim, I stuck one of them in a pot that contained a houseplant. I laid the other on a shelf, intending to deal with it later. During the following week as I watered my plants, I was amazed to see that the branch in the planter was still green. The branch lying on the shelf was yellow and wilted.

I should have put that branch in the pot, too, I thought. And then I did just that. A few days later, to my surprise, the branch had turned green despite having been on the shelf several days before.

The branch in the potted plant was in touch with what it needed for life -- soil, water, fertilizer -- and so it thrived. The other branch had no such source at first. But when it had soil and water, it too began to take on the signs of life.

This reminds me of our experience as Christians. When we are separated from our source of spiritual life, Christ Jesus, we wither and fade spiritually. But when we stay in touch with our Savior through Bible study, prayer, devotional reading, serving, and fellowship with others, we take on the life Christ has promised us.

Velma G. Warder (Minnesota, USA)
Prayer
Loving God, help us keep in touch with you, the source of our spiritual life. Amen.

Thought for the Day
This week, try a new way of serving God's people.


Prayer Focus

Those who need to be refreshed by God


Have a great day everyone!

Peace and God's Blessings to you!

I'm here if you need me

:: LA ::

Daily Devotion for 4/15/11 Set Free

Good Morning Folks. Happy Friday!!!

Today's Topic: Set Free
Scripture Reading: Luke 23:32-43

Read Luke 23:32-43

People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.
-Luke 13:29 (NIV)

AS we pulled onto the side of the road with a flat tire, a man pulled up behind us. While we worked side by side in the mud to change the tire, I suspected that be was a believer. When I asked, he told me he was an ex-convict and had been released from the penitentiary only 45 minutes earlier. Jesus had set him free in an eternal way 12 years into a 17-year sentence. He vowed to serve those in need because he had neglected the needs of others for so long.

I am glad that we did not know initially that the man helping us was an ex-convict because we would have treated him differently. The last thing he said to us was, "I thank God the first contacts I had on the outside were believers."

Twenty centuries ago, another convicted criminal was set free. When Jesus forgave the man hanging on the cross beside him, the man was freed from his past completely. As he joined Jesus in paradise, I imagine he was welcomed with open arms with no mention of his past. I envision a time when the thief on the cross, my roadside friend, and I will all sit at the marriage supper of the Lamb in robes equally as white as the others. (See Rev. 19:7-9.)

Because Jesus willingly accepted and forgave repentant sinners, so must we.

Jonathan Walter (Indiana, USA)
Prayer
God of forgiveness and understanding, help us be watchful for unaccepted people and show them kindness. Amen.

Thought for the Day
Jesus died for all people.

Prayer Focus

Those recently released from prison

Have a blessed weekend Everyone! Remember to pray for someone today...

Cause I'm praying for you :)

Love Y'all,

:: LA ::

Daily Devotion for 4/13/11 Highly Favored

Good Morning Folks! Have a great day!

Today's Subject: Highly Favored

Scripture Text: Luke 1:28


The angel went to [Mary] and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."

I'M single. That wasn't popular to say during my 20s and 30s. While friends made wedding plans and walked down the aisle, I remained alone. My grandmother feared for my future without a husband; friends said I'd be better off married. But I never met a man I could love.

For a while, it bothered me that other women connected with their Mr. Right. Was something wrong with me? Or had God simply not led me to the man I was to marry? But I eventually came to cherish another, amazing relationship. Rather than looking for a husband, I committed myself totally to God.

Gabriel called Mary "highly favored," and she was -- not because she had found a man to marry but because she was chosen by God. And God chooses each of us for a unique role.

Our single or married status in life doesn't carry any weight with God; our relationship with Christ does. All of us can be "highly favored" in God's sight by giving ourselves completely to what God asks us to do.

Sherri Langton (Colorado, USA)
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for showing us in Mary what really matters to you. Help us to seek you above all others. Amen.

Thought for the Day
The only relationship that truly satisfies is relationship with God.


Prayer Focus

Single adults


Love you all!!!

Peace and God's Blessings

:: LA ::

Daily Devotion for 4/11 Changing and Growing

Good morning Family. It's a new day...I'm excited for the new things happening in the lives of those close to me. Here's today's Devotion:

Today's Topic: Changing and Growing
Scripture Text: Psalms 84:7

"They go from strength to strength" Psalms 84:7

In an old Peanuts cartoon Charlie Brown says to his friend Linus, "What would you do if you felt that no one liked you?" Linus replies, "I'd see what I could do to improve" To which Charlie Brown replies, "I hate that answer!"

There are three reasons we that answer and want to freeze life where its at:

#1 When it took everything we had to get to where we are, "Let's go" is not what we want to hear

#2 We're creatures of habit; we form our habits, then our habits form us

#3 Change makes us feel insecure; deep down, we fear we don't have what it takes.

Near the top of Mount Everest is a marker which reads, "He died climbing" (What a great way to be remembered) Growth is an uphill climb. If you want to keep growing you must never stop climbing: "The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day" {Proverbs 4:18) How do we grow and change? "They go from strength to strength"

So how have you changed lately? In the last week, lets say? Or last month? Can you be very specific? Or must your answer always be incredibly vague? You say you're growing, okay--how?

Remember, effective teaching only comes through a changed person. When you stop changing, you stop leading. Today ask God to pinpoint the areas in which you need to change and grow.

With change comes freedom! So set yourself free today :) It's not an easy journey but it is well worth it.


Thought for the day: Ponder on the ways you've changed in the last week, month, year

Prayer for the day: Lord make me over. Lead me to the place and to be the person you need me to be. In Jesus' name

Alright Family, have a productive day.

Love to you all!!

http://youtu.be/w4vTe4ASC5A

Daily Devotion for 4/6/11 Called to Serve

Good Morning Folks! I pray you have a productive day!

Today's Topic: Called to Serve

Scripture Text: Deuteronomy 15:7-11; Acts 20:35

Paul wrote, "In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" Acts 20:35

DUE to a heart attack, my dad retired in 1984. My parents purchased a mobile home in West Texas. In 1987, they were introduced to Mabel and Elizabeth Claire, a chance meeting that changed their lives. Mabel and Elizabeth had observed the devastation caused by a hurricane and started helping people in Nuevo Progreso, Mexico. Their work consisted of building homes, paying tuition for students, helping with medical care, and working in a food pantry.

Because of these women, my parents heard the Holy Spirit whisper to them to begin building homes for these needy families. Their faith has grown tremendously as a result of answering God's call to serve. My parents believe that God has allowed them many healthy years in retirement. They have a God-directed purpose that keeps them active and has blessed them in many ways as they continue to be faithful to Christ. My parents' view of the Mexican people has changed. They no longer see stereotypes but think of them as individuals and families whom they deeply love. Who except God could have worked through my dad's health problems to lead my parents across national borders and into a growing relationship with Christ?

Greg Scott (Hawaii, USA)
Prayer
Dear God, help us to respond to your call to serve wherever we are. Amen.

Thought for the Day
God calls us to go where we might never go on our own.
Prayer Focus

Those rebuilding after disaster

Daily Devotion for 4/4/11 Give Away Peace

Good Afternoon Family. Sorry for the delay...Hope everyone has a productive week. God willing, you'll hear more from me on tomorrow.


Today's Subject: Give Away Peace

Scripture Text: John 20:21

Jesus said to [his disciples] again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
-John 20:21 (NRSV

AS a professional musician, I pass through many busy airports, restaurants, and hotels all over the world and see many sad looks and faces that show a beaten-down spirit. It seems as if many people are merely existing.

Everyone has to deal with heartbreaks and challenges. Jesus' words to his disciples, "Peace be with you," bring me solace no matter what I face. For me, remembering that Christ offers us peace takes a heavy weight off my spirit so that I can live a fuller life.

Some of the people I see in my travels reflect peace in their appearance, their mannerisms, and how they treat others. I feel drawn to these people. As a result, no matter where I am in the world, I have tried over these years to share Christ's peace. Giving peace to another person involves more than our words. We can communicate Christ's peace with our smile, the kindness in our eyes, or the touch of a hand when someone is going through tough times -- and by doing so we draw others closer to Christ.

As we open our hearts day by day, Christ's peace can fill us so that we are able to freely share it with those we encounter.

Chad Jeffers (Tennessee, USA)
Prayer
Dear Lord, fill us with your love and peace so those we meet will want to know you because of what they see in us. Amen.

Thought for the Day
What fills the heart shows in the face.
Prayer Focus