The Truth in 2014

Psalm 119:72 (MSG)
Truth from Your mouth means more to me than striking it rich in a gold mine.

My daughter and I enjoying a little late night snow...
not so sure our pup was as thrilled about the fun as we were.

Happy New Year!!  I am praying that in 2014, God, who is with you always, will help you to sense His presence in a palpable way....every single day this year!

As I reflect on another year gone by, here is my take away...I HAVE to have His truth!   Traditionally the first day of a new year is a day of resolutions and reflection.  A day to pause and decide if we like where we're headed.  A few hours to rewind and remember where we've been.  It is a time to purposefully relish in the goodness and blessings of the past year....and then think about a fresh start...because indeed the truth is....His mercies are new EVERY morning...of every day...not just the first day of the year!  Yay!  
 
Today's verse is so timely for a day like today.  "Truth from Your mouth means more to me than striking it rich..."  Without God's word in my life, I would be such a mess!  (And I really mean that....)  I would be drowning in my insecurities and consulting my inner confused state all of the time!  Unfortunately, I still find myself shifting to those things if I'm not intentionally returning to God's word and His truth for my life on a daily basis. 

This year, I intend to read the New Living Translation Daily Study Bible For Women by Jill Briscoe.  There is also a New Living Translation Daily Study Bible For Men by Stuart Briscoe (Jill's husband).  My husband and I are planning on utilizing the study units and allowing them to draw us closer to His truth in 2014!  The study Bibles do stand alone, however, and do not have to be used in tandem, but if you are a couple looking for a Bible experience together, it looks to be a great one!  The Briscoe's have a ministry called:  Telling The Truth.  If you would like to visit their website, you can  click here to read more about  it.

Almighty God,
Thank you for an amazing 2013!  It was a little bumpy, very challenging, sometimes hard, but wonderfully full of Your provision!  Thank You for Your Word that will always direct us to Your Son and the truth!
In Jesus Name,
Amen
 

Following His Light Into 2013

Psalm 119:58(MSG)
I beg you from the bottom of my heart:  smile, be gracious to me just as You promised.

The word "grace" is repeatedly being brought to my mind lately.  How timely that here it is again as I approach a New Year.  While my daughter and I sat together curled up by the fire reading the Word of God a few mornings ago , she softly said, " I hate that Christmas is over."  I thought about this and remembered back to when I was a little girl.  It was sort of a sad time, as the excitement and electricity of the season came to an end.  But, as the years have gone by and I have been blessed to be a part of many cherished Christmas celebrations, I have come to the realization that the week after Christmas is just as awe inspiring for me as the week before.  You might be wondering how that can be?  Simply because of a word that keeps creeping into my heart.  The word grace.

Taking time during this week after our Savior's birth and using it to recount all of the favor that He has poured over my family for the past year, gives me an overwhelming sense of who He is!  Reviewing all of the times when the Lord met our needs and gave us abundantly more than I could have even known to ask for or imagined, provides a confidence that comes only from Him.  It saturates me in His peace, and yet at the same time, allows a power to well up within me to face another year of security in Him.  He is very clear in His Word that He will take care of me!  He promises to sustain us and to walk us through even the greatest of trials!

Our family has some pretty big challenges that we are facing in the coming year.  I don't have any idea what you might be facing this year, but I do know the One you can face it with!  He is big.  You can count on Him to see you through the very toughest of circumstances.  His Word will give you clear instructions for how we can face every single day.  He will protect you and allow you to walk in places that you only thought you could crawl!  Now that is truly inspiring.  My prayer for my family and for you this year, comes directly from today's verse.  I pray that the Lord will smile upon us and be gracious to us, just as He promised that He would. 

I will be reading from the NKJV Bible this year.  I have chosen:  Jesus Calling Devotional Bible published by Thomas Nelson.  Feel free to join me in reading this translation or the one of your choice.  His Word is life changing!  I know that to be true.

Lord,
As always, You give us a new and fresh hope.  Thank you for Your words that brings us peace, confidence, and power to anticipate a New Year of wonderful blessings.  Show us our gifts and help us to use them to bring You glory in 2013.
In Your Name,
Amen
   

What voice will you hear in the New Year?

Psalm 119:17(NIV)
Do good to your servant, and I will live;  I will obey your Word.

Happy New Year!!  I have been reflecting a great deal on what I want to accomplish in this New Year.  I absolutely love to start things over.  It gives such a freshness to everything.  It's like a "do over".  If it was awesome the first time...then doing it again is excellent.  If it wasn't so good on the other hand, then it is great to get a chance to start over and try for a better outcome!  Either way, it's a win-win situation!  Right?

Upon review of my last year, here is what I decided to "do over" in this year.  As a mother, my number one priority, after God, is my family.  My goal of encouraging my daughter to read more of her Bible was a noble goal last year, but we were not as successful as I would have liked.  I did not have a well defined plan lined out for her to follow and therefore, we fell short.  With that in mind, I have been looking at the different reading plans and translations to get her through the New Testament in a year.  I have a friend who succeeded in walking her son through the pages of God's Word this year, so I know it can be done! 

Here is my plan.  I obtained the Voice (click here)  translation of the New Testament and printed a one year reading schedule for my daughter.  (The Old Testament comes out in April.)  This particular translation reminds me of the New Living Translation with the addition of frequent breakaways narrating what is going on or in some cases what has gone on during that particular time in history.  The Voice has a feel as though someone is literally sitting beside me explaining what I am reading.  It brings the words of the page to life in vivid color!!  I am excited to read this with my daughter and discuss the verses as they jump off the page.

My goal for her, and my own life as well, is to bring a new vitality to our walk with the Lord!  To simplify and clarify our direction and purpose and thereby allow His word to penetrate our hearts with a greater vibrancy and color than we have ever experienced before.  Prayerfully, I will develop in us a deeper devotion to the Word of God and a more complete obedience as is described in today's verse. 

As my last post stated, the eyes of the Lord are searching for hearts that are fully devoted to Him, so that through His spirit, He can deliver His strength to each one of us!  (2 Chronicles 16:9)  I most definitely need and want the strength of God for every detail of my life in 2012!

My daughter and I enjoying some "talk time".

Lord,
Thank you for Your words that bring a newness and purpose to our lives.  As we step into a New Year, please help us to walk boldly with You and rely on Your strength for all that we encounter!
In Christ's Name,
Amen

Lebab Shalem

Psalm 119:16(MSG)I relish everything you've told me of life, I won't forget a word of it.

OK....so being that I'm approaching the half century mark on this here planet earth, to boldly proclaim that "I won't forget" something is farther than I am willing to go!  On some mornings, I awake and have to spend at least a good minute or two just to remember what day of the week it is.  The thoughts go something like this as I stretch and approach the edge of the bed to disembark....."Let's see, today is ....wait...what is today and where am I supposed to be right now?  Am I late?!  Oh no....!!!"  Usually within a few seconds, I come back to reality from my slumber and can shake the fog away, but rest assured that it is not a good feeling.  Anyone else have this occurrence?

So, having said all of that, I am going to see what the NIV translation has to say in this verse.
Psalm 119:16(NIV)
I delight in Your decrees; I will not neglect Your word.

"I will not neglect Your word."  Yes! That I can say with confidence!  I might not be able to always remember the words, but I can commit to study and read the Word of God and attempt to memorize it.  I can return to it constantly day in and day out.  It doesn't seem a coincidence to me that  I read the story of King Asa a few days ago.  Powerful words of encouragement and valuable lessons about life lie within the verses of 2 Chronicles chapter 14-16 as the life of Asa plays out on the pages. 

King Asa was the son of King Abijah and succeeded him to the throne over Judah in Jerusalem.  It is written in 2 Chronicles 14:1 that Asa "did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God."  (I would certainly love to have that said about me....wouldn't you?)  Anyway, when this king came into power, the country was experiencing a time of peace.  God  gave Asa a powerful word through the prophet Azariah.  The prophet said,
(2 Chronicles 15:2)MSG "God will stick with you as long as you stick with him.  If you look for Him he will let himself be found; but if you leave him he'll leave you."  

It goes on to say that when the people saw that God was with Asa, they came to him in large numbers.  At that point they made a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul.  In the Bible's original Hebrew translation we would have read the words  "lebab shalem", which means to have whole hearted devotion.

They chose not to neglect the Word of God.  King Asa followed through on this and for thirty-five years there was no war in the land as the king cleared out every distraction and thing that did not glorify the Lord....including the dethroning of his grandmother the queen who made an Asherah pole and shifted her focus to idol worship. 

The sort of sad part to this king's story, however, is that in his last years he must have gotten off track a little.  The story finishes up in chapter 16 where King Asa slips in his trust and devotion to the Lord and relies on men for the deliverance of his country.  When afflicted with a severe foot disease in these later years, the Bible records that King Asa ends up seeking  physicians for healing and forgets to turn to the God who has sustained him through incredible hardships in the past!  I conclude that  the king lost perspective.  Rather than going before God and asking for direction which may have led him to physicians for healing,  (God can and often does use the hands of His people to restore health to our bodies) King Asa relied on men.
The ending to King Asa's story concludes with his burial with honors in the land of his people.  Yes, God's grace overcame Asa's lack of follow through, but the way his walk with God ended left a sadness within my heart.  It jarred my mind into a reflective mode.   

This is what I thought after I read King Asa's story.  With the approaching new year, I want to look ahead and see where I am going.  What are my priorities?  Am I still completely relying on God for all things?  Where am I leading my children?  How am I being a help mate to my husband?  Am I simply looking back at yesterday's victories and enjoying them as though I have no work left to do and the best is behind me?  Or, am I looking to the future with hope and rolling up my sleeves to rely on God even more than ever before? 

II Chronicles 16:9 (NIV) says, "For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him."  I want God to see me living out a life of whole hearted devotion to Him!  I need His strength to fulfill the purposes He has designed just for me to complete!  It is exciting to think about the future and the hope that we have in Him!  As our pastor frequently says, "The best is yet to come!!"

Father,

Looking at the future through the cross gives hope and peace.

Thank You for a message of hope and grace despite our sometimes faltering faith.  Your love for us is written throughout Your word!  You are a strong tower of protection and our error free navigational system for a life filled with direction and purpose.  I am trusting in Your words and listening to Your voice for every step of this year!  I will not neglect Your word.  I am praying today that You will fill our hearts with devotion to You.  Speak softly to those tonight who might be fearful of the future and infuse them with Your gentle words of encouragement and love.

In Christ's name,
Amen