Archive for August 2015

A Clear Choice

2015-08-07 Devotional with Hymn, Pictures of God No comments

from the devotional book, PICTURES OF GOD

Deuteronomy 11:26-28; 30:15-20

God always takes the initiative to bless us, but the final choice is always ours. We have to choose to receive His blessings.

“See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse.” (Deuteronomy 11:26, NASB)

But what sense does that make? Wouldn’t everyone choose God’s blessing rather than His cursing? No, for we make that choice by the attitudes and actions we choose:

“See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse:
the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God…
and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the Lord your God.”
(Deuteronomy 11:26-28, NASB)

To dramatize the choice, God selected a valley with a mountain on each side — Mt. Gerizim on the south side and Mt. Ebal on the north side. He appointed six tribes of Israel to stand on Mt. Gerizim, representing God’s blessings, and six to stand on Mt. Ebal, representing God’s curses. As they stood there, the specific blessings of obeying God were read, followed by the specific curses of disobeying Him. The people were given a clear choice. (See Deuteronomy 27 & 28; also Joshua 8:30-35.)

Centuries later, Jesus presented the same clear choice. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:24-27), he told the story of two different men, each of which built a house. The wise man built on rock, the foolish man built on sand. The wise man weathered life’s storms, while the foolish man met with complete disaster. Both had heard God’s word and knew it. The difference was that the wise man chose to act on what he knew, while the foolish man did not.

God is eager to bless, eager to give, eager to be close to us. But we decide our relationship with Him by the choices we make. In our daily lives, we either choose Him or choose to ignore Him. We choose life or death, blessing or cursing. One day those choices will be forever.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Free to Chose
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics

Living God

2015-08-04 Devotional with Hymn No comments

Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice;
I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and
they shall never perish;
no one can snatch them out of my hand.
My Father, who has given them to me,
is greater than all;
no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.
I and the Father are one.”
(John 10:27-30, NIV)

We hear so many voices, both
from the outside and
from inside.

But Jesus, when you speak,
we recognize Your voice.
We recognize
the Father’s love,
the Father’s power,
the Father’s wisdom, and
the Father’s tender care for us.

Jesus, we trust You and
gladly follow You. 

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Jesus, Living God!
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics

Let Love Fill My Moments

2015-08-02 Devotional with Hymn, Prayer No comments

O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water. 

Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you. 

On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.
Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.
(Psalm 63:1, 3-8, NIV)

Lord, help me spend my thought time
more wisely.
Let’s keep an open conversation
between You and me,
talking and listening,
no matter what else is going on.
As we face each other, Lord,
let Your love fill
all my spare thoughts and moments.

Make my life a constant gift of love
from You
to Your children. 

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Lord, May Our Thoughts Begin with You
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics

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