The Path of Life!

“You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand” (Psalm 16:11 NIV)

If we know there is a path that leads to life, there must be a path that leads to death. When we are at a crossroad in our lives–standing at the intersection–trying to determine which way to go–God makes it known to us which path we should take–if we hear Him. Sometimes, because of our haste to get where we “want to be” we take the wrong path and miss the joy that was waiting for us on the path where God wanted us to be.

There is a way that “seems” right to man, but the end thereof is death. The paths we take don’t always lead to a “physical death” but they do manage to kill the soul, deprive us of joy, and deter our spirits with sadness. Those roads we choose when we allow the flesh to dictate our every move instead of waiting and listening to hear God. Most of us have made wrong turns and it took us a while to find our way back to the path were God wanted us to be–where we now know joy, peace, and love.

Was there any joy on the path of destruction we took when we did not know better?

Was there peace on the paths of confusion and chaos that we followed when we thought people were more important to us than God?

Did we ever find true love–unconditional love–along the way we chose, looking for love in all the wrong places?

Thank God for Jesus! Because of His love for us, we are now on the right path--the path of life–understanding and experiencing the abundant life that we are promised when we follow Jesus. The joy of The Lord is our strength and we know on this path, we are never alone and when we get tired or weary, He is always there–the pillar on which we can lean, without fear of it crumbling. We have access to the peace of God that surpasses all understanding–on the path of life. No matter what is going on around us, no matter how much chaos or confusion ensues from those who are influenced by the enemy, we can know and have peace in our spirits and joy overflowing.

Make sure you are on the right path–the path of life–so you can experience the joy and love of God and share it with others.

Lord Jesus, thank You for speaking to our hearts and turning us around from the paths of destruction on which we once travelled. Thank You for loving us enough to make a way for us to have access to heaven and eternal life.

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Who’s Watching Over You?

The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. Psalm 145:20

Who are the wicked?

The wicked are those who refuse to acknowledge God and certainly won’t live according to His principles.

The wicked see no wrong in doing anything that appeals to their flesh.

The wicked see no wrong in doing anything that makes them look superior to others.

The wicked have no conscience and therefore, they see no wrong in anything they do.

The wicked have no heart to love, just a soulless void that can only be filled with hate.

The wicked care nothing for others and enjoy the plights of the poor.

The wicked do not even honor their own; when one falls into depravity the rest look on with envy and jealous, never mindful of the end results.

So who watches over the wicked? The sworn enemy of God is their overseer and he delights in their depraved thoughts and actions and when one falls  to the bottom of the pit of pitiful, the enemy laughs and moves on to the next one—who doesn’t have a clue or a spine. These are the wicked.

But the Lord watches over those who love Him and even when it seems like one of us is about to fall, an angel by direction of Love swoops in makes sure we do not utterly fall. Those who love God acknowledge Him, praise Him, worship Him and most importantly—obey Him. We obey by loving others—even when they are unlovable and cannot return the love. We love each other enough to respect and honor one another. We love each other enough to be considerate of each other. We love each other enough to tell each other the truth of any matter. We love each other enough to give sound advice and direction in all things. We love each other enough to hurt when one of us hurts, to rejoice when another rejoices and to comfort those who are grieving. Love never takes pleasure in the injustices that many suffer at the hands of a few.

The wicked are not so—they love to see injustice prevail over those who cannot stand for righteousness on their own. And God knows—those who are His and He gives strength to weak, and rest to the weary. He give courageous where there was none and determination to fight through to the end. He gives us boldness that overrides the boldness of the enemy and puts him to shame. He gives us hope—that we will endure to continue the journey upon which God has started us. He gives us love when we were unlovable and forgiveness for our sins. His grace and mercy shall surely follow us all the days of our lives!

What then will follow the wicked?

Who is watching over you and guiding your thoughts?

Know He’s Right There!

“Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand Against the wrath of my enemies, And Your right hand will save me ” (Psalm 138:7 NKJV).

When we get into situations that are beyond our control, we have no need to panic, as some of us do. If we would simply remember that God knows--before anything ever happens–what our reaction will be and He has prepared a way of escape. We have to know that He is always right there, in the midst of every one of our situations and He will bring us out.

How do we get to a place in our knowledge of God and in our faith and trust in Him to allow Him to be God and we just obey? Know His Word and trust the relationship with Him.

No one has ever said that life would be easy. And if they did, they lied. Life is full of twists and turns, light places and dark places, smooth places and bumpy places, all of which God has designed to perfect in us–trust and faith in Him.

So, don’t upset with the way things unfold in our lives (I know–real biggy here); just remember that God’s got it and He’s allowing it to happen to make us a better person when we begin to function with the mind of Christ, instead of reacting the way the enemy would have us to act.

There’s no need to fear–God is always there–in the thick of things right beside us. Know His Word–rely upon His Word–Trust in your relationship with Him, and have more faith in Him than in yourself! He’s always there.

Delight!

“Take delight in the Lord (learn how to please Him) and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4)

When we take pleasure in finding ways to please God, it gives Him great pleasure to give us the desires of our heart–even the hidden things we not vocalized.

When I look at the sky, the clouds, the birds and squirrels playing, the mountains that I love so much, and the water–no matter where you find it and peace–I am always amazed at God’s creations.  When I hear about selfless acts that people do for others, I am equally grateful for our ability to have compassion for others.  I delight in what I see God has already done for us collectively, and I am always humbled by His favor–every where I go.

I am delighted with His love for me and the life He has allowed me to have.  I try at all times to do those things that I know will please Him, but I’m not perfect and I’m sure I don’t always make it, but I never stop trying.

Yesterday was a particularly delightful day for me when I was “under attack by unbelievers” online.  What I realized is that the more I am doing right for God, the greater the attack by those the enemy has influenced.  I did not get angry or belligerent, but thanked them for paying attention to me.  I knew that God had to be pleased with the fact that I openly acknowledge Him at all times and the enemy was afraid of how my words might influence others to come to themselves and acknowledge God’s existence.  I am also grateful that over 90% of my followers on Twitter are Believers!  Hallelujah!

If you have not received your heart’s desires “yet”, think about what you’re doing.  Are you spending your time pleasing God or pacifying “man”?  Delight in all He has done, is doing and will do in your life and watch those desires–the ones you have not even voiced–come to pass!

 

Who Can We Trust?

“Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you” (Psalm 73:25).

The real question by the Psalmist here is, who can I really trust, but You, God?  He acknowledges that there is nothing on earth worth having or desiring than God in his life.

Have we come to the end of ourselves and realize that we can do absolutely nothing without God in our lives?  Do we realize that even when we fall short in His eyes, He is yet there to forgive and bring us back into a place where we understand His love for us?

There are times when I look at the things that take place in our society and wonder to myself if Jesus has any regrets about sacrificing His life for us.  So many seem to take life for granted–they do whatever they want to do, treat people any kind of way, are totally thoughtless about the welfare and well-being of others–and they do all of this to make sure they have what they want, no matter how they get it.  I shake my head when I watch the news with the horrors that I see committed against the vulnerable, the poor, and those who don’t look like the presiding policy-makers.

What have we come to when we do not recognize the plights of those who cannot fend for themselves?  Why don’t we make better attempts to educate those who vote for law-makers when we know they do not understand the process?  Why do we who know better, do nothing except complain?

Lord, forgive us for our apathy.  Help us to take on your nature in caring for others and remind us daily that You are really the only One we can truly trust in times of need. Thank You for loving us and giving us chance after chance to get living right before You!  Hallelujah!

 

Psalm 23 v 6

“Surely your goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

We can know with “certainty” (no doubt) that the goodness and mercy of God will follow us all the days of our lives.  This does not mean that nothing bad  or tragic will ever happen to us, but because of His goodness—that endures forever—we can survive and arise every time we get knocked down, stronger each time, knowing God has our back (following can only come from behind).  His mercy—favor that we cannot earn—paired with His goodness is a guarantee that no weapon formed against shall prosper.  Every word of God will accomplish that which it set out to do and we can know—the battle is not ours, but The Lord’s and we are victorious!

Once we know that we are victorious in all things through Jesus Christ, we can live with the assurance that we have access into heaven where we shall spend eternity when our time on earth, in this realm is at an end.  Blessed are those who hear The Word and keep it upon their hearts all the days of their lives.

We must read and study The Word, hear and believe The Word, and then do The Word so that no one who sees us can ever say; they did not have an opportunity to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Since we are His ambassadors, our conduct and behavior should be a reflection of who He is.

Glory to God for The Good Shepherd who leads us in all things to His glory!