daddy4ms

My Aunt Kay Jean suggested I start sharing a verse of the day.  I liked her suggestion but decided instead of a verse of the day, I would share a verse of the week.  Be reminded of who God is from His Word. You keep him in perfect peace      whose mind is stayed on you,      because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever,      for the Lord God is an everlasting rock. (Isaiah 26:3-4)

My Aunt Kay Jean suggested I start sharing a verse of the day.  I liked her suggestion but decided instead of a verse of the day, I would share a verse of the week.  Be reminded of who God is from His Word. 5Trust in the Lord with all your heart,      and do not lean on your own understanding. 6  In all your ways acknowledge him,      and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

I am almost finished reading The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson.  It continues to be a great read on the power of prayer and a reinforcement on God's good purpose for us.  The chapters I read on Thursday dealt with the challenging subject of "unanswered prayers."  This can tend to make us doubt God and question His love for us.  Here are some thoughts from Batterson about unanswered prayer. Do you trust that God is for you even when He doesn't give you what you asked for? Do you trust that He has reasons beyond your reason? Do you trust that His plan is better than yours?  Our Heavenly Father is far too wise and loves us far too much to give us everything we ask for...But I've learned a valuable lesson about unanswered prayer: Sometimes God gets in the way to show us the way.  the real miracle (Balaam and Donkey) is a God who loves us enough to get in the way when we're going the wrong way.  God closes doors in order to open bigger and better...

As a guy, I hate asking for directions when I might be lost.  I like to use the GPS on my phone, but this can often lead me to go weird ways when I know exactly how to get somewhere.  To prove the point, I have driven to Sterling often (since I graduated from there), but have ended up taking the longer route the last two times I have driven there.  This driving illustration leads me to direction we need in our lives.  I have several decisions related to ministry and home that need to be made.  At times, I can become overwhelmed with deciding between two good options.  As I was praying on Tuesday, I was pondering these decisions and asked God to speak to me through His Word.  He did.  Here is the Scripture that was brought to mind: 1  Do not fret because of those who are evil      or be envious of those who do wrong; 2  for like the grass they will soon wither,      like green plants they wil...

Yesterday, I posted about asking God to speak to me directly from His Word.  I use the pattern of Samuel when he said, "Speak, for your servant is listening" from 1 Samuel 3:1-10. Here is the passage God put on my heart on Thursday from Proverbs 3:1-12 3  My son,do not forget my teaching,      but keep my commands in your heart, 2  for they will prolong your life many years      and bring you peace and prosperity. 3  Let love and faithfulness never leave you;      bind them around your neck,      write them on the tablet of your heart. 4  Then you will win favor and a good name      in the sight of God and man. 5  Trust in the Lord with all your heart      and lean not on your own understanding; 6  in all your ways submit to him,      and he will make your paths straight. 7  Do not be wise i...

This past week, I was reading and meditating on Romans 5:1-2 at the Perk.  I have included the passage here for your convenience:   1 " Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God." I am familiar with the theological meaning of our justification by faith.  We are justified not by our works but by what Christ did for us on the cross.  Christ's righteousness is imputed (God counts the righteousness of Jesus as our own) to us.  Many times we refer to Hebrews 11:1 for a definition of faith which says, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." But I was drawn to do some deeper study of this word, "faith."  Is faith a belief, a trust, or something totally different?   As I studied, I discovered the Greek word, pisteuo, ...