Day 200    Staying In The Presence of God

Exodus 33:15 (NIV1984)

Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.

I don’t know about you but I have had days when I did not feel the presence of God and they were not pleasant days.  Now that I have started each day having my “meeting” with God, it seems like His presence is so much more real!  I certainly like the latter better.  I think He enjoys our meetings.  I know I sure do!!  It makes all the difference!

When I get too busy, it pulls me out of step with Him. It’s like I am over here on my own while He is waiting patiently where I left Him.  I need Him to be with me at all times so I can say things like, “Thank You,” and “What are we going to do in this situation, God.”  If we practice His presence, He will be more real to us.

GPS  (Direction From God’s Word)

·         Psalms 73:28

·         Hebrews 10:22

·         James 4:8

Prayer Focus:

Tell your heavenly Father that you would like to spend time with Him today.  Thank Him for being with you.

Day 199  The Lord says, “It is I.”

Isaiah 52:6-7   (NIV1984)

Therefore my people will know my name; therefore in that day they will know that it is I who foretold it. “Yes, it is I.”

I love it when God reveals Himself to me.  It’s so personal.  How about these?

That night the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you….”    (Genesis 26:24)

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  (Isaiah 41:10)  For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.  (Vs. 13)

“…..He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down ( relax My hold on you)! [ Assuredly not!]”  (Hebrews 13:5 Amplified Bible)

That’s our Father!

GPS  (Directions From God’s Word)

·         Genesis 28:15

·         Exodus 33:14

·         Matthew 28:20

Prayer Focus:

The above scriptures are the very nature and character of God.  It is His heart beat for you.  Thank Him for that in your own words.

Day 198   Joy and Gladness is Promised

Isaiah 51:3   (NIV1984)

The LORD will surely comfort Zion
and will look with compassion on all her ruins;
he will make her deserts like Eden,
her wastelands like the garden of the LORD.
Joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and the sound of singing.

 
After reading this scripture, you might say, “I don’t think so.  So much has happened to me that I doubt that I will ever smile again.  I go to bed in sorrow and sorrow follows me everywhere during my day."

God’s word is always the final word…..on every situation!  As you look to this scripture and say, “Okay, God, I believe You.  Take me to that place of 'joy and gladness,” you can know that He “surely” will!!

Just as a comma in a sentence is a place to pause, the period follows at the end of the sentence to say, “It is finished.”  We may slow down at the “comma of life” but we do not stop until we get to the "period" where God has the last word.

GPS  (Directions From God’s Word)

·         Hebrews 12:2

·         Hebrews 10:23

·         Philippians 1:6  The Message Bible

Prayer Focus:

Ask God to take you by the hand at the “comma,” and lead you to the “period.”

Day 197   Agreeing With God’s Word

Luke 1:38   (NIV1984)

 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.

I am sure that Mary did not understand the magnitude of what was about to happen for her, but in her innocence she just agreed with God.  She must have known she could trust in God.  That’s what our “meetings” with God are all about. 

In order to trust someone, we must have spent time with them to get to know what they are like.  That’s what happens in my devotion time with God.   I have learned of His love and faithfulness.  I have also learned that His grace is enough to bring me through any situation and His wisdom is available to me on every hand.

I would hope that I would be able to say to God, “May it be to as you have said.”  That’s real trust!!

GPS  (Directions From God’s Word

·         Jeremiah 29:11

·         Hebrews 13:5

·         Deuteronomy 31:6

Prayer Focus:

Thank your wonderful God that whatever you are facing, He is there with you.  He knows all about your situation and He promises to be near you through  it all.

Day 196    Agreeing With God

Proverbs 16:3    Amplified Bible

Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed.

How cool!!  God promises to cause us to think like He thinks if we will get ourselves out of the way.  That means to turn everything over to Him and say,  “You know better than I, so You can have full control.  I trust You completely with ______________. “  (You fill in the blank.)

Rolling our works (our attempts, our worries, our uncertainties) over onto God and ask Him to cause our thoughts to agree with His will.  So I am out doing errands and I am running out of time.  “Okay, God, how do You want me to do this?” 

I’ve done that and pretty soon everything falls into place and I am returning home with a torn up “To Do” list and peace in my heart.  That’s just a small example but God is saying to roll it all over—the little things and the big things.  The results bring Him glory!

GPS  (Direction From God’s Word)

·         I Corinthians 2:9-13, 16

·         Ephesians 3:20 Amplified Bible

·         John 15:15

Prayer Focus:

Pray like this:  Father, help me to roll all my works over onto you so that I can trust You for the outcome.  Father, thank You for causing Your thoughts to come into my thought processes so I can do what You want me to do.  Thank You, Father.  Amen.

Day 195   Fruit Brings Glory To God

John 15:7-8   (NIV1984)

If you remain in me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. ⁸ This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples.

 When our prayers are answered, it brings much glory to God.  People everywhere are looking for something or someone they can depend on.  When they see us bearing fruit, as the scripture says, they will have confidence that God is real.

God doesn’t want us to be "down and out" because that is not a picture of His goodness or His greatness.  He wants us to reflect His love, His ability and His willingness to bless His children.

GPS  (Direction From God’s Word)

·         John 16:24

·         I John 5: 14-15

·         Matthew 7:11

Prayer Focus:

Thank your Father that His words are true.  Then ask Him for whatever you wish, thanking Him that He has heard you and will answer so that your joy may be full.

Day 194  God Holds Us Steady

Isaiah 41:10   The Message (MSG)

I've picked you. I haven't dropped you.'
Don't panic. I'm with you.
There's no need to fear for I'm your God.
I'll give you strength. I'll help you.
I'll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you.

Isn’t that good news?  God promises to help us when we need help, strengthen us when we feel weak, and steady us when we feel wobbly.  And on top of all of that He starts this verse out by saying that He picked us!!  Can you even imagine it??

I am just so glad that this is one of His promises because I need it.  How about you?  Instead of running to other people or other things for support, we can run to our Heavenly "Daddy" and find everything we need in Him.  He's the One who holds us when we cannot sleep because things weigh heavy on our minds, he One who we can lean on when our load gets too heavy and the One who strengthens us when we think we can't make it.  All I can say is "Thank God for God!!"

GPS  (Directions from God’s Word)

·         I Peter 1:2

·         Psalms 91:1 Amplified Bible

·         I Peter 4:18

Prayer Focus:

Thank your wonderful Father for loving you so much and being so faithful to you.

Day 193    God Is Gracious To Us

Romans 8:32   (NIV1984)

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

 
God gave us the ultimate gift of love—His Son to suffer and die on the cross for us so that we can have His gracious gifts of salvation, forgiveness, healing, etc.

Oh what a God!!!  But not only that but God went one step farther (as He always does!!) and promised us that He would “graciously give us all things.”

He will meet our needs and then He goes one step farther and promises to give us the desires of our hearts if we put God place in our lives.

What a wonderful God we serve!!

GPS  (Directions from God’s Word)

·         John 3:16

·         Philippians 4:19

·         Psalms 37:4

 

Prayer Focus:

Thank your wonderful God that He cares about your life—your destiny, your needs and your desires.

Day 192   I Am Secure In God

Romans 8:30 (MSG)

After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.

God created us each in a very unique way.  Of all the people in the world, there is no one quite like you (even if you are an “identical twin.”)  Isn’t that amazing that God didn’t copy two people twice??

This verse says after He created you, He….

1.      Called you by name

2.      Set you on a solid basis with Himself—establishing you

3.      Stay with you until the end so you are never alone

4.      Gloriously completing the unique plan He has for your life.

Wow!   How secure is that??  All we have to do is stick with Him, staying close by His side.

GPS  (Directions from God’s Word)

·         Genesis 1:26

·         Deuteronomy 28:10

·         Nehemiah 9:31

·         Philippians 1:6

Prayer Focus:

Thank your wonderful God for the above four things listed. 

Day 191   Trusting God Absolutely

2 Timothy 3:15   Amplified Bible (AMP)

And how from your childhood you have had a knowledge of and been acquainted with the sacred Writings, which are able to instruct you and give you the understanding for salvation which comes through faith in Christ Jesus [through the leaning of the entire human personality on God in Christ Jesus in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness].

 
It seems like in the world we live in rather than having “absolutes” we have “tolerance” and “relativism.”  Tolerance means that we are to accept any and every belief out there.  Relativism means we look around us and we develop our beliefs on how things appear.  No wonder we feel like we are on a slippery slope!!

Our scripture today says that we can absolutely trust God and His Word.  That is so good to know!!  As I spend more time with God in His Word, I am absolutely convinced that the answer to every question we have is right there in His book.  I have spent the last three years having a daily “meeting” with God over the things that concern me and every single time His Word opens my eyes to the answer—no matter how practical it is.  Sometimes I even have to laugh at how He gets His direction across to me.  God is so amazing!

GPS  (Directions From God’s Word)

·         Isaiah 30: 21

·         I Timothy 1: 4, 19 Amplified Bible

·         Hebrews 10:22 Amplified Bible

Prayer Focus:

Ask God to reveal to you His absolute word on what is concerning you at this moment.  And be sure to thank Him for meeting with you today!

Day 190  Wait Passionately For God

Lamentations 3:25  The Message (MSG)

God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks. It's a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from God.

Sometimes the world around us gets so loud.   There is input coming at us from all directions.  What is true and what is not??

“Wait passionately” means to wait with a purpose.  To me that means to bring our thoughts into focus so we can know God’s will.   Today I had a phone call with advice and maybe even a little pressure to do things a certain way.  Mix that input with my own thoughts and I could almost convince myself that that was the right thing to do.

As I waited, it became crystal clear to me that God had a different way.  The first way would have had limitations—major limitations I might add, and God’s way would come with no strings attached—just blessings!!

So glad to have waited and to have turned to the Lord for His direction. 

GPS  (Directions From God’s Word)

·         Isaiah 30: 15b

·         Psalms 37:34  NIV and MSG

·         Isaiah 30:21 

Prayer Focus:

Thank Your wonderful Father that He speaks to you and gives you His direction.

Day 189  God Wants Us To Know Him

Isaiah 52:6    The Message (MSG)

 Now it's time that my people know who I am, what I'm made of—yes, that I have something to say. Here I am!"

That verse makes it sound like God is right here—standing right in front of us!!  God has something to say to you and me!  He wants us to know what He is made of—what He is really like.

The previous verses talk about people being in bondage to something they thought was true.  They were believing a lie and even that lie was mocking them.

But here is our wonderful God.  “Now it is time that My people know who I AM.”  God will set the record straight and clear up every lie!

GPS   (Directions From God’s Word)

·         Exodus 33:13  Amplified Bible

·         Acts 22:14   Amplified Bible

·         Philippians 3: 8, 10 Amplified Bible

Prayer Focus:

Ask God that you might know him more intimately than ever before and thank Him every time He reveals Himself to you.

Day 188  God Defends His People

Isaiah 51:22   (NIV1984)

 This is what your Sovereign LORD says,
your God, who defends his people:

Have you ever felt like things were unfair and out of control?  Ever felt like you were helpless to help yourself?  How about violated where someone or something got the best of you—like things were falling apart all around you and there was nothing you could do about it?

Well, here’s what your God has promised you.  He said I am your God and I defend you!!

I don’t know about you but that is really good news to me!!  I need Someone bigger than me to watch out for me and what concerns me.  I need God to watch out for my family, my finances, my health and everything else that concerns me.  Then I can just go to sleep at night knowing…..Everything’s going to be alright!!

GPS  (Directions from God’s Word)

·         Isaiah 51:11,16

·         Psalms 138:8 Amplified Bible

·         Psalms 121:4

Prayer Focus:

Thank your wonderful God that He is always watching out for you—and what concerns you!

God watches out for “His people.”  Each of us must make up our own mind whether or not we want to be one of "His people."  God has given us free choice.  He wants everyone to choose Him but not all of us do.  If you aren’t sure, read the information below.  I pray it will give you either confirmation or direction.  Feel free to email me for further explanation.

God bless you,

Karol

How To Receive Jesus Christ As Savior

Maybe you are thinking, “I don’t feel like I am a part of this.  It’s like I am outside looking in.”  I want you to know that Jesus’ arms are wide open to you.  They were opened at the cross because of His overwhelming love for you.  (John 3:16)   Right now He is calling you unto Himself.  He knows that you are not perfect.  You don’t have to be to come to Him.  That’s why He went to the cross in the first place---for your sins.  Yes, for the sins of the whole world, but personally for your sins.  You can come into His outstretched arms and find rest for your soul.  You can put your head upon His chest and hear the beating of His heart of love for you.

We’ve all sinned and He died for all of us.  Some of us come to Him and some do not.  This is your time to come!!  You are not reading this by accident.  God is calling you to come right now!

Take a few minutes and meet Him at these verses below.  Let Him speak to you through them.

We are all sinners:

Romans 3: 10, 23,    Romans 5:8,     Romans 6:23

We can ask God to forgive us:

Romans 10:13,    Acts 3: 19

We can put out trust in Jesus and become His child.

John 1:12

We can confess that Jesus is our Lord:

Romans 10: 9-10

As you ask forgiveness of your sins and express your desire to live for Him, you will enter the family of God and never feel on the outside again!!

It’s time to pray.  Let me help you.

Prayer:

Father, I understand that Jesus Christ went to the cross and shed His blood for me.  I also understand by the scriptures that I am a sinner.  Jesus, forgive me for all my sins.

 (Let them come to mind.  Then see yourself giving them to Him.  As soon as they are in His hands, they disappear forever!!  Amazing!!)

 Be my Lord and my Savior.  I commit my whole life into Your capable hands.  Father, help me to hear Your instruction and direction,  and help me to live for You all the days of my life.  Thank You.  Amen.