Day 164   The Lord Is With You

Ezekiel 48:35   New International Version (NIV)

The distance all around will be 18,000 cubits.  And the name of the city from that time on will be: THE LORD IS THERE.”

One of the Old Testament Hebrew names for God is Jehovah-Shammah, which means “The Lord Who Is Present.”

Sometimes we can feel like we are all alone—that God is far off somewhere working on someone else’s problems—answering someone else’s prayers.  The truth is—He is here with you right now as you are reading this blog. 

When I first came to the Lord, I didn’t have much confidence in praying because I always saw the Father as being preoccupied with other things.  My thoughts were—why pray, He is busy and probably won’t hear you.

That’s not what the Bible says.  Take a look at this!

Genesis 28:15  New International Version (NIV)

 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

That sounds pretty personal to me!  How about you??  It sounds like He is an up close and personal God!

Here’s another:

1 John 5:14-15  New International Version (NIV)

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

You can have the confidence that He hears you and He is answering your prayers.  You are not in this alone.  God is present with you because He is Jehovah Shammah!

GPS-  (Directions for our journey)

Let these words from Him refresh your heart and sink deep into your thoughts.  The Bible says to write them on the tablets of your heart so you can refer to them often!

·         Exodus 33:14

·         Deuteronomy 20:1

·         Isaiah 43:2

·         Matthew 18:20

Prayer Focus:

Thank God that He is with you today--wherever you go!  Talk to Him wherever you are.  Ask Him what you need to know.  Thank Him that you are not alone!

Day 163  Meet the Great “I AM!”

John 8:58  New International Version (NIV)

“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

I have been reading the Old Testament for years.  There are so many promises there of what God intends to do.  I have hung on to so many of those promises, but I found myself in a waiting mode.  It is always “I will “ do this and “I will” do that.  Waiting had become a way of life for me.

I do believe that God has a timing for everything and I want to be in His timing but I also discovered that I was hung up in a waiting mode.  It’s like seeing the “Finish Line” up ahead but never being able to cross it.

The Old Testament is prophetic for the coming of Jesus Christ.  Jesus came over 2,000 years ago.  He “finished:  the work at the cross through his suffering and death.  The waiting is over!!

Now when I read the Old Testament, I mentally substitute “I AM” for “I will.”  The work has been completed.  All that God has promised is available to us now. 

Example:  “I will have compassion on you.”  (Isaiah 54:8b)  He has already shown us His compassion by sending Jesus to die for us.  The New Testament version of that is “I AM having compassion on you.”

Doesn’t that change everything?  I feel like He enters my world now.  He’s not far off, giving me a promise that I will never experience.

I can get up and put a smile on my face because right here and right now (in my world) He is having compassion on me!!  He is comforting me, strengthening me, healing me, etc.

That’s a good word to me!  I hope it is for you!!

GPS  (Directions for our journey)

Read the following scriptures and insert I AM for “I will.”

·         Ezekiel 37: 21-22

 

·         Vs. 26

 God already made a covenant of peace.  Jesus Christ is peace.  There is no more waiting.  It’s there for you!

·         Isaiah 51: 3 

The Lord has brought comfort to us through Jesus Christ, our Lord!  It’s available now!

Prayer Focus:

Thank God that He is “right here and right now”—that He is in the middle of your personal world.  Worship Him as “I AM.”

Day 162   Let Me Introduce You

Be still, and know that I am God.

Psalm 46:10  (KJV)

In Exodus 3: 14 God is talking to an insecure Moses and tells him, “I AM WHO I AM.”  So who is He—really??  Who is God? 

The Bible is very specific about who God is and I want to take a few days to establish this once again in the foundation of what I believe.  Come join me!

Here’s what the Bible tells us about who God is:

Psalm 23:1  Amplified Bible (AMP)

THE LORD is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack.

 A shepherd watches over his flock.  We are God’s flock and he watches over us. 

A shepherd feeds his flock.  Our God feeds us truth from His Word.

A shepherd protects his flock.  Our God promises to protect us.

A shepherd goes to get the one that has gone astray.  When we get off track, He will come and get us and bring us back into peace and truth and joy.

God wants us to co-operate with Him and when we do, we can say with confidence,

 “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not lack, (as I do my part.)”

“ The Lord is the Shepherd over my family, and He gives us everything we need, (as I do my part.)”

“The Lord is the Shepherd of my body and no sickness, weakness and infirmity can make me lack, (as I do my part.)”

“The Lord is the Shepherd of my marriage and He protects us from strife and division, (as I do my part.)”

“The Lord is the Shepherd of my finances and I have everything I need, (as I do my part).”

GPS  (Directions)

Let these promises sink into your heart as you read them.  God is speaking to you personally.

·         Psalms 121:4

·         III John 1: 3-4

·         Psalms 91

·         Ezekiel 37: 21

Prayer Focus:

Thank God for being your Shepherd and be specific about what being a shepherd is.

Day 160 and 161

In the last five days here’s what we learned from God’s Word:

·         God wants us to know Him and to hear His words.  (Acts 22:14)

·         Intimacy with Him is there for the asking.  (Hosea 6:3)

·         We can ask God to teach us His ways.  (Exodus 33:13)

·         Knowing God on an intimate level brings us into favor with Him.  (Exodus 33:13)

·         Jesus wants to make His home in our hearts.  Amazing!!  (Ephesians 3: 17-19 NLT)

·         God wants to give us the “fullness of life” as we bet to know Him better each day.  (Ephesians 3: 19 NLT)

·         God delights in exercising “kindness, justice and righteousness on earth.”  (Jeremiah 9:24 NIV)

·         It’s the “thief” that comes to kill, steal and destroy.  (John 10:10)

·         God sent Jesus to the cross to destroy the works of the enemy—the thief.”  (I John 3:8b NIV)

·         Jesus was resurrected so that we might “have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance, (till it overflows).”  (John 10:10b Amplified Bible)

·         God rewards people for the injustice done to them.  (Isaiah 61:8 NLT)

·         God isn’t holding anything back.  (Colossians 2:2 THE MESSAGE BIBLE)

·         God wants to encourage our hearts.  (Colossians 2:2 NIV)

Prayer Focus: 

Thank God that He is not a far away God who doesn’t hear us when we call upon Him.

Day 159  Encouragement For The Heart

Colossians 2:2 (MSG)

 I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God's great mystery.

That doesn’t sound like God is trying to hide Himself from us but that He wants us to know of Him.  I like the way it says, “woven into a tapestry of love.”  Knowing God is progressive and this relationship comes from daily spending time with Him.  I literally can’t wait to wake up in the morning to see what He is going to show me in my quiet time with Him.  And the basis of any relationship with God is love.

Let’s go back to our scripture, but this time let’s go to the New International Version.

Colossians 2:2 (NIV)

My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ,

God wants us to be “encouraged in heart.”  He doesn’t want us to be fearful of heart or discouraged of heart or even desperate of heart but “encouraged in heart.”  What a wonderful God to care so much for us.

I know when my heart is breaking, I can go to Him and He will encourage my heart.  He’ll show me a scripture about the very thing that my heart is breaking over, or He will speak to me some personal words that makes me say, “Thank You, God.”   What a healing balm He is to my hurting heart!!

GPS  (Directions)

Allow yourself this personal relationship.  He is waiting for you to come to Him.  His arms are wide open and He’s waiting for you.  He wants to heal your heart, take away your fears and He wants to walk with you in the days ahead—arm-in-arm!

Put on your favorite praise CD and sing your heart out to Him.

Prayer Focus:

Thank Him that He is always so available to you!

Day 158  Understanding His Wonders

Philippians 3:10 (NIV)

 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

Whoa!  That’s a little scary, isn’t it?  The Bible says that Jesus conquered death and the grave for us.  What He wants us to do is die to our old ways—our old attitudes and ways of thinking-- our old beliefs and our old patterns of behaving—so that we can become closer to Him.  (2 Timothy 2:11) And He will even help us!!

That being said, let’s go back to the words in bold:  know Christ.  Here’s how the Amplified Bible puts it:

Philippians 3:10 (AMP)

For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly…..”

Hmmm…..”understanding the wonders of His Person….”  That doesn’t happen overnight and we will never clearly know everything about Him until we see Him face to face.  But what I know for sure is that He will reveal Himself to anyone who really wants to know Him here on this earth.

Every morning in my “meeting” with God, I just open my journal and say, “What would you have me to know today?” 

When I first gave my heart to Jesus, I resisted really talking to Him because I really didn’t think He would answer me.  Now I know differently.  Here’s what I know for sure:

He will be to you as personal as you want Him to be!!

You can ask Him anything.  You can talk to Him about your greatest fears and you can present to Him your greatest needs.  After all, He knows you because He made you.  He just wants you to know Him that same way.  It’s a wonderful journey!!

If you haven’t had the courage to set a time and a place to have your “meeting with God,” please don’t hesitate to do so.  When you go to your meeting place each day, He will be there waiting for you.  That in itself is amazing!!

GPS (Directions)

Let God confirm His love to you through these scriptures:

·         Hosea 6:3

·         John 17:3

·         John 8: 32

Prayer Focus:

Thank Him for meeting with you today!

Day 157     The Character of God

Jeremiah 9:24 (NIV)

…. but let the one who boasts boast about this:  that they have the understanding to know Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD.

The Amplified Bible says, “…..understands and knows Me [personally and practically, directly discerning and recognizing My character], that I am the Lord…”

God has been so misunderstood.  When a person is not grounded in God’s Word, he might look around him and say things like—

·         God took my loved one

·         God gave me this sickness because He wants to teach me something

·         God took that job that should have been mine

I don’t know about you but I could not call this kind of God my Father.  A well meaning father would never do those kind of things to a child he loves. 

God gave His only Son for you and for me.  God is not a taker; He’s a giver.

God is a healer; He does not make people sick.

God is a provider; He does not deplete their bank accounts.

When we study His Word in our devotional time, we learn His character and His ways.  Do those things happen all around us---sickness, loss, premature death---yes, but it is not His doing!!

Here’s what the Word of God says:

John 10:10 (NIV)

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

The Amplified Bible (amplified with the Greek meanings)

“……I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).”

Here’s what God says about the “thief” who comes to steal and kill and destroy:

Isaiah 61:8 (NLT)

 “For I, the Lord, love justice.  I hate robbery and wrongdoing.  I will faithfully reward my people for their suffering and make an everlasting covenant with them.

That’s the Father we love!  That’s the God we serve!

GPS (Directions)

Remember, we are on a journey and you can get there from here. Here are your directions.  Read the road signs below and you will stay on the right path to your destination:

·         Psalms 27: 13-14

·         Psalms 103:6

·         John 3:16

Prayer Focus:

Thank God that He is speaking to you through His Word.