God’s confidence

08 May 2012 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags:

“When you are handed over, do not worry about how to speak or what to say; what you are to say will be given to you when the time comes, because it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you.” ~Matthew 10:19-20 (CEB)

It is easy to sit at home and contemplate deep Godly thoughts. But if things got rough could I stand up for Jesus or would I turn away. Would I be like Peter and deny Him? God doesn’t want us to worry about these moments of trials. As long as we maintain an intimate relationship with God we have the confidence that the Holy Spirit is with us. When the time comes that we have to stand up for what we believe we can count on the Holy Spirit to give us the words that we need.

God wants us to be confident in all that we do for Him. Ephesians 6:10 says “Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and his powerful strength.” Spending time in His word and in prayer helps to build and maintain an intimate relationship with God. The more I know of the Bible the stronger my words will be when it counts. If I hide His word in my heart it will find its way to my mouth in times of trial.

Despite the fact that I do not like to debate and that I want to avoid confrontations, even I can be confident in Christ. I can rest assured that if a moment comes that I must speak for Him, the Holy Spirit will walk me through the encounter feeding me the words that need to be said.

Gracious Lord, I find comfort knowing that at times of trial the Holy Spirit will stand with me. Help me build and maintain an intimate relationship with You so that I may feel the strength of Your Holy Spirit. Amen

The power of words

08 May 2012 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags:

“With lots of words comes wrongdoing, but the wise restrain their lips.” ~Proverbs 10:19 (CEB)

Words are powerful. Because our words carry so much power, it is important that we learn to say only what is essential. Benjamin Franklin said, “He that would live in peace and at ease must not speak all he knows or sees.” Oh that I could learn this lesson… when to keep my mouth shut! Once the words are out there you can’t take it back. You can apologize for things that you have said, but you can never retrieve them.

Something my mother always told us growing up was, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” This is good advice! We should restrain our lips from negative speech, gossip, sarcasm, insincere flattery, coarse jesting, or being funny in a rude way. Instead we should use our mouth to encourage others, looking for and finding the good qualities in people, choosing to speak well of those around us.

This positive speaking of others also helps to adjust our attitude towards those we come in contact with frequently. What our mouth speaks our heart soon believes. If I can speak positively about someone I deal with daily, my attitude towards that person can improve even if they are not my favorite person to deal with!

Guard my words O Lord, may they reflect your love to the world around me. Help me to remember that sometimes silence is wiser than anything I might choose to say. Amen.

The cost of sin

08 May 2012 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: ,

So it is also written, the first human, Adam, became a living person, and the last Adam became a spirit that gives life. ~1 Corinthians 15:45 (CEB)

 

Even though I have been born into sin, I am set free through Jesus. This is not just one of those cliché sayings. It is not just fancy words that Christians throw around. Jesus’ life blood conquers and overcomes the death that works in us through sin. Because Jesus came into the world we can have new life.

God in the beginning created a world where humans had authority over their lives, but Adam and Eve gave away their authority when they took a bite from the “tree of knowledge”. With knowledge came self-awareness and death. God sent Jesus into the world to give us back authority over our lives. He came to conquer each of our deaths that we may have abundant life. To be able to harness the power of Jesus’ blood over our lives we need to understand that through Adam sin entered the world. David confirmed this truth in Psalm 51:5 “Yes, I was born in guilt, in sin, from the moment my mother conceived me.” Adam passed down this sinful blood to us. Jesus because he was born of God and not man has life in his blood. Our lives have been purchased though Christ’s life blood when he died on the cross. Christ is the last Adam and because he became a spirit that gives life.

Sin has a cost. If I hold onto my sin the cost is my life. If I can accept that Jesus paid the cost for me I can live. There is another twist to this. If I don’t accept that Jesus died to give me life did he die for nothing? That reality is a little harder for me to bear. I can easily say I am not worthy, my sins are too great or not now but later I will listen to Christ’s teachings. The truth is Christ died so that even I might have life. When I think about Christ’s suffering on the cross, it pains me to think by rejecting this truth it is as if I am saying, “You suffered this horrendous death for nothing.” This puts any rejection of him in a new light.

Lord, may I not let you have suffered in vain! Help me to accept your truth in my life. Set me free so I may live. Amen.

God fights our giants

08 May 2012 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , ,

“The LORD, “David added, “who rescued me from the power of both lions and bears, will rescue me from the power of this Philistine.” “Go!” Saul replied to David. “And may the LORD be with you!” ~1 Samuel 17:37(CEB)

 

I like the story of David and Goliath. The boy verses the giant and the boy wins. It isn’t the underdog theme that I love it is the confidence that David shows us in the story. He had such an intimate relationship with God that he KNEW that God would take care of him. How did he know? David knew God would take care of him because they had a history together. David tells us some of this history. “The Lord, who rescued me from the power of both lions and bears, will rescue me from the power of this Philistine.” David had confidence to fight the giant because he had a history with God where God had delivered him from the lions and bears. To him it was a natural assumption that God would take care of him in this situation as well.

It is important for us to be aware of the times that God has worked in our lives. Even the small things He has done for us. Recalling the small things He has done bolsters our confidence for the big things in life. If God only came waltzing through our lives at the big events we might not have the faith we need to believe that he will show up in great times of need. But I think he blesses us even in small things so that we can learn to trust him and as our trust grows and our relationship blossoms we gain the confidence that we need for the big battles in life.

The challenge for us is to look for those small blessings that God bestows on us. Sometimes they might be easy to overlook or to say that it is just coincidence. When we learn to look for God in the small moments of our lives we will gain the knowledge we need to see him in the crucial times as well. God is always with us. We have to train our eyes to see him at work in our lives.

Heavenly Father, I know the Bible tells me that you are always with me. Open my eyes to see you in the small ordinary moments so that I will be confident to find you in the trials of life. Amen.

Satan’s games

08 May 2012 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , ,

But the LORD is the one who is marching before you! He is the one who will be with you! He won’t let you down. He won’t abandon you. So don’t be afraid or scared!” ~ Deuteronomy 31:8

 

One of the biggest battles that Satan wages against us is getting us to believe that we are alone. I find myself falling into this trap often. This is a good verse to carry around in your heart. Deuteronomy 31:8 says that God will go before me, He will be with me and He won’t abandon me. This verse tells me that God won’t abandon me so I shouldn’t be afraid.

Recently I read something Joyce Meyer wrote, “Satan wants you to believe you are alone. He wants you to believe that no one understands how you feel, but his claims are false. In addition to God being with you, many believers understand what you are experiencing mentally and emotionally.” Satan wants me to lose sight of the simple truths found in the Bible. It is easy to forget that God wants to comfort us and deliver us when we are in the middle of pain and loss.

Part of the loneliness trap that Satan sets for me is playing the game of not sharing what is going on in my life. Then I get mad when no one notices that my life is falling apart. It is as if I just expect people to see the pain that I am going through but if I don’t open up and share what is going on in my life, then how do they know to reach out to me. I have a responsibility to meet people half way in relationships. Finding people that are “safe” to share my hurts and sorrows with takes time. But if I do not get involved and discover the people that God has placed within my reach then I am falling for the lies that Satan tells me and I will continues to find myself alone.

Heavenly Father, help me to hide in my heart the truth. You are with me and will never leave me alone. You provide for all my needs. Open my eyes to know the friendships you have set in place for me and close my ears to Satan’s lies. Amen.

Dissapointments

08 May 2012 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , ,

Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will run away from you. ~ James 4:7 (CEB)

 

Another area that Satan can get at me is in my disappointments. Satan is right there waiting to attack me when I am at my lowest, at the end of a broken dream. I wonder “why did I get my hopes us so high”, “I know better”, “I am worthless”, “I should have known nothing good is meant to come my way”. These are lies that Satan feeds me. This is not life as God means for us to live. He wants us to have joy, even among the pieces of our shattered hopes and dreams.

Jesus came to minister to the broken hearted, the oppressed, the hopeless. He came so that I might have life. Here is another phrase that I have heard through the years. Jesus came so that we might have life. Satan doesn’t want me to live, so he feeds me lies to keep me in death. Jesus wants me to live so He came into the world to breath new life and hope into my heart. If I believe the lies that Satan feeds me then I will stay defeated and my heart dies slowly bit by bit every day. If I hear God’s truth that I AM worthy and that He wants to bless my life beyond what I can ever imagine than I can LIVE. My disappointments don’t define who I am. God’s love for me is the only definition that I need to know.

Jesus is waiting on the sidelines offering me hope amidst the disappointments of life. Satan wants me to stay defeated. Christ came so that I can have hope. Christ came so that I can live. I need to hide these truths deep within my heart so that I can resist the lies that Satan wants to feed my soul.

Sometimes Lord, the lies seem louder in my ears than your promises. Help me hide your truths deep in my heart so that when the noise of Satan threatens to overwhelm me Your truth will bubble up and overflow until I can no longer hear anything but Your love for me. Amen.

Meeting others needs out of our abundance

08 May 2012 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Uncategorized

But the LORD says, “Because the poor are oppressed, because of the groans of the needy, I’m now standing up. I will provide the help they are gasping for.” ~ Psa 12:5 (CEB)

I have heard people say that they have a hard time believing in a God that allows bad things to happen. I struggle with this sometimes too. Recently I saw a picture posted to Facebook that said, “Sometimes I want to ask God why he allows poverty, famine and injustice in the world when He could do something about it, but I am afraid He just might ask me the same question.”

Am I really doing all that I need to be doing? My pastor a few weeks back made a comment to me that there is enough in the world for everyone. Greed, politics and simply cluelessness keep needs from being met. Her sermon series the last few weeks has been focusing on hunger and meeting that hunger out of our abundance.

When you hear the staggering statistics of people who are starving and dying it feels overwhelming. But instead of turning away from the problem I need to remember that even though there is more than I can do, there is enough for everyone to do something. The point is no, I can’t solve all the problems, but I can find one place that I can make a difference.

Heavenly Father, help me to see with your eyes, hear with your ears and love with your heart. You placed us in the world with the purpose of taking care of the earth and all that live on it. Guide me as I strive to be your hands and feet in the world. May I always be aware of what I can do to make a difference. Amen.

God is Love

08 May 2012 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags:

He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. ~1 John 4:8

 

Some people dismiss Christianity because God cannot be proved, cannot be seen, but here in 1 John 4:8 it says that God is love. The results of love ARE something that can be seen. It can be seen in my behavior and how I treat people. Love causes me to put someone else’s needs ahead of my own. Love has stirred people to do things for me that have blessed me beyond what I could imagine.

First John 4:8 says God is love. To know God I need to love. Gal 5:14 says “All the Law has been fulfilled in a single statement: Love your neighbor as yourself.” When I do as Jesus commanded, loving my neighbors I will see God’s love. How do I love? If we look at 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 we can find many examples of how to love:

Love endures long; it has the ability to put up with stuff for a long time.
Love is never envious; it doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love is not boastful or vainglorious; it doesn’t call attention to itself.
Love is not conceited or rude.
Love doesn’t insist on its own way.
Love pays no attention to a suffered wrong.
Love never gives up!

When I live a life of love there are plenty of opportunities to see love in action. Love can do some pretty unexplainable and amazing things! In those moments I can get glimpses of God.

Heavenly father, I thank you for loving me, I thank you for Your word that guides how to love and instructs how to live. May I not miss those moments that you have given me to catch a glimpse of You. Amen.

Sharing Freely Our Knowledge

08 May 2012 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Quotes Tags:

Often we think that we do not know enough to be able to teach others.  We might even become hesitant to tell others what we know, out of fear that we won’t have anything left to say when we are asked for more.

This mind-set makes us anxious, secretive, possessive, and self-conscious.  But when we have the courage to share generously with others all that we know, whenever they ask for it, we soon discover that we know a lot more than we thought.  It is only by giving generously from the well of our knowledge that we  discover how deep that well is.

- Henri J. M. Nouwen

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