Weekday Devotionals - Susan
Matt 6:33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need. (Need vs. want)
Our character is formed by our values, our attitudes and our priorities. Our character and how we behave is a direct reflection of Christ in us and what our priorities are and are not.
Do I value truth, peace and gratefulness?
Am I snarky, defensive and unreasonable? Unwilling to yield?
Do I practice thankfulness, and kindness and greeting people everywhere with a smile and some hope to share?
Do I give people the benefit of the doubt or form opinions and make judgements based on my feelings?
If your answers don’t line up with God’s character then you need to work on reflecting His character.
We must be intentional about our connection with God at all costs and be intentional about maintaining that connection. Only when we have an intimate connection with God and His Word can we can we praise Him in spite of the circumstances. Life is not always fun or easy but this connection must be our top priority. This requires a dedication to becoming more like Him by spending time with Him and by spending time in His Word. Lack of faith, lack of intentional prayer, and lack of a strong and personal connection with God will hold you back and keep you captive.
This is where I tell you, honestly, that I am not doing a very good job of this in the current season of my life. I still have faith, I trust God wholeheartedly, I talk to Him daily, I read the daily scriptures and the daily devotional but I’m all over the place. It feels very superficial as far as intimacy goes. You can’t call someone an intimate friend if you are not spending “quality time” with them. I need to make some changes in my life like setting apart a special time to spend with God each day. And I may have to make some sacrifices in order to do that.
Luke 9:23&24 tells us us that if you want to be a follower of Christ you have to give up your “stuff”. Let go of your life. Your wants, desires and hurts. You must lay it all down for the sake of Jesus and follow His ways. It’s not always an easy thing to do and that’s why you take up your cross and walk out the hard stuff with Christ in the lead. When you take a step closer to God, He will meet you there. He is faithful and true to His Word. One step at a time and you will find yourself at the same place David was when he wrote Psalm 3: 5&6 “My enemies will chase me but I will lay down in peace. I will awake and God will sustain me
and protect me from my enemies.” This is how we build character, by knowing God and obeying Him. This is how we find peace.
This begs the question - does Jesus have complete authority in my life? The answer? Only if I completely surrender to Him will that be possible.
So let’s tuck in close, each and every day, intentionally, taking our time to breathe in His presence, quiet down and listen for His voice. Let’s lay our burdens down at His feet and let Him do what He loves to do for us. Let Him change us and build our character to be more and more like His.
He loves us like no other can in order to portray His love. We should always be a reflection of that love.
We thank you Lord and we praise you for your love and correction. Amen!
Susan G
Our character is formed by our values, our attitudes and our priorities. Our character and how we behave is a direct reflection of Christ in us and what our priorities are and are not.
Do I value truth, peace and gratefulness?
Am I snarky, defensive and unreasonable? Unwilling to yield?
Do I practice thankfulness, and kindness and greeting people everywhere with a smile and some hope to share?
Do I give people the benefit of the doubt or form opinions and make judgements based on my feelings?
If your answers don’t line up with God’s character then you need to work on reflecting His character.
We must be intentional about our connection with God at all costs and be intentional about maintaining that connection. Only when we have an intimate connection with God and His Word can we can we praise Him in spite of the circumstances. Life is not always fun or easy but this connection must be our top priority. This requires a dedication to becoming more like Him by spending time with Him and by spending time in His Word. Lack of faith, lack of intentional prayer, and lack of a strong and personal connection with God will hold you back and keep you captive.
This is where I tell you, honestly, that I am not doing a very good job of this in the current season of my life. I still have faith, I trust God wholeheartedly, I talk to Him daily, I read the daily scriptures and the daily devotional but I’m all over the place. It feels very superficial as far as intimacy goes. You can’t call someone an intimate friend if you are not spending “quality time” with them. I need to make some changes in my life like setting apart a special time to spend with God each day. And I may have to make some sacrifices in order to do that.
Luke 9:23&24 tells us us that if you want to be a follower of Christ you have to give up your “stuff”. Let go of your life. Your wants, desires and hurts. You must lay it all down for the sake of Jesus and follow His ways. It’s not always an easy thing to do and that’s why you take up your cross and walk out the hard stuff with Christ in the lead. When you take a step closer to God, He will meet you there. He is faithful and true to His Word. One step at a time and you will find yourself at the same place David was when he wrote Psalm 3: 5&6 “My enemies will chase me but I will lay down in peace. I will awake and God will sustain me
and protect me from my enemies.” This is how we build character, by knowing God and obeying Him. This is how we find peace.
This begs the question - does Jesus have complete authority in my life? The answer? Only if I completely surrender to Him will that be possible.
So let’s tuck in close, each and every day, intentionally, taking our time to breathe in His presence, quiet down and listen for His voice. Let’s lay our burdens down at His feet and let Him do what He loves to do for us. Let Him change us and build our character to be more and more like His.
He loves us like no other can in order to portray His love. We should always be a reflection of that love.
We thank you Lord and we praise you for your love and correction. Amen!
Susan G
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