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A Seeking Heart

Tag Archives: God’s love

Termites, Traps and a New Perspective

28 Wednesday Apr 2021

Posted by Melissa G in Encouragement

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a different perspective, be encouraged, breaking the enemy's traps, encouragement for the weary, getting the right perspective, God's love, God's Word, how to recognize a miracle, miracles, more love than we could imagine

My husband travels a lot… A LOT.

You would think this makes the time we are together fun, happy and exciting.
What actually has started happening though is a ticking time bomb.

Expectations you try not to have develop anyway.

Stressors you try to eliminate rear their head anyway.

Conversations you wish you could keep putting off must happen anyway.

Get the idea?

All of this played into a really bad weekend in the recent past… a REALLY bad weekend. It was so bad that on Sunday I almost stayed home from church because I just didn’t want to have to fake smile at people and I certainly didn’t want to vomit all of my emotions on friends who had innocently come to church to worship Jesus. I truly wanted the focus to be on the Lord.

I did end up going to church. Yes, I was still mad. I didn’t even want my husband to bump into me accidentally. I didn’t want to deal with him, but I still wanted to worship.

Towards the end of my pastor’s sermon, he stated that God will even break the traps the enemy sets for you. He said it was in Psalm 91, but didn’t give the exact verse. I wrote down the thought in my notebook and decided to look it up later.

A few minutes after the service, my husband and I were on our way home when I asked him if he could give me a few days to be alone with Jesus so He could teach me how to not put up walls in our relationship. I was asking to not have to text, video chat, etc. while he was travelling that week …at least for the first few days. We talked a little bit more about how things were going in our relationship and went home to have pizza in the bed. Yep, you read that correctly. As stated before…it was a pizza in bed kind of a day.

About an hour into the afternoon, a swarm of termites decided to make their presence known. As we were scrambling around trying to take care of things, I told my man I may end up in a hotel that week and he asked me to travel with him instead. I calmly…ahem…explained that we had not scheduled for our dog to be boarded… and it was Sunday. There was no way we could find a place to board Brutus.

He asked, “If I can find a place to board Brute, will you go with me?”

I said, “Sure.” Not thinking for one minute it would really be possible.

That man of mine made one phone call and had our dog boarded within 40 minutes. I started packing and spent the week near Indianapolis. So, instead of a week of turmoil, anger and frustration, we were able to reconnect and set things on a better path. All I could think of for days was the verse our pastor had shared. God had truly broken the trap the enemy had set for my husband and I’s relationship.

A few days later I had a further epiphany. If I had chosen to not go to church that Sunday, I would not have been reminded of Psalm 91.

If I would not have been reminded of Psalm 91, my perspective would have been completely different. When the termites swarmed, I would have thought I was being punished for not going to church. I would have thought I was being punished for not sucking up my emotions. I would have thought I just needed to put my wants and needs to the side when in reality God still would have been breaking the trap the enemy had set for us. Everything would have been the same beautiful miracle, but I would have felt condemned instead of loved. I would have actually fallen into a different trap the enemy had set for me if not for the right perspective of God’s Word.

It really made me wonder how many times I have looked at a miracle, at the breaking of the enemy’s trap, and seen punishment instead of protection. How many times have I seen a trap of the enemy be broken, but I fell into another trap right beside it because I simply forgot to remember what the Word of God had to say about it.

How many times?

I pray in the days ahead we can hear the breaking of the traps easily and realize the miracle it is, realize the love it shows and see the perspective God’s Word shines on it.

Hear the breaking of your trap today.

http://www.seekinghearts.org

Here is the link to the sermon I mentioned… it’s so good….https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrIAS8n3sVs

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Preserving Time

07 Monday Oct 2019

Posted by Melissa G in Encouragement

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does God love me, does God provide, encouragement, God's character, God's faithfulness, God's love, God's love for us, relying on God, trusting God, trusting god in hard times, trusting god's refinement, truth

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Psalm 32:7 says, “Thou art my hiding place; Thou dost preserve me from trouble; Thou dost surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.”

The Lord will preserve us from trouble. He is our hiding place. He surrounds us with songs of deliverance.

You might be thinking, “Really? All I see is trouble. All I know is abandonment and all I hear is madness.”

Look closely, my friend. He is here. He is your hiding place.

He was in your past.

He will be in your future and He is here now, in your today.

Even if your trouble surrounds you, you are winning your battle because He is on your side. He is in the midst of it, know that He is preserving you.

Remember what it’s like when you are canning vegetables from your garden? Things get hot. This is all in the process of preserving, isn’t it? Through that process, things get hot and uncomfortable (for us and the vegetables). Just like those garden goodies, we would like to stay on the vine, being watered gently daily and basking in the pleasant sunshine. We don’t like the boiling water bath, but that’s the only way true preservation can take place.

God’s preserving methods sometimes feel just as uncomfortable as canning must feel to a vegetable (if it had feelings), but rest assured you are being protected, preserved and sheltered for the winter ahead.

I Peter 5:10 says, “And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm,  strengthen and establish you.” What better preserving could we ask for?

To take our example a little farther, nothing tastes sweeter than fresh vegetables from your own garden. You can buy things from a local Farmer’s Market, but the absolute best is knowing that through God’s provision and your own hard work, the food you are eating came from your own plot.

So it is with God’s spiritual provision for us, we can hear other’s testimonies (and they are encouraging), but there is nothing like experiencing our own tests and coming out victorious.

We are then experiencing our own fresh fruit from our own God-given garden. Spiritual preservation can then provide fresh faith for us in the middle of our spiritual winters. We “open up” our jar of faith and remember God has already provided in times past and He can and will provide for our now. We just have to open up what’s already on the shelf. Ephesians 1:3 tells us that we have already been blessed with every spiritual blessing.

It is so  frustrating to buy tomato juice at the grocery store only to discover another stack of homemade, well-preserved juice ready to use. Somehow, I always manage to shove a few jars behind some green beans, or jelly of some sort. They are forgotten for a time. When I finally find those jars, they can still be used, but oh, how great it would have been in that homemade soup last week!?

Just like those forgotten jars of juice, we need to remember that God has provided for us. He has preserved us and established us with exactly what is needed. Sometimes though, His provision gets relegated to the back.

Let’s ask Him to help us remember what has already been preserved in us. Let’s open up what He has already established in us! Let’s feast on what He has already provided.

Psalm 32:7 also talks about God surrounding us with songs of deliverance.

I really enjoy singing when I’m in the kitchen, don’t you? There’s nothing like humming (or belting out) a little tune while going about our tasks. So, just imagine that while God is in “our kitchens” preserving us for the coming winter’s trials, He is actually singing over us as He works. I love that! He is molding us and preserving us into the men and women that He designed for us to be.

God is excited throughout the preserving process knowing that what He is making us into now is exactly what we need to be in our future. The process may be hot at times, but He is lovingly watching the clock, knowing exactly how many minutes we need in the boiling water to produce the desired results, all the while singing precious songs over us.

When we allow Him to guide the process, He never allows a jar to crack; He never ruins a batch. He is the Perfect Preserver.

No matter if we are in the middle of needing to hide in Him, being preserved by Him for the coming winter, or hearing clearly His songs of deliverance, let’s rest in Him today.

Rest in Him knowing that He will never leave us, or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). He will not ever stop loving us (I John 3:1) and He will always perfectly preserve us for the coming days (Psalm 41:2).

Seeking Hearts Ministries

My Story

 

** Photo by simplyeclectic.com

 

When God Doesn’t do what you Thought He Would

12 Friday May 2017

Posted by Melissa G in Christian Growth, Encouragement

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am I too bad to love, burdens, does god ever fail, does God have a dark side, does God love me, god has no dark side, god never fails, God's love, God's truth, is god moody, never failing God, our god is good, struggling with God, trust, truth, when you struggle with trust, why does God let bad things happen, why doesn't god fix this, why wont god help me

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I’ve said for some time now that there is a certain crisis of faith that comes to every human when deciding whether they believe God can do what He says He can do. Can He really save me? Can He really heal? Can He really drop manna from the sky? And then, there is the crisis of faith that comes when you know without a doubt that God can move mountains, but He’s just not doing it for you. I mean, what is more frustrating than knowing that someone, anyone, can help, they’re just choosing not to? When that happens, a whole new crisis of faith occurs. Your mountain is looming large and you know your God can move it, but He’s choosing not to and you are left floundering with questions. Is my God really good? Can my God really be trusted? Does He really have a plan for my good? Do I really matter to Him?

I’m not going to pretend to know all the answers to why God is allowing certain things in your life. I’m not even going to pretend to know why He is allowing certain things in my life. I’m not going to pretend to have the answers as to why God would allow children to have cancer, rapists to go free, or even why food can’t be put on every table this week? But, I can tell you (and me) what to focus on when God doesn’t do what we want Him to do.

Let me start by assuring you that you do indeed have a good God. You have a God who does choose to move mountains for you. You have a God who wants you to look like Him and act like Him and love Him as He loves you. You have a never failing, never ceasing, never forsaking God who has a detailed plan for you since before the first molecule was on this earth. Know that because it’s true.

Lamentations 3:17-26 says, “My soul has been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is. Then I thought: My future is lost, as well as my hope from the LORD. Remember my affliction and my homelessness, the wormwood and the poison. I continually remember them and have become depressed. Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness! I say: The LORD is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in Him. The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him. It is good to wait quietly for deliverance from the LORD.” Verses 31-33 go on to say, “For the Lord will not reject us forever. Even if He causes suffering, He will show compassion according to His abundant, faithful love. For He does not enjoy bringing affliction or suffering on mankind.”

This passage is so great. We get to see the struggle that Jeremiah had with what was happening all around him and to him. He couldn’t understand it and he became depressed. He even admits in this passage that he lost his hope in the Lord. Then, he decided to remember who His God is. He decided to think about God’s faithfulness, His love and His mercies. He decided that The Lord was his portion for this life and his hope. He decided to rest in God knowing that His God would come through. God’s deliverance obviously wouldn’t look like Jeremiah thought it would. It obviously wouldn’t come at the time that Jeremiah thought that it should, but Jeremiah decided to look up, remember His God and trust. That’s the kind of faith I want, don’t you?

First John 1:5 tells us, “Now this is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in Him.” You can trust that. Our God has no ulterior motives. He has no dark side. He is good. He is holy. He is true and He. Is. In. Love. With. You.

Song of Solomon 7:10 says, “I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me.” God’s desire is toward you. God wants to be with you. He wants to be so melded with you that all people see is Him being uniquely displayed through your personality, your giftings and your sweet face. He has fashioned you for such a time as this and will not stop pursuing you until every fiber of your being is His. He is obsessed with you. Hebrews 13:5 says He will never leave us and Zephaniah 3:17 says He sings over us.  That is not a God who fails. That is a God who loves. Believe that today. Know it with every fiber of your being. If you have to be like the father in Mark 9:24 who said, “I do believe!” and then, quickly added, “Help my unbelief,” so be it, but keep pressing in to your God. He can be trusted. He will come through. He will strengthen you for the task and He is worthy of every fragment of faith you place in Him. He has you, precious one. He has you. Rest in that today.

Seeking Hearts Ministries          My Story

Forgiveness During the Holidays – Part 1

09 Friday Dec 2016

Posted by Melissa G in Christian Growth

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can i really forgive, dealing with family at Christmas, dealing with hurts, does God expect me to forgive, does God really want me to forgive, does God want me to stay in an abusive relationship, forgiveness, forgiving, freeing myself from unforgiveness, getting free, God's love, how can I forgive that, how to be free emotionally, how to forgive, staying free, trusting God, unforgiveness, what does forgiveness look like

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As we are all in the middle of this Holiday Season, some of are having the time of our lives being with family we don’t see as often, neighbors we seldom find at home and friends whom we love dearly, but schedules often don’t match.

Others of us are quite stressed dealing with family, friends and neighbors. We can avoid them during the year, but not at Christmas. Old wounds pop up and the stress mounts. So, as weird as the timing may seem, I feel led to share how God has helped me to deal with unforgiveness in my life.

I want to be very honest and tell you that forgiveness is something that does not come easily for me and I am lots better at forgiving things that have happened to me personally than things that have happened to my husband, or especially to my boys.

Oftentimes, what I struggle with is not the act of forgiving as much as what does forgiveness look like moving forward. I believe that forgiveness does not look the same in every situation. The process usually is, but not necessarily what it looks like afterwards.

For example, if you have been abused as a child, or as an adult, and through the power of the Holy Spirit you are able to release that situation into the hands of our Righteous Judge, know that forgiveness in that situation does not mean that you will stay with a person who abuses you.

If you are being hurt, forgiveness does not mean that you stay and keep getting hurt. If you are being wounded, forgiveness does not mean you stay in a situation that continues to bring you harm.

Forgiveness is being completely free of bitterness, anger and the hurt that was caused. Forgiveness is not about being unwise. It’s about being free.

Forgiveness is not trusting someone who you know will hurt your children just like they hurt you. That is not what God expects when He is calling us to forgive.

Another example of being called to forgive could be if someone lied about you and everyone in your neighborhood believes it. Sometimes, forgiveness requires living your life, doing what God has called you to do each and every day and allowing your character to speak for you. Not cussing people out, not being cruel when that person comes around, but simply being who God is calling you to be. God is calling us to be people of grace, love and mercy shining the light of Jesus. People will notice how you respond to a person who wrongs you. It may take a while, but God makes sure the truth comes out. Here are some great examples of what forgiveness may look like in this kind of situation:

Proverbs 25:21-22 says, “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.”

Proverbs 15:1 says, “A gentle answer turns away anger, but a harsh word stirs up wrath.”

So, you see? Forgiveness in one situation may look like getting away, but not allowing the hurt to come with you. Whereas in another situation, forgiveness may look like a person holding their tongue from what they really want to say while allowing God to show others who you are in Him.

Both situations can only be accomplished through the Lord and may seem impossible, but Jesus says in Matthew 19:26, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Jesus readily admitted that certain things were only possible with God and I believe forgiveness is one of them.

There are many other ways God may ask you to show forgiveness. These are just a couple of examples to help us understand that forgiveness may look different for every person reading this depending on what they are called to forgive.

So, how do we come to a place of forgiveness?

Can it be instantaneous?

Can it take a few months, or even a few years?

Simply put…yes. I have had all of the above.

The answer is that it will take as long as you and God need it to take.

Let me just say as well, that even when you have truly forgiven someone, things can still pop back up. A random thought, a word, a look, or even a Facebook message can trigger an issue you thought you had forgiven long ago. Don’t stuff it down. Know that God wants you to deal with it once again with Him. He never tires of helping us get through our struggles.

I think when Jesus told Peter to forgive 70×7, He knew that oftentimes the forgiveness needs to happen every time we remember the offense. Sometimes, people really do wrong us over and over and over when we can’t get out of a situation, but most of the time it’s our remembrance of the event that causes the need for multiple times of forgiveness. Our minds just keep replaying it and replaying it and replaying it and we are called to forgive every single time. Again, we can only do that through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Just so we are on the same wavelength let me tell you how the dictionary defines forgiveness: “To absolve from payment of (a debt, for example); to renounce anger or resentment against”.

Absolve means you do away with it; you cancel it. Do they owe you something? Absolutely, there is a debt involved, but you are choosing to cancel that debt so you are no longer tied to that situation in any way. As long as someone owes you something, you are still connected and tied to one another, but when you release that debt…no more strings…you are absolutely free.

The other part of that definition says, “…to renounce anger, or resentment — to give up, esp. by formal announcement; to reject.”

So, you are rejecting anger and resentment…that’s forgiveness.

Again the question: How do we get to a place of forgiveness? How do we get to the place of rejecting the anger and resentment?

1 – We have got to know that God loves us.

You see how it always comes back to that? That’s your foundation. (If you haven’t been able to see the YouTube session on God’s love, I highly recommend you do so. Knowing how much He loves us is the foundation of our trust in Him and knowing He can be trusted is how we are able to forgive. Here’s the link : God’s Love – Session 1)

Forgiveness is another layer of trusting God and we can’t trust God fully until we know how much He loves us.

Why is that so important?

God is sovereign. Whatever comes into our lives, passes through His hands(remember in John 10:27-29 Jesus says He will never let go of us so, everything must pass through His hands). Whether we view it as good, or bad, whatever He allows is to bring us closer to Him and closer to the people that He has created us to be.

How can you possibly trust the hands of someone you don’t believe loves you? How can you possibly believe that everything (good, or bad) that has passed through those hands is for your ultimate good, if you don’t know He loves you?

The first step to forgiving anyone is knowing God loves you enough to take care of you in any situation.

 2- Second step to forgiveness is focusing on God and not the situation.

You know He loves you and now you are going to stay focused on Him.

You are not looking around at what everyone has done to you. You are focused on Him.

I alluded to this passage a minute ago, but we are going to read it in its entirety now.

Matthew 18:21-33 says, “Then Peter came to Him and said, ‘Lord, how many times could my brother sin against me and I forgive him? As many as seven times?’ ‘I tell you, not as many as seven,’ Jesus said to him, ‘but 70 times seven. For this reason, the kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. When he began to settle accounts, one who owed 10,000 talents was brought before him. Since he had no way to pay it back, his master commanded that he, his wife, his children, and everything he had be sold to pay the debt. At this, the slave fell facedown before him and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything!’ Then the master of that slave had compassion, released him, and forgave him the loan. But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him 100 denarii. He grabbed him, started choking him, and said, ‘Pay what you owe!’ At this, his fellow slave fell down and began begging him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ But he wasn’t willing. On the contrary, he went and threw him into prison until he could pay what was owed. When the other slaves saw what had taken place, they were deeply distressed and went and reported to their master everything that had happened. Then, after he had summoned him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’”

This is an amazing illustration of Jesus reminding us to not focus on what people have done to us, but rather focus on how much we have been forgiven ourselves.

That’s so hard. I know it’s hard, but it’s a great way to be able to forgive people. We must remember that we had such a huge sin debt and our beautiful, merciful, Prince Charming of a God has forgiven every bit of it.

We will be too busy being thankful to worry about what someone has done to us because our focus is on Him.

Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep the mind ⌊that is⌋ dependent ⌊on You⌋ in perfect peace, for it is trusting in You.”

So, we can remain secure in our forgiveness of others by our minds being dependent on our God and remembering who He is and being focused on His love for us.

 Forgiveness is about what God did for us and not what someone did to us.

It’s not about comparing whose sin is bigger, it’s remembering to be thankful for how much God has forgiven us.

That’s where I’m going to cut off today’s blog, but know there are 3 more points on how to forgive coming in the next blog. When you are trying to forgive, I pray that you will be honest with God about the difficulty you are having and trust Him to give you the power to forgive every time you see the person, read a Facebook message, or remember the offense. Pour over the Scripture that He shows you from this blog and other resources knowing that He wants you to be free not just during this Holiday Season, but in the year to come as well.

Seeking Hearts Ministries

My Story

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Sometimes Love Looks Like a Potty

25 Friday Nov 2016

Posted by Melissa G in Encouragement

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assumptions, christian walk, encouragement, family life, focus, getting the right perspective, God's love, God's practical love, having the right perspective of God's love, how God shows His love to us, love, perspective, practical ways to love, reality of family life, seeing God's love every day, seeing God's love for us, what love looks like

potty image.jpg

Yes, you read the title right. After 24 years of marriage, (I hate to break it to the newlyweds), love sometimes looks like a brand, spanking new, no clog, beautiful porcelain, name brand potty. Sometimes, love does look like you imagined growing up with all the candlelight, moonlight and any other light you can imagine, but oftentimes in the existence of everyday issues, a potty is involved.

Last week, we had an issue in our home and a new potty got moved from the someday list to the today list. After a few calls to my guy, he was able to buy, deliver and install said potty within a few hours. Wow! What a man! We teased each other about our “potty love” for the rest of the night. The really crazy thing is if he had brought me flowers that day and took me to a candlelit dinner I wouldn’t have felt as loved as I did with him installing our new potty. Love needed to look different from a fairy tale that day.

I wonder how often God shows me His love in practical ways every day, but because it’s not what I imagined, I don’t see it?

Believe me, the day of the potty I felt God’s love as well as my man’s. You see, my guy wasn’t even supposed to be able to come home until the next evening, but unexpectedly he finished what could be done on the job site and was able to come home…a whole day early! Our God is practical in His love.

If God had sent me a phone call from a friend that day when I really needed a potty, I wouldn’t have felt His love as much. He gave me what I needed and I was able to feel how loved and cherished I am to Him.

On other days, if a potty showed up at my door, I would have been thankful, but very confused. I’m sure those were the days that a call from a friend did come because that’s what I needed that day. You see? We need eyes wide open to see all the ways God shows His love to us just like I need eyes wide open to see all the ways that my guy shows his love for me. Some days, it’s candlelight and some days… it’s a potty.

Look around this Holiday Season and notice all the ways God is showing His love to you. Did your family’s favorite pie turn out just right? That’s God’s love. Did your pie get burned to a crisp, but your new daughter-in-law needed to see you’re not perfect? That’s God’s love to both of you. Did you have money to buy the ingredients for the pie? Did you have a stove to cook it in? All God’s love. Didn’t have any of that? Well, how about air to breathe? That’s God’s love. Water to drink? God’s love. A coat to wear? God’s love. A hug from a friend? God’s love. The ability to read this blog? God’s love. God shows His love in many, many ways we just need eyes to see it.

So, as you look around for all the ways that God is choosing to show His love for you over the next few days, pray that seeing His love becomes a habit. Pray that you will see and feel His love as you never have before and realize that sometimes God’s love looks like candlelight, but oftentimes times it looks like a new potty.

Seeking Hearts Ministries

My Story

 

 

God’s Love for Us

02 Wednesday Nov 2016

Posted by Melissa G in Christian Growth, Encouragement

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describing God's love, filling the holes in your life, God's love, God's love for us, God's love for you, how much does God love us, Jesus loves you, love, our God, Prince Charming, satisfaction, true love, true satisfaction, what does God do all day

love-word image (image by JattDiSite)

Hey Everbody!

This week’s blog is a little different than normal. God opened up some amazing opportunities in the last few weeks and led me to launch a YouTube channel! So, I am linking you all to the site where you can see a meeting where I was able to describe God’s love for us in a little more detail than you may have heard before.

I’m super excited about it, so let me know what you think!

YouTube – God’s Love

In Awe

07 Friday Oct 2016

Posted by Melissa G in Encouragement

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ackowledging our God, Christianity, focus, God's character, God's faithfulness, God's love, God's plan, our awesome God, our reason for living, praising God, reflections, truth

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O Lord, we are in awe of You today. You are majestic in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders and there is none like You.

You are beautiful beyond description and too marvelous for words. You are enthroned on high and You are God alone.

You are Sustainer, our Refuge and any perseverance that we may have. You are our very present help in times of despair and joy. You never leave us, or forsake us and You are the same yesterday, today and forever. You change not and O Lord, we confess we do not wish You to change. You are perfect and glorious, indescribable and all powerful. You are righteous in all Your deeds. Why would we ever want it any other way?

We are not worthy to unlatch Your shoes, yet you choose us to fulfill Your will on this earth. Make us worthy of that call, O God. Yet, in praying that we know that our righteousness will always be as filthy rags. We will always have an agenda, a selfish ambition to seek the praise of others. Not a lot Lord, just a little, when all praise, honor and glory should be Yours alone. Forgive us, Lord. Be our righteousness. Cover us with Your righteousness so all that others see is You.

Help us Lord to give You the praise You deserve. You are awesome. You are true. You are faithful. You are strong. You are glorious. You are all-encompassing. You are love and life and solidarity. You are the only truth and You love us.You are freedom. You are Creator. You are Sustainer. You are boldness. You are delightful. You are energizing. You are God alone and we are in awe of You.

Help us to bring You glory today. Help us to bring You glory tomorrow. Help us to bring You glory for the rest of our days.

Clean our hands Lord so that we may lift them in praise to You. Draw us closer and closer each day so that Your presence is as normal to us as breathing. You are our breath. You are our heartbeat. You are our Lord and we are in awe of You.

You are all wisdom, all knowledge, all power, yet You allow us to abide in You and touch the hem of Your garment. We are in awe of You.

Help us to worship You in spirit and in truth. Help us to know that You are worth more than anything this world can offer. Help us to love You as You alone deserve to be loved. Help us to know to the core of our being that You are the best and no other offer can compare.

Help us to know that we must see the mountain in order to see the miracle and help us to trust You to remove that mountain, or when the mountain is looming ever closer that You have already given us the strength to climb it. You are God and we are in awe of You.

No words can explain You and nothing that anyone can say, or do thwarts Your plan. You are God. We are in awe of You.

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Seeking Hearts Ministries                 My Personal Story

What You Can Know

19 Friday Aug 2016

Posted by Melissa G in Encouragement

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basics of Christianity, Christian encouragement, christian walk, clinging to hope, devotional, encouragement, faith, faithfulness, family devotions, family time, focus, God, God's love, hope, joy, knowing, knowing God, life, love, our faithful God, perspective, truth

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In a hymn by William Fullerton we see these words:

“I cannot tell how silently He suffered, as with His peace He graced the place of tears, or how His heart upon the cross was broken, the crown of pain to three and thirty years. BUT THIS I KNOW, He heals the broken hearted, and stays our sin, and calms our lurking fear, and lifts the burden from the heavy laden, for yet the Savior, Savior of the world is here.”

This beautiful hymn reminded me that even if life is intense and confusing, even if things around me are murky and unclear, there are many things that I do know. Many things that I can still trust. Many things to be encouraged by. Here are just a few:

God is love.

1 John 4:16 – “And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.”

Jeremiah 31:3 – “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have continued to extend faithful love to you.”

God is good.

Psalm 136:1 – “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good. His love is eternal.”

God is light. No darkness dwells in Him.

I John 1:5 – “Now this is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in Him.”

God is my protection.

Psalm 36:7 – “God, Your faithful love is so valuable that people take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.”

God is my sanctuary.

Psalm 55:22 – “Cast your burden on the LORD, and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.”

Psalm 71:3 – “Be a rock of refuge for me, where I can always go. Give the command to save me, for You are my rock and fortress.”

God is my portion.

Psalm 16:5 – “LORD, You are my portion and my cup ⌊of blessing⌋; You hold my future.”

Psalm 119:57 – “The LORD is my portion; I have promised to keep Your words.”

God is faithful.

Psalm 36:5 – “LORD, Your faithful love ⌊reaches⌋ to heaven, Your faithfulness to the clouds.”

Deuteronomy 7:9 – “Know that Yahweh your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His gracious covenant loyalty for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commands.”

1 Corinthians 10:13 – “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape so that you are able to bear it.”

God is present.

Psalm 46:1 – “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

God is glorious and righteous.

Psalm 97:6 – “The heavens proclaim His righteousness; all the peoples see His glory.”

God is sovereign.

Psalm 138:8 – “The LORD will fulfill ⌊His purpose⌋ for me. LORD, Your love is eternal; do not abandon the work of Your hands.”

God is kind.

Romans 2:4 – “Or do you despise the riches of His kindness, restraint, and patience, not recognizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?”

God is peace.

John 14:27 – “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful.”

John 16:33 – “I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”

Philippians 4:9 – “Do what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.”

God is Healer.

Psalm 103:3 – “He forgives all your sin; He heals all your diseases.”

Luke 6:17-19 –“After coming down with them, He stood on a level place with a large crowd of His disciples and a great number of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon. They came to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those tormented by unclean spirits were made well. The whole crowd was trying to touch Him, because power was coming out from Him and healing them all.”

God is trustworthy.

Romans 4:20, 21 –  “He did not waver in unbelief at God’s promise but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God because he was fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.

God is incomparable.

Psalm 40:5 – “LORD my God, You have done many things— Your wonderful works and Your plans for us; none can compare with You. If I were to report and speak ⌊of them⌋, they are more than can be told.”

God is greater.

1 John 4:4 – “You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

God is FOR me.

Psalm 56:9 – “Then my enemies will retreat on the day when I call. This I know: God is for me.”

God is worth it.

2 Samuel 22:4 – “I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I was saved from my enemies.”

Revelation 4:11 – “Our Lord and God, You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because You have created all things, and because of Your will they exist and were created.”

So, be encouraged. Even when life is bombarding you with situations out of your control and you are struggling to keep your head afloat, cling to what you know. Cling to the God you know. He will not fail.

Fullerton went on to write in his hymn:“I cannot tell how He will win the nations, how He will claim His earthly heritage, how satisfy the needs and aspirations of East and West, of sinner and of sage, BUT THIS I KNOW, all flesh shall see His glory, and He shall reap the harvest He has sown, and some glad day His sun will shine in splendor when He the Savior, Savior of the world is known.”

Trust that today. Trust what you know. Trust in the One you know. God has never failed anyone throughout all eternity and He will not fail you!

Seeking Hearts Ministries      My Story

Full on Replacement Needed!

28 Thursday Jul 2016

Posted by Melissa G in Christian Growth, Encouragement

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Christian encouragement, christian journey, christian walk, Christianity, compelling, devotional, does God send people to hell, encouragement, God's call, God's compassion for the lost, God's love, love, our compassion for the lost, our love, our responsibility, our responsibility to the lost, the lost, the pit, witnessing

Ezekiel 36 heart image

A few years back God began asking me if I really loved people the way that I was called to love them. More specifically, do I love LOST people the way that HE would have me to love them?

Do I love people as He loves people?

Which led to the question: How does God love people anyway?

Most of us know the answer to that question whether we realize it, or not. John 3:16 tells us that God gave everything He had so that we would come to know Him; not just you and me, but every soul on this earth. God’s heart for the lost has such an intensity that we cannot comprehend it. It’s unfathomable!

So, how am I as a Christ follower supposed to love the lost? How can I attain the heart of my Savior? How can I love the lost with the same intensity as God when I can’t even really understand it?

As I was thinking through all of these questions, the Lord had me to imagine a scenario. Think with me for a moment that you and your family were living in a forest. In that same forest there was a lion. The only way to rid you and your family of the lion for ever was to dig a massive pit. You knew that one day you would drive the lion into the pit and he would be in that pit for all time. He would never be able to harm your family again and the whole forest would be at peace.

Before the lion’s time had come, many of your own children fell into the pit that had been dug only for the lion. You had fully anticipated this. After all, the pit was well camouflaged and it was on the main pathway that every one in your family used. To save your family, you had placed a rope in the pit. All your children would have to do would be to grab the rope and you would pull them right out. But, they continually refused to grab the rope! You would plead with them, send others to plead with them, but they would NOT grab the rope! Would your heart not break? Would you not feel to the very core of your being the death of that family member as they expired in the pit for no reason? You would know that they were not supposed to die in that pit. You had made every provision for their escape and they simply refused to accept your help. How would you feel? I imagine that your pain would be unimaginable!

That’s just a small representation of how God must feel when people refuse to accept Him. II Peter 3:9 tells us that God does not want any to perish. He is patiently waiting for all to grab the rope. He has made provision for ALL to escape. Some simply choose to not accept it.

What God did for us is so much more than simply dropping a rope, but this analogy helped me to think about my reaction to people who are still “in the pit”. Do I truly hurt when people refuse to grab the rope or, do I simply think, “They’ve heard the Gospel, my job is done”? Do I plead with them to grab the rope? Or, am I satisfied with my family escaping the pit and flippantly throwing money at the rest of humanity to figure it out? Do I really love the lost?

In Luke 14, we see a description of a slave being told by his Master to compel people to come to the banquet. This is someone who is pleading for people to grab the rope. Not once, but many times. If possible, this individual would physically make a person to grab the rope. But, he can’t. He can simply plead and beg as his Master commanded.

Often times, I am so bound up in not offending someone, I can’t even hear the Holy Spirit’s leading. What if my heartfelt plea is all that is needed? What if knowing that someone truly cares about their eternal soul is what would prompt a person to truly take a look at the pit around them and grab the rope? Why am I so callous if this is all that it would take?

The Bible tells me that I have the Holy Spirit living inside of me and yet, where is my intensity for the lost? We are called to go to the edge of the pit and plead, to wiggle the rope in an enticing way and have the heart of God that breaks for those who simply choose to ignore His provision.

Oh, that my soul would break with the urgency that God has called me to. Oh, that we as a church would RUN to those whom God has called us to go. Oh, that God would give me His heart for the lost.

Ezekiel 36:26 tells us, “Moreover, I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” I cannot do this on my own. I cannot “work up” a compassion for the lost without a completely new heart. Even as a Christian, I have a heart of stone too many times. This Scripture shows me the only way. I need a FULL replacement. My heart needs to be His heart; my intensity, His intensity. My thoughts need to be His thoughts.

Romans 7:18, tells me clearly what I have refused to see before, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the wishing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.” For me, it takes more than filling, it takes a replacement. For me, it takes God replacing my heart with His heart, replacing my thinking with His.

So, today I am asking God to replace me. I’m asking that He replace us – His church. I am asking for more than a filling. I’m asking for a full on replacement. Let’s join together and ask God to do what only He can do through us and in us to see a lost world come to know Him.

Seeking Hearts Ministries      My Story

When God Doesn’t do what you Want

12 Thursday May 2016

Posted by Melissa G in Encouragement

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burdens, can be trusted, Christian encouragement, christian journey, christian walk, Christianity, crisis of faith, devotions, encouragement, exhaustion, faithfulness, family devotions, focus, God can so why won't He, God's love, God's love for you, God's pursuit, hope, light, love, never failing God, no dark side, obsessed, obsesseion, our God, our good God, perspective, quiet time, quiet time thoughts, remembering who God is, struggle in the trusting, trust, trusting God, who God is

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I’ve said for some time now that there is a certain crisis of faith that comes to every human when deciding whether they believe God can do what He says He can do. Can He really save me? Can He really heal? Can He really drop manna from the sky? And then, there is the crisis of faith that comes when you know without a doubt that God can move mountains, but He’s just not doing it for you. I mean, what is more frustrating than knowing that someone, anyone, can help, they’re just choosing not to? When that happens, a whole new crisis of faith occurs. Your mountain is looming large and you know your God can move it, but He’s choosing not to and you are left floundering with questions. Is my God really good? Can my God really be trusted? Does He really have a plan for my good? Do I really matter to Him?

I’m not going to pretend to know all the answers to why God is allowing certain things in your life. I’m not even going to pretend to know why He is allowing certain things in my life. I’m not going to pretend to have the answers as to why God would allow children to have cancer, rapists to go free, or even why food can’t be put on every table this week? But, I can tell you (and me) what to focus on when God doesn’t do what we want Him to do.

Let me start by assuring you that you do indeed have a good God. You have a God who does choose to move mountains for you. You have a God who wants you to look like Him and act like Him and love Him as He loves you. You have a never failing, never ceasing, never forsaking God who has a detailed plan for you since before the first molecule was on this earth. Know that because it’s true.

Lamentations 3:17-26 says, “My soul has been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is. Then I thought: My future is lost, as well as my hope from the LORD. Remember my affliction and my homelessness, the wormwood and the poison. I continually remember them and have become depressed. Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness! I say: The LORD is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in Him. The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him. It is good to wait quietly for deliverance from the LORD.” Verses 31-33 go on to say, “For the Lord will not reject us forever. Even if He causes suffering, He will show compassion according to His abundant, faithful love. For He does not enjoy bringing affliction or suffering on mankind.”

This passage is so great. We get to see the struggle that Jeremiah had with what was happening all around him and to him. He couldn’t understand it and he became depressed. He even admits in this passage that he lost his hope in the Lord. Then, he decided to remember who His God is. He decided to think about God’s faithfulness, His love and His mercies. He decided that The Lord was his portion for this life and his hope. He decided to rest in God knowing that His God would come through. God’s deliverance obviously wouldn’t look like Jeremiah thought it would. It obviously wouldn’t come at the time that Jeremiah thought that it should, but Jeremiah decided to look up, remember His God and trust. That’s the kind of faith I want, don’t you?

First John 1:5 tells us, “Now this is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in Him.” You can trust that. Our God has no ulterior motives. He has no dark side. He is good. He is holy. He is true and He. Is. In. Love. With. You.

Song of Solomon 7:10 says, “I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me.” God’s desire is toward you. God wants to be with you. He wants to be so melded with you that all people see is Him being uniquely displayed through your personality, your giftings and your sweet face. He has fashioned you for such a time as this and will not stop pursuing you until every fiber of your being is His. He is obsessed with you. Hebrews 13:5 says He will never leave us and Zephaniah 3:17 says He sings over us.  That is not a God who fails. That is a God who loves. Believe that today. Know it with every fiber of your being. If you have to be like the father in Mark 9:24 who said, “I do believe!” and then, quickly added, “Help my unbelief,” so be it, but keep pressing in to your God. He can be trusted. He will come through. He will strengthen you for the task and He is worthy of every fragment of faith you place in Him. He has you, precious one. He has you. Rest in that today.

Seeking Hearts Ministries          My Story

 

 

 

 

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