Living On PitchMay the Lord give us wisdom to remain planted in the Word of God., May we be like trees that are planted by the rivers of water., May we bear fruit for the Kingdom of God. May your plant based diet of spiritual food help you grow and remain healthy in God’s grace.
It’s the beginning of a new year, wait it’s a whole new decade has begun and most of us are focusing on making some sort of lifestyle change. This is the time where we tend to focus more on our health, wealth, mental, and spiritual well being. I want to tell you that giving up is not an option because of what the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. I love this passage and it is one of my favorites. Here are a couple of reasons why you can’t give up no matter what you are going through.
1. Your inside is becoming better than your outside. Internally God is at work. That peace you have in the midst of a storm, That’s God. That unexplainable sense of calm, that’s God. That choice to let it go rather than argue and make a big deal out of nothing, that’s God at work in you. God intentionally works on us from the inside out. He is gIving you strength, courage, hope, faith, love, peace and wisdom to make it through every day.
2. Your ability to see matters. How you look at your situation matters. You may not be able to see things clearly or right away but clarity comes by focusing on God and eternity. Maybe your future is looking brighter because you had that financial setback, that car problem or lost a job. You may lose a few material things on earth to win the eternal rewards waiting for you in heaven. Don’t lose sight of knowing that nothing on earth compares to having eternal life in Christ. You are victorious, and you win when you see how God prepares for you to be with Him forever.
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=2%20Corinthians%204:16-18&version=ESV
I know it’s not all about me when it comes to God’s program or plan. God doesn’t need me to accomplish His plan and even though it’s not about me I still need to work on me.
Praying for wisdom to do better, change and grow for the glory of God.
Sometimes friends come and go in our lives. I’ve learned to accept the fact that friends and family may unfollow me but goodness and mercy will never unfollow me. Thank God for His promises today. I am confident and I am never alone. When we focus on following God, no matter who comes in and out of our lives we can be assured of His presence which reminds us we are always in good company.
Psalm 23:6(ESV)
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
With all my heart Lord.
All day I will trust in the Lord.
I am looking forward to the weekend. It’s been a busy work week and I need to unwind. Just as I started thinking about where I want to go for my pedicure, I remembered I am supposed to be preparing for a marathon!!! Marathons require planning on the part of the participant. You have to first sign up to enter the race then find the right training action plan for you. I’ve only been in one 5k race and I think I did ok. I would have done a lot better had I prepared and trained a little more for it. Do you know how to spiritually prepare for a marathon? This Christian journey is a race. It’s not a quick jog or sprint to the heavenly gates once you accept Christ. This joyful journey is a marathon of ups and downs, certainty and uncertainty, questions and answers. We must train our minds for this marathon with the spiritual preparation of daily devotion, fasting, believing prayer and increase our mileage for long haul faith. We have to build up our endurance to stay in the race. I’m learning the more I prepare and train for the marathon, the more willing I am to keep on running the race. My next race is a 5 Day Prayer Marathon from January 28-February 3rd. I’m preparing now to finish strong.
Prayer: Lord help us stay in the race. Give us strength to go another mile.
I want to be the kind of person that seeks first instead of trying to reap first. Seeking God first is a choice. When I’m trying to seek after material things I tend to neglect my responsibility to seek God. I must remind myself daily and say today I will choose God first over everything.
I don’t want to be so “thing centered” that I forget all about being God -centered.
Prayer: Lord help me seek you with all my heart because You have all that I need. Amen
Zero balance are two words that I love to hear when it comes to my credit card account. It’s a great feeling to know I have some freedom, I owe nothing and my account is in good standing. Zero balance is not necessarily what I want to hear when it comes to my prayer life’s bank account. No prayer, no power is what my former pastor used to say. It’s hard to experience any spiritual growth without making deposits and balancing things out daily. Some days you may feel you have lots of time and other days you don’t have as much, so we all have to make choices in our balancing acts. I am here to let you know, you can do it. You can keep an active lifestyle and maintain a healthy balance in prayer and devotion to God. Take five minutes today and make a deposit.
Thought: Today I choose to meditate and pray. I will be like a rock and just sit still.
Ecclesiastes 4:6 Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.
Listening is a special art form. Good listeners are hard to come by these days. The world is noisy and it seems everybody has something to say as more and more people live out loud on social media. I have found people who don't listen never get what they want. The best relationships I've had are the ones where I listened and learned. They are often the ones where I chose wisdom over foolishness.
Here are a few scriptures to help remind me of the choices I make. I also use them to stay in tune and sharpen my listening skills.
Proverbs 12:15 (NASB) The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But a wise man is he who listens to counsel.
Psalm 81:11-14 But My people did not listen to My voice, And Israel did not obey Me. So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, To walk in their own devices. Oh that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways! I would quickly subdue their enemies And turn My hand against their adversaries.
Proverbs 1:33 But he who listens to me shall live securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil.
Ecclesiastes 7:5 It is better to listen to the rebuke of a wise man Than for one to listen to the song of fools.
Be encouraged and listen up because God is speaking. What's your favorite scripture on listening?
Have you ever felt angry or upset with God? Have you ever felt like God didn’t understand what you were going through? You pick up the phone and call a friend, then you proceed to tell them all about it. You forget to even check your knee mail because you’re so upset and overwhelmed. You don’t realize you have tons of messages waiting. Everybody can tell something’s wrong. Your joy has been cooked rare and your peace is medium rare. You really want a well done life. Life can be rough, turns can take twist and things can get a little crazy but God fully understands our feelings, frustrations and He knows exactly what we are going through. As we are quick to talk to others about our feelings or frustrations, it’s important to remind ourselves to talk to God about everything. God speaks your language and understands your emotions so why not talk to Him? God hears. God listens. Only God can say well done good and faithful servant. Trust Him today and do not doubt, then you’ll be able to say it is well with my soul.
Psalm 17:6 I have called upon You, for You will answer me, O God; Incline Your ear to me, hear my speech.
Living On Pitch 