Daily Meditations

 What am I supposed when the “winds of adversity” blow?   We must set our mind on the promises of God and stand our ground.  Keep standing.  Stand on the rock of God’s Word and do not fall for the devil’s tricks.  Sometimes it is a health issue, or a financial issue, a work issue, a family issue, but God has the answer and will give you that answer when you seek him for it.  Once you know that God has given you the answer from the Word, than pray that answer, stand on God’s Word, believe that God will see you through the situation and when you have done all you know to do: KEEP STANDING.  God is good.  God’s mercy is there for you. Believe and doubt not.  God wants the best for you.

 Another way deception takes place is when there is no clear understanding of what is right and wrong.  In today’s world it seems that the loudest voices are saying whatever you want to do is OK, and anyone that would dare say otherwise is narrow-minded, prejudiced, or a bigot.  It seems strange to live in a world created by God Almighty and very few seem to give any glory to Him for the wonders of the universe or the truth of His Word.  We need to remember that God said we have a choice to make.  We can choose Him and live in blessing or we an reject Him and live under a curse.  He said to choose life and blessing.  Therefore when we see things not looking so good, we should look up and say “Thank You, God for life and blessing”.

 Does it seem to you that deception rules in the world today?  We have virtual this and virtual that.  Things are kept in the cloud.  All kinds of weird games to play.  Nothing that is very substantial.  Why is that?  I believe that Jesus addressed this when He was speaking of the last days.  He said that we should be very careful not be deceived.  There are many ways to be deceived besides with games, clouds, and virtual reality.  Many times words, actions, and pictures are used to deceive.  It is hard to know for sure what is the truth or reality of issues.  What are we to do?  We must realize that Jesus said the devil was the father of lies, therefore we must know what God says in His Word in order to know the difference between truth and deception. Then we must pray for God’s wisdom and understanding, and try not to make hasty decisions.  Now is the time for us to be steadfast in the word and power of God.

 With deception and temptation all around us, we must remain steadfast in Jesus.  He is our Rock and our Fortress.  When we live our lives holding His hand then we can be steadfast and unmoveable even though the “winds of adversity” blow around us each day.  We know that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  He is the one thing that does not change.  Change is not always good.  I’m certainly glad that God does not change. I would hate to think that one morning God might look at me when I wake up and well I don’t like the way she looks.  Mark her off the list.  I am glad that God has said what He will do and does what He says.  That is reality and stability.  Maybe we need to try to be more like God.  Let our yes be yes and our no be no.  Mean what we say and say what we mean.   I believe that will cause us to be steadfast during these days of deception and temptation

 Have you looked in the mirror lately??  What?  The Bible is our mirror spiritually.  When we look in the Bible we see what we should look like in our lives.  Most of the time when I look in my “mirror” I feel like I am sadly lacking in the virtues that are listed in the Bible.  Does that mean that I should give up and say all is hopelessly lost?  NO!! That’s where we were before Jesus became our Savior.  When we look into our natural mirror we want to see what we look like.  Is our hair combed, did we get our make-up on straight.  Do our clothes match, etc?  When we look into our spiritual “mirror” we should see how we look and what we need to do to improve.  Improvement help comes from God.  If our desire is to become more Christ-like, we need the help of the Holy Spirit, who is our guide and teacher.  May the Word of God be revealed to you today by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.  

As we praise God more and more in our lives, those around us will be know that God alone is our strength and our source.  (Psalm 67:5-7 KJV) Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.  Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God shall bless us.  God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him. Hallelujah!  

 The Lord is always near and hears us when we call upon Him.  He will fulfil the desires of them that reverence him.  (Psalm 145:18-21 KJV) The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, that call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him; he also will hear their cry and will save them. The Lord preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever

 We all have issues and problems in our lives.  But, does it seem like sometimes things are going soooo good, and boom.....everything goes wrong?  That happens to all of us at times.  What are we supposed to do?  Well, the book of James says that we are to count it all joy!  JOY?!?  I never did like that verse until I finally figured out that the reason we are to count it all joy is that our loving Heavenly Father has the solution for the problem and will give us the blessing of joy.  We receive His help by faith and these verses go on to say that when our faith is tried it causes us to learn patience and patience will work for good in our lives.  Bible patience is like driving down a totally smooth flat road with no bumps or lumps.  When patience works in us, our lives can be like that - no matter the circumstances.

 Are you thinking that it seems like every day there is a new issue in my life.  My faith gets weak.  I don’t know what to do.  I don’t have any answers.  Life is too hard!  You are right if you are trying to live your life by your own knowledge, wisdom, and understanding!  We know some things, but there are many things that only God knows about and He alone has the answer. So...what am I supposed to do?  First of all God did not give you a spirit of fear.  If fear is controlling you, command it to leave in Jesus name.  God did not give that to you!  He gave you a spirit of power - His power.  He gave you a spirit of love - His love.  He gave you a spirit of a sound mind - His mind. Seek Him.  He has all the answers.  Lean on Him.  Trust Him.  He loves you.  His mercy is unending. YOU are His child.  Don’t look at the problems of life - look up!   Look at the One who chose you and loves you.

 Our faith in God grows as we study His Word and do what He says.  The book of James says that we are to doers of the Word not just hearers.  Why?  We deceive ourselves when we hear or read or study the Word of God, but never do what it says.  When we do what His Word says, we will find that many things that seemed to be large problems in our lives turn out to become very small or they go away completely.  The Word of God has a way of changing each of us, if we do what it says.  Hearing and doing the Word of God causes our faith and our patience to grow.  When that happens, our lives become smoother.  No more up on the mountain, then down in the valley experiences in our lives - just smooth sailing even in contrary winds.  When Jesus, Who is the Word of God, is holding your hand, everything in your life is glorious - even if your circumstances are not.