“To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified” (Isa 61:3; KJV).

Isaiah refers to the ministry of Jesus in this passage. He knows our struggles, he will restore, lift us up with his joy and break our discouragement and depression with our praises. Christ has made us the righteousness of God through his death and resurrection and we have become children of God (John 1:12). God commands us to: Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise” (Ps 100:4). We can come into his very presence as we praise him. If you need a good example of people praising God with heart and soul, consider the singers and musicians praising God as one when King Solomon brought the ark into the temple of God (2 Chron 5:13).

What stands out to me here is that we need to guard our joy and how important our praise of God is. In the Bible we read that: “the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh 8:10). If we wear praise as a garment, in other words if we are constantly enveloped by it, that praise will drive away discouragement and lift us up into the God kind of life. Read Psalm 150, verse 6 reads: “Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord”

Have a hilarious, joy filled day, praising God.

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I love the Psalms; reading one a day is a good plan. David really shows his love, fear of and heart for God in his poetry. In Psalm 139 verses 23 and 24 David humbles himself before his God and cries out that his heavenly Father would search his heart for any wickedness and show him how to walk in godliness.

As with David, we cannot do this and walk the walk on our own; o how we need God in our lives. In Romans chapter 2 and verse 15 we learn that our born-again spirits, hearts or consciences will show us if we are right or wrong, if we allow the Holy Spirit to illuminate and strengthen our spirits with the word of God. “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26; KJV).

Get in the word, ask God to make the word come alive to you (what we call revelation) by the Holy Spirit as you read and meditate. Allow the spotlight of God’s word to show you where you need to change so you can draw ever closer to God. Remember it is not in our own strength but it is God who shows us the way and empowers us to change and be more like him (Phil 1:6). “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil 1:6). Lord, flood us with your presence, your Holy Spirit today and have your way in our lives. Be blessed today.

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“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” (Prov 3:5-6; KJV)

God has a plan for each of our lives (Ps 139:14-16) and he wants to guide and direct us. In the apostle John’s gospel, chapter 10 and verse 27, we read that God’s sheep (us) hear his voice. God does not speak to our minds but our spirits (our consciences or spiritual hearts) by way of the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:14; Rom 8:16). The Holy Spirit can do this by bringing our attention to scriptures (John 16:13-14) but also by simply dropping thoughts into our spirit (Rom 9:1). How do we know this is God? Well, in the word we read that God’s wisdom is peaceable (James 3:17). The thoughts God brings us will come with a sense of peace and assurance, so that we know that it is God.

Now for most of us our minds are often so busy it is difficult to hear from God. Much like the football quarter back trying to get instructions to his team when the crowd watching the game are yelling. We need to still our minds and we can do this by renewing them in God’s word (Rom 12:2); reading it, speaking it and meditating it, so that our minds are focused on God and at peace. This takes time and effort and it is an ongoing process. We can hear from God.

Jean and I had a very major decision to make some time ago and we set ourselves to hear from God. We spent several months praying, each on our own, then we compared what God had given each of us and we had heard the same in every detail; praise God. God also speaks to us in other ways but the approaches we have discussed today are the most important ones.  Sit and rest with God today and let him talk to you. It’s wonderful.

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I encourage you to read Ephesians chapter 4 and verses 11 through 16 today. In this section of the Bible Paul describes the ministry gifts that Jesus gave to the Church: “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers” (v11). These giftings were provided to equip us all for ministry and to help us grow and mature in our Christian walk. Notice we are all to be ministers of the gospel; have you ministered God’s love and light to anyone today? Verses 12, 13 and 16 emphasize growing in unity and building up the Body of Christ, the Church. We are the Body of Christ and in verse 16 we note that we are to be properly joined together, in unity, all doing our part so that the Church grows and is effective. Unity in the early Church brought thousands of converts and great power for signs wonders and miracles (Acts 4:32-33). In our passage in Ephesians, God directs us to grow up (v14 and 15), so we don’t stay as spiritual, children tossed about by the things people say and do that are not of God.

Please do notice that Paul tells us to speak the truth in love (v15). Love permeates the Bible so it must be important. Finally, verse 13 always blows me away. Paul tells us we can grow to be perfect and to have all the fullness of Christ in us. Don’t be discouraged, I don’t know about you, but I am not there yet and Paul did not claim to be either (Phil 3:12). However, let’s keep allowing the word and the Holy Spirit to enable us to grow. Just think what God has for us, how he wants to use you. Press in today, be built up, seek unity.

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“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16; KJV).

We associate this scripture with Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, paying the penalty for our sins. But it is also important to remember that Jesus came to this earth born of a woman under the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35). He is not a distant deity that cannot identify with our earthly, fleshly, struggles. He surrendered his deity to become a man on earth with flesh and blood just like us (Heb 2:14). The word says he had to made like us so that he could minister to us in our earthly state (Heb 2:17). He was tempted in every way but without sin (Heb 2:18; Heb 4:15). To minister on this earth, he had to be filled with Holy Spirit, just like us (Luke 3:22).

Isn’t it encouraging that Jesus knows what we go though in our lives; He knows our struggles, God is quick to forgive (1 John 1:9) and is always there to help. He calls us to be holy, godly and perfect as God is perfect (1 Peter 1:16; 1 Tim 6:11; Matt 5:48). This may seem a tall order to keep. However, he gave us his word to guide and enable us and the power of the Holy Spirit to reveal his word to us and to achieve that perfection (John 14:26). He never left us alone, he is always with us and in us and nothing will ever separate us from his love (Rom 8:39). Remember, not even Paul the apostle claimed perfection (Phil 3:12); it is a process of growth that we will still be involved in to the day we depart this earth. Be encouraged today, we can do all things though Christ who strengthens us (Phil 4:13).

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