And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee” (Ps 9:10; KJV). To paraphrase Psalm 9:10 it says that those people who know the NAME of the Lord will confidently put their trust in him and that God will not forsake them. So why should we put our trust in God? As this verse says, it is because we know his name. His name encompasses his character and his nature. So, when we understand that God is love and how much he cares for us and all he has done for us, then we can trust him.

In John 6:29 Jesus himself tells us that the work God requires of us is to believe in Jesus. If we do that then we will experience happiness (Prov 16:20). There are many other places in the Bible where it talks about the benefits of trusting him. As we trust in God, we receive his direction (Prov 3:5-6), peace (Isa 26:3), the desires of our hearts (Ps 37:4-6) and will not be moved by evil news (Ps 112:7).

The following verses from the prophet Jeremiah really summarize it all: “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit” (Jer 17: 7-8).   

The more we get to know God and his character the easier it will become for us to trust him.

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“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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