Tag: promise

Lesson From a Rescue #3 – A.S.K.

Posted on by Dorci

I’ve been eating eggs for breakfast for years, and since shortly after we rescued our dog six years ago, he’s virtually insisted I share my eggs with him every morning.

The routine is nearly always the same: he waits for me to get out of bed, dutifully watches as I get out the ingredients, utensils, plate…maybe paces a bit as I cook it up (depending on whether or not he’s deferred eating his own breakfast until he’s had some of mine), walks with me over to my seat, sits as close as he can get, and begins to remind me, repeatedly, that he’s there.

He stares deep into my soul, and if that’s not enough, he accentuates it with some serious begging, or he’ll whimper as pathetically as he knows how. And every once in a while, when he’s especially desperate and I’m not paying close enough attention, he’ll resort to a chest bump to the leg.  

Every day, week after week, month after month, year after year, he thinks he has to remind me all over again. That somehow I’ve forgotten him. Like I could.

All the while I’m reminding him, again, that I know he’s there, just like yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that. I cut off his little pieces and save them until I’m finished, or at least almost. I can’t forget. There’s no way he’d let me. Yes, he’s a dog, but he’s part of my family. He’s my furry little child, and I love him.

“Yes, I know, I remember, you’ll get your eggs when it’s time.”

And so many times during this exchange I think of us.

We have needs and there may be times we’re not sure if God’s going to provide. Has He forgotten me? Does He see me? How is He going to get me out of this situation?

But Jesus tells us our Father knows what we need before we ask Him. (Matt. 6:8)

Yes, we ask for our daily bread (or eggs) and all our needs, but we don’t need to wonder if our Father’s heard us or has forgotten us.

We’re His children and we’re always on His mind and in His heart.  

Still, Rocky reminds me of a command Jesus gives us:

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Which of you, if your son asks for bread (or your dog asks for eggs), will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil (hurtful), know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!”
Matthew 7:7-11


Rocky’s got it down. He asks, he seeks, and when needed, he knocks his chest right up against my leg. And in the right time, he gets what he’s asked for.

We are invited by Christ Himself to go to our Heavenly Father and A.S.K. – ask, seek, and knock, but not from a place of doubt, not afraid He’s forgotten us, or worse, believing He doesn’t care about us.

We can and must go to Him firmly seated in the foundation of our abiding faith in Him who sent His Son to die for us, who loves us with an everlasting love, and who called us by knocking on the door of our own heart to bring us into relationship with Himself. 

 

“Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from Him anything we ask, because we keep His commands and do what pleases Him. And this is His command: to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as He commanded us.“
1 John 3:21-23

 

With His Love,

 


Related blogs: 

Lesson From a Rescue

Lesson From a Rescue – #2

 

Sunday Praise and a Prayer For the New Year

Posted on by Dorci

Hello! I pray your new year is off to a good start. And whether it is or isn’t, let us remember that the Lord has promised to never leave us or forsake us. He is with us no matter how deep and dark the trial may be.

He will give us the strength and courage to endure, and not only to endure, but as Jesus tells us in John 10:10, He came to give us not only life, but an abundant life. That word for abundant, perissos, means beyond, superabundant, superior, excessive, exceeding abundantly above, beyond measure…   You get the idea. 

This is God’s will and promise for us who walk with and in His Spirit. 

So let us set our hearts and minds on Him and let Him be the very reason we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28) and watch what He will do!

I’d love to hear from you throughout the year what God is doing in your lives so we can praise and glorify Him together. And if you ever need prayer, please do not hesitate to leave a comment, email me, or contact me through the blog’s pages on Facebook or Twitter. 

In Christ,

 


“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Romans 15:13

***

Dear Heavenly Father, we praise your holy and precious name. As we seek you each day, may we make choices that glorify you. We thank you in advance for what you’re going to do, how you will provide for us in every situation, and for the abundant life of your Spirit, your love, joy, peace and all the fruit we bear as we hold onto you through our Lord Jesus Christ, and may the world sit up and take notice so much that they, too, will know that in you and you only is life. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen. 

Saturday Song – Cry Out To Jesus

Posted on by Dorci

 

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:18

 

 

Cry Out To Jesus
by Third Day

To everyone who’s lost someone they love
Long before it was their time
You feel like the days you had were not enough
When you said goodbye

And to all of the people with burdens and pains
Keeping you back from your life
You believe that there’s nothing and there is no one
Who can make it right

There is hope for the helpless
Rest for the weary
And love for the broken heart
And there is grace and forgiveness
Mercy and healing
He’ll meet you wherever you are
Cry out to Jesus
Cry out to Jesus

For the marriage that’s struggling just to hang on
They’ve lost all of their faith in love
And they’ve done all they can to make it right again, still it’s not enough

For the ones who can’t break the addictions and chains
You try to give up but you come back again
Just remember that you’re not alone in your shame
And your suffering

There is hope for the helpless
Rest for the weary
And love for the broken heart
And there is grace and forgiveness
Mercy and healing
He’ll meet you wherever you are
Cry out to Jesus

When you’re lonely
And it feels like the whole world is falling on you
You just reach out, you just cry out to Jesus
Cry to Jesus

To the widow who suffers from being alone
Wiping the tears from her eyes
And for the children around the world without a home
Say a prayer tonight

There is hope for the helpless
Rest for the weary
And love for the broken heart
And there is grace and forgiveness
Mercy and healing
He’ll meet you wherever you are

There is hope for the helpless
Rest for the weary
And love for the broken heart
And there is grace and forgiveness
Mercy and healing
He’ll meet you wherever you are
Cry out to Jesus
Cry out to Jesus
Oh, cry out to Jesus
Cry out to Jesus

Scripture Picture – Galatians 6:9

Posted on by Dorci

What God Does Not Promise

Posted on by Dorci

As we journey through life and all its twists and turns, it’s encouraging to be reminded of the promises of God, but it’s also good to remember what God does not promise. 

Jesus sat with His disciples as they ate together for the last time. He’d washed their feet, including Judas’s, showing them how they were treat one another.

Once Judas left them, He began to prepare them for what would come. 

Over and over He tells them He must go away, that He was going back to the Father, but they would see Him again. In the meantime, He would send the Comforter to be with them forever.

Then He began to prepare them for what would lay ahead – the world’s hatred, persecution, even their murders. But again He reminds them that the Spirit of truth will come and guide them.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

There are some who believe, and some who even teach, that after we’re saved our lives will be perfect, that God will keep us from going through any hardships. But that’s not what Jesus taught. 

He did not promise a life with no trouble. 

The word for trouble here is thlipsis, which means afflicted, anguish, burdened, persecution, tribulation.

Now, that we live in a world with trouble might seem obvious, but when we’re in the middle of the affliction, the tribulation, the persecution, the anguish, we can be tempted to wonder where God is. 

Why is He allowing this? Is He angry with me? Does He hear me? Has He forgotten me? And there may even be times we wonder if we were ever saved at all. 

Jesus explicitly said these things because He knew where our minds could be tempted to go when we’re hurting, and He didn’t want us to believe those lies.

We live in a sinful world full of heartache and suffering. He did not promise to take it away, but to be with us in the middle of it. 

If you’ve ever sat with a child who’s in some kind of pain, whether emotional, physical, or spiritual, no matter how young or old they are, you know you hurt at least as much as they do, maybe more. 

You pray for them, you cry with them, you ache for them. 

If we do this with our own children, how much more will our Heavenly Father, who sent His only Son to die for us and sent us His Holy Spirit, who loves us with an everlasting love, do this with us? 

Yes, we will have trouble, but Jesus said

“…take heart! I have overcome the world.”

It’s a done deal. He’s conquered this sin-filled world and all the pain that comes along with it. He already has the victory, and in Him we have it, too. 

He will be with us through all things. And even more, He will strengthen us with courage and hope and even joy as we go through it. He will grow our faith, give us wisdom and a testimony of His grace and mercy, and prepare us for the life to come when we see our Savior face to face. 

“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:5b

***

Heavenly Father, help us keep our eyes on you, especially when we’re going through the storms of life. We ask for your strength, courage and hope through the power of your Holy Spirit as we walk through our trials with you. Don’t let us believe in the lies of the enemy, but instead walk in faith, believing in your constant love and presence with us and your promise to prepare a home for us and take us to be with you forever. We pray in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. 

 

Photo credit: 21326550 / Storm © Pictureguy66 | Dreamstime.com

The Saturday Song – There Will Be a Day

Posted on by Dorci

“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain,
for the former things have passed away.”
Revelation 21:4

 

Heavenly Father, help us walk through the hard things in this life with the hope you’ve given us for the next. In Christ’s name we pray, amen. 

God Promises To Provide

Posted on by Dorci

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 

But seek first His kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Matthew 6:25-34

 

Remember Your Position

Posted on by Dorci

Some wise words from Anne Graham Lotz.


“For you are all sons (those who inherit) of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’  Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”
Galatians 3:26, 4:6-7

God Promises Our Labor is Not in Vain

Posted on by Dorci

“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
1 Corinthians 15:58


There are times when the Lord allows us to see the fruits of our labor in Him, but there will also be periods of time when we see no immediate outcome from our service to the Lord, and we might be temped to fall into despair.

Paul reminds us, as he reminded the church in Corinth, that our labor – our toil, our pains, our trouble, our weariness – in the Lord is not in vain.

We know because when we work in the Lord, abiding in Christ through prayer, obedience, walking in the Spirit, adhering to the truth, we have faith that God is working in and through us. 

And the work the Lord does, no one can tear down. 

Though we don’t always see its fruit, the Lord does. He is doing things in the hearts and minds of others we will never see until we’re before the King, our work withstands the fire, and we receive a reward.

So if something, or someone, is trying to move you, to discourage you, to lie and make you believe your work in the Lord is in vain, stand fast. Stand on the immoveable Rock that is Christ and in His promises, and let Him lead you on to victory.  

 

God Promises to Give Us His Peace

Posted on by Dorci

Yes, it’s good to read God’s Word. Yes, it’s good to receive it into our hearts, to think on its wisdom, to love its statutes, its precepts, its commandments, its decrees, its principles, and especially the God who gave them. 

Then, as we allow them to take root in our hearts and grow as we put them into practice, live our lives by them, walking with Him by faith, the seeds of sin will be choked out and its shame and guilt with them, leaving room for the full bloom of the peace of God.