Psalm 8

"O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O Lord our God, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!"

What a scripture. The name of the Lord is above all names. He has made everything that is in all the earth. He also made the earth. How beautiful is nature. The awesome sunsets I get to see from my windows. The moon in all its glory.

But none of these can compare to our Heavenly Father Jesus Christ. Who came and gave his life that I might be saved from hell fire. There is no other to compare him too.

Father, I thank you for all the beautiful things of nature you have given us. I do enjoy it every day. Thank you for the scriptures that tell us how you made every thing and why you made it. Amen

Mark 11:22-24

"Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."

Jesus is talking to his disciples. Peter is talking previous to this about the fig tree that Jesus had cursed. The tree had withered away. Jesus is telling his disciples and us first that we must have faith in God. God hears our petitions when we pray. If we have faith that our prayers are going to be answered all we need is faith the size of a grain of a mustard seed. A mustard seed is the smallest seed. When we pray we pray believing that what we ask for will come to pass.

When we come in prayer, believing what we are asking for God already knows what we have need of. We want to be careful of what we ask for. We must realize that if we ask for things that we have no need of our prayer may not be answered in the way we want. Some times we ask for things and get something else. That is because God in his infinite wisdom knows what we need in our walk with him.

Dear Lord, thank you that we can come to you and bring our petitions before you. Father as we come we give you praise. Father we know that you know even before we ask what we have need of. Bless my children this morning and my grandchildren. I love you Lord Jesus. Amen

Psalm 86:11

"Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name."

David was a man loved by God. David depended on God. He asked God to teach him his way. He was a man who walked in the truth. Even tho he sinned God still loved him. David also feared or had reverence for the Lord God.

Where do we stand. Do we want God to teach us his ways or do we depend on man to teach us. If we do depend on man, what are we learning? The ways of man are not God's ways. When we are in trouble who do we call upon? Sometimes we wait until we are beyond help.

We live our lives the way we think the world wants us to live and we forget that there is coming a day of re conning. We can't live like the devil during the week and go to church on Sunday and think everything is going to be all right. That is not the way it works. We must live daily for the Lord. We must forsake those things that separate us from the love of God. We can't go our happy way and then when we get in trouble expect to be bailed out.

Dear God I pray this morning for those who have not grown up to realize you Love them all the time. Even when we are not lovable. Help us to realize we must walk the narrow road. I praise you this morning. Thank you for the ducks outside my window. I give you thanks for the blessing you have given me of LoLo. Amen.

Jeremiah 9:24

"But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord."

The prophet Jeremiah was called to give a judgement call to the people of Judah. They had rejected the message of God. Jeremiah prophesied as to what would happen to the nation. He brought the message that disobedience always brings God's judgement. Even today when we disobey God we will bring his judgement on our lives.

But God also sent a message that if man would glory not in his own wisdom, nor in his own might nor in his own riches, God would delight in him. God wants man to acknowledge him and to know that he is a loving God which executes judgement and righteousness in the earth. This is where God's delight is.

We must recognize this. We must know that God wants us to walk in his wisdom. In order to do this we must study his word. That is where our direction comes from.

Lord God, I praise you for this word you have given us. I love you and thank you for my daily sustenance. Thank you for your love. I pray you will draw my loved ones to you for a closer walk and for salvation to those who know you not. Amen

Matthew 4:17

Jesus is speaking, "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

Repent means to turn away from the things we do that is sin. Most people think they have years to do as they please. They think they have all the time in the world to make things right with God and man. Some of us may. But what if on your way to work or to a movie you were in a wreck and was killed instantly. Where would you spend eternity?

Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. It could be right around the corner or it could be many years down the road. Either way, we need to repent of our sins and make sure of where we are going when we die. Because, be sure once we die there is no turning back. We can't come back and do it over. We will either spend eternity in heaven or in hell.

Lord God, I praise you because you are awesome. I pray for the person who does not know you as their Lord and Savior they will accept you today. Amen

Psalm 16:11

"Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."

In this Psalm David was seeking preservation and blessing. In the last verse he acknowledges that God will show him the path of life. Do you know he will also show us that same path? God is always there for us. He will direct our path.

In the fullness of the Lord we can find joy. In Galatians 5:22, Paul tells us one of the fruits of the Spirit is joy. What is joy? Joy is the gladness of the heart. Joy is also Love's strength. To me it is happiness. Contentment in where I am and what I have. Never desiring more than I need in the present time.

Having pleasures for evermore does not mean we have all the ice cream we want. It does not mean having material things. Those things can not bring us pleasure. But looking at the smile of a baby, a beautiful sun set, a mother who has done her best to guide me is pleasure. Knowing that I do not need anything but to be with my Lord is pleasure for evermore.

I pray that you have joy in your life today.

Lord God I pray for each person reading this and those who have not found it yet. For the pure pleasure and joy that comes only from your Spirit which dwells in us. I give you praise and thanksgiving for being in my life. Amen

Galatians 6:7-8

"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."

Paul was writing to the Galatians on new principles to live by. These were new followers of Christ Jesus. Just as new Christians need to be taught so did the Galatians. First, we are not to be deceived by the things of the flesh. If we live in a fleshly way we are going to reap a fleshly existence.

As Christians we are to be sowing to the Spirit. By sowing to the Spirit we are living a life that is righteous unto God. How do we live that type of life?

First, we must present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God. That means we do not put into our bodies anything that will defile it. We do not use alcohol, drugs, overeat, or live as man and wife without the sacrament of marriage. These things are sowing to the flesh. We are letting our flesh control our live.

Instead, we should be living that pure and holy live. We should not be defiling our bodies. We should be keeping ourselves as Jesus Christ wants us to so the Holy Spirit will come in and abide with us. He will become our teacher if we let him.

We should be spending time studying his word. He also desires us to spend time with him in prayer.

Father, I thank you for giving me understanding. I thank you for loving me a sinner saved by your grace. Thank you for your mercy. Father I pray that all who read this devotion will want to learn more about you. Guide my footsteps today Lord that I might live the way you would have me too. Amen

Proverbs 3:1-2

"My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: for length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee."

This is an exhortation to be obedient to God's laws. By keeping God's law it will add days to our life. We will live in peace. What are God's laws. The Ten Commandments was what he gave to Israel. We are to live by the commandments but then Jesus gave us one more and that was to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Some people say the Ten Commandments were done away with. They were Old Testament. This is not true. Jesus came to full fill the law not to destroy it.
If we live by the laws of God we will have length of days and peace in our live.

Heavenly Father, I praise you this morning. Forgive me where I have failed to keep your laws. Thank you for your peace in my life. I pray everyone who reads this devotional will receive the message you intend. Amen

Genesis 24:60

"And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let they seed possess the gate of those which hate the."

I did not know about the blessings of families and individuals for a long time. When I heard this concept and began to study the scriptures I knew this was something the Lord wanted me to do.

When my son married his wife I took part in the ceremony by giving them a wedding blessing. I also blessed her children at this time. This is basically what happened to Rebekah.

Rebekah had been chosen of God to be the wife of Isaac. When the servant took Rebekah to return her to Isaac, her brother and mother gave the above blessing before she left them.

We should give blessing to our children and loved ones to be prosperous in all things. God has blessed us in all things. We should also bless him.

Lord God as I come to you I praise you Lord Jesus and I bless you. Thank you for your blessings on me today. Thank you for guiding my steps. Bless all my family and friends today with your protection and prosperity. Amen

Isaish 54:17

"No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper: and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgement thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord."

This is a marvelous verse. When we stop and think nothing that comes against us is going to prosper. In other words satan cannot come against us because we as children of the most high God have a heritage.

When we think of the heritage we receive from our earthly parents some of us may have riches beyond our thoughts. We may be from the poorest family. We may not have the nicest home to live in. We may not have had parents who loved us. You may think is that possible. Some people would say yes. But we have a heritage that is beyond anything we can comprehend.

As children of the Most High God, we have eternal life through Jesus Christ. We have love beyond anything we can imagine. We have a God who is going to put his arms around us and comfort us when we are discouraged. He is going to give us understanding, knowledge and wisdom.

What ever we need we have only to ask. He wants us to never do without. My God owns all the cattle on the hills, all the gold and silver in the hills, all the fish in the sea. He commands the wind and the waves with a spoken word. And he has given us authority and power to do his work.

Lord God I thank you this morning for the authority and power you have given me to live in this world. Thank you for taking care of my ever need and desire. I give you praise this morning. I love you and I am glad you are in my live this day. Thank you for the beautiful view you have given me. Amen

Psalm 131

"Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things to high for me. Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child. Let Israel hope in the Lord from henceforth and for ever."

I want to practice humility before the Lord. I do not want to have a haughty spirit. I do not want to put myself above others.

We should always strive to be humble before God and our fellow men. Each of us has a special place in God's scheme of things. When we become so important that we have no time for those around us then we are too important. God sent his Son Jesus to teach us how to act. He came as the suffering servant. He suffered for our sins. He was a servant to all men. In order to be what he wants us to be we must become as servants to all we come in contact with.

Lord Jesus I praise you for being the example of the servant you want us to emulate. Bless us this day as we strive to do the work you have set for us. I love you and desire to be more like you. Amen.