September 24

Spiritual Vitamins Day 24 by SGLY Ministry

SPIRITAL VITAMIN S : SHOUT
“Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.”
Psalm 98:4 NKJV

Today’s Thought:
Today is our day to be active!
Let’s shout joyfully and sing to the Lord for all He has done for us.

Today’s Action:
Today, anywhere that it is appropriate, let’s shout joyfully, sing and rejoice to the Lord out loud !
Pick someplace you can sing and shout out loud, maybe in the shower or in the car on the way to work and then just spend some time praising the Lord!

SHOUT
Shout with joy to the Lord, O earth!
Psalm 100:1

SING
I will sing of Your love and justice
I will praise you, Lord, with songs.
Psalm 101:1

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“Don’t give holy things to dogs, and don’t throw your pearls in front of pigs. They will stomp on the pearls, then turn around and attack you.” Matthew 7:6 (CEB)

One of the most irreplaceable, valuable things we possess is our time. We cannot go out and buy more time, we cannot go into the kitchen and whip up a couple of extra hours.

And yet time is one of the things we squander the most easily. We waste time, we spend time doing things that sap our energy. If someone asked you to give them money, you might decline, but when they ask you for your time, how do you respond?

There’s nothing wrong with giving someone your time, but I have often been sucked into commitments I should have avoided by thinking—well, it’s only a few hours of my time. I forget time is a pearl of great price.

This odd saying of Jesus forces us to consider: what are the holy things I possess? What are my pearls—the things I value most, the things that are rare and precious to me?

My stuff is not holy. My possessions are not my pearls. But the hours I have each day—these are precious. As my children get older, and move toward independence, I realize I do not get these days to do over. When other people try to demand those pearls from me, sometimes the most holy thing I can do is refuse.

One of the more countercultural ways I spend time with my family is to take a weekly Sabbath. The Bible tells us the Sabbath is to be kept holy. Those precious hours, when I set aside my work and busyness to focus on my relationships with God and my family—they are pearls. In order to protect them, I sometimes have to say no to the requests of others. I think Jesus would approve.

Faith Step: What do you need to say no to in order to protect the holy things in your life? Think particularly of your schedule—have you thrown your pearls before pigs?

—Keri Wyatt Kent

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How to handle difficult times by Alive to God

If we know how to handle the difficult times it will help us get through such times. The Bible is full of examples of people who lived through difficulties and challenge and overcame.

Paul and Silas are such an example to us. They have had been falsely accused, Publicly tried, Beaten, Sent to jail, Placed in stocks. What was there response?

They began to PRAY, SING and PRAISE GOD!

How different is this to how we handle things today. Today we would get stressed, pressurized, angry, discouraged, despairing and depressed.

How about this for a strategy when you face difficulty and challenge: PRAY, SING and PRAISE GOD?

The key to our outcome seems to lie in our reaction and attitude. I see people today descend into negativity and pessimism, fear and distress, depression and hopelessness. Perhaps the example Paul and Silas set for us is something we could consider: PRAY, SING and PRAISE GOD.

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Fear not, it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom." Luke 12:32

The Lord is our good shepherd, no doubt about that. He knows very well the state of mind of His flock. He knows our anxieties. He understands our worries, fear, concern. He sees our hard work. He listens to our hearts cry. He offers rest to our weary souls.

May be you are worried about an impending job interview and the Lord reaches out assuring you, "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you this job."

May be you are worried about a recent test result and He comforts you saying, "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you complete healing and a full recovery."

It could be that you are too stressed out and He reminds you, "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you rest."

Whatever it is your burden today, bring it to Him, cast it all at His feet and walk away with His promise for you: "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."

Amen! Praise the Lord!

Coffee with Jesus

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A Bible Devotion

When You Hurt, You Are Not Alone

HEBREWS 13:5 ESV 5 . . . he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

Jesus understands. He knows how it feels to be betrayed, abandoned, hated. Jesus knows what it feels like to hurt.

He lived in a body just like you have. He was just as human as you are.

HEBREWS 4:15 ESV 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

You are NEVER alone when you are feeling hurt. Jesus promised He would NEVER leave you or forsake you. He is there with you, and He understands. He is not there to condemn you, but to help you as much as you will allow Him to help you.

God is there to help and heal our hurt. Just like a good parent is there to comfort and take care of their child, so God is with us.

Some might say, "If God really is with me, then why did this bad thing happen to me in the first place?" or "If God is with me, then why does He not just automatically fix everything and make every bad thing go away?"

We may not know all the answers to those questions, but we know there are answers. And we know that God loves us more than we can even understand because He proved it at Calvary on the cross.

So you can trust God. He loves you. He is with you now, and He will be with you tomorrow.

SAY THIS: No matter what I face, I will never have to face it alone, for Jesus is with me.

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Visit the Still Waters

He makes me lie down in [ fresh, tender] green pastures; He leads me beside the still and restful waters. —Psalm 23:2

This particular psalm is familiar to most people, but have you ever given much thought to the “still and restful waters”? I believe this is where you find quiet rest and strength to face the pressures of life.

One might say that the “still waters” are healing waters. The quiet and stillness contain restorative qualities for your soul.

The still waters are available at all times, but we go there far too seldom. Anytime you feel the slightest urge or need you may visit the still waters, if only for a few minutes. Let everything get quiet, and then bask in the beauty of solitude. Silence can teach us more in a moment than all the noise in the world ever could.

So spend more time beside the still waters and find peaceful rest for your soul.

From the book Ending Your Day Right by Joyce Meyer.

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Blank Page

Mustard Seed Thoughts

and find out what pleases the Lord. Ephesians 5:10 NIV

I’m trying to get my life to the blank piece of paper stage. Please pray with me as I endeavor to present the Lord with a blank piece of paper.

Years ago I was explaining to a friend that I was at one of those “trying to discover God’s will” points in my life. His advice was something like, “maybe you need to start with a blank piece of paper, and give God ample space to plan out the rest of your life. Make yourself completely available to Him.” That made a lot of sense. I left our meeting, however, with a very probing question for myself. Do I have a blank piece of paper?

It wasn’t that I didn’t have any paper in the house. With two boys in school, we always have plenty of paper. I think my friend was talking in a spiritual sense. Have I given God a “blank page” with which to plan out my life? Or, am I helping God write the plans? Am I writing plans for God and then asking Him to bless them, or am I truly allowing Him to shape every major direction I take in my life?

Wow! After self-examination, I had to be honest. I don’t know that I have offered God a blank piece of paper. I certainly want to follow His lead, but I think my page is loaded with some of my own agenda items. I want my page to be completely blank, then I plan to offer it back to God.

Can I ask you something? Have you given God a blank piece of paper for your life?

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An Unmoving Target by Max Lucado

Don’t chart your course according to the opinions of people or suggestions of culture. If you do, you’ll make the mistake the farmer’s son made. He sent the boy to prepare a field, reminding him to till straight lines.

“Select an object on the far side of the field, and plow straight to it,” the father said.

Later when the father checked on the boy’s progress, every row was uneven and wavy. He said, “I thought I told you to select an object and plow toward it.”

“I did,” the boy answered, “but the rabbit kept hopping,”

A straight line, like a good life, requires an unmoving target. Set your sights on the unchanging principles of God. Let God’s Word be the authoritative word in your world.

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Bible Verses

The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:21

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Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. - Psalm 42:5

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“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

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2 Corinthians 5:21 – For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

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"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; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." — Matthew 7:7-8

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Lamentations 3:25-26 25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; 26 it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

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Romans 5:3-4 “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

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Trust in the LORD always, for the LORD GOD is the eternal Rock. Isaiah 26:4

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Prayers

Thanks for the Gifts of This Life
O God, I thank You for this day of life
for eyes to see the sky
for ears to hear the birds
for feet to walk amidst the trees
for hands to pick the flowers from the earth
for a sense of smell to breathe in the sweet
perfumes of nature
for a mind to think about and appreciate
the magic of everyday miracles
for a spirit to swell in joy at Your mighty presence
everywhere.
Amen.
~ Marian Wright Edelman

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Now unto him that is able to keep me from falling, and to present me faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

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My Lord and my Friend, I pray that my sympathy may be sincere and comforting, and with a glad heart I may bring rejoicing to my friends. May I learn from thee how I may be a permanent friend. Amen.

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Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. John 12:24–25, NIV

Dear Father in heaven, we long to be your children and to grow closer and closer to eternal life with all its goodness and truth. In your love to us your children, bless us as we walk on earth under great stress and temptation. Keep us from going astray, and let what you have placed in our hearts grow toward perfection, to your glory and your honor. May our hearts always know the joy that our struggle and suffering are not in vain, that if we are faithful, we may bring forth the fruit of righteousness. Amen.

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Dear Lord, please help me understand that everything I do touches someone's life and I can make a difference.

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Dear heavenly Father, I first want to thank You for the wonderful promises You have given us in the Bible. Lord, I want to be a person who not only speaks the Word of God, but also one who puts those words into actions. Lord, help me to guard my mouth and speak only those things that are edifying that will bless others. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight as I offer praise unto thee. May You be glorified by all that I speak. May I never doubt Your Word and may I rely on it in everything I do. I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.