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DAILY DEVOTIONAL – Tuesday, December 27, 2016
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May you find comfort, encouragement, guidance, hope, inspiration, love, and peace – https://helpfulinspirationalblog.wordpress.com/. May you also find answers to your question(s) through the Scriptures that address every situation you face, and help with your problems. Deb ♥
Today’s scripture reading:
Sometimes we don’t let people get to know us completely because we are afraid they will discover something about us that they won’t like. But God already knows everything about us, even to the number of hairs on our heads, and still he accepts and loves us. God is with us through every situation, in every trial–He is present everywhere; protecting, loving, guiding. He knows and loves us completely.
God is omnipresent—He is present everywhere. Because this is so, you can never escape from his Spirit. This is good news to those who know and love God, because no matter what we do or where we go, we can never be far from God’s comforting presence. (NLT)
Psalm 139:1-18 – O Lord, you have examined my hearty and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my every thought when far away. You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. You both precede and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to know!
I can never escape from your spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the place of the dead, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night—but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are both alike to you.
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—and how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
How precious are your thoughts about me, O God! They are innumerable! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up in the morning, you are still with me!
The Lord says, “When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me.” –Jeremiah 29:13-14 (NRSV)
Gary A. Miller (California) titled his story “SEEK AND CALL;” here is a portion of Gary’s story:
“I remember a time when I was seeking the Lord for guidance regarding a job opportunity. Every aspect of the position seemed right except for one: my wife and I would have to move to Southeast Asia – away from our family, friends, church, and country. I prayed, fasted, studied the Bible, and sought advice from trusted friends. For months I diligently sought the Lord’s direction. I truly wanted to know God’s will, but in the course of my seeking I also found myself asking, ‘Do I truly want to know God?’
“I realized that God wants to be sought not only for answers but for a deeper relationship. For me, this type of seeking extends beyond my normal daily prayers. It requires an immersion into God’s word at a level that allows inspiration to overwhelm me with truth and awe.
“God is always present. Even so, scripture still encourages us to seek God. Reading Psalm 139 and Isaiah 55 [see below] can help us to ponder the majesty, glory, and goodness of God and to realize that the God who formed us is great and always present. Such meditation and reflection can help us to go beyond seeking answers to our questions or solutions to our problems to finding true relationship with God.”
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY – Today I will seek God for more than just answers.
Prayer: Dear God, help us to seek you with our whole heart so that we may honor you all of our days. Amen.
To read the rest of the story in The Upper Room, click on the following link: http://devotional.upperroom.org/
* Food costs money, lasts only a short time, and meets only physical needs. But God offers us free nourishment that feeds our soul. How do we get it? We are to come, listen, seek, and call on God. God’s salvation is freely offered, but to nourish our souls we must eagerly receive it. We will starve spiritually without this food as surely as we will starve physically without our daily bread. (NLT)
Isaiah 55:1-13 – “Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink—even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk—it’s all free! Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen, and I will tell you where to get food that is good for the soul!
“Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, for the life of your soul is at stake. I am ready to make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the mercies and unfailing love that I promised to David. He displayed my power by being my witness and a leader among the nations. You also will command the nations, and they will come running to obey, because I, the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, have made you glorious.”
Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. Let the people turn from their wicked deeds. Let them banish from their minds the very thought of doing wrong! Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
“My thoughts are completely different from yours,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than you ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
“The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands! Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow. Where briers grew, myrtles will sprout up. This miracle will bring great honor to the Lord’s name; it will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.
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