The Make It Happen Moment ®

Scripture

Psalms 12:6 “The words of the Lord are pure words, Like silver tried in a furnace of earth, Purified seven times.”

Observation

In this psalm, King David offers contrasting pictures of words spoken with flattering lips and words of the Lord spoken in purity.  Words spoken with flattering lips are words spoken in pride with selfish intent, saying, “With our tongue we will prevail; our lips are our own; Who is lord over us?” To the contrary, words of the Lord are spoken in humility with pure intent, saying, “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, Now I will arise.”  Simply put, words spoken by flattering lips paint a prideful picture focused on self; whereas, words spoken by the Lord paint a humble picture focused on others. 

Application

In Matthew 12:34-37, Jesus provides clear teaching about the words we speak, saying, “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.  But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”  For me, meditating on this truth spoken by the Lord highlights the sober reality of the weight and significance that He places on the words I speak and even write as both come from the abundance of my heart.  Therefore, I willingly submit myself to the Lord’s heart purifying work of the Holy Spirit so that He can fully and freely filter the words I speak and write from my heart.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I praise You for You are Jehovah Jireh, the Lord Who Sees And Who Provides! Thank You Lord for seeing into my heart and providing me with the words You would have me to speak and write from the abundance of my heart.  By the power of Your Holy Spirit living in me, give me the courage to speak and write from my heart with a bold faith and a humble spirit in You. I love You Jesus! Amen!

Purified Words Copyright 2010, Gary J. Borgstede.  You have permission to reprint the personal devotion, Purified Words, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission.  All other rights reserved.

Scripture

Psalms 138:8 “The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever; Do not forsake the works of Your hands.”

Observation

In this psalm, King David is declaring his total faith and trust in the Lord to perfect all things that concern his life.  King David knows that the Lord is His Perfect Creator and that His ways are perfect; therefore, he trusts completely in the Lord’s perfection of all things concerning him. 

Application

In Philippians 1:6, the Lord promises to complete the good work that He began in me; therefore, I am fully persuaded by the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit that the Lord –  the Author and Finisher of my faith (Hebrews 12:2) – will perfect all things concerning me.  Furthermore, regardless of the circumstances in my life at any time, I place my full faith and confidence in the Lord because He promises to work all things together for my good (Romans 8:28).

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I praise You for You are Jehovah M’Kaddesh, the Lord Who Sanctifies! Thank You Lord for loving me so much that You care about every detail of my life.   Strengthen me Lord as I place my total trust in You to perfect all things concerning me.  I love You Jesus! Amen!

The Lord Will Perfect Copyright 2010, Gary J. Borgstede.  You have permission to reprint the personal devotion, The Lord Will Perfect, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission.  All other rights reserved.

Scripture

Jeremiah 23:3-4 “’But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. I will setup shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking,’ says the Lord.”

Observation

In this passage, the prophet Jeremiah speaks of a time when the Lord will call His people back to the land He has promised them.  If that were not enough, the Lord also promises to provide good shepherds to take great care of His people when they return.  With the help of the Lord and His appointed shepherds, the Lord’s people will be fruitful and multiply in His blessing without any fear or dismay, and lacking no good thing. The awesome picture that Jeremiah paints of the future He is prophesying about comes straight from the shepherd heart of God for taking great care of the people of His pasture. Additionally, these passages also clearly indicate that the Lord appoints spiritual leaders in His kingdom with the tremendous responsibility of representing Him as a shepherd appointed by Him to take great care of His people as well.

Application

As Jehovah Rohi, the Lord our Shepherd, God promises to take great care of those who love Him and are the called according to His purposes. In fact, in Psalm 23:1 David declares, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want” meaning that God Himself is more than enough in the life of someone surrendered to His Lordship.  Furthermore, God alone appoints leaders with the spiritual authority to lead and guide others into the good land that He has prepared for them. Through my submission to the Lord and those whom He has placed in spiritual authority over me, I will be spiritually well fed, full of courage, undeterred, and lacking nothing in the pursuit of God’s perfect plan and purpose for my life.  Plus, as a leader of the people that God has entrusted to my care, I must be careful to fulfill my God-appointed leadership responsibility with the shepherd heart of God so that the people on my team are also well fed, full of courage, undeterred, and lacking nothing in their pursuit of God’s perfect plan and purpose for their life…a huge responsibility and privilege indeed.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I praise You for You are Jehovah Rohi, the Lord my Shepherd! Thank You Lord for caring so much about me to leave the ninety-nine behind to find me in a far off place, bring me back to Your fold, and place me in divinely appointed relationships with good shepherds who care for me in the same way that You do. Help me Lord to be a good shepherd like You too. I love You Jesus! Amen!

One evening I came home from work and noticed on my bedside night table, a little picture frame with a hand written prayer enclosed.  The prayer was written by one of my daughters who was 1o years old at the time.  Her prayer is posted below:

“May the lord god give us peace in our house and to keep us safe from any danger that comes upon us. May the lord god make us and everyone around us peaceful and caring. The lord is our strength and our shelter. May we worship him with our heart and our mind.” 

When I read her prayer, I was warmed in my soul by her innocent faith in God and her transparent dependency upon the Lord. I keep her framed little prayer at my bedside to remind me of the importance of cultivating a childlike faith in my own prayer life.  It’s my hope  that her prayer will encourage others to do the same.

Scripture

Genesis 21:1-2 “And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He Had spoken.  For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.”

Observation

In these passages of Scripture, we see the Lord’s faithfulness to the promise He made to Abraham many years earlier, but it wasn’t until Abraham was 100 years old that the Lord’s appointed time to fulfill the promise had arrived for Abraham and Sarah.  To Abraham and Sarah, it seemed like an impossible situation; however, in God’s timing, He was faithful to His promise regardless of the impossible nature of their circumstances.  At a 100 years old, the set time of life appointed by God for Abraham, the promised seed of generations, Isaac, was born.

Application

The Lord knows every hair on my head and He has a good and perfect plan for my life.  Regardless of how difficult, challenging, or impossible any situation in my life may appear to be, I know that God is faithful to do what He has promised to do in the set time of life that He has appointed for me.  Because my God is a big God, there is no problem or difficult situation that is too big for Him when I place my trust and faith in Him.  As the Author and Finisher of my faith, the Lord will be faithful to fulfill His promises to me as I trust in Him and His perfect timing.

Prayer

Lord, when life seems too hard, my circumstances seem too difficult, and Your timing too long, help me to place my trust completely in You to fulfill Your promises in my life.  Even with faith as small as a mustard seed, I know that You promise to move mountains on my behalf when I stand in faith on Your promises.  Thank you for being my strong Tower whom I can run to, place my trust, and be safe as I wait patiently for You to do the impossible in my life! I love you Jesus!