His Blessing

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Scripture

Psalms 128:3 “Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine In the very heart of your house, Your children like olive plants All around your table.”

Observation

In Psalms 128, the Lord promises blessings to the man who fears Him and more specifically in verse 3, He promises that such a man’s wife will be a life-giving partner in the center of his home and his children will be a sweet smelling aroma around his table.

Application

As a man who fears the Lord, I am forever grateful to Him for blessing me with my wonderful wife who loves me unconditionally and gives herself to me as a faithful life-giving partner.  Additionally, as a man who fears the Lord, I am forever grateful to Him for blessing me with a full quiver of five beautiful children who love me and will always be a sweet-smelling aroma to me in my home like that of a sweet olive tree in full bloom.   

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I praise You for You are Jehovah Shalom, the Lord our Peace! Thank You Lord for blessing me with my beautiful wife and all of my children. May Your peace with nothing missing and nothing broken be upon our home and our relationships as You faithfully watch over us and make Your face to shine upon us in Your grace. I love You Jesus! Amen!

His Blessing Copyright 2011, Gary J. Borgstede.  You have permission to reprint the personal devotion, His Blessing, 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.

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The Make It Happen Moment ® Simplified Life

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sparrow

Sparrow

Quote: “If you want a simpler life, you must learn to develop a more trusting life!” – Joyce Meyer

Several years ago I was traveling on a commuter express jet with some colleagues to visit the corporate headquarters of one of our company’s corporate business partners when all of a sudden our plane encountered some very turbulent weather.  In a matter of seconds the plane dropped about a thousand feet and then began to violently shake, rattle, and toss around in every forward direction.  Our drinks flew into the air, people began crying, praying, and thinking that we were going to die in a fiery crash.  After about five minutes of magnificent maneuvering through the troubled weather, the pilot was fortunately able to regain a normal and steady flight pattern.  Relieved that we were going to be fine, one of my colleagues turned to a young boy around twelve years of age whom was traveling alone and had been in the bathroom during the mayhem and said, “Boy, I bet this is the worst plane ride you’ve ever been on, huh?”  The young boy looked at him somewhat bewildered and responded, “No man, this is the coolest plane ride I’ve ever been on…I was in the bathroom and flew up so high that my head hit the ceiling…” ☺  So I guess the moral of this true story is that life is not that much about what you experience, but rather how you simply view and respond to what you experience! 

Why is it that different people can experience the same exact bitter lemons of life, but yet some find a way to turn them into a sweet taste of lemonade while others can only taste the bitterness of lemons?  What’s the difference?  Personally, I have found the difference to be in the ability to trust that God is good and that He is in complete control of everything in our lives.  In Romans 8:28, the Bible states, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”  If we really believe this promise from God, then no matter what, we can find peace knowing that God has us in the palm of His hands and will not allow us to suffer any circumstance that He cannot turn for our good.  In fact, Matthew 10:29-31 states, “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” 

When we learn to trust God to take care of us the same way that He takes care of the sparrows, we will begin to live a more peaceful and simplified life with an eager expectation of what God will do for us and through us each new day.  The apostle Peter writes in 1 Peter 5:7 of the New Living Translation, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.”  Imagine that the Maker of the Universe cares so much about you and I that He invites us to cast our burdens on Him.  If we actually learn to do this, there is no reason that we should not wake up each morning saying, “Good morning, Lord!” rather than barely rolling out the bed with a groan and a moan, saying, “Oh Lord, it’s morning!”  With a spirit of wisdom and faith, let us trust Jehovah Jireh, the Lord our Provider, for He cares for us and will never fail us!

The Make It Happen People Value: “Make It Happen” People Possess A Positive Attitude!

Have a blessed “Make It Happen” day!

Edited by The Make It Happen Moment ® Editorial Team

The Make It Happen Moment ® Simplified Life Copyright 2009, The Make It Happen Learning Institute.  You have permission to reprint The Make It Happen Moment ® Simplified Life, 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.

No Fear

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Scripture

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

Observation

In this passage, Paul is writing to encourage Timothy and build up his faith as he leads the church at Ephesus. He exhorts Timothy to stir up the gift of God that is in him [the free gift of the Holy Spirit] by the laying on of his hands and emphasizes to him that God does not give us a spirit of fear.  Instead, God gives us His Spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind which overcomes any fear from the enemy and empowers us to walk in peace as bold witnesses of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to the world around us.

Application

As a believer, there will be times when the devil will attack us in our minds with the only weapon he has – fear – because he knows that he can rob, steal, and kill everything that God has for us if we live in fear rather than faith.  When this happens, we must recognize that any such spirit of fear is not of God because God gives us His Spirit of power, love, and sound mind which overcomes any spirit of fear cast toward us by the enemy. 1 John 4:4-5 states, “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” We can overcome fear because the Holy Spirit lives in us and He is greater than any illegal trespass of fear by the enemy.  Plus, the simple truth is that fear has no chance at all with us because the Lord loves each of us perfectly and 1 john 4:18 states that perfect love casts out fear.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your perfect unconditional love for me which casts out all fear. Because You are Jehovah Shalom, the Lord Our Peace, I am thankful to walk in Your peace, peace not as the world can give, but peace that only You can give as my Lord and Savior.  I love You Jesus! Amen!

No Fear Copyright 2010, Gary J. Borgstede.  You have permission to reprint the personal devotion, No Fear, 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.

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