“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalms 73:26 (ESV)
The Psalmist here in today’s verse understands the brevity and fragility of his own life. He understands that circumstances will arise where, in sickness or trials or even death, he will not be mentally, emotionally, or physically strong enough to overcome them. However, he also holds an important treasure in knowing that God will always be the strength for him when he cannot overcome what life puts in front of him. When contemplating trials of this life, and even ultimately death itself, are you able to say with such confidence as the Psalmist that God will be “the strength of [your] heart and [your] portion forever”?
Jessica Ford Communications Director Alive Ministries USA
“Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.” Proverbs 21:2 (ESV)
How true is this? I am certain we all know at least one person that genuinely believes they know everything and can do no wrong. Most likely, if we can be honest with ourselves, we too can all too often try and justify the wrongdoings (read: sin) in our lives as having the right motives or calling ourselves “only human” to brush off the severity. However, there is no way to justify not following God’s will and plan for our lives — we are either following Him or we are being disobedient to His commandments. God knows our every thought, every true motive, our true heart’s desires in life; so why try and talk our way out of it? If there is something you have been trying to convince yourself, God, or others that is right in your life that you know truly is not what God has designed you for, repent of that to Him right now and seek His wisdom moving forward.
Jessica Ford Communications Director Alive Ministries USA
“There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand.” Proverbs 19:21 (NKJV)
We make lots of plans in our lives. Many spent time coming up with New Year’s resolutions, but how many of us actually followed through with them? We make all kinds of plans in our hearts, but it is not those plans that last, it is the counsel, or purpose, of the Lord that stands.
What we do in life matters, and as human beings we want to plan for our future, even if we do not write those plans down. Our heart has its goals, and those goals are often changing. It is a good thing that the Lord’s purposes and His counsel stands and does not change like our plans.
God’s Word is the anchor for our life. We know we need wise counsel for life, but how many of us seek it in His Word? As believers it is not as if we see things from an unbelieving perspective, but sometimes it appears as though we behave as if we are unbelievers. We know TRUTH, and we know it is found in the written Word of God. We know that the written Word of God is infallible and perfect in every way, yet how many of us who profess to believe in God actually read our Bibles? How many of us actually have read our Bibles completely through? We must be in the pages of HIS story if we want to be anything other than a footnote in history. You cannot live an effective life for Christ apart and outside of the Word of God, you just cannot do it.
We must seek Wise Counsel! It is time that believers develop a hunger for the Word of God. We must go beyond a desire for just the milk of the faith as though we are newborn babies. We must seek out the meat and potatoes of the faith, piece by piece and bite by bite. If you have not read your Bible through, I encourage you to do so. We must go through the Word of God daily. I encourage you to be in your Bible every day. Start the day out in the Word. You do not have to start with an aggressive reading such as trying to tackle the Bible in ninety days. You can start with a Bible reading plan that will get you through the entire Bible in one year. I am going through the plans, the Bible in 90 days and the Bible in a year on YouVersion’s Bible app. You can find me on there. After I finish the plans I will likely start again but invite you to join me this time. If you set aside just as little, and I am not encouraging you to ever offer God your least, time as fifteen minutes you could have the entire Bible read in a year.
In this life I cannot guarantee you much. What I can guarantee is that Jesus is Lord, and if you have a relationship with Him your life will radically and dramatically change. I can guarantee that God will never leave you or forsake you if you truly are SURRENDERED to Him. I can guarantee that reading your Bible daily will absolutely change your life. I can guarantee that you have many plans in your heart, many of which will not last or even see the light of day. I can guarantee you that what will last is the Counsel of the Lord. Do you know Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life? Have you SURRENDERED FULLY to JESUS? If not, today is the day, now is the appointed hour. You can always reach out to us privately and confidentially. We are here for you if you would like to know more about salvation or want someone to pray with you.
Father, we praise Your mighty name! Lord, and we ask You to place a severe hunger and thirst for Your Word in our HEARTS. Give us a burning desire to want to know You intimately and deeply and earnestly. Lord bless all who read, hear, and share these words. Bless those who receive them with peace and full acceptance. Bless all those who labor in this ministry for Your glory, honor, and purposes. Counsel us, Lord. In Jesus’ MIGHTY name I pray, Amen!
Blessings in Christ, Rev. Christopher B. Cain Minister of Evangelism and Discipleship Alive Ministries USA
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Psalms 19:14 (ESV)
Unfortunately in today’s world, when we hear the world “pious” our first thoughts tend to go towards someone who is egotistical, self-righteous, vain, or even hypocritical. However, I believe we can rightly call the Psalmist here a pious man, though not under those definitions. He was pious in that he had the true hope and desire that he would be wholly, completely devoted to His Lord. With complete devotion unto God comes the desire to maintain only pure and righteous thoughts, speech, and even actions. This was the piety the Psalmist possessed as he so desperately pleaded to God to redirect his words and thoughts of his heart from their carnal leanings toward God’s righteous will for his life, all for the honor and glory of God. What kind of piety are you exhibiting? How are your thoughts and what kind of words are you allowing to come forth from your lips?
Jessica Ford Communications Director Alive Ministries USA
“For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” Romans 10:10 (ESV)
The distinction here in this verse is that in ordered to be justified in our faith we must believe in our hearts — surrender our hearts and lives fully to God — and not just fall on the understanding of what Christ did at Calvary and through His resurrection. It needs to be a “heart knowledge” and not a “head knowledge” in order to be saved through faith in Christ Jesus, the Son of God. When we confess this heart knowledge openly with our mouths to God, with true repentance for our sins that Jesus bore on the cross, it is then that we are forgiven our trespasses and transformed into a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). Have you accepted this heart knowledge and made this confession openly God? Do not hesitate because we are not guaranteed tomorrow, or even our next breath!
If you would like more information or someone to pray with you, please reach out to us by one of the avenues listed below.
Jessica Ford Communications Director ALIVE Ministries USA
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