Verses To Live By
Devotionals by Marian
Solid as a Rock
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.–Psalm 18:2
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. –Psalm 18:2
Technology is continually changing at an alarming speed. There is so much new information out there on the Internet that it’s hard to keep up with it. What was current and up to date one day is quickly out of date and replaced the next.
That’s why this verse from Psalm 18 is so encouraging because it proclaims that God is constant and never changing. In a world where everything is so transient, this verse reminds me what lasts. I know that I can depend on the Lord who is my Rock. I can run to God and find complete security in Him. When I call on His name, there’s deliverance. He is my shield and protection from all harm. I can raise my voice and put my trust in His salvation and know that is He is strong and reliable.
It is great to be able to put my hope in the Eternal God who has never changed! He is worthy of my highest praise!
A prayer For today:
Gracious Father in Heaven: I pray to You knowing that you hear me. I can keep a quiet heart because you are constant and true in the midst of a world full of upheaval and unrest. Teach me to build my life upon your solid Rock. No matter the storm, I can find my refuge in your great power and strength. In Jesus’ name I ask these things – Amen.
Simple Advice
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.—James 1:5
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.—James 1:5
There are so many self-help books out there. They are great at offering hope and making it sound simple—with titles like, “Follow these three rules and you’ll be a billionaire in a month!” (Just wondering…who actually really reads this kind of stuff?)
When it comes to looking for any kind of advice, the Bible truly has one of the best formulas out there. In the book of James, it says that if I need wisdom, all that I need to do is ask God. It’s that simple! I can talk to God and tell Him that I need His wisdom and every time He will guide me and give me His guidance as to what to do and say.
It says that God doesn’t hand out His wisdom like a stingy miser or scold me for needing His guidance. It says He generously gives it to all–anyone and everyone–and won’t be annoyed if I need His help again and again.
The Bible truly is a modern book with wisdom for daily living. I can trust my gracious Savior to always give me guidance for everything. He is faithful!
A prayer for today:
Gracious Father in Heaven: I know that I can find wisdom by asking for Your help. I can trust you to guide me and not depend on myself or worldly wisdom that will lead down the broad path. I want to keep my eyes focused on You and Your glory. Amen
–Marian
Peace like a river
You keep him in perfect peace who mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.–Isaiah 26:3
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.—Isaiah 26:3
It seems like life is so fast these days. Everyone I know is in a big hurry. Rushing from one place to the next seems normal. Multi-tasking has reached a new high with people checking emails, texting, and posting photos—all at the SAME time—so that this sort of a lifestyle becomes second nature. It feels like every day is a roller coaster ride with the speed just getting faster and faster.
The Bible provides a great secret to getting free from this mindless race and finding inner peace. Perfect peace can be mine when I keep my mind on God. A God-focused mind means that I trust Him and not circumstances, feelings or people. Peace will be the by-product of trusting God no matter what is going on around me.
This focus on God and not on lesser things gives me a quiet heart. I can have complete confidence in the Sovereign Lord and His help. It’s not possible to have this kind of focus on Christ and His will and also have worry.
A complete surrender to God—mind, body, heart, and soul–means perfect peace. This inner peace will flood over me and affect my daily walk. People will start to notice an outer change when I rely on the Author of peace to guide my heart daily.
A prayer for today:
Gracious Father in Heaven–I know that You can give me a peace that transcends this broken world. I know I can trust you with all matters. Teach me to put all my faith in You. I can walk by faith when I remember that You are a good God and that You have everything under control.
–Marian
Getting to know You!
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.–Colossians 3:16
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.–Colossians 3:16 (ESV)
Have you noticed that you can’t get to know someone unless you spend time with them? The same thing applies to God.
We can’t get to know Him either unless we get to know His word. When we start to make God’s word a part of life, we will see that He gives us wisdom. When we make time to hear God’s word taught to us, we will start to see what treasures there are hidden in the very pages of our Bibles. When that begins to happen, then it will be natural to have a song in our hearts! Our lips will be filled with praise, worship, and thanksgiving!
We will have so much to thank Him for because we will be reminded of His goodness, kindness, grace and love. He promises that He will never leave us or forsake us. May we never forget that!
A prayer for today:
Gracious Father in Heaven–You are a worthy of our praise! We thank You for telling us in Your word that You sent Jesus to earth to open a way to heaven for our salvation. Give us the power through Your Holy Spirit to know You more and more through reading the Bible and hearing the Word taught to us. We give our lives to You and expect great blessings from You! In Jesus’ name we ask this. Amen
–Marian
