Happy Monday Friends! Let’s look to the Lord for the help we need today💜 For we know that God will hear us when we pray and we can be confident that just as He saved us from our sins He will rescue us from our troubles or walk with us through them.
Today’s Verse comes from Micah 7:7 which says:
I
It seems like everyday (sometimes every hour or minute) has something that we need help with – something we are crying out to God for. Whether it is health … provision … wisdom … strength … peace … or a myriad of other needs that arise – God is able. Whether it is us or someone else we know that is in need, God tells us to cast all our cares on Him because He cares for us, (1 Peter 5:7). From the least to the greatest of the cares He has invited us to bring them all to Him. So what is it you need to look to God for today? He’s ready and always listening – so let Him know and then wait confidently for His help.
What about this verse can you thank God for today?
How can I pray for you? Share a request in the comments or private message me at my email or facebook account –
mryelnb@aol.com (please put prayer in the subject line
@facebook/ MaryEllen Black
How have you seen God answer recently? Give Him praise and let it be a reminder that you can trust Him and a catalyst to continue looking to Him for help.
A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Proverbs 18:24
When I was growing up, my family was extended by six or seven other families that we fondly called ‘aunts and uncles’. They were close friends of my parents. The friendships were formed in school and stuck throughout the years. Those still living are friends to this day, and it is a blessing to watch as these 80-somethings continue to do life together and face death with one another. Solomon describes This type of friend in today’s verse; of course, the ultimate example of this friend is Jesus – who promised never to leave or forsake us, and it is the kind of friend we are to be. These earthly friendships are a rare treasure for sure – I have been blessed with several, and I count them as rich blessings. 💕💜 I pray, first and foremost, that each of you know the wonderful friendship of Jesus – there is none greater! However, I also pray for each of you to know the rich blessing of a true friend here on earth – and encourage you to be that friend to someone. If you do not know such a friendship – pray to the Father in heaven that He might grace you with one soon.
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” John 5:14
How would you express your gratitude for the friends God has given you?
This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24
Some days are exciting from the moment you wake up. You’re excited about the planned adventure, the day off work, or expected company. Some days are just regular get up and go kind of days. Then there are the days full of challenges from the time you open your eyes – right? On those days, I often find myself singing or reciting this verse over and over. I find it an uplifting reminder that I can still rejoice despite the challenges because God made the day – which in turn reminds me that He has a purpose for it and me. It takes my eyes off the challenges and places them squarely on Him, His goodness to give me life and breath, His promise to direct my path, His call on believers to count it all joy when troubles come our way and the hope that comes from knowing if He can make the day He can certainly help me through it. I should note that this verse is a good way to start every day – I just find the Spirit brings it to mind most often on the more challenging/difficult days.
Your Turn:
I also find that it is a rather easy verse to memorize – give it a try. I promise it will be a blessing.
Name something about this day for which you are thankful.
Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.
Psalm 5:3
I wonder sometimes if we truly realize the blessing and utter privilege of prayer. Think about it, the God who created the universe and holds it all in place. – the One who gave His only son to die for sinful, wretched humans and then raised Him from the dead – not only invites us to pray but hears and answers when we do. The psalmist was so certain of this truth that he waited expectantly for the answer. Do you?
Your Turn
Share something about prayer that you are thankful for.
Praise the LORD! Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! His faithful love endures forever. – YET how quickly they forgot what he had done!
Psalm 106:1, 13a
Psalm 106:1; 107:1; 118:1; 1 Chronicles 16:34 and so many other passages call us to “give thanks to the LORD.” The passages site various reasons like His faithfulness, His goodness, His steadfast love and more. The problem is when we fail to be impressed with the Lord’s character and acts of kindness and when we fail to notice His miraculous works. There is great danger in forgetting to acknowledge Him with praise and thanksgiving. For look at the example of the Israelites in today’s passage who failed to be impressed with the works of God’s hand and then quickly forgot what He had done. May we never find ourselves in this place – but rather daily find time and reasons to sing His praises and give HIm thanks – even for the littlest of blessings or fingerprints –
Your turn
What is that impresses You about God? – Make sure to journal it or write it out somewhere or even tell someone – and don’t forget to give thanks to Him to whom the praise/thanks is due. We must be intentional about this discipline in our life – not being so captivate by the day or the moment or the person but fully captivated by God alone – and intent on remembering the works of His hands. 💜
We will remember, we will remember We will remember the works of Your hands We will stop and give you praise For great is Thy faithfulness We will remember, we will remember We will remember the works of Your hands We will stop and give you praise For great is Thy faithfulness You’re our creator, our life sustainer Deliverer, our comfort, our joy Throughout the ages You’ve been our shelter Our peace in the midst of the storm With signs and wonders You’ve shown Your power With precious blood You showed us Your grace You’ve been our helper, our liberator The giver of life with no end We will remember, we will remember We will remember the works of Your hands We will stop and give you praise For great is Thy faithfulness When we walk through life’s darkest valleys We will look back at all You have done And we will shout, our God is good And He is the faithful One … Hear the entire song at https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=AcUA7x9CVgs&feature=shared
Scripture: In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:18
“Give thanks.” God’s Word is full of this phrase from the Old Testament to the New. From Joseph’s attitude of gratitude in Genesis to the words of the twenty-four elders who fell down in worship in John’s Revelation, saying: “We give thanks to you, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who always was, for now you have assumed your great power and have begun to reign.” These examples and all of the others we find between them are not just words on a page. They are there to teach us and to remind us that God is worthy of our praise – those that flow from a truly thankful heart. Such gratitude can’t help but flow forth from heart and tongue when we truly realize the good and perfect gifts that flow from the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Thankfulness keeps our hearts in right relationship to the Giver of all good gifts.
Gotquestions.org
Giving thanks to God isn’t for God’s glory alone – but it is a benefit for us as well, as God uses our acknowledgment of gratitude and our words of thanksgiving to remind us that everything we have is from Him. Every good and perfect gift, every awareness of Him acting on our behalf, keeps us centered on Him rather than on self and any problems or fears we might know.
Giving thanks also reminds us of how much we do have. Human beings are prone to covetousness. We tend to focus on what we don’t have. By giving thanks continually we are reminded of how much we do have. When we focus on blessings rather than wants, we are happier. When we start thanking God for the things we usually take for granted, our perspective changes. We realize that we could not even exist without the merciful blessings of God.
gotquestions.org
Let’s Apply It
In the spirit of Thanksgiving and as an encouragement to others and glory to God please share one thing, here in the comment section, that you are thankful for today. Then at home grab a journal or make a note on your phone and write down as many gifts from above that you notice throughout the day. I promise you will feel better and others will be blessed – it’s a win-win!
Worship through song: Give Thanks With a Grateful Heart is one of my favorites. You can find it on youtube
Prayer of Response to God’s Word
Father, You are beyond worthy of our praise and honor. You are worthy of our thanksgiving, worthy of our acknowledging all that you do and have done for us. Forgive us where we get caught up in our days and thoughts and ways and fail to thank You for Your acts of mercy, love, and grace – or for Your gifts of peace, and strength, and protection or provisions. We are most blessed and should faithfully tell You so. Open our eyes to see all Your fingerprints through any given day of our life. – In Jesus’ Name amen.
Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘You are to worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’” 11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and began ministering to his needs.
Matthew 4:10-11
I love love love this example from the life and trials of Jesus. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t love that He had to suffer the temptations of Satan, but seeing how Jesus handled it has been a life-saver and an encouragement to me over and over again. Our temptations may not always be the same but the way to handle them is. When we speak God’s Word to the enemy he will flee. James says, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you -” which I assure you is a tried and true promise I have experienced. The key is knowing how to resist the devil. I have found the only way to truly resist him – is to do as Jesus did and draw on the strength we find in God and His Word. I have also found and experienced the reality of praise silencing the enemy, as we read in Psalm 8:2 – where the Psalmist declares: “You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength, silencing your enemies and all who oppose you.”
So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
James 4:7
Verses ten and eleven of Matthew chapter four are beautiful words of encouragement and a testimony of how the enemy responds when we hit him, the father of lies, with the Truth. However, they are even more beautiful in the context of verses one through nine. If you missed them go back and read them – better yet open your Bible so that you can highlight or make note of Jesus’ response to every temptation that Satan hurled at him. Note how the enemy came at him at a time when Jesus would have been ‘famished’, as the NET version puts it. Read each verse and watch as Jesus uses God’s Word to stand firm against the enemy’s schemes and lies and note how Jesus had great victory in the battle – heard clearly in the words of verse eleven – “Then the devil left him”. We can have this same victory when we know and use the Word of God to put the devil in his place.
What’s it look like in the day to day?
Note cards with verses
Sticky notes on the car dashboard or the inside of the refrigerator at home
Praise and worship music playing in your car or your ear
Regular quality time with God in His Word
Praying the Word back to God
Working on memorizing God’s Word
Church
Small Groups
Bible Studies and/or discussions with others
Anything that gets you into God’s Word and God’s Word in you
Prayer of Response to God’s Word
Father, thank You for showing us ways to combat the enemy and not just showing us ways but equipping us with the armor and empowering us with Your Spirit and for the praise that flows from just knowing You as our God! There is power in Your name, power in Your Word, power in Praise, power in prayer, power in resisting the devil though the power of Your Spirit! Help us to faithfully spend time with You in Your Word and with Your people so that we might stand faithfully firm against the evil one. Help us to remember that he has no power over us for we belong to You. Help us to remember the words of John, who said – that greater is He that is in us than the one who is in the world! Help us to stay alert and stand ready in body, mind, and soul – to Your glory – Amen – in Jesus’ name.
Reflecting on the Journey
How did Jesus stand against temptation in the wilderness?
What does this teach you about how to stand against temptation in your life?
What are some practical and/or supernatural ways we can defeat the enemy?
Going Further in the Journey
Why will resistance cause the devil to flee? Because he knows he cannot have victory over us if we are prepared to do battle against him. As mentioned before, the Bible assures us that we need only put on the full armor of God to be fully protected from evil and to actively resist it. There is nothing more frightening to Satan than a believer who is fully equipped with spiritual armor, beginning with the “helmet of salvation,” which protects our minds, and the “breastplate of righteousness,” which protects our hearts because it is the righteousness of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). Only a true believer wears these because only those who have received God’s forgiveness by grace through faith have eternal salvation and the righteousness of Christ imputed to them.
For though we live as human beings, we do not wage war according to human standards, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not human weapons, but are made powerful by God for tearing down strongholds. We tear down arguments 5 and every arrogant obstacle that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to make it obey Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
In the first two verses of the Scripture for today, Paul makes it clear that he doesn’t want to be seen as living according to human standards but rather by the meek and gentle qualities of Christ. As Paul has made known in many if not all of his letters – while we are human beings we are not to live by the old nature of the flesh but by the new nature of Christ and His Spirit in us. This is true in every situation of life, even, if not especially, the times when we seem to be at war.
When the enemy engages us in battle it is important to not fight back from our own strength or our human emotions – these get us no where in the spiritual battles. We must use the weapons that are made powerful by God, such as the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, as well as prayer and praise. Only with these will we be able to tear down the arguments or arrogant obstacles that set themselves up against the knowledge of God. Only with God’s Word will we be able to take our thoughts captive, making them obedient to Christ. God’s Word is not only a light to our path and a lamp to guide our feet but it is His power for every situation we will face. It is His power against sin and for salvation, and for life and breath and peace and all else we have need of. With it we have victory and without it we face anxieties and sure defeat.
Prayer of Response
Father, Your Word is a lamp to our feet it is a light that guides us in the way we should go, it brings joy and strength and peace to every day. Through it we have hope and know Your love. Help us to know Your Word Father and to use it well in the spiritual battles of this world. Help us to lift up our prayers and praises to You faithfully for in them there is great power to defeat the enemy! Thank You that this world is not our final home and that Your Word and the truth of who You are and what You’ve done is ours to know and use as victorious weapons in the battles that wage around us. Thank You for not only equipping us but for being with us in the battles – for we know that You never leave us or forsake us – and we know that we do not fight alone!
Worship Through Song
Check out Michael W. Smith’s – Surrounded (Fight My Battles) for a beautiful time of worship and emphasis that we do not fight alone. God has provided His Presence, His Armor, and a Garment of praise (Isa 61:3). https://youtu.be/YBl84oZxnJ4?feature=shared (I do not own the rights to this song.)
Reflecting on or Journey
How can we destroy the strongholds and arguments in our lives?
Make sure you are very strong and brave! Carefully obey all the law my servant Moses charged you to keep. Do not swerve from it to the right or to the left, so that you may be successful in all you do.
Joshua 1:7
In today’s verse, Joshua charges the people with three things that will lead them to success as God’s people. As believers, we are to live in this same way. Joshua gives a list to the people in his day of what this looks like, and it carries over throughout Scripture. We see it in the verses we have used consistently throughout this study from Ephesians 6:10-18.
According to Joshua, we are to be strong and brave, to carefully obey God’s commands, to stay on God’s path, which leads to success for the believer, and to memorize, or to know, God’s Word. Note the similarities in Paul’s instructions to find strength and power from the Lord and to clothe themselves with the whole armor of God. We also know that both the belt of Truth and the Sword of the Spirit – which are the first and the last pieces of armor have to do with knowing the Word of God; in actuality, every piece of the armor comes back to the Word of God. For surely there is no righteousness or peace or faith aside from God’s Word. As Joshua told the Israelites, their success depended on their obedience, and so too does ours, as failure to use the weapons God has given us will undoubtedly lead to our destruction rather than the victories we experience when we live obedient to Christ.
Knowing God’s Word
We cannot live obediently to something we do not know, and we will not know that which we do not expose ourselves to often.
ME from the Inside-out
I know that memorizing Scripture can be daunting, but clearly, it is our calling as God’s people. However, please remember that while the word memorize means to commit something to memory, it also means to learn something by heart. I would venture to say that while you may not be able to tell me word for word what the Bible says, if you have been a believer for very long, you would be able to tell me the way to Christ or the way of forgiveness or who created the world and in how many days. Spending consistent and meaningful time in God’s Word will always lead to knowing God and His Word, and the more time we spend, the more we will know. I would also remind you before you say you just can’t – that God has empowered us to do everything He has called us to do.💜
I can pray this because his divine power has bestowed on us everything necessary for life and godliness through the rich knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and excellence. 4 Through these things he has bestowed on us his precious and most magnificent promises, so that by means of what was promised you may become partakers of the divine nature, after escaping the worldly corruption that is produced by evil desire.
2 Peter 1:3
Prayer of Response
Father, I confess that without Your Word I am not strong and brave, without Your Word and the power of it I would live by the fleshly desires of this life rather than by the godly ways you have made known to us. Thank You for today’s reminder that we are to not just come to a saving faith but we are to know Your Word so that we can know the way You want us to live and so that we will live successfully as Your sons and daughters. Help us to remember Your Word. Help us to spend quality time in Your Word so that we can remember It – help us to remember that Your Word is a sure and present and victorious weapon agains the evil one and those who prey upon Your children. We are Yours – In Jesus Name – help us to be strong and brave. Amen and Amen.
Reflection of the Journey
How does Joshua 1:7 encourage us to be strong and courageous in the face of challenges and difficulties?
Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
Ephesians 6:17-18
Hopefully, after six weeks of starting Mondays with this passage, we have all become more familiar with the wisdom, truth, and help it offers us – so that we will not let down our guard. May we keep the armor of God on 24/7, 365 days of the year – ready to help us stand firm and resist the devil’s schemes.
Let’s not forget the necessity of suiting up daily with the whole armor of God. Let’s make it a daily practice to put on…
the Belt of Truth
the Breast Plate of Righteousness – and
the Shoes of Peace
May we faithfully…
Take up the Shield of Faith – and
Put on the Helmet of Salvation and
take the Sword of the of the Spirit
And don’t forget to …
pray at all times… for all believers everywhere
We will study the final piece of our armor this week, which is the sword of the Spirit – defined by Paul as the Word of God. Then, we will, at Paul’s suggestion, cover it all with prayer and an alertness. Remember this armor belongs to God and we will not be successful using any of it without first seeking His strength and power as Paul instructed us in the beginning of our study.
“Be devoted to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.”
Colossians 4:2
Did You Know?
I found a fascinating note about the Sword of the Spirit that helped me understand just how powerful this offensive weapon really is. When I picture a “sword” I pictured a long sheath like sword, however, according to BIbileref.com the sword Paul describes is a short-bladed sword, easy to carry and draw quickly in combat. It is meant to kill and defeat the enemy during attack.
God’s Word is able and meant to be used like this in our spiritual battles. Christ Himself sets the example for us as we read in Matthew 4:1-11, where we find three examples of Jesus using the Word of God to defeat the enemy. I encourage you to read how He did it and not to miss the ending when the devil left him alone. May we be quick to follow His lead by being prepared with the Word whenever the enemy strikes.
Our Secret Weapon
When Jesus told His disciples He would be leaving them He also told them about another that would come and be with them so that they could carry on the work of the Father. Here in our passage today, Paul tells them to “pray in the Spirit,” the One that Christ said would be their helper.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit will teach us all things and will remind us of everything [Christ] has told us. John 14:26
Reflecting on the Journey
What is the importance of praying at all times?
Response to God’s Word
Father, hide Your Word in our hearts that we might stand firm in the battles with temptation and all of the devil’s schemes. May we be sensitive to Your Spirit and powerful in Your might. Help us to remember that the battle belongs to You and You have empowered us with all that we need to stand firm. Remind us to stay devoted to prayer not only for ourselves but for the body of Christ and as the enemy wages war against Your people. May we not be detoured by his tactics and lose sight of the call to spread the Gospel. In Jesus’ Name – Amen!
Me From the Inside Out 