Glory Seed Devotional’s, 2017: Anticipating and Experiencing God...
Some of God’s Do’s and Don’ts…
Shalom!
“Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18, NLT) I don’t know about you but some of God’s Do’s on the surface seem impossible. Like, come on how does one be joyful when their world is crashing down around them? And it’s not only about being joyful it’s also about being thankful as well?
Personally, when my world came crashing down around me I’ve tried going the joyful and thankful journey but nothing changed and it seemed as if I was the same old Gary with the same old troubles. However, it only seemed that way because deep inside I wasn’t because I was discovering that when all else fails just Believe. Believe in what? No, it’s not a question of what but a question of who as explained by the apostle Paul. “Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:19–22, NLT)
Believe in who? The Holy Spirit, the presence of God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son in our dispensation, that’s who. Then upon believing in the Holy Spirit next comes believing in what? The prophecies, that’s what. What prophecies? These are but a sampling of the many prophecies pertaining to holding on to what is good.
• “Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35, NLT)
• “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28, NLT)
• “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6–7, NLT)
Being joyful and giving thanks during our difficult times has little to do with our circumstances instead it’s about who we are becoming under the auspices of the Holy Spirit and our responsibility is to simple Believe in the only one who can turn the night to day, conflict into peace, weaknesses into strengths, and lemons into lemonade.
When all else fails just Believe.
“May God be merciful and bless us. May his face smile with favor on us.” **
Grace and PEACE,
Gary
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“Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.”
**Psalm 67:1, New Living Translation
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