"RENEW MY HEART, O GOD" IS COMPLETE!

"RENEW MY HEART, O GOD" IS COMPLETE!

It is hard to believe, but 366 devotions have been posted for "Renew My Heart, O God" and it is now complete! I am currently in the process of undertaking the final task of editing and the preparation and submittal of my work to the publisher for approval. I have decided to devote this month of September for that purpose. If accepted, the typical turn-around time to get the book published is about 4-6 months. May God's hand be favorable to me in all this, as this is His devotional, and I pray that it will bless a multitude of people and rekindle a passion deep within them to know Him and His Word all the better. 

With that said, I will not be posting daily for this next month of September, but I will not be silent, either. I am concurrently preparing the way for Book 2 in my devotional trilogy series:  "Restore My Spirit, O God" - Inspiration for Regaining What's Been Lost. Book 1 was all about "healing" your heart and bringing you back to God. This second book is all about "connecting" your spirit with God. Book 2 will be comprised primarily of quotations, scriptures, and words of encouragement to help you connect and stay connected with God. The final book in this series will be:  "Revive My Soul, O God" - Empowerment to Bring You Back to Life. This final book in this devotional trilogy is all about "becoming" the person God wants you to be by His transforming Spirit. It will be comprised of prayers, motivations, and anecdotes to enable God's transformation to permeate your very soul.

Officially, I am planning on beginning "Restore My Spirit, O God" on October 1, and during the month of September, I will try to post a couple times a week as a precursor to this new devotional. Thank you devoted readers for your continued prayers and support! God is with and for us all!

Prayers and blessings,

Jeff 

The Lord Renews, Restores, and Revives

With God, tomorrow is a brighter day, pain and sorrow drift away, life's tests are passed and success in view, our shattered dreams alive and new, broken hearts are mended still, always hope He will fulfill, troubled times are turned to peace, His comfort and joy He will release, the very best is yet to come, just because He gave His Son, follow Him with all your heart, He's given you a brand new start, double blessings in His hand, He's calling you to make a stand, serve Him with all heart and soul, His praises may you ever extol.

May your latter be greater than your former.

August's Message, Day 31:

After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before. The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. Job 42:10,12a NIV

We live lives of trials and tribulations, turmoil and upsets, pain and suffering, disappointments and broken promises, shattered dreams and wounded hearts, and lost hope in the depths of despair. Yet, even so, God is able to renew our heart, restore our spirit, and revive our soul. With God there is always hope, always another way, always a tomorrow, always His comfort, always His peace, and always His joy. Satan and the world may try to destroy you and take everything of value from you, but God is there to bless you even more, His double portion saved and divvied out just for you. Be true to Him to the very end, persevere, overcome, and be blessed beyond measure by your Father in heaven who loves you like no other and has spared nothing for you, not even His Son.

My prayer for you, is that like Job, the Lord will restore all that has been lost and bless you with twice as much as before. May the latter part of your life be infinitely grander than anything you've ever experienced.

Be Still

Stay on His path for your life, waiting patiently for His instructions and directions. Do not be dismayed by the apparent successes of others, as only He can see the road ahead and knows every obstacle, danger, and potential setback. Be still and trust and follow Him. He's taking you to where you need to be.

August's Message, Day 30:

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Psalm 37:7 NIV

And:

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10 NIV

Be still. Be patient. Know that He is the Lord God Almighty and His plans, even His plans for you, will not be thwarted. Others may run hither to and fro and seemingly grab all the successes in life right out from under you. But do not be dismayed for He is with you and for you and will certainly complete the good work He has begun in you and will see you through to the end. Do not run ahead of Him, for that will only bring you trouble before you are ready. Follow His leading and His path, walking with Him, not lagging behind, not leaping ahead, not wavering off the narrow path that He has you on. Simply follow, together with Him, and He'll take you to the place you need to be at precisely the right time. Don't worry about those who seem way ahead, for in this life game, there are always traps, detours, and setbacks that only He can see.

Thorns of Grace

When you're at your weakest and least, He's at His strongest and best and can use you most. God doesn't always remove the thorn, but then again, Christ our King, wore a crown of thorns just for you.

August's Message, Day 29:

Blessed are those who have regard for the weak; the Lord delivers them in times of trouble. The Lord protects and preserves them— they are counted among the blessed in the land— he does not give them over to the desire of their foes. The Lord sustains them on their sickbed and restores them from their bed of illness. Psalm 41:1-3 NIV

We all struggle with times of weakness, stress, fatigue, and illnesses and infirmities of all sorts. It should be comforting to know that the Lord is gracious and merciful to the downcast and those in need. He truly is there to help you overcome and enable you to be at your very best in every way, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Our God is the One who sustains us and continually restores us. Though He may not fully "fix" us, we should trust that He truly knows what is best and how we, through our own experience of ailments, can use those same afflictions to help others in their distress. We can only perceive what we think is best for us, while He knows what is best for us and everyone we've yet to come in contact with. Use everything you've been given for His glory, even if what you're experiencing right now only seems to superficially be the thorn that never gets removed. God can work wonders and miracles with thorns.

Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:7b-10 NIV

Call Upon His Name

For Sunday:  When you’re troubled, tempted, wrought with worry, or just down and in despair, call upon His name and He will be there to see you through, exchange His comfort for your turmoil, and exchange His peace for your anguish. He is your God. Turn to Him.

August's Message, Day 28: For Sunday

Turn to Him in troubled times, and even better, turn to Him daily. Thank Him often for being there for you and getting you through the day. He is a most gracious, merciful, and loving God, so make sure you let Him know it. It's not for Him, it's to help you increase your faith and trust.

Day 22:

Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame. It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me. Who will condemn me? Isaiah 50:7,9a NIV

Day 23:

For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 6:2 NIV

Day 24:

Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. Hebrews 2:18 NIV

And:

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV

Day 25:

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:25-34 NIV

Day 26:

In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. Keep me free from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, Lord, my faithful God. I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. Psalm 31:1-5,7 NIV

Day 27:

Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak. But I trust in you, Lord; I say, “You are my God.” Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love. How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you. In the shelter of your presence you hide them from all human intrigues; you keep them safe in your dwelling from accusing tongues. Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord. Psalm 31:9,10,14,16,19,20,24 NIV

The Divine Whisper is just waiting inside you for you to call upon His name for help. Speak to Him often, better still, listen intently.

You Are My God

In your deepest, darkest moments, cry out to Him and say, "You are my God," and He will answer your trust and hope in Him with everything good, surround you with His unfailing love, and give you all His strength to carry on.

August's Message, Day 27:

Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak. But I trust in you, Lord; I say, “You are my God.” Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love. How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you. In the shelter of your presence you hide them from all human intrigues; you keep them safe in your dwelling from accusing tongues. Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord. Psalm 31:9,10,14,16,19,20,24 NIV

We continue to read in Psalm 31 all the hope, help, protection and preservation, and abundance of all things good, when we turn our troubled hearts to the Lord. Just like David, in our deepest, darkest moments we can call upon His name and say, "You are my God," and He withholds no good and wonderful thing for those whose hope and trust is in Him. Turn to Him, and His face will shine upon you with His unfailing love.

He Is Your Refuge

When the troubles of this world are weighing you down, and your soul is in the deepest of despair, call upon His name and He will bring you to His fortress of refuge and peace. Psalm 31 is where you'll find His solace and assurance of His presence.

August's Message, Day 26:

In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. Keep me free from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, Lord, my faithful God. I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. Psalm 31:1-5,7 NIV

If you're a bit downcast, then this psalm, Psalm 31, together with Psalm 23, should be your go-to place to regain His comfort, peace, and assurance. He will never forsake you or leave you, nor let you be put to shame. He is your refuge and deliverer in troubled times. His righteousness surrounds you and rescues you from the evil traps of this world. He listens intently to your prayer and answers by leading and guiding you into the fortress of His presence. He is your rock foundation which nothing can shake or tumble. He is always faithful and true, and does all this for His name's sake. Call upon Him in troubled times and His love is there to bring you peace and joy in Him. He is your God. Surely He sees your affliction and the burning anguish in your soul. Most assuredly, He the solace you are hoping for.