UNDESERVING

FOCUS ...

Zig Ziglar

The door has closed on your past. You no longer live there. Focus on what is ahead of you. The Holy Spirit will take you there (if you let him) and God will provide untold blessings! rlk

TOMORROW

     Do you realize that God is in absolute control over everything that transpires in this life? Do you also realize that his power is such that with one word from the mouth of God your entire situation can change for the better. The key is to have patience while waiting for God to act on your behave. It's coming. Hang on and never stop trusting God.

Prayer of Confession

"Merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart and mind and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. In your mercy forgive what we have been, help us amend what we are, and direst what we shall be, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. We pray this thru Christ, our Lord. Amen."

GOD, OUR FOCAL POINT

Psalm 73:25-26 New Living Translation

“Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.”

            The writer of this Psalm observed what took place in the world and struggled with the prosperity of the wicked. Why would those who do evil in the sight of the Lord prosper? Worldly people will never realize that fixing their eyes on the temporal will never bring them satisfaction and that is essentially the conclusion the author comes to. It’s not too much different than Solomon’s conclusion in Ecclesiastes. He had tasted and seen that all was “vanity, a chasing after the wind.” In the end, (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14) Solomon says, “That is the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.”

            The author of Psalm 73 reveals his reliance and unwavering trust in the Lord and this is healthy outlook; one that believers today should adopt. No matter what happens to us in our life we must always look to the Lord as our sole provider and comforter, for he is the only one who never fails to provide and comfort. His love for us is without condition and never ending.

            At the end of the day, though our thoughts and moods change like shifting sand, God remains the same. He is the one truth that all else should be measured by. If your heart is divided between God and anything else, then you are making a tragic mistake. God alone should be our all in all. As we enter into the Lenten season, focus on the Lord and not anything else and strive all the more to be like Christ in all your thoughts, words and actions. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

Resources: The Life Application Study Bible; The Reformation Study Bible.

WHEN THINGS GET ROUGH ...

... when things get rough and money is tight or some other calamity befalls me I lean on the following verse to bolster my faith and give me hope:

"I was young & now I am old yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread."

Psalm 37:25 NIV

OUR PRAYERS ...

"Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference."

Max Lucado, 

out of his book He Still Moves Stones