Sweet Sleep

Do you have trouble falling asleep at night? Sometimes it takes me forever. I toss and turn. My mind repeats all the stupid things I said and did throughout the day. I think about all the things I need to do tomorrow. Before I know it, it’s 3 in the morning and I still haven’t fallen asleep!

I heard the solution on “In Touch” with Charles Stanley today. That man is the real deal! Anyways, here’s the answer to getting a good night’s rest:

Ask yourself this – Did I serve God to the best of my ability today?

If yes; You will sleep like a baby.

If no: Better get some rest, because you’ve got a lot to do tomorrow!

“When you lie down, you will not be afraid: when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.” (Proverbs 3:24)

May God’s Love be with you

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Dungeon Songs #God #Jesus #HolySpirit #Christian

Acts 16:25

Ever get a song stuck in your head? Of course you have! The Belle Stars’, “Iko Iko” from the movie, “Rain Man” used to get it’s catchy claws on my brain and not let go.

Well, how about after you’ve been arrested… in a dungeon… at midnight? Still got a song rattling around up there? Kind of different, huh? Well, that’s exactly what Paul and Silas were doing when they were in prison in Philippi:

“But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them;” (Acts 16:25)

Nowadays, songs that get stuck in my head are Christian worship songs. That may sound weird to you, but to me it isn’t. A couple of years ago I took the K-Love “30-Day Challenge” of listening to only Christian music for a month… and I never looked back. That’s not my point, my point is this: we lay up things in our heart. They can either be things of God or things not of God. When you wake up with a Christian song or a Scripture verse in your head, then this is the “song in the night” that God has given you!

“The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime; And His song will be with me in the night, A prayer to the God of my life.” (Psalms 42:8)

Prison at midnight might not seem like a great place for singing. But in fact, it was ideal. Note that “the prisoners were listening to them.” What a witness! How many of Paul and Silas’s fellow inmates were converted that night? It’s hard to tell.

It’s also hard to tell who’s listening to you. And make no mistake, nonbelievers are listening. What are you singing? What songs are stuck in your head? God can give you songs in the night and it will be a prayer to the God of your life!

May God’s Love be with you

Re: Daily Devotion with Greg Laurie, “Songs in the Night”

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Secret to Success

Everyone wants to be successful, right? There are a million self-help books out there about how to be successful and what to do to be a success. But what is success? And is there a “secret” to it?

I don’t think it’s a secret at all. God gave Joshua the key to being successful way back in Joshua 1:7-9.

“Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.” (Joshua 1:7,8 NASB)

Meditate on God’s word and do what it says.

Simple. Too simple for some. But that doesn’t make it any less true.

Follow this simple step and you WILL find success. That’s a God Promise. It may not be what the world considers “success.” But it will be success in God’s eyes. And really who would you rather please?

May God’s Love be with you

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He Who Dwells

Psalms 91

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Blank Canvas #God #Jesus #HolySpirit

As an artist, I’ve looked at many blank canvases. When you’re staring at a completely new canvas, you can’t help but see all the possibilities that it could become.

It’s easier to start with a blank canvas. I have painted a particular canvas multiple times before. Layer upon layer. Can’t seem to get it the way I want! It’s almost always easier to just start over. It’s easier to paint the canvas white and begin again.

Only Christ can take your canvas and make it white again. Only Christ can make it new and start afresh.

Only you can let Him.

Allow Him to take your scribbles and turn them into His masterpiece. We look at our lives and see what a mess we’ve made. Christ only sees all the wondrous possibilities. Eph. 2:10

May God’s Love be with you

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A Sit Down

Have you ever imagined a “sit down” with God? Just you and God. Maybe over coffee or something. You know, casual. You could ask Him all your questions and just sit and enjoy His company?

It might go down like this:

“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool. “If you consent and obey, You will eat the best of the land; “But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword.” Truly, the mouth of the Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 1:18-20 NASB)

This is God laying it out pure and simple. In fact, it doesn’t get any more simple. It doesn’t get any more beautiful.

First He says “Let us.” I love that! God says “Let us reason this out. I don’t want you to be confused! I want you to get it!”

Though our sins stain us, if we but obey, they’ll be as pure as snow. Stained! Once something is stained, it’s ruined. You usually throw it out. But God can remove the stain. And not only that, he can make it better than before! Whiter and purer than it ever could be on its own!

By the way, that “sit down” you are imagining? It can happen any time you want. All you gotta do is call on His name. He’s ready for you. He’s wanting to clear all the confusion you may have. He wants you to get it.

He desires a sit down with you even more than you desire one with Him. Let that sink in for a minute.

Yes. I know, it’s overwhelming. But it’s true.

May God’s Love be with you

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Special Delivery

I ordered a pizza. The pizza delivery guy did something weird. He put a big red bow on my pizza. But that’s not it, He also attached balloons to it. Then he kept on and on about how much I was going to enjoy this pizza and how this pizza was better than the pizza from the shop across town.

Not really. What he actually did was deliver the pizza. No song and dance.

We are called to deliver the Good News of Jesus (Matt. 28:19,20). We don’t need to dress it up. We don’t need to put a bow on it. The message is powerful enough on its own.

May God’s Love be with you

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