Reflections
Think On These Things
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- Published: Tuesday, 06 December 2016 07:24
FOLLOWING THE MASTER – A Lenten Devotional
25th Day of Lent
March 9, 2016
Think On These Things
Copyright 2016 Monica Hernandez
“…whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely...think on these things.” (Philippians 4:8).
The apostle Paul well knew the nature of thought and admonished those he communicated with to train themselves to new and productive ways of thinking. In various teachings, he taught that we are to renew our minds, cast down everything that raises itself up against our knowledge of God, bring our thoughts to the obedience of Christ, and think on ideas that are God-ward and productive.
Knowing that our thoughts play an important role in our manifested experiences we can make changes in our lives by constantly selecting our thoughts and renewing our minds.
Paul also tells us that we have the mind of Christ, which is thoughts and feelings that are of peace, love, truth, obedience, victory and all that is divine. Our thoughts are certainly not as pure and perfect as that of Christ, our Master, however, if we are committed to following Him, He will help us renew our minds if we ask Him.
What are your most frequent thoughts from day to day? Are you allowing thoughts of revenge, hatred, envy, regret, limitations and such like to fill your mind?
As we bring into captivity every erroneous thought to whatsoever is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report, and keep our minds stayed on the Master’s qualities in us, His thoughts and feelings begin to flow within us like streams of living water, healing and creating new and productive happenings in our lives.
SUGGESTED READINGS: Romans 12:2; 1 Corinthians 2:16; 2 Corinthians 10:4;
PRAYER: “As a believer in Christ, His mind is in me and His mind is peace, love, truth, obedience, victory and all things divine. His mind in me blesses me with a new way of thinking and order is restored in my life. Thank you, Father."
THOUGHT FOR TODAY
Choosing to think of whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure,
and lovely is the way to go, all for the Father’s glory.
Comfort For Today
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- Published: Tuesday, 06 December 2016 07:23
FOLLOWING THE MASTER – A Lenten Devotional
24th Day of Lent
March 8, 2016
Comfort For Today
Copyright 2016 Monica Hernandez
AI am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed...@(Genesis 26:24, KJV)
Imagine how it would feel if God appeared to you in the midst of a crisis and spoke these words to you: AFear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee...@ as He spoke them to Isaac. How comforting that would be. However, in your daily difficulties, you may or may not actually hear the Lord's voice giving you these words of comfort, but you can be sure you have those same words as a promise today.
And the Lord gave the reason that Isaac should not fear. He said, A...for I am with thee.@ In the Lord's presence there is not only nothing to fear, but there is also always a promise of blessings.
You can receive the Lord's presence and comforting words today by inviting Him into your experience and by reading and contemplating His words of comfort. And the degree in which you are open and receptive to His presence is the degree in which fear will lose its hold on you. He will teach and encourage you, as well as comfort you.
In Psalm 23, we read that God restores souls (mind, will and emotions) and this reading has been a comfort to countless individuals down through the ages. It is a powerful psalm to feed your soul when you are in scarcity, doubt and in need of comfort.
Think of a flock of sheep in the care of a loving shepherd who knows exactly when and where to move His sheep. He knows where the Agreen pastures@ and Astill waters@ are. This is a picture of the Lord, our Shepherd, keeping us refreshed. He moves us from one pasture to another, allowing us to feed on the best of His provision. His table for us is always prepared and full of good things.
When you walk with the Lord in the light of his Word, you will walk through every Avalley of the shadow of death@ without fear. He will not spare you from walking through such places as they become due, however, He will walk through it with you and comfort you. The most important element in your walk is Whom you walk through those valleys with.
God’s presence is alive and it is peace, love, comfort and joy—everything good--and, thank God, we can experience His presence if we seek Him diligently through His Word and abandon ourselves to Him.
SUGGESTED READINGS: Psalm 23:1-6; Psalm 57:1; 2 Corinthians 4:16; Revelation 3:20.
PRAYER: AHeavenly Father, thank you for your divine counsel flowing through me, giving me strength, understanding and comfort. Amen.@
THOUGHT FOR TODAY
In God's presence there is nothing to fear, only blessings to be received.
Truth That Sets Us Free
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- Published: Tuesday, 06 December 2016 07:23
FOLLOWING THE MASTER – A Lenten Devotional
Fourth Sunday in Lent
March 6, 2016
Truth That Sets Us Free
Copyright 2016 Monica Hernandez
AAnd ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free...@ (John 8:32, KJV).
God is Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and in control at all times.
God is Life, Light, Love, and Peace, and Creator of us all.
God is Spirit and is to be worshipped in spirit and truth.
God created us all in His image and likeness: a reflection of Himself.
God made us and not we ourselves.
God gave us a spirit of power, love and sound mind, and not of fear.
God created us in His image and likeness and to have dominion over all the earth.
God created each of us as a threefold being: spirit, soul and body.
God gave the resurrected life of Jesus Christ for our reconciliation back to Him.
God made believers in Christ to be heirs and joint-heirs with Him.
God created us to live and move and have our being in Him.
All things work together for good to them who love God
With God all things are possible
What is truth? And how will it set us free? And what is freedom? A vital part of the truth is that we are a creation greater than we commonly believe ourselves to be, and a deep inner knowing of this truth will set us free to be whom we are created to be: spiritual beings with the potential for receiving God's best that He has already provided for us before the foundation of the world.
Added to our true nature is that we are heirs and joint heirs with Christ, and if we are in Christ our lives are hidden in Him. Truth is that the kingdom of God is within us, meaning that we have the potential to experience God's best for He Aworks all things for good to those who love Him.@ The Bible tells us also: ABuy the truth and sell it not...@ (Proverbs 23:23). How do we Abuy the truth@ and how do we Asell it not?@
When we recognize that all buying and selling in the natural realm is basically a trading of items of value, we better understand the buying of truth as the trading off of our carnal nature for a new nature in Christ. Then we do not sell the truth by reverting to our former way of living.
SUGGESTED READINGS: Proverbs 23:23; John 14:6; John 18:37.
PRAYER: AShow me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth and teach me. Amen.@
THOUGHT FOR TODAY
Choosing truth is the way to go...all for the Father's glory.
The Blessing of Contentment
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- Published: Tuesday, 06 December 2016 07:23
FOLLOWING THE MASTER – A Lenten Devotional
23rd Day of Lent
March 7, 2016
The Blessing of Contentment
Copyright 2016 Monica Hernandez
ALet your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have...@ (Hebrews 13:5, KJV).
The apostle Paul knew that discontentment breeds covetousness and warned his listeners against it. And in support of what he told the Hebrews, his writing in Philippians at chapter four, verse eleven shows that Ahe learned to be content with whatever state he was in...@ No doubt, Paul learned contentment because he fully recognized that God was in charge of his life and would supply all his true needs as they fell due. This is a sign of Paul=s spiritual maturity.
When we find ourselves craving ceaselessly toward worldly possessions and positions, it is a sign of inner discontentment. And when this happens we can remedy the situation by pausing to refresh ourselves with the recognition that true contentment is from wellsprings within. We could then adjust our thinking and feeling concerning our cravings versus our needs.
Contentment is a learned attitude that builds a peaceful condition or state of mind about our lives and affairs. And it is a blessing. It is developed as we grow in faith that God would supply our needs, regardless of our cravings and wants. And contentment allows us to wait peaceably on God’s hand in our lives.
Many times we strive toward things that are not meant for us but as we question ourselves, the Spirit of God will reveal the truths we need to know.
How can we learn contentment? We begin by examining the way we feel toward the things we crave and disallowing discontentment from overwhelming our thoughts and feelings. We could inquire of ourselves: “Do I really need those possessions and positions I am striving ceaselessly toward? Are they really for me? Am I pursuing those things with a rasping attitude?” If so, you can seek the help of the Spirit of God and adjust your attitudes towards those things.
And God will bless you with peace of mind and harmony in your life.
SUGGESTED READINGS: Philippians 4:11; 1 Timothy 6:6; Hebrews 13:5
PRAYER: "God is dealing bountifully with me in every area of my life and I thank God for supplying my needs.
THOUGHT FOR TODAY
Instead of craving things I do not need, and positions that are not meant for me I should be content with what I have, be grateful to God, and wait on His hand.
A
Living In Tune With the Master
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- Published: Tuesday, 06 December 2016 07:22
FOLLOWING THE MASTER – A Lenten Devotional
22nd Day in Lent
March 5, 2016
Living In Tune With the Master
Copyright 2016 Monica Hernandez
"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7).
The Scriptures tell that the Lord God revealed His secrets to His servants Moses, Jeremiah, Elijah and other outstanding Old Covenant prophets. They heard directly from God. and in more recent times, Jesus and Paul the apostle, and others, also heard from God. And we too, can hear from God.
Were you ever at home alone and could hear every little noise that was made in the house? That is awareness--natural awareness. It was because you were alone and your ears were more attuned than usual to your surroundings. When you reach out to God, talking with Him, and seeking answers, are your ears attuned to hear what He says? If you can discern what He says, that is awareness--spiritual awareness.
How can we genuinely hear from God? Living in tune with the Master is the key. Some of the benefits of living in tune with the Master and hearing from Him are: receiving impartations from God concerning the Scriptures, our personal lives and surroundings, and being better guided and directed.
We live in tune with the Master by keeping our awareness attuned to Him through the practice of Scripture reading, meditation therein, prayer and being doers of the Word and not hearers only.
Reading the Scriptures is great but yet not all there is to living in tune with Master. However, the Scriptures reveal that we are not only to be readers and hearers of the Word but doers of the Word as well.
Meditation in the Scriptures ignites the soul with its truth, and speaking the Word into our lives helps it take root and become established in our lives; this helps us to be doers of the Word and produces within us after its kind.
Would you like to live in a way wherein you are guided, directed and receiving impartations from God? We can build spiritual awareness by maintaining frequent times of inner quietness, listening for God, and following through on His commands. We would then hear from God--and in many ways more than one.
SUGGESTED READINGS: 1 Samuel 3:7-11; Daniel 2:20-22; Daniel 2:28-29.
PRAYER: AHeavenly Father, grant unto me your divine revelations. Thank you, Father. Amen.@
THOUGHT FOR TODAY
When we live in tune with the Master we are guided and directed
from above and within.
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