Comminate (Psalm 146.5-9)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “comminate.”  Understanding God’s blessings can be pretty tricky sometimes.  If you’re like me, sometimes you feel like the world is against you and that they’re just is not enough time, resources, and help available to help you get through the stuff that you need to overcome.  I think that the people in the Old Testament felt kind of the same way at times.  That’s why I take a lot of comfort in reading the Psalms.

“Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.” ~Ps. 146:5-9

My question is: where do you put your hope and trust?  It’s easy to say that you believe in God and trust him, but it’s a whole other thing to actually do it.  I know that for me sometimes I have to step back and remember that trusting God is an active part of my life, and not something passive that I just let happen.  My prayer this morning is that you realize that God is not about comminating us for what we do wrong, but instead bestowing blessings upon us because he does it through his grace and mercy.  Remember that God loves you and wants you to succeed.  Make the decisions today that point you in God’s direction.

Praying for you,

MO

Sodality (John 15.9-17)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “sodality.”  My mentor always tells me to major on the majors, and minor on the minors.  This is a really good piece of advice for many reasons.  But especially in the sense that we must remember that relationships are given to us in life by God to share the best parts of us so that others might be encouraged by who we are as individuals.  Sodality with others is one of the gifts that God allows us to share with others, making it possible for us to thrive in community.

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” ~Jn 15:13

My question is: who are the people with whom you share these kinds of relationships?  I know that sometimes we do not want others to get close for fear that they might learn our weaknesses and failures. But when we allow God to cultivate the relationships in our lives, we open ourselves up for positive change.  My prayer is that you continue to improve yourself and become that kind of friend that would lay down your life who you call friends.

Praying for you,

 MO

Recondite (Philippians 4:4-7)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “recondite.”  I really love reading the book of Philippians.  Paul is pretty straightforward about the things that we need to focus on in our relationship with Jesus.  He even tells us that sometimes we will not understand situations and circumstances of our lives.  But he make sure that he gives counsel for you and me to worry as little as possible, knowing that God hears our prayers and answers them in his time.

“Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute! Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.” ~Phil 4:4-7

My question is: how much of your day do you spend celebrating life?  I know that sometimes it is difficult to understand situations that you face, and even when we look towards the Bible sometimes it can be a little bit obscure and recondite.  But the fact is, there are some things that we may not ever understand.  I've been studying the Bible for a ton of years now, and I realize that there’s some things that just continue to be questions in my mind.  That’s why I rely heavily on my meditation time with God, as well as the mentors and other people who speak into my life.  My prayer for you is that you take the difficult situations and apply God’s simple command, which is to love him and others, which ultimately leads to a better understanding of yourself as an individual, and as a member of God’s family.

Praying for you,

MO

Taradiddle (Colossians 3.1-10)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “taradiddle.”  I love how the Bible talks about putting on the new self.  It makes me feel like I have been given the gift of a new and blameless life before God.  W see in today’s passage that the church was continually dealing with the struggle to be true to one another.  They were reminded that as they shed the old self and embraced the new, God was faithful to respond to them as both a people, and individuals.

“Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” ~Col. 3:9-10

My question is: how do you act towards the people within your sphere of influence?  We must understand that as God calls us to be different and set apart, so must we remember to let our actions match our deeds.  The Lord has called us to be a people who live in his image. That means we need to love one another.  And as in the case of the people in the Colossian church, even the smallest taradiddle brings deceit within the church, because even those little lies fester and grow.  We must be more like Jesus.  Knowing him on a personal level is up to us and the way that we choose to move either closer to God, or further from him.  I pray that you continually renew your mind and the knowledge of God’s saving grace.  Take a moment the morning to thank and praise him.

Praying for you,

MO

Subrogate (Leviticus 1.1-9)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “subrogate.”  We see in the Old Testament that there are a lot of ceremonies and representations of God’s blessings and stipulations on his people.  We see that the Israelites in this time often lived according to religion, and not necessarily their relationship with God.  We realize here that the person offering of a sacrifice to God needs to put his or her cares and desires before God, hoping that they will be accepted as genuine.  This was the daily routine of people that live in God’s time.  They looked towards religious leaders, like priests, to help them move their offerings to God, hoping to find atonement for their sins, and regaining a purity of consciousness.  This would later be subrogated by Jesus going to the cross for our iniquities.

“He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf.” ~Lev 1:4

My question is: how often do you give thanks to God for sending his son as an atonement for you and me?  I know that it’s easy to lose sight of what is important in life sometimes.  We have so much going on that everything seems to be important.  But, my mentor always told me that I need to live a life of priorities.  I try to do that.  I try to keep things in perspective and not let the little things get to me.  My prayer is that you offer each day up as a burnt offering to the Lord, and that he may find your dedication to him pleasing in his sight.

Praying for you,

Mo

Alight (Acts 4:20-29)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “alight.”  I sometimes wonder what my life would be without Christ.  There have been so many times that I would not have been able to get through or sustain a situation without the hand of God.  I realize more each day that the Lord has had a gracious goodness in my time here on earth, and I continue to look to the Word and my relationship with God as the leading and driving force day to day.

“For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.” ~Acts 4:27-28

My question is: how much control do you give God in your life when it comes to decisions that you make?  Before I had a relationship with Jesus I did not take into account spiritual matters when moving through each day.  Now that I am in relationship with God, it is more of a second-nature that I look for His guidance in all matters, big and small.  Your encounter with God was not alighted, but part of God’s plan that you would be in His will going forth. Give him a chance today to show you the power He sets before you.

Praying for you,

MO

Railbird (Ecclesiastes 5:2)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “railbird.”  It seems that everyone has an opinion about stuff. When you do anything in life there will be others that think that they know what is best for you and the situation. And, even though they may be right (and much of the time wrong) it is our responsibility to God to be the kind of people that look to him for the best way to do life, and make decisions based on how we would like to be perceived by others.  And in the same way, we must be careful of what we say and do.

“Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.” ~Ecc. 5:2

My question is: what are the words that come out of your mouth?  Kevin always told me that it is very true that the things that one says is a reflection of the heart. I don’t think that’s anything new for anyone to hear.  My prayer is that when people hear you speak, and look at your actions, that they see a reflection of the kind of person that you would like to be.  Don’t be a railbird, just criticizing peeps for what you might think is a good reason, but instead be careful with your words. Remember that people judge you on that kind of stuff, both good and bad.  Use today as a way to honor God in the way that you live your life.

Praying for you,

Mo

Totidem Verbis (Romans 1.16-32)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “totidem verbis.”  The apostle Paul didn’t really ever pull many punches.  He talked about how good the gospel of Jesus Christ was, as well as the wrath that can come from God to those who do not live by faith but rather in sin.  He simplifies what it means to have a relationship with Christ on more than one occasion.  Today’s passage shows that Paul was pretty clear-cut in his beliefs about God’s power.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” ~Rom 1:16-20

My question is: how do you express your commitment to Christ?  I think there are a lot of ways that we can be faithful to spreading God’s word.  My prayer is that you take your own life into account and see where it is that you need to get better in terms of the way that you spread the gospel.  Just as Paul talked about his commitment to Christ totidem verbis, so must we learn it to act out our faith instead of just talking about it.

Praying for you,

MO

Stour (James 4.7-10)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “stour.”  Harmony within the church is something that we have been trying to figure out as a people for quite a while.  I know that for James it must have been frustrating to go through all he faced, especially in the wake of people living in division and a lack of focus God’s people.  This is just what the Evil One would want for the church, so that he can create dissension and disarray. But, we have God on our side.

“Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” ~Jam 4:7

My question is: what does it mean for you to submit a little bit more to God's plan today?  It seems that God really only wants one thing in this particular passage.  One of those is to submit daily and give him the chance to be the warrior that we need to prevail over the stours, or battles that we face.  I pray that each of you takes the time to ask God what it is that you need to focus on for this year. I know that sometimes we want to do things our way, and that causes a lack of clarity concerning what God might have in store. Set your sights on God, and move closer to him so that the Evil One will flee from you.

Praying for you,

MO

Astir (Matthew 5:1-10)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “astir.”  I mentioned the other day the Beatitudes, and how important they were to Jesus ministry.  Out of all of the passages in the Bible, I think that people know this one even if they do not really understand the context or exactly what Jesus wants to convey.  When I was in Israel I was given the opportunity to see where the Sermon on the Mount could have likely happened.  It was pretty awesome.  I could just picture all of the people getting together and waiting for him, astir with excitement.

“Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them.” ~Matt 5:1-2

My question is: what are the things in life that you are most excited about?  I remember times in my walk with God where I was not very excited to read the word.  I felt that God was far from me.  But, I've come to realize that it is never God who is far from me, but sometimes I just slip away now and again.  But lucky for me, this does not change the way that he cares about me or attends to my needs.  My prayer is that you ask God to give you a fervor and excitement for reading his word.

Praying for you,

MO