Daily Living

Daily Living

Learning to love God and trust him in our daily living is as essential as breathing. We all need reminders of how good God is and what Jesus Christ can do for us. 

Psalm 118:24: "This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."

Colossians 3:23: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters."

Lamentations 3:22-23: "Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

Matthew 6:33: "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

Day 241: God First

Matthew 6:33 NIV

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

         Daily living is where we learn to live out what it is we claim to believe. There has been a process from the very beginning of 359˚ of beauty devotionals that has remained constant, get up in the morning and spend time with Jesus Christ. This verse tells us practically what to do every day. Seek God’s kingdom first. Seek His wisdom first. Pursue His righteousness first. If and when we grant God our first attention, the premise in scripture here implies that everything that we tend to worry about and strive for will be granted to us.

         Now, I have spent most of my life NOT doing this very thing. I have awakened more times in my life and got about my own business instead of spending time with Jesus. At this point in my early forties, I have learned that when I do get up and intentionally spend time with Jesus, I am far better off than the days I get up and just start working for myself or my family. This very habit has turned into a deep desire to pursue the Lord. I am always a work in progress, but I can honestly say that the work is being done. Learning how to love others is now what my life is about, along with balancing that out with learning how to love myself too. There are a few key thoughts that have driven me to this deep desire to spend time with Jesus…

         I asked myself a simple question, whose integrity would I prefer to operate under? Ultimately, we are held accountable for all our actions. This is clearly outlined in scripture. We will even be held accountable to what we have done with the grace and mercy we have received (See Matthew 7:21; Revelation 20:11-15). In learning how to answer this question, it occurred to me that every day has trouble, but whose authority do I want to submit to, Man’s or God’s? The answer is seemingly clear, God’s authority.

         In understanding that our desire should be to rest under God’s authority, should we then do what He is advising us to do in His word? Why would we not follow the outlines provided in His commands? I found very quickly that it was significantly easier for me to rest in God’s authority when I had spent time with Him first. I was not relying on what I may have read a couple of days ago, or the sermon I heard over the weekend. It was not that it made me mistake free, it helped me have a greater sense of my mistakes and how to navigate the road ahead. I found that I would rather rest in God's integrity than my own. At the end of the day, regardless of what had happened, I knew that I could trust that God was with me because I had spent time with Him. While his Holy Spirit is with us at all times, we don't always listen very well to it. By spending the morning in the word, it is easier to hear the Holy Spirit as you walk throughout your day.

         So, seek first God's Kingdom! It will help you become a better steward of what you have been given.

Dear Sovereign God,

         Thank You for another day. It is under Your authority that we desire to operate in this world. Your word says to seek You first in all Your righteousness, so that is what we intend to do. Jesus, we are thankful for the grace that You provide when we fail to put You as our first priority in our day and life. It is our heart's desire to learn Your ways, grace, and word. Would You help us be anchored in Your Holy Spirit as we go throughout our day. Grant us to see the beauty that surrounds us through Your grace. Thank You for the forgiveness that we have received through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross and His resurrected life. Thank You for the promises that You have granted us through Jesus. In Christ Jesus name we pray, Amen

Day 242: Trust God First

Proverbs 3:5-6 NASB

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

         How do we learn how to trust God with all our hearts and not lean on ourselves? This is probably the 64-million-dollar question that everyone would like an answer to in their lives. While many quote this verse to others in difficult situations, is it really that encouraging of a verse to use? Of course it is, but practically living this one out is probably the struggle we can all admit we have.

         So then, how do we live this one out? It all hinges around one word… ALL… We can have trust in God with ALL things. Notice here that it says trust in the Lord with all our hearts, not our minds. This is important, because it is within our heart that our core beliefs in God remain. Remember, upon accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we were granted a NEW heart in which the Holy Spirit dwells. This means that we access God’s Spirit to base our trust.

         The next section is where this scripture really gets good. While we trust with our Holy Spirit filled heart, we do NOT rely on our understanding of things. This means that our thoughts about how and why things are, may not be the reliable source of information in all circumstances. This concept is important to how this Proverb teaches us to be. Our minds are not always reliable, therefore trust God and His provision in our lives.

         In the next issuance of the word ALL, we find it in our response. This scripture tells us in ALL our ways to acknowledge God. This is the action we must learn how to take in response to all situations in our lives. If we understand our minds may not be reliable at times and we make it our desire to honor the Lord, we frame our worldview with the concept that God is always sovereign. When we allow this belief to guide our lives, the path before us becomes straightforward. We are not negotiating the ebbs and flows of life; we are relying on God to navigate every circumstance. When we find ourselves in this place, seeing God’s beauty becomes easier over time. God is leading the expedition through this world, and we get to enjoy the view of everything unfolding. So, if you face something difficult today, pause and pray, acknowledge God and let Him navigate for you instead of relying on your own strength.

Dear Reigning Father,

         Thank You for the reminder that You are sovereign and always driving our lives. Let us acknowledge You in all our ways today. Lord, Your word guides and teaches us to rely on Your sovereign grace and knowledge to guide our steps. May we pause and pray, opening ourselves up to listen in this hurried lifestyle most of us live within. May our response acknowledge who You are to us Jesus and become conduits of Your grace throughout our days. May others see You are work deep within us refining all that we are. May we be teachable, humble, and fix our trust in You Jesus. In Christ Jesus authority we are thankful for His grace, and we pray for His peace to come, amen.

Day 243: Rejoice in God First

Psalm 118:24 NLT

This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

         Rejoicing is hard! Sometimes it is simply very difficult to show great joy, happiness, or delight in our lives. I know this is true because I have personally had many days swallowed up with grief from the moment I woke up, until the moment I fell asleep again. Yet, depending on what version of the bible you choose to read we can find this word, similar command, or some form of this idea anywhere between 200 to 280 different times throughout the scriptures. This is a significant amount of rejoicing…

         So how do we do it? This verse grants us insight into how we can do it. Today has been made by our Creator - Jesus Christ, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit. We must acknowledge the source of this day in our lives. It really helps when we do this early in the morning by expressing thanksgiving to Him. This sets the tone and helps anchor us in the truth for the day. Knowing our day is being established by our Creator settles us to know He has set the day in motion and we are watching to see how it plays out.

         The next half of the verse is the practical way we are to live out the rejoicing we are commanded to have. We WILL rejoice AND be glad in it. Will power is key but also knowing there is a day full of opportunities to be joyful, express happiness, or delight towards God is ahead. This is a future outcome built in anticipation of recognizing that the Lord has made the day! There is always a way to rejoice in the day. All we need to do is seize the day, rejoice, and be glad in it; even if sometimes you are simply glad it is over and you survived!

         Don’t worry, scripture makes this rejoicing a requirement repeatedly.

Old Testament Commands to Rejoice (NASB):

·        Psalm 32:11 - "Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones; and shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart."

·        Psalm 33:1 - "Sing for joy in the Lord, O you righteous ones; praise is becoming to the upright."

·        Psalm 97:12 - "Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous ones, and give thanks to His holy name."

·        Psalm 100:1–2 - "Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful singing."

·        Zephaniah 3:14 - "Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!"

·        Zechariah 9:9 - "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey."

New Testament Commands to Rejoice (NASB):

·        Matthew 5:11–12 - "Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great..."

·        Romans 12:12 - "Rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer..."

·        Romans 12:15 - "Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep."

·        Philippians 3:1 - "Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord."

·        Philippians 4:4 - "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!"

·        1 Thessalonians 5:16 - "Rejoice always..."

·        1 Peter 4:13 - "...but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation."

         This is by no means a comprehensive list of our commands to rejoice, but it becomes increasingly evident that we are to be filled with rejoicing in our lives, because our God is infinite in His grace and mercy. We have much to rejoice over! So, REJOICE, AGAIN we say REJOICE!

Dear Rejoice-able Father,

         Thank You for being so amazing that we can be overwhelmed with joy, happiness, and delight! Father, You have done so many things in our lives that we should be overwhelmed with elation towards Your Holy Spirit displaying the awesome nature of Your grace. Jesus, the fact that You would love us so much to die upon the cross for our sins, pay our penalties, and then forgive us as we work towards sinning less in our lives is simply beyond comprehension. Thank You, thank You, thank You! Teach us to rejoice in all things and give us a spirit of joy that goes beyond comprehension so that others may see what You have done in us and we can rejoice in telling them the good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ! It's in Christ Jesus name we rejoice and pray, Amen!