“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
and in his word I put my hope.” Psalm 130:5 NIV
With Love,
Cindy
This Is My Journey Unscripted.
Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
realchristianwomen.blog
“I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.” Acts 13:22
The key to being a man or woman “after God’s own heart” is to be surrendered to His will and to put your trust in Him alone.
Stand outside tonight and ponder the stars. Those stars were scattered across the sky by God’s mighty hand. They are so far away that even though many of them are larger than the sun, they look like tiny points of light.
Did you know that our galaxy, the Milky Way, has approximately 100 billion stars? But the Milky Way is not the only galaxy in the universe… There are about 10 billion galaxies in the observable universe!¹
Just imagine the enormity of what we can’t even see! Our God is a mighty God. This is the God that we know and trust!
How can we know what God wants us to do? How can His plan be carried out if we don’t know what it is?
We must trust the Lord, study the Word ,and spend time in prayer.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “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 straight your paths.”
God reminds me that “we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” (Psalm 100:3) Sheep aren’t that smart. They need endless attention and oversight. They are unable to take care of themselves. They need a shepherd. It’s not by accident that Scripture compares us to sheep.
David was a shepherd boy. He learned about God as he cared for his flocks. He knew everything about the relationship between the shepherd and his sheep. He writes, “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1
The sheep know the shepherd’s voice. Jesus said, “The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” John 10:2-5
As we spend time in the Word and in prayer, He leads us.
Jesus declared, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (John 10:11)
If we are surrendered to the Lord, if our heart seeks after Him, we are doing our part. God will carry out His plan. He will do it. He will make that happen. He is the Good Shepherd. He has promised to lead us and we can trust Him.
With Love,
Cindy
This Is My Journey Unscripted.
Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
realchristianwomen.blog
References: 1 https://scienceline.ucsb.edu/index.html
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“The laws of the Lord are true;
each one is fair.
They are more desirable than gold,
even the finest gold.
They are sweeter than honey,
even honey dripping from the comb.
They are a warning to your servant,
a great reward for those who obey them.” Psalm 19:9-11 NLT
With Love,
Cindy
This Is My Journey Unscripted.
Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
realchristianwomen.blog
“God’s laws are perfect. They protect us, make us wise, and give us joy and light.” Psalm 19:7-8 TLB
With Love,
Cindy
This Is My Journey Unscripted.
Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
realchristianwomen.blog
Photo by Sora Sagano on Unsplash
“Great peace have those who love your law,
and nothing can make them stumble.” Psalm 119: 165 NIV
With Love,
Cindy
This Is My Journey Unscripted.
Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
realchristianwomen.blog
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
“Manna from Heaven” has become an idiom of the English language. It means “An unexpected benefit or assistance, especially when it comes at the time when it is needed most.” For example, “Unable to pay my bills, the stimulus check was like manna from Heaven.”
God’s Word is our “Manna from Heaven”.
Manna sounds like the Hebrew for “What is it?” The Israelites saw the manna but didn’t know what it was. Apparently they had never seen anything like it before. The Scripture describes it like this:
“Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium. The people would go about and gather it and grind it between two millstones or beat it in the mortar, and boil it in the pot and make cakes with it; and its taste was as the taste of cakes baked with oil. When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall with it.” Numbers 11:7-9 NASB
“The house of Israel named it manna, and … its taste was like wafers with honey.” Exodus 16:31 NASB
As I read these passages, I thought about how God provided what they needed to eat, but they had to do something with it first. They had to prepare it. I always thought of manna as being loaves of bread on the ground floating down from Heaven. But in reality, they had to take the manna and grind it, and then cook it in a pot or bake cakes with it.
How does this apply to our lives today?
God has given us His Word and that Word is the bread of life because Jesus and the Word are one. This means that although God has given me His Word (the Bible), I have a responsibility to take it and do something with it.
I must read and study it daily. It is my “daily bread”. The Holy Spirit will speak to us daily through the Word. How many times have the verses we read in our daily devotion infused us with strength and encouragement?
If we leave our Bible on the shelf, we leave our daily bread on the shelf. What a tragedy to leave the manna on the wilderness floor when it’s what we need to sustain us!
“Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life.” John 6:35 NASB
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1 NASB
From John 1:1, we know that Jesus is the Word. Jesus also declared that He was the bread of life.
There are many lessons that can be derived from the provision of manna. To me, the most important one is that God’s Word is our daily bread. Jesus taught us to pray,
“Give us this day our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11)
How can we receive our daily bread (sustenance) if we are not in the Word? Do we grumble and complain, as the Israelites did, tired of the manna and wanting something else? God’s Word is our guide. It will sustain us in every situation.
The Psalmist wrote,
“Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” Psalm 119:18 KJV
“I meditate on your precepts
and consider your ways.
I delight in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word.” Psalm 119:15-16 NIV
With Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? Check out my page Who Is Jesus?
Featured Image Photo by Louis Hansel @shotsoflouis on Unsplash
realchristianwomen.blog
“My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” John 17:15-17 NIV
With Love,
Cindy
This Is My Journey Unscripted.
Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
realchristianwomen.blog
“Oh, the joys of those who do not follow evil men’s advice, who do not hang around with sinners, scoffing at the things of God. But they delight in doing everything God wants them to, and day and night are always meditating on his laws and thinking about ways to follow him more closely. They are like trees along a riverbank bearing luscious fruit each season without fail. Their leaves shall never wither, and all they do shall prosper.” Psalm 1:1-3 TLB
With Love,
Cindy
This Is My Journey Unscripted.
Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
realchristianwomen.blog
Photo by Simon Wilkes on Unsplash
Do you ever feel like God isn’t there? When we can’t seem to hear His voice or sense His leading, that’s when it’s time for faith to take charge!
God is always speaking to us in the sense that His Word is alive and all we have to do is open our Bible to hear God’s Word. Today, as I sought the Lord regarding what to write about, I realized that He is always leading me, even when I can’t “feel” it.
How do I know? Because He has promised me He would. If I look to His Word, He speaks. Psalm 119 is about God’s Word, but it also promises that those who love His Word will be rewarded with counsel, wisdom, insight, guidance, and peace.
“Your statutes are my delight;
they are my counselors.” Psalm 119:24
“Your commands are always with me
and make me wiser than my enemies.
I have more insight than all my teachers,
for I meditate on your statutes.” Psalm 119:98-99
“Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light on my path.” Psalm 119:105
“Great peace have those who love your law,
and nothing can make them stumble.” Psalm 119:165
“Your promises have been thoroughly tested,
and your servant loves them.” Psalm 119:140
I will trust Him to lead me because I have surrendered to His will for my life and I love the Word of God. So during times when all I hear is silence, I will trust that He is still leading me through the darkness. I believe His promises are true.
“For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him?
His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?” Isaiah 14:27
“In their hearts humans plan their course,
but the Lord establishes their steps.” Proverbs 16:9
“From the east I summon a bird of prey;
from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that I will bring about;
what I have planned, that I will do.” Isaiah 46:11
“He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.” Psalm 23:3
“He who has compassion on them will guide them
and lead them beside springs of water.” Isaiah 49:10b
“The Lord will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.” Isaiah 58:11a
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” Psalm 32:8
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6
Your Watchful Eye Will Lead Me
Your watchful eye will lead me.
You never look away.
I turn to you for guidance
Every single day.
Because I love your Word,
And seek to know it well,
I trust your hand to guide me,
For in my heart Christ dwells.
With Love,
Cindy
This Is My Journey Unscripted.
Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
realchristianwomen.blog
All Scripture references are from the NIV.
Photo by Allen Taylor on Unsplash
Thy Word I love, O Lord.
Tis my greatest delight.
Early I rise to seek you
And wait for the morning light.
Thy Word I receive, O Lord.
Tis my daily bread.
It feeds my broken heart
And prepares for the day ahead.
Thy Word I will keep, O Lord.
Tis my strength for each day,
You are the solid rock.
I will follow all your ways.
Thy Word I need, O Lord.
Tis the joy of my heart.
You draw me closer to You,
To teach and Thy Truth to impart .
I give thanks for this wonderful gift.
More precious than silver and gold
A treasure of promise and love,
My Bible, whose worth is untold.
How shall I know my own heart, if I do not read God’s Word?
“For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. . . . exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 AMP
How shall I learn, if I do not read God’s Word?
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV
“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Romans 15:4 ESV
How shall I have faith, if I do not read God’s Word?
“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Romans 10:17 ESV
How shall I be obedient, if I do not read God’s Word?
“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.” Joshua 1:8 ESV
How shall I find my way, if I do not read God’s Word?
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105 ESV
How shall I fight the devil, if I do not read God’s Word?
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written . . . Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:1-4 ESV
How shall I keep myself from sin, if I do not read God’s Word?
“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:11
How shall I have peace, if I do not read God’s Word?
“Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.” Psalm 119:165
Lord, Give us a love for your Word. May we hunger for it more every day, that we may serve our family and answer our calling in truth and love.
“I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.” Psalm 119:16
With Love,
Cindy
This Is My Journey Unscripted.
realchristianwomen.blog
Click this link to learn more about Jesus: Who Is Jesus?
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Real Christian Women 