A Simple Gratitude Exercise

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.    Psalm 100:4  NIV

    Writing out God’s Word helps us store it up in our heart so that it filters into our everyday life.  Writing out our praise, thanks and requests is good for our mind and  our soul. This week’s SPA is designed for Thanksgiving Day, but you can do it anytime. 

     

Take an 8.5” x 11” piece of paper and fold it in half and in half again, so that it has four  sections, one in each corner.

1. In the top left section, write out Psalm 100. (It’s only five verses)

2. In the top right section, write down some sentences of praise to God. For example, “You are patient.”

3. In the bottom left section, write “God thank you for…” and then fill the box with people, things and circumstances for which you are  thankful.

4. In the bottom right section, Write out some requests you have for God.  They can be for you or for someone else.  As you write, completely give them to God and trust him to take care of them.

Save your paper and read it again sometime in the next few weeks.

Clarity for Life through Encounters with God

When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me 17 till I entered the sanctuary of God.  Psalm 73:16-17 NIV

  
It’s easy to lose perspective in life.  One person lets us down and we start wondering if we can trust anyone.  We fail when we try something new and  then we are hesitant to try something new again.  A few things go wrong and we start expecting other things to go wrong.

What’s going on in your life right now?  Are you struggling with a negative attitude?  Do your problems feel overwhelming?  Do you feel like God is letting you down?  It could be that what you need most of all is a fresh perspective of the goodness, wisdom and power of God.   This week, enter into the sanctuary of God with the following simple activity.

     
     1.  Arrange to be alone in a quiet place for 20 minutes.

     2.  Slowly read Philippians 4:6-7 and Psalm 46:10-11.

     3.  Spend a few minutes telling God about what’s weighing you down.

     4.  Ask God to encourage you and spend the rest of the 20 minutes sitting silently in

          God’s presence.  Quietly praise God for being good, wise and strong. 

Posting again...

After quite a break, I am back to posting my weekly SPAs.  Through a moment of clarity with God, I have rediscovered that helping people to discover God's goodness and to live in his goodness is one of the main passions of my life.  My prayer is that each of these posts provides simple and practical help for people who want to "walk humbly with their God."  (Micah 6:8)

Making Sure We Believe God is Good

“The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways.” Proverbs 14:8

One of the biggest challenges to anything we attempt in life, including our attempts to follow Christ, are the patterns of our thought regarding that venture. What we think about something or someone determines what kind of response we have.

For example, if a child thinks that learning is enjoyable, he will easily become a self-motivated learner. However, if a child thinks that school is a necessary, but not very worthwhile experience, he will less likely be motivated to learn things that can help him grow to be successful in school and after graduation. In a similar way, If we think that God is good and that his ways are the best possible way to live, then we will be motivated to give attention to God’s Word and to prayer and to listening to his voice. On the flip side, if we think that God’s commands hinder our pursuit of joy, freedom and fulfillment in life, then we will have little motivation to get to know God and obey him.

This week, set aside some time to do some soul searching. Do you honestly consider getting to know God through his word and prayer as something that adds value to your life or do you think that you should read God’s Word and pray because it’s the least you can to repay Jesus for dying for your sin? If you think wisely about God and his ways, you will discover much motivation in your pursuit of knowing God and obeying his will. Change and growth will come.

Letting Go of Burdens

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7 NIV

Peter’s encouraging words remind us that we were not meant to carry our burdens by ourselves. The truth is we are not strong enough to carry them on our own. If we don’t give our burdens to God, they will eventually wear us down and wear us out. That’s why David also wrote these beautiful words in Psalm 68:19.
Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.

These words teach us that even when we don’t realize it, God is bearing our burdens so they don’t crush us. This week, set aside some time to consider all of your burdens, trials and problems and give them all to your Heavenly Father, one by one. Sit in his presence and give your burdens to him. You CAN let them go. Remind yourself of his faithful love and remember that he is strong enough to take care of you. Remember this: God will never allow you to face more than you and he can handle TOGETHER.

Quest for Quietness

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10 NIV

One of the best things we can do to strengthen our trust in God and increase our experience of his goodness is to learn to get quiet before him. Too often, we attempt to rush in and out of God’s presence with a prayer list that we feel must be requested or a Scripture passage that we feel must be read. However, rushing and busyness around God rarely amount to anything. They keep us disconnected from God’s presence and unable to hear his voice leading us.


This week, set aside some time in a place where you can get alone and quiet with God. Make sure it is not less than 15 minutes. 30 minutes to an hour would be more helpful. Don’t say much of anything, just tell God you’re ready to honor him with your attention, then sit still and listen. If you sense God prompting you to pray about something, then pray about it. If you feel led to read a certain Scripture passage read it. If you hear nothing or don’t feel led in any way, than just sit still and think about what you do know about God.

Your parents, You and God

“Honor your father and your mother.” Exodus 20: 12 NIV

Every moment of our lives is lived in the presence of God whether we realize it or not. That means we cannot separate our lives into spiritual and unspiritual parts. All of life is spiritual and God has ordered things so that everyday relationships play a big role in our relationship with him. He has designed life so that how we treat our parents greatly affects our lives.

This week, in keeping with this principle and the command to honor our parents. Pray for your parents every day. Pray for God’s blessing on them every day. Find a way to thank God for them no matter how they treated you when you were growing up or how they treat you now. If they don’t know Christ, pray for their salvation. If something is hindering your relationship with your parents, make it right this week. Don’t wait.