provider

April 26, 2021

“You Are My Strength”

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1  I love you, Lord; you are my strength.  2  The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;  my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.  3  I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies. — Psalm 18:1-3

How blessed are the children of God!  We can cry out one word and our Lord hears and saves us! How marvelous and wondeful are the works of our God! He is our all in all! He is the air that we breathe, the sustenance for our souls and our bodies, a friend in need and deed!  He is a spouse to those that will receive Him, a child, a brother, a sister, a Mother, a Dad, an aunt, an uncle, a grandfather, a grandmother!  He longs to fill every void in our life!

He is Jehovah-Jireh, our Provider!

He is Jehovah-Rapha, our Healer!

He is Jehovah-Shalom, our Peace!

He is El-Shaddai, Almighty God, our abundant Blesser!

He is Immanuel, God with us!

3  Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! 4  I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer. 5 You satisfy me more than the richest feast.  I will praise you with songs of joy. — Psalm 63:3-5 NLT

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” – Anonymous

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January 17, 2020

“You Must Follow In His Steps”

21 For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. ​– 1 Peter 2:21 NLT​

1 Peter 2:18-21 NLT

In today’s society and in most countries, we no longer have slavery. But in our workplaces, we do have taskmasters that often treat us unfairly. So, Peter’s admonition to endure with patience is directed to us. Just as Jesus is our example of enduring unjust pain and persecution, so are we to do the same. God is our Jehovah-jireh, our provider. He has provided us with jobs so that we can provide for our families. Instead of complaining and gossiping about our bosses, we should be thankful for the provision. No matter who signs the paycheck, God is our provider. We are to set the example for those around by having a grateful attitude and not joining in when others are criticizing the employer(s). Jesus promised us that we would be treated unjustly and offended by the world, so we should not be surprised by the unjust treatment we receive. We have not yet been required to be faithful when we are facing death for Christ’s sake. We should have the same attitude that the apostles had in the First Century.

Acts 5:40-41 NLT

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 01-17-2020

May 15, 2019

“Seek First the Kingdom of God”

33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.  — Matt. 6:33 NLT

Matt. 6:25 -33 NLT
God gave us time in 24 hour blocks so that our finite minds could comprehend it. He isn’t bound by those restraints. It is always the PRESENT (NOW) to Him. He sees time as an eternity having no beginning and no end. He has forgotten all about your PAST sins (they are cast as far away as the East is from the West) and only He knows whether we have an earthly tomorrow (FUTURE) or not. God comes to us right where we are right now. So, wherever you are and whatever situation you have found yourself in, just look up and you will see the hand of Jesus reaching down to pull you up out of the pit and set your feet on the Solid Rock. Trust Jesus to be your Savior, your Provider, and your Fortress.  God is our Jehovah-Jireh, our Provider. He is absolutely all we need.

19 And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. — Phil. 4:19 NLT

Post 05-15-2019

October 29, 2018

“Our Father Is In Charge – Enjoy the Trip”

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7 For the Lord your God has blessed you in everything you have done. He has watched your every step through this great wilderness. During these forty years, the Lord your God has been with you, and you have lacked nothing.”’ — Deuteronomy 2:7 NLT

If you have ever taken a road trip with your kids then you have heard the question, “when will we get there?” or “how much longer?”.  One Mother’s answer was “Your Father is in charge, he will take care of us and we will arrive safely.  We can just enjoy the trip.”  That is a lesson that the Israelis never seemed to learn.  Their stubbornness and refusal to learn it changed a trip that should have taken only eleven days into an adventure that lasted over forty years.  Because of their attitude, we read in Hebrews, that the original generation of Israelis never entered the rest that God had prepared for them.  Instead of enjoying the trip, the Israelis continually moaned, groaned and whined.  How many days have we wasted whining when we could have just relaxed and enjoyed the trip?  How many more days will we waste moaning and groaning because, like the Israelis, we don’t trust our Father to provide for us and bring us safely home?  Moses told the children of Israel “during these forty years, the Lord your God has been with you, and you have lacked nothing.”  They wanted a lot of things they didn’t have, but they had everything they needed to make the journey.  The Lord our God is still with us and we lack nothing that we need.  If we could ever learn to rest and enjoy the trip, it would not matter when we got there because each day would be a new experience enjoying the presence of the Lord.  Remember that God is our provider and our shield, rest in His presence and repeat as often as necessary.

 
6 So God’s rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God. 7 So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today. — Hebrews 4:6, 7a NLT
“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” – Anonymous
Post 10-29-2018
September 28, 2018

My Rock, My Fortress, and My Savior

even-smaller-bug-light1

1  I love you, Lord; you are my strength.  2  The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;  my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.  3  I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies. — Psalm 18:1-3

How blessed are the children of God!  We can cry out one word and our Lord hears and saves us! How marvelous and wondeful are the works of our God! He is our all in all! He is the air that we breathe, the sustenance for our souls and our bodies, a friend in need and deed!  He is a spouse to those that will receive Him, a child, a brother, a sister, a Mother, a Dad, an aunt, an uncle, a grandfather, a grandmother!  He longs to fill every void in our life!

He is Jehovah-Jireh, our Provider!

He is Jehovah-Ropha, our Healer!

He is Jehovah-Shalom, our Peace!

He is El-Shaddai, Almighty God, our abundant Blesser!

He is Immanuel, God with us!


3  Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! 4  I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer. 5 You satisfy me more than the richest feast.  I will praise you with songs of joy. — Psalm 63:3-5 NLT

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” – Anonymous
Post 09-28-18
June 22, 2017

Suffering for Christ’s Sake

even-smaller-bug-light1

21 For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. ​– 1 Peter 2:21 NLT​

1 Peter 2:18-21 NLT

In today’s society and in most countries, we no longer have slavery. But in our workplaces, we do have taskmasters that often treat us unfairly. So, Peter’s admonition to endure with patience is directed to us. Just as Jesus is our example of enduring unjust pain and persecution, so are we to do the same. God is our Jehovah-jireh, our provider. He has provided us with jobs so that we can provide for our families. Instead of complaining and gossiping about our bosses, we should be thankful for the provision. No matter who signs the paycheck, God is our provider. We are to set the example for those around by having a grateful attitude and not joining in when others are criticizing the employer(s). Jesus promised us that we would be treated unjustly and offended by the world, so we should not be surprised by the unjust treatment we receive. We have not yet been required to be faithful when we are facing death for Christ’s sake. We should have the same attitude that the apostles had in the First Century.

 
Acts 5:40-41 NLT

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 06-22-2017

March 31, 2017

True, Eternal Wealth

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6 Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.
— 1 Timothy 6:6 NLT
1 Timothy 6:3-9 NLT
 
As more people in our society are finding out, we can be materially rich today and in poverty tomorrow. We need to learn to be content with just the basics; food, clothing, shelter. C H Spurgeon says that 95% of Christians fail the prosperity test and only 5% fail the poverty test. That is another way of saying what Paul is telling Timothy here. Money is neither good nor evil, that is determined by the use we make of the resources we have. While the world pursues monetary gain, we should be pursuing spiritual wisdom. It is important for us to remember that no matter who signs the paycheck, God is the source of all our wealth. He is the source of all of our blessings and provides every thing we need.

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 03-31-2017

February 9, 2017

Total Dependence on God’s Provision

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 3 “Take nothing for your journey,” he instructed them. “Don’t take a walking stick, a traveler’s bag, food, money, or even a change of clothes. — Luke 9:3 NLT
 
Luke 9:1-6 NLT

The apostles spent somewhere between 2 and 3 years walking with Jesus. They learned about the Kingdom of God from His words and His actions. Over and over, they were amazed at the miracles He performed. And John tells us that if all the miracles that Jesus performed had been written down in books, the whole world would not be able to contain them. Wouldn’t it be great to have been an apostle with Jesus at that time? Maybe, maybe not. Re-read verses 3 and 4. Would we really jump at the chance to follow those instructions? I think most of us would not want to leave our comfort zones and go on such a mission. Salvation is free and simple. but walking out the whole plan is tough. “Lay down your life, take up your cross and follow me.” Do you hear the call?

Luke 9:23-26 NLT


“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 02-09-2017

October 25, 2016

Money, Money, Money!

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17 Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. — 1 Timothy 6:17 NLT
1 Timothy 6:17-21 NLT
God revealed Himself to us using different names.  One of those names is Jehovah- Jireh, which means that He is our provider.  We usually think of that in terms of physical needs and God does provide for our physical needs here on earth.  But it is more than that. our greatest needs are spiritual and He provides for those needs in abundance.  We look around us and we see all kinds of needs going unmet and we wonder why God doesn’t fulfill every need in the world.  We know He is capable of doing so and we know that He has the resources. Whether we like it or not, whether we agree or disagree with His plan, the first step in trying to understand those unmet needs is to understand that God’s promises are to His children.  The next step is to understand that if we are deliberately living a life of disobedience, He is not obligated to do anything for us.  The next step might be that He uses humans to carry out His plans and we know that we are not always reliable.  Sometimes, perhaps, we keep more of what He has blessed with than He wanted us to, so someone doesn’t get their need fulfilled.  The first two steps are His and we can’t change them.  The third step is ours and that is where we need to focus.  Are we doing all we can do to alleviate needs in our corner of the world?  Are we using God’s abundance to fulfill our wants instead of meeting the needs of those around us?  We need money for our journey here on earth but we also need to use as much as possible of the money God gives us to do good and lay up eternal treasures in heaven.
 
Matthew 6: 19-21 NLT

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

September 18, 2016

No Worries

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33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.  — Matt. 6:33 NLT
Matt. 6:25 -33 NLT
God gave us time in 24 hour blocks so that our finite minds could comprehend it. He isn’t bound by those restraints. It is always the PRESENT (NOW) to Him. He sees time as an eternity having no beginning and no end. He has forgotten all about your PAST sins (they are cast as far away as the East is from the West) and only He knows whether we have an earthly tomorrow (FUTURE) or not. God comes to us right where we are right now. So, wherever you are and whatever situation you have found yourself in, just look up and you will see the hand of Jesus reaching down to pull you up out of the pit and set your feet on the Solid Rock. Trust Jesus to be your Savior, your Provider, and your Fortress.  God is our Jehovah-Jireh, our Provider. He is absolutely all we need.
 
19 And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

— Phil, 4:19 NLT
Post 09-18-2016