Category: Knowing God

Power Source

God Gold of the Day

“Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” –Deuteronomy 31:7-8

The gold today is an old gold that I had sent out awhile back! It’s from the time that these messages were being sent out just through text messages so if you see some “lol’s” then that’s why. It blows my mind how God uses lessons we learned with Him in the past to teach us today! Blows my mind too that these messages are being shared on such a bigger platform to many more people, proves so true that no matter how much things feel like we’ve “made it.” There is still so much room to learn and be taught by God through His Word because we never truly arrive or “make it” in this life, we just continue to grow and learn each day with God in this process of being made more like Christ. Pretty humbling for the reminder that these messages, the God Gold or anything I do in life isn’t because of me but it’s all God!!!!! I’ll let you read what 22 year old Jordan has to say before I mention anything else.

“I’ve always done this thing where I see verses like this, I see “be strong and courageous”, then I get all hype cause as the manly man I am I got that covered right? Nah not so much lol. I see that then try to attack life and all the struggles that come with it and for some reason it doesn’t always work. I wonder why it doesn’t and it’s really pretty simple. “I” try to be strong and courageous without HIM! That’s where verse 8 comes in, Moses didn’t just tell Joshua to be strong and courageous, pat him on the back and ride off into the sunset. He made sure Joshua knew where and who the source of his spiritual strength comes from. I notice I live out my life and try to overcome things majority of the time just off verse 7. I forget to keep reading, or reminding myself that my strength and courage come from the Lord. So when living life with both these verses in mind, things change, we overcome, we are capable of so much more! It’s super easy to draw off our own strength but what’s the point? We have a God that goes before us, that never leaves or forsakes us, a God of deliverance, a God that makes being strong and courageous so much easier than we can on our own! Idk bout you guys but my verse 7 only lifestyle usually doesn’t work out too well so let’s be strong, be courageous, and know that everything we have comes from a much higher power, a God that changes lives.”

Pretty awesome seeing not just verse 7, what sounds cool to us but seeing the verses together in the fullness of what God is saying to us. Like I said, I wrote that when I was 22 and I’m 24 now, geez I’m getting old. It’s crazy, learning this truth then doesn’t mean that I’ve lived strong and courageous, knowing my power comes from God not me for the last two years. I still seriously struggle with depending on God, letting go of what I have (which is nothing) and giving every piece of myself and life to God, depending on His strength over my own or anything of this world. I thank God for teaching me through some failures lately that no matter how hard I try, no matter how hard I work and give my best effort to be better or overcome tough situations, the prime time truth here is that I CAN’T!!!! The source of our power to be strong and courageous or do anything in life comes from God and God alone!!!

It’s so awesome to see how Moses doesn’t just tell Joshua to go be strong and courageous but then he lays the out the source of the power to live this strong and courageous life. Moses points to God, the source of their power then and the same God who is the source of our power now. God is showing us that He wouldn’t tell us to do something, be strong and courageous without also showing us that He has already given us everything we need and equipped us to do so by giving us a relationship with Him where at anytime we have access to draw from His power!

It’s this powerful truth right here, “ It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” You may say, well God says be strong and courageous but doesn’t show us how, He just shows us some stuff about Him, EXACTLY! To live strong and courageous lives in whatever tough circumstances we may face, the how comes through WHO and the WHO is God! It’s not something we do like, “Try this 10-step plan to be courageous and strong immediately today.” It’s not anything about us or what we do, this whole life is about God and what He can do, which is literally anything!!! Once we see these awesome promises about God, Who He is, and how He works before us, We realize we don’t need to keep trying with what we got and failing, living weak, insecure, fearful lives. We can put ourselves aside and place total dependence on God, move our faith from us and all these things, and place it in the God who is with us, who will never leave us but go before us, fighting our battles before we even know there’s a battle, who will never fail us but always so faithfully be there to supply our every need, allowing us to draw from His power, the source of power that brings change to lives. Changes the weak to strong, the fearful to courageous! Why would we ever look for power in other sources? The source of our power comes from the God who is right there with us ready to supply!

It’s not in “being” strong and courageous, it’s looking to the source of our power, God, the only One who can give us the power to live strong and courageous lives! Instead of ‘being” something you can’t be alone, BELIEVE, have faith in who God is and the power you have access to, He changes everything!

 

Ponder Bout It

God Gold of the Day

“1 Praise the Lord!
I will thank the Lord with all my heart
as I meet with his godly people.
2 How amazing are the deeds of the Lord!
All who delight in him should ponder them.
3 Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty.
His righteousness never fails.
4 He causes us to remember his wonderful works.
How gracious and merciful is our Lord!
5 He gives food to those who fear him;
he always remembers his covenant.
6 He has shown his great power to his people
by giving them the lands of other nations.
7 All he does is just and good,
and all his commandments are trustworthy.
8 They are forever true,
to be obeyed faithfully and with integrity.
9 He has paid a full ransom for his people.
He has guaranteed his covenant with them forever.
What a holy, awe-inspiring name he has!
10 Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom.
All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom.
Praise him forever!”
Hope everyone had an awesome weekend! I flipped open my Bible this morning to a random page and came across this Psalm. I want to be honest with y’all and tell you that I still don’t have a clue what I’m doing in the Word and I’m not always that great at living this life following Christ, but I’m extremely thankful to get to dig into God’s Word through this platform with you and learn together what awesome gold God has for us!
I’ll go ahead and tell you too that I have no idea how to put words to this Scripture. Every verse contains so much of God’s goodness, it’s really hard to come away with just one big lesson. There was a few things that stuck out to me and I pray as you start your week in someway that this can be an encouragement to you and this Word comes up as a reminder when things may get tough. I’m not going to go very in depth but just give you some ideas to think about as you look back in the passage and spend time with God seeing the Gold He has for you for yourself!
1) Who God is? What He’s capable of? How He loves us, provides for us, blesses us and takes us through awesome experiences that only He is capable of getting us through.
2) How often do I overlook the beauty and goodness I have in this relationship with God? Overlooking the bigness of Who He is and the fact that I have access to Him whenever, wherever and as much as I need Him?
3) How often do I thank God? How often do I sing His praises in my life? How often do I spend time getting excited and yelling for things of this world but when it comes to God I’m quiet?
4) How easily do I become distracted or forgetful of the God I have a relationship with? How often do I go to the God who has delivered me before and is always there to do it again when tough situations come up? Or do I lean on myself? Or do I put my trust in things of this world to help or make me feel better?
5) How often do I have and live with reverence for God? Do I put Him first in all that I do, think and say? Do I obey the laws in His Word for personal gain or out of reverence for God knowing that His Word is there for my good, to live a life that brings His glory to others? How often is my obedience to God placed behind my personal wants and desires? Am I in search of Godly wisdom to live a more Godly life? Do I see that wisdom comes out of application and application out of placing God first in life?
If you’re feeling convicted from those questions, AWESOME! I’m sitting in the seat right beside you on the conviction train. These questions are stuff that I asked myself and it’s definitely painful to realize the truth about who you really are but when compared to who God is, how truly good He is, the pain is worth it to know and experience God more deeply in our lives. Hope this helps this week and excited to see how God opens you up to see more of Him through this Word!

HEARING AID

God Gold of the Day

Been noticing lately how crucial it is for me to have some quiet time with the Lord before I go out into my day whether that’s with worship music, devotional reading, time in His Word, or in prayer and today I tried something a little different. I used to think of spending time in the morning with the Lord with such a religious checklist mentality like if I don’t read a certain amount of verses or pray a certain amount of time then my day is going to be terrible because I didn’t check this time off my list. It’s not like that at all. the Lord gives us so many different ways to come to Him and I’ve learned that we don’t spend this quiet time with the Lord because it’s something we’re “supposed to do”, we spend this time with Him because it’s something we desperately NEED to do! This world can be tough and hard to deal with at times, so when we start the day with God, we are aligning our hearts and minds with God. In this time He reminds us of our identity as a child of His, He teaches and shows us more about who He is, how awesome and capable of anything He is! So when the day starts to happen, tough circumstances or opposition comes our way, we are aligned with God, we know we are His and He is ours, He’s got us, and we can have confidence and great hope knowing that nothing that this world throws at us can harm us in anyway! Even if we do feel some pain, it’s for His glory and He is teaching us through it to become better, stronger and battle ready for what lies ahead!

Starting the day with God has completely evolved my life this week and brought my relationship and view of how awesome God is to such deeper levels, Until you do it, you’ll never know how much more it really is than something we’re supposed to do, it’s time with God, getting lined up with Him, His purpose for you and your identity in Him, it changes EVERYTHING!

This morning I was pressed for time which is my own fault and another lesson learned here is that no matter how busy our mornings or day is, we always have time for God because until we spend that time with Him, all that other stuff is meaningless. I was in a hurry, missed my quiet time and was driving to work so I thought you know what, I’ll mix it up, try something different, so I went on the Bible app, went to a random chapter from Psalms which shows us so much about Who God is and just the deepness of our relationship with Him. I hit the play button on the app and listened to the Psalm 18 as I went down the road. I’ve always thought if I listen to the Bible I’ll feel like I’ll miss something since I can’t see it. But it was so awesome!! Hearing God’s Word instead of just reading it was like it His Word was sinking in so much deeper. And it kept me away from reading only what makes me feel good. It was like God was speaking to me and it changed the game for morning quiet time and honestly how I take in His Word. I’ve got the video above for you and the scripture below so spend some time listening to it on your travels tomorrow, listening to it while you read along, whatever works for you just take some time to listen to it a few times. Let His Word soak into you and spend some time talking to God about it or just thinking about it for a minute.

What does this verse mean for you?

God what do you want me to hear?

What are you teaching me about you here, Who you are and what you’re capable of doing in my life?

As you’ll be able to see the Scripture isn’t short and there’s too much Gold to try and sit here and type about. Besides I’ve been at a loss of words with it anyways today so just spend some time in Psalm 18 today or in His Word, listening to it, reading it, and soaking in what He has for you. Spend some time writing about these verses, just some big takeaways you have. I promise, putting pen to paper helps you dig deeper and really think more deeply on what God is speaking to you. I pray this chapter from Psalms can be of an encouragement to you and bring you closer to the Lord. If you want, share with me what hits you and what you get from this passage. I’d love to hear your perspective and what God has shown you! And I’ll always take all the gold I can get because when it’s God’s Gold, man it’s priceless!!!!

“For the director of music. Of David the servant of the LORD. He sang to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:

1 I love you, LORD, my strength. 
2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 
3 I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies. 
4 The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. 
5 The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. 
6 In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. 
7 The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry. 
8 Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. 
9He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. 
10 He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind. 
11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him— the dark rain clouds of the sky. 
12 Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning. 
13 The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. 
14 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy, with great bolts of lightning he routed them. 
15 The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke, LORD, at the blast of breath from your nostrils. 
16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. 
17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. 
18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support. 
19 He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. 
20 The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me. 
21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I am not guilty of turning from my God. 
22 All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees. 
23 I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin. 
24 The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight. 
25 To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless, 
26 to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the devious you show yourself shrewd. 
27 You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty. 
28 You, LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. 
29 With your help I can advance against a troop ; with my God I can scale a wall. 
30 As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him. 
31 For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God? 
32 It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. 
33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights. 
34 He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 
35 You make your saving help my shield, and your right hand sustains me; your help has made me great. 
36 You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way. 
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed. 
38 I crushed them so that they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet. 
39 You armed me with strength for battle; you humbled my adversaries before me. 
40 You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes. 
41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them— to the LORD, but he did not answer. 
42 I beat them as fine as windblown dust; I trampled them like mud in the streets. 
43 You have delivered me from the attacks of the people; you have made me the head of nations. People I did not know now serve me, 
44 foreigners cower before me; as soon as they hear of me, they obey me. 
45 They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds. 
46 The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior! 
47 He is the God who avenges me, who subdues nations under me, 
48 who saves me from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes; from a violent man you rescued me. 
49 Therefore I will praise you, LORD, among the nations; I will sing the praises of your name. 
50 He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing love to his anointed, to David and to his descendants forever.”

Who? Praying

God Gold of the Day

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3:20-21‬ ‭

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4:6-7‬ ‭

Couple of pieces of Scripture today because it’s hard to put a limit on God’s Gold! Prayer has been an area of my life where I’ve noticed I’ve been lacking not as much in doing it, but the intentionality behind it. What I mean is, when I do pray, I’ve noticed how rehearsed my prayers have become, almost to the point like I’m throwing up some wishes here and there just so things go well in my life. At times I’m sure we’ve all fell into this religious, routine type prayer.

Thankfully God has opened me up to a lot of awesome stuff about my time in prayer with Him lately and I pray this can be of some help to you! Prayer isn’t just something we do because if we don’t then we’ll have a bad day or God won’t love us. Prayer is meant to be real, not saying what you think God wants to hear or trying to make yourself sound better to Him. Funny thing is God already knows everything about you, what’s the point of trying to hide stuff? The biggest thing I noticed is was digging into the realness of Who I’m talking to. Think about it a second. How often do you talk to God, run through some stuff check off the boxes of things you need to say then go about your day?

It can be easy to fall into the routine of prayer and forget that WOAH factor, that you’re talking to God? The Creator of everything you see around you, the God who gives you breath to breath everyday, Who is all-powerful, all-knowing and in full control of every situation. Changes a few things doesn’t it? Knowing God, seeking Him constantly not to get blessings or have a “good” day, but seeking to know more of Him, that’s when you see that this God you are praying to is able to do more than you could ever think or imagine!!! He loves you so deeply and is there to guide you, work His strength within you and through you!

Knowing Who you’re talking to changes a whole lot about how you pray and how you live following your time with Him. This morning I went to pray on my way to work, usually in the car is when I talk to God and it’s also the place where a lot of my routine has been built. I came to God and I had went so long not being fully real and honest with Him about my struggles, my weakness and my failure that it was hard to get it out. So often I say a lot of stuff that I feel like God wants to hear but stepping into the realization of Who I’m talking to and the fact that it doesn’t matter how it sounds, what fancy Bible words I use or any of that. It’s just me, putting my heart on the table to God, every piece of it the good and the bad. I’m not saying to overthink prayer but don’t think, just speak. And remind yourself of the awesomeness in the fact you’re talking to such a holy, powerful and loving God.

During this time of prayer I had some worries on my heart, stuff that really wasn’t any big deal but what starts as a small little worry can grow and grow into a huge worry monster inside of you. That’s why it’s so crucial to “worry about nothing, and pray about everything.” Why worry if you have God right there with you, waiting to hear the deepest of your insecurities with open ears and help you, give you a peace that can only come from Him! I ended my time with God and after the oh so many routine prayers I’ve prayed, it just hit me.

I started laughing and almost yelling! My belief felt so strong! I knew that God heard my prayers and being the sovereign, loving and powerful God He is, I had such a great sense of peace and confidence! I had no worries because I simply had God and God had me! It’s hard to explain with words but spend some time today with God, focus on the awesomeness and BIGness of Who you’re talking to, Who God is and what He’s capable of, and also be real about who you are, how weak and messed up you truly are. Lay all that mess to God, and I promise you will understand why I can’t make words or sense of this peace that God gives. It’s so far out of the realm of our understanding but it’s so so awesome because God is sooooooo daggum AWESOME!!!! Real praying with a real view of God and yourself. So simple it’s easy to overlook! Focus on your Who? Praying today!!!!! He will lift you up!!!!