A New Heart

And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. – (Ezekiel 36:26, NLT)

And I will give you a new heart – I will give you new and right desires – and put a new spirit within you. I will take your stony hearts of sin and give you new hearts of love. – (Ezekiel 36:26, TLB)

 

God promises to make our hearts new within us when we submit our lives to Him. All that has been hardened, unresponsive, and stubborn shall be made tender and filled with the love of the Lord. As He fills, we cannot help but respond, for the walls that once stood, begin to break away in the light of His lavish love. May we turn to the Lord and His loving kindness, allowing Him access to our whole heart. Let His love change us from the inside out, so that we might become beacons of hope for a world that needs to know there is hope in Him.

 

Oh Lord, change in me,

My hard heart of stone;

Make my heart tender,

As Your love is shown.

Fill me with Your love,

So Your light may shine;

Lead me in Your ways,

Lord, Your will, not mine.

Help me to respond,

To all that You say;

Lead me and guide me,

Lord, show me the way.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You give us a new heart and place Your Spirit within us when we submit our lives to You. Thank You that You transform our hard and unresponsive hearts to ones that are tender and willing to do as You ask. Forgive us for our stubborn self-reliance. Teach us to turn to trust in You in all things and at all times. Show us how to love others with the same lavish love that You give so freely unto us. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we give You our hearts and our lives, trusting You to make us new and lead us where we are meant to go. Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Moreno and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

Answer me, O Lord, out of the goodness of Your love; in Your great mercy turn to me. – Psalm 69:16

Standing Strong in Struggles

Today, as I again read the first two chapters of Job, I am reminded anew that though God does not cause the trials in our lives, He does allow them. Often they have nothing to do with sin, but rather are a test of sorts, meant to deepen our dependence on Him. In the case of Job, God saw his faith, and allowed Satan access to him, with the condition that Job was not to be killed. Even after losing everything and all of his children, in the midst of being chided by his wife to curse God, Job’s faithfulness remained.

 

He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said. – (Job 2:10)

 

When trials and struggles come our way, do we remain upright and confident in Christ? Are we able to keep from sinning in what we say? It is one thing to quickly cry out to Christ when calamity comes our way, yet it is entirely another, to continue to trust for a long season of suffering or despair. As we choose Him in the midst of our heartache and struggles, He is faithful to be present. Just as Job’s friends initially sat beside him in silence (as he actually needed), God is present, and will remain. Christ whispers the words that our hearts need to hear, and holds us up when we cannot take even one more step forward. He is faithful forever; we need simply place all of our trust in Him, no matter how things appear. May we fix our eyes on Christ and allow Him access to our whole heart, so that we become rooted and established in He who will help us weather every storm.

 

God is always good,

even though life’s not;

His hope will remain,

our eternal lot.

When the trials come,

His presence is clear;

if we’ve invested,

we’ll know He is near.

No matter the ache,

how great or how small;

He sees and He knows,

upholds us through all.

For the Lord is good,

His love shall remain;

both now and always,

let Christ come and reign.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that even in the midst of struggles and suffering, You remain present – helping, holding, loving and granting Your hope. Thank You that no matter what comes, our hope is held in You. Thank You that what awaits in eternity is well worth the temporary trials that we endure on earth. Forgive us for our lack of endurance and faith when struggles seem unending, and teach us how to persevere in Your promises and Your presence. Teach us to trust You more, for You are always good. Lead us to love and be faithful to You, no matter what comes, just as You so clearly demonstrated through the life of Your Son, Jesus. Jesus, draw many unto Yourself, so that those who are lost, may be found forever in You. Be exalted, O God, as we stand strong in You, even in the struggles. Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Moreno and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present.

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. – Psalm 23:6

Consider Great Things

Life is busy; and busy, can be distracting. In the midst of all that moves us, we are meant to slow down and take time to reset and reflect, restoring our priorities to their proper place. As Samuel was nearing the end of his life and the people had asked the Lord for a king, to be like the nations that surrounded them, he offered much sound advice. A verse that stood out to me this morning, as a reliable reminder to keep our priorities in their proper place, is the following: “But be sure to fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things He has done for you.” – (1 Samuel 12:24)

 

To fear the Lord is to stand in reverent awe of who He is, and to understand that He is God, and we are not. Serving Him faithfully with all your heart is to withhold nothing; allowing Him access to all that we are, and offering our whole selves unto Him. When we feel that tender tug on our heartstrings to do something to serve, we don’t think; we act. To consider what great things He has done for us, is to remember His faithfulness. It takes little looking to see how He has been faithful. Being awake and able to read His word this morning is just one small example of His unending faithfulness unto us. The sun rose, as it was meant to do, I draw breath, without effort… What an incredible God to give us the gift of life and love and His unending faithfulness!

 

Take time to slow down,

to think of great things;

the gifts from the Lord,

that salvation brings.

His love and His grace,

freedom from demise;

His great strength to stand,

against all the lies.

Stand in total awe,

of our Mighty King;

serve Him faithfully,

as our offering.

Remember the Lord,

and His faithfulness;

all glory to Him,

God of Righteousness!

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You are God and we are not. Thank You that You alone are worthy of all of our reverence and awe; for You created everything that is, and was and is yet to be. Thank You for Your loving kindness and faithfulness to us, though we deserve it not. Forgive us for getting so caught up in the chaos of life, that we don’t stop to remember all that You have done for us. Help us to remember Your faithfulness, and trust that You are still the same God today as You were before. May we have hearts that are willing to serve You completely, and trust You with our whole being. Let Your love shine through us as we seek to serve as You call us. May many come to know You as their faithful Father, as we honor You in all that we say and do. Be magnified in the midst of us, as we consider the great things You have done. Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Moreno and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present.

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face shine upon us. – Psalm 67:1

 

 

Wielding Words Wisely

image from Teen Challenge

When life becomes heavy,

and our hearts are weighed down,

we are left with a choice;

swim to Him, or just drown.

Anxiety laden,

burdens we try to bear;

we must cast them to God,

allow Him access there.

A word to encourage,

sound advice from the wise;

invaluable lifelines,

to prevent our demise.

God uses our voices,

to drown out ugly lies;

to build up the body,

and to answer our cries.

From the fruit of our lips,

can come a great return;

when kindness and wisdom,

are what we seek to learn.

He delights in the truth,

our speaking of wise words;

for here healing happens;

His delight shall be heard.

(Responding to Proverbs 12:14,15,18,22,25)

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that we were never meant to bear burdens on our own.  Thank You that You are always at the ready, waiting for us to ask for Your assistance.  Forgive us for trying to power through, and help us to be quick to turn to You, trusting that You are more than enough to bear the burdens that weigh us down.  Please grant us wisdom and Your words to encourage and build up the body.  May we soundly speak truth in spaces where it is lacking, and may Your light illuminate the darkness that deems such spaces so dismal.  Thank You that You are so much more than enough!  May many come to know You and trust You to carry the cares that have kept them from You.  Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Moreno and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present