Rooted in What is Real

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You! – (Isaiah 26:3, NLT)

God, You give true peace to people who depend on You, to those who trust in You. – (Isaiah 26:3, ERV)

You will keep the peace, a perfect peace, for all who trust in You, for those who dedicate their hearts and minds to You. – (Isaiah 26:3, VOICE)

 

As I prepare for the final full week of the school year, I must fix my eyes on He who is my Source of peace. If I allow my mind to be ruled by the all that the week requires, I will be exhausted before I begin. It is in this space that I am called to run my race well. To do so, I must be firmly rooted in what is real and lasting, rather than permit my checklist to overwhelm. God gives us the strength that we need, as it is needed, and His perfect peace as we trust in Him. May we dedicate our hearts and minds to You, Lord, so that we may walk in peace and navigate this week very well.

 

May we seek the peace, 

That never runs out;

For all who choose trust,

And push aside doubt.

For God, by His grace,

Meets us where we are;

Brings calm in chaos,

And peace to our hearts.

So, let us each choose,

Depend on the Lord;

With heart, soul and mind,

As peace He affords.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You keep us in perfect peace as we trust in You and fix our thoughts on You. Forgive us for allowing our hearts and minds to focus on the chaos and challenges rather than on You. Teach us to trust You more, as You are our calm in the chaos and our anchor in the storms. Show us how to love others well, so that we may extend Your peace to the places of unrest in their lives. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we dedicate our hearts and minds to You and go forth in Your perfect peace. Amen.

 

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

 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort. – 2 Corinthians 1:3

Prepare Your Minds for Action

So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. – (1 Peter 1:13)

 

Self-control and intentional action come when we are firmly rooted and established in the hope that we hold. When we know from Whom our salvation comes, and where we can place our hope, we are ready to act as we are called and refrain from that which is a “no” or a “not yet“. Let us prepare our minds for action and choose to exercise self-control as we place all of our hope in the grace granted through salvation so that we are ready for our Redeemer’s return.

 

May our hearts prepare,

For the Lord’s return;

As we choose hold hope,

In truth we have learned.

Exercise control,

In word and in deed;

Be led by the Lord,

Help where we see need.

For when Christ returns,

May our whole lives show;

A life lived in love,

With desire to grow.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that when we seek You and Your help, You prepare our minds for action and You grant us the strength to exercise self-control. Thank You that You are our Source of hope, as salvation is found in You alone. Forgive us for not clinging to the truth that we already know, or for neglecting to seek You for the strength that we need to navigate our days. Teach us to trust You more, so that we would be ever prepared for active obedience, exercising self-control as we hope in You. Show us how to love those around us in such a way, that hope in You might be revealed. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we prepare our minds for action and exercise self-control, so that our hope in You might be made known. Amen.

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

Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God, You who have done great things. Who, O God, is like You? – Psalm 71:19

Belief in the Hearing

Does God give you His Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard? – (Galatians 3:5, NIV)

 

God, in His goodness, gives us the gift of His Spirit, not because we follow the letter of the law, but rather because we choose to believe the truth that we have heard. Our belief, our very faith, can only exist if we hear the good news. It is in the hearing that our faith is established, and the wonder of His works become made known. With eyes and hearts wide open, we recognize the mighty miracles, great and small, that take place in and around us all the time. May our faith be firmly rooted and established in the truth that we hear from Him.

 

May God in His grace,

Continue to show;

That all comes through faith,

His Spirit makes known.

Let our belief rise,

In wonder and awe;

At who the Lord is,

Not following laws.

Free from the burden,

The weight the law made;

By faith we are free,

To walk in His ways.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that we are no longer tied to the burden of observing the letter of the old laws, but rather we are saved by believing and trusting in You. Thank You that You grow our faith as we listen and trust in the truth that we hear of You. Forgive us for trying to do enough or be enough to somehow earn Your favor. Teach us to trust that investing our hearts into knowing You more, is far greater than a laundry list of doing. Show us how to love others well out of the overflow of what You have given unto us. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we walk in the freedom of our faith, trusting You to lead us and guide us in the direction that we are meant to go. Amen.

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

He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. – Proverbs 11:25

To Be Light and Life

You are the light of the world – like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. – (Matthew 5:14-16, NLT)

 

When we are in Christ, we are called to be light and life. If the light of Christ lives in us, it cannot be hidden. Rather, it is meant to shine forth in every area of our lives, so that all may see and know that it is Christ in us that brings any good forth from us. The challenging part is that we are flawed and sinful beings. We fall short, EVERY SINGLE TIME. So often we do the very things we don’t want to do, or don’t do what we know we ought to do. In our own accord, nothing we do will ever measure up. However, Christ in us, can accomplish far more than we could ever hope or imagine, when we are firmly rooted and established in Him. He takes our broken bits and somehow turns them into something beautiful that can reflect His goodness in our own story, and can be used again and again, for His glory. May we receive and embrace the grace that God gives when we trust in Him, and go forth to shine His light for all to see through how we choose to follow Him.

 

The light of the world,

We are called to be;

So our deeds through Christ,

Are what people see.

May it be made clear,

That all good that’s shown;

Is because of Christ,

And His love made known.

Do not choose to hide,

The glory of grace;

But go forth and love,

So all seek His face.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You are light and life and hope for all who seek You. Thank You that Your light lives in us when we choose to trust in You. Forgive us for hiding who You are in us, or for not following the leading that You call us into. Teach us to trust You more, so that we would walk in obedience and allow Your light to shine brightly, wherever we may go. Show us how to love others in such a way, that our good deeds direct hearts to You. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we seek to live as Your light in all that we say and do. Amen.

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

Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God, You who have done great things. Who, O God, is like You? – Psalm 71:19

Good In, Good Out

Good people have good things saved in their hearts. That’s why they say good things. But those who are evil have hearts full of evil, and that’s why they say things that are evil. What people say with their mouths comes from what fills their hearts. – (Luke 6:45, ERV)

 

The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. – (Luke 6:45, NIV)

 

For good to be found within us, our hearts must be firmly rooted and established in Christ. It is only through Christ dwelling in us, that we are able to act according to His good and perfect will. As we trust in Him and abide in Him, the overflow of our time, energy and heart invested, will be made evident to those around us. May we seek to know Him more each day, and may we reflect His heart in all that we do and say.

 

Whatever’s consumed,

by our heart and mind;

is the very thing,

that our voice shall find.

If we take in junk,

things that don’t uplift;

our hearts become hard,

and further we drift.

Yet if we seek Christ,

pursue what is good;

then out of us flows,

the good things that should.

Let us seek the Lord,

in all that we do;

so we are steadfast,

to Him, remain true.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that in You, good may come from us. Thank You that we may be Your instruments of peace, if we are only willing to allow You to transform our hearts and minds. Forgive us for any garbage that we have allowed in, and cleanse our hearts and minds of that which does not build up and reflect clearly who You are to the world. Help us to bring good things to those around us, out of the abundance that You have so generously given unto us. Let Your love be evident in us, as we seek to love others as You so lavishly love each of us. Be glorified, O God, as we allow Your good to flow from us. Amen.

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

He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. – Proverbs 11:25

Abide

Abide. What a beautiful, yet at times, elusive word. To remain, continue, stay, or even await, in the context of Christ, is the place my heart hides best. A dear friend has found herself in a space where her only instruction from the Lord is to simply, ABIDE. Since first hearing, I often think about how I am meant to abide as well. My discovery, is that to abide is a daily decision to walk with Him – in His grace, His love and His peace. It does not necessarily come naturally, but rather is rooted in choice after choice after choice.

 

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vines, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. – (John 15:4, NKJV)

 

For anything good to come out of us, we must be firmly rooted and established in Christ. May our lives be so intertwined with His, that we cannot help but bear good fruit that lasts. All glory and honor to Him, now and forevermore.

 

Come all you weary,

for He’ll grant us rest;

come all you broken,

He’ll repair our mess.

As we choose to come,

be still and abide;

allow Him access,

to darkness we hide.

For His light’s greater,

than our dark despair;

healing and wholeness,

He grants us, right there.

Throw out what hinders,

with hearts open wide;

He’s faithful always,

as we choose abide.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that as we abide in You, You abide in us too. Thank You that You are faithful always, and that Your mercies are new every morning. Thank You that as we abide in You, You grow us and strengthen us, so that we may be utilized to touch lives on Your behalf. Thank You that You take us as we are, and turn our past struggles into stories of Your faithfulness to share. Forgive us for our fears and frustrations as we face the fire, and grant us Your eyes to see and Your strength to endure. May we live and love in Your strength as we opt to abide in You, and may many lives be changed as they come to know the truth. Be glorified, O God, as we abide. Amen.

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

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort. – 2 Corinthians 1:3