renewal

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Psalm 23:3 Getting Restored

He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Psalm 23:3

Busyness is something that most people have on a daily basis. People have a laundry list of things that they have to do that appears to be a mile long and can never be accomplished and always appears to be getting longer and longer. As they face this list of things to be done, many get very weary and worn out, both physically and mentally. People then look to more things to restore their energy to keep going.

David states that God restores his soul while leading him into paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

During times that people are worn out, many will look to doing things that are fun or eating or drinking something in an attempt to restore themselves from the depression that many have fallen into from their weariness. These are very short temporary fixes that do not really change their spirit. Often, they will lead to more problems or greater difficulties.

Hiding behind things does not restore a person but increases their weariness. Believers will often fall into this same trap in their own lives looking for strength and restoration in this world and get weary and worn out.

Instead of turning towards the things of this world, believers need to turn to God. As one chooses to allow God to lead, one will be restored in mind, body and soul.

God knows when a person needs to slow down and maybe rest for a moment. He will lead the believer in the correct path to be able to keep going, restoring the soul. In God’s presence all the problems and cares of this world fade away, renewing the soul with joy and peace that the world cannot supply.

If you are like most people, you probably have days in which you feel worn out and depressed. You want to find the strength and energy to keep moving forward and always want to make the right choices.

Focus your life upon God. Spend time in His word and in prayer, talking to Him. Seek God and what He would have you do or not do. God will restore your soul to give you the strength and joy needed to continue on the path that He has you on.

Allow God to lead and restore your soul.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will seek God at all times; that you will allow God to lead you in His path of righteousness; and that God will restore your soul.

Picture by Melissa Askew on Unsplash

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Titus 3:5 Saved Because Of Mercy

he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, Titus 3:5

In order to get something good from someone else, the world expects the person to be worthy of getting it. This worthiness can be in being able to pay for the product or being able to do some good deed that warrants getting the product.

If a person does not pay or do something, he will very seldom be able to receive something of high value. This is even more true if a person does everything wrong.

As Paul closes his letter to Titus, he reminds him that he is saved by God’s mercy through Jesus Christ. This salvation is done by a cleansing and a renewal.

When a person does horrible things to another person, it is expected that he will pay for his crimes in some way. There is rarely to never any forgiveness until justice is served. No one that has done a crime is given a bonus in place of the crime.

Every person has committed a crime or a sin against God at least one time, although in reality thousands or millions of times. For each and every sin against God, it has a death penalty attached to it. The person deserves to die.

There is nothing a person can do to wipe out that death sentence.

Instead of killing everyone, God has chosen to show mercy, by providing a payment for those sins. Jesus was sent to die for the person, so that He may wash away the death sentence and bring on a renewal of his spirit by the Holy Spirit.

This was an act of perfect love and mercy by God.

Each and every time you have sinned against God, you have a death sentence upon your head. No matter how many good deeds you do, you cannot remove that sentence. It must be done by God.

When you chose to believe in Jesus, He has chosen, in His great love and mercy, to remove that death sentence. Not only has He removed it, but He has provided a way to change your mindset to keep you from going back to those sins.

Allow God to remove that sentence and change your mind. Live in gratefulness to His great mercy upon your life.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Savior; that you will know the great mercy of God upon your life; that you will allow the Holy Spirit to change your heart; and that you will be the new person God wants you to be.

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Luke 5:16 Stop To Pray

But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Luke 5:16

In today’s society busyness is often seen as a sign of productivity. Every moment of everyday things are added to a person’s to-do list to keep busy and productive.

It is common for a person to feel as if he is missing out on something if he stops or is not participating in some event. With social media sites flooding the internet, there is always something to watch or respond to, in order to stay ‘connected. People will work eighty hour work weeks to make money, so they can have a great vacation, that they never slow down to take.

Jesus had crowds of people coming to hear Him and to be healed. Yet, Jesus would often get away to a lonely place to pray.

With thousands of people needing to be healed and all needing to hear the gospel message, Jesus could have been busy twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week and still never meet all of the needs. There was a lot of work to do, yet, He often stopped to pray.

This time of prayer was to hear what His Father was saying, get directions, and to renew His Spirit with the Father’s Spirit.

Often believers get busy, just as the world does, with doing things. They are so busy with church events, visiting others, relaxing, work, ministry and life in general, that they often do not take time to pray. They do not seek what God’s will is for the moment or to reconnect with the Father.

When this occurs, they are doing things in their own strength and often will burn out. Every believer needs to take time often to get away from all of the busyness of life and pray, to seek God, His direction and His strength.

You may find yourself worn out, weary and wanting to stop. This is due to your constant running and doing things. You may be running ahead of God or in a different direction.

Stop and take time to pray. Turn off the social media, silence the phone, turn off the television and get alone with God. As you pray, God can renew your spirit and guide you as to what you should do next.

As you take time to pray alone, you will be able to be more effective for God, then doing it on your own.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Savior; that you will take time to pray to God; that you will know God’s renewing presence; that God will reveal His desires for you; and that you will be effective for God.