Restore My Soul

Sunday, October 27, 2024

Good morning, Lord

Father in Heaven, I seek You first-Your peace-Your knowledge and discernment. I take up my cross and follow...In Jesus' name...

Verse of the Day:  Hebrews 4:12

12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Memory verse: Psalm 42:2(New American Bible )

"My soul thirsts for God, the living God. When can I enter and see the face of God?"

Today's reading:   Jeremiah 15-17 2 Timothy 2

Restore My Soul

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want; He maketh me to lie down in green pastures and leadeth me beside the still waters; He restoreth my soul...(From Psalm 23)

Paul writes to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:16 about how his friend Onesiphorus often refreshed him.

The Lord restores or refreshes  our souls. Paul's friend refreshed him.

The Lord refreshes each of us in different ways--through the word or the Holy Spirit or green pastures and still waters--whatever these things may mean in your life. But God also uses our friends to refresh us. He will use us to refresh each other if we get our eyes off ourselves and onto Him.

There is that concept of 'God focus' again.

But to aim at refreshing someone is not the goal.

To focus on God and His kingdom so that God can set our hearts and minds 'right'...this is a goal worth having and here we will be refreshing to each other...(God consciousness)

Isaiah 43:2

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, and the flames will not set you ablaze.

There is a lot thrown at us in this life-but-if we ever get it through our thick hearts and heads that the most powerful and loving presence in existence is personally ours-and we are His-and Christ is with us, we will be at the point where the world cannot touch the part of us that Jesus died for...

"But godliness with contentment is great gain." 1 Timothy 6

Christ in our lives is here to continually restore His righteousness in us. The great gain of contentment is a by-product of His being present. Our attention to him-our focus on Him-our growing love for Him is what keeps the restoring of our souls going.

Nothing is more important to our continual restoration than our awareness of Christ with us always-our God consciousness.

...because He loves us...

Father in Heaven,

Your name is my security. Your kingdom, my home. I confess my focus is weak. I fear threats from the world. Train my focus. Sharpen my awareness of Your presence.

Complete God of peace and restoration,

In the name of Jesus,

Amen