Aug15

............	A Word In Due Season Aug 2015 8/3/15 OBEDIENCE FROM THE HEART Scripture: Deuteronomy 5:29 (Living Bible) "Oh, that they would always have such a heart for Me, wanting to obey My commandments. Then all would go well with them in the future." God speaks to us through His Word and instructs us in the ways of righteousness. He tells us to depart from evil and to always do good. He makes His commandments very plain and teaches us through the example of Jesus that it is not just the letter of the law, but also the attitude of the heart that matters. God wants us to serve Him with all of our heart, all of the time. Jesus taught that it is just as bad to have a heart full of lust or murderous thoughts as it is to commit the acts themselves. I am reminded of a story about a man who was tired of seeing the cars speeding near the school where his child attended. He had the children's welfare and safety in his heart. So he decided to make use of his time each day by conditioning the traffic to drive slower in that vicinity. He simply sat in his car and pointed a hair dryer out of the window. Thinking that the hair dryer was a radar detector, the drivers slowed their vehicles down because they did not want to suffer the consequences of a speeding ticket. After a while, they were conditioned to drive slower, not because they had the protection of the children in their minds, but because of the anticipation that a radar trap may be in the area. In the scripture above God said, "Oh, that you would always have a heart for Me and want to obey Me." We worship God with our lives through our obedience to Him. God doesn't want us to obey His commandments only because we think that someone is watching us or that we are on His radar screen. He wants us to always be obedient with our whole heart regardless of the rewards that we may receive or the consequences that await us. God has a plan and a purpose for every Word that He has spoken and He takes great pride when we submit to Him, for His words bring life. God spoke to Adam and Eve and told them not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This was not because He wanted to keep the fruit from them, but because He was seeking to protect them. When they disobeyed and ate the fruit, He was forced to remove the tree of life from their midst and death resulted. We are God's main interest and He is concerned about our lives. Each Word that He speaks directs our future and brings about the destiny that He has planned for our lives. We must make sure that our hearts are towards Him and that we are obeying Hiscommandments so that all will go well in our future. +++ 8/4/15 RESTORATION Scripture: Psalms 23:3 "He restoreth my soul." Each day we make an effort to restore our physical bodies. We refresh ourselves so that we feel better and are more presentable to the outside world. Yet, our bodies are not the only part of us that needs refreshing. God does the same with our soul. As we encounter life and its disappointments, our soul becomes tattered and worn. We may feel like the psalmist did when he wrote Psalms 42. He was cast down, oppressed, and harboring many questions concerning his plight. Even his own tears mocked him. But in his spirit, he knew the solutions to his own problems. He knew the One who could restore his soul. David declared this restorer and shepherd of his soul to be the Lord. David was a man that loved God, and he was a man that was loved by God. I Samuel 13:14 describes David as a man after God's own heart. He had a special relationship with God, yet David went through many places where he faced frustrations in his soul. His soul continually needed to be renewed and restored by God. As a young man, David was forgotten by his own father, Jesse, when Samuel, the prophet, came to anoint one of Jesse's sons to be king. Later, David experienced shame for his own sin with Bath-Sheba and felt guilt for his part in the murder of her husband. He suffered the consequences of that sin when the son he had with Bath-Sheba died. As a parent, David faced the rebellion of another son, Absalom, and he had to deal with Absalom's efforts to take his kingdom. David's wife, Michal, mocked him as he worshipped God. King Saul, whom he served so faithfully, sought to kill him. As a leader, David's men spoke of stoning him after their city, Ziklag, was burned and plundered, and their families were taken captive (I Samuel 30:4). David was in such despair that he cried until he had no more power to weep. It seemed that he was always facing a dilemma or controversy. The rejection, shame, guilt, betrayal, and mockery that David experienced would destroy the peace and joy in anyone's heart. His emotions must have soared as these hurts were inflicted by those whom he loved. Yet, David encouraged himself in the Lord and continually praised and worshiped God. Even in adverse situations, David looked to God for restoration. He knew whom he could trust and in whom his hopes lie. You may be facing something just as challenging in your life right now. You may be looking into the face of disappointment or danger. When you look at your situation, remember David and his responses to adversity. Refuse to allow the enemy of your soul to defeat you or get you down. Begin to encourage yourself in the Lord and praise and worship Him. As you do, God will lead you from the valley to the mountain top and He, Himself, will restore your soul. +++ Copyright © 2015 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved www.widsonline.com			..............................