PAUSE FOR A MOMENT - March 31

Colossians 3:23
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,

It really does make a difference who we are working for. When our bosses are kind we don't usually mind doing extra, or working a little later. When our bosses are not so kind we keep looking for another place to work.

If we do not have a choice in where we work or who we work for then Paul's words are exactly what we need. We are encouraged to work as if we are working for our Lord and not for our human bosses.

There is nothing that we wouldn't do for Jesus. There is no task too hard if we are doing it for Jesus.

It really does make a difference in our attitude when we are working as unto the LORD.

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT - March 30

Micah 7:19
You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.

I remain forever thankful that the God we serve, the Creator of the universe, the Giver and Sustainer of life is a loving and compassionate God.

He is the God who forgives all our sins and remove them from us forever.

When we accept the sacrifice that Jesus made on Calvary for our personal sins we never have to live in fear of punishment or feel guilt and shame because of all the wrongs that we have committed. God took care of everything when the words 'it is finished' were spoken.

He sees us as his beloved children and showers us with mercy and compassion. Mercy and goodness are our constant companion as we live in the freedom of forgiveness.

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT - March 29

Psalm 40:1
I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.

We have always heard that patience is a virtue. it also makes up the fruit of the Spirit. Patience is not passive. It is actively trusting in God, waiting for the answer, waiting for the breakthrough.

In a parable about a vineyard, the Master gave the instruction, 'occupy until I come'. Stay busy, keep on living, don't give up hope...the answer will come.

The reward for patience in this verse is that the Lord turned towards the petitioner and heard his cry. He hears our cries too. He sees the injustice, the heartaches, the tears and hearing our cries means that he will do something about it. He will answer our prayers.

May we be patient, waiting in faith for the answer from GOD not from anyone else.

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT - March 28

Psalm 40:8
I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.”

This is one of my favorite verses from childhood. Another translation used the word 'delight' filling our hearts with good feelings of well-being.

Delighting in the Lord is a great privilege of the believer. The knowledge that there is a way to keep joy flowing through us and outwards to others.

Following God's will, obeying his word, keeping his law is not about losing our freedom but about doing what our hearts truly desire - pleasing the ONE who created us and gives us all good things every moment of every day.

How can we not delight in him!!.

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT - March 27

1 Peter 4:8
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

Very timely words from the Apostle Peter. Love covers over a multitude of sins.

Love does not ignore sins and turn a blind eye to them.

Love does not make excuses for sins.

Love sees the sin, acknowledge it and then put a protective arm around the sinner.

Love forgives and accepts the sinner and seeks to restore the relationship and so covers a multitude of sins.

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT - March 26

1 Peter 1:8
Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,

A true mark of a spirit-filled believer is  joy bubbling up like a fountain in the heart and expressed outwardly.

A joy that originates from the Source of  joy not manufactured from circumstances in our lives.

A joy that takes faith and belief in Jesus whom we have not seen with our physical eyes but whom we love with our whole being.

When we experience the life changing moment of redemption and the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our hearts we have a glorious joy that words cannot fully express.

May we continue to experience and share this inexpressible joy today.

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT - March 25

Philippians 4:19
And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

Scripture is always absolute. It is never it may happen or 'perhaps God can' but it is always absolute - 'God will'.

Paul is very certain about who his GOD is and what he will do. And again it is not 'some' of your needs but ALL your needs.

The second part of this verse gives us the condition - according to the riches of his glory AND in Christ.

Let us make sure that we pray for our 'needs' and not just anything we want; may our 'needs' be according to the riches of his glory and most importantly let us know that we are in Christ because of our acceptance of his sacrifice for us.

May we be able to individually say like Paul, 'MY' God will take care of all our needs.

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT - March 24

Hebrews 10:25
not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

With all we have going on in our busy lives today it is easy to get into the habit of not meeting together for fellowship and encouragement.

Other things become our priorities and it gets easier and easier to give up meeting together.

Social media is probably the number one way we communicate with our relatives, friends and acquaintances today and we have allowed it to take the place of personal meetings and contacts but cyber hugs can never take the place of real hugs.

May we heed the words of the Apostle Paul and return to joyful fellowship and communion of meeting together.

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT - March 23

Hebrews 10:36
You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

Giving up as we journey on in faith should never be an option for the believer. The road is not always easy, the trials are real, pain, sorrow, headaches and heartaches are familiar stops along our path but so is the comfort of the ever Presence of God with us.

He promised never to leave or forsake us. We can take him at his word. This thought is the sustenance and our lifeline for each moment of everyday. We know that he is with us in our darkest nights, in our biggest failures, in our greatest sorrows.

And so we journey on, persevering, never giving up as we continue in the will of God for our lives. His presence with us is our greatest reward!

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT - March 22

Hebrews 10:35
So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.

Confidence is a close companion of faith. When we know that we know no matter the circumstances around us or what others tell us and try to persuade us otherwise, we will not change our course because we are confident of the outcome.

Confidence allows us to stand alone if necessary because there is no room for doubt.

The only caution when it comes to  confidence is knowing WHAT we are confident about and WHO we are placing confidence in.

When our confidence is in God there is no need for fear or doubt because our confidence will be greatly rewarded.

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT- March 21

James 5:13
Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.

March 20 is celebrated as international happiness day maybe because it is the first day of Spring or maybe Facebook just wanted another day to celebrate.

Whatever the reason as believers we do not need a special day to be happy. The Source of JOY lives in our hearts and happiness is the result.

It is hard to keep happiness to ourselves. We greet everyone we meet with a smile, things that would usually irritate us do not, we see beauty all around us and our lips cannot hold back the songs in our hearts.

Singing our Heart-Songs is spontaneously and intentionally praising God for who he is and thanking him for making us who we are - each uniquely created. Our Heart-Songs reflect our individualities and we glorify our Creator in our unique ways.

•♫•. .•♫•Let us sing our Heart-Songs today!

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT - March 20

James 5:13
Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray.

PRAYER is the perfect solution to trouble.

The Apostle James did not make the distinction about the type of trouble or the initiator of the trouble. He admonishes us to pray when we are in trouble.

We see trouble all around us in our world and it seems that stress has become a way of life for us. We need to develop a prayer life that will keep us ready for trouble of any kind.

May our hearts not be troubled but let us heed the Apostle James by praying when trouble is upon us.

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT- March 19

James 5:16
...The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

One of the most common sentences from the lips of believers is 'I will pray for you' and the most common request made of the child of God is 'Please pray for me.'

We know that the Apostle James was right when he wrote that our prayers are powerful and effective. Even when we leave the final results in God's hands, our hearts are at peace because we do as we are commanded when we pray.

Believing in the ability of our God, having confidence that he always listens and having faith that he will always answer our prayers in our best interest make prayer a win-win for the believer.

Let us be encouraged to pray without ceasing as Paul tells us to do.

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT - March 18

Hebrews 4:16
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

What an amazing verse! We have been invited to approach the throne room of God. The throne room is filled with grace and mercy, forgiveness and acceptance. We do not  have to fear rejection because we have been invited.

There was a time in history when the High Priest could only enter the Holy of Holies, the room in which the ark of the covenant dwelled, once a year. There were rituals of cleanliness that he had to perform before he dared to enter God's Presence or would face immediate death.

Not so for us! We have been invited to boldly, with confidence enter into the throne room of grace. What an awesome privilege to be a child of GOD!

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT - March 17

Daniel 6:22
My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight...

Our heavenly Father is the God of all creations and he has command over the army of mighty angels. He loves us and will always seek to protect us from evil forces. He sends his angels to fight for us because we are his beloved children.

If only our eyes could be opened for a few minutes to catch a glimpse of the spiritual dimension we may be shocked to see the mighty army of angels who are always standing guard over us.

The prophet Elisha prayed that God would make blind eyes see when his servant was giving in to fear at the army surrounding them. God opened his eyes and he saw the host of angels ready for battle to fight for the servants of God.

What a mighty God we serve!

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT - March 16

Daniel 3:18
But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

The story of the three Hebrew young men in the Fiery Furnace of King Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon is equally popular amongst children and adults. It has all the elements that great stories are made of: a villain King, betrayal of acquaintances, defiant heroes and miraculous deliverance. A very satisfying and entertaining story!

One point that always capture our attention is the intimate relationship between God and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They expressed their complete confidence in the ability of God to deliver them out of the King's hands. But they also let it be known that 'no matter what', God always reserved the right to NOT answer our prayers the way we want him to.

Our trust in God, our love for God, out faith in God shoud be just as unconditional as his love and acceptance of us. Even if our prayers are not answered as we asked it should never change our relationship with GOD.

This is the mark of a mature believer!

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT - March 15

Psalm 37:23
The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him;

When we make the Lord our joy and delight HE brings stability to our feet. The path we are on may be rough, rugged and hard to walk at times but our feet will stay the course because the Lord sustains and keeps us.

When we delight in the Lord and lovingly serve him we will not be tossed back and forth like a ship in rough waters but our anchor in Him will hold and we will ride out the storms of life. We may hit rough passages but because we are delighting in the Lord he will keep our lives upright as we deal with the rough waters.

May we truly delight in the Lord and enjoy his favors and blessings.

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT - March 14

Psalm 37:4
Take delight in the Lord , and he will give you the desires of your heart.

What does it mean to take delight in the Lord?

Do we wake up in the morning with joy and praise him for another day?

Do we let our minds eagerly meditate on his Word in the mornings before we get into our daily activities?

Do we pray continuously throughout our day as our minds stay on the Lord?

Do we seek the Lord's will as we make decisions?

Do we seek to understand the love behind God's commands as we obey him?

Do we have a relationship with our Lord based on his love, acceptance and forgiveness?

Do we put God first as we love him with all our hearts, souls, minds and strengths?

Do we love others as God wants us to?

When we delight in the Lord we will find that our desires will change as we seek the things of God.

God WILL grant us the desires of our hearts because our desires will align with his.

May we seek to delight ourselves in the Lord.

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT - March 13

John 15:5
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Many times we read the words of Scriptures and if we are not careful we do not see the real significance in the words we read.
Jesus said, 'apart from me you can do nothing'; Paul states in Colossians that all things exist because of him - visible and invisible.

When everything is going right in our world we may not give these words a second thought but when we can't get out of bed in the morning these words take on a whole different meaning. We realize that we are not autonomous, not self-sufficient and not independent. We do not exist by ourselves.

May we keep abiding in Christ so we continue to live and function in this world bearing much fruit.

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT - March 12

Psalms 36:5
Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.

There is nothing more meaningful than the knowledge that we are loved, especially when we are loved just as we are and we do not have to jump through hoops and become perfect in order to receive this love.

Our heavenly Father knows us inside out. The Psalmist says that he knows how we were formed, he remembers that we are dust. It is remarkable that the God of eternity would love us the way he does.

Our heavenly Father has plans for us. We
have a glorious future in store. He has made a way for us to always be with him because he loves us so much.

How can we neglect such a loving and faithful God!

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT- March 11

Psalm 34:8
Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

Believers who have a relationship with the Lord know that these words are true. Once we have been blessed with God's favor on our lives we can testify of how sweet God's blessings are.

When we pray and include God in every aspect of our lives even things that we consider insignificant and we know he leads us and answers our slightest prayers we can testify of how sweet God's blessings are.

So, even when we do not get our prayers answered as we think we should, we can still take refuge in him because we know and can testify of his goodness towards us because he has proven time and time again that his blessings are sweet.

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT - March 10

Isaiah 55:8
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord .

It is a comforting thought to know that the God we serve is far superior to us in every way. How can we serve a God whom we can control? Where did we get the idea that the Almighty God is like a genie or a fairy godmother  existing for our satisfaction and enjoyment?

Isn't it more beneficial to serve a God who knows the end from the beginning; who knows what we really need; whose sense of justice is perfect but also has perfect love and forgiveness for us?

Serving a God whose existence does not depend on us brings maximum security because ultimately everything is what he allows and will turn out to be for the best in the end.

What a mighty God we serve indeed!

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT - March 9

2 Thessalonians 3:3
 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. 2 Thessalonians 3:3

What an amazing testimony of our GOD.
The Lord is faithful! Our human experience is that faithfulness is usually a convenient commodity that disappears when we need it most.

Not so with our God. He is faithful! He knows how the story ends and his faithfulness is as eternal as he is. His promises are kept and we can always depend on him.

Our God will protect us from the Evil One and that is a promise that we can rely on. No matter how much it seems that our foundation is being shaken we know that our GOD will protect us from the evil one.

May we hold on to his promises!

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT - March 8

Colossians 3:12
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

It is interesting to see that these virtues can be put on as clothing. These are spiritual garments that can be worn in a similar way as we wear our physical clothes.

Each morning we choose what we will wear for the day. In a similar way we can choose to put on compassion - feeling empathy for others. We can put on kindness - showing love for each other; humility will prevent our ego from getting out of hand; gentleness is that quiet dignity that we all need when we come face to face with rudeness and negativity. We must never leave home without patience. It will probably get us back home safely.

These clothing will never go out of style!

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT - March 7

Colossians 2:3
In whom (Christ) are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

In a day and age where wisdom is seen to be a scarce commodity, believers in Christ have an abundant supply because he is the source of all wisdom.

Gaining access to this wisdom starts with  a choice. We have to first believe in Christ and accept that he indeed is the source of all things.

In our pride, self-sufficiency and independence we like to think that we know what is best. Believing in Christ seems rather simplistic so we walk away and seek a more complex solution.

In the end when nothing else seems to work we wil come to realize that everything we need is still found in Christ.

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT - March 6

Romans 12:13
Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Kindness is like a magnet. It draws people in. A welcoming smile that comes from the heart says, 'I accept you, you are welcome in my presence'.

Kindness is an element in the fruit of the Spirit. When the Holy Spirit lives in our hearts kindness overflows to others.

People will know that we are God's children when we show kindness to each other.

Let us continue to practice kindness until it becomes a beautiful habit and our default setting.

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT - March 5

Romans 14:17
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit...

Joy does not originate with us. It can only come from God and it is manifested in our hearts as the Holy Spirit takes up residence in us. The Holy Spirit comes to live in us when we believe and accept God's gift of redemption brought about by Jesus death on Calvary for each of our individual and all our collective sins.

We are God's children and he longs to give us all good things. The Holy Spirit is the means in which God gives us all good things. Jesus, as he was getting ready to return to the Father said the Holy Spirit would  be given to us so we wouldn't be orphans.

Let us always be grateful that our Father always have our best interest in mind and may our hearts be filled up with his JOY.

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT - March 4

Romans 12:16
Live in harmony with one another...

Harmony means peace, accord, agreement, no dissonance, working together...

The Apostle Paul encourages us to live in peace with each other. Jesus said, 'blessed are the peacemakers'.  Many of our problems, stresses and anxieties can be avoided if we can learn to live in peace and harmony with one another.

Looking beyond our own needs and desires and seeking to understand what someone else is going through helps us live in peace.

Walking in another's shoes if only for a brief moment invokes empathy and helps us live in harmony.

Sacrificing our own comfort and allowing our needs to go unmet help us live in harmony and peace.

Love is always the foundation for peaceful and harmonious living.

 

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT - March 3

Psalm 91:2
I will say of the Lord , “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

It is a joy to know that we have a fortress in our GOD, a protection from all the circumstances of life that seeks to throw us off course and shipwreck our souls. When we trust in God we are anchored in his love and his mighty rescuing power.

Let us never for even one second think that God is not our refuge and strength. We are his children and he delights in taking care of us. He longs to give us all good things. It brings him joy when we pause for just a moment to say 'thank you'.

Let us examine our hearts to see if we have been neglecting this most important relationship. Our Father is always waiting to fully restore our relationship with him.

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT - March 2

Luke 11:13
If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?

As parents we delight in providing for our children and we especially like to give them good gifts. We protect them by withholding gifts that we know will cause them harm even if it is hard for them to understand the concept of 'NO'.

Our Heavenly Father sees his responsibility towards us even more importantly because he knows everything - the end from the beginning. He knows what will bring us harm and what will bless us. We as his children must learn to trust his wisdom and also understand the concept on 'NO'

One gift that our Father will never keep from us is the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Holy Presence of God in our lives and he gives this gift to us without limit. The Holy Spirit in our lives is the guarantee of eternal life.

May we always ask for this immeasurable gift!

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT - March 1

Psalm 139:14
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Everything that God does is perfect. His creation was perfect until sin messed it up.
When God says that he loves us we know that his love is perfect. He knows who we are, what we are capable of but he calls us to himself and gives us the best.

God made us and continues to form and develop our minds so that we may get to know who he truly is. He loves us the way he made us. We may be different in looks, shapes, skin colors, outlooks on life etc. But God uses it all to draw us to himself.

When we do not truly accept ourselves and we bully those around us because they are different from us we are telling God that somehow he got it wrong and that we are not wonderfully made after all.

May we look at ourselves and those around us and affirm continually that we are truly wonderfully made.