Pastor Stephen Dedman

Category: Encouragement

His Goodness And Mercy Follow

Encouragement, Trust

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭23:6‬

Psalm 23 is a very popular chapter as a whole but today we will focus on just one verse. There are two things that follow every child of God: goodness and mercy. The word used here for follow means to pursue or chase after.

God pursued you with the call to salvation and He continues to pursue you. His goodness and mercy follows you wherever you go. God can only give good gifts. Please let that sink down deep into your heart. God loves you and only desires to see good things happen in your life. God’s goodness and mercy are gifts of protection to allow you to live with full confidence.

Not that we should boast, but we should walk around with a sense of confidence. A confidence that assures us that we have God on our side. If God be with us, who can be against us, right? God wants us to know without a doubt that He offers goodness and mercy that will never leave us and is always surrounding us.

Is there anything that has you upset or frustrated today? Let this verse be an attitude changer. If you let the things of this world get you down you are not enjoying the gifts of God. Too many Christians are moping around like they just left the dentist. We should be making a difference in our families, our workplace, our communities, and even in our church. God’s goodness and mercy is closely following us. Let your confidence of God’s goodness and mercy make someone else wonder what you’re up to. Let your smile be so compelling that people can only smile back in return.

Pray

Lord, thank you for giving me good gifts. Help me to know that you only want good things to happen today. Let my attitude reflect the blessings You have given to me.

How Praying Works

Encouragement, Faith, Trust

“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”
‭‭John‬ ‭15:7‬

Have you ever received a marketing piece of mail from a car dealership with a key attached to it?  The purpose is to get you to the dealership to try your key and if it starts the vehicle it’s yours for free.

But if the key doesn’t start the vehicle it’s useless and not worth the postage that it cost to send it. It makes some people frustrated that they didn’t win and for some they see it as a hoax and a way for a dealership to sell you a car.

For some people the example of the key is a lot like prayer. Sometimes it works and when it does great things happen. But when their prayer doesn’t work they feel that praying is useless. They feel that God is not listening and it’s just a waste of time and energy to pray.

I’ve even heard Christians say that praying is useless because God is going to do what He wants to do. What’s the point of praying?  Sadly, those people are missing out on the best benefit of being a Christian. Prayer is the most powerful and wonderful tool that we have to use. Prayer is powerful and miraculous when we are connected to Jesus. 

Jesus says that when we abide or remain in Him and if His words remain in us we can ask anything and it will happen. That is the secret to prayer. If we want our prayers to be heard and answered by God we need to know him and know Him closely.

The more we know God the more we know the things of God. We won’t be asking for a million dollars to be in our bank account tomorrow morning. We will be more mindful of what others need more than what we want.

We will be more aware of what God is already doing in our life and we will be in His will. We can expect our prayers to be answered because they are according to the Spirit of God. What are you praying for today?  

There’s nothing wrong about praying selfishly for the things that glorify God and praise His name. Prayer is effective and powerful when we abide in Him and His words abide in us.

Pray

Lord, I seek you will all of my heart. I want to know you and honor you. Please lay on my heart what I need to pray for.

Doing It For The Lord

Encouragement

‘And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. ‘
Colossians 3:23-24

Mediocrity and laziness have no place in the Christian life. We must always maintain integrity and reliability. Our work habits and labor reflect in our personal relationship with the Lord. God always wants us to do our best.

We will always have people in our lives that will disappoint us, neglect us, mistreat us, and even betray us. Some will demand that we give to them while offering nothing in return. And that is why Paul instructs us to do everything enthusiastically as to the Lord and not to people.

There is a big difference between doing something for people and doing something for the Lord. Working for the Lord changes our perspective as we view our endeavors in light of what He has done for us. Our efforts are never overlooked when we know we are doing it all for the Lord.

You may have a boss that doesn’t appreciate you, a friend who isn’t loyal, or a spouse who doesn’t respect you, but that does not give you the right to cut corners, gossip or cheat in return. God demands that we love others the same way He does. We are to treat others according to the way God treats us.

Pay close attention as to why you do what you do. Are you doing things to please others or to please the Lord? God is worthy of our best effort.

Pray

Lord, increase my abilities to always give my best in everything I do. Give me wisdom to understand that I am working for You and You will reward my efforts. Thank You for giving me strength, knowledge and wisdom to do what I do.