A WeakDay Devotion: Heart's Discipline

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The WeakDay Devotion originated as encouragement for a dear friend who was having difficulties with her job.

It is especially for my family, firends, business people, students, pastors, teachers and a myriad of pre-, new and long-serving Christians who want more Scripture with their devotion than many of the regular devotionals offer. it is also written to be short so you can get on with your day, but filled with a new idea from God's Word that is practical and applicable. You can also have it sent directly to your email box every day - just send me an email (DarleneRichard@gmail.com) and I will add you to the distribution.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Heart's Discipline

"The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes. Every man's way is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts." Proverbs 21:1-2

"Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfil the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation through all his kingdom, and also put in in writing, saying, 'Thus says Cyrus king of Persia,

"'The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

"Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem. And every survivor, at whatever place he may live, let the men of that place support him with silver and gold, with goods for the house of God which is in Jerusalem." Ezra 1:1-4

"If God is not sovereign in the decisions and actions of other people as they affect us, then there is a whole major area of our lives where we cannot trust God; where we are left, so to speak, to fend for ourselves."*

Discipline of our hearts is when we pray and ask the Lord to empty us of our own willfulness, intentions, stubbornness and self-importance. When we abandon the throne of our lives to His care that we may be a vessel for His use and His plans...and sometimes we even realise how He has allowed us to stand in the gap in His name, but most times it remains a mystery of His design and His love of us.

Take care with love, especially His! Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene

PS: ANY PRAYER UPDATES TODAY? Please send updates! For any of you who wonder if prayer is worth taking time for, just page through previous entries and see the hand of our loving Father in action!

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST:

NEW PRAYER REQUEST:

PRAISE & THANKSGIVING: He is RISEN!!

PRAY FOR THOSE WITH HEALTH CONCERNS: Pray for my brother, Tim, that his COPD (cardio-pulmonary artery disease) is manageable for him and that he will have the patience and wisdom to cope with the limitations.

Fion's father is now in a hospice and they moved his mother to a nearer place so they can be together. But they have had to move his father again. Pray for the family and for his carers.

Baby Saige faces a lifetime of surgeries, procedures and time in hospital. Please pray for all those who care for her, especially her family.

Please pray for Deepak's wife recovering from treatment for stage-2 breast cancer. Her chemo is over.

David R losing his eyesight due to macular degeneration. I hope to go home to see him before he can no longer see me. For Audley and Beverly’s situation and his return to the ministry. For Nancy who is growing stronger and for Fred as he cares for her.

Pray for Raven as she regains her strength from the cancer treatments. Patty, who lost her three year old daughter four years ago has sent a most amazing letter of thanksgiving. She is not 100% but says she is around 85%.

Continue to pray for Scott for mental and physical healing, God focus and ability to think clearly.

ONGOING JOB RELATED: Sergio seeking new employment - is in Mexico City. Paul NS has had such an adventure trying to find a role again. Please keep him in your prayers that he does not give up.

For PJ that he may find projects to fill his needs. Justin B and his father in India need prayer that Justin will find work in his field of BPO and voice in the Lord's perfect time.

ONGOING PRAYER REQUESTS:

Pray the Lord’s hand is dramatically apparent in the lives of all who receive and read this devotion...that His mighty works would be worked out in each life for His purposes in surprising and wonderful ways!

Elaine and Jim in Hong Kong have begun a new ministry. Please pray the Father keeps guiding them in their work.

Isaias & Judith need our continued prayers for protection and good health. They lead the efforts of Ambassadors for Christ in the Philippines. The financial needs are so great, please consider contributing...just click on Ambassadors for Christ link above.

For Linda and Ian. For Rob and his daughter. For Reg. Pray for Annette and Lyle and their wonderful family. Pray for wisdom for my brother as he deals with an important matter. For David K, in his studies and Matthew K as he grows up.

PRAY FOR THE WORLD: God’s grace on USA & REVIVAL for His children there and for the many nations and individuals suffering from global financial mismanagement. Pray for Birgit who is in Germany.

Please pray for the many individuals in India. Just recently the WeakDay Devotion blog is being read by many people there! God is mysterious!

Pray for the Catholic Church and that the new Pope will always put Jesus first.

* "Trusting God" is copyright protected since 1988 by Jerry Bridges. All rights are reserved, including translations. The ISBN is 08910-91742. I quote carefully from his book.

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Background of WeakDay Devotions

Over eleven years ago a dear friend couldn't find a job. She's brilliant, skilled & experienced -- but simply couldn't find a position to suit her. After about eight months of struggling & searching, she was hired to work with the Sydney Olympics but six months later the role turned feral. She was discouraged as she pulled herself into work each morning.

Then it became apparent they were trying to "move" her out. She struggled. At least once a week she would be on the phone to me or be sitting on my balcony talking/crying her heart out. I found myself being a sort of Christian coach/mentor for her.

One morning after my quiet time, something I learned seemed relevent for her, so I shared it with her in an email. She wrote back that it indeed helped. Next morning the same thing happened. Again the Lord used it to encourage & strengthen her. The next morning nothing seemed good to send, but I searched till I found something I hoped would strengthen her. The Lord used it. Each week day morning from then on I would get up early & write her a note of encouragement.

A month went by & another friend sent me an e-mail expressing their own frustration with a work situation. I sent them a copy of the e-mail I'd sent my friend that very morning. They were encouraged & asked me to include them each morning. After a couple of weeks both wrote to me to say they'd been sending the email to others & would I just add theses new names each morning. They also suggested I ask others if they'd like to be included. I did & many asked to receive it. One day, I was asked to do a radio interview with Gordon Moyse ("An Ordinary Christian"). He had heard about the morning "WeakDay Devotions" & wanted his listeners to know more about them.

Almost every week day morning since that first e-mail, I've written a fresh word of encouragement for (by now) an untold number of people around the world. It was originally mostly business oriented, but has grown to be more general in nature with Christian business people knowing it is the little personal details of their walk that need a boost anyway.

Within the distribution list now are Christians or pre-Christians (Catholic & Protestant), some are Jewish, some have not made a decision about what they believe, yet. There are several pastors; a Catholic priest, a Jewish teacher and a Christian Web page creator (and pastor) who distributes select ones to his readership. There’s even a pastor in the USA who uses them as part of his daily radio program.

Many who receive them forward them to others & they ricochet around the world. They're used as morning devotions between friends at work in the USA, Argentina, the Philippines, New Guinea, Hong Kong & places I don't even know about yet.

The Lord is using these meek & meagre "presents to Him" for His own purposes in the lives of others & I'm constantly surprised & humbled at the encouragement I've found in my own personal time with the Lord because of their ministry to me!

If you'd like to have them emailed directly to you each day, just send me an email. I'm open to comments, suggestions & criticisms.

Again, it's almost always only one screen long, so you don't have to take too much time with them, they always come marked "Urgent" so they can be found more quickly. Finally, the distribution list is "blinded" so everyone's privacy is assured (although I pray for everyone I send to & know them all much better now).

Every day is different, some days are very short -- sometimes only one verse or two, but there's always a Bible verse (I always use the New American Standard Bible translation, unless otherwise indicated). There are also times when there is a suggestion for something special as an assignment. I've also written a variety of series, such as: The Ten Commandments, Forgiveness, How to Know God's Will, Fasting, Unmet Needs, etc.

Stay close to His Word.
Your servant and friend in Christ.... Darlene

The First Devotion

"And those who know Thy name will put their trust in Thee; for Thou, O Lord, hast not forsaken those who seek Thee." Psalm 9:10

From George Muller's Autobiography:

"I saw more clearly than ever that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not, how much I might serve the Lord, how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished.

"The first thing I did, after having asked in a few words the Lord's blessing upon His precious Word, was to begin to meditate on the Word of God; searching, as it were, into every verse, to get blessing out of it; not for the sake of the public ministry of the Word; not for the sake of reaching on what I had meditated upon; but for the sake of obtaining food for my own soul. The result I have found to be almost invariably this...that after a very few minutes my soul has been led to confession, or to thanksgiving, or to intercession, or to supplication; so that though I did not, as it were, give myself to prayer, but to meditation, yet it turned almost immediately more or less into prayer."

Have a wonderful day resting in Him....love, your servant and friend in Christ...D

Another style: The Princess & the Pea

[Jesus teaching] "'And why do you look at the spec that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?'" Matthew 7:3

"For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all." James 2:10

"So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. Behold, how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!" James 3:5

"Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all other seeds; but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.'" Matthew 13:31-32

Ever notice how it's the little things that get under your skin and grow out of perspective? Think of the time you spend looking for a misplaced file or phone number. What about when you're late and get a red light or someone pulls out in front of you in traffic. Or how about when you get a paper cut or have a hang nail? How about forgetting someone's birthday or when you lose your glasses or keys? Any of these things can make us "lose our cool". As Christians we must be ever vigilant to how the little things can stumble our walk and witness with Christ.

It reminds me of the fairy tale of the Princess and the Pea (where a prince looked for a gentle and delicate princess to help rule his kingdom. He arranged a test of all the fair maidens. He had a stack of mattresses placed one on top the other and each "princess candidate" was invited to spend the night in the castle. The Prince became discouraged because no one seemed to respond to the test until one morning a lovely woman complained she could not sleep, as the mattress was too lumpy. Unbeknownst to her (and all the other candidates) the Prince had placed a single pea under the bottom mattress. No one else had been sensitive to the little things. Of course they lived happily ever after. In our Christian walk we need to be that sensitive to the little things that stumble us! Take care, your servant and friend in Christ – Darlene

A WeakDay Devotion

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Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Heart's Discipline

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Background of WeakDay Devotions

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