Jan. 3rd Devotions

Gen. 5:22-Enoch walked with God 300 years. I can hardly fathom how close Enoch must have been to the Lord! I have a feeling that Enoch must have been in constant communication with God, much like you would be with a best friend. Oh, how I long for that kind of relationship with my Heavenly Father! I pray I might be like Enoch, and spend every waking moment in constant communication with God! Like most people, I turn to God when something goes wrong, and seldom at any other time. I want to stop turning to Him when I need something, and instead turn to Him simply because He IS my Best Friend and my Heavenly Father, and I want to spend my life growing closer to Him and growing in His favor. 

Gen. 6:8-Speaking of finding favor in God, what better example than Noah! When God was troubled with the sins of the world and decided to destroy His creation there was only ONE person who stood out and found favor in the Lord's eyes! Do I stand out to the Lord? Or am I blending in with the rest of the world? Lord, I pray that You would fill me with Your Love and that I would spend my time rejoicing and obeying You! 

Gen. 6:22- This verse states that Noah obeyed God in ALL THINGS! Many times, God asks us to do something that seems hard (and in Noah's case, strange!), but no matter what it is, we need to obey our Heavenly Father. I admire Noah for his obedience to His God.

Matthew 3:10-In this verse, John the Baptist is warning the Pharisees and Sadducees that a day will come when the "good fruit" and "bad fruit" is separated, and the bad fruit will be cast into the furnace. Is the way I am living my life reaping good fruit? Lord, show me the ways in which I can rid myself of the bad fruit, and increase the good! 

Matthew 4: Jesus' Temptation. This is perhaps one of the greatest chapters in the Bible! It proves that Jesus was both fully human, AND fully God while here on earth. How comforting to know that the Son of God was also tempted....and that He has shown us how we too can flee from temptation!  If you read this passage, you will see that Jesus quotes scripture each time the devil tries to tempt Him. It is so important to hide God's Word in your heart so that when satan does try to attack you can fight against him! Lord, Help me to save your Words in my heart so that I may be able to stand against the devil's attacks!

Psalm 3:3-4 "But You, O Lord, are a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my had. I was crying to the Lord with my voice, And He answered me from His holy mountain" God, You alone are my Protector and the Giver of my life! Hear me, I pray, as I cry out to You! I pray that not only would You take away my pain, but that You would teach me something in spite of the pain.

Proverbs 1:10-19-From this passage, I felt God saying that it's important to have the right kind of friends, and to surround myself with those who will lift me up and encourage me to grow spiritually. I am so thankful for both my husband, and my best friend who are both there for me on a daily basis to uplift, encourage, and pray with/for me! I am also thankful for the friends I have made on facebook who do the same for me. What an encouragement it is to spend time with other Christians who can help me in my times of sadness!