Sometime ago, the Lord impressed upon me how wonderful it would be to spend a whole day focused on Him. Life is so busy. I make time for eating, sleeping, exercising, even shopping and vacations. But could I take a whole day off from my normal responsibilities and focus totally on the Lord?
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I told my family about the idea and they were very excited. It occurred to them, that if I was very sick for a day, they would all manage without me. They liked the idea so much, they even offered to deliver meals and snacks upstairs to my bedroom!

As we look at the subject of etiquette, it would be wise to go to the Bible as our source of wisdom. Etiquette books can be a help as we seek the proper way to do things, but if etiquette does not begin in the heart, it will be merely an outward show. Our etiquette needs to be genuine and prompted by a love for the Lord. As we learn and apply what God’s Word says about our interactions with others, we will be treating those around us in a polite, godly way.

“Tying or binding up—captivating.” This is the meaning of the name, Rebekah, a girl found in the Bible. Rebekah was not only beautiful on the outside, but on the inside as well. “...For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”—1 Samuel 16:7b

Right now we are going to take a peek into Rebekah’s heart as a young woman...

When I saw that this issue addressed the topic “Discerning the Will of God,” I immediately thought of a message that my pastor preached on “The Will of God.” I used the notes taken from his sermon as a springboard for this article.

Follow your heart and your dreams will come true . . . We’ve all heard it. And it does sound reasonable, right? It leads us to believe that we can truly rely on feelings to guide our daily lives… As a result, we’ll be happy and successful. I’m not sure who thought up this quote, but we can be sure he maintained a fervent belief in himself and in his own will.
 
When a new idea (or even an old idea) is presented to you, what is the proper action to take? Pull out the Word of God and see what He has to say about it. Our Lord’s infinite wisdom and authority is the only instruction that should dominate the way we live our lives. Thus said, when we hear the “follow your heart” notion, we should retreat to the Bible and see if this is a Biblical truth.

Quiet time with the Lord is so important. Yet sometimes, at least for me, it can be a chore instead of an opportunity. At times I wake up and think about what I need to do that day, and think “I’ll just read one Psalm, and that will be my Bible reading.” :( This special time with our heavenly Father is supposed to be an opportunity, not a chore to get through the day. Our hearts must be in the right place! 

​As my home school family learns about this vast earth, we notice that everything has a beginning and an end. We read that even our ever faithful sun is using up its energy at an astonishing rate of millions of tons each second; it can’t last forever, and hasn’t always been. Such can truthfully be said about the entire universe; everything has a beginning and end. So, when as Christians we claim the God of the Bible as the divine Designer of the world, someone could very well pose the questions, “Who created God? When was His beginning?”

​Philippians 4:6 “Be careful for nothing: but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
 
Worship is not just something you do at church when you sing songs and pray. No, worship is the way you should lead every day of your lives. Your life should worship God daily in every act you perform. Your life should be an act of worship. When you live a life sacrificed to God, every act needs to come into obedience to God’s Word. Your thoughts, what you look at, read, where you go, who you are friends with, the words you speak, your dress, how you spend your time, your money, what you eat and drink, how much self-control you have, and finally, love. It all turns out as an act of worship. Others can see by your life and character Whom you serve.

Last time, we unpacked the glorious promise of Jeremiah 31:14, realizing that God wants to satiate our souls with living water and soak our lives in His all-sufficient presence.  This is a wonderful truth to apply to our lives; but most of us fall short of living it as we should.  We know that our Lord is all we truly need—that He alone can bring lasting satisfaction—but we focus our energies on earthly things as if they will fulfill and complete us.  We convince ourselves that “if only” we could have this thing or reach that place or become this different person, we would finally be happy; and instead, we wind up empty and miserable.  Our gracious Heavenly Father wants much more for us than this!  He wants us to know true satisfaction, to walk through each day with joy, and to showcase His glory before an empty, miserable world.  His vision for His children is not merely to survive the daily grind, but to thrive in the midst of its challenges.  Here is a description of the life He wants for us.  The last verse is one you will recognize.  “. . . [A]nd they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord . . . [T]heir life shall be like a watered garden, and they shall languish no more. . . . I will turn their mourning into joy; I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.  I will [satiate] the soul of the priests with abundance, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, declares the Lord” (Jer. 31:12-14 ESV – emphasis added; same for the following verses).