Heartfelt Faithfulness

Posted on November 12, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

 

Proverbs 3:3 (NIV)
Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.

 

God’s faithfulness to me – His Word in my heart.

My faithfulness to God – my heart on His leash. 

 

 

Good morning, Lord. I hear, read, study and sometimes memorize Your Word. My heart is filled with Your faithfulness — thank You for Your grace. 

 


As the old hymn says, “Let that grace now, like a fetter bind my wandering heart to Thee” (Robert Robinson, 1758). With a heart filled with Your love, I shouldn’t wander … but I do! Forgive me. When I step out of line, Lord, pull me back. You never let go of Your end of the leash. Thank You for Your mercy.

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Faith-Full

Posted on November 11, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

 

I want to be faithful — literally, full of faith.

What is faith?

 

Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

I can’t see faith, but I want to be filled with it. I hope others will see it in me.

 


Good morning, Lord. I can’t see You, but I have faith in You. I do see Your Word — I read it, I hear it, I study it, I memorize it. Those words, written so long ago and inspired by Your eternal Spirit, feed my faith. 


And yet, I neglect Your Word. I fill my eyes and ears with social media and worldly images, and thus I fill my soul with useless thoughts. Forgive me. Help me shift my focus. Teach me to drink from Your fountain of life. Flood my soul with faith and hope.

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Good Job

Posted on November 8, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott


We all crave approval — most of all God’s approval.

Matthew 25:21 (NIV)
His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

 

Jesus wrapped these words in a fictional story. But we all know the “master” in the story is God. 

Every now and then, I sense God saying, “Good job!” It’s a great feeling. I hope to hear it more often.

 


Good morning, Lord. Today (and every day) I hope to walk in Your way, follow Your directions, do Your will. I want to hear Your Spirit whisper to my spirit, “Good job, well done.”

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Good Fruit

Posted on November 7, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott


James 3:17 (NIV)
But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

 

Craving good fruit? Look in the right place. 

It’s in the Bible, and it transforms us.

 

Good morning, Lord. You are always good, I am not. All too often, my initial thought or first reaction is self-serving. I know that’s not right, so I put on a good face. Most of the time, thankfully, my heart and mind come round to match. Lord, I want to be good to the core. Make me good from the inside out. I want to be Your good fruit.

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Good Thoughts

Posted on November 6, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott


“Every year of my life I grow more convinced that it is wisest and best to fix our attention on the beautiful and the good, and dwell as little as possible on the evil and the false.”
Richard Cecil (1495-1553)


Good thoughts are good for you.

 


Good morning, Lord. It’s so easy to fall into the pit of negative thinking, to tell myself how bad it all is, to convince myself that it’s all hopeless. Teach me to step into the upward spiral of good thoughts, to see the beauty of Your creation, to repeat the wisdom from Your Word and to put my hope in Your eternal plan.

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A Good Start

Posted on November 5, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott


True goodness starts with God. The more careful attention I give to God and His Word, the more goodness I will absorb. In a spiritual sense, I am what I eat: take in more of God’s Word, be filled with more of His goodness.


Matthew 12:35 (NIV)
A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.

 

Good morning, Lord. I want to start and end my day with You. Fuel me with enough of Your Word and wisdom to get me through the whole day. Fill me with enough of Your goodness to let my light shine in the darkness, to keep my focus in the midst of distractions, to hold on to hope when a storm rages. May I leave a trail of goodness, in Jesus’ name.

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Good as God

Posted on November 4, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

In English, good can describe all sorts of things: foods, experiences, weather, people. In the Bible, fruit-of-the-Spirit goodness is tied to the Greek word agathon, meaning inherently good, good by nature. We’ll start with Jesus’ response to the young man who called Him “Good Teacher.”

 

Mark 10:18 (NIV) –also Luke 18:19
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered.
“No one is good—except God alone.”

Let’s strive for agathan goodness, to be good like God.

 

It’s morning, Lord. You are good, and I fall short. I can be cranky, distracted, thoughtless — or worse. But truly, I want to be a good person doing good deeds. Teach me to be more aware of the people around me. Grant me insight into circumstances surrounding us. Empower me to say and do good things — to be as good to others as You are good to me.

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Kindness with Forgiveness

Posted on November 1, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott


Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

 

Note to self: Sooner or later, someone will let me down. Be prepared to forgive. It’s the kind thing to do.

 


Good morning, Lord. You forgive me both for the kind acts I fail to do and for the unkind things I do and say. Teach me to do the same for others. Remind me to overlook their forgetfulness and selfishness. Help me let go of my hurt feelings. Curb my desire to be as unkind to them as they have been to me. Show me how to be more like You.

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Kindness to Enemies

Posted on October 31, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

 

“A good man is kinder to his enemy
than bad men to their friends.”
Joseph Hall (1574-1656)

 

 


Good morning, Lord. I want to be good and kind — like You are. But I find myself judging, trying to decide of someone is worthy of my time and trouble. Teach me to be good to others without keeping score, to grant grace to my friends my enemies and everyone in between — the way You grant grace to me.

 

 

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Kindness to the Unkind

Posted on October 30, 2024 by Shirlee Abbott

Luke 6:35 (NIV)
But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

God is kind to believers and unbelievers, the evil and the good – and he asks the same of us.

 


Good morning, Lord.  Your Word says I should be kind to others as I would have others be kind to me (Luke 6:31). It’s easy for me to be kind to folks who are kind to me. Being kind to rude, hateful and unpleasant people … to be honest, I’d rather not. It’s hard, God, help me!

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