Love Creates Beauty

AUGUST 13

MATTHEW 6:30_Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field…

The I AM has another name, Jehovah-Jireh, which means My Provider. You may only consider provisions as food, clothes, and shelter. The Jehovah-Jireh is able to provide much more than basic essentials. He provides such things as beauty in nature.

In this verse, Jesus the Creator says God clothes the grass of the field. I love that! The world can be a very wicked, evil, dark place. Jesus says God dresses it up—even an unkept field! There are many awe-inspiring scenes in the world—all presented by the hand of nature.  God could have created plain, boring nature. But God’s love sees beauty in everything, so it is only natural that His love creates beauty. 

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (KJV), “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” There are sunrises, sunsets, the Blue Ridge mountains in Autumn, dogwoods and cherry trees in Spring, a field of sunflowers in Summer, and an untouched blanket of snow in Winter. These are only a micro-portion of God’s handiwork. Verse 11 says, He hath made every thing beautiful in His time …”

Even though God’s ultimate creation, the Garden of Eden, fell to disobedience—He still gave beauty to the earth. 

PRAYER

Jesus Creator, I see Your world of nature and know it is full of Your love! In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ’s creation reflects His love—I can reflect it too!

It Took Her Breath Away!

AUGUST 12

MATTHEW 6:29_was not arrayed like one of these.

1 Kings 3:11-14 (KJV),”And God said unto him, ‘Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; 12 Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.13 And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.14 And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days’” 

You simply must read 1 Kings 10 of the account of the Queen of Sheba! She visited King Solomon just to see if all she had heard of him was true. After she heard his wisdom, and saw the vastness of his wealth, verse 5 (KJV) says, “… there was no more spirit in her.”  We would say, “It took her breath away“.

Go back to Jesus’ word, yet. Yet, for all Solomon’s power, wisdom, and wealth, he had nothing in his wardrobe to surpass the beauty of a field of lilies. Simple God-grown lilies do not have to worry about their existence—God supplies all their needs. 

PRAYER

Jehovah Jireh, I worship the magnificent God You are!  In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ’s works in my life—He takes my breath away!

Jesus Turns to Nature

JULY 31

MATTHEW 6:26_Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns…

Jesus turns to nature. Consider birds and their work habits. 

I love to watch birds. I keep my feeders full, and water in the bird bath. It is a joy to watch the birds flock to the feeders. Don’t get me started on squirrels and my feeders (don’t want to discuss demons at this time).

During the season, I make nectar and keep my hummingbird feeders full. 

The birds did not plant the black oil sunflower seed I pour into the feeder. Neither did they harvest the seed, nor separate the seed from the hull. The hummers did not plant and grow the cane, nor go through the process of pressing, extracting, etc., to produce the sugar I use to make nectar. 

It is true that all the birds in my yard will eat well without my feeders, and without me. Genesis 1 (KJV), “11 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.”

God had provision on His mind before He created who would need it.   

PRAYER

God Who is the First and the Last, Thank You that You know my needs before I need them. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ provides—I receive!

Wait – Keep Praying

AUGUST 30

MATTHEW 6:34_Take therefore no thought for the morrow…

If you already invited Jesus into your life previous to these devotions, please print and fill in yesterday’s salvation post just the same. If you can’t remember the date of your decision, just write in the year according to your age at the time.

Eternal salvation is the most important thought for your future. Anything which involves personal responsibility is also for future thoughts. Worrying about what will happen to you in the future should not crowd your thought life. 

As a matter of fact, once you have joined the Kingdom, you have a special ability to come to God’s throne in prayer. Hebrews 4:16 (KJV), “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

Do you see that? You can come boldly to God in prayer. You can feel confident to ask for your needs to be met. You can feel confident of His mercy and grace—for you! If God doesn’t deliver you in the time and way you desire, accept His will, wait, and keep praying.

Isn’t the God who brought you into a place of perfection (living in heaven for eternity), capable of meeting your earthly needs?      

PRAYER

Jesus Lord, I am amazed that I can speak to You with boldness! In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ is the Throne of Grace—He will give me mercy!

Seek!

 AUGUST 25

MATTHEW 6:33_But seek ye…

The word seek involves effort on your part. If you sit around and wait for something to happen—it won’t. If you pour water into a pot and place it over heat, sit around and wait, something will happen—it will begin to boil. Even that required some effort on your part. If you needed to boil water, you had to find water, a pot, and some type of heat. 

When you give time to seek something—you want it! Depending upon how much time and effort you put into the seeking—you really want it! Jesus is an action personality. If He tells you to seek, be certain it will require some kind of effort on your part. There is nothing sit around on your hands about Jesus!

At twelve years of age, while accompanying His family to the Passover celebration in Jerusalem, Jesus vanished. The city was packed with people. The frantic parents searched for three days. Where did they find him? Luke 2:46 (KJV), “And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors [teachers], both hearing them, and asking them questions.”

Jesus was in the temple not only seeking truth, but giving it!

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, Help me put action to my seeking by prayer and Bible study.  Help me to seek what is true. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ is a seeker of truth—He wants me to be!