July 9, 2015
by autumn macarthur
Comments Off on Work with joy
Lord, help me to serve You willingly, not working only for payment, but knowing that You will provide for me. Whatever work You give me to do, please help me to do it with a joyful and trusting heart.
[Tweet “May I do whatever work God gives me today with a joyful and trusting heart.”]
July 8, 2015
by autumn macarthur
Comments Off on Love deeply
Most important of all, love each other deeply,
because love makes you willing to forgive many sins.
1 Peter 4:8 ERV
Lord, please help me to apply this to myself, as well as others. Help me to forgive myself for my wrong doings, and to forgive anyone I believe has done wrong against me, the same way that You forgive us. You told us to love others as we love ourselves. Give us a clear and honest self-love. A love that sees ourselves as You do, neither puffed up with pride, or harsh and judgmental. Help us to see ourselves as flawed and broken, yet still Your precious and beloved children. Only then can we truly love others.
[Tweet “We must see ourselves as flawed, broken, yet still God’s precious and beloved children. Only then can we truly love others.”]
July 7, 2015
by autumn macarthur
Comments Off on When the waves around you seem high
Jesus said, “Come, Peter.”
Then Peter left the boat and walked on the water to Jesus. But while Peter was walking on the water, he saw the wind and the waves. He was afraid and began sinking into the water. He shouted, “Lord, save me!”
Then Jesus caught Peter with his hand. He said, “Your faith is small. Why did you doubt?”
After Peter and Jesus were in the boat, the wind stopped.
Matthew 14:29-32
Today has been one of those days when I thought I could step out in faith, but as soon as I took my eyes off Jesus and worried about how high the waves around me were and how strong the wind was, I began to sink. Looking to Jesus is always the solution.
[Tweet “Lord, help me to keep my eyes on You. Then, my faith is strengthened and my doubts fade away.”]
Book news:
More than Friends, my Scottish summer novella in the Splash! collection, is now released for sale as an individual ebook.
July 6, 2015
by autumn macarthur
Comments Off on God is my safe harbour
Help me to look to You and only You for strength and shelter Lord. Help me to know that my hope and my safe harbour are found in You and Your protection.
July 5, 2015
by autumn macarthur
Comments Off on God provides
It is pointless to get up early,
work hard, and go to bed late
Anxiously laboring for food to eat;
for God provides for those He loves, even while they are sleeping.
When I read this verse, it felt as if a weight of pressure and struggle lifted from me.
Not that it’s permission to be lazy. Most of us live our lives the opposite of lazy.
It’s much-needed permission to stop trying so hard and stop feeling guilty when we have to rest. It’s permission to rest in God, trusting that He’s got it.
We still do the work, but that frantic stress and strain and sense of failing to do enough we far too often feel is gone.
We can breathe again.
Ahhhh. That feels good.
[Tweet “We can stop working so hard, and try resting in God, trusting that He will provide.”]
July 4, 2015
by autumn macarthur
Comments Off on A blessed July 4th to all Americans
May you know God’s love and blessing, for you, your family, and your nation.
July 3, 2015
by autumn macarthur
Comments Off on I trust in You…
But as for me, I trust in You,
O Lord, I say, You are my God.
My times are in Your hand.
[Tweet “But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord, I say, You are my God. My times are in Your hand. Psalm 31”]
July 2, 2015
by autumn macarthur
Comments Off on Moments of my life
I give the moments of my life over to You, Eternal One.
Thank You Lord, for a new month full of new opportunities.
Please, in this new month, help me to use my time more productively, for You. My days seem to vanish one after the other with so little achieved to show for it.
Dear Lord, help me to see my time as a gift from You, entrusted to me for stewardship, to be used wisely. Show me the way You want me to use the hours and the minutes of my days. Help me to set the right priorities, focused on You.
It feels like there’s so much I need and want to do, pulled in so many directions by so many competing demands and distractions. Help me to see what is most important. Help me to always choose love, and to keep my eyes on You. Life comes from You. Love comes from You. Following You and doing Your will in my life is the most important thing, but too often the one that gets pushed to the side.
In this new month, please remind me You are with me. Thank You for Your love and support. Thank You that You never ever leave or desert me.
You are always there for me. All I need to do is ask.
July 1, 2015
by autumn macarthur
Comments Off on Finding my way…
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.
Dear Lord, please help me to grow in trust. Help me to know that You will always provide what’s needed when I ask, whether it’s story ideas or health or patience or paying the bills. Help me to remember to seek You first, not as a last resort.
I have such a tendency to try to do it on my own. I rely way too much on my own limited understanding. And it’s no surprise I get lost, because not only am I reading the map upside down, it’s in Polish!
You are the only answer. Prayer is the most practical thing I can do, in all situations. Then when I take action, it will be guided by You. It will be supported by You. I’ll be on Your path. I’ll know I’m not in it alone, because You are there with me.
Thank You for that!
[Tweet “Prayer is the most practical thing I can do, in all situations, because then my actions will be guided by God”]
June 30, 2015
by autumn macarthur
Comments Off on A renewed heart…
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And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart, so they will obey my decrees and regulations. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God.
Dear Lord, help me to love and follow You, and be willing to see if there is anything in my life I’ve made more important than You.
You ordered the people in Ezekiel’s time to set aside their false gods, and look only to You. You promised that if they did, You would bring them home from exile, and You would renew their hearts and spirits.
Please Lord, do the same for me. So many things can become idols when we seek them above all else, when we value anything else higher than You. Even things that can be blessed gifts You can provide, like the desire for human love and marriage, the longing for a child, or seeking after financial success.
All can become worthless little gods, if wanting them gets in the way of me trusting You to bring me what is best for me. So one by one, You’ve smashed them, and I’ve cried and ranted and hardened my heart against You, not realising what a blessing You gave. Now, I see why these things came to me in Your time not mine, or not at all.
Please, make me new in You. Make me tender and responsive. Renew Your Spirit in me. Help me to see what is real and true and lasting.
I want to be Your child, and I want You to be my God and Father. I want You more than these other things I’ve sought. None of them last forever, but You are eternal.
You are faithful and true, and You always keep Your promises.
Thank You for that.
[Tweet “God is faithful and true to those who choose to follow Him, and He always keeps His promises.”]