Inspirations for the Soul

He awakens me morning by morning, He awakens my ear to hear as the learned. The Lord God has opened my ear. - Isaiah 50:4-5

"Each day has 1,440 minutes. Do you value your relationship with God enough to spend a few of those minutes with Him? He wants to spend them with you.

As you consider your plans for the day ahead, organize your life around this simple principle: God first. When you place your Creator where He belongs-at the very center of your day and of your life-the rest of your priorities will fall into place.

Each new day is a gift from God, and if you're wise, you'll spend a few quiet moments each morning thanking the Giver. It's the best way to start the day."

"God made everything with a place and purpose." - Proverbs 16:4

Life is best lived on purpose, not by accident-the sooner we discover what God intends for us to do with our lives, the better. But the search to find meaning and purpose is seldom easy. Sometimes we wander aimlessly in a wilderness of our own making. And sometimes we must try-and fail-many times before we discover our life's work.

Mother Teresa said, "We are all pencils in the hand of God." And author Willa Cather noted, "This is happiness: to be dissolved in something complete and great." How true.

Today is a wonderful day to dissolve yourself in something important. You can do it-and if you get busy, you will.

Proverbs 1:7
" Start with God-the first step in learning is bowing down to God."

When it comes to life's lessons, we can learn them the easy way, or we can learn them the hard way. The easy way can be summed up as follows: when God teaches us a lesson, we learn it-the first time. Unfortunately, too many of us catch on much more slowly than that.

When we resist God's instruction, He continues to teach us, whether we like it or not. Our challenge, then, is to discern God's lessons from the experiences of everyday life. Hopefully, we learn those lessons sooner rather than later-because the sooner we do, the sooner the Heavenly Father can move on to the next lesson, and the next, and the next...

"True learning can take place at every age of life, and it doesn't have to be in the curriculum plan."
-Suzanne Dale Ezell-

Proverbs 3:11-12

Early in his life, John Donne, one of England's great poets, was known for his controversial poetry and satarical criticism of religious denominations. However, Donne did not remain antagonistic toward God.
After joining the Church of England and marrying Ann Moore, Donne experienced immense suffering. He and Anne lost five of their 12 children and lived in despondent poverty. Donne continually struggled with depression and physical affliction. One would think that the suffering would have driven Donne farther from God.
However, the exact opposite is true. During this time, Donne studied God's ways with fervor. Donne wrote: "Batter my heart, three person'd God; for you/ As yet but knock, breathe, shine and seek to mend.../Take me to you, imprison me, for I / Except you enthrall me, never shall be free."
Donne understood that all his trials brought him closer to God. As Proverbs 3:12 says, "Whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights."
If you are suffering greatly, do not think that God has abandoned you. Rather, like Donne, God is making your life into a sweet sonnet. Donne was not only one of England's great poets, but also one of its greatest preachers. God is making something phenomenal of your life too. As W.L. Watkinson wrote, "The rarest souls have been tested with high pressures and temperatures, but Heaven will not desert them."

Proverbs 3:5-10

Matthew 9:9-12

After years of counting out coins, writing out customs receipts, and collecting Roman taxes from his Jewish countrymen, Matthew finally heard an offer he could not refuse. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, and he left all, rose up, and followed Him" (Luke 5:28).

Matthew left everything (see Matt.9:9). The taxes. The extorted excess. The receipts. He left it all-except, praise God, his gift of accurate record-keeping!

Before his conversion, his name had been Levi, the son of Alphaeus (see Mark 2:14). But after he came to Christ, he received a new name, Matthew ("Gift of the Lord"). When Luke and Mark refer to Matthew, they call him Levi. But in Matthew 10:3, he refers to himself as "Matthew the tax collector"-a pointed reminder of a past he had given up.

What "old life" did you leave behind in order to fully follow the Son of God?

God's highest priority for our lives determines the impact of our lives.

Genesis 1:26

One of the greatest needs is to know that we are loved. Each one of us has to feel certain, deep down in our heart, that someone loves us, cares for us, and has our best interests at heart.

That is how God designed us. He wants us to know that He loves every one of us with a passionate intensity too deep for words.

God created human beings with fellowship in mind-first with Himself and then with others. But we cannot fully love one another until we have ourselves experienced the love of God. We experience His love when we willingly surrender to His call to be our Savior, Lord, and Friend.

There are at least 3 reasons God seeks our surrender: