Final issue now released Proverbs 31 Woman Issue 7
Friday, August 15, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Is it possible to be content?
Find out as we study what God's Word says about being content. Visit ThinkOnIt Devotions Bible Study on Contentment today.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Study on Kindness
Join in me while we study what God's Word says about Kindness.
Visit ThinkOnIt Devotions' bible study on kindness today.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
How to become humble as a child
Happy Easter everyone! Join me as we study what the bible says about humility.
Visit ThinkOnIt Devotions Bible Study on Humility today .
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Friday, January 04, 2008
Another Great Resource
Announcing a new resource to help you live your faith out at work.....
Check out the helpful links to other resources available today!
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Make a 7yr Birthday Wish Come True - It's Easy!!
There's this a 7 year old boy, named Shane Bernier who lives in Canada. He has cancer and wants to get in the Guiness Book of World Records by receiving the most Birthday cards by May 30, 2007. Join me, send him a card.
Check the details at http://thinkonit.org/devotionsponsor.aspx
Pass it on, times a ticking away!!
Check the details at http://thinkonit.org/devotionsponsor.aspx
Pass it on, times a ticking away!!
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Country Crock Spread the Sharing Campaign
Country Crock will donate a meal to Americas' Second Harvest for every story of sharing that's posted to their site. If you've got a story about sharing and caring, please check out the site and post it. It's a simple way to help those in need.
Check out my site for more details:
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Daily Bible Reading Plans
Looking for a Bible Reading Plan, check out the one brought to us by Calvary Chapel Lake Forest
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Easter Out Reach Opportunity
Help make it a special Easter for families in our community! There are three ways you and your small group can serve:Buy a laundry basket and fill it with household items. Help process and organize baskets for delivery. Help deliver baskets with a Local P.E.A.C.E. team.
Click here for details
Click here for details
Brought to you by
© Elizabeth Marks, author of ThinkOnIt Devotions and has a heart for encouraging others with God’s Word. For more articles, devotions and book reviews, visit http://www.ThinkOnItDevotions.com today.
Monday, October 30, 2006
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Sunday, October 29, 2006
ThinkOnIt...We Are the Body of Christ
Tychicus, a beloved brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. 8 I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that he may know your circumstances and comfort your hearts, 9 with Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will make known to you all things which are happening here. Colossians 4:7-9 NKJV
Fellowship and a sense of belonging are beautiful things. God designed us to need each other. Here we have examples of how Tychicus and Onesimus were helpful to the fellowship. Tychicus was a beloved brother, so apparently he got along with a lot folks. He was also described as a faithful minister, so we know he was consistent in his walk with Christ. He was a fellow servant in the Lord as well. To me that means he was humble and willing to serve wherever was needed. Onesimus was a faithful and beloved brother, so he was consistent and loving also. He was considered “one of you”, meaning he was part of the Colossians – he belonged. Do people describe us this way? If not, why?
All of us believers are joined together as one body and called the body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:7 “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.” Since we are connected with the body, we suffer when others suffer and we rejoice when others rejoice. We are no longer operating based just on what we think alone. Now we consult with the Lord, just as we would consider our spouse’s opinion when making a decision that affects everyone. We operate not based on the law, but based on love. Look at Romans 7:4: “Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.”
When God calls us to bear fruit, He also equips. Each one is given special abilities appropriate for building up the body. 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.” So we have been given these gifts to bear fruit to God.
How’s it going? Do you know what your gifts are? Are you using your gifts for the glory of God and building up the body of Christ? If not, I encourage you to read 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 to consider what gifts the Holy Spirit has given you. Pray and ask God to reveal where you should begin using your gift. It’s all part of the process of becoming who God wants you to be. I tell you from my own experience, as you step out in faith and begin using your gifts, you will be blessed in ways you never thought possible.
Fellowship and a sense of belonging are beautiful things. God designed us to need each other. Here we have examples of how Tychicus and Onesimus were helpful to the fellowship. Tychicus was a beloved brother, so apparently he got along with a lot folks. He was also described as a faithful minister, so we know he was consistent in his walk with Christ. He was a fellow servant in the Lord as well. To me that means he was humble and willing to serve wherever was needed. Onesimus was a faithful and beloved brother, so he was consistent and loving also. He was considered “one of you”, meaning he was part of the Colossians – he belonged. Do people describe us this way? If not, why?
All of us believers are joined together as one body and called the body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:7 “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.” Since we are connected with the body, we suffer when others suffer and we rejoice when others rejoice. We are no longer operating based just on what we think alone. Now we consult with the Lord, just as we would consider our spouse’s opinion when making a decision that affects everyone. We operate not based on the law, but based on love. Look at Romans 7:4: “Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.”
When God calls us to bear fruit, He also equips. Each one is given special abilities appropriate for building up the body. 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.” So we have been given these gifts to bear fruit to God.
How’s it going? Do you know what your gifts are? Are you using your gifts for the glory of God and building up the body of Christ? If not, I encourage you to read 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 to consider what gifts the Holy Spirit has given you. Pray and ask God to reveal where you should begin using your gift. It’s all part of the process of becoming who God wants you to be. I tell you from my own experience, as you step out in faith and begin using your gifts, you will be blessed in ways you never thought possible.
Saturday, October 28, 2006
What Do You Pray About?
Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; 3 meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, 4 that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. 5 Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. 6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. Colossians 4:2-6 NKVJ
Prayer is essential for keeping your relationship with Christ alive and well. How many human relationships would stay together, if the couple never spoke to one another? Probably not many would survive. Without speaking so many things can be misinterpreted. Paul urges the Colossians to “continue earnestly in prayer”. Do not become complacent or lazy about praying. It may be easy to stop praying, but the consequences would be devastating. Proverbs 12:24 “The hand of the diligent will rule, But the lazy man will be put to forced labor.”
Prayer is a vehicle that draws us closer to God and others. In our prayers, we praise God for who He is, what He’s done for us and thank Him for all He’s giving us. It’s important to continue giving thanks with vigilance. Prayer is also a weapon we must use to defend our walk. We when praise our God as He deserves, our enemy hates it! If ever you find the enemy hurling negative thoughts your way, try thinking about everything you can thank God for. In doing so you will be submitting to the Lord, resisting the devil, and the result is he will flee from you (James 4:7).
Prayer is not only about God. We pray for other’s needs as well. There’s several little tricks for helping us remember all the folks we can pray for. One is the five finger prayer. I used this one to help teach my son how to pray. It’s very effective and easy to remember. It something goes like this:
1. Your thumb represents those closest to you, so pray for your family and friends.
2. Your index (pointer) finger represents those who pointed you to Christ, so pray for those you lead you to your savior, pastor, Sunday school teacher, etc.
3. Your longest finger represents those in authority over you. That means the president, government, police, teacher, husband, etc.
4. Your ring finger is also the weakness finger. This reminds us to pray for the weak. Pray for single moms, widows, orphans, the sick, and the homeless.
5. Lastly is your little finger. This represents you, so pray for what you need.
Did you notice the order? Everyone else’s needs came before our own needs. That is honoring to God. When prayer becomes like breathing to you, meaning you find yourself talking to God about everything throughout the day, it you stay on track with the Lord. You begin to develop God’s perspective in your life. As a result you choose your word carefully. You walk in wisdom and your speech is full of grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer anyone who asks you why you have such a hope.
How’s your prayer life today? Is it filled with requests all about you? Or do you remember to pray for others? Are you praising God before you rattle off your requests? Talk to God, He’s waiting.
Prayer is essential for keeping your relationship with Christ alive and well. How many human relationships would stay together, if the couple never spoke to one another? Probably not many would survive. Without speaking so many things can be misinterpreted. Paul urges the Colossians to “continue earnestly in prayer”. Do not become complacent or lazy about praying. It may be easy to stop praying, but the consequences would be devastating. Proverbs 12:24 “The hand of the diligent will rule, But the lazy man will be put to forced labor.”
Prayer is a vehicle that draws us closer to God and others. In our prayers, we praise God for who He is, what He’s done for us and thank Him for all He’s giving us. It’s important to continue giving thanks with vigilance. Prayer is also a weapon we must use to defend our walk. We when praise our God as He deserves, our enemy hates it! If ever you find the enemy hurling negative thoughts your way, try thinking about everything you can thank God for. In doing so you will be submitting to the Lord, resisting the devil, and the result is he will flee from you (James 4:7).
Prayer is not only about God. We pray for other’s needs as well. There’s several little tricks for helping us remember all the folks we can pray for. One is the five finger prayer. I used this one to help teach my son how to pray. It’s very effective and easy to remember. It something goes like this:
1. Your thumb represents those closest to you, so pray for your family and friends.
2. Your index (pointer) finger represents those who pointed you to Christ, so pray for those you lead you to your savior, pastor, Sunday school teacher, etc.
3. Your longest finger represents those in authority over you. That means the president, government, police, teacher, husband, etc.
4. Your ring finger is also the weakness finger. This reminds us to pray for the weak. Pray for single moms, widows, orphans, the sick, and the homeless.
5. Lastly is your little finger. This represents you, so pray for what you need.
Did you notice the order? Everyone else’s needs came before our own needs. That is honoring to God. When prayer becomes like breathing to you, meaning you find yourself talking to God about everything throughout the day, it you stay on track with the Lord. You begin to develop God’s perspective in your life. As a result you choose your word carefully. You walk in wisdom and your speech is full of grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer anyone who asks you why you have such a hope.
How’s your prayer life today? Is it filled with requests all about you? Or do you remember to pray for others? Are you praising God before you rattle off your requests? Talk to God, He’s waiting.
Friday, October 27, 2006
ThinkOnIt...Are You Willing to Obey?
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them. 20 Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. 22 Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. 23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for[a] you serve the Lord Christ. 25 But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality. Colossians 3:18-25 NKJV
Before we begin, I’m sure after reading the verses above, there are some who don’t really want to read the rest of this article. That’s okay. Sometimes scripture can be difficult to take. Actually, it’s not really the scripture, it’s our own heart that has the problem. If you’re struggling right now, stop and pray. Ask God to give you courage to read and wisdom to understand His Word without fear and condemnation. God will reveal what you need to know.
God lays out in His Word, the things which we enable us to live an abundant life. His Word is like a mirror that shows us for who we really are. James 1:22-24 says “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.” Not only does He shows us, God also provides His Spirit to help us change where we need changing. God, in His wisdom and grace, designed us with free will, enabling us to decide whether we want this help from the Holy Spirit and want to follow His ways or not.
Today’s section of scripture talks about basic ground rules regarding obedience. The first thing I notice about this list is who it’s addressed to: wives, husbands, children, fathers and bondservants. That tells me that God places a huge priority on families and relationships. Verses 18 – 19 go together and outline the proper working order of marriage. When wives choose to submit to their husbands as to the Lord, they are giving the husband the respect that he needs. It’s a necessity for the man to feel he is respected. Likewise, when husbands love their wives at Christ loved the church, the woman is given what she needs, which is love. When both wife and husband are obeying the Lord, the full expression of God may be visible in their marriage. I can honestly say I know what it’s like to not follow this (my life without Christ) and I know what it’s like to follow this (my new life with Christ) and it is glorious!!! You can read more about marriage responsibilities in Ephesians 5:22-33.
Next we move on to parent child relationships. If you’re parent like I am, I’m pretty sure you could list out several reasons why it’s important for children to obey their parents. However, we’re only going to focus on “the one” reason: it’s well pleasing to the Lord. All through the bible we’re told to obey the Lord in what we do. Why? Because He made us and He wants to see us live abundantly. He stands ready to pour out blessings on us, but we stubbornly refuse to follow His ways that lead to those blessings.
When you stop to think about your relationship with your child, you are watching a scene that resembles your relationship with God. Let me give you an example. A couple weeks ago, my son had a day off from school. My son had been working so hard adjusting to a new school and homework routines, I wanted to do something fun to celebrate his achievement. We had decided to go to Disneyland, but the deal was he had to finish all his homework. I was so excited about the trip and continued praying that he would complete his responsibility so we would be able to go. It would have broken my heart not to be able to do this for him. This in a very small way is like God and us. He outlines what He expects from us, He tells us there’s rewards for following through and He waits expectantly for us to do what He has said so He can bless us. YES, He’s disappointed when we don’t follow through but I think He’s also disappointed that He is not able to bless us because of disobedience.
Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” In the process of training a child, fathers have a tendency to go overboard. Look at verse 21 above, it says fathers are not to provoke their children, so they children won’t become discouraged. How we speak to our children is important. We don’t want to discourage them. Fathers need to take extra precautions to be sensitive to their children. When I was going through Saddleback Church’s Celebrate Recovery program, they asked a lot of questions about my relationship with my dad. I didn’t understand at first, but studies have suggested how we relate to our dad plays an important part in how we start out relating to God. Yikes, I thought, but that’s a story for another time. We need to remember as a parent, we can help a child grow in Christ and have a right relationship with God. We can help them or hinder them, the choice is yours. Not to leave anyone out, bondservants are mentioned next. They are to obey their earthly masters out of reverence for God, knowing their real master is God Himself. All of us, no matter what category we belong to, need to remember verses 23-24. Whatever we do, do it as if we’re doing it for the Lord, no matter what it is we’re asked to do. Remember, it’s God who put us under someone’s authority and He expects us to be obedient to them. Jesus said he’d never seen faith like that of the Centurion in Matthew 8:8-10. The centurion had said he know what it meant to be under authority. Read the story today, it might help you understand how we should conduct ourselves under authority.
The last verse has two meanings for me. First, it indicates that those who choose to do wrong will be dealt with. That should serve as a warning to us, not to do wrong. Second it should help alleviate any burden we carry around with us regarding those times when wrong is done to us. Knowing that wrong-doing will be repaid by the Lord, should help us to forgive and turn it over to Him. God never asks us to forgive someone else more than He’s already forgiven you. In the Lord’s prayer found in Luke 11:3-5, we are given an example to follow regarding forgiveness: “Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.”
In conclusion, God’s outline for obedience is a wise thing to follow. How well are you following it today?
Before we begin, I’m sure after reading the verses above, there are some who don’t really want to read the rest of this article. That’s okay. Sometimes scripture can be difficult to take. Actually, it’s not really the scripture, it’s our own heart that has the problem. If you’re struggling right now, stop and pray. Ask God to give you courage to read and wisdom to understand His Word without fear and condemnation. God will reveal what you need to know.
God lays out in His Word, the things which we enable us to live an abundant life. His Word is like a mirror that shows us for who we really are. James 1:22-24 says “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.” Not only does He shows us, God also provides His Spirit to help us change where we need changing. God, in His wisdom and grace, designed us with free will, enabling us to decide whether we want this help from the Holy Spirit and want to follow His ways or not.
Today’s section of scripture talks about basic ground rules regarding obedience. The first thing I notice about this list is who it’s addressed to: wives, husbands, children, fathers and bondservants. That tells me that God places a huge priority on families and relationships. Verses 18 – 19 go together and outline the proper working order of marriage. When wives choose to submit to their husbands as to the Lord, they are giving the husband the respect that he needs. It’s a necessity for the man to feel he is respected. Likewise, when husbands love their wives at Christ loved the church, the woman is given what she needs, which is love. When both wife and husband are obeying the Lord, the full expression of God may be visible in their marriage. I can honestly say I know what it’s like to not follow this (my life without Christ) and I know what it’s like to follow this (my new life with Christ) and it is glorious!!! You can read more about marriage responsibilities in Ephesians 5:22-33.
Next we move on to parent child relationships. If you’re parent like I am, I’m pretty sure you could list out several reasons why it’s important for children to obey their parents. However, we’re only going to focus on “the one” reason: it’s well pleasing to the Lord. All through the bible we’re told to obey the Lord in what we do. Why? Because He made us and He wants to see us live abundantly. He stands ready to pour out blessings on us, but we stubbornly refuse to follow His ways that lead to those blessings.
When you stop to think about your relationship with your child, you are watching a scene that resembles your relationship with God. Let me give you an example. A couple weeks ago, my son had a day off from school. My son had been working so hard adjusting to a new school and homework routines, I wanted to do something fun to celebrate his achievement. We had decided to go to Disneyland, but the deal was he had to finish all his homework. I was so excited about the trip and continued praying that he would complete his responsibility so we would be able to go. It would have broken my heart not to be able to do this for him. This in a very small way is like God and us. He outlines what He expects from us, He tells us there’s rewards for following through and He waits expectantly for us to do what He has said so He can bless us. YES, He’s disappointed when we don’t follow through but I think He’s also disappointed that He is not able to bless us because of disobedience.
Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” In the process of training a child, fathers have a tendency to go overboard. Look at verse 21 above, it says fathers are not to provoke their children, so they children won’t become discouraged. How we speak to our children is important. We don’t want to discourage them. Fathers need to take extra precautions to be sensitive to their children. When I was going through Saddleback Church’s Celebrate Recovery program, they asked a lot of questions about my relationship with my dad. I didn’t understand at first, but studies have suggested how we relate to our dad plays an important part in how we start out relating to God. Yikes, I thought, but that’s a story for another time. We need to remember as a parent, we can help a child grow in Christ and have a right relationship with God. We can help them or hinder them, the choice is yours. Not to leave anyone out, bondservants are mentioned next. They are to obey their earthly masters out of reverence for God, knowing their real master is God Himself. All of us, no matter what category we belong to, need to remember verses 23-24. Whatever we do, do it as if we’re doing it for the Lord, no matter what it is we’re asked to do. Remember, it’s God who put us under someone’s authority and He expects us to be obedient to them. Jesus said he’d never seen faith like that of the Centurion in Matthew 8:8-10. The centurion had said he know what it meant to be under authority. Read the story today, it might help you understand how we should conduct ourselves under authority.
The last verse has two meanings for me. First, it indicates that those who choose to do wrong will be dealt with. That should serve as a warning to us, not to do wrong. Second it should help alleviate any burden we carry around with us regarding those times when wrong is done to us. Knowing that wrong-doing will be repaid by the Lord, should help us to forgive and turn it over to Him. God never asks us to forgive someone else more than He’s already forgiven you. In the Lord’s prayer found in Luke 11:3-5, we are given an example to follow regarding forgiveness: “Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.”
In conclusion, God’s outline for obedience is a wise thing to follow. How well are you following it today?
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