Ever by Your Side

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascent into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.

Psalm 139:7-10

Like all the other psalms, Psalm 139 voices honest, human emotion in a vibrantly beautiful, truthful, and poetic way. In this one, the psalmist asked rhetorical questions. He was not expressing a desire to get away from God. Quite the contrary. He was emphasizing that if people who wholeheartedly try to escape God's presence have absolutely no possibility of doing it, it would be even more unlikely for a person who is actively drawing close to God to wind up separated from him.

In other words, God is with you everywhere - whether you want him to be or not. This truth is wonderful news for those who long for God. God is always right by your side. His Spirit transcends the limitations of physical space.

This means that you will experience God's presence in a different way than you would the presence of other people. God's Spirit is kind of like oxygen. Once you learn about God's Spirit, you know he is there by his positive effects. Even though you can't see him, hear him, or feel him, you know that as long as you're breathing, God's Spirit is present. God's Spirit is the oxygen that allows you to be fully alive spiritually. You can see God's Spirit move through answred prayer. You can hear his voice through words of Scripture. You can feel his touch through his gifts of comfort, peace, and joy.

Jesus is often referred to by the name Immanuel, meaning "God with us." Psalm 139 shows that God always has and always will be "with us."

Source: The 100 Most Important Bible Verses

Pray to the Lord and give thanks for the Spirit of God that flows around us, within us, always attentive to our needs and never hidden. Let us take daily time to pray; give thanks, and ask for forgiveness from sin so that the goodness of the Lord be respected, glorified and honored. ~ MME Team

Message to the Masses

God be merciful to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us, that Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations.

Psalm 67:1-2

The Bible is filled with examples of how God blesses his people. In the Old Testament, God's blessings were typically physical ones, expressed in the form of personal provision, protection, and prosperity. In the New Testament, God's Spirit promised even richer blessings, such as peace, comfort, joy, hope, and eternal life - not to mention God's greatest blessing of all, the gift of his Son.

Like any loving father, God blesses his children simply because he loves them and delights in giving them pleasure. However, Psalm 67 reveals an even greater purpose behind God's gifts: God's blessings can provide the world with tangible evidence that he is active, involved, and graciously good.

One lesson this psalm teaches is that there is nothing wrong with asking God for his blessings. It also gives an Old Testament glimpse into God's New Testament plans. In the Old Testament, God primarily blessed the one distinct group of people he chose to demonstrate his love to and through - the people of Israel. Yet even then, God loved all the nations of the earth and wanted them also to experience his blessing of salvation. As the Israelites drew closer to God, their desires better reflected God's own. The same can be true for you. As God's love for the world fills your heart and your prayers, ask him to use every blessing he bestows on you to provide others with a clearer picture of who he is.

Consider the fact that every blessing can be a tool. Ask God to help you use your blessings wisely, in ways that draw others closer to him.

Source: The 100 Most Important Bible Verses

Pray to God for his blessings and feel secure in God's wisdom that he knows all that will occur in your life for he created you. He will not give you anything you cannot handle when you live with the grace and mercy of the Lord our God. ~ MME Team

Time to Change Your Mind

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 

Romans 12:2

Your mind is like the control center of your body. It helps direct your thoughts, your actions, and your emotions. Before God's Spirit made his home inside you, you ran that control center the way you thought was best. Chances are, the culture and practices of those around you helped shape your thoughts and consequently your actions. But once you invited God's Spirit into your life, there was a change in influence, leadership, and direction.

Choosing to renew your mind is the key to making that change complete. God guides and directs your mind, but he does not control it. God provides you with the power to transform your mind, to change the way you think so that your mind is more in line with his heart - to allow your mind to become all he originally designed it to be.

The Greek word for conform actually translates as "masquerade." Without God in you life, you live a charade and are not your authentic self. God's transformation of who you once pretended to be into who he created you to be is an ongoing process. Part of this process is testing what you believe by putting your faith into practice. Experiments help prove scientific truths. Living what you believe helps prove spiritual truths. As you practice what you have learned about changing the way you think, you will better understand who  you are and what God's desires is for your life.

You can help renew your mind by providing an environment that's favorable to the process. Carefully choose what you watch, take part in, and listen to, making sure that your choices line up with what pleases God.

Source: The 100 Most Important Bible Verses

Pray for spiritual strength from God to devalue all that is not from him and to honor all that is from him. Value of life comes from the love of the Father; from God's Spirit made home inside of you. ~ MME Team

Heart Transplant

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

Ezekiel 36:26

          A beating heart is a sign of life. Physically, your heart beats regularly. But spiritually, until you get to know God firsthand, your heart is flat-lining. God promised the prophet Ezekiel (along with everyone who chooses to follow God) the ultimate heart transplant - replacing stone with  flesh. This "flesh" is humanity as God originally created it, which is  more than simply being human. It is the promise of being fully alive - physically, emotionally, and spiritually - in both this life and the next.

          The people of Israel believed a person's "heart" reveals who a person really is. The heart cannot put on airs or be something it is not. It is the emotional and spiritual center of every individual. When God's Spirit becomes the center of people's lives, the Bible says that they are "born again." Along with a new heart comes a new start.

         However, this heart transplant is possible only through the power of God's Spirit. Trying to become more loving, generous, and kind through self-effort can never bring a heart of stone to life. Only God's gift of his presence can  jump-start a heart into permanent change. God's Spirit at work in you enables you to hear God's voice as he guides your decisions, to see his hand as he moves through circumstances, and to fulfill his plans for you to become the person he created you to be.

          Through God's words to Ezekiel, you are given a beautiful metaphor to help your understand what happens when God's Spirit comes into your life: you are fully alive for the very first time.

          Pray for faithfulness as God's Spirit works a transformation in your heart. Keep yourself in the word and confess all shortcomings so God may be alive in your heart. ~ MME Team