God's Book of Remembrance

God's Book of Remembrance

Today's Scripture:

Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name.
Malachi 3:16, NIV.

Today's Word:

Do you ever keep special cards or emails from loved ones? People do this because those words of love and adoration are important. In the same way, your words and thoughts of love are important to God, too.

Did you know He has a Book of Remembrance? In this book, every time we talk about Him or thank Him for His goodness, He has the angels write it down. When you just think about God, the angels record it. In fact, this moment right now, the angels are writing it down in the Book of Remembrance. This book is not up in a storeroom shelf in heaven somewhere. The scripture says, “It stays constantly before God, wide open, as a reminder of those who are thinking of Him.”

God loves you so much and values your love, too. All throughout the day, be determined to keep God in your thoughts. Meditate on His promises and thank Him for His goodness. When we keep our minds focused on Him, we won’t be distracted by the cares of this world. When you let your love for Him show, it pleases His heart and draws you closer to Him each and every day.

Prayer for Today:

Father, today I turn my heart and mind toward You, thanking You for Your goodness and faithfulness in my life. I bless You today because You are worthy. I hold Your truth close to my heart so that I can always be pleasing to You in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

 

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Quiet Time with God: It’s Simple, Really

14 hours ago

by Rick Warren

“The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.” (Proverbs 21:5 ESV)

Having a quiet time is like many other activities you might do in life — in at least one respect. To be successful, it helps to have a plan. The Bible says, “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty” (Proverbs 21:5 ESV).
If you’ve never had a quiet time before, you may not have a good, simple plan for doing one. Simplicity is important with any plan you develop. If you make it complicated, you’re more likely to get off track. All you really need for an effective quiet time is a Bible, notebook, and maybe a hymn or songbook.
So what does a daily quiet time look like?
First, be quiet before the Lord. The Bible calls it waiting on God. You start by simply sitting down and shutting up. As you do this, you’ll find yourself revving your engine down and calming yourself. 
Second, pray briefly. Start off with a short opening prayer. Ask God to open your mind and guide you. Ask him to cleanse your mind.
Read a portion of Scripture slowly. This is where your conversation with God begins. He starts speaking to you through his Word, and then you speak back to him through prayer. Read the Bible slowly. Don’t try to read too quickly or too much. The more slowly you read Scripture, the more you’re forced to think about what you’re reading.
Meditate on the Word. Spend some time chewing on what God is saying. Chew on the Word like cows chew on cud. Ponder and wrestle with it in your mind. There are lots of great methods for meditating on the Word. You can find specific ideas on how to meditate on the Bible in my book “Rick Warren’s Bible Study Methods.”
Write down what you discover. When God speaks to you through his Word, care enough about what he is saying to write it down. Writing enables us to remember what God has said to us and record our discoveries.
Pray again. Be quiet. Ask God to show you his Word. Talk to God about what he has said to you. Tell him what you’re thinking about what he is saying. Talk to him about anything else that’s on your mind.
There’s not just one way to have a quiet time, but following a plan similar to this can get you started on a rewarding devotional journey.
Talk It Over

• Have you ever thought about your quiet time as an intimate conversation with God?
• What distractions do you need to eliminate in order to “be quiet”?