A Vision for My Life

We attended a discipleship conference last week in Florence, KY. It was so good! The bible teaching and spiritual training were excellent...so refreshing! I went to one of the young adult classes, the title "A Vision for Your Life" by Kevin Swanson. I thought I would share a few of the highlights I wrote down from his talk. It too was excellent!

1. Delight in the Lord and He will direct your paths. Where should I get my vision and purpose? God’s word!

I will not survive if my life purpose is for money or fun. I cannot serve two masters.

As Christians we do not seek money or fun. We should get out of bed in the mornings to seek the kingdom of God and HIS righteousness. All the other things will be added when we seek his will. REFUSE to serve materialism and its idols.

If I don’t get my purpose for life from God, I don’t have a purpose!

Three steps for living my life: 
    -Deny myself

             -Take up my cross daily
       - Follow Jesus through the valley of humiliation

God had made me to be a help-meet to my future husband. I am called to get married and manage my home. How can I prepare? What habits do I need to be developing now in order to be prepared for marriage? 

It's never too early to begin preparing! Don't wait until you become an adult and realize you should have started years ago! Ask the Lord to give you HIS vision for your life, not your own. 

Delight yourself also in the Lord,And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

Psalm 146

Psalm 146

Praise the Lord, O my soul!
² While I live I will praise the Lord;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

³ Do not put your trust in princes,
Nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help.
⁴ His spirit departs, he returns to his earth;
In that very day his plans perish.

⁵ Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,
Whose hope is in the Lord his God,
⁶ Who made heaven and earth,
The sea, and all that is in them;
Who keeps truth forever,
⁷ Who executes justice for the oppressed,
Who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners.

⁸ The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;
The Lord raises those who are bowed down;
The Lord loves the righteous.
⁹ The Lord watches over the strangers;
He relieves the fatherless and widow;
But the way of the wicked He turns upside down.

¹⁰ The Lord shall reign forever—
Your God, O Zion, to all generations.

Praise the Lord!

Only Two Times to Praise the Lord..

Psalm 113:1-4
Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord, Praise the name of the Lord! Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore! From the rising of the sun to its going down the Lord’s name is to be praised. The Lord is high above all nations, His glory above the heavens.

Psalm 34

I love Psalm 34! The Lord has used it to comfort me so many times. Especially on those nights I feel like my prayers aren't being heard. Then I turn to this chapter, and read the wonderful truths written there. The Lord does hear when the righteous cry out! He might not answer immediately, but He will always answer. Sometimes I think that maybe He doesn't answer immediately so I will continue to seek Him, and realize my desperation and hopelessness apart from Him. 

My favorite part of this chapter is verses 15-20, but I love the whole chapter.

Psalm 34

I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
² My soul shall make its boast in the Lord;
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
³ Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together.

⁴ I sought the Lord, and He heard me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
⁵ They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces were not ashamed.
⁶ This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
⁷ The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him,
And delivers them.

⁸ Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
⁹ Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints!
There is no want to those who fear Him.
¹⁰ The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.

¹¹ Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
¹² Who is the man who desires life,
And loves many days, that he may see good?
¹³ Keep your tongue from evil,
And your lips from speaking deceit.
¹⁴ Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.

¹⁵ The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their cry.
¹⁶ The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

¹⁷ The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears,
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
¹⁸ The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a contrite spirit.

¹⁹ Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
²⁰ He guards all his bones;
Not one of them is broken.
²¹ Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
²² The Lord redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.