Daily Quote, Bible Verse and Prayer - August

[bluidkiti]

August 19

Quote:
No literature is more realistic and honest in facing harsh facts of
life than the Bible. At no time is there the faintest suggestion that
the life of faith exempts us from difficulties. What is promised is
preservation from all the evil in them. All the water in the oceans
cannot sink a ship unless it gets inside. Nor can all the trouble in
the world harm us unless it gets within us. That is the promise of
Psalms 121. The Lord will keep you from all evil. ~ Eugene Peterson

Psalm 121
I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD is your keeper;
the LORD is your shade on your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.

Prayer:
Thank you Lord, for being my Keeper, my Fortress
and my Strong Tower. Amen.

[bluidkiti]

August 20

Quote:
The first thing to do in examining the power that dominates me
is to take hold of the unwelcome fact that I am responsible for
being thus dominated. If I am a slave to myself, I am to blame
because at a point away back I yielded to myself. Likewise, if I
obey God I do so because I have yielded myself to Him.
~ Oswald Chambers,My Utmost for His Highest

Romans 6:16 ESV
Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone
as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey,
either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which
leads to righteousness?

Prayer:
My God,
The only power that should dominate me is You
for only then am I truly free. The chains of bondage
to self are broken and the shackles of addiction and
idolatry are shattered once and for all. Amen.

[bluidkiti]

August 21

Quote:
The cross is laid on every Christian. It begins with the call to
abandon the attachments of this world. It is that dying of the
old man which is the result of his encounter with Christ. ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer

John 12:24-25
Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground
and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces
many seeds. Those who love their life will lose it, while those who
hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus,
Help me to abandon my worldly attachments, desires and lusts.
Lead me to die to self and be reborn to You. In Your holy name I
pray. Amen.

[bluidkiti]

August 22

Quote:
Tomorrow's memories will come from today's decisions.

John 3:30
He must increase, but I must decrease.

Prayer:
Lord,
When decisions have to be made, lead me to always bring them
before You. Grant me wisdom that I make Godly choices. Amen.

[bluidkiti]

August 23

Quote:
Come now, turn aside for a while from your daily employment, escape
for a moment from the tumult of your thoughts. Put aside your weighty
cares, let your burdensome distractions wait, free yourself for a while
for God and rest awhile in him. Enter the inner chamber of your soul,
shut out everything except God and that which can help you in seeking
him, and when you have shut the door, seek him. Now, my soul, say to
God, "I seek your face; Lord it is your face that I seek." ~ Anselm

Psalm 37:7
Rest in the LORD...

Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
Thank you that I can escape from the turmoil of this world and find
rest in Your loving arms. Amen.

[bluidkiti]

August 24

Quote:
Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm,
but to add color to my sunset sky. ~ Rabindranath Tagore

1 Peter 1:6
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be,
you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of
your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes,
though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and
glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Prayer:
My Lord,
Just as storm clouds fill the sky, troubles are sure to come to everyone.
I will not dwell on the rain but instead look forward to the added color
and beauty of the sunset. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

[BW1]

if need be,
you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of
your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes,
though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and
glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Wonderful promise and blessing to have learned that those "trials"
are stepping stones to spiritual growth

[bluidkiti]

August 25

Quote:
Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go;
they merely determine where you start. ~ Nido Qubein

Phillippians 3:13-14 NASB
Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but
one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to
what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the
upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Prayer:
O Lord,
So often I feel as if I am a prisoner of my past or present circumstances.
But You came to set me free. Keep my eyes always focused on You as
You lead me into the future. You said, "For I know the plans that I have
for you, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a
hope." I stand on Your word. Amen.

[bluidkiti]

August 26

Quote:
God always gives His best to those who leave the choice with him.
~ Jim Elliot

Isaiah 41:13 NASB
"For I am the LORD your God, who upholds your right hand,
Who says to you, 'Do not fear, I will help you.'"

Prayer:
Dear Father,
There are days I am overwhelmed. Lead me to first seek Your will in
all situations. Thank you for upholding my right hand. Amen.

[bluidkiti]

August 27

Quote:
Nothing is impossible, the word itself says "I'm possible!"
~ Audrey Hepburn

Luke 1:37 NASB
"For nothing will be impossible with God."

Prayer:
Father,
May I never forget You are LORD over the impossible and make all
things possible. Amen.

[bluidkiti]

August 28

Quote:
Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something
you design for the present. ~ Jim Rohn

Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself in the Lord.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus,
You have instructed me to "take no thought for tomorrow." I choose to live
one day at a time, making the most out of this 24 hours that You have graced
me with. It is my resolve to raise up above my circumstances and be thankful
for the blessings I have. Amen.

[bluidkiti]

August 29

Quote:
Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces,
I would still plant my apple tree. ~ Martin Luther

James 4:14 ESV
You do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life?
For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
You are the creator of each day. I do not know what tomorrow will
bring but I can choose to plant today. Help me to make wise decisions
and to take actions that are pleasing to You. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

[bluidkiti]

August 30

Quote:
Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds
that you plant. ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

Matthew 13:3-9 NASB
"Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell
beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on the
rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they
sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. But when the sun had risen,
they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them
out, and others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold,
some sixty, and some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear."

Prayer:
My Father,
Make me a sower of seeds that I plant abundantly each and every day.
I leave the harvest up to You. Amen.

[bluidkiti]

August 31

Quote:
The fact that I can plant a seed and it becomes a flower; share a bit
of knowledge and it becomes another's; smile at someone and receive
a smile in return; are to me continual spiritual exercises. ~ Leo Buscaglia

Galatians 6:9-10 NASB
Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if
we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let
us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the
household of the faith.

Prayer:
O God,
Just as deeds are tiny bits that blossom into great things, so are the
smallest of gestures. May I give that much-needed smile today to
someone whose heart is cast down. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.