A Constant Consciousness

If you are looking for the posts about

God's Amazing Blessing

Announcement—I'm moving!

here's the link to the first Part: 

http://createapositiveday.blogspot.com/2015/05/announcement-part-1-im-moving.html

Then follow the arrows at the bottom of each post to the next Part.

There are 10 parts in all.

I recommend that you read each part, there are amazing details—

and God took care of each and every one! 

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This post is the continuation of my Study of Colossians.    

Be earnest and unwearied and steadfast in your prayer [life], being [both] alert and intent in [your praying] with thanksgiving. Colossians 4:2 (AMP)

Continue steadfastly:
The Christian life, then, ought to be one of unbroken prayer.
What manner of prayer can that be which is to be continuous through a life that must needs be full of toil on outward things? 

What is prayer? Not the utterance of words-they are but the vehicle; but the attitude of the spirit. Communion, aspiration, and submission, these three are the elements of prayer-and these three may be diffused through a life. There may be unbroken communion, a constant consciousness of God’s presence, and of our contact with Him, thrilling through our souls and freshening them. 

In like manner, there may be a continual, unspoken and unbroken presence of the second element of prayer, which is aspiration, or desire after God. The very deepest cry of the heart which understands its own yearnings is for the living God; and perpetual as the hunger of the spirit for the food which will stay its profound desires, will be the prayer, though it may often be voiceless, of the soul which knows where alone that food is.
Continual too may be our submission to His will, which is an essential of all prayer.
Our lives will then be noble and grave, and woven into a harmonious unity, when they are based upon continual communion with, continual desire after, and continual submission to, God.

This continual prayer is to be "with thanksgiving"
Every prayer should be blended with gratitude. The sense of need, or the consciousness of sin, may evoke "strong crying and tears," but the completest prayer rises confident from a grateful heart, which weaves memory into hope, and asks much because it has received much. A true recognition of the loving kindness of the past has much to do with making our communion sweet, our desires believing, our submission cheerful. Thankfulness is the feather that wings the arrow of prayer-the height from which our souls rise most easily to the sky.
Expositor's Bible Commentary

A constant consciousness of God’s presence and a grateful heart, begins with a heart that is permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God (Acts 9:31 MSG). 

My Whole Life

  If you are looking for the posts about

God's Amazing Blessing

Announcement—I'm moving!

here's the link to the first Part: 

http://createapositiveday.blogspot.com/2015/05/announcement-part-1-im-moving.html

Then follow the arrows at the bottom of each post to the next Part.

There are 10 parts in all. 

I recommend that you read each part, there are amazing details—

and God took care of each and every one! 

______________________________________________

 This post is the continuation of my Study of Colossians. 

When Christ, Who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in [the splendor of His] glory. Colossians 3:4 (AMP)

As I read this verse, I first had to ask the question, "Is Christ REALLY my life?" Looking back over the previous verses, He should be. But is He—really?

Christ is returning. And when He does, I will be overwhelmed with His glory and honor. But am I, RIGHT NOW, overwhelmed with His glory and honor?

Think about it this way: In the presence of certain people we act a certain way. For example, when we see a police car driving behind us, we immediately take our foot off the gas and check the speedometer. The presence of that police car, makes us more aware of what we are doing, and if we are breaking the law by speeding.
The fact that Christ is ever-present, should have a constant impact on my thoughts, actions, words, motives—all aspects of my life.

Christ, who is our life. Because of Who Christ is. Because of all He's done. Because of His love for me. I should want Him to be my whole life.

Only when I am permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God (Acts 9:31; MSG), will Christ be my whole life. 

Let the Momentum Build

This year, I'm sharing my "Treasures" of my study of my "Ponder the Morsels" book. I've picked 31 Psalms to study throughout 2013. Today I studied Psalm 117. Here is what I learned.

Praise the Lord, all you nations! Praise him, all you people of the world! Psalm 117:1 (GW)

Praise God, everybody! Applaud God, all people! Psalm 117:1 (MSG)

"Praise him, all ye people." Having done it once, do it again, and do it still more fervently, daily increasing in the reverence and zeal with which you extol the Most High. The Treasury of David

As I recover from my most recent surgery, I have found that I don’t much FEEL like praising God. The pain is high... I’d rather complain. However, this verse doesn’t say “Praise the Lord when you FEEL like it.” Rather is says, “Praise the Lord”---PERIOD. 

Praise is not based on me, rather I am to honor and acknowledge God... who He is and what He has done and what He is doing. Praise is not based upon feelings, circumstances, situations, or really anything to do with Me. Praise is to be about God. And since He doesn’t change, He is a constant, faithful, merciful and loving God... my praise to Him should also be constant. 

If I praise God, only when I feel like it, I’d have to say that I don’t think I’d praise God very often. But, when I praise God, I find that how I feel changes. For praising God has an effect on me and my feelings. Praising God changes my focus from me to God. Praising God changes my attention to how I feel to Who God is and what He is doing. Praising God changes my perspective from my viewpoint to God’s viewpoint. Praising God produces more praise! For when I praise God, I want to praise Him more.... it’s a momentum builder! Praise produces more praise and it continues to build... and as my praise to God builds, I find that my feelings change too! 

I only have to begin to praise God and let the momentum build..... for that will create a positive and praise-filled day!

Certainty in Uncertain World

Throughout this year, each day of the month, I'm "Treasure Hunting" in a Psalm. I've created a "Ponder Every Morsel of Truth" Book to record the truths as I learn them. The Eighth of each Month, I'm studying Psalm 90. Here's what Treasure I found today. 

Psalm 90, written by Moses, and is similar to the Song of Moses in Exodus 15:1-21. Most commentators believe that Psalm 90 was written when the Israelites were released from Egypt. 

I found much comfort in Psalm 90:1. Taking a deeper look into this verse, this is what I learned.

Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.

Psalm 90:1 (NIV)

Lord: Adonay, spoken as a display of reverence

You: You and You alone

Have been/throughout all generations: displays the eternality of God. He was, He is, He always will be. Also shows that God never left His people. He was always present. 

Our dwelling place: the abode of His people. The dwelling place, habitation. A refuge. 

Think of the contrast of wandering the wilderness after leaving Egypt, to having a safe, secure place to rest. That’s what Moses is praying in Psalm 90. Just as Moses knew that God was the one constant unchanging factor in His life, I too can have that same relationship.  No matter what is happening in the World, my neighborhood, or my life, I have a God who is my dwelling place. A safe haven. A resting place. A place of security. 

Where am I dwelling? Am trying to create a safe dwelling place via the money I have in the bank? Am I trying to create a security to a good future, by making sure I have all the latest gadgets? If that is where I’m dwelling, than I am building a false security—a dwelling place built out of straws, so to speak—feeble and frail. 

God, You and You alone, are where I find ultimate rest and security. You’ve been around since BEFORE the Earth I live on was created-by You. You will be around LONG after the Earth disappears. Only in You can I have true security and true rest and safety. 

If I want to create a positive day, I cannot focus on the uncertainties of life. I need to remember that God is in control. He loves me. If I find myself fearful of what MAY happen, then I need to change my focus. To create a positive day as I live in this World, I need to remember that God is my refuge, my shelter, my sanctuary. He is a constant that never changes. God is my certainty in an uncertain world, and that is why I can create a positive day.