A Moment With God: Year 1

By Samuel Hall

This Christian Devotional is taken from excerpts from my daily journal, which generally includes a few verses from scripture and my continued processing of the verses, working them into my understanding. It journals my daily walk with the Lord, and is hopefully helpful to those seeking to deepen their relationship with the Lord as well.
This devotional can be used daily, although there are not entries for every day of the year. I used daily devotional early on in my walk with the Lord, and found them helpful to bring up topics and ideas I had not yet discovered on my own. I was amazed at how often the devotional entry for a particular day would relate exactly to what I was experiencing, and I hope that this journal will be so used by the Lord.
This is my first book. Samuel R. Hall

• Language: English
• Publisher: Samuel Hall
• Release date: May 26, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310079467

Samuel Hall

Born in Minnesota and migrated to the Kansas City area, I have been walking with the Lord for 30+ years. I am married to the most amazing woman in the world and have 2 awesome children and a beautiful daughter-in-law. I have been writing a prayer journal for almost all of those 30 years, so these first three books represent just a small sample of my history with the Lord.

Book preview

A Moment With God – Year 1

Samuel R. Hall

Copyright 2014 By Samuel R. Hall

Smashwords Edition

ISBN: 9781310079467

Title: A Moment With God - Year 1

Author: Samuel Hall

Publisher: Smashwords, Inc.

All Scripture Quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the NIV (New International Version)

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction – Establishing a Moment With God in Your Life

January

Remaining In Him 2012-01-01

Confessing Quickly 2012-01-03

Fulfilling Your Destiny 2012-01-04

Trusting God In All My Ways 2012-01-12

When Darkness Covers The Earth, God's Light Will Shine 2012-01-13

Walking in God's Light 2012-01-14

Jesus Will Meet Our Need 2012-01-19

God is Before and Beside Us 2012-01-20

Abounding Love and Insight 2012-01-21

Has Your Love Grown Cold? 2012-01-23

Be the Ball 2012-01-24

How Do You Think About God? 2012-01-26

February

Overcoming in Difficult Circumstances 2012-02-03

Setting Our Affections Above 2012-02-05

Freedom 2012-02-06

Entering God's Rest 2012-02-08

Entering God's Rest - II 2012-02-09

Choose the Path of Life 2012-02-11

Staying On The Path 2012-02-12

The Father, the Gift Giver! 2012-02-14

Difficulty, Suffering and Freedom 2012-02-16

Practice What We Hear 2012-02-17

God Breaks In 2012-02-21

The Greatest is Love 2012-02-23

Meditations on Psalm 19 2012-02-25

Psalm 33: God Sees Us All 2012-02-26

We Were Bought At A Price 2012-02-28

March

The Importance of Small Things 2012-03-02

The Trouble With Troubles 2012-03-03

God's Generational Perspective 2012-03-04

Welcoming God 2012-03-06

No Sickness in the Kingdom of God 2012-03-07

Knowing the Father 2012-03-11

The Salt Covenant - part 1 2012-03-12

The Salt Covenant - 2 2012-03-13

You are the Salt of the Earth 2012-03-14

The Wonder of the Church 2012-03-15

Concerning Our Families 2012-03-16

Choosing our Battles 2012-03-18

Holiness and the Church 2012-03-20

Meditation on Forgiveness 2012-03-21

Losing Sight of What's Important 2012-03-22

An Unfaithful and Distracted Heart 2012-03-23

Courage and Cowardice 2012-03-26

Meditation on Eternal Life 2012-03-27

Jesus - God and Man 2012-03-28

For the Joy Set Before Him 2012-03-29

God's Love For Jesus Within Us! 2012-03-30

God's Treasure in Us! 2012-03-31

April

Jesus' Sorrow in the Garden 2012-04-03

They Were All Scattered 2012-04-05

Two Thoughts on Jesus' Crucifixion 2012-04-06

The Day After Jesus Died 2012-04-07

Jesus is Risen, and the Disciples Fear and Doubt 2012-04-08

God Confirms His Words 2012-04-10

Thinking Outside the Box About Ministry and Church 2012-04-11

Breaking Old Paradigms 2012-04-13

Spiritual Sight and Repentance 2012-04-17

The Key Role of Miracles 2012-04-18

Heavenly Mindset and God Glasses 2012-04-19

Forgiveness and Healing 2012-04-25

Thoughts on John 21 2012-04-28

Persistence in Prayer 2012-04-30

May

Having a Servant Attitude 2012-05-01

On Healing and Oil 2012-05-02

We Are All Needed in the Body of Christ 2012-05-07

More Concerning The Body Of Christ 2012-05-08

On the Church, the Body of Christ 2012-05-10

Do What He Says... 2012-05-19

Holding All Things In Common 2012-05-20

The Importance of Signs and Wonders and the Power of God 2012-05-21

Fear or Love? 2012-05-22

Dreams and Signs 2012-05-25

No One is an Impossible Case 2012-05-28

Learning From David and Goliath 2012-05-29

Healing the Whole Person 2012-05-31

June

Give What We Have 2012-06-01

We Receive the Blessings of the Righteous 2012-06-03

On Suffering, Judgment and Punishment 2012-06-05

Discipline or Punishment? 2012-06-06

Let Life Flow Out of Us! 2012-06-07

Settling for Less Than Scraps 2012-06-08

Hearing God and Cell Phones 2012-06-09

Old and New Wineskins 2012-06-10

The Gift of Forgiveness 2012-06-12

When Jesus Wait’s... 2012-06-13

Surrounded By Trouble - Peace! 2012-06-15

Pets, Servants and Sons and Daughters 2012-06-18

Transformed and Renewed 2012-06-20

When God Comes in Vengeance - He Fights FOR Me! 2012-06-22

Concerning Shepherds and Sheep 2012-06-25

God's Footprints 2012-06-26

Jesus Walks On By... 2012-06-27

God Qualifies Us 2012-06-28

The God of Hope 2012-06-29

July

The Intercession of Christ 2012-07-01

Sanctified and Sent 2012-07-02

Experiencing the Presence of God 2012-07-03

Freedom 2012-07-04

It is Finished 2012-07-08

Under His Wings 2012-07-09

God Bears Our Burdens 2012-07-10

Hungry For His Presence 2012-07-12

Seek the Lord 2012-07-14

The Lord Is Our Shepherd 2012-07-15

God Gives Us All Things 2012-07-16

Who We Are... 2012-07-17

Acting on Our Beliefs 2012-07-18

Of Loaves and Fish... 2012-07-19

The Path to Eternal Life 2012-07-23

Of Jesus' Glory 2012-07-24

He is Coming For You... 2012-07-25

Of His Thigh and Robe... 2012-07-26

Authority & Power 2012-07-29

August

The Bread That Satisfies 2012-08-01

My Words and Meditations 2012-08-02

Our Foolish Ways 2012-08-03

Meditations on the Woman and Jesus' Robe 2012-08-05

Our True Treasure 2012-08-08

A Bridge to Heaven 2012-08-09

Life in the Early Church 2012-08-12

The Way 2012-08-13

Focused on the Wrong Thing 2012-08-14

John 17:26 and Mountain Climbing 2012-08-16

Returning to the Lord 2012-08-23

Living in Right Relationship 2012-08-24

Love Abounding - Phil 1:9 2012-08-26

Help in Making Hard Decisions 2012-08-29

September

Our True Treasure 2012-09-02

Hope for Today 2012-09-04

Our Stronghold in Times of Trouble 2012-09-05

How We Deal With Sinful People 2012-09-06

The God Who Acts on Our Behalf 2012-09-07

Being Light to the Lost - Eating With Sinners 2012-09-08

It’s Late, You Feed Them... 2012-09-09

Never Underestimate God... 2012-09-12

A Right Attitude 2012-09-16

Humble Before God 2012-09-17

In The Last Times... 2012-09-21

Right Relationship With The Father 2012-09-23

Obedience And Unbelief 2012-09-24

Proper Perspective About the Enemy 2012-09-25

Compassion vs. Selfishness 2012-09-27

Saved Completely 2012-09-28

Between The Father and The Son 2012-09-29

October

The World And All That Is In It... 2012-10-01

Fresh Revelation 2012-10-02

A New Heart and Spirit 2012-10-04

Secrets of the Kingdom and Bearing Much Fruit 2012-10-05

Mysteries Revealed 2012-10-06

Bringing Good News 2012-10-07

A Beautiful Day 2012-10-09

Giving Thanks Opens The Door 2012-10-10

Help In Any Situation 2012-10-11

No Situation is Hopeless 2012-10-12

Entering God's Rest (3) 2012-10-22

Immeasurably More 2012-10-23

Flames, Fire and Furnace 2012-10-24

Generous On Every Occasion 2012-10-25

Freedom, Love and Faith 2012-10-28

Spreading the Load 2012-10-30

A Wisdom Check 2012-10-31

November

Seeking Treasure 2012-11-01

Of Shepherds and Fellow Sheep 2012-11-02

Prophetic Destiny 2012-11-04

Do Not Fret 2012-11-07

I Was Chosen 2012-11-08

Humble Leaders 2012-11-11

Stand With Our Brothers and Sisters 2012-11-13

Jesus' Glory In The Church 2012-11-15

God's Awesome Character 2012-11-16

Investing Ourselves 2012-11-17

Arise and Shine 2012-11-18

Hope, Riches, Power 2012-11-19

Obedience and Presumption 2012-11-20

The Awesomeness of God 2012-11-21

Reality of the Bible 2012-11-24

Heart Motivation 2012-11-25

Miracles and Repentance 2012-11-27

His Flawless Word 2012-11-28

Intimacy and Authority 2012-11-30

December

God Cares 2012-12-02

The Season of Preparation 2012-12-03

One of the Greatest Gifts 2012-12-04

Parents and Children 2012-12-05

LUKE 1:16-17 The Messenger of Good News 2012-12-06

The Long Wait 2012-12-07

God Protects His Promises 2012-12-11

God's Humor 2012-12-13

Approval to Expand 2012-12-14

Light in Darkness 2012-12-17

Believing in His Promises 2012-12-18

Part of the Plan 2012-12-19

Semi-Random Thoughts on Christ’s Birth 2012-12-20

The Real End Of The World 2012-12-21

The Humility of Christmas 2012-12-23

A Child is Born: Isaiah 9:6 2012-12-24

Looking to Others 2012-12-26

Staying on Track 2012-12-27

Pressing On 2012-12-28

In the Face of Opposition 2012-12-30

Trust in the Lord, Not in Man 2012-12-31

Author’s Note:

I am so blessed that you have taken time to even dip your toe into this book. These come directly from my time before the Lord, excerpts from my prayer journal. I pray they are encouraging, possibly enlightening, and hopefully they draw you deeper into relationship with Him. This is the first full year of my Blog notes, and I went from typing my Blog entries in on computer to journaling on my Toshiba pad, and thus the formatting and such will be less than if I typed these on a computer. I am so grateful for electronics as they saved me tons of time, allowing me to cut and paste directly from my journal entries to the Blog, so these entries are directly from my journal.

I will take a moment to say that I am not a theologian, nor have I been formally trained in pastoral ministry. I am a husband and father, and I work in the telecommunications industry. I have worked in youth and men’s ministry on and off through the years, but these journals do not come out of those times. I have been journaling and taking personal prayer, for the most part daily, since the early 1980s. I didn’t always write as much nor have nearly as much time as I have now days. These journals reflect the daily interaction and conversations I have with the Lord. I have left the original dates of the entries, as sometimes the date is important to the body of the entry.

As I normally take my prayer time early in the morning (5:15am is the rule these days) my mind is often not fully functioning, so my writing suffers. Also, as this is a prayer journal, often times my expressions to the Lord do not flow out in perfect English, but rather in the heart felt language I normally speak. So I ask that you forgive my lapses of correct English and occasional fragment or run-on sentence. I decided to leave them in, for I know the Lord doesn’t mind. He is after my heart not my writing.

Finally I ask your pardon for another slight of proper English. Throughout my journals I always try to capitalize You or He, or their variants when referring to the Lord. It is a form of respect I started many years ago when journaling by hand, and I find it a habit I choose not to break.

May God Bless you and reveal to you His intimate love for you and your significance to Him!

Introduction – Establishing a Moment With God in Your Life

It is God's desire that we each have an intimate relationship with Him.  John 17:21  I know it’s amazing to think that God would want a relationship with you, but it is VERY true.

So the question is whether it is possible to have a real relationship with God?  By real relationship, I mean talking, sharing, communicating - the same things that make up a normal human to human relationship.  For a relationship to work there must be two-way communication, and time together.  I like to think that if God wants us to do something, He will provide the way.

History is full of people who talk about prayer time, prayer, quiet time, and their conversations with God. It is here that we find examples of how to have a relationship with God!  For all of these people, you will generally find four things in common:

They know how to quiet themselves

They talk to God in their own words

They read the Bible (God's written Word)

They know how to listen and discern God's voice speaking into their lives at that moment

So how does one start all this?  Simply develop these same four things in your life.  Start simple, dedicate a little chunk of time and try these steps.  Establish a moment with God in your daily life.

Learn how to quiet yourself - turn off the TV, Computer, Cell-Phone, etc.  Try to stop the constant flow of thoughts for just a few moments.  It takes a little practice - but is worth it!

Some people feel awkward praying to God in their own words, having been taught to pray in church by reciting rote prayers.  Others feel weird talking to God at all.  I like to think the conversation internally - imaging the words I would say.  God can hear our thoughts, so that is just fine with Him.  Whatever you do, God is not worried about how you might sound, or the words you might say - He wants to know what is on your heart!

Start reading the Bible even a few minutes every day. When I started reading the Bible, I was in 9th grade and would read maybe a paragraph a night, right before going to bed.  I would recommend starting with the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John).  One other technique I use is to just open the Bible and start reading.  I am amazed at how often what I read is directly related to something I just prayed to God about! 

Finally, learning how to discern God's voice, as He is speaking to you, is probably the most difficult.  The good news is that God REALLY wants you to learn, and will help you.  When I first started, I found God's voice pretty easy to pick out - it was almost like He was shouting.  I would read from the Bible and a sentence would almost jump off the page, or I would silently pray something, and within a short period of time I would hear someone repeat my thoughts with an answer.  God is very capable of speaking, we just need to be aware that He is speaking.  The more we practice the better we get.  The Bible is full of God speaking to people, sometimes in dreams, sometimes visions, other times with an audible voice (I haven't had that experience yet), sometimes through other people, or through His written Word.  One thing that is very constant - God is always speaking!

A couple of encouragements:

Start simple and easy - maybe 5 Minutes a day

Don't give up, try to develop this into a habit

Don't think it has to be all spiritual, candles lit, darkened room, etc.  I take my time with God in the morning, with a cup of coffee, sitting on the couch

The more time you take, the more you will want to spend - a relationship with God is live changing and life giving!

God does want a real relationship with you!

Blessings! Sam

Remaining In Him

2012-01-01

This morning I was reading through John 15.  I spent some time meditating on verse 5, which reads, I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  The message is so simple and clear.  It’s in and through relationship with Christ alone that we are able to bear fruit that lasts.

Reading the verse again, I was aware of the fact that there are two requirements:  1) If a man remains in me; 2) and I (remain) in him.   

The first one, I think, relates to our focus, thoughts and actions.  Are we connected to Him?  Are we thinking the way He thinks?  Is our heart in line with His?  Are we working to be living examples of His Word to those around us?  Are we conscious of being His witness and representative?  As Paul writes in Col 3:2, Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  We need to remain in this place of connectedness and thoughtfulness throughout the day.

The second requirement, I think, has more to do with our sin.  Isaiah 59:2 states, But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.  We know that God does not abandon us, but our relationship is clearly affected by our sin.  Our sinful nature leads in ways that are contrary to God (Gal 5:17), the more we sin, the more we are affected.  

If you are like me, you struggle with both of these from time to time, or even often.  I am probably more inclined to fail the first requirement, as I quickly lose my focus on Christ as I start my work day.  Clearly the more I am disconnected, the easier it is for me to fail the second requirement, as I become out of sight and out of mind from Christ.  Apart from Him, I clearly can do no good thing.

Lord, You desire me to be connected to You and bear much fruit.  I know that You will help me to achieve your purpose and plan for me.  Help me to maintain my focus and thoughts of You throughout the day!

Confessing Quickly

2012-01-03

This morning I was reading through the minor prophet Micah and Mic 7:9-10a caught my attention. It reads, " Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the LORD’s wrath, until he pleads my case and establishes my right. He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness. ¹⁰ Then my enemy will see it and will be covered with shame..."

I thought about how perfectly this expresses our reality as Christians, as follows:

If we sin, we cause separation in our relationship with Christ.  We bear the consequences of our sin.

Until He pleads our case and establishes our right (righteousness).  In other words until we come under His redemption and atonement - for when we confess our sins, His righteousness is applied to us. (1 John 1:9)   We become clothed in Him - so in essence He pleads His own case for rightness on our behalf (SeeGal 3:19-29for some more discussion on this). He becomes our atonement - and His righteousness is given to all who receive it in faith (Romans 3:19-31).

Once we are forgiven, He brings us into the Light of His love and we see Him and what He has done on our behalf (2 Cor 4:6).

Shame is cast away from the redeemed, for we have been forgiven and our sins are washed away.  (Romans 10:11)

So, the quicker we confess our sins, the quicker we are cleansed and our unrighteousness is washed away, replaced by His righteousness, and the separation we have caused is removed.  Let us hasten to confess our sins, for He is faithful and merciful.   It says in 1 John 1:9, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Thank You Lord for all that You have accomplished on my behalf.  Taking my place and covering me with Your own righteousness; casting my shame away from me and revealing to me the light of Your love.

Fulfilling Your Destiny

2012-01-04

This morning while praying I was reading briefly through Isaiah 55, which is one of my favorite chapters.  I was meditating on Is 55:11 which reads, 

"...so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."  

As I thought about this the Lord reminded me that He had called me by name, spoken a word about me - 

Is 43:1b "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine." 

and even written my life out!

Psalm 139:16 "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

In other words, God has a plan for my life.  He spoke this plan into being, and He will see that I fulfill it. I don't have to listen to any thoughts that say I have missed my opportunity, or messed up so bad that God will not use me, or any of the other hundreds of lies that might get thrown my way!

Psalm 138:8 says, "The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me..."

If God says it, who can thwart Him?  The truth is that our destiny is found in the Lord.  He has a plan.  He is not worried - He is God!  He has spoken about our destiny and knows what it is.  If we are looking to understand our destiny then the best place to go is to Him.  He is the one who sees all and understands all!  All I need to do is ask, and wait for the answer.  He is faithful and loving.  He desires our best.  He wants us to be fulfilled.

Thank You Lord for Your truth!  Psalm 37 sums it up well:

³ "Trust in the LORD and do good;

   dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

⁴ Delight yourself in the LORD

   and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the LORD;

   trust in him and he will do this:

⁶ He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,

   the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

⁷ Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;"

Amen!  Help me Lord to walk in these truths.

Trusting God In All My Ways

2012-01-12

This morning I am using a new electronic journal, so the formatting and look maybe different, but I don't have to re-type everything. Hopefully it won't be a distraction.

When I sat down to read this morning I turned to Proverbs and was reading in Chapter 3.

Prov 3:5-10

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. [a]7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. 8 This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. 9 Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruit’s of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.

As I was reading this I felt that the focus on trusting the Lord, letting Him lead, not trusting in ourselves, not trusting our perspective, waiting on Him and then honoring Him was so critical. It says to acknowledge Him in all our ways - which is definitely a challenge, as some of my ways I am not even aware of consciously. Lord, help me to be aware of any of my ways where I am not acknowledging You.

I am reminded of Jer. 17:5-8

5 This is what the LORD says: Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. 6 He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.7 But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. 8 He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; it’s leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.

- and Jer. 6:16

This is what the LORD says: Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls."

Clearly the Lord is speaking of His desire to lead us, guide us and help us. If we can get ourselves past self-reliance we can move into the things He has planned for us, which includes His provision. I think one of my main issues is my impatience, never wanting to wait, but needing to have things figured out, when I want them figured out.

Lord please help me to wait on You and trust Your timing and plan. I can almost see dad teaching me to fish, trying to get me to wait while the fish nibbled on the bait wait for it, wait for it! Ok, now! There is definitely a correlation between our waiting and His provision, as He is trying to get us to move past ourselves. I know that waiting causes me to stop, consider what I am doing and control myself.

Lord help me to learn to wait and trust!

When Darkness Covers The Earth, God's Light Will Shine

2012-01-13

This morning I started reading out Isaiah 60, and ended up reading about the last days, as described by Jesus in Matthew 24.  Rather than focusing on the last days, I was thinking about the Church's response to those times.

Rather than these End times being a dark message, as Christians we must understand that this will be the hour that the Church will shine forth. At the beginning of Isaiah 60, the time is described well (Isaiah 60:1-4).

1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. 2 See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. 3 Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. 4 Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm."

Darkness is symbolic of evil, so in this verse the Lord is speaking of dark and evil times for the earth, and even darker and more evil times for the people. I liken it to the growing anti-Christian movement, and clear move away from the things of God in our media and culture (clearly not exclusively) and how people are moving farther and farther from the light of Christ. The cloud of deception is becoming thicker, and with that the power of evil grows.

I believe we, as the Church, will shine forth brightly for several reasons. We will have the light of Christ in our lives and will live differently. God will bring His Glory to bear on the Church - in other words He will inhabit His people in ways that are evident to all. I would expect this would include signs and wonders, miracles, healings, etc. Those who have eyes to see will be drawn to the Church and it will be a glorious time, and God will be mightily present, and Glorified.

Yes Lord, we look for the day that the Church will once more be filled with Your Glory, and stand as a bright shining light to the whole world. We recognize that this means the world will be a darker place, and that the deception covering the people will be greater. We pray for the Grace to be those shining lights, in a fallen world. Matthew Henry, in his commentary, likened this to the time Israel was in Egypt and though the plagues were striking Egypt, in Goshen the Israelites were unaffected. Unlike those times, people will be able to come and become part of the Church, and come into the light. So not only will they be drawn to the light, they will be able to enter in! They will literally become sons and daughters - which is the language of inclusion.

Amen Lord!

Walking in God's Light

2012-01-14

This morning I was reading from Psalm 53:2 which states:

God looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.

It’s so important for us to understand our need for the Lord. We not only need to recognize this, but in this we should be driven to seek Him in our need. God is looking