God and Me Every Day . . .

By Mary Emma Bristow

This book is a compilation of the study of a scripture and Mary Emmas personal meditations on those scriptures as they relate to her life and her walk with God.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jul 6, 2018
• ISBN: 9781973631569

Mary Emma Bristow

Mary Emma wrote these daily meditations after her devotional time with God and shared them with her friends. She has been a Christian over 70 years and has attended Bible Study Fellowship and taught Community Bible Study.

Book preview

JANUARY 1

PRAISING GOD BLESSES US

We praise You, God, we praise You, for Your name is near; people tell of Your wonderful deeds. As for me, I will declare this forever; I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.

Psalm 75:1,9

What a better way to start the day than praising God! May we praise Him for who He is, and for what He does. We need to stop and think about this because so much of our lives we simply take Him for granted.

He is our creator God, our loving God and our merciful God. We need to tell of Your wonderful deeds. He separated the waters from the land, and the light from the dark. But He didn’t stop there. He holds us by His right hand, He guides us with His counsel. He is not Santa Claus, but a loving Father who wants the very best for us.

MY PRAYER: Lord God, You are so wonderful. Only You could love us like You do, only You could forgive us for ignoring You and doing our own thing. You do so much to make our life lovely and we take and take and take with taking the time to thank You. We love You.

MaryEmma

JANUARY 2

CREATED IN GOD’S IMAGE

Then God said, ‘Let Us make mankind in Our image… So God created mankind in His Own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.

Genesis 1:26-27

Yesterday I started reading at the beginning of the Bible and when I read this verse I thought, this shows how special we are. We are not just another animal, but we are created in God’s image.

We are created in God’s image because He loves us. He created us and then when we love Him and accept His gift, He gives us new birth as His children. How much more could we want! The psalmist said that He holds our hand in His and guides us with His counsel.

I want to memorize that verse. I spilled my coffee this morning and as I was cleaning up the mess, into my head flashed this is God’s will for You in Christ Jesus. It was a reminder from God: instead of being upset and angry with myself, I had peace as I cleaned it up, because of God’s Help. God does hold our hand and guide us.

MY PRAYER: Lord God, thank You for making us special and loving us so much. We love You.

MaryEmma

JANUARY 3

OURS IS THE GREAT GOD

Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; You display Your power among the peoples.

Psalm 77:13-14

The psalmist sounds like he is at peace with God and the world. He is praising God and remembering all the great things God has done. But the beginning of the Psalms shows a different attitude: he is depressed.

I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me. When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands and I would not be comforted.

Verses 1-2

Here he is at the bottom of the pit. What happened between verses 1 and 2 and 13 and 14? He made a decision; where to direct his thoughts. He decided to remember the deeds and miracles of the Lord and meditate on them.

The psalmist changed his thinking. We have a choice to turn our thoughts to God or keep them on ourselves. Verse 2 says: I will not be comforted. A choice. Verse 11 says: I will remember the deeds of the Lord. A choice.

Jesus said that in this world we would have trouble, but in Him we would have peace. Our heavenly Father lets us make the choice.

MY PRAYER: Lord, I pray that we will all read your word, remember what your word says, and trust You. We love You.

MaryEmma

JANUARY 4

REJOICING BRINGS PEACE

Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob!

Psalm 81:1

Rejoicing is one step closer to God, to realizing His power and to realizing His love and presence with us. We are commanded to rejoice. We don’t have to make a lot of noise, rejoicing starts in our attitude. It was an ordinance of God for Israel. But it is also a command for Christians. One of my favorite verses in 1 Thessalonians is: Rejoice always, pray unceasingly, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

In Philippians 4, it says: Rejoice, I say it again, Rejoice. The Lord is near. If we want to be more aware of God, to be closer to Him, we need to rejoice. He is our strength, He is our source of love, and He wants us to rejoice in Him.

This Psalm continues with telling how God blessed them and how they turned away from Him. He wanted to continue blessing them, but they wanted to do their own thing and ignored him.

Could that be the answer to the problems we have in this life?

When we start thanking God for everything, joy follows. May He bless us today.

MY PRAYER: "Lord, help us to remember to praise you and thank you instead of being depressed and feeling alone. You are always with us, you always want our love and yet we ignore you so often. Forgive us. We love you.

MaryEmma

JANUARY 5

OUR PROTECTION COMES FROM OUR LORD

For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.

Psalm 84:12

We are blessed when we trust in our Lord and Savior. He is our sun, giving us peace and joy and love deep inside us. When we trust Him, He is our shield; we know He is protecting us. We receive peace from his presence. What a wonderful God that we have!

Why do we look other places for peace, for joy, for love when is all comes from him? Why do we not trust him and allow him to lead us through this life?

MY PRAYER: Lord God, You alone are the God of this universe. You alone give us protection. We thank You. You are wonderful and we love you. We don’t deserve your gifts, but we love You and thank You.

MaryEmma

JANUARY 6

WHEN WE CALL, HE ANSWERS

Hear me, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Bring joy to Your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in You.

Psalm 86:1,4

How often do we stop and think about how wonderful our Lord is? He is always with us, loving us and wanting to help us, but often we don’t even think about Him. We just do it our way. He wants us to trust Him, and then He will fill us with joy.

Because God is forgiving and good, we can go to Him at any time with any problem. We never have to be alone. We are never unloved. Are we not blessed by a heavenly Father who wants us to call to Him? He is never too busy because He loves us. He loves and helps all who call to Him.

Isn’t He wonderful!

MY PRAYER: Help me, Lord, to think of You each day. Help me to be aware of Your presence in my life. Thank You for the joy you put into my heart. I love you.

MaryEmma

JANUARY 7

UNDIVIDED HEART

Teach me Your way, Lord, that I may rely on Your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name.

Psalm 86:11

These are beautiful words. It is a prayer from the heart of David to God, His heavenly Father. He had an intimate relationship with God. We can see it in his words. Is this the way we pray? Do we open up our heart and spirit to God?

What is our relationship with God? Is He some remote figure out there someplace who is powerful, or is He the one we turn to when we are happy, or when we are sad?

Do I really want an undivided heart? Do I really want to glorify God?

Maybe I want Him to teach me, but do I want the rest?

Or do I just want Him to take care of my wants? Good questions to ask ourselves anytime? Who or what is God in our lives?

MY PRAYER: Thank You, Lord for Your words to me. Help me to be a ready listener and to be quick to obey. I know You love me, Help me to learn to know You and Your will for me better.

MaryEmma

JANUARY 8

JESUS IS OUR EXAMPLE

…God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love….

Joel 2: 13b

I read this verse in my Bible class last week, and I thought, I have read this verse before. I know it is in the Psalms. I did a word search and I found it in 9 different places in the Bible!

The first was in Exodus when God was introducing Himself to Moses and the last time in Jonah when very angrily, he accused God with it. Think about what it says about our God. Do we think of God being gracious? He is.

But there were no references in the New Testament. I thought that strange, since so many Old Testament verses are quoted in the New.

Then I realized that we don’t need the words: we have the example in Jesus Christ as He worked with people like you and me. He came to show us the Father in person. As we remember how Jesus came to this earth, I pray that we will go beyond the ‘babe in the manger’ and think of the grown up ‘babe’ who by His life, showed us that God is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.

MY PRAYER: Lord God, I pray that we will be aware of Your presence today and we will reflect You as we associate with others.

MaryEmma

JANUARY 9

LOOK UP AND SEE OUR LORD

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak… but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40: 29,31

There are times when we need to just stop and look up. Take our eyes off ourselves and ours, and see God. We like to concentrate on this verse-what wonderful things God does for us.

But we need to think about God Himself, not just what he does or doesn’t do for us. May we look up today and see His majesty. May we look around at the beautiful buildings and realize that it is our God who gave men the wisdom to build them. We have a wonderful loving God.

Have we thanked Him and praised Him today?

MY PRAYER: Thank You Lord for all You have done-and for all the marvelous things You do in our lives every day. Help me to open my eyes and see You all about me. I love you.

MaryEmma

JANUARY 10

DO WE WANT GOD OR HIS BLESSINGS?

I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.

Psalm 34:4

I like this verse, God answers when we call, but we need to remember who he is, not just what he does for us. The preceding verses were glorifying the lord and praising his name.

Why do we concentrate on what God does for us instead of him?

Why do we put the emphasis on us instead of the Lord?

In this Psalm David praised God before he asked for help.

Could it be that before we can really hear the Lord we have to get our thoughts off ourselves and onto God?

As we praise Him, our thoughts turn from ourselves to Him and we are more aware of His power. If He spoke and the world went into place, He can certainly help me with my problems.

MY PRAYER: I pray that today we will be more aware of You, your greatness and your holiness. When we praise you instead of complaining about our problems, we receive assurance that you are with us and will help us. When we praise You we are comforted by your Spirit.

MaryEmma

JANUARY 11

WHAT IS OUR DECISION?

"…redeemed…but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.

Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God."

1 Peter 1: 19-21

Peter could be a lawyer, arguing before the jury: What decision will you make? Will it be for pleasures on this earth which are temporary, or will it be for Jesus Christ who redeemed you with his precious blood?

We can choose perishable things like silver or gold and live an empty life, or will we choose a life with temporary grief but a glorious life with God the Father that is eternal?

Peter reminds us that Christ, our Savior Lamb was chosen to be our redeemer before creation.

They were blessed and we are blessed that Jesus Christ was revealed in our times. In verse 10 he reminded them that the prophets searched intently trying to find out when Christ would appear. The Prophets even predicted the suffering that Jesus would go through and the wondrous glories that would come to us from his suffering.

We have a decision to make also.

Do we believe in God who raised him from the dead and glorified him?

Is our faith and hope in God?

MY PRAYER: Lord God, my decision is for you. You have blessed me and loved me. You have helped me through the difficult times and then taught me what you wanted me to learn from those hard days. You are wonderful and I love you and I want my life to rest in you. Thank you for being my God.

MaryEmma

JANUARY 12

HE IS OUR ROCK

When I said, My foot is slipping, Your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, Your consolation brought me joy.

But the Lord has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge."

Psalm 94:18-19,22

This morning, when I started to pray, my thoughts kept flitting from here to there. They were all about me. That is when I picked up my Bible and started reading, to focus on God instead of me.

I read how wonderful our Lord and Savior is. He teaches us and He helps us. When we are in trouble His unfailing loves supports us. When fears overtake us, and all we can think of is what might happen, His consolation brings us peace and joy.

I love His description as a rock. When I was a child, we vacationed in a place that had a huge rock in my swimming area. In a picture, I was just a speck standing beside it. Even my Daddy looked small. Nothing could move it. It was a wonderful thing to look at. So secure, and so is our God. We can trust Him to always be here with us.

MY PRAYER: Thank You Lord, for always being with us. We can always count on you to help us. We love You.

MaryEmma

JANUARY 13

SING FOR JOY TO THE LORD

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation, Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, The great King above all gods.

Psalm 95:1-3

This is a Psalm of praise: It is a call to worship. God gives us joy and salvation. We thank Him and praise Him with music, because He is the One and Only God. I read these verses and then I started reading them personally: me to Him.

As I repeated the words of God, I was more aware of His presence, and His love for me; it awakened my love for Him. The Psalm ends with a warning: don’t harden your heart - and a plea: Keep our spiritual ears open.

We always want him to do things for us, but we need to do for him: to open our hearts in praise and love him.

MY PRAYER: Lord, help us to listen for your still quiet voice and understand: Our Lord is the great God! You are not just great, you are wonderful and full of love and want the best for us.

We love you.

MaryEmma

JANUARY 14

GOD DESERVES ALL CREDIT

"Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are His. He changes times and seasons;

He deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him."

Daniel 2:20-22

This is a prayer of praise and thanksgiving. Daniel was thanking God for giving him the answer to the King’s dream. The king was going to have all the wise men put to death including young Daniel and his friends. They immediately went to prayer and God responded.

But it isn’t just the prayer that impresses me, but the way he talked to the King. The King asked Daniel if he could tell him what he saw and Daniel replied No. But he added There is a God in heaven who can.

I am afraid I would have taken partial credit. Yes, I can with the help of God. Daniel gave God all the credit.

Do we give God the credit He deserves in our lives?

MY PRAYER: Dear Lord help me to not be so full of myself that I cannot see You. Help me to see others You have sent who need to know You better. Thank You, God for being my God.

MaryEmma

JANUARY 15

PRAISE SHOWS OUR LOVE

For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; He is to be feared above all gods.

Psalm 96: 4

Why are we to praise the Lord? This Psalm tells us why: Great is the Lord. We sometimes forget that. We tend to take for granted someone who is always around and always available.

Our Lord is great and most worthy of praise. Do we tell Him how wonderful He is? Of course he knows, but as we praise him with words of admiration and love, our love and admiration grows. That blesses us.

Do we share this information with others who may not know Him?

He loves us. Do we love Him?

MY PRAYER: Lord, You are great. I praise You for Your splendor and majesty. I thank You for Your strength and glory. You are capable of making my life wonderful and You do. I love You and thank You. No one loves us as much as You do.

MaryEmma

JANUARY 16

JOY IS A GIFT

The Lord reigns, Let the earth be glad; Let the distant shores rejoice Light shines on the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous, and praise His holy name.

Psalm 97:1,11-12

Do we love The Lord for who He is, or for what He does for us? That is a good question to ponder.

The psalmist describes Him in such beautiful ways. Do we rush by those descriptions to get to what He does for us? He gives us joy and shows His love to us. We have a wonderful loving God.

When we are unhappy, do we go to him for peace?

When we are tired, do we ask for his joy?

Do we share his joy and love with others?

MY PRAYER: Lord, You truly are wonderful. We love You and praise You for who You are, not just for what You do for us. Help us to worship You today in our Hearts.

MaryEmma

JANUARY 17

WHERE IS OUR BELIEF?

Do not let Your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me.

John 14:1

I memorized the first 6 verses of this chapter when I was in high school, and when I feel sad or lonely or just a little lost, I say them to myself. It reminds me that I am never alone. It reminds me that I will be with God forever.

We have His word to read to know God’s will for us, and we have God’s Spirit to guide us and direct us. He has taught us to pray. This is the same Spirit of God that hovered over the waters in Genesis 1 and the same Spirit that guided David and it is the same Spirit that Jesus left with us when He returned to heaven.

We are so blessed. How can we feel sad?

How can we be lonely?

How can we not believe and trust and rejoice?

Our God is great and worthy to be praised. May we worship Him today.

MY PRAYER: Dear Lord, thank You for Your Spirit; thank You for His presence; thank You for Your continuous love and watch over me. I love you.

MaryEmma

JANUARY 18

HOW DO WE FACE PROBLEMS?

I thank and praise You, God of my ancestors; You have given me wisdom and power, You have made known to me what we asked of You, You have made known to us the dream of the King.

Daniel 2:23

When Daniel was threatened with death, he did not try to figure out a way to escape the palace and get back to Israel. He did not try to find a hiding place in the palace to hide until the King was happy again.

He immediately turned to God. He asked his 3 friends to pray. He was very specific. His prayer was not bless me and mine. Thank You. He asked his friends to plead with God for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery.

How do we react when we face a problem? Do we go to God, or do we try to figure out what to do on our own?

Too often God is our last resort!

We will have problems in this life. That is when we discover God is real. It is also when we discover whom we trust.

Remember: Jesus said in this world we will have problems, but in Him, we will have peace.

MY PRAYER: Lord, Help me to share your peace with all those I meet along this life’s pathway. Let me see You and Your path for me. Thank You for Your love and guidance.

MaryEmma

JANUARY 19

WE ARE HIS SHEEP

Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.

Psalm 100:3

Know that the Lord is God. We need to remember that. Keep it tucked away in our active mind, because sometimes we forget and we think we are in charge. Our troubles begin when we think we can make our own decisions. We know what path to travel: we don’t need God to help us. We forget that God loves us more than anyone else in the world does and He wants only His best for us.

We are the sheep of His pasture. Our Lord is the good shepherd. The good shepherd takes care of His flock. He lives with them and protects them. If they are injured He nurses them tenderly. When we think of the good shepherd who loves us, it is easy to have a spirit of thanksgiving and praise.

He is great and He is good and His love endures forever!

Will we take a moment to thank Him for what He has done for us?

Will we praise Him for who He is?

MY PRAYER: Thank You, God, for being my