Tag: God's Promises

Hearing God |Today, IF You Hear His Voice Do Not Harden Your Heart to it.

“I faced a mountain
That I never faced before
That’s why I’m calling on You Lord
I know it’s been a while
But Lord please hear my prayer
I need You like I never have before

Sometimes it takes a mountain
Sometimes a troubled sea
Sometimes it takes a desert
To get a hold of me
Your love is so much stronger
Than whatever troubles me
Sometimes it takes a mountain
To trust You and believe …”

Sometimes it Takes a Mountain by Gaither Vocal Band (2014)

God desires to speak directly to you. God desires to speak directly to me also. As a good Father, he deeply longs to engage with every single one of His Children in continual conversation. God desires to hold our attention to hear only Him.

So great is his longing for communication that he’s given us the gift of the Holy Spirit. We now have access to the heart of God through the Spirit. We can know his will, hear his voice, and live with the knowledge of his wisdom and his love.

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, [a] is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. (John 10:27-29 ESV)

Let the truth that God desires to have real, life-transforming conversations with you sink into your heart for a minute. Think about what it means for your own life to have communication with God.

Your Creator longs to help you with your decisions, our relationships, work, finances, and identity. God himself wants to talk with you about your life—to fully know you and be known by you. God really wants to hear and to be heard.

Just as any good parent loves talking with their children, your heavenly Father loves talking to you, his child. You see, God speaking to you is so little about our ability to hear his voice and so much more about his desire for you to know him.

His voice in your life is just another product of grace, God’s unmerited favor for those who believe. Like any conversation, you will only hear him when you are listening. Just like any good conversation, God longs to hear from you as well.

As much as we each mutually want and mutually share the desire to hear and be heard, the truth is there are times and seasons of great silence from God’s side.

There are also times and seasons of great silence but also times and seasons of great stubbornness on our side. We speak to God as He asks us to do – but we only receive great silence.

We do not necessarily mind episodic periods of brief silence – we expect them.

We do not like silence, however, when it is all, we get in response to efforts to our alleged “best and most energetic and fervent” efforts communicate.

I get really put off when I seem to be the only one who is making the sincere and considered effort to communicate.

I get really perturbed, then I will go silent too.

In my response, in my angst, I will allow my own heart to go silent with God.

My heart hardens against my God.

My soul will sit with my great angst and feast on my growing stubbornness.

I will not sit at His table nor feast at His table of abundant life. (Ps. 23:5)

I will, instead, sit at my own table and repeatedly stab my fork into my silence and I will, instead, raise my fork unto my mouth and feast upon its abundance.

Who shares my table with their “great cloud” of witness statements on this?

And then the Holy Spirit rushes into my silence, interrupts me, reminds me God’s Word speaks of caution, admonish and sternly warn against that too.

Hebrews 3:7-10 Disciples’ Literal New Testament

Therefore Do Not Harden Your Hearts As Israel Once Did

7 Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says[a] [in Psalm 95:7-11]: “Today, if you hear His voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion during the day of testing in the wilderness, 9 where your fathers tested Me with a trial and saw My works 10 for forty years. Therefore, I was-angry with this generation and said, ‘They are always going-astray in the heart, and they did not know My ways’.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

How clearly the anonymous writer to the Hebrews reminds us to consistently and continuously keep our focus on Jesus, Who is both the Apostle and the High Priest and the Author of our Christian faith and our heavenly calling.

Savior Christ’s faithfulness in carrying out His Heavenly Father’s business is unsurpassed by great prophets like Moses, unmatched by distinguished high priests like Aaron, and unrivalled by celebrated kings like David or Solomon.

Savior Christ’s glory and splendour, might, majesty, dominion and power, far surpasses such great men. He is the master-builder of the universe and while these others illustrious men were God’s faithful servants, Christ Jesus is the Son of the most High God, and we are safe and secure in His care.

He alone is entrusted to take charge over God’s entire house, and Church-age believers are members of that household. Together, we are being built up into a spiritual temple, in Whom the Holy Spirit of God resides.

The insufficiently preached and taught astonishing and wonderful truth is that WE who have trusted in His sacrificial death and glorious Resurrection, are His spiritual household, missioners and ministers of His New and better Covenant.

We have God’s assurance our eternal salvation is secured forever in the nail-pierced hands of Christ, Who died to pay the price of our silence and our sin.

Nothing can snatch us out of His hands and nothing will pluck us from the hand of our Father in heaven, for we are saved by grace through faith.

We are neither saved by our silence nor kept by works, for He who started a good work in us has also faithfully promised to complete that good work.

He has promised to hold us fast to the end and sanctify up completely, spirit, soul, and body, lest anyone should boast.

Savior Christ has taken the responsibility of both our initial justification and progressive sanctification upon Himself. He that keeps Israel, has promised to guard us, keep us and protect us by His sufficient grace and almighty power.

We in turn, in humble gratitude give an outward profession of our faith and are called upon in this passage to ‘prove all things’ by walking in spirit and truth.

We are to eschew evil, abide in Christ, obey His commands, and trust in His Word throughout our earthly sojourn.

We are to remember the thrice-proclaimed warning that is in these verses, that today – Today – “TODAY is the day of salvation.”

Today is the day we are to live our life as unto the Lord, to produce spiritual fruit which will verify that we are truly members of His holy household, and citizens of heaven.

We are to grow in grace, mature in the faith, never to give up on His living Hope and live a life that readily and assuredly and easily identifies us as His hallowed household. We are to do it today, and not postpone it for some future occasion.

We are to take to heart the self-same warning that went unheeded by the Israelites: “Today is the day of salvation.”

Today is the day we need to live as unto the Lord.

Today is the day we should give up on our angst and silence to grow in grace.

Having been justified by His blood, we are reminded that today is the day that we should continue to be maturing in the faith and be progressively sanctified.

Today is the day we should become more and more like Jesus Christ in thought, word, and deed.

We are blessed to have the indwelling Holy Spirit Who has promised to guide us into all truth, through His gentle inner promptings and by means of the holy Scriptures –

for His Word is: Hebrews 4:12

“Living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword and is able to discern every inner thoughts of the heart and every secret motives of the mind.”

We must never forget that we are to listen to His voice, heed His instructions, and live by faith ‘today’. We are to encourage one another day after day, for as long as we live and keep growing in grace as long as it is called ‘today’.

Let us forget our silence. Let us never forget that “today is the acceptable day of the Lord,” not only for ourselves but for sinners and saints alike, and may we use our voices today in a way that glorifies God and points others to Christ.

God has spoken to the hearts of his children over the centuries inviting them back into relationship with him. These Spirit-inspired messages came in many and various forms, but the clearest came through Jesus (Hebrews 1:1-3). 

Through Jesus and the Holy Spirit, God speaks to us and to those around us, inviting us to come home to him. We must respond, or our hearts harden, and we lose any possible sensitivity to the message of grace.

The message from the Holy Spirit, uttered over and over through the centuries, now comes to you and me in today’s verses:

“Hear God’s voice! Do not harden your hearts!”

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Heavenly Father, thank You for this warning in Hebrews that today is the day to hear Your voice and respond to Your warning, in thought, word, and deed. Keep me from going astray or developing a complacent attitude, a murmuring spirit, or a hardening of my heart. Help me to be a become a godly testimony of Your Holy Spirit’s work in me so that others may see Jesus in me and glorify Your holy name. This I ask in Jesus’ name, Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! AMEN.

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Those Who have Ears let them Hear what the Lord God is saying to them Today. Please make their Ears Tingle.

“He who has ears for hearing, let him listen with them” Benedict of Nursia

Truth: You and I are the children of a loving God who is desperately jealous for the entirety of your heart. From beginning to the end, God’s Word illustrates a truth that spans beyond the ears of this world and into the fullness of eternity.

Truth: You and I have an enormous, God sized opportunity in this life either to give our whole hearts to God and receive an eternal reward, or give our whole hearts to the world, which will only lead to destruction.

Truth: We can each choose, either surrender all that we are and have to the perfect, pleasing Words of our heavenly Father or seek fulfillment, pleasure, status, wealth in that which has little to do with God’s Kingdom, belongs to the world alone.

The absolute best way we can ensure our lives are fully surrendered and wholly available to the Father is to spend the first moments of our day alone with him.

If we are going to make the most of this life, we must set aside time to assess our thoughts, actions, and emotions. We must make time to take an honest look at our lives and discover whether we are truly living for God or for the world.

And in response to a daily assessment, we must consistently engage in the process of listening for the voice of God through Word of God so that our lives may be encouraged and empowered by the forgiveness and love of the Father.

God longs for your life here on earth to impact eternity. He is a Father who has perfect plans to bless you in ways you cannot imagine. But God cannot bless that which is not best. He cannot reward you for doing that which is destructive.

Hear the Word of God. Choose to center your life around meeting with God that you might store up a wealth of eternal treasure in your daily thoughts. Open all of your heart unto the Holy Spirit every morning that he may reveal anything that’s keeping you from experiencing the fullness of life Jesus died to give you.

Surrender your life to the God who has greater things in store for you than you can ask or imagine. And experience the peace and joy that comes from allowing God to have the entirety of your life to bless and fill with his glorious nearness.

1 Samuel 3:11 Authorized (King James) Version

11 And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

I want to start this devotional out by telling two brief stories.

The first is: – There once was a man that whispered, “God, speak to me.” And a meadowlark sang. But the man did not hear.

So, the man yelled back, “God, speak to me!” and Thunder rolled across the sky. But the man did not listen.

The man looked around and said, “God, let me see you.” and stars too numerous to count shone brightly. But he noticed it not.

The man then shouted, “God, show me a miracle.” as he looked down upon his newborn son sleeping in his crib. But the man was unaware.

So, the man cried out in despair, “Touch me, God, and let me know that you are here!” Whereupon God reached down, touched the man. But the man brushed the butterfly off of the back of his hand and walked on into the living room.

The second story is: – A man was having difficulty communicating with his wife and concluded she was becoming hard of hearing. So, he decided to conduct a “hearing” test without her knowing about it.

One evening he sat in a chair on the far side of the room. Her back was to him, and she could not see him. Very quietly he whispered, “Can you hear me now?”

There was no response.

Moving a little closer, he asked again, “Can you hear me now?” Still no reply.

Quietly he edged closer and whispered the same words, but still no answer.

Finally, he moved right in behind her chair and said, “Can you hear me now?”

To his surprise and chagrin, she responded with irritation in her voice, “For the fourth time, YES! I can hear you just fine! Didn’t you hear me shouting back?”

The Premise of these 2 stories is:

1.) When God speaks make sure you do not miss out on His blessing because it is not packaged the way you expect.

2.) The hearing problem is never with God not speaking but 1000% us not listening!

Life is full of twists and turns that require both big decisions, small decisions, adjusting to major life changes, and tackling day-to-day living.

It seems like there are plenty of people out there who are ready to give you advice—in books, on television, at the office.

But is that the counsel we really need?

If we entertain too many different influences, thoughts and opinions, it can lead to confusion. In the midst of it all, you may feel uncertain that you are hearing the one voice you absolutely long to hear most—the voice of God.

God is a speaking God, and He speaks to His children every day. We have the wonderful opportunity to listen to Him and learn to hear His voice.

To what measure or degree do we believe our ears being “tingled” by something or someone other than God today?

Do we believe the Word of God for His Children can still influence us today?

Do we believe the voice of God can still be our influencer?

We don’t have to go through life being influenced through hearing others’ opinions of life, or blindly making decisions or relying on our own listening skills and hearing abilities or disabilities.

Truth: God created each and every one of the complexities of our body. That, of course includes the anatomy and physiology of our ears and brain to interpret.

As much as we can or cannot hear ourselves think through a jumble of worldly noises and countless distractions, we can hear God clearly and consistently if we are each studious and disciplined to read The Word of God for His children.

“He who has ears for hearing, let him listen with them” Benedict of Nursia

“He who has ears for hearing, let him listen with them” Benedict of Nursia

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Father, in the Name of Jesus, I thank You that You desire to speak to me every day—guiding me in spirit and in truth to obey Your Word and enjoy an abundant life. I thank You that You have called me Your friend and that I may come boldly to the throne of grace to find help whenever I have a need in my life. Lord, Let me Hear!

Lord, Your Word says that when we draw near to You, You will draw near to us. So, I draw near to You today. I seek Your face, Your truth and Your word for my life. I want to know You more, hear You more and obey You more. Help me, my Creator, to feel more and more confident each day in knowing that I hear Your voice. Alleluia! Amen.

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Distracted from Believing in God or Driven to Holiness? Do We Wear our High-Tech or His Holy Headphones?

Back in those most ancient of days when the telegraph was the fastest method of long-distance communication, a young man had applied for a job as a Morse Code operator. Answering an ad in the newspaper, he went to the office address that was listed. When he arrived, he entered a large, busy office filled with noise and clatter, including the sounds of the telegraphs clicking in the background.

A sign on the receptionist’s counter instructed each job applicants to fill out a form, sit down and wait until they were summoned to enter the inner office.

The young man filled out his form and sat down with the seven other applicants in the waiting area. After but a few brief minutes, the young man stood up, had crossed the room to the door of the inner office, opened it and walked right in.

Naturally the other applicants perked up, wondering what was going on. They muttered among themselves that they had not heard any summons yet. They believed that the brash young man who went into the office made a mistake and because of his presumptiveness would be removed from the office, disqualified.

Within a few minutes, however, the employer escorted the young man out of the office and said to the other applicants, “Gentlemen, thank you very much for your interest and for taking time to come, but the job has just been filled.”

The other applicants began grumbling to each other, and one spoke up saying, “Wait a minute, I don’t understand. He was the last to come in, and we never even got a chance to be interviewed. Yet he got the job. That is so not fair!”

The employer said, “I’m sorry, but all the time you’ve been sitting here, the telegraph has been ticking out the following message in Morse Code: ‘If you understand this message, then do not wait, come right in. The job is yours.’ None of you heard it or understood it. This young man did. The job is his.”

Truth is: We live in a distracted world that is full of busyness and clatter.

Like those other applicants waiting in that office, people are distracted and unable to hear the message from a still, small voice of God as he speaks to them.

What about me? Am I too distracted? Am I tuned into God’s voice?

What about you? Are you too distracted? Are you tuned into God’s voice?

Do you hear him over your ultra-high-tech earphones when he speaks to you?

Are you and I distracted or are you and I listening?

Today, we are pondering this subject of “Ultra-High-Tech Holy Headphones: How to Hear God’s Voice” and the Lord and I want you to see exactly how God speaks to us through distraction so we can hear Him when He speaks to us all.

How many of you all wearing your earbuds have ever heard God speak to you?

1 Samuel 3:1-11 NIV

The Lord Calls Samuel

3 The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.

2 One-night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the Lord called Samuel.

Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.

6 Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

“My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”

7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

8 A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So, Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”

Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

11 And the Lord said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

I’m certain by the end of this devotion, if you’re one of God’s children, you’ll be more aware of the times when God was speaking, and more aware of when God will be trying to speak to you, and if you are not one of God’s children, then you will be more aware of how you can become one and then start to hear His voice.

The first thing you got to do to hear God’s voice is Tune In. You cannot listen to your favorite music or news program on the radio unless your radio is tuned in to those stations, can you? You can’t listen to Rock if your car radio is tuned to News, can you? Well, you can’t hear God’s voice unless you are tuned in to Him.

“He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” John 8:47

Young Samuel is lying down trying to sleep in the temple, the candles were still lit, so it’s about 2 or 3 in the morning and he cannot quite to get fully to sleep.

I believe His mind’s probably racing from everything he learned that day. You see, Samuel was perhaps 8 or 9 years old, and he was living with Eli, the priest. His mother Hannah had dedicated him unto the Lord as a baby, so Samuel as a boy learned the function of a priest under the Chief Priest – Eli.

So here Samuel is trying to get some rest and he hears somebody call his name.

He stands up, runs to Eli’s bedside and says, “Here I am, what did you want?”

And Eli’s like, “I didn’t call you, go back to bed.” So, Sammy goes back to the sack and the same thing happens. He hears somebody call his name, goes to Eli, Eli says, “It wasn’t me,” and he goes back to bed. The same thing happens a third time, and this time Eli catches on that God is the one calling Samuel.

So, Eli gives young Samuel some instruction on hearing from God and he goes back to bed, hears the voice of God, and then listens to what God has to say.

You see, at the beginning, Samuel didn’t quite know what was going on.

He believed Eli was calling him. He wasn’t tuned in to God, the Scripture says,

“the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.”

If he was tuned in to God, he would have known that it was God who was speaking to him, and he would have heard clearly all the instruction that God had for him.

So, what about you?

So, what about us?

Have we tuned in to God?

Can we or can we not tell when God is genuinely speaking to us?

A man and his friend were in downtown New York City, walking near Times Square in Manhattan. It was during the noon lunch hour and the streets were filled with wall-to-wall people walking in every which direction. Cars were honking their horns, taxicabs were all squealing around corners, sirens were wailing, and the sounds of the city were almost deafening.

Suddenly, one of the men said, “I just heard some crickets.”

His friend said, “What? You must be crazy. You couldn’t possibly hear crickets in all of this ridiculous noise!”

“No, I’m sure of it,” the man said. “I definitely heard a bunch of crickets.”

Shaking his head, “That’s way beyond crazy,” said his friend.

The man quietly interrupted his friend listened carefully for a moment, and then walked across the street to a long cement planter where several shrubs were growing. He stopped, looked into the bushes, beneath the branches, and sure enough, he located several crickets. His friend was utterly amazed.

“That’s just incredible,” said his friend. “You must have super-human ears!”

“No,” said the other man. “My ears are no different from yours. You see, it all depends on what you are distracted by what you are hearing and listening for.”

“But that can’t be!” said the friend. “I could never hear crickets in this noise.”

“Yes, it’s true,” came the reply. “It depends on what you’re listening for. Here, let me show you.”

He reached into his pocket, pulled out a several coins, and discreetly dropped them down on the sidewalk. And then, with the noise of the crowded street still blaring in their ears, they noticed every head within twenty feet turn and look to check their pockets to see if the money that tinkled on the pavement was theirs.

“See what I mean?” asked the man.

“It all depends on what you are hearing and what you are listening for.”

If you have ears to hear and are actually using them to listen, you can tune in to God, it doesn’t matter what’s going on around you, you can hear Him speak.

Ok, if you really, truly, genuinely, actually, actively want to tune in to God. Well, what ultra-high-tech earphones do you and God have on right in this moment?

Speak Truth: Are any of us even close to tuning into the same frequency as God?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Dear Father in heaven, your Son promised that we would see him again if we wait patiently and listen to what the Holy Spirit says to us. Illuminate our hearts and send your Spirit in. All that is yours will be ours through your Spirit. I pray that I learn to quiet my mind so I can hear the Holy Spirit. I pray that I am filled with the understanding to know how to follow its guidance for me. Amen.

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Happy Mother’s Day! God’s Priceless Legacy: The Hope of Faithful Moms.

For as long as I can remember I wanted to be an archaeologist. The whole idea of my finding something buried and unseen by others appealed to me. When younger, I could be found digging in some corner of the yard. Best thing I ever found was a big old cookie tin with three small words on it – “Love, From Mom.”

And then, one day I was playing archaeologist in my dad’s old dusty library. I looked in an old, unlocked drawer on his secretary and encountered Christ. My whole life changed, but my love for a good dig didn’t. It was simply redirected.

God placed a treasure trove of priceless jewels within reach when I removed an old torn up Bible with pages falling out everywhere. Miner’s hat? Check. Pickaxe and shovel? Check. A new-born burning passion to discover God? Check, check.

Thus began my youthful lifelong search for God’s nature. The pages which had fallen out of the old Bible were from Psalm 139. I read it but really did not know what I was reading. So, I took it to Mom who was in the kitchen baking bread.

Mom took the pages and she read them. She picked me up and put me on her lap and read them to me. In this moment of youth, I realized had stumbled across something stunningly lovely: His handiwork in fashioning my mothers’ heart.

It’s easy to miss God weaving Himself into mothers and their hearts. Man can only offer up a deep, well, totally unfulfilling definition coming from myriads of greeting cards offering vast armies of “sentimental” words feebly addressing it.

Hollywood’s script writers have spent countless millions, (if not billions by now) depicting it onscreen. Yet the very truest wellspring of a mother’s heart remains mysterious. They try to depict what cannot be depicted.

What can never be depicted is this incredible truth: Our Creator God takes great care to knitting all of Himself into who we are and will become.

In examining His deep love for us, His mothering nature is quickly apparent:

Psalm 139:13-18 Authorized (King James) Version

13 For thou hast possessed my reins:
thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:
marvelous are thy works;
and that my soul knoweth right well.
15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret,
and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect;
and in thy book all my members were written,
which in continuance were fashioned,
when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God!
how great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand:
when I awake, I am still with thee.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Our Creator takes care to knit Himself into who we are and will become. In examining His love for us, His mothering nature is quickly apparent:

“…How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings…” (Matthew 23:37 NASB)

How could God reference Himself as a protective mother, lest He’d poured His compassionate nature into the mother’s heart? His maternal temperament continues:

“…He will rejoice over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.” (Zephaniah 3:17b NASB)

“Quiet in His love,” duplicates the tenderest moments between mother and child, referencing the child being fully contented and simply enjoying the closeness of its mother.

The child wants nothing more than its mother’s presence. It’s a time of very quiet love. Drawing powerful strength from her proximity alone.

Again, we see His mothering side:

“Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb?” (Isaiah 49:15a NASB)

Who better than the Designer of mothers could explain this nurturing side of Himself? The nourishing definition of Jehovah Jireh. Our Provider.

His provision in limitless care was famously spoken to Moses. Asking a yet unnamed God His true name, He replied, “I Am.” A statement begging to fill in the blank. “I AM everything. I AM infinite. I AM all powerful.”

Until my mother’s passing from a heart attack 1997, I took fullest possible advantage of my family membership and went straight to her for comfort.

I guess Dad understood my running past him to reach her arms.

With advancing years, hurts changed, but the source of my consolation didn’t.

I still went directly to Mom and her lap for comfort and my “momma hug”.

For through her deep and limitless kindness, forgiveness, and never-ending compassion, I came to feel God’s caring, hugging presence, I came to wholly trust God’s ever nurturing presence. He was easily recognizable in her and I very deeply valued God’s mothering heart woven tightly into hers.

The birthing process is God’s idea. He’s maternally given birth to the universe, birth to our planet, and birth to us. Most importantly He’s given us re-birth, calling us into reconciliatory relationships with Him.

Nicodemus needed clarification. He knew it impossible to reenter a mother’s womb a second time. God’s way was easier with no gestational period.

Being born-again in the Spirit granted restoration with the Father, enjoying unbroken intimacy.

Our Father in heaven is solidly our Father. His maternal nature guarantees attendance at every bird’s funeral. Keeps track of 7.2 billion heads of hair.

Tallies innumerable thoughts about us exceeding grains of sand. Stills our storms, heals our diseases, binds our broken hearts.

The most potent attribute of His mother’s heart is His lavish forgiveness of our sins. Dark sins, washed in red blood, producing robes of white righteousness.

Like the mother that deliberately forgets her child’s shortcomings, He casts our sins directionally as far as the east is from the west, and as far as the north is from the south, until sinking to the absolute floor of the Sea of Forgetfulness.

Simply stated, He is Father God with a mother’s heart.

Waiting to wipe every tear; sitting up with us through the night; and listening to our troubles—solving them while we are yet wounded, suffering, speaking.

The mother’s heart is best defined by her unselfish generosity in ongoing, unconditional giving and raising her family to become loving parents too.

Proverbs 22:6Authorized (King James) Version

6 Train up a child in the way he should go:
    and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Psalm 119:9-16Authorized (King James) Version

ב  Beth

9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?
by taking heed thereto according to thy word.
10 With my whole heart have I sought thee:
O let me not wander from thy commandments.
11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart,
that I might not sin against thee.
12 Blessed art thou, O Lord:
teach me thy statutes.
13 With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth.
14 I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies,
as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate in thy precepts,
and have respect unto thy ways.
16 I will delight myself in thy statutes:
I will not forget thy word.

Pastor Billy Graham is quoted as saying, “Only God Himself fully appreciates the influence of a Christian mother in the molding of character in her children.”

Now listen to these other quotes you may find of particular interest:

“All I am I owe to my mother; I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.” George Washington

“All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.” Abraham Lincoln

“I cannot tell you how much I owe to the solemn word of my good mother.” Reverend Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Only loving relationships provide lasting legacy and hope.

Today, Mother’s Day 2022, we will celebrate and encourage all moms in their contributions to legacy…to being that character forming mother!

Plus, we will remind each of us—parents, children, teens, and young adults, of the importance of pursuing God’s plan for relationships.

Questions for Moms and Dads

What hope do we have that our children will stand by their faith and live by their values?

What or who do you trust to impact their lives?

What are you hoping will produce relationally healthy followers?

Who had a profound effect on Jesus? (Proverbs 22:6).

What legacy are we leaving?

We certainly can’t hope for perfect children like Jesus because our children are just like us—imperfect people. But where do they go for guidance does matter.

Do they go to God’s Word?

Do they seek guidance from attentive parents?

Both Parents, even Grand-Parents must continuously pursue relationship with their children so they will “earn the right” in their child’s eyes to speak God and Jesus Christ into their lives as they begin to make their own choices.

Could you join with me and every mom here today in this hope?

Look square into your mom’s face and tell her:

“I praise God for you and Psalm 127:3 Behold children are gifts from the Lord”

Let’s fervently hope and pray that…

Our children are raised by Godly principles drawn directly from the Word of God. (Romans 15:1-6, Ephesians 6:1-3, 2 Timothy 3:10-17, Hebrews 4:12)

• Our children are more influenced and shaped by their parents and their faith than by the world.

• Our teens and young adults remain open to our input and continue to be open about the details of their physical, emotional and spiritual life.

• Our adult children want to be around us, and we regularly enjoy being around them!

Some of us may also champion the simple, but profound, hope our current family could be a little healthier or a more functional than our own childhood family.

Thank God for creating motherhood!

Today we celebrate all moms who pay the price for making a difference in us!

Thank you, Mom, for letting me feel God’s love radiate through you.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Lt us Pray,

A Child’s Prayer for their Mama’s on Mother’s Day

Dear God, My Creator …

I just want to say, “Thank you for my Mama!”

Thank you for the woman who gave birth to me and has loved me ever since.

I’m grateful for her impact on my life, for her presence, for her love.

Thank you for every moment she was there to pick me up from school, and every moment she helped me heal from heartbreak.

Thank you for every phone call, hug, compliment, even complaint.

Thank you that she cares.

Thank you that despite us not always getting along, our love has endured.

I’m grateful for Mama, and pray that you help me to better honor her every day.

Show me how I can express appreciation for what she has done.

Help me to see all that she has done. God, please help me practice patience when I feel like she’s being too much, or too bossy, or too much like a mom.

Honestly God, who would I be without my Mama?

I pray to you now, God, asking you to bless the remainder of her life.

Please bring her comfort when sickness and body aches occur. Please give her continued direction for her life. Keep her mind renewed.

God, I ask the remainder of her life may be enriched, that she would still feel like she has purpose to fulfill, despite having accomplished so much already.

I pray for those Mama’s who have found their eternal reward with you. They have earned their place of rest by your side, and I know you will keep her safe.

Rest well, Mama, from your labors. One day we shall worship God together!

In the name of Jesus,

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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“When upon this earth, when my life is all said and done, God, let me have the only true desire of my heart……” My God Honoring Words and my God Honoring Thoughts. – Psalms 19:14

In the beginning of all things, God spoke into the darkness. Underneath those first spoken words which remain beyond our knowledge and comprehension I can imagine is God’s not so subtle prayer the darkness would relent of its efforts to prevent the light of life from shining, from distracting the light away from revealing the absolute glory of God in creation to all created generations.

I can imagine too, God knowing fully what God is going to do in the life of the humanity He Himself formed (Psalm 139:1-18), likewise subtly prayed that humanity would one day come to the same knowledge of God and also believe.

I can imagine David, at any given time and season in his life and turning his yes and his soul deep into the heavens, trying to count all of the stars and praising God for the complete failure in his efforts to do so. The utter majesty of God!

David raised his soul, offered up a psalm of praise to God, then concluded with these words about his words and thoughts. And they are my prayer as well.

Psalm 19:14 Amplified Bible

14 
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable and pleasing in Your sight,
O Lord, my [firm, immovable] rock and my Redeemer.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

So many of the psalms of David rejoice our hearts, as he pours forth a harmony of poetic praise to God for His merciful forgiveness and extraordinary favour.

It does not take very long for one to conclude, perhaps more than any other worship song from Israel’s great psalmist, Psalm 19 reminds us of the never-ending wonders of God’s mighty works and ways, the glories of His creative wisdom, and His most gracious acts towards the rebellious children of Israel.

The heavens above do indeed declare the beauty and splendour of our Heavenly Lord, and His magnificent handiwork is most certainly reflected in the glorious works He has performed by the might of His power.

The diverse language of nature and the spoken and unspoken poetry of the heavens above and the earth beneath, pour forth a never-ending message of unyielding worship and praise, as it proclaims the wonderful works of God.

So many of the sacred words that have been penned by Israel’s shepherd-king are prayers that have been rehearsed on the lips of many saints over centuries of time, who have found comfort, grace in his pleadings to the Lord.

From the very first utterances of those very first Words, God’s truth is revealed and forwarded into eternity for all to come to belief. For the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; and all of the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

David was a man after God’s own heart, for he realized it is not only the outside of a cup that needs to be clean and unsullied, but God desires an inner purity, which stems from a heart of flesh which is cleansed, humbled before the Lord and from whom will stream rivers of living water.

Words of worship flowing from a proud, rebellious, or unrepentant heart, are undoubtedly like an open and festering sewer to the Lord, but worshipful words flowing forth from a heart, soul and life which is pure in thought and in motive, word and deed, ascend unto the Father’s nostrils as a fragrant, sweet perfume.

And so, as David’s exuberant praise for the Lord climbs into an ever-increasing crescendo of worship and exaltation, his heart and his soul are suddenly moved into hushed prayer of submissive surrender and deep devotion, as he recognizes his own human limitations in contrast to the magnificent glory of God and cries out unto the Lord, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be always acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock, and my Redeemer.”

Imagine a heart (how about your heart) that meditates on the glory of the Lord and lifts up the person of the Lord Jesus, is the one that exhibits an inner grace and beauty, for such a one is willingly being transformed into the likeness of the Christ, for out of the mouth come thoughts that are conceived in the heart.

David not only understood the need for an inner cleansing and purity on a day-by-day basis, where God Himself governs and sanctifies the thoughts of the heart and the words of the mouth, but he had come to an understanding that his future promised royal Son- the coming King, the Promised Messiah – the divine days-man of Job – and the coming Seed of the virgin woman, would be the true, everlasting strength of his life, the only true Kinsman-Redeemer for his soul. 

May we, like David, in true humility of heart, sanctify the words of our mouth, the meditation of our heart, the thoughts of our minds, and the motives of our inner most being so that all we say and all we do, will be pleasing and acceptable in the sight of our precious Lord and Savior, our Rock, our Redeemer and friend.

My prayer is that the words that come out of my mouth would be pleasing to God. Not just the words I speak when I am gathered with the church. But also when I am socializing with friends. When I am talking about politics or other social issues. And when I am in debate, or dispute, with another person. May my words be filled with grace and honoring to God.

And may my thoughts also be pleasing to God. Not just when I am meditating on the words of the Bible. But also, when I am fighting traffic. When I am also stewing over some wrong done to me, or someone close to me. I pray that my thoughts always be respectful of mankind’s diversity, God honoring and pure.

The earlier part of the Psalm gives us instruction in how to accomplish this.

Immerse yourself in God’s Word. Let it fill you and root out the sin and error in your life.

The Bible has great value for those who will dwell in it.

Allow it to fill your heart and your soul. And then you will surely and certainly find that your words and thoughts will more and more be pleasing to the Lord.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Loving Father, the heart that meditates on the Lord and lifts up the person of the Lord Jesus, is the one that exhibits an inner grace and beauty, for such a one is willingly being transformed into the likeness of Christ.

I know that out of the mouth come thoughts that are conceived in the heart, and so I pray that, like David, in humility of heart I would sanctify the words of my mouth, the meditation of my heart, the thoughts of my mind, and the motives of my inner being so that I too am pleasing and acceptable in the sight of my precious Lord and Savior, my Rock and Redeemer. In His name I pray, AMEN.

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Encouraged to Believe. Motivated to Believe. Inspired to Believe. Desire to Believe. Make Me Acceptable in Your Sight, O LORD (Psalm 19:12-14)

As the children of God, our goal in life is to be sinless.

That means we are seeking to be imitators of God, to follow and live out the example of His Son Jesus in the ways and truths the Bible communicates. As Christians, we are all disciples of Christ and we therefore seek to imitate him, his life, truth, his attitudes and his desire to always do the will of the Father.

We are all aware that this is a lofty goal and that we will fail at times. (In fact, the more we recognize the holiness of God, the more we realize how far short we fall of being like him.) The good news is that as long as this is our goal and we are striving every day for that perfection, we confess our weakness, and our sinfulness and by His grace and mercy God promises to continue to forgive us.

As an essential part of that goal, we seek to make the words of our mouths and the thoughts of our hearts pleasing in the sight of God. Our actions begin with our thoughts and our thoughts are controlled by what we put into our minds.

So, to walk in his light, we must fill our minds with His light, the things of God, the things which are right, pure, wholesome and lovely. This means we must be ever so very careful of spiritually dining on the things of this world; the ungodly entertainment that fills the radio, television, internet and other forms of media. As a man thinks in his heart; so is he. As his heart beats so his life beats away.

We are covenanted by God to daily desire more and more of Him in our lives. As we make this our greatest desire, our most sincere effort, our heart is changed. It beats not in tune with the godlessness of the world but with God’s true life.

Is that not what we should most desire – a heart which beats to keep us upright and living? A sin corroded; sin sickened heart will die and leave us in our graves. There has to something, someone, somewhere to be more desired than a grave.

David provides us with his insights through these final verses from Psalm 19.

Psalm 19:12-14 English Standard Version

12 Who can discern his errors?
    Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
    let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
    and innocent of great transgression.

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
    be acceptable in your sight,
    O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

So far, we have looked at what Psalm 19 teaches us about how creation recounts the glory of God and we have looked at and studied what Psalm 19 teaches us about the other book God has written, the Bible. Specifically, David praises the beauty and the perfection of the Law in Psalm 19, which raised an important question for us: As Christians, how should we read and understand the Law?

I recently heard someone helpfully explain the Law like this: Before we came to Christ, the Law was our enemy because it exposed our sin and our guilt before a holy and righteous God. But after we came to Christ, the Law became our friend because we have no better teacher than the Law for learning how to desire God to the utmost and to please the God whom we have come to know and to love.

This is what David explains in the final verses of Psalm 19

Let’s break this down into a few guiding principles to help us interpret this.

David Uses the Law to Expose His Sin, Not to Forgive It

The first thing I pray we each recognize about what David does in this prayer is that he isn’t citing the Law as evidence for his innocence.

He isn’t pointing to the Law and saying, “O LORD, my rock and my redeemer, I am innocent from hidden faults and blameless before you!”

He understands that he hasn’t yet achieved perfection under the Law.

In fact, he assumes that he has faults that are “hidden” from him.

The word used here for “errors” describes a sin that is committed in ignorance (e.g., Lev. 4:13 or Job 6:24).

The fact that the sin happened unintentionally doesn’t make it acceptable, but that kind of sin wasn’t judged as harshly as sins that were committed willfully.

David’s relationship to the Law is to use it as a “diagnostic tool” to find out where he is still guilty, and not as justifying tool to proclaim himself innocent.

This is the main contention of the New Testament writers to write strongly against the wrong use of the Law. It is not that they are rejecting the Law altogether, but they absolutely reject any idea that we can use the Law as a platform to declare ourselves righteous. The Law simply doesn’t work that way.

The only way for anyone to be saved—at any point throughout salvation history—is through their sincere heartfelt confession faith in Jesus Christ as Savior.

People like David didn’t necessarily know or comprehend the details of who Jesus would be, so they were required to have faith that God would fulfill his covenant promises, but we do know what God has done to save his people.

He sent his Son Jesus to be born under the Law so that he could fulfill the Law, perfectly obeying the Law in ways that we could not and suffering under the full weight of the curse of the Law in our place, as we ever so righteously deserved.

Jesus is our only hope for salvation—not the Law.

David Longs for Communion with God

So instead of misunderstanding David as a legalist, let’s listen more closely to his real desire. 

David wants to be blameless…

In these final verses, he pleads for God to help him to discern his ignorant sins so that he can be declared innocent from hidden faults.

(The word for “hidden” is the same word used to describe how there is nothing “hidden” from the sun’s heat in Psalm 19:6.)

Then, he asks God to graciously hold him back from presumptuous sins. And finally, he pleads that every word of his mouth and meditation of his heart would be “acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.”

But why? What’s David’s motivation behind his desire for blamelessness?

Quite simply, David longs for everlasting communion with God.

In the context of the whole Psalm, here is what is happening.

David is first standing in awe of God’s majesty and glory as he listens to the praises of creation.

Then, as he reads, studies and prays Yahweh’s Law and finds it to be perfect, reviving, sure, etc., he wants nothing more than to know the God of creation who has crafted such a perfect Law.

There is wisdom found here, and David wants to know the wise God who gave this Law—to know this God is the great reward David mentioned in Psalm 19:11.

David wants to be accepted by this God: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.” He wants to be embraced by God and to know him better and better.

Union vs. Communion

This isn’t the same thing as being justified by God.

David doesn’t embrace the Law in order to make himself righteous before God, because he knows only God can make sinners righteous, by grace through faith.

Our union with God was established perfectly at the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the ebbing and flowing of our obedience and holiness before the Lord can do nothing to affect it.

Theologians, however, make an important distinction between our union with God and our communion with God.

Think about it like a marriage.

If you had an affair, that wouldn’t automatically sever your union with your spouse. Legally, you would still be considered married to your spouse unless you both went through the divorce proceedings to break that union.

But an affair would absolutely destroy the communion you have with your spouse. Even if you tried to cover it up, that violation of your spouse’s trust would be an onerous burden on any kind of relational intimacy you might have otherwise had until you were both able to somehow work with God through it.

Our union with Christ is inviolable, and there is nothing that we could ever do to destroy it. Even the most severe spiritual adultery is something that Jesus Christ has already died for, and he extends grace to us through the victory he won over sin through his resurrection.

Shout this to whoever will hear it:

There is more than sufficient grace for even the very vilest of sinners! Nothing you do can separate you from the love that God has for you in Jesus Christ!

But our communion with Christ can absolutely change over the course of our lives. Sin clouds our intimacy with him, and what David teaches us here in these verses is to learn to love the Law of God as a tool for exposing our hidden faults as well as illuminating the imminent danger of presumptuous sins.

David is not interested in blamelessness for its own sake, or for the sake of trumpeting his own “not so high and mighty” righteousness to the world.

His goal is simply this, he wants to be blameless so that nothing at all will stand between his heart, his soul, his God—that is, between his Rock and Redeemer.

Or as Charles Albert Tindley would later write … (1906)

1. Nothing between my soul and my Savior,
naught of this world’s delusive dream;
I have renounced all sinful pleasure;
Jesus is mine, there’s nothing between.
Refrain:
Nothing between my soul and my Savior,
so that his blessed face may be seen;
nothing preventing the least of his favor;
keep the way clear! let nothing between.

2. Nothing between, like worldly pleasure;
habits of life, though harmless they seem,
must not my heart from him ever sever;
he is my all, there’s nothing between.
(Refrain)

3. Nothing between, like pride or station;
self or friends shall not intervene;
though it may cost me much tribulation,
I am resolved, there’s nothing between.
(Refrain)

4. Nothing between, e’en many hard trials,
though the whole world against me convene;
watching with prayer and much self denial,
I’ll triumph at last, there’s nothing between.
(Refrain)

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

O Lord, my God and my Father, I thank you for revealing your Living Word. Lord of wisdom, I sometimes finding understanding the Bible to be difficult. I know you want me to apply your word to my life. I thank you for giving me your word so I can grow in my relationship with you. Help me grasp what you want me to know as I read your revealed word. Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions. Be my teacher, so I can live and obey your word. Thank you for your wise advice. Amen.

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Motivated and encouraged, and now, Inspired to Believe in God. What then may be the Next Step for us? “Delight Yourself in the Lord” Psalm 37:4-6

I have always wondered what Psalm 37 4 means.

Have you asked yourself what it really means to delight yourself in the LORD?

If you are even .01% like me, then the answer is almost certainly yes, then you have been brought by GOD to the right place.

Today, let me try to discuss the real meaning of Psalm 37:4-6 which most people either do not know about or care or reach out, dare to know about!

Psalm 37:1-6 NASB

Security of Those Who Trust in the Lord, and Insecurity of the Wicked.

A Psalm of David.

37 Do not get upset because of evildoers,
Do not be envious of wrongdoers.
2 For they will wither quickly like the grass,
And decay like the green plants.
3 Trust in the Lord and do good;
Live in the land and [a]cultivate faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
6 He will bring out your righteousness as the light,
And your judgment as the noonday.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

For however long we have been a Christian, a short time or for a long time, there are those certain words and phrases which have a subtle tendency to settle into your vernacular, become commonplace, and lose their potency.

Any new believer, well-versed believer is certainly familiar with and, truthfully has probably memorized, David’s beautiful invitation in Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart.” 

But what does it mean to delight yourself in someone—especially ‘the Lord’?

We’ve all had those days. “Do I believe in God?” “Why should I believe today?”

Circumstances go from bad to impossibly worse, creating an undercurrent of fear so strong that it tugs at your hope and threatens to pull you under. While you and I are trying to believe, to stay afloat on God’s promises, guilt sets in.

“Joy in the midst of trials is the mark of a true Christian,” you tell yourself.

In enters doubt with all the what-ifs that make your burden heavier.

You pray and put your trust in God. Now what?

You need a distraction to ward off anxiety.

Work, phone, binge-watching, ministry, mission—any of these should do.

But they don’t.

Somehow, they just seem to fall of the steepest cliffs into the deepest abyss.

Why does the call to ‘delight yourself in the Lord’ seem so distant in times of trouble?

What Does It Mean to ‘Delight Yourself in the Lord’?

Think back to a specific moment in time when you freely enjoyed the company of a loved one.

What made that moment special and memorable?

Did you laugh or cry together—like good friends often do.

Did you bond through the thrill of a shared experience? Did you boisterously celebrate a long-awaited victory together? Or perhaps you sat with each other in loving silence, grateful to know you didn’t have to carry a burden alone.

To experience deep, satisfying fellowship is a gift like no other.

But that kind of connection doesn’t happen overnight.

It’s silly to think we could find heartfelt delight with a stranger.

The same is true when it comes to delighting ourselves in the Lord.

What is the Psalm 37 4 meaning?

Psalm 37:4 is no doubt one of the most popular passages in the book of Psalms.

Why not?

After all, it is a wonderful promise from God that many people hold on to.

Psalm 37 is a psalm of David in which he reassures the righteous not to be dismayed at the sight of evildoers. In this Psalm, David explains what will happen to the wicked, but at the same time, what the righteous should also do.

Since the fate of the wicked is already prophesied and understood, the righteous should not worry about them anymore, rather they should place their sole focus on their relationship with God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

That’s where Psalm 37 verse 4 comes in.

Psalm 37:4 is just one of the instructions David mentioned in Psalm 37.

As you can read:

  • Verse 3 – Trust in the LORD and do good
  • Verse 5 – Commit your way to the LORD
  • Verse 7 – Rest in the LORD
  • Verse 8 – Cease from anger, and forsake wrath

These are just some of David’s admonition in Psalm 37.

As you can see, Psalm 37:4 is part of a greater list of instructions.

But for now, let us focus on the meaning of Psalm 37:4.

What does delight mean in Psalm 37:4?

The first thing we need to ask is, what does the word “delight” mean? 

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/psa/37/4/t_conc_515004

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h6026/kjv/wlc/0-1/

It came from the Hebrew word, “anag,” which means to be happy about and to make merry over. 

So, basically, delight means to take pleasure, to be happy, joyful, and excited.

The next question we need to ask is, to whom should we delight ourselves? 

Psalm 37:4 clearly states that we must delight in the LORD.

LORD here is Yahweh, the personal name of God.

He is the ever-living, eternal, and supreme God of the entire universe. But at the same time, He is our loving, caring, and merciful Father.

If we put everything together, Psalm 37:4 tells us that we must take pleasure, we must be joyful, we must be excited about Yahweh.

It means our only source of joy and happiness should be our Heavenly Father.

Is it the right time to confess our real truth? Exactly Who or what is our source of delight?

However, as we look around us, where do people get their happiness?

Where do people usually take delight from? 

They take delight in worldly and sensual things. They take delight in watching inappropriate and immoral entertainment. They take pleasure in material possessions. They take pleasure in people. Worst, they take pleasure in sin.

Now, it is not wrong to enjoy the blessings that God has given us as long as it does not lead to sin. Nevertheless, our ultimate source of delight must be God!

But the absolute bottom line truth be told – we ALL fall impossibly short.

This utterly dismal failure on our parts must not go unaddressed – otherwise, it will very definitely, very decisively not go unnoticed and unpunished by God.

Mark 1:14-15 NKJV

Jesus Begins His Galilean Ministry

14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel [a]of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God [b]is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

Out of the most indescribable act of Love known, God acted, God sent His Son.

Sent to save the World, NOT TO CONDEMN IT as would be His right to do so.

Salvation in no other name or condemnation in no other name?

Absolute Delight in YAHWEH or Absolute delight in the World?

These realities are ever before every one of us – if we acknowledge them!

Some choose to acknowledge, come to believe – their delight is YAHWEH.

Others, refuse to acknowledge, do NOT make the decision or flat refuse the invitation to believe and subject to condemnation – delight – the World.

We must examine ourselves, then. 

How about us? 

Where do our joy and delight come from?

If we look at our activities and schedule for the day, can you find God in it?

Can you honestly say that you are delighting in God?

Does the very thought of studying the Bible make you excited?

Or do you simply make it an optional thing, that you only do it when you have extra time?

Do you still find time for prayer and meditation? Or are you too busy that you don’t have time to pray?

Does preaching and teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ make you happy and blessed? You think it’s boring and useless? Divisive or politically incorrect?

Is your mind filled with God’s word, peace, and love? Or are you filled with worries, anxiety, and fear?

The answers to these questions would determine whether you truly delight in Yahweh or not.

How Psalm 37:4 changes your life?

Now, here’s something you need to realize.

Psalm 37:4 is a life-changing verse. 

It literally changes your perspective in life. 

If you delight in Yahweh, you take on a new mindset. 

No matter what happens in your life, as long as you delight in God, you are still at peace. 

You are still filled with Joy. 

You still feel blessed.

I strongly believe we, as individuals, need to delight in God more than ever.

As we go through these Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 times and seasons under the sun, we are coerced, forced to make many difficult moral choices and ethical decisions.

Choices and decisions which no one can claim would be delightful or desirous. 

If we don’t delight in God, we all can easily drift away. We can all easily become weak in faith and eventually, forget about our brothers and sisters in Christ.

But as we continually delight in the Eternal, what then become the possibilities?

Connection of Psalm 37:4 to gratefulness

Here’s another important key we should not forget about delighting in God. It is being grateful both for the things we have and the things that we don’t have.

Take note of this:

No one can never truly delight in Yahweh without FIRST and FOREMOST being grateful and you can’t be truly grateful without delighting in Yahweh.

That’s why we must always be thankful for whatever situation we might be in. 

Think about this, we might not have everything, but we always have something. 

We never come to a point where we have nothing. 

So, stop murmuring or complaining.

Instead of complaining that you don’t have shoes, be thankful you have feet.

Instead of complaining that you eat almost the same thing every day, be thankful you still have something to eat.

Instead of complaining about how hard your work is, be thankful that you still have a job.

Instead of complaining about how unfair life is, be thankful, you’re still alive.

What I’m telling you is that people who truly delight in God see His blessings. 

These blessings move them to be more grateful and worship God.

All these are part of delighting yourself in the LORD.

Psalm 37:4 and the REAL desires of our heart

Now, what happens when we delight in Yahweh,

we read the rest of Psalm 37:4, “He will give you the desires of your heart.”

This verse does not mean that if we delight in God, He will give us any desires of our hearts! 

Now, that’s a dangerous teaching. 

Why? 

Because not all desires that we have are good for us!

You see, friends, it doesn’t mean that if you delight in God, you will become rich, you will have a new smartphone, you’ll have a big house.

You’ll have a lot of money in the bank.

It doesn’t mean that everything you want would be given to you.

No, that’s not how it really works.

Listen to this very carefully: 

If we truly and genuinely delight in Yahweh, the desires of our hearts will eventually align with God’s will and purpose in our lives. 

This means that your ultimate desire will not be limited in this world anymore, but it will be God’s desire.

The problem with so many people, and that includes you and me, is that we determine our desires first before we delight in God!

Instead, what happened should be is that we FIRST delight in God so that we will have the right and proper desires in our hearts.

I hope that we come to the point that whether we receive what we ask from God or not, we are still thankful and would still delight in God. 

If God gives what we’ve asked, then, praise God! 

If God doesn’t give it, then we still praise Him because you know that He has your best interest in mind.

That’s exactly what it means to delight in God. 

It is never conditional. 

Whether God grants our prayers or not, we still choose to delight in Him. 

God has become our ultimate source of happiness, joy, and peace.

So, friends, let me end this devotional by reading Psalm 37:4 again:

“Delight yourself in the Yahweh, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.”

What does Psalm 37:4 mean?

In conclusion,

Psalm 37:4 means that we must delight in Yahweh, the supreme Ruler of this vast universe.

It means that the object of our gladness, joy, and delight should be God.

Psalm 37:4 should remind us that the ultimate Source of our joy should be our Heavenly Father.

When we delight in God, He will give our desires, but our desires have already been in line with His will and purpose in our lives.

Romans 8:28New King James Version

28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

My ABBA, My Heavenly Father, forgive me for the times when I have delighted myself in wrong things. Keep me from fretting over much over evildoers in this increasingly confusing world and help me to keep the eyes of my heart on Jesus and to delight myself in the things of God.

Align my thoughts to Your thoughts, I pray, and my will to the will of God. May the desires of my heart unite with Your perfect will and eternal purposes, for Your everlasting praise and glory. This I ask in Jesus’ name, Alleluia! AMEN.

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Encouraged and Highly Motivated to Believe in God. The Necessity of The Creation in The Gospel. Psalm 19:1-6

Today, we are talking about beginnings.

I felt it was important for us to examine the idea of creation as it relates to the gospel. Literally, how we understand creation will ultimately bring clarity or confusion, wisdom and order from chaos to our understanding of the gospel.

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

There are only two options when it comes to creation.

The two options are: there is a God who personally created everything, including you, or there is not.

Those are the only two options. If there is not, then everything is an impossible, implausible, irrational result of incessant random chance and risk assessment.

The equation I give you now is: “nothing + nothing cannot equal something.”

If scripture is false, if the gospel is not, If God is not the creator, then He is not the sovereign. If creation did not take place according to how Genesis records it, then we are each without hope because evolution deposes God from His throne.

Why do we as Christian still to take our interpretation of Genesis from secular scientists who wants nothing more than to get rid of the God of the Bible?

These same people want to alleviate themselves from accountability, morality, and God’s final judgment.

As I feel more and more encouraged to quiet by disbelief, As I become more and more motivated to believe, I fight against the thought that if God is not our creator, then He is not our Redeemer, will not have the authority to create new heavens, new earth, life and hope as the New Testament tells us.

Psalm 19:1-6New King James Version

The Perfect Revelation of the Lord

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

19 The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament[a] shows [b]His handiwork.
2 Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard.
4 Their [c]line has gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.

In them He has set a [d]tabernacle for the sun,
5 Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
And rejoices like a strong man to run its race.
6 Its rising is from one end of heaven,
And its circuit to the other end;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

As we consider and study the creation account, we see how theistic evolution is impossible if we genuinely hold this creative account as the final authority.

If we genuinely believe this universe is the sole product of a Creator God with an infinite amount of intelligence and power, is it possible for us to know Him?

Well, there’s only one answer, if He created us and if He chose to tell us He created us; that’s the only way we can ever know. Not only did he create us. Not only did he choose to reveal Himself and provide for us His revelation.

But He Himself crossed through all time to enter His creation as the person of Jesus so that we can know the way

I cannot overemphasize the point that creation is the basis of everything else.

It is not merely an issue of biology or genetics, but it affects our morality, our ethics, our “world vs. God” view of redemption, salvation, sin, the family, our marriage, our community relationships, the sanctity of life, the dignity of men.

Psalm 19:4–6 Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, 5 which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. 6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

One of the things that science has discovered in modern times is that the sun is in orbit. We talk about the sun as the center of our solar system and everything orbiting around it.

However, did you know the sun itself has an orbit, and this orbit goes from one end of the infinite space to the other.

The sun is moving and dragging our entire solar system with it. It is not fixed any more than the things that revolve around it are fixed.

So, the psalmist says here in verses 4 – 6 that you can look up and you can look at the whole of the universe and look at the breadth of creation and it gives you the loudest possible testimony to the glory of God, to the utter majesty of His intelligence, to the indescribable character of His power to create all of this.

Hebrews 1 also tells us God made the world and it is a testimony to His infinite power, the wisdom of knowledge. Everything about this requires of you and me only one thing: faith.

Hebrews 1:10 And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands;

If you reject God as creator, then you reject God as all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-encompassing.

The only way you are going to know Him is through faith.

We are natural; God is supernatural. The natural cannot comprehend the supernatural; so, on our own, we can’t find God.

We’re locked in a time-space world unable to crawl out of it and into eternity to comprehend what is incomprehensible.

No scientist, no matter how smart they claim they may be cannot even begin to comprehend the majesty of God or His creative power.

The only things we know about God are those things that He has revealed to us, told us, and that’s why He gave us the Bible.

Do WE believe that?

The word Genesis means “origins” or “beginnings.” And I want you to note 16 different origins or beginnings found in genesis.

1. You find the origin of the universe. Genesis 1:1 is unique in all literature, all science, and all philosophy. Every other explanation of the universe starts with eternal matter or energy in some form. Only the book of Genesis starts with eternal God.

2. Origin of order and complexity. Man’s universal observation of his world is an orderly world. It functions on fixed rules, and it is profoundly complex. Order and complexity will not come from chaos.

3. The origin of the solar system. In the midst of this vast, limitless universe, God created the earth, the sun, and moon, the planets, all the stars of heaven

4. The origin of the atmosphere and the hydrosphere. The earth is uniquely equipped with a great body of liquid water and an extensive blanket of oxygen-nitrogen gaseous mixture, both of which are necessary for life, and are accounted for only by special creation by God

5. The origin of life, the marvels of the reproductive process.

6. The origin of man. Man is the most highly organized and complex entity in the universe.

Beyond his biology, there is a nature that can contemplate abstract emotions of beauty and love, and worship. Man is capable of understanding and thinking about his own meaning. We find that we are made in the image of our creator.

7. In Genesis you also find the origin of marriage, the remarkable universal and stable institution of marriage, and the home. Monogamous marriage is here now established and given to man by the Creator.

The home and the family unit are established by God, not man’s choice, and polygamy, infanticide, promiscuity, divorce, abortion, and homosexuality, and all the corruptions developed after the fall are the corruption of God’s order.

8. The origin of evil and sin. The origin of physical and moral evil in the universe is explained in Genesis as a kind of temporary intrusion into God’s perfect world and allowed for the continuation of human freedom and for God to reveal Himself to man as Man’s Redeemer

9. The origin of judgment on evil. All the forms of God’s wrath are set in motion and illustrated in Genesis.

10. The origin of salvation by grace through God’s mercy. God was merciful to Adam and Eve and doesn’t destroy them. The plan of redemption leading to Christ is even referred to in Genesis 3:15.

11. The origin of language. You know, one of the things evolutionists struggle with is how we go from apes grunting and making unintelligible noises to the miracle of human speech of all diverse kinds of languages and dialects.

The chasm between the instinctive chattering of animals to abstract, symbolic communication of man is impossible by any evolutionary process. But Genesis also tells us the origin of all the different languages

12. The origin of government; organized systems of human government for the maintenance of orderly social, economic, cultural structures through systems of accountability, responsibility, law, justice and diverse forms of punishment.

13. The origin of culture. We find in Genesis urbanization, the development of technology, music, agriculture, farming, writing, education, navigation,

14. The origin of nations; and that is related, of course, again to the Tower of Babel, the table of nations as the only source you’ll ever find of how we have so many different peoples scattered all over the earth with different languages and cultures.

15. The origin of religion; both the true religion and false religions appear.

16. The origin of the people of Israel who were the conduit for God’s revelation to all of the world. It was Israel through whom God’s continual revelation came and whom the saving covenant came in Genesis 12 to Abraham, and it would be the Jewish people whom God the Messiah enters the world. 

1 Timothy 3:16 we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

So, either we are going to believe Genesis as Scripture, or we don’t.

How can anyone who claims Christ as their Savior uphold Genesis as Scripture, but reject Genesis 1 and 2 or dismiss it as allegory or lore?

Or may you dismiss Adam and Eve, the Tower of Babel, or the Flood?

Where are you going to draw the line and who gave the right to stand in that kind of judgment on Scripture. Even more, why would any believer in Jesus Christ bow a knee to secular scientists as the authority over Scripture?

What kind of precedent does that establish over the rest of Scripture?

When we capitulate over this, then we abdicate the authority of Scripture over other sacred issues like life, liberty, government, and marriage and family.

‘Responding to God’s Revelation.’ The word “revelation” implies the fact that God wants to be known, must make Himself known to us. In other words, we cannot know God on our own. So, revelation must come from God’s initiative.

Theologian Wayne Grudem says this about revelation: “If we are to know God at all, it is necessary that he reveal himself to us.”

Looking at the skies, whether by day or by a star filled clear night we can learn so much about God’s greatness, His power and His control. The sun, moon, stars and the whole universe are a permanent reminder of God’s glory.

So, general revelation is without words, and it is universal in its scope. It transcends human communication without the use of speech, words, and sounds. Yet, the message is constantly communicated to the whole world.

General revelation continues to point all people unto God, and it is available to everyone. So, no one in the world is ignorant of God.

Simply by opening our eyes and ears, we can witness the divinely created and sustained media which brings the message that God is powerful and glorious.

Indeed, all of God’s creation reaches all of God’s people, at all times.

So, general revelation should lead people to seek God.

Brothers and sisters, God has revealed Himself generally to all people through His creation.

In other words, we can know so many things about God as we witness His amazing creation. 

We know that He is Creator because we see His handiwork. Creation declares His existence and glory, the truth of His Gospel.

So, let us train ourselves to appropriately respond to God’s creation. When we see some aspect of His creation that impresses us, let us learn to worship God.

One day, perhaps today and then every day, may we with highest motivations and the most profound measures of inspiration and encouragement shout out;

“GOD, you are great. Thank you for allowing me to catch even the briefest of glimpses of Your glory, to gain the tiniest measures of thy Gospels wisdom!”

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Your glory, O God
is declared in the holy silence of the heavens,
and told in the silent succession of day and night.
No speech, or word or voice is heard;
yet they speak to all the world,
and their words reach to the ends of the earth. 
The sun joyfully leaps across the sky,
from one end of the heavens to the farthest reaches,
and nothing is hidden from its heat or light.
So nothing that we do or say or whisper in our hearts 
is hidden from you, Lord God.
Release us from darkness we hide deep within our lives.
Let our lives be radiant with holy fear;
delighting in your teaching, 
receiving insight from your commandments
and wisdom from your encouraging. 
Enliven our desire for your everlasting judgements
over wealth or fame:
to enjoy the sweet drippings of the honeycomb,
that are to be found 
in right relationship with those around us,
and with you. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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I am greatly encouraged and deeply motivated to believe in God by these Mightily Inspiring Promises of God’s Presence and Protection. Psalm 18:2

As Christ-followers, we serve a God who is not surprised at all by what we face each day. God is sovereign, so he knows all about panic, pandemics, chaos, and confusion. And he is with us no matter what we face. This is His PROMISE!

God has also left us His Word, so we can go to it any time we need reassurance of his presence. And in His Word, we find Psalm 18:2. In this one short verse, we can discover incredible measures of encouragement and motivation to believe in God. We can find and discover God gives us eight promises we can proclaim—about who He is and how He always finds us and helps in all our circumstances.

Psalm 18:1-2 King James Version

18 I will love thee, O Lord, my strength.

2 The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

1. The Lord Is My Rock

In times of trouble, when we feel shaky with life’s circumstances, it’s mightily inspiring and encouraging to know that God is our rock. God Someone who is extremely strong and mighty. Someone we can bear hug and hold onto when we feel the entire earth under our souls moving. It invigorates and motivates my soul to believe there is no one we can trust who is more reliable than the Lord.

In the chorus of the song The Solid Rock, by Edward Mote, he writes:

On Christ the solid rock I stand,
all other ground is sinking sand,
all other ground is sinking sand.

Christ is also referred to as the Rock of Ages in the hymn by Augustus Montague Toplady.

So often the words of hymns have brought me comfort as they tend to take my eyes off my circumstances and instead place them where they ought to be, on the Lord.

Rock of ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in thee.

The picture I get in my mind is of a small child being afraid who runs to his parent for protection. Once there, the child feels as if everything will be okay.

2. The Lord Is My Fortress

When the word, “fortress,” refers to a person, it means that person is not susceptible to outside influence or disturbance.

The Lord is Almighty. He cannot be influenced, and nothing shakes the Lord. It reminds me of when Jesus was brought into the wilderness for 40 days and Satan tried to tempt him. Each time, the Lord responded in the same way. He used the words, “It is written…” He quoted verses straight from the scriptures.

God is our mighty fortress. Nothing is more powerful than our God.

Nothing can defeat him. The enemy tries to make us fearful by scaring us about what could happen, what might transpire. But God is aware of his tactics, and we can trust in His power.

3. The Lord is my Deliverer

To deliver means that you are removed from pain or from a situation. At times, it could also mean you will be delivered from whatever is going on around you. God delivered Daniel from the lion’s den. He was not physically delivered, but instead, God took the danger away by shutting the mouths of the lions (Daniel 6:19-23). God used an angel to ensure Daniel’s safety.

Because of what Jesus did on the cross, we have been delivered from the penalty of sin. And God has also delivered us from the power of sin, because we’re told if the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed (John 8:36).

One day we will be in a new heaven and earth where there is no sin, but where righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13). All because the Lord is our deliverer.

4. God Is My God

All the attributes of God are wonderful, but what makes them so great is that God is my God. He’s someone I can call on at any time of the day or night. He has given me total access to his throne room where I am invited to bring him my petitions, knowing that God will answer them according to his perfect will.

God and I don’t think alike. He tells us that his ways are higher than our ways and his thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55: 8-9).

God loved us so much he sacrificed his precious Son and when we accept Jesus, what he did for us, our Creator becomes our Father. And God becomes my God.

I know God cares about me and tells me to cast my cares on him (1 Peter 5:7). I also know whatever circumstances I experience in life; God will work together for good for those who believe (Romans 8:28).

But truly, knowing that God will never leave me nor forsake me leaves me speechless, because everyone else in our lives can leave us—but our heavenly Father promises he won’t (Deuteronomy 31:6).

5. God is my Refuge

A refuge is a shelter of protection from danger or distress. It is like finding a safe place during a storm. The fears we face about these times cause even faithful Christian’s moments of unrest. And while we can focus on what is happening around us, it is much to our benefit if, like Peter, we keep our eyes on the Lord instead of focusing on the wind and waves crashing around us. (Matthew 14:29-32)

David was often running from enemies and in danger, yet he called out to God.

The same God who helped him when he was a boy, facing a lion and a bear. And later, as he stood facing the huge Philistine, Goliath. The youthful Shepherd David remembered the same God who had helped him before would give him what he needed now (1 Samuel 17:37).

All of us can probably remember when God delivered us from danger. The Holy Spirit is faithful in reminding us God never changes (Psalm 102:25-27).

6. God is my Shield

God provides protection for us. Our adversary, Satan, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Yet, God reminds us that if we have accepted the Lord, we are God’s children and that the Spirit of God who abides in us is greater than the enemy who is in the world (1 John 4:4).

We remember when God told Abram that he was Abram’s shield and exceeding great reward (Genesis 15:1). God cares for his own. He is a loving father. And I know that if an earthly parent has this inborn desire to protect his family, how much more would the God of the universe protect his children?

7. God is the Horn of my Salvation

The horn is representative of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. It is a promise of future protection for believers. The kind of horn meant is the deadly weapon of the wild ox. In scripture it says, “thou has exalted my horn like that of the wild ox” (Psalm 92:9).

The horn is a sign of strength and a means of sure, and certain victory. God tells Jerusalem, “Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion, for I will make your horn iron and your hoofs bronze…” (Micah 4:13).

God is the horn of salvation because he uses his power to secure and protect his people. God isn’t the horn of our salvation merely to liberate us, but also to make us holy and righteous people who don’t live in fear because we trust God.

8. God is my Stronghold

A stronghold is something which has been heavily fortified, so it is protected against the very worst forms and methods of attack. I love the idea that God has fortified us. He’s given us his Word, which guides us and gives us wisdom.

God has also told us in Scripture about how we are to put on the armor of God.

With the full armor of God, we will be able to stand against the rulers, the authorities, and the powers of this dark world, as well as stand against the spiritual forces of evil. The full armor of God will protect us from the devil’s schemes (Ephesians 6:10-18).

When Paul sought the Lord because of an infirmity, God did not remove what was hurting Paul, but instead, God encouraged and reminded Paul that God’s grace would be all-sufficient, for God’s power is made perfect in weakness.

Encouraged, Inspired and motivated, Paul then realized he would be wiser to boast of his weaknesses, as well as his hardships and calamities because in Paul’s weakness, God’s strength was evident (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

In our lives, there are many times when things look impossible. And even then we are reminded that Jesus said impossible things are possible with God (Matthew 19:26).

Yes, God is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

In Psalm chapter 18, we read David’s response to the Lord after being delivered from the hands of his oppressors, his enemies. David walked through the fire and was now able to look back and affirm God’s great love for him through his trails and tribulations.

We, too, walked through our own modern-day fires, (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8), and each of our natural inclinations just might be to turn from truth instead of towards truth. Yet, I love the vivid example we have in this portion of Scripture. David uses powerful descriptions in verses one and two, all of which can apply to us

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Father God, I thank you for your protection. I thank you that you are Almighty and that nothing can touch us unless you allow it. Even in times like this, Lord, you are our refuge. You are our hiding place (Psalm 32:7). You are our only sufficiency (2 Corinthians 3:5). You are the Alpha and the Omega, who is and who was and who is to come (Revelation 1:8). And we look forward to living eternally with you. Thank you, Lord, for your protection. We praise you for being our God. And we pray others will see us trusting you and want to know about the hope within us (1 Peter 3:15). We pray all this in your Son’s precious name. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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I am so Encouraged and Motivated to Believe in God. If The Heavens and the Earth Declare His Glory, What Do Yours and Mine Eyes See? Psalm 19:1-6

If the heavens declare GOD’S GLORY, today, what do your eyes behold?

If the Earth declares GOD’S GLORY, today, what do your eyes behold?

Psalm 19:1-6 Complete Jewish Bible

19 (0) For the leader. A psalm of David:

2 (1) The heavens declare the glory of God,
the dome of the sky speaks the work of his hands.
3 (2) Every day it utters speech,
every night it reveals knowledge.
4 (3) Without speech, without a word,
without their voices being heard,
5 (4) their line goes out through all the earth
and their words to the end of the world.

In them he places a tent for the sun,
6 (5) which comes out like a bridegroom from the bridal chamber,
with delight like an athlete to run his race.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

If the heavens and the earth declare HIS GLORY, today, what do our eyes behold? What do we see with our eyes? What do we hear with our two ears? What gets our hearts and our souls pumping and thumping deep within us?

I pondered this thought as I was outdoors enjoying the new colors of Spring and began thinking and praying about the bigger picture of the whole cycle of the tree from death to life to bud, blossom and bloom, to leaf then fruit and the colorful changes of the Autumn season, then of the inevitable course, the falling leaves for the food and nourishment for the next generation or season of life.

For everyone who has ever lived, this is a grand design of the Great CREATOR, HIS Masterpiece spread out all over the earth for the world to see HIS GLORY.

Too many times in life we only look at the season we are facing and miss out on the bigger picture. We narrow our vision of God, the breadth of His handiwork.

I love the verse(s) so often repeated throughout scripture that says, “and it came to pass” repeated 463 times throughout the bible’s pages in the AKJV.

https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=And+it+came+to+Pass&version=AKJV

We need remember to envision this: whether facing mountain top (full color) experiences or the shadows of the deepest darkest depths of winter. HE is there shaping our lives to HIS purpose in History. And all these things will soon pass.

But it’s what we do with our vision of that moment, whether we learn or turn, whether we remain steadfast and faithful or deny HIS presence. HE said in HIS WORD, I will never leave nor forsake you, then God gifted to us all of complete length and breadth and height and depths of all Creation as His LIVING proof!

Thus, saith the Lord our God, this is MY Handiwork, and This is MY Promise….

God is 100% TRUE! HE will continue to do the work HE has started in us.

We can trust our God given; God gifted senses. We can live the 100% full life HE offers if we would only surrender to HIS will, power and presence in our lives.

So today as I look at the brilliant colors of Spring, I see HIS GLORY. As I think and pray through each season in the life of a tree, as I slowly ponder my own existence… as I go through these seasons in my life, I so thoroughly believe I still see HIS GLORY in my very own life. I very much believe HE is molding me with HIS personal touch as the Potter with the Clay, Sharpening me with the two Edges of HIS WORD.

Leading me by the still small voice of HIS HOLY SPIRIT.

Showing me HIS GRACE AND MERCY and LOVE by HIS own blood on the cross.

I so thoroughly believe MY GOD in whom I utterly trust has everything I need.

In the beginning God spoke into the chaos and chaos gave way to new creation. Chaos could not resist the voice of GOD, could not resist GOD’s creative hands.

Whether it is our springtime, our summer, our autumn or our winter season, living life with all our mistakes, the sins we bare, we must fully rely on Jesus as HE commands us to put our burdens upon HIM and take HIS yoke, HIS leading.

Some people say, “all I need is Jesus”,

but when it comes to HIS forgiveness and HIS presence in my life, MY abilities, MY capabilities, and HIS promise of HIS Eternal life to all who believe in HIM.

I return to the Words of the Psalmist David; I humble myself by what I see:

Psalm 19:1-6 Amplified Bible

The Works and the Word of God.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

19 The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And the expanse [of heaven] is declaring the work of His hands.
2 
Day after day pours forth speech,
And night after night reveals knowledge.
3 
There is no speech, nor are there [spoken] words [from the stars];
Their voice is not heard.
4 
Yet their voice [in quiet evidence] has gone out through all the earth,
Their words to the end of the world.
In them and in the heavens He has made a tent for the sun,
5 
Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.
6 
The sun’s rising is from one end of the heavens,
And its circuit to the other end of them;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

Reading, pondering and praying these words what I’ve come to realize is this…

All I ‘have’…

is this vision of God my Father and Jesus His Son and the Holy Spirit!

Without Trinity, I ‘have’ no vision of any future thing I want any part of.

No forgiveness, no mercy, no grace, no hope, no life, no love and no future.

NO FAITH AND FINALLY NOTHING WHATSOEVER TO 100% BELIEVE IN!

So, therefore, if I have nothing, I ‘am’ therefore, nothing.

Yet, I believe I realize with Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I ‘have’ everything.

I ‘have’ it all and more than what I could ever imagine.

My life is completed by HIM. Therefore to ‘have’ Christ, is to ‘have’ everything.

If I have everything, then my life is important here.

AND I AM SOMEBODY!

John 1:9-13 The Message

9-13 The Life-Light was the real thing:
    Every person entering Life
    he brings into Light.
He was in the world,
    the world was there through him,
    and yet the world didn’t even notice.
He came to his own people,
    but they didn’t want him.
But whoever did want him,
    who believed he was who he claimed
    and would do what he said,
He made to be their true selves,
    their child-of-God selves.
These are the God-begotten,
    not blood-begotten,
    not flesh-begotten,
    not sex-begotten.

And in CHRIST JESUS, I have and am to Declare HIS GLORY.

HIS GLORY IS ALL I HAVE NEED OF IN MY LIFE.

And in that day when I enter into HIS Presence in ETERNITY, I will know and experience the fullness of HIS GLORY.

Today,

I am encouraged and I am motivated ….

I strive to ‘see’ HIS GLORY revealed by HIS GRAND DESIGN all around me.

Today, HIS BLESSINGS AND GLORY encompass and surround you…run, walk, stand, sit, lie down and rest in it.

Today, I pray you too will be likewise encouraged and motivated ….

Be Blessed in your spirit today…

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

GOD, author of all Creation ….

The Heavens declare your Glory,

The Earth we walk on declares your Glory,

The warmth
of the sun’s embrace
the gentle breeze swept in
by incoming tide
the rhythm of seasons
of new birth
death and recreation
All these speak so clearly
of your love
your power
and your beauty
All are expressions
of your creativity
and more importantly of yourself
As an artist might share his personality
within each brushstroke
so within the myriad colours
of a butterfly’s wing
you share the exuberance of your love

That we can glimpse you
within creation is a beautiful thought
but also tells us
that you desire to be seen
to be found and known
Open our eyes, Lord
as we walk through this world
feel the wind and sunshine
see the majesty of creation unfolding before our eyes
Help us
to see you.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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