"O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?
How long will you look the other way?
How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,
with sorrow in my heart every day?
How long will my enemy have the upper hand?
Turn and answer me, O Lord my God!
Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.
Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!”
Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.
But I trust in your unfailing love.
I will rejoice because you have rescued me.
I will sing to the Lord
because he is good to me." Psalm 13 NLT
This passage of scripture speaks of living hope in the midst of despair. David describes his pain and sorrow. He even presents a picture of God not caring or being aware of the tribulations facing David. Have you ever felt this way? God where are you? God don't you care? God I'm sinking. I think we all have felt this way.
But David does something remarkable. In the midst of his suffering he claims God's hand of deliverance and help in the present tense. While all hell is breaking loose around him, David sees himself as delivered and secure in the Lord. Now that is faith. I believe that is one of the reasons David was called a man after god's own heart.
Like David, we too can trust in Jesus' love, protection and provision, even before we realize the results.
I pray for you and I today. My prayer for us is that when we face trials and tribulations we will see our fate securely placed in God's hands, even before we are rescued. Maybe we already have been rescued.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Don't be Afraid
"But when Jesus heard what had happened, He said to Jairus, 'Don’t be afraid. Just have faith, and she will be healed.'” Luke 8:50 NLT
Good morning! I was searching for a verse today and the Lord brought me to this one. The reason I stopped was six words of this passage--"Don't be afraid. Just have faith...".
I love it! Those six awesome words are so black & white. There is no gray area here. We don't have to be afraid of our Father. We just have to have faith and be faithful. So many of us feel--and I fall into this trap myself--that we have to appease, up-the-annie, be perfect, whatever it takes, so that our Father will be happy with us. It's what some of us have had to do in order to have our earthly father want to have a relationship with us. Am I right? Is that what you feel? Do you fear God? Fear His disapproval?
But our heavenly Father is so agape that we can't accept it at times. All He wants is to have a honest, healthy relationship with you and all you have to "do" is have faith. But I want to take you a step farther--I feel that in order to have faith, you need to also be faithful. Do you understand what I'm trying to get at? A healthy relationship with anyone is a give and take relationship. God gives us His faith in us as His children, we need to give faith in Him as our Father back to Him.
This is deep and don't be disheartened if it takes you some time to come to grips with the enormity of the concept. Especially if you are one of those who has had to work so hard to have a relationship with your own father. But don't give up. If you have to, find yourself a person you trust and share with them your feeling and ask them to help you work through this. I know you can do this!
Good morning! I was searching for a verse today and the Lord brought me to this one. The reason I stopped was six words of this passage--"Don't be afraid. Just have faith...".
I love it! Those six awesome words are so black & white. There is no gray area here. We don't have to be afraid of our Father. We just have to have faith and be faithful. So many of us feel--and I fall into this trap myself--that we have to appease, up-the-annie, be perfect, whatever it takes, so that our Father will be happy with us. It's what some of us have had to do in order to have our earthly father want to have a relationship with us. Am I right? Is that what you feel? Do you fear God? Fear His disapproval?
But our heavenly Father is so agape that we can't accept it at times. All He wants is to have a honest, healthy relationship with you and all you have to "do" is have faith. But I want to take you a step farther--I feel that in order to have faith, you need to also be faithful. Do you understand what I'm trying to get at? A healthy relationship with anyone is a give and take relationship. God gives us His faith in us as His children, we need to give faith in Him as our Father back to Him.
This is deep and don't be disheartened if it takes you some time to come to grips with the enormity of the concept. Especially if you are one of those who has had to work so hard to have a relationship with your own father. But don't give up. If you have to, find yourself a person you trust and share with them your feeling and ask them to help you work through this. I know you can do this!
Friday, August 21, 2009
You ARE My God!
"O God, you are my God;
I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
where there is no water.
I have seen you in your sanctuary
and gazed upon your power and glory.
Your unfailing love is better than life itself;
how I praise you!
I will praise you as long as I live,
lifting up my hands to you in prayer.
You satisfy me more than the richest feast.
I will praise you with songs of joy.
I lie awake thinking of you,
meditating on you through the night.
Because you are my helper,
I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.
I cling to you;
your strong right hand holds me securely.
But those plotting to destroy me will come to ruin.
They will go down into the depths of the earth.
They will die by the sword
and become the food of jackals.
But the king will rejoice in God.
All who trust in him will praise him,
while liars will be silenced." Psalm 63 NLT
In case you have been noticing, I've trying to end Friday with a thought provoking chapter that you can ponder and mediate upon for the next couple of days. I hope this is working for you.
I love this chapter because if you read it closely and take verse by verse, it reminds me of life. Life that is full of the Lord. He is there for the good times and, as any Father would, protects us and keeps us safe. And we praise Him.
David wrote this to God while he was in the Desert of Judah. He was praising his Father for protecting him from his enemies. We still have our enemies that we are fighting now don't we? And doesn't God protect us today, just as He protected David all those years ago? And don't we have our 'Desert of Judah' from time to time? I don't know about you, but I know I surely do, and those are the times that I feel the hunger and thirst for my Lord, my Father, ever so strong. I relate to David's words. Can you?
And just like a Father, if someone was to come and hurt us or treat us unfairly, our Father would protect us and 'take care' of the offender.
I ask you, read this chapter, at least once a day this weekend and see what is revealed to you and your spirit. And share it with me or someone else you can trust. You will be blessed!
I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
where there is no water.
I have seen you in your sanctuary
and gazed upon your power and glory.
Your unfailing love is better than life itself;
how I praise you!
I will praise you as long as I live,
lifting up my hands to you in prayer.
You satisfy me more than the richest feast.
I will praise you with songs of joy.
I lie awake thinking of you,
meditating on you through the night.
Because you are my helper,
I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.
I cling to you;
your strong right hand holds me securely.
But those plotting to destroy me will come to ruin.
They will go down into the depths of the earth.
They will die by the sword
and become the food of jackals.
But the king will rejoice in God.
All who trust in him will praise him,
while liars will be silenced." Psalm 63 NLT
In case you have been noticing, I've trying to end Friday with a thought provoking chapter that you can ponder and mediate upon for the next couple of days. I hope this is working for you.
I love this chapter because if you read it closely and take verse by verse, it reminds me of life. Life that is full of the Lord. He is there for the good times and, as any Father would, protects us and keeps us safe. And we praise Him.
David wrote this to God while he was in the Desert of Judah. He was praising his Father for protecting him from his enemies. We still have our enemies that we are fighting now don't we? And doesn't God protect us today, just as He protected David all those years ago? And don't we have our 'Desert of Judah' from time to time? I don't know about you, but I know I surely do, and those are the times that I feel the hunger and thirst for my Lord, my Father, ever so strong. I relate to David's words. Can you?
And just like a Father, if someone was to come and hurt us or treat us unfairly, our Father would protect us and 'take care' of the offender.
I ask you, read this chapter, at least once a day this weekend and see what is revealed to you and your spirit. And share it with me or someone else you can trust. You will be blessed!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
The Trouble Planter
"A troublemaker plants seeds of strife;
gossip separates the best of friends." Proverbs 16:28 NLT
Have you ever come across someone like that? Someone that seems to be determined to make trouble? And not always by being a gossiper, which of course is bad enough. But just by being themselves. They're friendly, happy-go-lucky and then they leave you and you find out after they left you, they've told someone how upset they are. Go figure.
God doesn't want us to be that way. He understands that we have our good days and our bad days, but don't go around making trouble between yourself and another or pitting one person against another person. Your word needs to be your word.
"Kind words are like honey—sweet to the soul and healthy for the body." Proverbs 16:24 NLT
gossip separates the best of friends." Proverbs 16:28 NLT
Have you ever come across someone like that? Someone that seems to be determined to make trouble? And not always by being a gossiper, which of course is bad enough. But just by being themselves. They're friendly, happy-go-lucky and then they leave you and you find out after they left you, they've told someone how upset they are. Go figure.
God doesn't want us to be that way. He understands that we have our good days and our bad days, but don't go around making trouble between yourself and another or pitting one person against another person. Your word needs to be your word.
"Kind words are like honey—sweet to the soul and healthy for the body." Proverbs 16:24 NLT
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
In the Driver's Seat
"Take control of what I say, O Lord,
and guard my lips.
Don’t let me drift toward evil
or take part in acts of wickedness.
Don’t let me share in the delicacies
of those who do wrong." Psalm 141:3-4 NLT
I like this prayer. I like it because I can relate to it. I know that apart from God in my life, or should I say, the life of God in me, I can do no good thing. I realize this. I have hit too many walls and have had too many failures. No amount of will power or determination can keep me out of trouble. I have tried to play God too many times, only to fail miserably. Playing God is a job description that I cannot fulfill.
For many years my reason for not wanting to sin was that I feared going to hell. I even felt this way after I was "saved." When I realized that according to the Bible I have been saved, my motive for not wanting to sin changed. It wasn't to get into heaven. I'm there. It's because I love Jesus and want to live in perfect harmony with Him. He paid the penalty for my sin. He gave me a new life. His spirit lives inside of me. I am accepted, loved and holy. I want my life to reflect my "new nature."
What about you? Do you realize who you are in Christ Jesus? It works better--no, it really cannot work at all--until you put Him in the driver's seat of your life.
Hang on! The ride is something else.
and guard my lips.
Don’t let me drift toward evil
or take part in acts of wickedness.
Don’t let me share in the delicacies
of those who do wrong." Psalm 141:3-4 NLT
I like this prayer. I like it because I can relate to it. I know that apart from God in my life, or should I say, the life of God in me, I can do no good thing. I realize this. I have hit too many walls and have had too many failures. No amount of will power or determination can keep me out of trouble. I have tried to play God too many times, only to fail miserably. Playing God is a job description that I cannot fulfill.
For many years my reason for not wanting to sin was that I feared going to hell. I even felt this way after I was "saved." When I realized that according to the Bible I have been saved, my motive for not wanting to sin changed. It wasn't to get into heaven. I'm there. It's because I love Jesus and want to live in perfect harmony with Him. He paid the penalty for my sin. He gave me a new life. His spirit lives inside of me. I am accepted, loved and holy. I want my life to reflect my "new nature."
What about you? Do you realize who you are in Christ Jesus? It works better--no, it really cannot work at all--until you put Him in the driver's seat of your life.
Hang on! The ride is something else.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Sonshine
"I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.
I will be filled with joy because of you.
I will sing praises to your name, O Most High." Psalm 9:1-2 NLT
What a GREAT passage to start out our week with, don't you think?! Sometimes we tend to think, "Oh great. Another Monday."
You know what I've been trying to do? And not just on Mondays. I've been trying to remember to praise God for this new day. To thank Him for giving me the gift of another day. Thanking Him for a day full of promise. It's part of my prayer life. I do it as I'm waking or while I'm driving. It puts me in a wonderful frame of mind.
You know it is. A new day IS a gift. A chance to make it whatever you want it to be. You can go into it with drudgery or with praise and thanks giving. You make your day. If you have a bad, poor me, attitude--you will get that--bad, poor me, kind of day.
But if you go into your day with this is going to be a great day!--I'm going to serve the Lord in where the place is that He has me in today. I'm going to bring glory to Him--your day will be full of sunshine.
This doesn't mean that irritating, bad or frustrating things won't happen. But they may not seem so bad if you look at them with a different perspective. Do you understand what I mean?
So I challenge you to try it. To praise Him with ALL your day, with ALL of your heart, body, soul. I bet people will notice the change in your attitude and more importantly, you should too. God is good ALL the time. ALL the time, God is good.
"A glad heart makes a happy face..." Proverbs 15:13 NLT
I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.
I will be filled with joy because of you.
I will sing praises to your name, O Most High." Psalm 9:1-2 NLT
What a GREAT passage to start out our week with, don't you think?! Sometimes we tend to think, "Oh great. Another Monday."
You know what I've been trying to do? And not just on Mondays. I've been trying to remember to praise God for this new day. To thank Him for giving me the gift of another day. Thanking Him for a day full of promise. It's part of my prayer life. I do it as I'm waking or while I'm driving. It puts me in a wonderful frame of mind.
You know it is. A new day IS a gift. A chance to make it whatever you want it to be. You can go into it with drudgery or with praise and thanks giving. You make your day. If you have a bad, poor me, attitude--you will get that--bad, poor me, kind of day.
But if you go into your day with this is going to be a great day!--I'm going to serve the Lord in where the place is that He has me in today. I'm going to bring glory to Him--your day will be full of sunshine.
This doesn't mean that irritating, bad or frustrating things won't happen. But they may not seem so bad if you look at them with a different perspective. Do you understand what I mean?
So I challenge you to try it. To praise Him with ALL your day, with ALL of your heart, body, soul. I bet people will notice the change in your attitude and more importantly, you should too. God is good ALL the time. ALL the time, God is good.
"A glad heart makes a happy face..." Proverbs 15:13 NLT
Friday, August 14, 2009
Being Alive
"I give you thanks, O Lord, with all my heart;
I will sing your praises before the gods.
I bow before your holy Temple as I worship.
I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness;
for your promises are backed
by all the honor of your name.
As soon as I pray, you answer me;
you encourage me by giving me strength.
Every king in all the earth will thank you, Lord,
for all of them will hear your words.
Yes, they will sing about the Lord’s ways,
for the glory of the Lord is very great.
Though the Lord is great, He cares for the humble,
but He keeps His distance from the proud.
Though I am surrounded by troubles,
you will protect me from the anger of my enemies.
You reach out your hand,
and the power of your right hand saves me.
The Lord will work out His plans for my life—
for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.
Don’t abandon me, for you made me." Psalm 138 NLT
This weekend, meditate upon this passage. If you read it line by line, and meditate upon the full meaning, your soul will start getting that glowing, warm sensation. Then it will travel into your heart and mind and before you know it--POW--you will become ALIVE with the celebration of who Jesus is and what HE has done for and in your life.
You're going to have a GREAT weekend!
I will sing your praises before the gods.
I bow before your holy Temple as I worship.
I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness;
for your promises are backed
by all the honor of your name.
As soon as I pray, you answer me;
you encourage me by giving me strength.
Every king in all the earth will thank you, Lord,
for all of them will hear your words.
Yes, they will sing about the Lord’s ways,
for the glory of the Lord is very great.
Though the Lord is great, He cares for the humble,
but He keeps His distance from the proud.
Though I am surrounded by troubles,
you will protect me from the anger of my enemies.
You reach out your hand,
and the power of your right hand saves me.
The Lord will work out His plans for my life—
for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.
Don’t abandon me, for you made me." Psalm 138 NLT
This weekend, meditate upon this passage. If you read it line by line, and meditate upon the full meaning, your soul will start getting that glowing, warm sensation. Then it will travel into your heart and mind and before you know it--POW--you will become ALIVE with the celebration of who Jesus is and what HE has done for and in your life.
You're going to have a GREAT weekend!
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