Category: Psalms

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The Gift of Rest

Are you like me – you have a list of that needs to be done and you cross things off as you go? Then I get down to a few things left I rewrite the list and add more. It seems the list never ends!

This can be so draining and it seems there is no time to rest. I remember once years ago I prayed and said Lord, could you please give me 27 hours in my day? You can leave everyone else with the 24 but it would be great to have a few extra hours. The answer I got came immediately, “No! Because you wouldn’t use them to rest, you’d just fill them with more work.”

The Lord set us a wonderful example from the very beginning, He rested! He worked creating all that we see and enjoy and He rested! Then when the Law was being given to the Israelites after they came out of Egypt they were told to rest. Keep the Sabbath which meant no work. It was time to rest and reflect on the Lord and His goodness. We are pretty good about keeping the other 10 Commandments but we gloss over or ignore completely that God commanded us to keep the Sabbath. He knew we need rest!

It isn’t even December 1st and I’m sure some of you have your calendar filled right up to Christmas Day. So much to do, so many things that have to be just perfect. But in all the planning and activity you lose sight of the true peace that God brought to us all. We need to rest and let God’s presence restore our soul! Do you see that – the word “restore” – what are the first four letters “rest”. We are restored by resting.

“Come to me all of you who are tired from the heavy burden you have been forced to carry. I will give you rest. 29 Accept my teaching. Learn from me. I am gentle and humble in spirit. And you will be able to get some rest.” Matthew 11:28-29 ERV

When Jesus was here on earth he would often go away by himself to rest and pray. He found strength in prayer. We need to learn from Him on how to release our burdens and rest in God’s strength and power.

“I will always look to you, as you stand beside me and protect me from fear. 9 With all my heart, I will celebrate, and I can safely rest.” Psalm 16:8-9 CEV

One of the biggest causes of stress is fear. Take a look at it – fear that things won’t get done correctly or in time, fear that we won’t be understood in what we are trying to convey, fear that someone else will get the promotion or make the team or surpass us on the project. Fear. But when we focus on God’s presence being ALWAYS with us we can celebrate and rest.

“You protect ordinary people, and when I was helpless, you saved me 7 and treated me so kindly that I don’t need to worry anymore. 8 You, Lord, have saved my life from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.” Psalm 116:6-8 CEV

One translation of verse 7 says “return to rest”.

May I encourage you to take time to rest this Christmas Season. Rest by remembering the message of the angels on that first Christmas night “Good news of great joy”. Rest in the memories of special Christmases past, things weren’t perfect, mishaps happened but the love of Christ filled your home and your heart.

Or maybe you have never really enjoyed Christmas. It just seemed like all the hustle and hype left you lonely or even angry. This year take time to “rest” and learn from the Lord what a wondrous time of year it is, if you ask Him, he’ll show you.

I want to close with the words from an old Christmas carol that seem so very appropriate

God rest ye merry gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
Remember Christ our Savior
Was born on Christmas Day
To save us all from Satan’s pow’r
When we were gone astray
Oh tidings of comfort and joy
Comfort and joy
Oh tidings of comfort and joy

I truly hope you are enjoying opening the presents of Christmas each morning and I encourage you to share them with your friends.

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Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat!!

Maybe some of you who are younger will have never heard this phrase but when I was growing up it was used frequently to express surprise, unexpected news, shock, etc.

The phrase Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat comes from the Bible. Really? Yes Really.

I wanted to share this insight again this year because many in our world don’t think they have very much to be thankful for; for some there is no “happy” in thanksgiving. So let’s look at someone who really had no reason to be celebrating, no reason for joy and see if it can impact your life the way it did his.

Let’s look at Jehoshaphat.

“Messengers told Jehoshaphat, “A large army from Edom east of the Dead Sea has invaded our country. They have already reached En-Gedi.” 3 Jehoshaphat was afraid, so he asked the Lord what to do. He then told the people of Judah to go without eating to show their sorrow. 4 They immediately left for Jerusalem to ask for the Lord’s help.” II Chronicles 20:2-4 CEV

Our first response to bad news should be to pray and ask the Lord to help. Now look at the answer he received from the Lord. If you read the whole chapter you will find that the Lord told the king to praise Him and He would fight their battle.

“Then he explained his plan and appointed men to march in front of the army and praise the Lord for his holy power by singing:

“Praise the Lord!
His love never ends.”

22 As soon as they began singing, the Lord confused the enemy camp, 23 so that the Ammonite and Moabite troops attacked and completely destroyed those from Edom. Then they turned against each other and fought until the entire camp was wiped out!” verses 21-23 CEV

So let me ask you again, what’s your battle? Health, finances, relationships? Can’t be any bigger than facing an outnumbering army that was going to overrun you country and kill your citizens and take you captive. God is still the same! Praise Him as you face your battle.

“May God arise, may his enemies be scattered;
may his foes flee before him.

2 May you blow them away like smoke—
as wax melts before the fire,
may the wicked perish before God.

3 But may the righteous be glad
and rejoice before God;
may they be happy and joyful.

4 Sing to God, sing in praise of his name,
extol him who rides on the clouds[b];
rejoice before him—his name is the Lord.

5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
is God in his holy dwelling.” Psalm 68:1-5 NIV

The reason for being thankful isn’t for what you have but more for whose you are! We all will face unsurmountable problems at one time or another in life, that’s part of living on this planet. However, the reason for joy and thanksgiving comes from knowing that we’re not doing this alone, but we have a loving God who will go before us and fight the battle. When we seek Him, he’s there and he will always provide the help we need.

Now that’s a reason to Jump for Joy!

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Thankful for Nature’s Examples

I love the correlation that we find all through the Bible between nature and God’s word. The Bible uses examples of sheep, deer, seeds, rain, storms, fruit, bread, light and trees. If a truth is tied to a story we seem to remember it better. Jesus called these stories parables and he used them frequently.

A while back a friend sent me this picture on FB and said she knew I could probably come up with a sermon using this as an example. I’ve seen leaves like this before, holey and destroyed. We spent our summers in Iowa working for an aerial applicator, crop duster, one thing they face there are Japanese beetles. These bugs will eat the leaves of the soy beans and complete destroy a plant if they aren’t stopped. They do the same to the trees in the RV park we lived in. The leaves that fall to the ground are so badly eaten that only a shell of veins and stem are left. If not stopped they will completely destroy these beautiful shade trees that have been there for years.
These beetles came in ornamental trees that were imported and sold at nurseries. They loved the humid, hot climate and quickly multiplied. But when they first came into the country they were unnoticed or ignored, but they quickly multiplied and they ravenous appetites made them very destructive.

You know sin is like that – at first it’s hidden or even ignored. But if left to its self, it brings destruction. So how then do we eradicate it? How do we stop the harmful effects? It’s good to have an exterminator close by.

“Great blessings belong to those who don’t listen to evil advice, who don’t live like sinners, and who don’t join those who make fun of God.
2 Instead, they love the LORD’s teachings and think about them day and night.
3 So they grow strong, like a tree planted by a stream— a tree that produces fruit when it should and has leaves that never fall. Everything they do is successful.” Psalm 1:1-3 ERV

You can’t go around trying to kill all the little bugs you see – they’ve already done the damage but what you do is protect the tree, your heart, and it will grow strong. Jesus referred to us a trees that bear fruit.

“If you want good fruit, you must make the tree good. If your tree is not good, it will have bad fruit. A tree is known by the kind of fruit it produces. 34 You snakes! You are so evil. How can you say anything good? What people say with their mouths comes from what fills their hearts. 35 Those who are good have good things saved in their hearts. That’s why they say good things. But those who are evil have hearts full of evil, and that’s why they say things that are evil. 36 I tell you that everyone will have to answer for all the careless things they have said. This will happen on the day of judgment. 37 Your words will be used to judge you. What you have said will show whether you are right or whether you are guilty.” Matthew 12:33-37 ERV

Make the tree good – have your heart filled with good things and as the verses in Psalm 1 say that happens when we love the Lord’s teachings and we think on them day and night we will be like a tree whose leaves never fall. Having a strong tree, a strong heart – allows us to provide rest and food for those around us.

We’ve all been through times when leaves have dropped from our branches that are diseased and full of holes but GOD has provided the way to health and healing, spiritually and physically, from the bugs that have attacked us. As we stay firmly planted, His life giving water (the Word) will be our defense against predatory bugs that would seek to destroy us!

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Thankful for the Dawning of a New Day

I love it when the Lord puts verses together for you and reminds you of His word.

“Each morning let me learn more about your love because I trust you.
I come to you in prayer, asking for your guidance.” Psalm 143:8 CEV

Years ago I was working on our household budget and no matter how hard I tried, it didn’t look like there would be enough money for the need. Now, I know none of you have ever been in this place but that’s where I was.
As I tried to figure it out, I kept hearing this verse.

“So I tell you, don’t worry about the things you need to live—what you will eat, drink, or wear. Life is more important than food, and the body is more important than what you put on it. ” Matthew 6:25 ERV

One version of this verse says “take no thought” instead of the words “don’t worry about things”. Take no thought…but there it was again, that thought and my mind trying to figure things out. You see we all have areas that we struggle with in believing God’s word. Some struggle with the verses on forgiveness because they have the idea that no one could forgive them of all the bad things they’ve done. Others struggle with the verses on health and healing because it seems they have been sick all their life and nothing makes it better. While still others deal with thoughts of low self-esteem and inadequacy and find it hard to accept the verses that tell them how valuable and precious God thinks they are. But me, well my struggle was in the area of finances and having enough to take care of our daily and weekly needs.

So I said “Lord I’m trying not to take this thought but how do I take no thought?” And then this verse came to mind.

“Always be filled with joy in the Lord. I will say it again. Be filled with joy.

5 Let everyone see that you are gentle and kind. The Lord is coming soon. 6 Don’t worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks for what you have. 7 And because you belong to Christ Jesus, God’s peace will stand guard over all your thoughts and feelings. His peace can do this far better than our human minds.[” Philippians 4:4-7 ERV

So I replaced the thoughts of the budget with thanking the Lord. Thanking Him for his faithfulness in the past, remembering when things were very bad and He provided. Thanking Him for His faithfulness, His love, His Word and His peace. I was no longer taking thought for the things of this life but rejoicing in Him and I knew that however He provides – He’ll come by it honestly. And now years later I can honestly say I hardly ever have worried thoughts over the budget.

When things press in on you – don’t worry but praise! God doesn’t lie and He will provide all our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

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Get Rid of the Clutter

Yesterday we spent the day celebrating; an early Thanksgiving. We spent the day with Mom, family and friends. I’m so thankful for my mother.

I so appreciate the qualities of tidiness and organization that were a natural part of her life and that she passed those qualities on to me. I have one friend who comes to visit and she always tells me, “I love coming to your house, it’s free of clutter. Always picked up and neat. It makes me feel comfortable and welcome like you were expecting me.”

The Apostle Paul said this in I Corinthians 14:40 “ Let all things be done decently and in order.” Now he was referring to the way church services should be conducted, however, he used the word “All” and every place I have researched the word all means all.

Now I’m not trying to convict or condemn any who have clutter or disorganization in your homes. It’s a personal choice. But I do know that when it comes to cluttered minds, thoughts or actions that can be a detriment to us hearing God.

“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

It’s hard to “be still” with a 1000 things on your mind. It’s important that we have our thoughts line up with God’s so that we can make wise and godly decisions.

God’s purpose in creating the earth was to make order out of chaos. In the beginning the earth was without form and void but God spoke the worlds into existence with His words and brought order and beauty.

We need to let His Word bring order and beauty to our lives as well. Take time today to walk away from the clutter and the busyness and “be still”. The Father is waiting for you!

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Sleep is a Blessing to be Thankful For

My morning started later than usual – I slept in. That hasn’t happened in a long time so I am thanking for the Father for the extra rest.

“In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, Lord,
make me dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:8 NIV

There are several examples of sleep in the Bible; it’s interesting to note that in the most difficult times, God gave His people rest.

Adam was the first and when he slept God crafted woman from his rib. Another example is Jacob; he slept and in his dream he saw a ladder leading to heaven with angels ascending and descending – he wasn’t in a comfortable bed but out on the hard ground with a rock for a pillow.

Then Daniel slept in a den of lions. He was at peace because he knew God was with him. How about Joseph, he was sleeping when the angel came to him and told him Mary was going to have a baby.

Jesus slept in the back of a boat while a storm was raging and the boat was filling with water. Peter was asleep in prison after being beaten, the angel had to nudge him to wake him up. There are other examples but these are the ones that came to mind first.

In the midst of stress filled days and trying times if we are trusting the Lord He will give us pleasant sleep. Enjoy this day the Lord has blessed you with but better yet – enjoy the rest He has prepared for you tonight.

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Old Faithful – A Glorious Reminder

Faithfulness! The sign of a true friend is faithfulness. Through the years, Dave and I have been blessed with many acquaintances and even dear situational friendships. You know, those friends that are in your life for a particular seasonal or location. But then there are the friends that rise above time and space. They are the ones who you may not talk to for months or even years but when you see them, your heart is stirred with love and memories and the relationship picks up and grows even deeper.

Yes, we have been truly blessed with friends that fall into that category! Our lives are richer, warmer and fuller because of their love!

I was mediating on that word “faithfulness” this morning. Faith+full+ness.

Faith= the established belief in someone or something not seen. The knowing that they will always be the same. Never failing, always there.

“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1

Full= not empty, not lacking, abundance, more than enough.

“A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so that everyone would have life, and have it in its fullest.” John 10:10 CEV

Ness= a suffix added to a word to indicate quality

Faith= believing in the unseen; Full= abundance; Ness= quality

Faithfulness: believing in the abundance of someone always being the same in overflowing abundance, to the greatest extent or quality.

You know folks have been going to Yellowstone National Park for years to see the geyser Old Faithful. In fact, Old Faithful is so faithful that the Park Rangers can predict with great accuracy when it will blow. Summer, winter, spring or fall the geyser erupts, crowd or no crowd, rain or shine Old Faithful is the same. Can a geyser be more faithful than the Lord – not hardly!

God’s faithfulness endures forever! He will always be the same – He keeps His promises and His love never fails! Rest in Him today.

“Our Lord, I will sing of your love forever. Everyone yet to be born will hear me praise your faithfulness.

2 I will tell them, “God’s love can always be trusted, and his faithfulness lasts as long as the heavens.”

3 You said, “David, my servant, is my chosen one, and this is the agreement I made with him: 4 David, one of your descendants will always be king.”

5 Our Lord, let the heavens now praise your miracles, and let all of your angels praise your faithfulness.

6 None who live in the heavens can compare with you.” Psalm 89:1-6 CEV

Trust in the faithfulness of your loving heavenly Father!

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Prayer of Thanksgiving

Not sure what your day or my day hold but the thing I know is that we are to be in prayer. We are to be thankful for all that the Lord has done, willing to share His goodness and ready to give the answer of Christ to anyone who asks.

“Never give up praying. And when you pray, keep alert and be thankful. 3 Be sure to pray that God will make a way for us to spread his message and explain the mystery about Christ, even though I am in jail for doing this. 4 Please pray that I will make the message as clear as possible.

5 When you are with unbelievers, always make good use of the time. 6 Be pleasant and hold their interest when you speak the message. Choose your words carefully and be ready to give answers to anyone who asks questions.” Colossians 4:2-6 CEV

We don’t need to beat people over the head with our Bibles or try to force Jesus on them. But when we live a life of gratitude for all His wonderful blessings we will be asked why we are always so happy or what makes us always want to smile or be in a good mood even when things go wrong. Even when Paul was in prison he was looking for ways to provide for others; to encourage them, to give them instruction and to infuse them with inner strength.

God has given us a wonderful invitation to visit with Him whenever and wherever we can. Prayer isn’t taking on an exact posture of hands folded, eyes closed, head bowed and knees bent; it IS however an attitude of the heart. Sometimes it’s saying thank you and others it’s saying help.

There are days that I sit on the sofa with coffee in hand and talk to the Lord as I would with any other friend. There are times when I close my eyes to block out everything around me just so I can focus on His presence and center myself in His love. Then there are those times when I’m walking through the grocery store and talking to Him about things that concern me or affect those I love. But whatever the circumstance, wherever the place I know that He is there is listen and to answer.

“The Lord is near to everyone who sincerely calls to him for help.” Psalm 145:18

So today, I will say with Paul – NEVER give up praying and be thankful! It will change your world.

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Thanks for the Memories!

Thinking this morning on all I have to be grateful for. WOW!!! So much in this life of 64 years.

When I look back I see very little of the bad and hold tightly to the good. No, my life hasn’t been perfect – but I have to think long and hard to come up with the faults and failings, the disappointments and the defeats.

I am so thankful for parents who loved me and my brother and sister. They worked hard and we didn’t have a lot but I never knew how little we really had until I got older. They didn’t dwell on what we didn’t have so we didn’t either. One of my favorite memories of Thanksgiving was walking over to our friends early on Thanksgiving, leaving Mom the final preparations for the meal, and watching the Thanksgiving Parade on their “color” TV. It was so much better than black and white.

All of our family was in Iowa and we were in AZ so holidays were spent with wonderful friends who seemed liked family; the Smith’s, the Roberson’s, the Cochran’s – loving people from our church! We all shared in the fixing, the eating and the clean up to be done afterward. Yes, we were surrounded by family.

So this brings me to a Scripture, of course.

“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14KJV

Some people get this backward – they think if you say “good” words then your heart with meditate on “good” things but it’s just the opposite. If you think on good things, then good words will come out of your mouth. Good things can be loving memories, friendships, Scripture verses, beautiful places, etc but you can’t dwell on the disappointments of the past, the trials of the present or the worries of the future and have pleasant conversation come out of your mouth.

Jesus said, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.” Luke 6:45 KJV

So I encourage you today – let go of past hurts and disappointments; dwell on what has been good and rehearse that over and over. Share joy and love with those around you. Make people thankful you came and not thankful that you leave!

“May my words and thoughts please you. Lord, you are my Rock—the one who rescues me.” Psalm 19:14 ERV

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The Thrill of Victory

Do you think that I am going to draw my morning devotional from the 7th game of the World Series? The thrill of victory or the agony of defeat.

No…but it was a great game!

I’m still thinking about the joy that comes from being in the presence of the Lord. Let me share a situation from a few years back that robbed my joy and you will realize why I kept repeating to myself, “I have fullness of joy”.

King Solomon said in Song of Solomon that we are to catch the little foxes because the little foxes spoil the grapes. I kept running into little foxes all day long. You see we had gotten a new computer. Now this was my choice mind you. Our old computer had been around for 4-5 years. It’s was a dear friend. I knew it inside out, literally. But it was old and wearing out so I asked our son-in-law Stephen to recommend a newer and better computer that would meet my needs and have a relatively easy learning curve for both Dave and I.

I made a list of everything I needed to move from one computer to the other and methodically went about my task. I felt pretty accomplished for a non-computer tech type person. Checking off each item as I completed them. Yes, this was going smoothly until one of those little foxes got out! Oh yes, must restart to activate new software…another little fox. A phone call in the midst of my concentration…another little fox of distraction. Launch again, a missing element…another little fox! Frustration mounting…

You see I’ve learned to recognize the “big” things in my life that seek to get me off course in my relationship with the Lord but more often than not, I get tripped up by these little foxes. It was certainly time to pray, I had done that when I started, asking for wisdom thanking the Father for guiding me through this process but somewhere along the way, I had allowed the frustration to override my peace.

Then I heard “in my presence is fullness of joy”. I don’t feel very joyful right now Father. “then you’re not in my presence”. Oh, right. I’m wrapped up in my own little world and I’ve forgotten to lean on you. Sorry. “That’s ok. Take a breath, rest, come sit with me and you’ll find fullness of joy”.

If God the Father is concerned with a small thing of setting up a new computer, let me assure you that the weightier matters of life are certainly within His provision as well. Capture the little foxes and then sit in the Father’s presence. You will find fullness of joy and experience the thrill of victory.

“8 I always remember that the Lord is with me.
He is here, close by my side,
so nothing can defeat me.
9 So my heart and soul will be very happy.
Even my body will live in safety,
10 because you will not leave me in the place of death.
You will not let your faithful one rot in the grave.
11 You will teach me the right way to live.
Just being with you will bring complete happiness. (fullness of joy, KJV)
 Being at your right side will make me happy forever.” Psalm 16 ERV

God is on our side! He has set a plan for our lives to lead us into victory. We need to understand that when we follow that plan we will triumph. Did you see that above “the Lord is with me so nothing can defeat me”?

“If God is on our side, can anyone be against us? 32 God did not keep back his own Son, but he gave him for us. If God did this, won’t he freely give us everything else? 33 If God says his chosen ones are acceptable to him, can anyone bring charges against them? 34 Or can anyone condemn them? No indeed! Christ died and was raised to life, and now he is at God’s right side,speaking to him for us.” Romans 8:31-34 CEV

God has chosen us, imagine that! He isn’t willing to leave anyone out, in His love He wants everyone to be a part of His family. The thrill of victory is a result of our being chosen.

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