Category: Psalms

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Why Not?

It’s been a particularly interesting week, and it’s only Wednesday. Here we are at the end of February, two months of this year have passed. Sometimes the idea of quitting, whatever it is that you’re doing, seems tempting.

Why not?

I was talking to the Lord about that very thing this morning. Do you want to know what He said?

“…those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. 9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. 10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.” Galatians 6:8-10 NLT

Don’t give up! Keep doing good – there’s a time of harvest coming.

I remember the days when we were farming alfalfa. Here in Arizona we got about 10 cuttings of alfalfa a year. That’s a lot of hay and all the baling needed to be done at night when the air was cooler and we had the right amount of moisture.

Toward the end of summer I would be so tired, I just wanted to get one full night’s sleep. Dave did too. But there was no time…there was the irrigating, swathing, raking, baling and repeat.

I found it very reassuring that the Lord knew about farming. “At just the right time we will reap a harvest”. So sure enough, we’d keep going and then we would see the harvest.

We learned to lean into God in our weariest of days.

“Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion.
31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:30-31 NLT

“Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29 NLT

The Lord invites us to rest. In fact, He commands it. It is one of the Ten Commandments.

“You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of complete rest, an official day for holy assembly. It is the Lord’s Sabbath day, and it must be observed wherever you live.” Leviticus 23:3 NLT

We’re more productive when we rest. We’re healthier when we rest. I’m going to circle back to Psalm 23. We have been looking at it all month and it’s an appropriate Scripture for today’s blog as well.

“The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. 2 He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. 3 He renews my strength…” Psalm 23:1-3 NLT

Maybe you feel like you’ve been in a battle or maybe it just seems like you’ve been farming night and day. The battle, or the work, might be physical, financial, relational and you need a rest. We all do.

Even Jesus would separate Himself from the crowds and the work of ministry to go to a solitary place and pray. He would find those green pastures in time spent with His Father in prayer.

Follow Jesus’ advice. Come to me all who are weary and find rest.

Come rest but don’t quit!

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Even When, I Trust

All through Scripture we have the words “be not afraid, fear not, be anxious for nothing” and sometimes it seems it would be easier to climb Mt. Everest than to not be afraid.

Other than Jesus, I think the Apostle Paul in the New Testament and King David in the Old Testament probably encountered more fear-filled situations than anyone else in Scripture. Every town that Paul preached in broke out in a riot and had someone planning his death. King David was pursued by more armies than I can count, even his own son sought to murder him.

That makes these two experts in the “fear not” department.

While reading in the Psalms this morning I found these words.

“Have pity, God Most High! My enemies chase me all day. 2 Many of them are pursuing and attacking me, 3 but even when I am afraid, I keep on trusting you. 4 I praise your promises!
I trust you and am not afraid. No one can harm me.” Psalm 56:1-4 CEV

All day long, David was on the run. Armies by sheer number were greater than his band of 400 mighty men. ” even when I am afraid, I keep on trusting you.” His life was in literal danger and he made the determination to trust God even when he was afraid.

“When I pray, Lord God, my enemies will retreat, because I know for certain that you are with me. 10 I praise your promises! 11 I trust you and am not afraid. No one can harm me.

12 I will keep my promises to you, my God and bring you gifts. 13 You protected me from death and kept me from stumbling, so that I would please you and follow the light that leads to life.” Psalm 56:10-13 CEV

What are the enemies that are pursuing you?

Take a note from David’s playbook . “I know for certain that you are with me”!

I just heard someone say, “That’s all well and good Kristi but I’m not certain that God is always with me”. I’m glad you said that.

“A virgin will have a baby boy, and he will be called Immanuel,” which means “God is with us.” Matthew 1:23 CEV

He came to be with us and when he went back to heaven the Holy Spirit came to live in us and be God’s representative in our lives.

“But I tell you I am going to do what is best for you. This is why I am going away. The Holy Spirit cannot come to help you until I leave. But after I am gone, I will send the Spirit to you.” John 16:7 CEV

Sad to say but one of the biggest fears today is that of not having enough. Not enough money to pay our bills, not enough time, not enough food, not enough health, not enough peace.

” Don’t fall in love with money. Be satisfied with what you have. The Lord has promised that he will not leave us or desert us.” Hebrews 13:5 CEV

Jesus said. “ A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so everyone would have life, and have it fully.” John 10:10 CEV

“You, Lord, are my shepherd. I will never be in need.” Psalm 23:1 CEV

Is there something that has you fear-filled today? Say with King David and with me, “Even when, I will trust”!

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Leaving on a Jet Plane

Well, this wonderful trip has come to an end.

We pack up this morning, drive back to Jacksonville, turn in the rental car and board a plane, headed for home. One stop over in Dallas and arrive in Phoenix later today. It’s been fun and exciting – but home is sweet.

That’s my day. What’s yours got in store? Whatever it is the Lord has designed a path and is waiting for us to follow Him.

“Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed.” Proverbs 16:3 AMPC

“You, Lord, are my shepherd. I will never be in need. 2 You let me rest in fields of green grass.
You lead me to streams of peaceful water, 3 and you refresh my life. You are true to your name, and you lead me along the right paths.” Psalm 23:1-3 CEV

“ If you will obey the Lord your God, all these blessings will come to you and be yours:

3 “He will bless you in the city and in the field…6 He will bless you at all times in everything you do.” Deuteronomy 28:2-6 ERV

I am praying for your day to be filled with the blessings of the Lord. That’s the kind of day He has designed for us.

I’ll be with you tomorrow from my living room in Queen Valley.

Enjoy the blessings of the day!

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Incomparable & Absolutely Amazing

Once again, my heart is overwhelmed as I sit here this morning thinking about the unconditional, everlasting, unfailing love of God!

There are no words to adequately express what causes my heart to swell and my eyes to tear as I sit in the quiet knowing I am surrounded by His matchless love.

So, I will let God’s word speak for me.

“…I am the Lord God. I am merciful and very patient with my people. I show great love, and I can be trusted.” Exodus 34:6 CEV

“Lord God of heaven, you are great and fearsome. And you faithfully keep your promises to everyone who loves you and obeys your commands.” Nehemiah 1:5 CEV

“But I will sing about your strength, my God, and I will celebrate because of your love. You are my fortress, my place of protection in times of trouble.” Psalm 59:16 CEV

“Praise the God of all gods. God‘s love never fails.” Psalm 136:2 CeV

“The Lord your God wins victory after victory and is always with you. He celebrates and sings because of you, and he will refresh your life with his love.” Zephaniah 3:17 CEV

“God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die.” John 3:16 CEV

” …God loves you and has chosen you to be his very own people. I pray that God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!” Romans 1:7 CEV

“I have died, but Christ lives in me. And I now live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave his life for me.” Galatians 2:20 CEV

“But God was merciful! We were dead because of our sins, but God loved us so much he made us alive with Christ, and God‘s gift of undeserved grace is what saves you.” Ephesians 2:4-5 CEV

“I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, 39 and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!” Romans 8:38-39 CEV

There is a praise song I sometimes sing and it is bubbling in my heart right now, “Reckless Love of God”. The chorus goes something like this:

“Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights ’til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine
And I couldn’t earn it, I don’t deserve it, still You give Yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God”

Don’t let circumstances, worry, fear or doubt steal the peace that God gives. We are wrapped in His arms, held there by His never-ending, unconditional, everlasting love!

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So Much Better

Happy Valentine’s Day!

These are verses I always like to read on February 14th – Valentine’s Day. They are such a wonderful reminder of the greatest of God’s love for us.

I don’t normally include the footnotes with verses but this morning I did. You need to read it and absorb the meaning of grace – some much better than we deserve.

“3 Once we were also ruled by the selfish desires of our bodies and minds. We had made God angry, and we were going to be punished like everyone else.

4-5 But God was merciful! We were dead because of our sins, but God loved us so much he made us alive with Christ, and God’s gift of undeserved grace is what saves you. 6 God raised us from death to life with Christ Jesus, and he has given us a place beside Christ in heaven. 7 God did this so in the future world he could show how truly good and kind he is to us because of what Christ Jesus has done. 8 You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve.[a] This is God’s gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. 9 It isn’t something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about. 10 God planned for us to do good things and to live as he has always wanted us to live. This is why he sent Christ to make us what we are.” Ephesians 2:3-10 CEV

Footnotes

2.8 treats us much better than we deserve: The Greek word charis, traditionally rendered “grace,” is translated here and other places in the CEV to express the overwhelming kindness of God.

God’s gift to us!

“But I am giving you a new command. You must love each other, just as I have loved you. If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my disciples.” John 13:34-35 CEV

When we seek the Father with all our heart, we will want to be like Him. Imitate Him. Then others will be drawn to Him like we were when we came to Christ.

Jesus wants us to have an abundant life. King David knew that when he wrote the Psalms, hundreds of years before Christ was born.

“A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so everyone would have life, and have it fully.” John 10:10 CEV (Jesus)

“Your kindness and love will always be with me each day of my life, and I will live forever in your house, Lord.” Psalm 23:6 CEV (King David)

” God treats everyone alike. He accepts people only because they have faith in Jesus Christ. 23 All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. 24 But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins.” Romans 3:22-24 CEV (Apostle Paul)

Our heavenly Father isn’t looking to quench our lives, on the contrary, He has given us an abundant life filled with His love which is so much better than we deserve!

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Start Your Day with a Song

Here I am all the way across the country from my Arizona home. We flew from Arizona to Florida yesterday – Kim, Austin, Dave and me. A bit jet lagged but filled with joy and praise.

We’ll be here for a week taking in all the sights and sounds of the Daytona 500 races. This trip was a 50th birthday bucket list adventure for Kim and she invited us to come along since she knew this is one of her dad’s Top 10 too.

Last night as we were driving to our B-n-B we were greeted by the full moon over the ocean. I plan to be on that beach this evening to take in the full beauty of it. And this morning, there is a chorus of unidentified birds singing their melodies outside my window. It seems that all of creation has joined in welcoming us here and giving glory to God.

“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

Maybe that’s why the birds start their songs before the crack of dawn – they want us to join in their praise to the Father.

Oh, there have been days when I woke up dreading what the day had in store – those were dark days. It’s so much better to be filled with joy from the moment my eyes open and my feet touch the floor. I’ve learned to take my cue from my feathered friends.

“ I tell you not to worry about your life. Don’t worry about having something to eat, drink, or wear. Isn’t life more than food or clothing? 26 Look at the birds in the sky! They don’t plant or harvest. They don’t even store grain in barns. Yet your Father in heaven takes care of them. Aren’t you worth much more than birds?” Matthew 6:25-26 CEV

These sentinels of song aren’t worried about how many bugs, worms, or seeds they are going to find today. No – they just know they will be provided for like they were the day before. They don’t worry about how high they will fly – they just fly. Why? because our Father in heaven takes care of them.

Maybe we should be a little more “bird-brained”!

Don’t worry – we are much more valuable to the Lord than the birds.

“Each morning let me learn more about your love because I trust you.” Each morning as we learn more about His love for us, we trust Him more.

Then we can start your day with a song!

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True Love Deletes

Several years ago, I was preparing for a message on the love of God. Cowboy Church was just a couple of weeks before Valentine’s and it only seemed appropriate to make “God’s Love” my center focus. If you have been reading my morning devotional thoughts for any length of time, you know that Colossians is one of my favorite books and Colossians 2 is my favorite chapter. It’s here that the Apostle Paul writes about what Jesus did on the cross for us and how his death sets us free from our sin and makes us acceptable to God. I focused in on one phrase that has always had particular meaning to me.

“Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;” Colossians 2:14

Once again, you have to dig through the Old King James English but “Blotting out the handwriting of the ordinances against us” drew my attention.

Writing a document in Jesus’ day required extreme patience. No erasers or delete buttons – every word had to be carefully written because if there was a mistake, the document had to be wadded up and thrown away. Some corrections would be acceptable, but the paper would have to be so saturated with ink that the word or the mistake was completely blotted out so that it was no longer legible.

That is the picture Paul is painting for us here. There was a document with a long list of sins we have committed, God’s laws that we have broken. Jesus “Blotted” out the list and then He took and nailed it to His cross. His blood, His shed blood was more than enough to cancel out the evidence of our sin. Amen!!

Do you remember those little writing tablets we had as kids, where you would write on the slate and then lift the vinyl and the words would disappear? I made some for that Cowboy Church and gave them to all who came in. I wanted them to have a visual of their sins being removed.

Not only did blot out our sins but He completely defeated His enemy and ours and led him away captive and powerless for all the spiritual world to see! We are free to live for Christ, through God’s amazing love.

“You were spiritually dead because of your sins and because you were not free from the power of your sinful self. But God gave you new life together with Christ. He forgave all our sins. 14 Because we broke God’s laws, we owed a debt—a debt that listed all the rules we failed to follow. But God forgave us of that debt. He took it away and nailed it to the cross. 15 He defeated the rulers and powers of the spiritual world. With the cross he won the victory over them and led them away, as defeated and powerless prisoners for the whole world to see.” Colossians 2:13-15 ERV

God promises that He will not remember our sins and the wrong that we have done.

“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.” Hebrews 10: 16-17

How can He do that? Simple for Him! God the Father chooses to hit the delete button; hard drive crash; He blots them out. Why? Because He is our LOVING heavenly father.

“His love for his followers is as high above us as heaven is above the earth. 12 And he has taken our sins as far away from us as the east is from the west. 13 The LORD is as kind to his followers as a father is to his children.” Psalm 103:11-13

His love has deleted our sins!

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The Gift of Protection

At first this may not seem like a message of love, but it is! This goes back to the words we’ve been focused on from the 23rd Psalm.

“You prepare a table (a banquet table) for me in the presence of my enemies”.

God’s love provides us with protection. The following verses are from the end of the book of Joshua. Joshua had led the Israelites into the Promised Land. They had taken many cities, and the Lord had brought them victorious through many battles. They had walked through the valley of the shadow of death on more than one occasion and that’s the whole point. They walked through – they didn’t stop there; they didn’t camp there – they walked through.

Now look at these words.

“The Lord gave the Israelites the land he had promised their ancestors, and they captured it and settled in it. 44 There still were enemies around Israel, but the Lord kept his promise to let his people live in peace. And whenever the Israelites did have to go to war, no enemy could defeat them. The Lord always helped Israel win. 45 The Lord promised to do many good things for Israel, and he kept his promise every time.” Joshua 21: 43-45 CEV

The Lord promised to do many good things for Israel and He kept his promise every time!

He has also promised to do many good things for you and me. And guess what, He will keep his promise every time.

“ For as many as are the promises of God, in Christ they are [all answered] “Yes.” So through Him we say our “Amen” to the glory of God.” II Corinthians 1:20 AMP

All of God’s promises are answered with a yes to those of us who are in Christ. We are God’s children and He hasn’t made any promise to us that He isn’t willing to keep.

“You who love the Lord, hate evil; He protects the souls of His godly ones (believers), He rescues them from the hand of the wicked.” Psalm 97:10 AMP

He can’t lie and what’s just as important, He doesn’t want to.

“My dear brothers and sisters, don’t be fooled about this. 17 Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from him. These good gifts come down from the Father who made all the lights in the sky. But God never changes like the shadows from those lights. He is always the same. 18 God decided to give us life through the true message he sent to us. He wanted us to be the most important of all that he created.” James 1:16-18 ERV

Now that’s worth a big shout. What an amazing gift of love – Someone who fights our battles! He keeps His promise, every time.

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How Great Is God’s Love?

From that moment in the garden when Adam sinned, God the Father put His plan in place to restore us.

“But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. 16 And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:15-17 NLT

God’s love for us is so great that He gave His Only Son as the way for us to have eternal life with Him.

We look back to Christ’s crucifixion on the cross and we thank God for what He did to restore us in our relationship with Him. Those in the Old Testament looked forward to the promise that there would be a Savior to come.

David’s writings in the Psalms were filled with praise for God’s faithfulness and love. He was writing about that same hard-to-understand, incomparable love of God that the Apostle Paul wrote about in Ephesians.

“The Lord’s Wonderful Love

1 With all my heart I praise the Lord, and with all that I am I praise his holy name!
2 With all my heart I praise the Lord! I will never forget how kind he has been. 3 The Lord forgives our sins, heals us when we are sick, 4  and protects us from death.
His kindness and love are a crown on our heads. 5 Each day that we live, he provides for our needs and gives us the strength of a young eagle.

6 For all who are mistreated, the Lord brings justice. 7 He taught his Law to Moses
and showed all Israel what he could do.

8 The Lord is merciful! He is kind and patient, and his love never fails. 9 The Lord won’t always be angry and point out our sins; 10 he doesn’t punish us as our sins deserve. 11 How great is God’s love for all who worship him? Greater than the distance between heaven and earth! 12 How far has the Lord taken our sins from us? Farther than the distance from east to west!

13 Just as parents are kind to their children, the Lord is kind to all who worship him, 14 because he knows we are made of dust. 15 We humans are like grass or wild flowers that quickly bloom. 16 But a scorching wind blows, and they quickly wither to be forever forgotten.

17 The Lord is always kind to those who worship him, and he keeps his promises to their descendants 18 who faithfully obey him.” Psalm 103:1-18 CEV

If you grew up thinking that God was writing down all your faults and frailties so that He could condemn you this Psalm should be a daily read. Yes, He knows our faults and our failings, but He has chosen to forgive them and forget them.

This Psalm answers the question in today’s title. How Great is God’s Love? Greater than the distance between heaven and earth!

Let His love embrace you!

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Victory

“You prepared a meal for me in front of my enemies. You welcomed me as an honored guest. My cup is full and spilling over.” Psalm 23:5 ERV

Our invitation to join the Lord at His table isn’t a one and done. It’s a daily – hourly – moment-by-moment opportunity. He is always with us; He lives in us, so we are never left alone or abandoned.

But what about that “enemy” part, you may ask.

Before I answer that, I have to take you once again to my favorite verse in the Bible. A prophet, Baalam, had been commanded by a king, Balak, to curse the Israelites. (Balak was their enemy)

“God is not a man; he will not lie. God is not a human being; his decisions will not change. If he says he will do something, then he will do it. If he makes a promise, then he will do what he promised. 20 He told me to bless them. He blessed them, so I cannot change that… The Lord is their God, and he is with them. The Great King is with them!” Numbers 23:19-21 ERV

We are His sheep. He is our Shepherd. He said He would lead us to green pastures and beside still waters. He said He would restore us, protect us, walk with us through the darkest times and prepare us a meal in the presence of our enemies and so He WILL! He doesn’t lie.

Now, two stories and I will try to keep them brief, but you will need to read them for yourselves and let God minister the truth of His faithfulness and power to you. II Chronicles 20 tells the story of Jehosaphat, king of Judah.

Three separate armies came against him. They were going to destroy the army of Judah and take the citizens captive. Jehosaphat called the people together to pray.

“Our God, punish those people. We don’t have the strength to stop this large army that is coming against us. We don’t know what to do! We are looking to you for help. ” II Chronicles 20:12 ERV

“Jahaziel said, ‘Listen to me King Jehoshaphat and everyone living in Judah and Jerusalem! The Lord says this to you: ‘Don’t be afraid or worry about this large army, because the battle is not your battle. It is God’s battle!” 20:15 ERV

“They marched in front of the army and sang, ‘Give thanks to the Lord! His faithful love will last forever.’ 22 As they began to sing and to praise God, the Lord set an ambush for the army from Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come to attack Judah. The enemy was defeated!” 20:21-22 ERV

Now let’s quickly look at Elisha, a prophet of God, who had been telling his king the enemies’ battle plan. The enemy swore to take Elisha out. (II Kings 6:14-20)

“14 Then the king of Aram sent horses, chariots, and a large army to Dothan. They arrived at night and surrounded the city. 15 Elisha’s servant got up early that morning. When he went outside, he saw an army with horses and chariots all around the city.

The servant said to Elisha, “Oh, my master, what can we do?” 16 Elisha said, “Don’t be afraid. The army that fights for us is larger than the army that fights for Aram.”

17 Then Elisha prayed and said, ‘Lord, I ask you, open my servant’s eyes so that he can see.’ The Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and the servant saw the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire. They were all around Elisha.

18 These horses and chariots of fire came down to Elisha. He prayed to the Lord and said, ‘I pray that you will cause these people to become blind.’ So God did what Elisha asked. He caused the Aramean army to become blind.” II Kings 6:14-18 ERV

Elisha then led the entire army to the king of Samaria where they were captured.

One small nation against three mighty nations; two men against an army. When we are in God’s presence, and we are, we always have the greater advantage.

A table in the presence of our enemies is a place of safety when we’re seated at that table with the Lord. God does not lie. The battle belongs to the Lord, He is greater than any of our enemies.

Don’t let fear take you away from the table. Stay and enjoy fellowship with your Shepherd!

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