Category: Psalms

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Stuck, Really Stuck

Dave and I have been watching a show made for Australian television that focuses on a ranch run by women and the struggles they face. They have both cattle and sheep. It seems they are always out on a muster. At least once of twice a season they come across a sheep that has gotten stuck in the deep mud at the edge of the creek. It takes a lot of hard work to get them out. That happened again when we were watching the program last night and it made me think of a verse in Psalm 40.

I shared with you from the middle of Psalm 40 yesterday. These verses at the beginning of the chapter had a greater impact after watching the struggle of both the shepherd and the sheep on that show.

“I waited patiently and expectantly for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. 2 He drew me up out of a horrible pit [a pit of tumult and of destruction], out of the miry clay (froth and slime), and set my feet upon a rock, steadying my steps and establishing my goings. 3 And He has put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many shall see and fear (revere and worship) and put their trust and confident reliance in the Lord. 4 Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man who makes the Lord his refuge and trust, and turns not to the proud or to followers of false gods.
5 Many, O Lord my God, are the wonderful works which You have done, and Your thoughts toward us; no one can compare with You! If I should declare and speak of them, they are too many to be numbered. 6 Sacrifice and offering You do not desire, nor have You delight in them; You have given me the capacity to hear and obey [Your law, a more valuable service than] burnt offerings and sin offerings [which] You do not require. 7 Then said I, Behold, I come; in the volume of the book it is written of me; 8 I delight to do Your will, O my God; yes, Your law is within my heart.” Psalm 40:1-8AMP

It amazes me how often King David talks about being in a miry pit (adverse circumstances) or facing enemies (personal or spiritual ones) and how over and over again he thanks the Lord for delivering him out of them all. It’s always something to sing about. David drew on his work as a shepherd as a correlation to the way the Lord provided for him when he faced troublesome times. He saw the Lord’s deliverance on more than one occasion; he lived it daily.

God was always faithful! And David was always ready to do what God had asked of him – he delighted to do God’s will. He had learned that in doing God’s will there was protection, peace and provision. It was a place of blessing.

The Apostle Paul’s greatest desire was to share the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ with others. He was always ready to share when given the opportunity and he prayed for opportunities. Paul faced many obstacles on his missionary journeys. He was thrown into prison, beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, lied about, mistreated constantly but he said the hardship couldn’t compare to being able to share the Gospel.

“He answered me, “I am all you need. I give you My loving-favor. My power works best in weak people.” I am happy to be weak and have troubles so I can have Christ’s power in me. 10 I receive joy when I am weak. I receive joy when people talk against me and make it hard for me and try to hurt me and make trouble for me. I receive joy when all these things come to me because of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” II Corinthians 12:9-10 NLV

Paul knew that Christ would be his strength. He knew that there was no situation where he was weak that the Lord wouldn’t strengthen him. Maybe you feel like you’ve been stuck in some pretty deep mud. Immobilized by your circumstances. Don’t lose hope! God is there and He will bring deliverance and strength.

“Christ is the one who gives me the strength I need to do whatever I must do.” Philippians 4:13 ERV

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I’m Excited!

Yesterday I started the new book! Barely. There is so much to do in the beginning with the formatting, downloading templates, doing temporary key words, coming up with a title and synopsis. But it’s started.

Years ago when I realized that the Lord had given me an ability to teach and share His word, it became my goal to share about His unconditional love, His mercy, His grace and His gift of sonship available to us who believe that Jesus Christ died, was buried and is risen as our living Savior.

I saw so many Christians who were like I was; reading the Bible but not really applying it to their everyday lives. We had grown up in believing in a God that’s “going to get you for that” or “you never know what God’s going to do” relationship; fearing God and His retribution rather than living in His love. So I accepted my calling to proclaim the “good news of the gospel” to Christians. It was and is my desire to see believers grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior. It was my desire to see Christians walk in the full power of relationship with Christ. For us to receive fully from His blessings so that we truly are examples of Jesus, Christians, on the earth. It will be the goodness of God that draws men to repentance and not the condemnation of man.

There is nothing I find more fulfilling than sharing God’s word either by written communication, one on one personal interaction or teaching to a gathering. It’s my heart passion. These verses convey all that I desire to share with others.

“Lord my God, you have done many amazing things! You have made great plans for us—too many to list. I could talk on and on about them, because there are too many to count.

6 Lord, you made me understand this: You don’t really want sacrifices and grain offerings. You don’t want burnt offerings and sin offerings.
7 So I said, “Here I am, ready to do what was written about me in the book.
8 My God, I am happy to do whatever you want. I never stop thinking about your teachings.” 9 I told the good news of victory to the people in the great assembly.  And, Lord, you know that I will never stop telling that good news. 10 I told about the good things you did. I did not hide these things in my heart. I spoke of how you can be trusted to save us. I did not hide your love and loyalty from those in the great assembly.
11 Lord, do not hide your mercy from me. Let your love and loyalty always protect me.” Psalm 40:5-11 ERV

Look particularly at verses 8-10
“ My God, I am happy to do whatever you want. I never stop thinking about your teachings.” 9 I told the good news of victory to the people in the great assembly.  And, Lord, you know that I will never stop telling that good news. 10 I told about the good things you did. I did not hide these things in my heart. I spoke of how you can be trusted to save us. I did not hide your love and loyalty from those in the great assembly.”

So let me take the opportunity to declare again today – God is faithful, He is righteousness, He is my salvation and His lovingkindness endures forever!

Take time to read all of Psalm 40 today, it will be a blessing to you.

And I would appreciate your prayers for clarity of thought and no computer problems while writing this book.

God bless you all today!

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Recovering From A Storm

Our last few days have been anything but quiet! You all know how much I enjoy the peace and tranquility that I have here in our neighborhood. It has been disturbed in a big way.

Some of you will remember we had a huge hail storm back in October. The hail was the size of golf balls and it pelted us for almost an hour. The trees and shrubbery were stripped of their leaves, cacti had holes shot through them and the cars were dimpled with hail marks. Window screens were shredded and one of our sky lights were broken. It was a hard storm.

What we didn’t realize until a couple months ago was damage had been done to our roof. First one neighbor and then a few others called their insurance companies to have adjusters come assess the effects of the storm. It was quite wide spread in our area. When we called, we found that our roof needed to be replaced because of the damage that had been sustained from the hail.

Two days ago the workers came and began stripping away the old roof. Our home is a flat roofed, Santa Fe style home. They spent all day peeling away the damaged roofing material. Yesterday they came and began laying the new roof. The banging, pounding, deconstruction and reconstruction was almost deafening. There isn’t a picture in the house that is hanging straight. Little bits of dirt and dust that had lived in the vents for thirteen years was now on my furniture and floors. David even put pillows under some of our hanging lights in case they fell.

After the workmen left yesterday I sat in the living room enjoying the quiet. The peace had returned. However, they will be back again today to finish the job. Sitting here my heart was filled with empathy for those who live in areas that are ravaged by floods, tornados, hurricanes, fires and devastating earthquakes; those who face complete loss while I only experience a few days of inconvenience.

These storms may destroy physical property and possessions but many experience the loss from storms that devastate their emotions, their sense of inner peace and their spiritual well being. In these cases it’s important to remember the one who can repair the damage and restore the peace.

“The Spirit of the Lord God is on me. The Lord has chosen me to tell good news to the poor and to comfort those who are sad. He sent me to tell the captives and prisoners that they have been set free. 2 He sent me to announce that the time has come for the Lord to show his kindness, when our God will also punish evil people. He has sent me to comfort those who are sad, 3 those in Zion who mourn. I will take away the ashes on their head, and I will give them a crown. I will take away their sadness, and I will give them the oil of happiness. I will take away their sorrow, and I will give them celebration clothes. He sent me to name them ‘Good Trees’ and ‘The Lord’s Wonderful Plant.’

4 Then the old cities that were destroyed will be rebuilt. Those ancient ruins will be made new, as they were in the beginning.” Isaiah 61:1-4 ERV

This was written about Jesus and told what He would do when He came to earth. He came to heal, deliver, comfort, bring freedom and rebuild. He came to restore us who have suffered loss and destruction.

“You, Lord God, bless everyone  who cares for the poor, and you rescue those people in times of trouble. 2 You protect them and keep them alive. You make them happy here in this land, and you don’t hand them over to their enemies. 3 You always heal them and restore their strength when they are sick. 4 I prayed, “Have pity, Lord! Heal me, though I have sinned against you.” Psalm 41:1-4 CEV

“I know what you are like! But I will heal you, lead you, and give you comfort, until those who are mourning 19 start singing my praises. No matter where you are, I, the Lord, will heal you and give you peace.” Isaiah 57:17-19 CEV

I don’t know what storm you have been through. I don’t know the destruction that has come to your heart but God does! He comes with a promise of comfort, healing, restoration – peace. If, when, we come to Him he promises to give us peace and rest.

“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 ERV

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A Love For The Ages

About this time every year I began to reminisce, remembering where I was in 1973.

Next week, Dave and I will celebrate our 46th anniversary and when I got up this morning, I sat in my chair for a long time thinking of what I was doing 46 years ago – with only a week left before the “big day”, what was I focused on? Putting the finishing touches on the dress I was making, double checking on the flowers, helping Dad finish the wedding arch. There were many more details I don’t remember but I do remember how excited I felt to be marrying my best friend and the love of my life! 46 years – many of you haven’t even been alive that long…

As I sat there thanking the Lord for what He’s done in us and for us over all those years, my heart filled with song – yes, a song. I heard the words “I will sing of Your love forever, I will sing of Your love forever, I will sing of Your love forever”. Thankful for the love of my husband and that of my Heavenly Father.

Then I remembered so many verses that tell us that the Lord’s love will endure forever. His love is so great – amazingly unconditional and eternal!

“I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.” Psalm 89:2

“Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” Psalm 106:1

“For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord.” Psalm 117:2

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” I Chronicles 16:34

“I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion.” Hosea 2:19

Did you get that last one? I will betroth you to me forever, the Lord has chosen us as His beloved! Wow – amazing!!

Paul tells us in Ephesians that the loving, godly relationship between a husband and wife is really an example of Christ and His love for us.

“Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— 30 for we are members of his body. 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” Ephesians 5:22-31 NIV

We became His betrothed and He gave up His life for us. He loves us as His own body, He covers us with His strength and protection, He presents us spotless to His Father.

So now, look back and remember the preparation for your wedding day, the excitement, the anticipation, the LOVE. And put that in context to your relationship with Christ and join with me…

“I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations.” Psalm 89:1

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Sight Reading, Auto Correct & Life

A friend of mine made a post on Face Book the other day that I thought was so good. It went something like this: I always proof read my texts, normally after I hit send.

Isn’t that the truth? We input something, knowing it says exactly what we want to say, hit send and it auto-corrects and we can’t get it back. We are left to send another text trying to explain what we meant in the first one. Ridiculous.

Thank God, he isn’t that way! His word is true and it doesn’t need to be corrected or changed.

“Grass dies and flowers fall, but the word of our God lasts forever.” Isaiah 40:8 ERV

When our youngest daughter was in first grade she learned something called sight reading. The teacher was trying to get the children to read in a smooth and flowing way. Each night they were to read out loud for 20 minutes. If they came across a word they didn’t know they could substitute it with a word that started with the same letter. The intent was to keep them reading in a constant cadence.

We laughed about the way the word substitutions changed the meaning of the text. Some things were ridiculous. The intention was good but the meaning of the story had been completely misconstrued.

It should be our goal to see that God is honored and pleased by the things we say and do. Our words and our actions should reflect what’s in our hearts. We don’t want those around us to get a wrong message like those that come with faulty auto-correct or the word substitution of sight reading.

“Let the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing in Your eyes, O Lord, my Rock and the One Who saves me.” Psalm 19:14 NLV

“Good people do good things because of the good in their hearts. Bad people do bad things because of the evil in their hearts. Your words show what is in your heart.” Luke 6:45 CEV

“People don’t hide a lamp under a bowl. They put it on a lampstand. Then the light shines for everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, you should be a light for other people. Live so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:15-16 ERV

Lord, I desire that the message I live and speak is clear, concise and easy to understand. I want to be a messenger for you in all I do and say.

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Sibling Rivalry

Anyone who has kids knows from time to time they will bicker and squabble. Parents offend wonder “why can’t you guys just get along”. It hurts our hearts when our kids, who we love so much, have times when they fuss and say hurtful things.

The scripture tells us that God wants us to get along with our brothers and sisters also. He is our loving heavenly Father and He doesn’t like it when His kids quarrel. Doctrines, traditions, rituals may be different but that doesn’t have to be a reason to sever relationship or to talk badly of one another.

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” Psalm 133:1

Jesus spent a lot of his final hours and days talking to his disciples about loving one another. And for good reason – one of them was going to betray Jesus, one was going to deny him and the rest were going to scatter. I think Jesus was trying to prepare them for what was ahead. He wanted their hearts set on forgiveness and not blame; for them to walk together in unity and love so that they could draw on strength from one another.

“I give you a new command: Love each other. You must love each other just as I loved you. 35 All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other.” John 13:34-35

A real sign to the world around them would be the love Jesus disciples had for one another. The love Jesus was talking about is supernatural – the unconditional, never ending love of God in their lives would be a sure sign that Jesus had impacted their lives. There is verse after verse written about our loving one another, letting the love of God flow through us; Jesus spoke many of them and then the whole book of I John is devoted to our loving one another.

“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” Jn 15:12

“These things I command you, that ye love one another.” Jn 15:17

“Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;” Romans 12:10

“Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.” Romans 13:8

“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.” Galatians 5:13

“And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.” I John 3:23

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.” I John 4:7

“Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” I John 4:11

Anytime God, the Father, puts this much time and teaching into a subject you know it’s important. These are but a few of the verses that I found on love. I’m not sure what any of us will encounter today but I know God’s message for sure – He wants us to walk in love.

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How Great – How Far – How Long

Let me start by saying that I am not an astronomer nor am I well educated in the aspects of space and our solar system but I do remember Junior High Science class and the models we had to construct of the planets. Our knowledge of space has greatly increased since those days at Fourth Avenue Junior High.

One of our favorite things to do in the evening is look at the stars. The sky is so clear and the stars are so bright. I can name a few constellations but not many. I really have no desire to learn all their names, I just enjoy looking at what God has made. However, the question does come to mind – how many miles is it to the closest star? Millions of light years, I’m sure. How close is Venus, the moon or Mars? Space travel is relatively new in the grand scheme of things but outer space has been intriguing man for centuries. Look at these words written by King David.

“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!” Psalm 103:8-12 CEV

King David had experienced the love of God most all of his life but when it came time to describe or explain the vastness of God’s love he lacked the adequate words so he compared it to the heavens.

How great is God’s love? Greater than the distance between heaven and earth! He could only perceive that distance with the naked eye and yet he understood that the expanse between heaven and earth was massive. Now, with the help of highly sophisticated technology scientist are discovering space is much greater than we first imagined.

Isn’t that true of God’s love? Just when we begin to think we understand God’s love we realize it is so much greater!

How far does the Lord remove our sins? Before I answer this question let’s remember that as little as six hundred years ago many people thought the earth was flat. King David, inspired by God, wrote that God removes our sins as far as the east is from the west. No matter how far east we travel we will never go west. God has removed our sins an incalculable distance from us!

One more question came to mind as I was reading Psalm 103 this morning. How long?

How long will God love us? The answer: forever. God’s love never fails. How long is never? Never and forever are non-measurable concepts of time. No one can truly perceive the scope of them. That’s what makes the love of God so amazing!

“I will sing forever about the Lord’s love. I will sing about his faithfulness forever and ever! 2 I will say, “Your faithful love will last forever. Your loyalty is like the sky—there is no end to it!” Psalm 89:1-2 ERV

Let’s ask those questions again. How Great – How Far – How Long? It’s mind boggling to consider. The love God has for us is more than we can possibly understand. When we accept it by faith and we begin to experience the awesome love of God!

Each time you look at the stars I hope you will be reminded of the depth of God’s love.

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Not Afraid of Monsters

Years ago, when the movie was first released, Dave, Koy and I went to see Monsters Inc. We were amazed by the animation; we could see every whisker and hair move, the sweat glistening on Boo’s skin and the colors were so vivid. I remember it still.

But what I remember the most was the story. It was my story!

Remember when you were little and thought there might be monsters under the bed or in the closet? As a child, I was plagued with nightmares until one night I made friends with the biggest monster in my dreams. After that, whenever I would have a nightmare I would just call on my monster friend and he would come scare off all the other monsters that were there to hurt me. When I saw the movie Monsters Inc, I was reminded of my friend because he looked a lot like Sulley.

But now I don’t make friends with monsters, instead I rely on the Father and His Word. 

“3 For [then] He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. 4 [Then] He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust and find refuge; His truth and His faithfulness are a shield and a buckler.

5 You shall not be afraid of the terror of the night, nor of the arrow (the evil plots and slanders of the wicked) that flies by day, 6 Nor of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor of the destruction and sudden death that surprise and lay waste at noonday.” Psalm 91:3-6 AMP

In this day of terror plots, road rage, random shootings and all the mayhem that is loose in our world, not to mention the daily dangers we are exposed to, living in the power of God’s Word is a place of comfort and protection. 

These are the verses above from the Complete Jewish Bible translation.

“he will rescue you from the trap of the hunter and from the plague of calamities; 4 he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his truth is a shield and protection. 5 You will not fear the terrors of night or the arrow that flies by day, 6 or the plague that roams in the dark, or the scourge that wreaks havoc at noon.” Vs 3-6

The way I see it, the Lord promises to protect us from hidden peril – from the things we can’t see. A bird doesn’t see the trap until it’s caught and plagues come without advance warning. 

He also protects from disasters that can be seen. The picture in verse 4 is that of a mother hen or bird that sets herself down over the top of her chicks to protect them from danger. She risks her own life and cuddles her young under her wings. Isn’t that what Jesus did for us? He gave His own life to protect us from the ravages of sin and its effects.

“What can we say about all this? 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. 35 Can anything separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble, suffering, and hard times, or hunger and nakedness, or danger and death?” Romans 8:31-35 CEV

No matter what time of day – night, daylight, or noon day, the Lord promises to be there and be our protection.

When our children were little, Dave and I would pray with them and over them each morning before they headed out to school. We would pray these verses over them then and we still do now. But now we’ve added their spouses and our grandchildren.  I have no idea how many times they have been protected as they go about their days. God is faithful!

We have traveled hundreds of thousands of miles, literally, in our vehicle without ever having an accident. We’ve been in the presence of danger many times and not even known it until later and then we saw how God’s hand protected us.

We can take these verses as our own and use them to bring a covering of protection for our families as well. God’s word is true; He does not lie! But it doesn’t just come automatically we have to appropriate it – we have to believe it. Just like the electricity that comes into our homes, it’s there but we will sit in the dark and the cold unless we turn on the switch and put the power to work. 

Turn on the switch in prayer and watch the power of God work in your life!

Let me end with this. God’s thoughts and ways are higher than ours – His plan of protection is better than ours. As the rain is higher than the earth and comes down to cover the earth; God’s ways are higher than our thinking and He rains down His protection to cover us.

“The Lord says: ‘My thoughts and my ways are not like yours. 9 Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, my thoughts and my ways are higher than yours. 10 “Rain and snow fall from the sky. But they don’t return without watering the earth that produces seeds to plant and grain to eat. 11 That’s how it is with my words. They don’t return to me without doing everything I send them to do.’

12 When you are set free, you will celebrate and travel home in peace. Mountains and hills will sing as you pass by, and trees will clap.” Isaiah 55: 8-12 CEV

God’s word will cause our lives to bring in a crop of good fruit – it will cause us to prosper and our lives to be filled with joy and peace.

As I said above, I no longer need to make friends with the monsters. God’s word is the word of my best friend and He is able to keep me safe in every situation. I trust Him and my life is filled with peace!

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Circle the Wagons

Did you watch the old westerns on television like I did? Those shows like Wagon Train with settlers coming West, looking for a new and better life really drew me in. There was always an element of danger, the unknown. Would they be attacked by Indians, find dry watering holes or be overcome by inclement weather?

The one thing we could count on was some time in the show we would hear the wagon master give the order “circle the wagons”.

With the wagons in a circle the pioneers could fight off attacks from all sides. They worked together as one, they had too for their own survival. Or with the wagons circled, a fire could be built in the center and the warmth would fill the camp. A camp of circled wagons kept out unwanted late-night predators and brought a sense of peace and comfort to the weary travelers.

At the start of this new week you may feel like circling the wagons. You know some of last week’s problems are still hanging around; so are some of last week’s predators, the enemies who would like to see you destroyed. Start your week like King David, he started his morning with this prayer.

“I have a lot of enemies, Lord. Many fight against 2 me and say, “God won’t rescue you!” 3 But you are my shield, and you give me victory and great honor. 4 I pray to you, and you answer from your sacred hill.

5 I sleep and wake up refreshed because you, Lord,  protect me. 6 Ten thousand enemies attack from every side, but I am not afraid. 7 Come and save me, Lord God!
Break my enemies’ jaws and shatter their teeth, 8 because you protect and bless your people.” Psalm 3 CEV

David was starting a new day and he saw that his enemies were many, however, he committed his life, his thoughts, his heart to God. God was his shield of protection against his enemies; God was his glory and the one who put him in the place of leadership as king. God was the lifter of his head; the one who reminded him to look up and find help.

David wouldn’t have been king if God hadn’t of chosen him. We wouldn’t be in relationship with God, the Father, if HE had chosen us. David said, as he remembered all of this, he was able to lay down and sleep and wake up sustained because his hope was in God.

The Apostle Paul gave us a similar encouragement when he was writing to the Romans.

“What can we say about all this? 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,[a] speaking to him for us. 35 Can anything separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble, suffering, and hard times, or hunger and nakedness, or danger and death? 36 It is exactly as the Scriptures say,

‘For you we face death all day long. We are like sheep on their way to be butchered.’

37 In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us. 38 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 8:31-39 CEV

If God is for us, and we know that He is because He gave Jesus to die for us, who can be against us? In all these things we have been made more than conquerors through Him that loves us.

Our loving God and Father is better than any wagon master. He has encompassed us with this love and protection. Now we can go out and take new land – let’s get those wagons rolling!

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Refresher Course Needed

For the last number of days it has been on my heart to repeat a blog posting I did about a year ago. I try to avoid reposting what I have written before but when I do, I usually update it a bit by adding a new Scripture or two and some new thoughts. It’s hard to believe that I have been sharing most every morning for over eight years now. At first, it was an occasional posting on Facebook, maybe two or three times a week but for the last four to five years it’s been a daily ministry. What a joy!

It’s important that we keep God’s word constantly before us. His word is our rock, our foundation, our eternal hope. We can all use a refresher course from time to time. God tells us specifically to remember all that He has done.

I hope this teaching ministers to you again. I know it has certainly encouraged me.

We have been given the opportunity to be free of “dis”.  What is dis?

Dis: a Latin prefix meaning “apart,” “asunder,” “away,” “utterly,” or having a privative, negative, or reversing force.

I was praying for some of you this morning and I found myself praying against “dis”couragment, “dis” aster, “dis”respect, “dis”placement.

So I said, “Lord it appears that you have given us so many wonderful things and our enemy is stealing what you have provided. This shouldn’t be.” And this verse came to mind.

“The robber comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I came so they might have life, a great full life.” John 10:10 NLV

I began to look at some “dis” words. Words that are stealing, killing and “des”troying our lives.

Dis-appoint    Dis-courage     Dis-aster     Dis-obedience    Dis-content

Dis-trust    Dis-respect    Dis-lodged    Des-pair    Dis-illusioned

Des-truction     Dis-associate     Dis-card    Dis-able   Dis-turb

Dis-gust     Dis-miss     Dis-dain      Dis-tort     Dis-ease     Dis-cord

God desires that are lives are “dis”less. He wants us to be filled and overflowing with His love and goodness.

“With all my heart I praise the Lord, and with all that I am I praise his holy name!  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.” Psalm 103:1-5 CEV

I encourage you today to make your life a “dis” free zone. If any of those words above have been trying to infiltrate your life grab your Bible and look up the verses for “dis” removal. If you can’t find them on your own you can always email me and I’ll be glad to help you find some.

It’s time that we start living the life God intended; one that’s full of courage, contentment, respect, ease, obedience and trust.

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