Category: August2025

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A Day of Praise

It’s Monday and you know what that means don’t you? It’s another wonderful day to praise the Lord for His love and goodness.

Join in with me.

“The Lord liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.” Psalm 18:46

“We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners: the Lord fulfil all thy petitions.” Psalm 20:5

“In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.” Psalm 62:7

“Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.” Psalm 68:19

“Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.” Psalm 70:4

“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.” Isaiah 12:2

Count your blessings this morning – the Lord covers us with His love.

I’m not through praising yet, but I will quit and let you continue on with your praises too!

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More Than Good

As I was going about my normal routine yesterday morning, I realized that some of you may be thinking that I have a “Pollyanna” approach to the Gospel. And you’re right, I do.

Not that I ever discount the hard times, the struggles, the anxious moments in life but in each of those moments and in each moment of every day I can see and choose to focus on the goodness of God.

Here’s why.

“ Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?” Romas 2:4 NLT

“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living.” Psalm 27:13 NKJV

It is the kindness and goodness of God that draw us to Him. It’s His love and compassion that give us the hope and comfort we need so badly.

His goodness and love are His core and direct all He does. He wants us to share that with the world.

God, our heavenly Father, is just and righteous. He abhors sin but loves everyone who does sin. In fact, He had Jesus take all our sin on Himself so that we could be clothed in His righteousness.

“17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new…21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” II Corinthians 5:17, 21 NKJV

When we realize the length that God, the Father, went to in providing the forgiveness for our sins we are/will be overwhelmed by His goodness and love. We lose the desire to sin in light of His goodness.

“So do you think we should continue sinning so that God will give us more and more grace? 2 Of course not! Our old sinful life ended. It’s dead. So how can we continue living in sin? 3 Did you forget that all of us became part of Christ Jesus when we were baptized? In our baptism we shared in his death.4 So when we were baptized, we were buried with Christ and took part in his death. And just as Christ was raised from death by the wonderful power of the Father, so we can now live a new life.” Romans 6:1-4 ERV

Our Father wants us to live the best life, a life set free from the power of sin. He has provided us with a new life; it is a gift of His goodness!

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Look for the Good

Getting up this morning did you give thanks to the Lord? Or did you complain about what your day has in store?

Do you have a vehicle that runs – maybe even more than one? Praise the Lord! Do you have a job to go to? Praise the Lord.

Do you have people in your life that are abrasive and aggravating? Or folks who are loving, kind and fun to be around? Then Praise the Lord! The aggravating help you appreciate the loving.

Were you able to have a hot cup of coffee and even some breakfast? Praise the Lord.

Ok, so do you see where I’m going with this? There is always something to Praise the Lord for.

“I will tell of your greatness, my God and King. I will praise your name forever and ever.
2 I will praise you every day. I will praise your name forever and ever. 3 The Lord is great and deserves all our praise! No one can fully understand his greatness!…Everything the Lord does is good. Everything he does shows how loyal he is. 18 The Lord is near to everyone who sincerely calls to him for help.” Psalm 145:1-3, 17-18

“Thank the LORD for his faithful love and for the amazing things he does for people. 9 He satisfies those who are thirsty. He fills those who are hungry with good things.” Psalm 107:7-8

What is it in your life that you consider good?

Health, friends, family, career, cash in your pocket, a nice car, your boat, a new horse, an old well-trained horse, a shot gun, the right to bear arms – what? If it’s good, it’s a gift from God so make sure you thank Him today and that you look at all you have to be thankful for instead of wasting precious time being resentful for something “more” you think you should have.

“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 1:17-18

Let praise be the start and the end of your conversations today.

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Moved By Compassion

These are the words on my heart.

Compassion: sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it

We are surrounded by so many people who are hurting. They have experienced betrayal, loss, reversal of circumstances, destruction and heart ache. I don’t think there’s ever been a time when there has been such heart ache culminated among my world of friends as there has been recently, and I know that God is moved with compassion on their behalf.

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” 25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;” Lamentations 3:22-25 NIV

In those times, when we feel we are all alone and no one sees how our hearts are breaking our Father sees and He is moved with compassion. He is faithful every morning and His compassion never fails.

“Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together. 4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. 5 Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.” Psalm 34:3-5 NIV

The Father’s compassion isn’t just for our personal application. We are instructed to be compassionate toward others.

Jesus was asked once who we should consider as our neighbor. This came from His teaching on how we are to love the Lord with all our strength and our mind and that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves.

He replied with the story of what we call the good Samaritan. A man had been badly beaten and robbed, left on the roadside to die. A priest came by and saw the man but did nothing to help him. Then a religious official came by, and he too ignored the man. Finally, a Samaritan came by. (As a side note, the Jew and the Samaritans had been at odds with each other for hundreds of years.)

“But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’” Luke 10:33-35 NKJV

Jesus then asked which of these men do you think was his neighbor.

“And he said, ‘He who showed mercy on him.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’” Luke 10:37 NKJV

I know for a fact that the Lord’s mercy and compassion are poured out on me each day. That’s His promise to me and He does not lie. And I pray that I will be moved with compassion each day toward those around me.

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Wood, Hay, Stubble

Each day we have the opportunity to build something lasting and meaningful or something temporal.

“But we must each be careful how we build, 11 because Christ is the only foundation. 12-13 Whatever we build on this foundation will be tested by fire on the day of judgment. Then everyone will find out if we have used gold, silver, and precious stones, or wood, hay, and straw.” I Corinthians 3:10-13 CEV

It’s important that we keep the eternal value of things in mind as we live our daily lives. Jesus’ example is the best we have. What’s really important is touching others with the love of Christ and being true to His word.

Strong as a brick house!

You remember how the story goes: three little pigs, one built their house of straw, one built their house of twigs, and one built their house of bricks. The big, bad wolf huffed and puffed and blew down the first two houses but when he came to the house of bricks he huffed and puffed and huffed and puffed and huffed and puffed and he couldn’t move the house.

Did you realize that’s an example of the believer who is standing on God’s word?

“You believers are like a building that God owns. That building was built on the foundation that the apostles and prophets prepared. Christ Jesus himself is the most important stone in that building. 21 The whole building is joined together in Christ, and he makes it grow and become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in Christ you are being built together with his other people. You are being made into a place where God lives through the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:21-22 ERV

The cornerstone or foundational stone for our lives as believers is Jesus Christ. We are in Him! And in Him, the Spirit of God dwells, so the Spirit of God dwells in us empowering us for victory.

“Whoever hears these teachings of mine and obeys them is like a wise man who built his house on rock. 25 It rained hard, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house. But it did not fall because it was built on rock.

26 “Whoever hears these teachings of mine and does not obey them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 It rained hard, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house. And it fell with a loud crash.” Matthew 7:24-27

Jesus is called the “Word made flesh” so when we accept Him as our chief cornerstone and realize that He is the true foundation for our spiritual lives we will be secure in our position of being grounded on the rock.

Following His example, obeying God’s word, and trusting in His promises give us the foundation to withstand the storms of life. The Father will build us together with others who also need to be strengthen.

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A Perfect Heart

This morning, I was reading in I Samuel 15. King Saul had disobeyed the command the Lord gave him. When Samuel confronted him, Saul said “the men” wanted to keep those animals to offer as sacrifice to the Lord. It’s amazing how he made justification for disobedience.

“…Then Samuel received this message from the Lord: 11 “Saul has stopped following me, so I am sorry that I made him king. He is not doing what I tell him.”…22 But Samuel answered (Saul), “Which pleases the Lord more: burnt offerings and sacrifices or obeying his commands? It is better to obey the Lord than to offer sacrifices to him. It is better to listen to him than to offer the fat from rams. ” I Samuel 15:10-22 ERV

To obey is better than sacrifice. What God desires is a heart that pleases Him, a heart that wants to follow His instruction. He’s not looking for our earthly perfection but for a willingness to obey.

“I try with all my heart to serve you. Help me obey your commands. 11 I study your teachings very carefully so that I will not sin against you. 12 Lord, you are worthy of praise! Teach me your laws.” Psalm 119:10-12 ERV

These are the words of King David. He was the man that replaced Saul as God’s chosen king.

Each morning a part of my daily prayer is “Lord, I want to please You. I want the things I do to honor You and reflect Your word”. And when I fail, I am quick to repent and receive His forgiveness and His strength for the next situation that may arise.

“But if we confess our sins, God will forgive us. We can trust God to do this. He always does what is right. He will make us clean from all the wrong things we have done.” I John 1:9 ERV

Our short comings and failures shouldn’t draw us away from the Father, they should bring us closer to Him. We shouldn’t run and hide as Adam and Eve did in the garden. No, instead we should run to Him and find His help in our time of need. We have this promise.

“ My friends, the blood of Jesus gives us courage to enter the most holy place 20 by a new way that leads to life! And this way takes us through the curtain that is Christ himself.

21 We have a great high priest who is in charge of God’s house. 22  So let’s come near God with pure hearts and a confidence that comes from having faith. Let’s keep our hearts pure, our consciences free from evil, and our bodies washed with clean water. 23 We must hold tightly to the hope we say is ours. After all, we can trust the one who made the agreement with us.” Hebrews 10:19-23 CEV

We can trust the ONE who made this promise to us, the One who gives us a clean heart and a clear conscience because of what Christ did in dying for us.

The following are words to a song we used to sing years ago, “A Perfect Heart” by Reba Rambo and Donnie McGuire.

Bless the Lord
Who reigns in beauty
Bless the Lord
Who reigns with wisdom and with power
Bless the Lord
Who reigns my life with so much love
He can make a perfect heart

Let’s not be like Saul who disobeyed and then tried to justify his actions; rather, let’s be like David who asked the Lord to create in Him a clean heart.

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Unconventional Goodness

What does the goodness of God look like?

This morning I read about the miracle of Jesus healing a deaf man. If I had been there personally I would have thought it looked very silly. You tell me what you think…

“ Jesus left the region around Tyre and went by way of Sidon toward Lake Galilee. He went through the land near the ten cities known as Decapolis. 32 Some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk. They begged Jesus just to touch him.

33 After Jesus had taken him aside from the crowd, he stuck his fingers in the man’s ears. Then he spit and put it on the man’s tongue. 34 Jesus looked up toward heaven, and with a groan he said, “Effatha!” which means “Open up!” 35 At once the man could hear, and he had no more trouble talking clearly.

36 Jesus told the people not to say anything about what he had done. But the more he told them, the more they talked about it. 37 They were completely amazed and said, “Everything he does is good! He even heals people who cannot hear or talk.” Mark 7:31-37 CEV

I believe I know why Jesus took this man away from the crowd. I can just hear their comments – “Oooo yuk! What’s He doing? I don’t want him spitting on me!” Jesus moved the man from a place of public opinion to a place where faith would be honored.

Jesus was definitely unconventional. The Apostle Paul said that God uses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise.

Each one of us has a miracle story. A time when there is no other explanation for what we experienced than calling it a miracle. Sometimes we feel reluctant in telling others because we feel foolish or wonder what others may think.

God working in our lives is a testimony to others. Our stories build faith and hope. Our stories bring glory to God.

I like what the man who was blind said to those religious leaders who were interrogating him about the circumstances of his healing.

“The day when Jesus made the mud and healed the man was a Sabbath. So the people took the man to the Pharisees. 15 They asked him how he was able to see, and he answered, ‘Jesus made some mud and smeared it on my eyes. Then after I washed it off, I could see.‘…25 The man replied, ‘I don’t know if he is a sinner or not. All I know is that I used to be blind, but now I can see!’” John 9:14-25 CEV

Each one of us has a miracle story that the world needs to hear. The world is looking for hope, looking for peace, looking for love. It is the goodness of God that draws people to Him.

Share your miracle and be a light of goodness to the world!

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He Is Good

That might not sound very profound to you because of course, doesn’t everyone know that God is good?

No, some don’t.

God’s goodness is called into question every day; fires, floods, earthquakes, family crisis, world events, loss of work, mental distress. You’ve heard the questions – if God is so good why does He allow things like this to happen? I’ll answer that the way I think Jesus did.

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

There is one who rules the earth and he delights in stealing, killing and destroying all that is good and making sure God gets blamed for it. We battle a real enemy but we win. In fact, we have already won.

“ I am grateful that God always makes it possible for Christ to lead us to victory. God also helps us spread the knowledge about Christ everywhere, and this knowledge is like the smell of perfume.” II Corinthians 2:14 CEV

“But thank God for letting our Lord Jesus Christ give us the victory!” I Corinthians 15:57 CEV

“ 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?…37 In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us.” Romans 8:31-37 CEV

We have won more than a victory. How can there be more “than victory”?

I asked the Lord that once and He gave me this reply. It’s more than a victory because I fought the battle for you. I stripped Satan of his powers when I went to hell and came out victorious, that’s what is means when it says “in Christ” you triumph and have victory.

” God wiped out the charges that were against us for disobeying the Law of Moses. He took them away and nailed them to the cross. 15 There Christ defeated all powers and forces. He let the whole world see them being led away as prisoners when he celebrated his victory.” Colossians 2:14-15 CEV

God is good! He is just, righteous, love. He is our peace and our strength. He is all we need in this life and for life eternal.

There is a segment of the song “Gratitude” that I love. It was going through my mind and heart this morning as I was writing.

“Oh, come on, my soul
Oh, don’t you get shy on me
Lift up your song
‘Cause you’ve got a lion inside of those lungs
Get up and praise the Lord”

Our praise is a weapon that strikes the heart of our enemy. Our praise is also a sweet aroma to those around us that draws them to the goodness of God.

Get up and praise God for He is good!

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I Will Stand

Yesterday’s blog was “God Can” and in fact, He already has. He’s given us all the promises we need for this life and when we give our lives to Him, He has given us an eternal life with Him in heaven.

“ We have everything we need to live a life that pleases God. It was all given to us by God’s own power, when we learned he had invited us to share in his wonderful goodness. 4 God made great and marvelous promises, so his nature would become part of us. Then we could escape our evil desires and the corrupt influences of this world.” II Peter 1:3&4 CEV

It was another very early morning. Time to get up and pray. Pray for those who are weary and struggling. Pray for those who need the determination to stand.

When I finished praying, I was reminded of a time when I struggled with weariness. I wanted to give up. I was ready to quit. We had a “Scripture Scroll” on the wall in our living room. Each day or two we could wind the scroll, and another Scripture was there for the reading. I had expressed my frustration and weariness to Dave. I was crying, I wanted sympathy.

We prayed together and as he walked out of the living room he read the verse on the scroll.

“Don’t get tired of helping others. You will be rewarded when the time is right, if you don’t give up.” Galatians 6:9 CEV

“That’s not fair”, I blurted out. He rolled the scroll and read again.

“But thank God for letting our Lord Jesus Christ give us the victory! 58 My dear friends, stand firm and don’t be shaken. Always keep busy working for the Lord. You know that everything you do for him is worthwhile.” I Corinthians 15:57-58 CEV

He was silent and let that sink in. I was frustrated and felt as if he was using Scripture against me. I hadn’t realized yet that God was using these little verses to encourage and strengthen me. He rolled the scroll one more time.

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

This time instead of tears there was laughter! Ok Lord, I get the point. Thank you for the power of Your word and the instruction it gives me for daily living.

Now these next verses weren’t on the scroll but they should have been.

“ To end my letter I tell you, be strong in the Lord and in his great power. 11 Wear the full armor of God. Wear God’s armor so that you can fight against the devil’s clever tricks. 12 Our fight is not against people on earth. We are fighting against the rulers and authorities and the powers of this world’s darkness. We are fighting against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly places. 13 That is why you need to get God’s full armor. Then on the day of evil, you will be able to stand strong. And when you have finished the whole fight, you will still be standing.” Ephesians 6:10-13 CEV

To end this blog (letter) I leave you with this list that gave me strength all those years ago:

  1. Do not grow weary and faint
  2. Be Steadfast and Immovable
  3. Do not give up or faint
  4. Be strengthen by Christ
  5. Stand

Jesus gave His all to give us the victory. Because of Him we have great and precious, unbreakable promises. Because of Him – I will stand!

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God Will!

Impatience is a destroyer of faith.

When we become impatient, we begin to try to work things out on our own – we wonder if God is ever going to come through – what’s taking sooooooooooo long? Those kinds of thoughts come from doubt and bring fear – fear that it is never going to work out right. Doubt and fear will choke out the promises of God’s word – they can outweigh faith, if we let them. We must stand with confidence in God’s word if we expect to see God’s promised fulfilled.

When I pray, I pray in faith, knowing that when I pray God’s word I am praying His will and this gives me confidence to know that He will answer.

” But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” James 1:6-8 KJV

“ We can come to God with no doubts. This means that when we ask God for things (and those things agree with what God wants for us), God cares about what we say. 15 He listens to us every time we ask him. So we know that he gives us whatever we ask from him.” I John 5:14-15 ERV

Abram followed God from his home out into the middle of nowhere because God made him a promise. A promise that he would possess great land and be the father of many nations. But Abraham never really took possession of the land he had been promised – he lived the life of a nomad – moving from place to place but all the time he held fast to God’s promise.

What is it that God has promised you? What have you left to follow God? No looking back – keep your eyes on the prize of the high calling of God. Don’t give up – don’t fall back. Move forward – continue to follow in obedience to what God has put in your heart.

“Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him…By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and went out to a place he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he stayed as a foreigner in the land of promise, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, coheirs of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

11 By faith even Sarah herself, when she was unable to have children, received power to conceive offspring, even though she was past the age, since she considered that the One who had promised was faithful. 12 Therefore from one man—in fact, from one as good as dead—came offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as innumerable as the grains of sand by the seashore.” Hebrews 11:6, 8-12

“Do any of you have a son? If he asked for bread, would you give him a rock? 10 Or if he asked for a fish, would you give him a snake? Of course not! 11 You people are so bad, but you still know how to give good things to your children. So surely your heavenly Father will give good things to those who ask him.” Matthew 7:9-11 ERV

Keep going knowing your Father in heaven protects and provides for His children. God can and He will!

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