December 25, 2024

Rejoice Over God’s Plan

October 23, 2013 by

SeekingHimLogoI saw the American flag hanging as a backdrop…Congressmen were moving within the chamber as white papers were being passed between them…something important was happening.

As I sit here this evening, the news channel shows Congress is voting about a big decision that will affect our county. It’s appropriate that the volume is turned way down. The decisions happening in Washington, D.C. need to fade in this moment.

I am aware that difficulties are on the horizon—if not soon, then, in the not-so-distant future. I need to be aware, to care, and to be in prayer. But the leaders of this world will not solve the problems of this world.

As beautiful and as massive as the White House and the Capitol buildings are, and as powerful as the people who live and work in them may seem, they cannot save us.

But I know of One who saves. And to Him I am grateful. His name is Jesus.

The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone;
the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day that LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalms 118: 22-24

When Jesus came to earth, He was rejected and crucified. He died in our place for our sins and rose to live again, so that we love and serve a risen Savior! He became the Capstone for us, and He is the only One who can truly lead us, save us, and help us!

When Christ was killed, even those closest to Him did not understand at first. But they soon came to realize that it was all part of God’s Plan! What seemed only to be evil at first came to be understood as a beautiful, loving, and sacrificial gift of God giving His Son to save the world.

So, we rejoice over what God did through his Son, Jesus.

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have gained access by faith
into this grace in which we now stand.
And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
Romans 5:1-2

And even though the future may hold many unknowns, I know God has ultimate victory, and I choose to put my trust in Him. Let’s take one day at a time. Dark days will come, and we don’t know how many days each of us have, so let’s make the most of what is given to us. How do we respond to an unknown future? Let’s strengthen our faith and be found trusting God’s plans for us.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6

I close with this:

On my TV screen, the Capitol is lit up in the dark skies…pretty scene….

In our lives, let our hearts be lit up with the love of Jesus in a dark world…more important scenes….

* * * * *

Dear Lord, let us be thankful that You sent Your Son to die for our sins and to become the Capstone!  We rejoice over Your Plan of salvation for us!  We love You, and let us each day remember what all You have done and rejoice and be glad in it!  In Jesus’ precious Name.

Amen.

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Thanksgiving

October 22, 2013 by

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O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good: because His mercy endureth forever.
I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me, and set me in a large place.
Psalm 118:5

We are about to enter that ever-so-busy and often hectic season—the holiday season.  It is hard to believe that the holiday season is already back.  It seems like we just rung in the New Year. Yet, here we are again.  Life goes on.  Now back to the holiday season.  In our family you could pretty much say that the holiday season starts for us at Halloween, even though it is a holiday.  There is one major important holiday between Halloween and Christmas that is possibly losing its footing in this modern era—Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is the time to give thanks to the Lord for the many blessings that He has given us through the year and throughout our lives.  The Pilgrims started the holiday for this very reason. They were thankful that the Lord had brought them across the Atlantic Ocean safely.  They were thankful for the blessings that the Lord had given.  They were thankful for the mercy the Lord showed them in helping them survive that first year in their new land.

Noah did something similar when he left the ark:

Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal
and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
Genesis 8:20

 Noah gave thanks to the Lord for choosing him and his family to survive the great flood that covered the earth and caused massive destruction. He gives thanks by building the altar and sacrificing (which was the norm in Noah’s time) animals to the Lord.  The Lord saw this, and He decided not to destroy the earth with water again.  He blessed Noah and his family from then on.

Just as Noah and the Pilgrims gave thanks to God for their survival and their provisions, we should, too.  We should not just observe it in November, but we should give thanks every day for the blessings that God has given us.  Being thankful for God’s love and standing with Him will bring us many blessing through our lives.

*****

 Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your blessings.  Thank You for giving us the life we have. Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to bring us back to You.  In Jesus name, Amen.

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Walking Fear Free

October 21, 2013 by

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The Lord is with me I will not be afraid what can man do to me?
The Lord is with me He is my Helper I will look in triumph on my enemies.
Psalms 118: 6-7

So numerous are the types of fear that assail us that volumes would have to be written to name them.  Daily we are subject to feelings and emotions that are both positive and negative.  It is imperative that a fear in our life be acknowledged and dealt with.  If not, no matter how diligently we endeavor to walk with God, we will be troubled again and again by a concealed enemy at work in the soul.  But those who take refuge in the Lord are assured that He is with them to give help and strength.

In Joshua 1:9 the Bible says “Have I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”  We have an assurance in the Lord that He will help us to triumph.  Trusting in the Lord is the surest thing we can have.  In Jeremiah 1:8 the Bible also says “Do not be afraid of them for I am with you and will rescue you declares the Lord.”  Jeremiah was only a youth at the time of his call; he experienced intense anxiety and fear at the awesome thought of speaking the Word of the Lord to the elders of Judah.

If you will surrender your life to Jesus Christ and live for Him; if you will take up your spiritual weapons and begin launching them against the fears that grip you; if you will persevere in faith, believing that the Spirit of God is working with you to bring freedom—you will discover fears leaving you and a whole new dimension of life opening before you.  You will indeed experience the reality of walking in fear free.

* * * * *

Father, we thank You,  we bless you, for You are the great God—the Great I AM.  We acknowledge Your love for us.  We embrace Your help to us whenever we face adversaries.  This is love that we can appreciate and sing praises for.  Be praised and be magnified, Lord!  In Jesus Name, I pray.

Amen

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Shepherd, Carry Me

October 18, 2013 by

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The Lord is the strength of His people, a Fortress of salvation for His anointed one. Save Your people and bless Your inheritance; be their Shepherd and carry them forever.
Psalms 28:8 and 9

Throughout the 28th Psalm, there are such vibrant pictures—an allegory—painted with words by David, the psalmist.

He portrays Almighty God as his Rock, Strength, Shield, Refuge, and as Shepherd.  As I have meditated on this psalm, I have been drawn to my God, being comforted by all these powerful attributes of my God.  But it is this final attribute, that of Shepherd (in verse 9), that pulls my heart in close to Him. It tells of tenderness, and love, and gentleness.

Typically we think of a person who shepherds sheep as one who tends, guards, feeds, leads, protects, guides, governs, and provides for the sheep.  But to an even greater degree, our God does likewise for His people.  So many times, especially here in the Book of Psalms, David calls  God “Shepherd.”  Now David, of all people, understood what a shepherd does!  When Samuel was led to David’s family to choose the king, David, the youngest, was out shepherding the sheep.

The Lord said to Samuel…I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite.  For I have provided for Myself a king among his sons…and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for Me the one I name to you.
Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, The Lord has not chosen any of these.  Then he said to Jesse, Are all your sons here?  Jesse said, There is yet the youngest; he is tending the sheep. Samuel said to Jesse, Send for him; for we will not sit down to eat until he is here.  Jesse sent and brought him. David had a healthy reddish complexion and beautiful eyes, and was fine-looking. The Lord said to Samuel, Arise, anoint him; this is he.

1 Samuel 16:1-3, 10-12

David, having been the shepherd (lowercase ‘s’) understood in his relationship with Almighty God the awesome ways that God cared for Him—that God was his Shepherd (capital ‘S’).  Perhaps we can each take time today to think about how we are shepherded by Almighty God, our Father.

* * * * *

Lord, You are the Shepherd of our souls!  You truly have always fed, and guided, and provided, and led, and carried us.  Help us to always recognize Your call!  We praise You and thank You for carrying us when we cannot seem to go one step more, when we have no strength of our own left, when we don’t know which way to go.  May we rest in Your arms, Faithful Father!  Amen.

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My Strength, My Shepherd

October 17, 2013 by

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Praise be to the LORD, for He has heard my cry for mercy.

The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped.

My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song.

The LORD is the strength of His people, a fortress of salvation for His anointed one.

Save Your people and bless Your inheritance; be their Shepherd and carry them forever.

Psalms 28:6-9

In the stillness of the dark night when hurt and problems have plagued my heart and mind, I have cried out to my Lord for mercy and help.  And He has been there to be my Strength and my Shield when I was completely broken and weak.  The Lord shines when I am weak.  “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).   He’s sustained me and strengthened me time and time again in the darkest hours. And then, dawn breaks.

How wonderful it would be to sit at the foot of two overlapping, tall mountains and gaze upward as the sun casts its streaming light between the jagged mountain edges at sunrise on a cool, crisp fall morning.  To read this Scripture passage in such a moment would probably make me want to break into singing praise music as I recall God’s faithfulness and love toward me during the most difficult times in my life.  I would desire for the sun to pause at the moment which is the most beautiful to me, but it must continue on its path, as we must also.  There will be plenty of times of joy and laughter, but realistically, we know we will encounter more dark hours ahead.  But the Lord will be there with us to help us endure heartaches and pain.  He’s our Strength and Fortress of salvation.  He cares for Israel; He cares for us.

David wrote Psalm 28 and penned, “Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever.”  David knew the deep concern and watchfulness that was required of a shepherd for he had been one. He knew God as the greatest Shepherd ever.

Soon, I’m headed to the mountains like I described earlier. And as I sit there looking up at those majestic mountains before me, I will imagine David as a shepherd boy near the mountainside chasing after a wooly animal wandering away or being led astray by another.  I’ll imagine David, with staff in hand, calling for the creature getting away. Do you think the sheep would recognize his voice?  Then, quickly, I’ll think of how the great Shepherd has carried me back to where He’s desired me to be and away from my own course that could’ve caused my heart to end up in a wrong place!  I’ve been like that wandering sheep where God has called me back to join His people “in the fold” of fellowship with others and in my rightful place.  “When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice” (John 10:4).

My prayer of praise:  I praise my God, my Shepherd – Who has met my cries with mercy, Who has met my weakness with strength, Who has helped me, and Whom I trust.  I will continue to sing praises to Him.  I know full well that He will carry me while in the valleys, while on the mountaintops, or in the journey I take toward either!

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Not a Part of This World

October 16, 2013 by

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Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbors, but mischief is in their hearts.  Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavors:  give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert.  Because they regard not the works of the Lord, nor the operation of His hands, He shall destroy them, and not build them up.
Psalms 28:3-5

Is it just me, or does the world seem like it is going downhill?  I have a fairly good memory, and thinking back to when I was a kid, I don’t remember so much violence being reported or so much backlash against Christianity.  To me, things were better in the 80’s and early 90’s.  I am not going to try to figure out what is wrong with this world.  There are just too many answers to why.  However, it is all part of God’s plan.

It is amazing that God was already predicting and telling through His chosen writers what would be happening during our times. God already knows what He is going to do.  We may not know what that is, but the main thing is that we stay on God’s side.  It is hard not to get mixed in with the crowd of people who are going against God’s will and helping to self-destruct the human race.

God calls on us not to mix with those who go against His will.  After a long simmering period, God destroys those who do not follow Him or obey His commands.  Our God is slow to anger, and our world is slowly but surely angering Him.  Natural disasters are on the rise.  Economies are collapsing.  It is only a matter of time.

However, God does not want us to get mixed in with this group.  He wants us to stay on His side. He warns us to stay away.  The Israelites mixed in with the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. Both were destroyed.  Those who did not choose God were destroyed.  Sadly, our world is becoming more and more like a modern Sodom and Gomorrah.  Eventually, it will all be gone. In order to get to the Kingdom of God, we must follow God’s will.  We should not want or yearn to be part of the coming destruction.

* * * * *

Dear Heavenly Father, “Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up forever” Psalm 28:9.  Be with us through this rough time as the world turns against You.  Keep us strong and faithful. In Jesus name.

Amen.

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Jesus Christ our Rock

October 15, 2013 by

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Unto Thee will I cry O Lord my Rock, be not silent to me,
lest if Thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.
Psalm 28:1

There is a song that we sing; one verse of the words are “Rock of Ages, cleft for me; Let me hide myself in Thee! Let the water and the blood from Thy wounded side which flowed; Be of sin the double cure… save from wrath and make me pure.”

The composer of this song had a revelation that, on our own, we cannot hide from anything except that Christ Jesus is involved.   For us to be covered from all unrighteousness we need Christ to cover us up for He arose on the third day for our righteousness. When faced with challenges of this world let us not focus on the problem; rather be focused on Christ Who is our ever-present help in time of need.

We need to understand the following: the power—the rule—the principle of prioritization.

We need to understand the above types of prioritization.  Since without understanding them we will perish for we will walk without direction. Exodus 33:15 says “…and he said unto Him, if Thy Presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.”

Moses understood the power/rule/principle of prioritizing. What is it that we prioritize in this day to day life? The Bible says “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and its righteousness and all the things shall be added unto you.” This is part of prioritizing. Since Christ is our Rock, let us not make Him redundant or declare Him redundant when we lose focus ourselves.  We are not seeking His face so that all things should be added to us.  We need to invite Him into  all aspects of our lives. Be it at our workplace, be it at school, etc.  If we focus on Him as a Rock where we can hide ourselves, we will excel in this life since He will not remain silent when we cry to Him.  He will hear and open the flood gates of heaven.  He will open the windows of heaven and pour out such a blessing that we will have not enough room to contain it.

Christ in us is the Hope of glory; hence He is the Rock of Ages.

* * * * *

Father, we thank You for You are our Rock where You hide us when we call.  All our attitudes are hidden in You, our unrighteousness is hidden in You just because of Your love which is unconditional.  May Your name be glorified and be magnified!   In Jesus’ name I pray.  Amen!!

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If You Are Silent…

October 14, 2013 by

 

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My children at school know I don’t tolerate tantrums or crying as a form of communication, so most of them don’t do either.  However, I have one little boy whom, depending on his mood, will throw the biggest tantrum and it’s always in regards to little stuff.

If I ask him to sit at the table and he doesn’t want to, he cries and jumps up and down, and then throws himself on the floor and kicks the air.

During his tantrum, I give him a blank stare and allow him to throw said tantrum for about two minutes. And then I go into action. I laugh, and then, I sit in his chair.  He does not like that. He’ll stand up and say, “No,no. My chair.” And I tell him, “Well, if you aren’t going to sit in it, I will.  Are you ready to sit down?”  And he always says, “Yes.”

I pray to You, O Lord, my rock.
Do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if You are silent, I might as well give up and die.
Psalm 28:1

When I first read this verse, I laughed. To me, it seemed like the psalmist was throwing a tantrum and that “giving up and dieing” was a bit extreme.  I could imagine myself sprawled out on my bed, talking to God about some “very pressing matter” and feeling like my world was going to end if I didn’t get an answer…NOW!

Life can get tough. I’ve definitely had my fair share of moments that have caused me to stop and contemplate giving up.  Sometimes we need those moments because they help us refocus.

Listen to my prayer for mercy as I cry out to You for help,
as I lift my hands toward your holy sanctuary.
Psalm 28:2

We know God is good.  We know our circumstances are not always good.  We also know that our less than favorable circumstances, even the ones that make us feel like giving up and dieing, do not impose on our God’s character.  Instead our God is willing to use these moments to reflect His goodness.

The Lord is powerful; He gives victory to His chosen one.
Psalm 28:8 (NCV)

* * * * *

Thank you, Lord, that in our circumstances Your goodness shines through.  You are awesome! Forgive me for those moments when I decide to throw a tantrum instead of resting in Your word.

Amen.

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The Living Praise the Lord

October 11, 2013 by

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The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.
But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and for evermore.
Praise the LORD.
Psalms 115:17-18

God is sovereign, meaning that He is completely independent.  He did not need to create us.  He does not need us for anything.  Based on this we might come to the conclusion that we are not important to God, or that we are not needed, or that we have no purpose. But, that is not the end of the story.

God tells us throughout the Scripture that we were created to glorify Him. That’s our purpose and means we are important to Him personally.

So our purpose of living is to

Glorify God   Talking about mankind in the Book of Isaiah, God says about us, “…whom I created for my glory…” (Isaiah 43:7).  God created us for His own glory.  When we are praising God it means we are glorifying Him. “I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever” (Psalm 86:12).

How do we glorify God?

  • to glorify God means to bring Him honor through what we say, how we act, and how we think.
  • to glorify God means to acknowledge His glory and to value it above all things.
  • to glorify God means we make it known to others.
  • to glorify God means we have a heartfelt gratitude.

We glorify God through our faith and trust. We glorify God through our love. We glorify God through our desire to obey Him. We glorify God through our desire to know Him.  Therefore, my sisters, this has to be our habit when driving, doing household chores, talking among ourselves.  How sweet He is…how wonderful to us, how cared for we feel. He is such a loving Father, I tell you!

Enjoy God  Psalm 16:11 tells us, “In your [God’s] presence there is fulness of joy, in Your [God’s] right hand are pleasures for evermore.”  Hence verse 18 of Psalm 115 says “We will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.”  Praising God should be a joyful thing for us to do. How do you feel when your loved one praises you after you have cooked a delicious meal?  I see many posts here on cookery and some are helped by their husbands; others tell us how their spouses have enjoyed the meal (definitely they must have uttered pleasing words). How do we feel? It feels good, huh!!  We are alive…not dead!  Let God delight in us through our praise to Him!

* * * * *

Dear God, we delight in You for who You are in our lives.  You are a Great God.  We lift our hearts in worship and with praise on our lips to You alone.  Let our praises be with sweet aroma to the glory of Your name!  In Jesus name, we have prayed.  Amen!

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A Shield

October 10, 2013 by

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Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: He is their help and their shield.
Psalm 115:11

Watching a group of 5 to 7 year old boys at football practice can be an eye-opening experience. It is an experience when hindsight is 20/20.  Our vision at any time is never perfect unless you’re just blessed with almost 20/20 vision.  No human could be blessed to be that perfect.

Now back to that football practice…. Imagine that the boys are lined up in two lines facing each other…one behind the other…for a simple football drill—we’ll say tackling.  Two boys, who happen to be brothers, are facing off.  The bigger one has the football.  He runs over little brother and pushes him to the ground, and little brother starts crying.  The next player in line behind the big brother sees what happens, and he just shuts down.  He won’t do a thing.  He refuses to even try because he is scared that he will get hurt.  What is a mother to do when this happens at every practice?

Like I said, hindsight is 20/20. Mom has to remember that the boy is a young, young five.  He has never done this before.  He is a scared little five year old who has no idea what he is doing, AND he wants his daddy because daddy knows what is going on.  Mommy doesn’t know because mommy grew up a girl with Barbie dolls, books, and everything sugar and spice.  Equate this to being scared, alone, and confused.  You have no protection.  You have no one to lean on.

O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord: He is their help and their shield.
Psalm 115:10

We have the protection of the shield of God to protect us.  God protected the Israelites as they escaped Egypt.  He separated a sea for them so that they could escape.  He put up a fire barrier to buy them time to flee to the other shore.  God provided the Israelites everything they needed as they wandered in the wilderness.  God protected David during his reign as king.  As long as we trust, fear, and love the Lord, we have His protection.  When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we are given the Lord as a shield from the evil in this world.

Just as those little football players have helmets and pads for protection, we have the Lord as our shield for our protection.  We don’t have to be like scared children who are doing something new because we have God as our shield.  God is our Protector. God is our Savior.  God is our Help and our Shield.

Hindsight 20/20:  Mommy should have made son wait an extra year before letting him play football.  Lesson learned.

* * * * *

Dear heavenly Father, thank You for being our Shield, our Protector, our Savior.  Without You, we would fall with the rest of the world.  May Your shield bring strength as we live day to day. In Jesus name.

Amen.

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