November 28, 2024

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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In His Good Hands

October 8, 2013 by

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I have a child in my class who is very confident with herself.  One day we were standing on the playground. It was a nice calm day (referring to the children and the weather) and there was a nice breeze.  I was admiring the loveliness of the day when I heard, “Ahmee, what is this?”  My sweet girl was pointing upward towards nothing, but what baffled me was the hint of distress in her voice.

I explained to her that I saw nothing, but she insisted, “LOOK!”  The direction she was pointing in was nothing but leaves and trees; I saw nothing else.  She questioned, “It’s moving?”  And then I saw it.  The wind was blowing the leaves.  So, I explained, “The leaves are moving because the wind is blowing.”  “Wind?” she asked.

“Yes,” I explained, “wind.  It’s air that moves.  You can’t see it, but you can feel it.  And you can hear it coming.”  I smiled thrilled at the opportunity to teach her.

Then the weirdest thing happened. She quickly shook her head, cried and ran to me, clinging to my leg for dear life.  I knelt and showed her how we could blow leaves, too.  She mimicked me.  I advised her that wind couldn’t hurt us and asked her if she wanted to go play.  She replied with a firm “No,” and sat down, holding onto my leg.  And that’s where she stayed.

Our God is in heaven; He does whatever pleases Him.

Psalm 115:3

How often do we let fear of the unknown paralyze us and stop us from enjoying our freedom? The Lord does whatever pleases Him; and this can be scary.  What if what pleases Him is the opposite of what I want?  Waiting has the potential to grow you or strangle your desires.

But we don’t have to fear with God at the wheel.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11

* * * * *

Thank You, Lord that I don’t have to fear the unknown and that I am in good hands with You. Amen.

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Praise Him – Use Words

October 7, 2013 by

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Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to Your name give glory, for Your mercy and loving-kindness and for the sake of Your truth and faithfulness!

Psalm 115:1

Sometimes, I think, we sing and speak out our praise of our great God…giving Him glory…but failing to voice why we are glorifying Him.  Y’know…”Praise the Lord!  Praise You, Jesus!  Praise You, praise You, praise You!”  These are the words that come from my mouth at times.  Perhaps my praises should be filled with specific expressions of my gratitude.  We do this when we are relating our praise about others, right?  When I am praising any other person on this earth, I don’t  simply say–for example, ‘Oh, I just praise Megan…she’s so good!’  No; I say, ‘Oh, it was so awesome!  We have reached the end of the ‘Seven’ journey, and Megan was sharing her heart…her words just spoke so eloquently!  I am so thankful for her ability to communicate heart matters!’   Likewise, when praising Almighty God, we should be specific about His awesome lovingkindness, His mercy, His grace, His steadfast love!  Yes?

The Psalmist—King David— was really, really, really good at this!  Of the 150 individual psalms which make up the Book of Psalms in the Bible, approximately 80 have been ascribed to David.  David, who God called ‘a man after my own heart,’ wrote phrase after phrase (praise after praise!)  filled with praises of His God…and praising Him specifically.  Here are a few examples of David’s praises.

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!
Psalm 107:1

The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation—
The God who gave me vengeance and subdued peoples under me,
Who delivered me from my enemies; yes, You exalted me above
those who rose against me; You rescued me from the man of violence.
For this I will praise you, O Lord….
Psalms 18:46-49

Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
Sing the glory of His name; give to Him glorious praise!
Say to God, “How awesome are Your deeds!
So great is Your power that Your enemies come cringing to You.
All the earth worships You and sings praises to You; they sing praises to your name.”   Selah
Psalms 66:1-4

As is written in Psalm 107:2 “Let the redeemed of the Lord <that is you and me!> say so…”  Be specific when you sing or speak or shout your praises to Your loving Father!  And when you are praising Him to others…use words to tell them about your wonderful, loving, faithful, compassionate, merciful, gracious Father!

* * * * *

Oh, Lord, we do so love to praise You—and we have so very many, many, many opportunities to praise You for Your goodness, Your faithfulness, Your kindness, Your love!  Forgive us, Lord, when we have failed to voice the whys of our praises!  We, truly, have so very much to praise and thank You for…may we not be remiss in telling you exactly why!  We love you, Lord!  Amen.

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With Joyful Lips I Will Praise You

October 4, 2013 by

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My whole being shall be satisfied…and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.
When I remember You upon my bed and meditate on You in the night watches..
For You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings will I rejoice..
Psalms 63:5-7

Take a moment, please, and think back to last night as you laid your weary head down on your pillow…. Did your thoughts turn to praising the Almighty with joyful lips?  Did you remember the blessings and mercies and grace that He had given to you throughout the day?  Did you meditate and consider how very much He had helped you and guided you?  Did you recognize that He had protected you…and did you rejoice?

I think, for most of us, we DO thank God for the day that has just past.  But…then perhaps we get distracted thinking about all that has occurred during the day.  We remember conversations —good AND not-so-good.  We think about unfinished tasks and projects.  We add to the ‘to-do’ list we carry around in our heads.  Maybe we even start worrying over the next day that hasn’t even begun yet.  But there is a better idea!  Try thinking about:

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true,
whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—
if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Philippians 4:8

So take another moment, please.  Think about yesterday….  Was there truth?  Were things right?  Can you remember something lovely that happened?  Did a friend do something you admired?  Did God’s blessings cause your heart to sing His praises?  I venture to say that yes…YES!…there were true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and PRAISEworthy things!!!  Thinking about these kind of things will cause us to praise our great God with joyful lips.  Remembering  the grace and mercy that He gave to us will give us much to meditate upon.  Dwelling upon the goodness of our God will lift our heart and we will rejoice!

Tonight, as you lay your beautiful head down again, sing and speak praises to Your Father!  Instead of worry and concern, allow all the truth, the right and lovely, the pure and admirable, the excellent, the praiseworthy things to fill your heart and mind.  Give praise to the One Who supplied your needs, Who protected you, Who led you and guided you.  Rest, my friend, in the comfort and blessing of His presence…and I am sure you will wake up in the morning, saying as the Psalmist did:

But I will sing of Your mighty strength and power;
yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy and loving-kindness in the morning;
for You have been to me a defense and a refuge in the day of my distress.
Unto You, O my Strength, I will sing praises;
for God is my Defense, my Fortress, and High Tower,
the God Who shows me mercy and steadfast love.
Psalms 59:17 and 18

 * * * * *

Almighty God, You are Holy, You are Faithful, You are Sovereign, You are Love!  Please help us through Your Holy Spirit to remember to think on the truth, the right and lovely, the pure and admirable, the excellent, the praiseworthy things…and to praise You, Lord!   Amen.

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A Free Hand

October 3, 2013 by

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I will praise You as long as I live, and in Your name I will lift up my hands.
Psalm 63:4

As a child, I was the quiet one.  I was a shy, curly-haired, red-headed little girl who wanted to hide behind others.  If I was thrown into the spotlight, I was not comfortable there, like others. Can you relate?

In third grade, I was about to play in a piano recital. I knew the piece, “Suppose” by memory very well.  But as I stepped in front of the huge crowd, sat on the bench and my long blue skirt brushed over my black shiny shoes, fear captured me!  My hand would not move away from “middle C” on the keyboard.  I played that note over and over again. (My Mom stood to applaud, and everyone else did, too, in order to release me from my agony.  I may be the only person ever to get a standing ovation for playing one note!)  This is only one of many examples when I’d let fear overtake me where I could not move forward—not completely—for fear of mistakes or fear  of hurting someone or fear of letting someone down.  And when the fear cycle began, it easily could snowball into a cycle of bigger fears. Can you relate?

I had asked Jesus into my heart at the age of eight.  I knew I needed a Savior!  But for a long time, it was hard for me to release some of my fears…even some hidden ones.  In my twenties though, in God’s wisdom, He allowed me to come to the end of myself.  I realized in that time of complete brokenness that my focus must be on Him—faith not fears, depth in relationship with Him instead of people-pleasing and swirling circumstances.  My life dramatically changed for the better when I became very God-focused!  (I still have my moments, but I get back on track quickly.)

The freedom, comfort, guidance, and peace that He lavished on me when I needed it most increased my faith and love in my relationship with Jesus!  For many years, I have expressed myself and moved forward—especially where Jesus is concerned!   My hand is no longer like that paralyzed hand that could not move in one direction or the other during that piano recital as a child.  My hand can easily be lifted up to praise Jesus in a worship service.  (It’s just an external expression of the overflow of a thankful heart!)  My hand can write/type words (in various written formats) that praise and glorify Jesus as I share with others about His great saving love!  And with great expression, passion, and boldness, my hands have moved in grand gestures as I have taught Bible studies and directed drama or acted on the stages of churches over the years.  (I share all of this for the great glory of God!  For you see, He took me to a greater level of understanding of freedom and faith in Him and a greater awareness of His Holy Spirit working in me and God’s amazing, continuous grace…or else…those things just listed would not have happened.)

To God…ALL glory and praise! I am nothing without Him!  Oh, how I will praise Him as long as I live…please join me.

* * * * *

Dear Lord, let us be in awe of You.  Let us move forward each day—with thankful hearts— following You!  Let us give our hearts and lives completely to You to use for Your glory!  We love You, so let us praise You as long as we live, and let us lift our hands to praise You!  Let us keep our focus on You as stated in Hebrews 12:2, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the Cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

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Quenching Your Thirst

October 2, 2013 by

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I am single. Some days, I feel like being single is a blessing.  Some days, I am content.  Other days (oh! those other days!), I feel like being single is a curse, a punishment, and the absolute worse thing a person could have to endure.

Being single—despite thinking it is sometimes—is not a curse and it is not something I can “fix.”   Being single is not a problem that needs to be resolved…it is a season to be embraced.  During this time I have learned to embrace being alone. (And when I say alone, I mean the absence of another person.) I’ve learned much about myself and being alone (although, I fought at first) has pushed me closer to God.  I have learned to rely on Him in ways I don’t think I would learned without this season of singleness.

This burning desire to be married and have my own family can consume me at times, if left unchecked.  After all, it is not wrong to want a family.  However, the Lord has taught me much about maintaining the proper priority when it comes to desires.  This unsatisfied desire has allowed me to thirst for the Lord more.

 O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for You;
my whole body longs for You in this parched and weary land where there is no water.
Psalm 63:1

I am learning to search for the Lord when my despair over my singleness is overwhelming.

  • Not people.
  • Not my single friends who agree with the unfairness of singleness.
  • Not my well-meaning married friends who, lovingly, speak out one or all of the many given lines available about how waiting is “sooooo” worth it.

My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.
Psalm 63:8

The Lord is the only one who can wrap me in His loving arms and make everything better.  Some nights I cry to Him—literally cry—and He always reassures me that He has a plan…an awesome plan.

Regardless of whether you are in a season (a LONG season) of singleness, or infertility, or financial struggle, or health issues…let Him quench your thirst, your desire, whatever it may be.

He can.

* * * * *

Thank you, Lord, that I am given the opportunity each day to know that You are God—the God…the God that has the plan…the God that is holding my hand…the God that is leading me along the path of life that is before me….the good God who does not cause adverse circumstances and who does punish or bring us trials…the good God who says I can walk you through anything life brings your way, if you’ll only trust me…the good God who provides us with all we need to be more than conquers…the good God who shows us there IS a “happily-ever-after.”  Ultimately, regardless of our current situations, we win.  (And how can we lose, when we’ve already won.)  Thank You, Lord.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

 

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