Category Archives: Psalms

Wait In Hope

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We wait in hope for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice, 
for we trust in his holy name. 
May your unfailing love be with us, 
Lord,even as we put our hope in you.
Ps 33:20-22
Wait in hope for the Lord! May your heart be filled with joy as you trust in God’s holy name!

 

It is easy in pain or affliction to speak wrong things, or to let roots of bitterness spring up in your life. Peace can’t and won’t co-exist with bitterness. Evil speech chases thanksgiving far away. Lies block joy from entering your heart. Confess your sins, leave them at the foot of the cross. Allow the blood of Christ to wash away all your shame, sorrow, worries and fears that are written on your face. Having received forgiveness, in silence quietly seek refuge in the Lord, the Holy One who has made you holy.

 

In the stillness of waiting, remember how God has blessed you and brought you to this point in your life.

 

As you wait in God’s presence, look up! Gaze upon your Lord’s face! Bask in the radiance of his love and delight in you. Allow God’s radiance to transform your face to reflect his life, light, love and joy.

 

Don’t be in a hurry to leave God’s presence. God is the only one who can provide you with the grace you need for today. Let God’s goodness, like the scent of a rose, or the taste of a sweet morsel saturate your senses. As you savor the Lord’s goodness, stand in awe at God’s majesty.

 

Standing before God who is too wise to make a mistake, and to loving to be unkind, ask for wisdom. God has words of wisdom to direct, guide, protect and keep you. Silently listen to what your Lord has to say to you. Accept God’s grace so that you can obediently take the next faithful step in your journey.

 

As you take one step forward, with your heart filled with joy, invite others to join you in glorifying and praising the Lord.

 

Before you take the next step, or worry about next week wait in hope for the Lord. May your heart be overflowing with joy as you trust in God’s holy name!

Cry For Mercy

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For, You Lord have delivered me!

The Lord hears your voice wherever and whenever you cry for mercy! Call on the name the Lord to save you when the cords of death entangle you! When your cheeks are wet with tears and you feebly whisper “Lord, save me”, God will bow done from his throne in heaven and place his ear by your face to hear your frail cry of anguish. You can call on God as long as you live, and God will always hear you!

God is always merciful to you. There has never been a time, and never will be a time when God isn’t good. God is more gracious than we deserve. God is full of compassion for you. God will help you bear the worst and hope for the best.

Allow God’s goodness to overwhelm you. God is close beside you as you walk through the dark valleys. There is no place for any of your fears in the presence of God’s perfect love. Even in your anguish, God continues to honor you by anointing your head with oil. God’s goodness and unfailing love will continue to pursue you no matter what is happening in your life.

God invites you to return to him and rest your weary soul. God’s hands are your only safe refuge. As you rest at the feet of God, God will nourish your soul and give you the strength to face tomorrow. Why would you go anywhere else, when God has been gracious, compassionate and merciful to you?

God walks beside you in the land of the living as you make each decision and take the next step in this journey. Even though life may not be turning out the way you expected, walk beside God Almighty faithfully and blamelessly.

You are God’s servant! You are created in God’s image! You are redeemed by the blood of Christ. You have been placed by God in his creation – a land of mercy and a land of opportunity! Choose to continue to serve the Lord and fulfill your vows. When you are ready, share your story of God’s goodness, grace, mercy and compassion in the presence of all God’s people so that you can comfort and bring hope to others.

Offer up to God as a sweet smelling offering your praise and thanksgiving for what the Lord is doing for you.

Read Psalm 116 on BibleGateway

How can you sing for joy?

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Come let us sing for joy to the Lord
God is the rock of your salvation! God is constantly whispering to you that there is nothing and nobody in this world who can separate you from his love.

The Lord is the great King above all gods and above all rulers! Stop worrying about what is happening in this world because the King of Kings is on his throne! Instead do your work with excellence, love your co-workers, customers, family and friends with God’s love.

God who alone holds the depths of the earth in his hands, who created the mountain peaks, who made the sea and formed the dry land, knows exactly what you need to solve the challenges you face at work. Take time today to enjoy all that God has created. Ask with confidence knowing that God hears your requests, has the wisdom you need, and will answer.

God is your Maker! God hasn’t made a mistake in where you live, in the family he chose for you, or the skills and talents that you have! Honor the Lord, God your Maker, by obediently, quietly faithfully persevering as a parent, friend and worker.

The Good Shepherd is your shepherd. The only safe place for you is in God’s presence! There you will experience God’s watchful care and provision. The Good Shepherd is the only one who knows the safe pathways for your life. Don’t wander away. The grass isn’t greener outside his sheepfold. Listen to his voice – he knows what you need, he knows when you need it and he alone is capable of providing what you need.

Yes, life can be difficult. Living your life constantly in God’s presence is not always easy. However it is the best place to be. The story of King David, who was anointed by Samuel to be King, but who had to run and hide from King Saul for many years is a testimony of a life lived in God’s presence. David shares his joy and his struggles in the Psalms so that you can know that what you are experiencing is not unique.

As you listen to God’s voice, bow down and worship, Kneel before the Lord your maker! May your heart be filled with songs of joy and thanksgiving as you obey what the Lord has to say to you today!

What is the Essential Ingredient for Life?

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This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. (1 John 5:4b NIV)

Faith is the potent, energetic, active ingredient essential to life.

Faith refuses to accept any situation as it is, or as unchangeable. Faith believes that God is active in every situation. Faith moves forward in grace and love with God’s wisdom. Faith sees God’s creative alternatives when surrounded by sin, death and destruction. Faith wins moral and spiritual victories, alongside temporal victories. Faith knows that God’s promises are a present reality even when they are not visible. Faith manifests God’s power, the power which raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Faith exchanges weakness for strength, sorrow for joy. Faith realistically evaluates the present and anticipates the future that God has promised. Faith is the anchor of hope!

But faith isn’t an assurance that you will always see the victory this side of glory …

Faith isn’t a guarantee of worldly possessions, or a promise of a rose garden. In fact faith was never intended to change your social status or economic status in this life. What faith does change is your spiritual status. Faith transfers your citizenship from this earth to heaven. Faith brings the sweet fragrance of God into your life on earth as you live as a citizen of God’s Kingdom.

Faith enables you to endure suffering and adversity with serenity.

Faith is all that remains when you live in the middle of man’s inhumanity to other men. Faith is the strength to continue to love God when the world tries to compress you into a common mold. Only faith can resist Satan. Only faith can endure the evil you currently face in your life.

You are not a fool to be pitied because of your faith. No! You possesses the greatest and only hope – God the Holy Spirit! By faith you possess God’s love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self-control! The world can never, ever, ever tear or squeeze these out of your soul!

Read Psalm 119:30-36 on BibleGateway

Trusting the Lord

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I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from?

Trusting the Lord

Your journey toward your goals takes place in God’s world, where God reigns supreme. The Lord has created you, the Lord has blessed you not only with the abilities to make your plans, but also has created and blessed you with exactly the right resources you need, and has surrounded you with just the right people so that you can move forward with your plans.

God is at your right hand during every moment of every day as you carry out our plans. The perils along the path may be unknown, but your security is certain. God is not distant during your successes and failures. As you are working on each of the tasks of your plans, place your trust in God’s infinite wisdom and loving, protective care. Then you won’t have to worry about slip-sliding down “slippery slopes”, or tripping along the rocky paths.

God never sleeps and never slumbers; so rest with delight, assurance, joy and peace. Fear Not! Keep your eyes focused on our Lord and Savior, the Maker of heaven and earth! Know with certainty that “the Lord watches over you – the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night” (Psalm 121:5 NIV).

How can you go about your day so that your co-workers know that your help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth?

Psalm 121
I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you— the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

As a new year begins

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Praise the Lord, my soul; 
  all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

New Year Thoughts

As a new year begins, what are your thoughts dwelling on? Is your heart, mind and soul filled with praise to God? Not just praise to God for this moment, but praise that wells up in your soul continuously, throughout the joys, routine and stress of life.

Once you were dead in your sins, broken, trapped, hungering and thirsting for more. Through faith in Jesus, God out of his great love for you has transformed you. Now you are forgiven, healed, rescued, loved, and satisfied. You are God’s child! As you go about your daily routine, may your heart be overwhelmed with the goodness of God. At those times when life becomes so difficult that praise seems impossible, cry out in utter honesty to God, and tell him that it is too hard to praise him and ask him to remind you of his loving kindness. As you turn your eyes upon Jesus, as you look full in His wonderful face, if there are things that are overwhelming you, or things that are stressing you out, they will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.

May remembering what God has done for you, and praising God be your focus today and every day. May your life be enriched with love and thankfulness!

Even as your heart and soul are filled with praise to God consider the people who work for you and with you. How can you live your life in such a way that these people know your soul is constantly filled with praise to God? How can you lead these people so that they know that the Lord works righteousness and justice for the oppressed, that the Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love?

Psalm 103:1-7
Praise the Lord, my soul; 
  all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul, 
  and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins 
  and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit 
  and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things 
  so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.