Psalm 46:1-3

1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah

I have so many friends who are hurting, scared, or in trouble today, and it is with great joy and comfort that I read Psalm 46 today. I heard it this weekend read at a funeral, and I thought then that the words. . .”God is our refuge and strength, and EVER-PRESENT help” were so very comforting! We often think of God way up “there” somewhere, but if I am honest, there are plenty of times when he has taken on physical form to comfort me. He has often sent a loving smile from a stranger, a helping hand from a long forgotten friend, or just the hug of a random child to remind me of his love and care for me.

Are you hurting, scared or just in distress today? Call to God. . .ask him to help you. . He will you know. I can’t tell you how. . . or when. . . but He does answer and he does comfort, heal and help us all the time. You can trust him with your pain and sorrow. . .you can trust Him with your sins and past. . .you can trust Him with your life for His plans are far better than yours! That He promises us!!

Father, forgive me for my unbelief. Forgive me for not trusting in your goodness. Show me your strength and refuge today. . . and please send your ever-present help to all those who need it today, you know them better than I. In Jesus name. . .Amen!

Psalm 37: 4 & 8

4 Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.
8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

There is so much to worry about these days. I find that if I am not careful I can spend an entire day worrying it away. From health, and the behavior of my children to the safety of my husband on the job and the weather. There is just so much to worry about. My husband came home last night to tell me that his bosses wife (a young, very healthy 40-something) died suddenly yesterday. . .and I found myself quickly on my knees in fear, worry, and distress. I quickly got past my own worry and have been praying for that family ever since. . .but it does give me tremendous peace today to see that God has written Psalm 37 for me.

I am reminded by these verses that I must delight myself in the Lord. . .I must trust in His plan. I can’t begin to imagine what he has in store. . .but it is good. It is for my good and the good of every believer. We see darkly now, and I must remember that God is working out his plan of redemption. . .and I am to seek, follow and obey him along the way. If I seek Him, he will give me the desires of my heart (which should really only be more of him). I am not to worry, as that will bring only evil. . .but to love God and to love others. . that is it.

Father, thank you that you are in charge and I am not. Thank you for daily reminders that you love and care for me, that you have the world in your hands and not one hair falls from my head without your permission and knowledge. Help me to delight myself in you, and give me the desires of my hear as I passionately pursue you. Help me not to fret but to trust that you are in control.

Matthew 16:27

For the son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.

I know I have to tread lightly here, but I do believe that as Christians we are called by God to work out our faith. I believe that the life many Christians ease into is one that is not entirely pleasing to God. I know that we are saved by grace, through faith alone in Christ alone. . .but does it end there? I believe there is much proof throughout scripture that would support that is just the beginning. We must move from that point of first belief onto a more mature, ever growing faith. We must read the Bible like crazy. Yes, there will be times it is hard. . .and I go long periods without reading, but once I get back to the word there is that “ah ha” moment where I say. . .I should have been reading more. . this is awesome. We must then live out what we have read and feel called by God to do. . are you called to teach. .are you teaching? Are you called to pray. . are you praying? Are you called to lead. . .who are you leading? Our faith grows while we are serving Christ and others. . .otherwise. . .we are likely to miss much. God will reward the faithful. . .how are you doing?

Father, help me never to settle into a comfortable little life where I hoard what I learn and don’t pass it on. Open my heart to you, my eyes to the hurting, and my mouth to those you have prepared!

Revelation 22:12-13

“Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

I was watching a news program the other day and they were discussing the new fascination the news media and entertainment folks have for the 40-something man. They were all excited that this phase of life was getting attention finally and all of the things that come with this age, most especially, our grappling with death and its certainty.

As I listened. . .I again heard God’s still small voice saying. . .come to me and I will tell you how to deal with this. As I approach middle-age myself (not quite yet. . but soon) I have begun to let the media and outside annoyances fill my head with scare tactics and allowed my peace and joy to be lessened with fear, anxiety and doubt. I believe this year God wants me to focus on Heaven, so that I can fix my focus once again firmly in my mind and press on to the goal in this oh so important race of life.

I plan to rest my mind in that place where my Father dwells so that I can remember how important it is that I share this resting place with everyone else He puts in my path.

Father, as I begin 2010, may THIS be the moment that I begin your work. Help me not to waiver anymore. . .but to passionately seek you and then share you with everyone. . I do mean EVERYONE that I come in contact with. Father God, open my heart and my mind to you. Fill me with yourself, your spirit, and then give me the opportunities and then provide the words that I may share my hope and my joy with all others I pray. In Jesus name, Amen.

Psalm 117

Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples.
For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD.

This short little chapter reminds me of what I am most thankful for as I approach both Thanksgiving and the holiday season this year.

While my love is so often, and shamefully, conditional, Gods love for me stands in stark contrast as being enduring and unconditional. While I am so often faithless. . .he is most faithful. And while I change my mind about as much as weather, God is unchangeable. . .forever the same. Thank him as you begin your Thanksgiving celebrations for being such a loving, faithful Father!

Oh my Dearest Heavenly Father, your grace is enough, your love is too much, and your faithfulness is amazing to me. Thank you for who you are. . . thank you that where I am weak. . you are oh so strong. Hold me close father, never let me go, and thank you that my faith and salvation do not depend on me, but solely on your able shoulders! May you be praised among the nations today and tomorrow and forevermore. . .Amen and Amen!

Philippians 4:12 & 13

12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

This rendition of “It Is Well with My Soul” is one of the better ones, but it does leave out several verses, and verse three the LORD really uses to speak to me quite frequently, so I wanted to share tthat verse with you too.  If you have time, check out all the lyrics and the amazing story behind this powerful song.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Let this AMAZING hymn feed your soul today as the Spirit himself speaks. . your “sin not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross and [you] bear it no more.”

Oh Father, your grace is enough, the cross is enough. . .bind me to thee today I pray.

Matthew 6:25-27

25 Therfore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

I have been off worrying again. Worrying about everything from my job and health to the future of both my children and my husband. I am a worrier by nature and have terrible anxiety.

God is working on my though. He wants me to put my money where my mouth is and trust him. Trust is a hard thing for anyone who has been hurt and disappointed by people. Trust in our Heavenly Father is really all we have though. The fact that God is good and everything else is pale in comparison is quite key to the Christian faith.

I am trying to trust God today, and trying to live for today. I am trying to not worry and just love God and others today.

Father, I am weak and unable to trust. Show me your love and grace and mercy today. Help me to love you with all my heart, my mind and my soul and to love others as myself. Help me focus on what we can accomplish today and let tomorrow take care of itself. Lord, may I learn to live each day to its fullest before this year ends. . .

Romans 8:13

For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live

Sin needs to die in us daily, and I must be much more careful about this than I have been in the past. Putting to death the deeds of the body is tricky, and requires much thought. what are the deeds of the body? We have to search, but there are answers in the New Testament, like Galatians 5:19-21.

9 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

If we keep reading in Galatians we can also see the fruit of the Spirit, which are things we ought to seek after, but that is a post for another day. Today I need to look for the roots of these sins above and root them out at their core. Where does sexual immorality, impurity and sensuality come from? Perhaps I need to reevaluate the TV shows and the music I listen to. Perhaps I need to guard my speech more in conversations with those of the opposite sex. I may even need to look at my clothes, hair, shoes and walk to make sure all is pure. Idolatry? Are there things that I desire more than God? I think I need to give up quite a few things there. I will continue to look over this list, as I notice some of the following. . .jealousy, rivalries, dissensions, and envy really need to be worked as well. For one, I already know that the little green monster called jealousy loves to take up residence in my heart once I start comparing what I have to what others have.

Father, forgive me for not taking the deeds of the flesh more seriously. Help me search my life, my deeds, my ways for the root of these deeds and then help me make any changes that are necessary to get rid of them all. I desire to walk in the Spirit and to live. I do not want to walk in the flesh and die. Help me father I pray.

Romans 6:11

So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

I have been struggling through Romans the past few weeks in an attempt to prepare myself to lead a Bible Study on it at church, but it was a confrontation that happened during my recent trip to Colorado that really has me searching the word for insight.

In summary, I had a man challenge me to consider the possibility that the modern day church has it all wrong and that Jesus actually taught that we need to try to be sin free to follow him. Not to be saved, but to follow after Christ. It did give me pause, and I am trying to weigh the whole Bible in this debate rather than jump to any conclusions based on prior learning and knowledge. Of course, the first verses that came to mind were Christ’s teachings in the Sermon on the Mount. I have always stumbled a bit over Matthew 5:48 which calls us to be perfect. After giving us a list of ways to stretch our beliefs on what is acceptable behavior to God, Jesus tells us to be perfect. Huh?

Todays verse is quite interesting then, isn’t it. If we are following Christ and have moved into a new life with him, we have died to sin. It doesn’t say we are dying to sin, it says we are to consider ourselves dead to sin. That means it can’t reach us. We can be separate from it. We are not alive to sin, but alive to God who has the power of the universe in His hands. While I am not ready to say that to follow Christ we have to be sinless (I am not even sure that is possible this side of Heaven yet) but what I do know for sure about my own life is that I am not LIVING like I am dead to sin. I do not treat sin as if it has no power over me . . . I am afraid I take it all too lightly most of the time and am in fact quite alive to sin.

Father, forgive me for my cavalier attitude about the sin in my life, especially those sins I feel are “lesser” sins. Forgive my unbelief, forgive my constant worry about tomorrow, forgive my apathy toward non-believers, forgive my hard heart to the widows and orphans, forgive me for not taking every thought captive as you have called me to do. I want to follow you fully . . .show me father how that looks.

Nehemiah 8:10

10 Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and(P) send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

I heard this quoted on my favorite radio station this morning, and it had me thinking of something my DD said yesterday. She came home from church excited and rejoicing to have been in church and to have been blessed by the word of God. She is in good company.

As I re-read Nehemiah 8 this morning I struck at how the Isrealites responded to the reading of the law on this particular day. In verse 6 we see that “all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.” A great crowd gathered and asked to be read the law and then worshiped the creator of that law. What an awesome picture of a wonderful worship service!

Aren’t you thankful for the “joy of the Lord” this morning, from which our strength comes from?!

Father, thank you for who you are. Thank you for stepping down out of the heavens to call little me to worship you. May I worship you all the days of my life, and may my worship serve only to glorify you on this earth. May all who see me today see my love and openness to you.