A Peek Into My Devotions

Psalm 108:1

O God, my heart is fixed;
I will sing and give praise,
even with my glory.

I was challenged by this verse the other day.

Am I steadfast?

Am I double-minded or unstable?

It is easy for me to be swept with emotions, with difficulties.

That is not the woman that I want to be.

I want my gaze and my heart to be solely fixed on my Savior.

How do I praise with "my glory?"

I believe that "my glory" is everything available to me ...

strength, resources, being ...

Everything that I do should bring glory to God,

should point others to Him,

should be done to exalt and praise Him.

And the rest of the chapter gives me so many reasons to praise!

His mercy

His truth

His holiness

His strength

His victory

Psalm 2

Psalm 2:12 b

Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

It seems that every day that I work on verse memory

a new part of the memory work is a blessing.

Last week, Galatians 1 was a blessing as I acknowledge 

and seek to work on not be a man pleaser but to put God first in all things.

Today was a little bit of a down day.

My mother's heart (if you believe a non-mom can have one) was yearning to help a young person.

A grey sky with the promise of snow lacked the bright cheer of a winter sun.

Struggles of faith.

Struggles of trust.

Struggles from within and without.

He promises His blessings, His help

if only I trust.

Praying the Psalms

The Lord has brought us to a place of complete reliance again.

I remember this place as a young adult - seeking direction for college,

seeking direction in employment,

seeking God's will for a spouse.

As I have aged,  it is easy to get self-reliant and assured of myself.

But the past weeks have been full of prayers for wisdom and direction.

A friend sent me this "prayer" this morning.

Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.
Lead me in thy truth, and teach me:
for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.

True Help

Psalm 5:1 

Give ear to my words,
O Lord, consider my meditation.

The only source of true help.

True Strength

Psalm 18:2
The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;
my God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

The strength does not come from the diet,

from the exercise,

from mental acumen ...

but from God.

I must trust and give it all to Him.

Couldn't Pick Just One

Ps 145:13-21 

Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, 

and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.

The LORD upholdeth all that fall, 

and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.

The eyes of all wait upon thee; 

and thou givest them their meat in due season.

Thou openest thine hand, 

and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.

The LORD is righteous in all his ways, 

and holy in all his works.

The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, 

to all that call upon him in truth.

He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: 

he also will hear their cry, and will save them.

The LORD preserveth all them that love him: 

but all the wicked will he destroy.

My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: 

and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.

I just couldn't pick one verse.

I have been reading this psalm almost daily for nearly 4 weeks.

Nearly every verse speaks to me right now.

We have a great God!

The Good Shepherd

Still down with the cold ...

Have worked on some cleaning projects ...

and meditating on the Sunday School lesson for Sunday.

The lost sheep and the lost coin.

Psalm 23:1

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Do you ever feel like this little lamb?

So glad for the Shepherd ...

Look Up

Psalm 121:1-2

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, 

from whence cometh my help.

My help cometh from the LORD, 

which made heaven and earth.

How can you not be encouraged by a verse like that!

He's Always Right

Psalm 119:164 

Seven times a day do I praise thee 

because of thy righteous judgments.

The Psalmist reminds us of another reason to be thankful.

We can thank God because He always does right.

Rather than bitterness in the situation,

choose praise.

Friday Forum: Resolutions

Psalm 119:133 

Order my steps in thy word: 

and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.

We are looking at a new year ... 2014 is right around the corner.

With a new year comes reflections on the past

and plans and hopes for the future ...

at least it does for me.

I am still contemplating directions that need to be changed

and disciplines that need to be kept or reinforced.

I will share these next Wednesday - January 1, 2014.

The above verse will be covered in our next Wednesday service - I think.

It jumped out at me as the perfect New Year's Resolution.

Direction based on God's Word

and freedom from the bondage and control of sin.

Have you ever made resolutions?

***

Do you plan to make any this year?

***

What are your thoughts about resolutions?

Righteous Judgment

 Psalm 98:9 b

... with righteousness shall he judge the world, 

and the people with equity.

I have been thinking about righteous judgments this week.

I am so thankful that the Lord will do and does do righteously.

I am biased.

I am overly critical of the way others parent their children.

Hubby struggles with those who do not care for their health and bodies.

I know some who are particularly judgmental of dress.

I am so glad that the Lord does not show partiality ...

that the Lord does not see "degrees" of sin (because they do not exist).

I am thankful that the final judgment comes from the Lord and not from fallible men.

Wonderful Works to Worms

Psalm 107:8, 15, 21, 31

 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, 

and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

What an ungrateful worm I am!

I try to be grateful ... to appreciate all that I have been given.

But I am not unlike the children of Israel.

I always need these four reminders in one Psalm!

God is good.

He always does wonderfully.

Remember the dehumidifier mentioned here.

The recall check arrived yesterday.

It was enough to cover a laptop that we are planning to buy online on Thanksgiving day.

What a blessing!

It is a rainy/icy day here ...

a rarity for us.

Glad that I can be "in" this morning.

Blessings

Psalm 103:1-2

Bless the LORD, O my soul: 

and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

 Bless the LORD, O my soul, 

and forget not all his benefits:

Though society-at-large may have moved on to the Christmas season,

may we not forget this season of Thanksgiving.

There is so much to be thankful for.

If you are having trouble thinking of some ...

read the rest of Psalm 103.

Non-restrictive

Psalm 119:45 

And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts.

Unfortunately, many people view Christianity

as a restrictive list of "dos" and "donts."

Not exactly the way the Psalmist saw it.

There is liberty when following God's plan.

Freedom from "people pleasing."

Freedom from worry.

Liberty ... Peace ... Rest

Psalm 91:2

Final part of "the Retreat."

I love the message, the reminder, the layout and the fonts of the verse.

Don't Forget

Psalm 103:2 

Bless the LORD, O my soul, 

and forget not all his benefits:

It is easy to get weighed down in the details of life.

It is easy to be tossed to and fro.

It is easy to get frazzled by the busy-ness of each day.

It is easy to forget.

The Psalmist reminded his soul to remember ...

and I must remind myself as well.

God has given us SO much!

God used two 4 church members to bless me this week.

One lent me a steam cleaner - 

saved me $35 dollars and it did a better job then a rental.

One lent a chain saw and a big truck - 

to remove a tree that fell in a storm so that I did not have to mow around it 

until the landlord had time to take care of it.

Two took all of the music responsibilities on Sunday - 

giving me a more ability to focus on the service.

ALL His benefits.

This Morning in NC

Psalm 100:4 

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, 

and into his courts with praise: 

be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

I just have to be thankful for these beauties ... 

another token of Spring.

And these little seedlings join the peas.

Do you recognize them?

Also thankful for the promise of a new hot water tank to be installed tonight.

It appears to be DOUBLE the size!

WooHoo!  We can take more than an 8 minute shower!

Leave It With God

Psalm 98:9 

"for he cometh to judge the earth: 

with righteousness shall he judge the world, 

and the people with equity."

How often does my flesh want to judge someone else!

They are not doing things "my way."

I have been reminded this week, that I need to leave it in God's hands. 

He knows all the facts,

he knows all sides of the story,

and he will judge righteously!

Hate It

Psalm 97:10 a

Ye that love the LORD, hate evil ...

not tolerate,
not merely dislike,
not endure,
not play with ...

... If I love the Lord, I am to hate evil.
Not always popular or easy.

An Offering

Psalm 96:8 

Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: 

bring an offering, and come into his courts.

He is worthy of all praise and glory!

What am I bringing as an offering when I come to him?

What are you bringing?

Psalm 51:17 tells us what an acceptable sacrifice is.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: 

a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.