Psalm 5

Psalm 5

¹ O Lord, hear me as I pray;
    pay attention to my groaning.
² Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,
    for I pray to no one but you.
³ Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord.
    Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.

⁴ O God, you take no pleasure in wickedness;
    you cannot tolerate the sins of the wicked.
⁵ Therefore, the proud may not stand in your presence,
    for you hate all who do evil.
⁶ You will destroy those who tell lies.
    The Lord detests murderers and deceivers.

⁷ Because of your unfailing love, I can enter your house;
    I will worship at your Temple with deepest awe.
⁸ Lead me in the right path, O Lord,
    or my enemies will conquer me.
Make your way plain for me to follow.

⁹ My enemies cannot speak a truthful word.
    Their deepest desire is to destroy others.
Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave.
    Their tongues are filled with flattery.^[a]
10 O God, declare them guilty.
    Let them be caught in their own traps.
Drive them away because of their many sins,
    for they have rebelled against you.

¹¹ But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
    let them sing joyful praises forever.
Spread your protection over them,
    that all who love your name may be filled with joy.
¹² For you bless the godly, O Lord;
    you surround them with your shield of love.

Our morning prayers need to be expressive. Look at what David prayed. He had confidence that the LORD  would protect him against his enemies. We also need to have confidence that the LORD will protect and take care of us through anything! What ever our day holds for us! Look at verse 7...how awesome is that? Because of HIS unfailing love for us we can go to HIM and worship  in awe! Then we can be filled with joy for our day!

Praise the LORD! Go through your day with praise and thanksgiving to HIM and see how much better your day goes!

 

Until we see JESUS face to face...

Don't Let Your Past Become Your Present

Do you ever have things from your past unexpectantly jump up and slap you in the face? You know...give you the wake up call that you know you need but you aren't really ready for. Well, that happened to me just yesterday. It was coming from a voice that I know all too well and he was putting thoughts in my head that I thought were gone for good. Those thoughts made me realize one thing...

don't ever get too comfortable and be slack in doing what you know is right! Even though I have been slippin' and slidin'...stumblin' and failin' a bit...God won't leave me alone. He still keeps talking and that's a good thing! He leads me to scriptures...like the ones I shared in the last post. Then there's the book I bought today...Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson. The sub title is...Reclaim the Adventure of Pursuing God. That so fits with what has been going on inside of me lately. Before I started the slippin' and stumblin' stuff I had been praying something like this...

help me to have a deeper relationship with You. Give me back that burning desire I once had to write with passion...from the depths of my soul. Fill up that hole inside of me that just seems to be getting bigger and bigger.

So, I'm writing this now because of one of the things He said to me...

Be more transparent in your writing like you use to be. If you feel it...write it! If your struggling...write it.

Everyone struggles at times. Everyone fails at times. It's not always easy to share those thimes...but it is a good thing to do. You see, if you share, it may help people that are reading because they are struggling also. And, it helps you because people pray for you. Not only that...it begins a healing process. A form of therapy if you will. So...

again I am excited to see what the Lord has planned. I know I don't like stumblin' around. I don't like my past coming back because that part of my life is just that...past! I want to pursue God on a deeper level. I don't want to celebrate in my failure, I want to celebrate in my success with Him.

Don't let your past become your present. Reclaim the adventure.

Learning and growing until we see Jesus Face to face.

Psalm 139:23

Search me O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.

Psalm 51:10

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a stedfast spirit within me.

Psalm 37:4

Take delight in the Lord,
and He will give you your heart's desires.

Turn Upward To God

Tonight, while I was sitting and thinking about many things, I looked down at the page my bible was opened to and saw this verse...

Psalm 57:7 NLT

My heart is confident in you, O God;
    my heart is confident.
    No wonder I can sing your praises!

That's an easy verse to understand and yet for some reason...Obviously GOD...my eyes were drawn down to the study notes. The last sentence is what really spoke to me...

In times of suffering, don't turn inward to self-pity or outward to revenge, but turn upward to GOD. 

This statement really hit home with me. I am one that tends to sit and reflect...turn all my thoughts inward...about things in life. It doesn't take long before satan is using this to his advantage! I know that God showed this to me tonight because He wants me to "get a grip" on life! Figure out what is going on with me...get up...and keep going. Get rid of all the "mental activity" that is dragging me down and turn my thoughts back to Him. Turn upward to God. 

Right across the page in Psalm 55 is another good verse...

Psalm 55:22 NLT

Give your burdens to the Lord,
    and he will take care of you.
    He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.


The study notes for that are...

God wants us to give our burdens to Him, but often we continue to bear them ourselves even when we say we are trusting in Him. Trust the same strength that sustains you to carry your 
cares also. 

Just before going to sleep last night I picked up the bible by my bed and opened it right to this verse. Is God trying to tell me something...Yes. Have I been listening...No. But tonight...this all hit me...

Our Lord is amazing the way He just keeps after us. After me. Lately I have just been one big fail after another. That's how I see myself...but He doesn't. He keeps on talking to me...reaching out to me...trying to pull me back in. Yet my mind wanders...my heart wanders. I seem to be caught in a struggle...a wrestling match of some sort. But God...He doesn't give up. He doesn't abandon. He is there for all time...right beside...giving slack but not too much. He doesn't ever let go...and I am thankful! 







 

Come To Me

He is there
Even when every thought
even when all you feel
is just a jumbled up mess
He is still there
Waiting for you
for you to come
Waiting for you
to just get over it
What is messy inside
and it is because you
allow it
He is here
In your world
beside you
reaching
Reaching out to you
with holes in His hands
reaching
He is with you
Through it all
He is still here
still waiting
still reaching
His arms open wide
beckoning
Come
I
will hold you
I
your Lord
I will hold you
Help you to figure it out
The mess inside
the jumbled up mess
All the thoughts
the feelings
I your Lord
am with you
and I will be
until the end
Come to Me
for you are weak
Come to Me
so I can carry you
Come to Me
and rest

Find Your Spiritual Sea Legs

Philippians 4:19

¹⁹ And my God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Do you ever feel like your just going through the motions and things aren't really how they should be between you and the Lord? I don't mean that you've turned your back on God...or your deliberately sinning...but maybe your kind of hanging on the edges...the perimeter...of where you once were in your relationship. I'll step out, be a little transparent, and tell you I have for a while now. I've been on a downward trend and don't even know why. What I do know is I don't like it. I am not happy in this place. So tonight I was reading my bible and then decided to read a devotional. The word vessel was used and as soon as I read that word I knew this...

God was trying to speak to me and I needed to listen!

A vessel is a container. When it's empty it's like a cavity...just a hole needing to be filled. As in; an empty vessel needs to be filled. 

What do you use to fill your vessel when it's empty? You know...the spot inside of you that at times feels like an empty hole...a cavity. Right in the middle where nothing seems to be. Where all you feel is a gnawing hunger that you just can't seem to satisfy! At times it's hard to know what to do. Sometimes trying to fill that space is like trying to find your sea legs when you're on a ship in rough water...

At first you try to stand up but you find your wobbly...stumbling...maybe even fall down. But eventually you get a grip...right yourself, stand up straight and start walking again. You've found your sea legs! 

The same goes for that gnawing hunger inside of you...that ache. You need to find your spiritual sea legs again. You need to reach out to the Lord...take His hand and let Him lead and guide you. Let Him take you where you need to go...in Him...until your standing strong again. Commune with Him on a level that lets you get your spiritual sea legs back. You might wobble and stumble a bit at first but soon...with the Lords help...you will stand strong again. He will fill that empty vessel...cavity...inside of you to overflowing once again. You will soon feel His presence with you again...His joy...His peace. One more time you will know it was His grace that gave you the strength you needed to stand again. 

So that's my goal for the days ahead. To get my spiritual legs back.To be able to stand...unshakeable...and get off the perimeter. I know that I can't live this life without holding on to the hand of Jesus. He is my strength...my rock...my refuge. 

Psalm 16:8

⁸ I know the Lord is always with me.
    I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.

Just A Little Light From Heaven

2 Samuel 22:29-30

O Lord, You are my lamp.
The Lord lights up my darkness.

In Your strength I can crush an army:
with my God I can scale any wall.

When I read these verses today they really resonated within my soul. The word resonate means; to be filled with. That is exactly what the Lord is doing for me with these verses. He is filling me up with His goodness...His light...His love!

I am so thankful that the Lord is my light. We all have those days when we don't feel well...things aren't going like we need them too...we're feeling a bit down or sorry for ourselves...and then a little bit of darkness starts to find its way into our lives. But...if we look up to our Savior...to our Light in the middle of our darkness...HE will light up our life! He will give us a reason to keep going because...

Just a little light from Heaven fills our souls! He is what we need! Jesus is the answer to it all! In His strength we can crush the army that is attacking us. We can climb our way out of anything! We can keep going because the Lord gives us strength! He is alive and well and He lives inside of us!

He. Is. All. We. Need!! 

2 Samuel 22:47

"The LORD lives! Praise to my Rock!
May God, the Rock of my salvation, be exalted!"

Keep On

When the fog starts to roll
and the light becomes dim
where do you go
to find light...
again

Your thoughts are a blur
your heart has grown weak
your body's half numb
things sure have...
become bleak

You look for escape
can't find it again
you try to get away
there's no fight...
left within

What do you do
where do you go
who does he want
come on...
take it slow

You're ready to rumble
you're ready to fight
you've done it before
you can beat it...
find the light

Whatever the struggle
whatever the pain
just keep on fighting
don't look for...
the rain

The sun will come out
again you will see
the clouds will disperse
just wait awhile...
you'll see

Help Them Lord To Know

Lord I want to ask You
to watch over one's I know
To comfort guide and hold them
help them Lord to know
That You will always be there
no matter what may come
To hold them close and rock them
give them hope to carry on
You are the One who loves them
more than they can e'er conceive
So Lord reach out and touch them
pull them close help them to breathe
Wrap them in Your loving arms
dry their tears and still their souls
Comfort guide and hold them
help them Lord to know

Thank You, Lord

I was just getting ready to go to bed and a song start playing in my thoughts. It's an old one...a Blast from the Past! I like the song because it reminds us that we need to be thankful. If we can't think of anything else to be thankful for just read the first line of the chorus. He saved us! Oh how blessed we are! Think about where you would be right now if Jesus was not your Savior. Where ever you are...what ever you are doing...stop right now and give Him thanks.

               Thank You, Lord

Some thank the Lord for friends and home
For mercies sure and sweet
But I would praise Him for his grace
In prayer I would repeat

Chorus
Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul
Thank you, Lord, for making me whole
Thank you, Lord, for giving to me
Thy great salvation so rich and free

Some thank Him for the flow’rs that grow
Some for the stars that shine
My heart is filled with joy and praise
Because I know He’s mine

Chorus

I trust in Him from day to day
I prove His saving grace
I’ll sing this song of praise to Him
Until I see His face

 Lyrics and Music: Seth and Bessie Sykes

Stand Strong and Courageous

"God's Word is shallow enough not to drown the young, but deep enough that the greatest theologian will never touch the bottom."  Augustine

Love this quote!  It caught my eye...and my heart...as soon as I read it.

I find this to be so true.  As a child we can be taught the Word of God and...even when we don't want it to be so...those Words stay with us forever.  As children we understand what the Bible stories mean...what the verses mean that we memorize...why it's important to accept Jesus as your Savior...and you even understand the difference between Heaven and Hell and GOD and satan.  If you are exposed to God and His Word at all as a child...you get it! 

Now, I'm no theologian but as a "reformed rebel"..."thankful child of GOD"...I learn something new everytime I open my Bible and study the Words found there.  For me it's not just the learning of new things but, more importantly, how the Word speaks to me...what I get from it at the time I'm reading it right now!  If I'm reading with an open mind and heart...and really searching for help...I find that help in the words within the Word!  The meaning is not hidden from me as it seemed it was before I came to know Jesus as my Savior.  The Holy Spirit is there helping me to understand what I am reading now.

One of my favorite passages is...

Joshua 1:7-9

Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. ⁸ Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. ⁹ This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

My study Bible says...God was telling Joshua that he needed to be strong and courageous to be successful against the Canaanites. And...the Book of Instruction probably refers to the book of Deuteronomy. 

Nevertheless...I believe that it holds true for us today. We have the whole Bible and we need to read it and take heed to what the Lord is telling us through His Word.  Live the way we should.  Follow the example that Jesus set down for us.  Be faithful in reading the Word...your Bible.  Pray and meditate...sit and think about what it says...daily.  Let it seep into your heart...soul...mind...so that when troubles come you can stand firm in your faith. Or...when people you know are going through things you can be there to pray for them and help them in any way they need. Having the Word planted deeply within our hearts and minds helps us to stand strong and courageous in the toughest of times!  Even when those things may scare us or discourage us we can remember that we have a Savior who is with us...always!  

The Lord knew that I needed to be reminded of this scripture this morning.  I pray it somehow helped you as much as it did me.  

Take a little time out to sit and meditate on the Word that He has for you today.  I believe the Lord will honor you for it and speak something that you need to hear into your heart and soul!  What He speaks to you could be life changing in your circumstance today. 

Imagine My Surprise!!

If you received a post about the transparent side of me...hit delete. I was deleting posts this morning, that I wasn't publishing,  and hit the wrong button. Imagine my surprise!! At work I can recall things I send, but on Blogger, I can't! Sorry. Sometimes I write things just to get it out of my head not meaning to share.

Walking Through Your Whatever

Psalm 23:1
The Lord is my shepherd;
    I have all that I need.

Philippians 4:19
And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which   have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

John 14:27
 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

Matthew 11:28-29

²⁸ Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Jeremiah 6:16
This is what the Lord says:
“Stop at the crossroads and look around.
    Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it.
Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls...

This morning I read a devotional then opened my Bible to one of the scriptures...Psalm 23:1. From there I started following the string of scriptures in my Bible...as one led to the next. The Lord has been talking to me about how He is all I need for whatever comes my way. It doesn't matter what the whatever is...just that He is enough and that He has it all in His care. 

All of these verses are good and  I have read them all many times except for the last one. In fact, I don't remember it at all. It could be that I have never read it or...just maybe...the Lord thought knew that this was the time...that I have the need...to really see it the most. 

Is He telling me I'm not following His path? No. He's telling me that as long as I continue following Him, He will give me peace and rest. Sometimes I get tired...worn down...and I let the way I feel dictate the way I act. Then...I don't follow after Him as closely as I know I should be! For that matter...as closely as I know will help me to walk through the whatevers in my life!! 

Lately I have spent a lot of time reading about something, that I do need to know about, and many questions have been answered for me. However, at the same time, I read things that I didn't really need reinforced in my mind. The Lord knew this. He knew I would need to read His Word to help me to  remember that He is here with me. He will give the peace of mind and heart...rest for my soul...calm the trouble and fear...that I need. He will take care of me.

I share this with you because the Lord wants you to know this too. Whatever your whatever is...He is there for you too. Walking right beside you. The Lord will take care of you...give you the rest and comfort you need...as you walk the path with Him.