Even Before You’re Settled

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 105. It is another one recounting God’s presence with, and for His people. The psalm is a long one, but I’m focusing on verses 12-15; reading from the ESV.

“When they were few in number, of little account, and sojourners in it, wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people, he allowed no one to oppress them; he rebuked kings on their account,
saying, “Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!”

There’s a powerful revelation in this scripture. Even before we are settled into the kingdom of Heaven, while we’re still wandering from one thing to another, one person to another, one belief to another, etc., God is still watching over us. When you read, “touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm,” keep in mind that you were destined to be an anointed one, a preacher, a pastor, a prophet, a choir leader, etc., from the beginning. Another interesting, and powerful revelation here is this: God will rebuke a KING, a leader, an authority, etc., on your account. And, He did that before you came home and got settled in. See? When Jesus said, “Fear not, it’s the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom,” He meant it. It was a done deal when Jesus said, “It’s finished.”

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Write Them Down

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 103.. King David wrote it, and it is so awesome! The first five verses, alone, just get your spirit stirred up. Beginning with verse 2-5: “Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Forget not His benefits. Make a list, just like the one in this psalm. There’s more all throughout the psalm. Those verses just kind of sum it all up for us.

The rest of the psalm lists more of those benefits, and tells us how much God loves us, and how compassionate and tender He is toward us. (V8-14) “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.”

I had an incredible experience in the spirit, over this very psalm. My father-in-law was in a nursing home, and dying. He was afraid to die, because He didn’t believe that God could really forgive Him for the things he’d done. My sister also happened to be his daughter-in-law, and she visited him regularly. I never went to the nursing home, myself. I referred her to the 103rd psalm, when she expressed concern about his being afraid to die. She visited him twice more, but each time, he was asleep, and didn’t wake up. I copied the psalm down on a piece of paper, and put it under a prayer candle. I would light the candle and pray that psalm for him. One night, approximately 1: 30 a.m., my baby girl woke up for her bottle, and since I was awake, I decided to pray for him again. Laying beside her, I began to pray. I almost always say the Lord’s prayer before I pray other prayers; so I began to pray the Lord’s prayer. Suddenly, I was standing in my father-in-law’s room at the nursing home. I called out His name, and He said, “Who’s there?” I called out His name again, and then I said, “In the Name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, your sins are forgiven; accept your peace.” Right then I woke up, and it was about 7 a.m. My father-in-law passed away at approximately 1:30 a.m. the next morning. Verse 19 of the psalm says, “The LORD has established his throne in the heavens,
and his kingdom rules over all.” That includes time and space.

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Love Like That

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 98, and is a party in itself! Oh, what a wonderful example of joyous praise; and of a deep, deep love for the LORD/Lord! I’m reading from the ESV.

“Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. The LORD has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations. He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises! Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody! With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD! Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it! Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.”

Sometimes it’s hard to understand just how deeply God does love us. We have a hard time allowing ourselves to be as intimate with Him as we are with our spouse, our children, all our loved ones. But, that’s exactly what God wants from us; that intimacy, that boldness when we approach Him, that confidence when we need Him, that trust. Of course, that intimacy isn’t possible unless and until we allow God into that deepest part of our hearts.

One thing I love about this psalm is that it beckons even to the rivers to clap their hands, the hills to sing for joy. The sea is bid to roar and make a joyful noise to the King, the LORD. It makes me think about waking up in the mountains, just before sunrise. You can hear everything waking up, and it all comes together in a symphony of praise to God. The water begins to gurgle and run a little faster, the wind begins to whisper through the branches of the trees, and sometimes you even hear a bird whistle out there. It’s one of the most beautiful experiences I’ve ever had. Each time we get a glimpse of God’s working in the world around us, we can see a little more of His deep, deep love for His creation. Even the colors of the sunrise and sunset are rich with His love for us; His desire to share His own beauty with us.

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Freedom Is Responsibility

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 82. God’s reminding us that freedom is responsibility. Status, no matter how small or how great, comes with expectations, with standards, and with boundaries. Every king and queen must know this.

“God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
“How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. I said, “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince.” Arise, O God, judge the earth; for you shall inherit all the nations!” (ESV)

When you look at this from God’s vantage point, you can see that He sees us much differently than we see ourselves. How many times I was in “invincible” mode. How many times I thought I could handle it all. Oh, yeah, and that period in my life when I thought I knew it all. LOL I can laugh now, but boy was I a mess when I realized I wasn’t the one who knew it all. And, that the One who does know it all, knew me even better than I knew myself. And He still does! I’m not shocked anymore, but I sure have to laugh with Him sometimes when He reveals me.

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Glorious & Majestic

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 76. It is a beautiful song, written by Asaph. Verse 4 stands out for me. “Glorious are you, more majestic than the mountains full of prey.” When you know that, not only does God know you, but that you know Him, glory and majesty are exactly what you feel within. Then, when you read all the things in the Word of God having to do with His glory and majesty, you will begin to see the king or queen you were created to be. I hope you’ll read the whole psalm for yourselves; and I hope it stirs you to look into the glory and majesty of God in His Word.

Thank you, Third Day, for this beautiful song. It’s one of my favorites.

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Getting Over Yourself

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 74. It’s the next step after the pity party’s over. Verses 1-11 is where I’ve found myself before. You’re wondering, “How long is this going to take, God? Are you going to do something, or are you just going to stand there and watch them destroy me?” One time God asked me, “How long did it take you to decide to turn to me?” I did like Job, and said, “I’ll just shut up now.”

Verse 12 is a reminder that God has been at this a lot longer than you have. “Yet God is my King from ancient times, working salvation on the earth.” Since the beginning, God has had you. He saw this day, and all those days before this one…you know, your downhill slide. Verses 13-18 recount God’s power and the works of His hands. I love verse 19. “Do not deliver the soul of Your dove to beasts; do not forget the lives of Your afflicted forever.” “But, Daddy; I’m your little girl!” LOL I can laugh now; and I hope God did then. That manipulation thing doesn’t work very well with Him. But, oh, don’t we love to try it?!

Verses 20&21 is where we start. “Consider Your covenant, for haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land. Do not let the oppressed retreat in shame; may the poor and needy praise Your name.” Consider your covenant with God! It’s the one Jesus blood was used to seal. Your salvation was not the only thing Jesus secured for you. Jesus secured and assured your redemption as well. Redemption is not only about redeeming you from the power of Satan over your eternal soul. Redemption is about giving you back your power over your life here on Earth; right now! God will help you redeem your clarity, your sanity, your peace, power, joy, and love-love for Him, for yourself, and for others-even those who have hurt you. The greatest commandments, according to Jesus are 1. Love God with all your might, your heart, and soul, and 2. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. Self-loathing, self-doubt, self sabotage, and self defeat are part of that vicious circle we can find ourselves caught up in. This is especially true when we’re dealing with generational curses. The biggest reason addicts and alcoholics relapse is that they never get to deal with the cause(s) of their addiction(s). Those can be found in the daily lives of the generation(s) before you, and in your own. When you begin to see and understand them, you can begin to overcome them.

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Here’s To The Royal Couple

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 72. The heading reads, “Of Solomon,” but by the time we get to the end of it, we can see this was a prayer of King David, possibly for his son, Solomon. The whole thing is absolutely awesome! It’s a long one, so I’m not going to post the whole thing, but I hope you read it for yourselves. When I read this, I think of the duties of Kings and Queens; the expectations God has of them, and the tremendous weight on their shoulders. I also think of Jesus; King Jesus, laughing with joy at the children, and actually touching a leper…and weeping for a bereaved mother. We are kings and queens in the earth, ruling and serving-in our households, and our communities. There are some great points to ponder in this prayer.

Verse 1: “Give the king your justice, O, God” that we might judge rightly and righteously. Verse 4: “May he defend the cause of the poor of the people” that we might crush the oppressor. Verses 5 is for parents and grandparents, great grandparents…and so forth. “May they fear you while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations!” We all leave a legacy to the generations coming up behind us. May it be a legacy of love and faithfulness, strength, and faith in God. Verses 6&7 tell us a king and queen see to the needs of their people and cause peace to abound. Peace is twofold; peace within helps promote peace round about us. Verses 12-14 tell us the lives of the people are precious in a king/queen’s sight, and speaks of compassion and faithfulness to save the poor and needy from oppression. Verses 18&19 remind us who the King really is, and how awesomely privileged we are to be His hands and feet int he earth; to be charged with caring for His creation. I think I’m going to print this one out, frame it, and hang it up in my next kitchen. I want to see this reminder every morning.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

We Magnify What We Receive

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 70. The psalm is a short one; a prayer, actually, of King David’s.

Make haste, O God, to deliver me! Hurry, O LORD, to help me! May those who seek my life be ashamed and confounded; may those who wish me harm be repelled and humiliated. May those who say, “Aha, aha!” retreat because of their shame. May all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; may those who love Your salvation always say, “Let God be magnified!” But I am poor and needy; hurry to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay. (BSB) How many times have we prayed this; or something like it, eh? “Get ’em, Jesus!” Then, “Ooh, LORD/Lord, let me jump for joy when you do! LOL You know God doesn’t want us to rejoice, though, over their wrongdoing and downfall. And, when you think about them falling into God’s hands, you want to hit your knees and pray for mercy for them, don’t you? Yeah.

Verse 4- Go my attention. “May all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; may those who love Your salvation always say, “Let God be magnified!” It had me thinking about that phrase, “what goes in comes out.” Jesus said it this way in (Matt. 12:35) (NIV) “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. There are some powerful revelations in this. First, it tells us that we need to strive to put good things into others; especially our children. We’re told to build one another up. (1 Thessalonians 5:11) This building up includes ourselves, by the way. Stop beating yourself up, if you do, and start recalling to yourself, all the things you can do, and all the things that are right about you. Secondly, and this reinforces that last sentence, we need to recount the love others put into us. We need to recount, especially, the love that God puts into us. I got the pleasure of a surprise visit last evening, from a little sparrow mama looking for something to eat. Of course, I couldn’t resist. I thanked the Lord, for her visit; because I believe He sends them. He has a way of knowing when you need a little touch of His love. This morning the little mama came for some breakfast morsels for her nestlings. What a joy to be loved by Almighty God and His creation!

When we find ourselves doubting, recalling those acts of love toward us is crucial. It builds our faith, and our self-esteem. I know it’s so easy to start feeling like nobody in the world cares whether you live or die. This is where you sit down and remember how Gramma spoiled you with cheesecake make just for you; or the rides you got to take on uncle’s motor-scooter, the soccer games you got to tag along to. This is where you sit down and remember how God came in at the eleventh hour and said, “Oh, no, sir; not with this one, you’re not going to!” -and pulled you through that health crisis. I still keep a journal; and let me tell you, when you start writing that stuff down-and referring to it when you need to, you can feel your faith muscles growing. We magnify what we receive. Here’s the third revelation; based on that statement. Be careful what you receive into your heart. Be careful who you surround yourself with; especially in your inner circle.

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Sing For Joy

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 63. It is King David’s, written while he was in the wilderness in Judah. He stirred himself up recounting the goodness of God. Sometimes all you need is a little real and deep worship to clear the mud out of your eyes…The whole psalm is awesome! I hope you’ll read it for yourselves.

In the meantime, this song never fails to make me feel as if I’m right in God’s embrace! Thank you, Kari Jobe.

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Increasing Your Days

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 61. it’s a psalm of King David’s, and a short one, so I’ll post the whole thing for you.

(Psalm 61 -ESV) “Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! Selah
For you, O God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name. Prolong the life of the king; may his years endure to all generations! May he be enthroned forever before God;
appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him! So will I ever sing praises to your name,
as I perform my vows day after day.

The NIV reads: Increase the days of the king’s life. I like that word better than “prolong.” Here’s the reason: Increase also means to make greater in size, intensity, or degree. This tells me that I don’t have to live an ordinary, or humdrum life. When we allow God to lead us to that rock that is higher than we are, we can increase in every way. -Dear Jesus, I do not need to increase an;y more in size, by the way. Jesus said, “The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all.” (John 3:31)

King David prayed that he might be enthroned before God forever. This is what Paul meant when he said, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (Colossians 3:23-24) In this way, we are truly enthroned before the LORD, because He sees our striving and serving.

When we allow steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over us, and to guide us, we learn to go the extra mile; we learn to give that extra whatever it is that makes for excellence. An example would be not only doing the dishes, but drying them and putting them away, cleaning the sink, sweeping and mopping the kitchen floor, etc. for Mom or Dad, or for your mate. That’s an increase in your thoughtfulness, in the quality of your work, and in your sense of self-worth-because you’re striving to do an excellent job. This is growth on your part. Can you see the increase? When we make a habit of following the path of love and faithfulness, we increase our days with so much love, peace, and joy. And in a family, we actually increase everyone’s days.

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