The Pull From Behind

Psalm 120 (ESV)

In my distress I called to the LORD,
and he answered me.
Deliver me, O LORD,
from lying lips,
from a deceitful tongue.

What shall be given to you,
and what more shall be done to you,
you deceitful tongue?
A warrior’s sharp arrows,
with glowing coals of the broom tree!

Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech,
that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
Too long have I had my dwelling
among those who hate peace.
I am for peace,
but when I speak, they are for war!

This is a short one, so I posted the whole psalm. When I read this, I think about the past I left behind. Sometimes we need to leave people where they are, and go on without them. They’ll catch up when they’re ready. This is especially true when we’re trying to break off and overcome generational curses. That pull from behind can be a real doozy; but we have to resist it with all we’ve got.

When I was coming through some of my stuff, I learned to pray and ask God to show me the truth, and to give me the strength to receive it. It’s so much easier to paint those lovely little scenarios we’d like to be in, right? Sometimes the lies we tell ourselves are worse than the dragon we’re fighting.

Let me tell you about those who hate peace. They may not be necessarily opposing you openly. But when you look at the way someone lives, look to see if their lifestyle is conducive to order and peace. If not, you may not want to spend too much time there. This includes family members. The last verse of this is about open opposition. Don’t let it change your resolve, or your path. Again, you may need to separate yourself from the opposition. Keep pushing through. The best thing you can do for them is pray for them.

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And, Here’s Some Of His Love

Psalm 91, ladies and gentlemen, is one of the most powerful revelations of God’s love toward us, and of our stature in this world.

I say, “stature,” because of those nine foot long beds I saw in the castles in Germany. To see the size of some of those men is awe-inspiring. I think about that scripture about the sons of Anak-the Nephilim. The Israelites saw them and they were, “like grasshoppers” in their own sight. We often see ourselves that way, in light of the tribulation or trouble we’re facing. No, no, no! In Christ Jesus, we’re as taller and mightier than anyone or anything! (Numbers 14:21), (Hab. 2:14), (Hab. 3:3), (Isa. 6:3)

I hope this is a psalm that you will post on a wall and read aloud. You will be so filled with peace, strength, and joy!

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Memorial Day, World

Today is the day we honor our fallen soldiers. Thank you, American service men and women, and families, for your sacrifices. I’m proud to be an American! I’m thankful for the freedom I have as an American woman. Even more, I’m hopeful with all my heart, that one day, the world will celebrate a day when all weapons of destruction were laid down, never to be picked up again. God bless the fallen soldiers of every nation. God bless America!

Thank you, Vince Gill, for this beautiful rendition of this song. Let there be peace on earth…

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Then You’ll Be Established There

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 87. It speaks of a city standing, established, on God’s holy mountains. As I read the psalm, I think of growing in the knowledge of the LORD/Lord, and in my relationship with Him. It fills me with such peace and a tremendous joy inside.

“On the holy mount stands the city he founded; the LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God. Selah Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon; behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush — “This one was born there,” they say. And of Zion it shall be said, “This one and that one were born in her”; for the Most High himself will establish her. The LORD records as he registers the peoples, “This one was born there.” Selah Singers and dancers alike say, “All my springs are in you.” When you look at yourself in the spirit, you can see how like Zion you are. Spiritually, it’s where you and God meet; where the divine in you becomes evident, and you are secure in it. It’s you at your best, your most beautiful, most victorious…it’s you when you get it right. The glorious things spoken of you happen in Heaven, where your name is known. All that happens when you realize, accept, and embrace that all your springs are in Him. (John 4:14) “But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.” I hope this blesses you as much as it does me-every time I read it.

PS Gautama Buddha said it this way: “When you know for yourselves that this is unskillful, and that skillful, this blameworthy and that blameless, this deprecated by the wise because it conduces to suffering and ill, and that praised because it conduces to well-being and happiness, when you know this, you will reject the one, and make a practice of the other.” Then, you’ll be established there.

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Through His Eyes

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 86. It’s a prayer of King David. When I read it, I think of my own childhood, and of my children. We all too often forget just how much we mean to them, and how they see us. Whenever I read this psalm, I have to thank God for my grandmother. And, when I think of my busy little self…oh, my gosh, Oma, I love you so much; and I’m so sorry I made you work so hard -and so thankful for your endless patience and love!

Verses 1-4 begin the prayer: “Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.
Preserve my life, for I am godly; save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God. Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day. Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.” Poor and needy is a humble soul/spirit; a hungry spirit. Godly, yes! God doesn’t impute wickedness to His children. He sees the best in us! He assumes the best intentions on our part. I think of hearing that “Mama, Mama, Mama,” and later that “Mom” from the time they woke up to the time they fell asleep. LOL Their hearts are in our hands.

Verse 11 is the simple truth. “Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.” When I think of a united heart, I think of one that is sure of the truth, and sure of the teacher. That means there is no conflict, everything lines up. The actions prove the words.

Verses 14-16 give us a picture of doubt trying to sneak in and destroy truth and faith. Verse 17 gives us the remedy. “Show me a sign of your favor, that those who hate me may see and be put to shame because you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.” That sign of favor is the hug when they come in the door, that “you can do it, baby,” when they’re unsure, and even that mama racing across the parking lot with fire shooting out of her eyes because Baby was just threatened. Yes, that was this mama. LOL It ended peacefully, I’m happy to say.

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Resting In God

I apologize for the error in yesterday’s post. The message comes from Psalm 61, not Psalm 60. Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 62. It speaks to us about resting in God, for one thing. If anybody’s living proof that one needs to do that more often, it would be me. I get moving on my projects and start picking up speed, and the next thing you know, I’m sprawled out in front of Jesus praying, “Help me get up, Lord.” LOL We can get going so fast that we lose track of where we’re at, and we end up losing focus.

God is a fortress of rest for one’s soul. When you truly get into that fortress with Him, nothing can shake or disturb that peace there. Verse 7 is a great spiritual booster when we get hold of it. “My salvation and my honor rest on God.” That tells me I don’t need to try to “look like I got it goin’ on.” In Christ, you have got it “goin’ on!” And, it’s always going on, because the law of the kingdom of Heaven is progress. Verse 8 tells us to pour out our hearts before Him. You know, God is the best listener I’ve ever known. Yes, He does care about your heart. The issues of life flow from it, and He told us to guard our hearts well. Verses 11 and 12 are our assurance that God’s got it; and God;s got us. “God has spoken once; I have heard this twice: that power belongs to God, and loving devotion to You, O Lord. For You will repay each man according to his deeds.” That can also be found in (Romans 2:6) God will repay each man according to his deeds.

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Let’s Be Faithful One To Another

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 55. The importance of faithfulness to one another is addressed in this psalm. This is important, not only in friendships, but in all our relationships. There’s a heads-up here on just how easily and readily the enemy uses those closest to us to wreak havoc and destroy. How easily we can fall to his devices.

Verses 4-8 give us a picture of the heartache and spiritual distress caused by unfaithfulness. “My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me, and horror overwhelms me….” That death doesn’t have to be a physical death; the end of a close relationship is death to a lot of things. Things like trust, joy, peace, and security are destroyed. Verses 12-14 are eye openers. “For it is not an enemy who taunts me—then I could bear it; it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me— then I could hide from him. But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend. We used to take sweet counsel together; within God’s house we walked in the throng. ” (ESV) Do you see the reference made to being within God’s house? That’s so unfortunate! God’s children especially should be on alert against those wiles of the devil. And of course, he knows the ones who know you best can hurt you the most.

Verse 15 is also a powerful one. “Let death steal over them; let them go down to Sheol alive; for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.” (ESV) That lets me know I need to be aware of what thoughts I’m entertaining-daily, hourly, from minute to minute. This is where Proverbs 11:27 comes to mind: “Whoever seeks good finds favor, but evil comes to one who searches for it.” (NIV) When we entertain thoughts of envy, malice, judgment, bitterness, etc., our hearts become filled with them. Your mind and heart are your spiritual dwelling places. What goes in comes out. When we determine not to impute or assume the worst (no evil intent) to anyone, but seek the good in one, about that one, in that situation, etc., we will be inclined to do good unto that person, and in that situation. You can’t do good without it coming back to you. We reap what we sow.

Jesus said, “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant.” (Matt. 20:26) That’s so easily accomplished, and means so much more than we allow it to, or acknowledge it does. Romans 13:14 says it best: “Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.”

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Let Him Encamp Around You

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 53. It was written by King David. I have to wonder if it didn’t come to him the way it comes to all of us; after the fact. You know, you’re going through the storm, waves coming over the edge of the boat, wind tearing the sails apart…JESUS where are you?!!!!! All of a sudden, it’s over, and you don’t know how. And, here you are, still in one piece, still breathing, and the enemy is seen in the distance…limping away with his tail tucked between his legs. Praise God! That’s when it hits you: “O you of little faith…” And you realize just how awesome God is; how fiercely protective of you He is, and how swiftly and silently He can get the job done. He’s the original stealth bomber. LOL

As I read the psalm, I couldn’t help but look to time ahead, when there will be only a remnant left to deal with the evil. That remnant will be those who perhaps heard the gospel and came to believe when the church disappeared into thin air. As I think about that time to come, and the present darkness we live in now, I’m inclined to bow my head and pray even harder for those who will be left here. I’m also finding myself so very grateful for those who taught me about Jesus; from my grandmother, to the Sunday school teachers, Summer Bible Camp teachers, pastors, etc., and most of all, Jesus, Himself. Just think, if He hadn’t come and talked to us…If He’d only come and died for us…what we would be missing in terms of love, peace, power, and joy.

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How Beautiful On That Mountain

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 48. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised! Verses 1-3 of the psalm God’s holy mountain, beautiful in loftiness is mentioned. Mount Zion, the city of the Great King is referred to. *In the Hebrew Bible, the Land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem are both referred to as Zion. Other religions use the word Zion to mean “utopia” or “holy place.”*

God’s Holy Place, the Holy of Holies, is where we, through Jesus, have access to the Father. He is a priest and King after the order of Melchizadek. Melchizedek means King of righteousness, and King of Salem means King of peace. (Hebrews 7:25-26) That place is where the presence of God is, and we truly do come away beautiful in loftiness from there-every time we enter in. In speaking of far north, we have to look up and down-seeing Heaven as far North, and hell as South. (Spiritual realms) *two (temporal and spiritual) realms-one being a shadow of the other. Heaven is the fortress there, that we can boldly access when we need to. (Ephesians 3:12) Verses 4-8 give us an idea of what happens when those kings (powers and principalities, and hosts of spiritual wickedness) see us up there. (Eph. 6:12), (Luke 10:19-20) Verse 9 bids us to contemplate God’s steadfast love within the temple. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Just this verse will change your whole life if you let it. Verses 12-14 will make you leap for joy. “March around Zion, encircle her, count her towers, consider her ramparts, tour her citadels, that you may tell the next generation. For this God is our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even till death.” *another version says “He will be our guide beyond death/guide us beyond death. (ESV) A citadel is a fortress that commands. A rampart is a protective barrier. One of the definitions of tower is to rise or reach a great height. There are places in the Bible where, I believe, Zion refers to the children of God. So, whenever we spend time in the presence of God, and as often as we study and walk according to His Word, we are growing into exactly that kind of “city.” (Matt. 5:14) Now are you getting a picture of awesome YOU?! Hallelujah! And we’re to tell the next generation, “This is God!” “This is what God has done, and is doing in my life and yours!” When we do this, we’re not only being obedient, but we’re sowing seeds of hope, fearlessness, and boldness toward God, and about the things of God. Just think-if our children could feel such joy and peace, and grow like that whenever they enter our presence…The world might be changed tremendously overnight.

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The Power Of Knowledge

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 44. “We have heard with our ears, O God; our fathers have told us the work You did in their days, in the days of old.” This is the very first verse of the psalm; and it speaks loudly to us of the power of knowledge. Here’s how it works: Until you can see/realize the truth, you may not be able to discern the right or wrong of something you’re doing, something that’s going on, etc. Until you see/realize, and accept that truth, you cannot change it. Satan is a master of deception, illusion, and a false sense of security, pride, and worth.

Verses 2-8 of this psalm tell us who’s responsible for that empowerment. “…You are my King, O’God…through you we repel our foes…you save us…” We need to choose life for our children, and make it our creed. (Joshua 24:15) It’s through our standards and boundaries that they overcome the darkness and destruction in the world. *This works both ways. When we choose the wrong standards and don’t establish boundaries, or enforce them, the darkness and destruction in the world overcomes them.

Verses 23-26 Let us know that they can’t do it without us. Without us they will be afflicted and oppressed. This makes me think of Jesus’ words: “In the world you will have tribulation.” (John 16:33) “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” (John 15:18-19). When we teach our children God’s Word, testify about His love and working in our lives, we are empowering them with the knowledge of God. *Actually, God’s Word empowers us with the knowledge of good and evil. When we do this, we empower and reinforce, and redeem, identity, dignity, peace, power, and authority. We also strengthen and preserve the bond of relationship.

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