Psalm 27, 2021

LORD, you are the light of my life.  You have saved me – so I am not afraid.

You protect me from danger.  There is no reason for me to tremble.  When the Evil One and his team attack me, trying to tempt me and distract me, they will not win.  Your mighty army of angels surround me – I have nothing to fear.  Even when my path gets tough, my faith in you remains solid.

The one thing I desire most of all, LORD, is to spend my life with you, enjoying my time with you and listening to your voice.

You hold me close when trouble comes.  I can hold my head high even when trials come my way.

I praise you, LORD, with songs and shouts of joy!

I know you hear me, LORD.  You answer me, showing great mercy.  You say, “Come and talk with me”, and my heart responds, “LORD, I am coming.”

I know that you never turn your back on me in anger – you are always ready to help me.  You never leave me or abandon me, O God of my Salvation!  When everyone else leaves me behind you are here, holding me close.

Teach me the right way to live my life, LORD. Lead me down the path you have prepared for me and do not let me wander. Help me avoid the pain and consequences of rebellion. Do not let me give into the temptation to act as the evil ones act.

I live with the confidence that each day you are walking beside me – loving and guiding me.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Psalm 146, 2021

I praise you, God!

Everything in me praises you, LORD!  I will praise you as long as I am alive.  I will be singing your praises, Father, when I breathe my last breath.

I don’t put my trust in people who have money – they will not help me when I really need it.  When they return to the earth as dust, all of their plans will die with them.

Those of us who trust in you to help us, God, find hope and joy. You are the Master Creator of heaven and earth and everything in them.

You always keep your promises.  You give food to the hungry and justice to the oppressed.

You have freed me from the guilt of my sins and you are opening my eyes to your truth. You, oh God, lift me up when the cares of this world weigh me down.  You are a Good Father to all of us who love you.  You protect the strangers among us and care for orphans and widows.

You mess up the plans of unbelievers.

You, my King, will reign forever, throughout all generations.

I lift my praise to you, Abba Father.

Psalm 25, 2021

I trust you, God.

I know you will never let me down.  Everyone who trusts knows how faithful you are.  Those who don’t trust in you get their just rewards.

Help me know you better, dear God.  Direct my steps and guide me into a deeper understanding of your truth.  Teach me, Father.  All of my hope is in you, God, my Savior.

You have been merciful and loving since the beginning of time.  I have confessed my sins and I know you have forgiven me because my guilt has disappeared.

You love overwhelms me.  You are so good, LORD.

I feel you walking beside me as I go through my day, God.  When I listen, you teach me what is right.  You are loving and faithful to those of us who have put our trust in you.

Your grace covers all of my sin and rebellion.

In response to my respect and honor for you, you help me make the right choices in my life.  You give me good things and bless my children.

I need to hear your voice, Father.  Speak to me – I need you each day.

When my eyes are fixed on you, God, you help me avoid the danger and pitfalls that come my way.  I turn to you when I am alone and sad – you take away my worries and stress.  When the trials and problems of this world press in all around me, you are always beside me – loving me and giving me strength.

You are my Rock and Refuge, Father.  Guard my life and rescue me.  I trust in you alone.

I pray that all people everywhere will experience your mercy and strength, God.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Psalm 139, 2021

You know me well, LORD.

You know where I am and what I’m thinking about.  You know where I go and when I stay – you know all of my habits.   Before any words come out of my mouth, you know what I’m going to say.  You walk close beside me, with your hand guiding me.

I will never totally understand you – you are too awesome!

I know I am never alone – you are always with me.  Where ever I go – you are already there.  My life is in your hands.  You are constantly guiding me, protecting me and loving me.

Sometimes, in the middle of the night, I feel alone and everything seems very dark.  But you are there –

you are always there.

Darkness is not dark to you.  Your light shines through.

I know you created me, dear Father.  You knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you for how unbelievably wonderful you are!

You create masterpieces!  I know – because I am one of them.  You knew me before anyone else.  You saw me.  You formed me.  And you made plans for my life before I was even born.

Your plans are precious to me, God.  Please show me the path you have designed just for me.

I want to spend all my days with you, Abba Father.

(This picture is my grandson- Jackson.  We got to meet him last year on August 1st.)

Psalm 1, 2021

I know the joy of not following the advice of unbelievers,

refusing to spend a lot of time with those who do not honor God,

and avoiding groups of people who have no respect for God.

I delight in God’s Word.  When I am focused on my relationship with God, I am like a tree planted along the riverbank, fed each day, all day by the Living Water.  Jesus grows fruit in my life as he gives me love and wisdom and strength.

This is not true of those who rebel against God.  Their lives are scattered by the wind – they will be judged and condemned by God.  Unfortunately, when nonbelievers leave this earth they will be forever separated from the One they refuse to believe in.

Each day, God watches over all of his children with love and grace, but the path of those who don’t have faith in Jesus leads to destruction.

Amen, Abba Father.

Psalm 121, 2021

When I need help, the only place I need to look is to my God, the Creator of Everything.  He does not let me stumble.   God watches over me all day and all night – he never sleeps.

How great is the LORD who stands by me all day and all night!

I know that God takes care of me – day and night –

as I come and go –

both now and forever!

Thank you, Abba Father!

Psalm 108, 2021

My heart is yours, O God, and my soul sings praises to you. Every morning as I see the sun rise, I praise you, LORD.

Great is your love! It fills the heavens reaching to the skies. You are exalted, God, above the heavens and your glory shines over all the earth.

Deliver us, Father. We know you reign over all the earth. Nothing and no one can stand against you, God.

With God on our side, evil doesn’t stand a chance. Victory is our’s.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Psalm 86, 2021

Let’s join with King David in his prayer:

Hear me, LORD, and answer me, I need you.  I am a faithful servant who trusts you – save me.

You are my God, have mercy on me as I call out to you all day long.  I trust you, God.  Please give me joy.

You are so good.  When I walk close with you, your love and forgiveness overwhelm me.  There is no other god like you.  Everything you have created joins together to worship you.  You are great and marvelous.  You alone are God.

I want to learn all about you, LORD, so I can build my life on your truth.  Give me an undivided heart which is focused on loving and honoring you.

I will praise you, God, with all my heart forever.

Each day I feel your great love for me.  Keep me safe.

I am surrounded by arrogant and confused people who don’t believe in you, God.  But I know you are a compassionate and gracious God, overflowing with love and faithfulness.

Open my eyes to what you doing, God.  Have mercy on me just as you have given mercy to those who have gone before me.  Show me your goodness, LORD, so that others around me will see what a great God you are.

Thank you for your help and comfort, LORD.

Amen.

Psalm 71b, 2021

‘As for me, I will always have hope;

I will praise you more and more.”

I can talk about your goodness and your grace all day long, Lord, even though it’s often hard to describe how great you are. I tell everyone I know about you.  I share with them how awesome you are!

All of my life, God, you have taught me your the truth. I know you well and I tell others about how marvelous you are. I am fulfilling my obligation to pass on your truth to the next generation – to those who are coming behind me.

I know you will be walking closely beside me for the rest of my days. 

You are perfect!  Your greatness fills the universe and never ends!  There is no one like you, God!

Yes, I have had bitter trials and troubles in my life.  But you were always there to guide me….

and comfort me….

and restore me.

I will never stop praising your faithfulness, my God! I will sing praise to you! I will shout for joy!

You have saved me and I cannot stop talking about you! No one and nothing can truly harm me when I have you!

Thank you, Abba Father.

Everything

Everything I have comes from God.

Everything you have comes from God.

I really believe this. Do you?

When I came to the point that I sincerely believed this, it totally changed what I do with my time, money and talents.  I believe that this is what God is going to be talking to me about on judgement day. I am a believer and God has forgiven my sins for all time because of Christ’s death on the cross. It would be against God’s nature to bring up my sins on judgement day – what was the cross for? But God’s Word tells me in several places that Jesus is like the owner of the company who gave his servants – including me – resources and talents before he went off on a long journey. When he comes back, he will hold his servants – including me – accountable for how well we stewarded what he left with us while he was gone..

On Judgement Day, God will give me an evaluation of what I have done with all he has given me.

King David’s declaration in front of all of his people has made this passage in 1 Chronicles 29 one of my favorite. In my head, I imagine King David standing in the middle of huge piles of gold, silver, bronze and precious stones he was accumulating to be used in the building of the Temple of God.

I see David standing in the middle of this fortune with his hands raised to the sky as he acknowledges in front of everyone that all of this – and everything – comes from God.

Let’s join him (my paraphrase) –

We lift up our praise to you, Lord, our God and Father, forever!

You have all the greatness..

all the power…

all the glory…

all of the majesty..

and all of the splendor!

Everything in heaven and on earth is yours.

You, oh Lord, own everything and are in control of it all!

Any wealth or honor we have comes from you.

You rule over everything!

Only you are able to give strength and power to us.

Now, our God, we give you our thanks and we praise your glorious name!

Thank you, Abba Father!