Psalm 146, 2015

Praise the Lord!

My praise comes from the bottom of my heart!May 9 2015 Psalm 146

I will praise you all of my life!

As long as I live, I will be singing praises to you, God!

I will not put my trust in human beings.  We will all die at some time and then all of our plans are worthless.

I know that you bless us when we put our hope and trust in you.

You, God, are the maker of all things.  And you will be faithful to us and all of your creation forever.

You care about the oppressed and you feed the hungry.  I should do that, too.

You free us from being prisoners to sin!

You open our eyes to the truth!

When we humble ourselves and bow our knees before you, you lift us up.  You make us whole.  You shine your light on us.

You love those who walk in obedience to your directions.

You watch over the lonely….the forgotten….those that don’t ‘fit in’.  I should do that, too.

You have a special place in your heart for orphans and widows.  I want that, too.

You, my God, make sure that those who are wicked and unrighteous pay the consequences for their choices.  You frustrate them.  Their plans are worthless because you are working against them.

But you are always on my side.  Thank you!

You are my God and you reign forever!  From generation to generation!

I praise you, dear Father!

Sword Fighting Class – Search for It

My Child, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you,Proverbs 2 1st page - this one

turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding,

and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding….”

God is helping us memorize Proverbs 2.  It’s all about wisdom and understanding – good stuff!  Here’s the next verse:

and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure,”

If we knew for sure there was a pile of silver hidden in a certain place, how hard would we look?  How much time would we take?  How much effort?

If it was me and I had a pretty good idea of where to look and if I was guaranteed that the treasure would be there, I wouldn’t stop until I found it.

Here, God is guaranteeing us that there is very valuable treasure in his word to us.  We just need to read it and accept it and store it up inside of our hearts and minds.  We need to cry out for it and cry aloud for it…..and look for it.  Search for it.

It’s there.

We’re on this journey together – growing in our relationship with God.  As we grow in our ability to hear him.  As we grow in ability to soak up his truth and apply it to our lives.

Thank you for helping us grow, dear Father.

Audio file of Proverbs 2: 1-6:

 

He is More Grand

(Pictures taken on my recent trip to the Grand Canyon)GC red rocks

My eyes are filled with wonder, dear Father.

I look with breathless amazement at this Grand Canyon, the work of your hands.

The pinks, the reds, the blues, the purples and the greens!

I praise you for all of the colors of the rainbow!

Thank you for the extreme care you took in designing my eyes so I can enjoy the rest of your creation!

The canyon is so huge!

And reminds me of your love for me – how deep!  How wide! How high!

DSC_0196I feel so small….just a spot of dust that is here for a short time and then will blow away.

You are so significant! Who am I that you should care for even the hairs on my head?

But then I remember your words to me – I am your child.  You have adopted me for eternity and I matter to you.  You promise me that you have great plans for me and that you will not stop until those plans are complete.

Yes, dear Father!

I am not insignificant to you.  Thank you for the confidence that knowledge gives me!DSC_0178

As I watch a rain cloud float over the canyon, sending its rain down to the bottom of the canyon, I remember the storm clouds that regularly float into my life.  And I know that you are right beside me every time the rain falls…everytime the wind howls…everytime the storm tries to blow me away from you.  So I hold on even tighter and find my security in you.

I feel like I could look into this canyon forever and continue to see something new each time I looked.  I feel that same way about your precious Word to me.  Everytime I read it, opening my mind and heart, I read something new.

Something important.

Something very good.

Some new truth that I need to know.

Yes, this canyon is pretty grand.

But you are much more grand, Abba Father!  Your grandeur stretches out into infinity.  I get to see small bits and pieces of your awesomeness here on earth.  You are so much more!  Your creation is just a small reflection of your magnificence and beauty.

You are so much more!

 

 

Psalm 119 (aleph), 2015

You bless us when we make decisions and choices that are in line with your word, oh God.

You bless us when our actions are guided by your truth.May 3 Psalm 119 aleph 2015

You bless us when we seek you with all of our hearts.

When we follow your directions to us, we are right where you want us to be.

You have given us all the guidance we need.  Now its our turn to do our part – and that’s to obey.

I want to be obedient, dear Father!

Then I will have no regrets.  No shame.  No guilt when I read your word and realize the difference between my behavior and how you want me to behave.

I want to be able to praise you with a heart fully committed to living my life according to your plan.

Please help me live a life of obedience to you!

Amen, let it be so, Abba Father.

Psalm 67, 2015

May God be gracious to us and bless us.

As we look up to the sun and see the light, maybe we also look up to God and see his face full of love shining down on us.

We want to know you, dear God, here on earth.April 30 Psalm 67, 2015

May the Good News of your salvation spread through all of the nations!

We praise you, God!

May all people join us as we sing your praises, filled with joy and gladness!

You are a perfect father, guiding us and disciplining us.

We praise you, our God!

Let all people join in as we praise you!

You, our God, provide for all of our needs.  You have blessed us in the past and you continue to bless us today.

It is our prayers that everyone here on earth will come to know the blessings of putting their faith in you.

Amen, let it be so, dear Father.

Psalm 16, 2015

When I am close to you, I feel safe, my God.

You represent everything that’s good in my life, dear Father.April 29 2015  Psam 16 2015

I love to spend time with people who love you, God.  Those who are too busy running after their own desires will never find their security in you.  They will only suffer the consequences for their choices.

As for me, I refuse to consider anything in my life to be more important than you.

You are everything I need, dear Lord.

I can rest in you.

I want to be exactly where you want me to be.  That is where I find joy.

Thank you for teaching me your truth.  I am writing your words on my heart so your truth can guide me day and night.

With you, I have nothing to fear.

So I sing praises to you, secure in your love and grace.  I know you will never abandon me.  You walk close beside me every day.

I am filled with joy knowing that you are with me today, tomorrow, forever.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Psalm 121, 2015

I lift my eyes up to the mountains, to the clouds, to the warm sun.April 25 pslam 121, 2015

My help comes from the Lord who created all of these things.

He does not let me stumble.  He never sleeps – he is always caring for me.

The Lord watches over me – I can feel his presence.  He is standing right behind me, not letting anything harm me.

My Lord watches over my life – protecting me.

He watches me day and night, today and tomorrow….forevermore.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Our Foolishness

Our bad choices.

Our rationalizations.

Our blind spots.

How do we react when we realize that we’ve been foolish?April 26 2015 our foolishness.

One of King David’s redeeming qualities was his ability to admit his foolishness and genuinely repent.  He sometimes had trouble seeing his sin because he was lost in his own head – focused on his own plans.  So we read that God brought people into David’s life to help him see his bad decisions.

When David finally realized his foolishness, he was always repentant.  And we see God forgiving David over and over….and over.

Just like God forgives us- over and over…..and over.

Dear Abba Father, Please help us to be quick to recognize our sin and foolishness and quickly repent from those choices.  We know that repenting means to turn away, to stop doing what we’re doing.  We need your strength for that, dear Father.  And perseverance.  We are looking for wisdom and insight like it as silver, dear God.  We are searching for understanding and knowledge like it was hidden treasure.  We know all wisdom and understanding comes from you and you generously give it to us when we ask.  We are asking now.  Thank you.  In the awesome name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

Sword Fighting Class – Turn Your Ear

“My Child, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding…

We are just starting the journey of memorizing Proverbs 2 together and I’m trying something new.  I’ve added an audio file below of me sharing what I’ve memorized so far.  It’s not perfect, but it’s close.  Hopefully we can encourage each other as develop this habit of writing God’s words upon our hearts and minds.  I also included James 1 if you’re still working on finalizing that.

Do you feel a ‘frizz’ of anticipation as we begin to store up within us these significant words from God about Proverbs 2 1st page - this onewisdom?

What is God going to reveal to us on this journey through Proverbs 2?

I am confident that we will have more wisdom when we’ve etched these words on our minds.  That’s what God is promising us – if we memorize his words, turning our ears and applying our hearts – we will find understanding and wisdom and knowledge and insight.

Amen, let it be so, dear Father.

Audio file – click the square on the left to get it started:

 

A Wise Woman

We’ve been hearing a lot from God about wisdom lately, haven’t we?  James 1 was full of directions to us regarding wisdom.April 15 2015 a wise woman

And now, in 1 Samuel, we read the story about a wise woman who saves a city.  How does she do that?

She was wise in her approach to Joab, she didn’t let emotions get in the way, and she had a good suggestion which she was willing to follow-through.

She speaks truth into the situation.  Joab is going to ‘take down’ the city in order to get one man.  The wise women spoke to Joab, reminding him that this was a peaceful city with a strong history of faithfulness to Israel.

And Joab agrees to just take the man and leave the city alone.

Just like that.

A wise woman speaking truth saved the lives of the people living in that city.

Please give us wisdom, Abba Father.