Sunday, June 5, 2016

Under the Lord's Care

Have you ever thought about being "under the Lord's care?  It brings back memories of having small children and the responsibility of "caring" for them.  The daily tasks and joys of being in their presence and taking care of their needs whether it was feeding them, clothing them, hugging them, loving on them, talking to them.... those times were special and we did all those things for our children because we love them.  As a mom, you wanted to keep them safe and hold their hand when crossing the street.  You wanted your children to be safe and enjoy life. You wanted to teach them about Jesus and how to love one another,  You watched over them in every stage of life and helped teach them how to walk and then would pick them up when they fell. You prayed for them in the present and you prayed for their future.  There are so many things as a mom we did to care for our children as they grew up.  Our Heavenly Father cares for us in many of the same ways. 

As we read in Psalm 37 - "The blameless spend their day "under the Lord's care".  Psalm 37 list ways that He cares for you.

  1.  He gives us the desires of our heart v 4
  2.  He gives us land to enjoy and safe pastures v3
  3.  He provides for our needs v5
  4.  He provides us with an inheritance of His land v 9
  5.  He upholds our right hand v 24
  6.  He guides our steps v 23
  7.  He loves us v 28
  8.  He never leaves us or forsakes us v 28
  9.  He teaches us and gives us wisdom v 30
10.  He gives us a future v 37

What comfort it is to know that we live "under the Lord's care".  We are loved and safe under His care. 

Thank you Lord that you love us and that you care for us.  Every second of our life is in Your hands.  You created us and you care for us not only while we are living on this earth, but your "care" extends for eternity!!!

Saturday, May 28, 2016

His Love Endures Forever

God's faithfulness and love for me endures forever!!  How can one understand the love the Father has for me?  How can we fathom His words spoken over us?  He is faithful and true forever.

Psalm 89 proclaims His faithfulness and His love for me.

He will sustain me v 21
He will strengthen me v 21
His faithful love will be with me v 24
His love for me lasts forever v 28
His covenant with me will never fail v 28
He will never take His love from me v 33
He will never take away His faithfulness to me v 33
He will never change what His lips have spoken v 34
He has made a covenant with me His chosen one v 3
He is mighty and His faithfulness surrounds me v 8
His arm is endowed with power v 13
His hand is strong and exalted
Bessed are the ones who have learned to acclaim you and walk in your presence
He is my strength!!
He gives me His shield!!
He bestows strength to me HIs warrior!!!


How wonderful to realize that He surrounds me with his love, strength and power!!
I am shielded by His shield!!  HIs words have spoken and His covenant toward me lasts forwever.  His lips have spoken love to me!!  His lips have proclaimed His faithfulness to me!!  He will never change what His lips have spoken!! 

I stand in awe of Him.  I stand in awe of the love and faithfulness He bestows upon me.  How can I totally grasp the love you have for me?  I am truly blessed to receive your love and to walk in Your presence Lord!! Your love and faithfulness endures forever!!  I will live with you one day and experience your complete love and faithfulness forever!! Who am I Lord that you would bestow such love and faithfulness?  What words can I speak to express my love to you for all that you have done for me and all that you will do for me that has not taken place yet?  I adore you and honor you Lord!!

Monday, May 23, 2016

The Lord Almighty is with us!!


What a beautiful reminder in Psalm 46 that God is with us.  He is our refuge.  He is our shelter. He is our help.  Let us not fear for our Lord God Almighty is powerful and with His voice..... He has power to melt the earth.  Just with His voice, He commands the earth to melt.  There is POWER in His voice.  When He speaks, He controls all things under His command.  When we are faced with troubles and need strength to make it another day, He has the POWER to give us the strength we need to face our circumstances.  When we are uncertain of what lies ahead, we can find shelter in knowing He has all things under His perfect plan.  When we are fearful, we can rest assured that He has the POWER to drive away our fear and bring us peace and love to comfort us.  We know all these things for He promises to "be with us"!! Why should we fear, when we know the all-powerful God is actually with us?  When we need strength, our all-powerful God gives us strength because He is with us!!  When we are uncertain of what tomorrow may bring, we know we can face tomorrow because Our God is with us!!! 

Help us to always remember that God is with us!!  Giving us strength, giving us courage, giving us love, giving us wisdom, giving us help because He walks with us throughout every day! Helps us to remember we are not alone but we have the Heavenly Father walking beside us and holding our right hand providing us with what we need. 

 Psalm 46


God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging.[c]
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
    God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
    he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Come and see what the Lord has done,
    the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease
    to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the shields[d] with fire.
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.
 
 

Sunday, May 22, 2016

God's Chosen Ones


What does it mean to be God's chosen one?

In Psalm 105:15 - "Do not touch my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm.  v43: "He brought out His people with rejoicing, His chosen ones with shouts of joy.

Looking in God's word, we find many scriptures pertaining to "chosen one" 

1.  God sets apart His chosen ones for Himself.  To be His People

        1 Pet 2:9; Deut 7:6


         Deuteronomy 7:6   For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.

         1 Peter 2: 9  But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

         Psalm 4:3  Know that the Lord has set apart his faithful servant for himself;
    the Lord hears when I call to him.

2.  God calls and chooses us out of this world 

        Eph 1:4; John 15:19

        Ephesians 1:4  For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

       John 15:19  As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.

3. God is with those He has "chosen" and we are with Him 

      Rev 17:14 - Those who are with the Lord of Lords and King of kings are "called, chosen and faithful"
     Revelations 17:14 They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”

4.  God chooses us to be rich in faith, receive His favor  and to inherit HIs kingdom

    James 2:5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?

    Psalm 106:4&5 Remember me, Lord, when you show favor to your people, come to my aid when you save them, that I may enjoy the prosperity of your chosen onesthat I may share in the joy of your nation  and join your inheritance in giving praise.

5.  God chose us to "share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ" 


       2 Thess 2:14 -  He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We are called and chosen to "stand firm",  share in God's inheritance and to receive His favor

2 Thess 2:14:
God loved us
God "chose" us
God saved us
God sanctified us
God shares HIs glory with us

God "chose" us to be His people and to be His treasured possession.  I never thought about being God' treasured possession which means we are greatly valued!!  Let me live my life as God's treasured possession.  One that gives Him delight and one He has created with great value. 

Thank you God for calling us, "choosing" us to inherit your kingdom and share in Your glory!!  Let us live our lives so that we may be with Him when we fight the war!!  That we may live as one "called, chosen and faithful" to Him who  saved us and loved us before time even began.



Thursday, May 19, 2016

God's Power


God's Power is amazing!! The God of the universe promises to give us his power when we pray and summon His power into our situations and circumstances.  Because God's Power belongs to Him, He instructs us to "ask: God to summon His power, when we Proclaim His Power, He gives us his power and strength. 


1. God's Power belongs to God 
     Psalm 62:11 - "God has spoken once, Twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God."

2. Pray to summon the power of God
     Psalm 68:28 "Summon your power God; show us your strength, our God, as you have done before."

3. Proclaim the power of God 
        Psalm 68:34 - "Proclaim the power of God, whose majesty is over Israel, whose power is in the heavens."

4. God gives power and strength to His people
       Psalm 68:35 - "You, God, are awesome in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God!"

We will look at the dictionary to gain insight on the meanings of the following words in order to understand these passages.

Ask - means to inquire, request; solicit; demand; expect

Summon means to ask someone or something to come

Proclaim - means announce; declaire; extol or praise publicly

Gives means to place in someone's care; impact, present; offer; bestow; provide; confer; grant


When we pray, we are asking God to come bringing His power.  We are proclaiming that the God of all the universe possessess "POWER" and we publicly praise Him.  And as always, God is faithful and true to give us; bestow on us; grant to us; confer to us HIS POWER!!!

Thank you God for possessing POWER and for promising to us who ask and proclaim YOUR POWER to guide us and give us strength in all circumstances!!

Ephesians 6:10 - Be strong in the Lord and the strength of HIS might.  Being a believer does not give you immunity from assaults from the enemy, but it DOES give you access to the POWER of the Father - HIS POWER to defend you as well as reverse what's been done to you.  We are connected to more spiritual POWER than what is coming against you (Priscilla Shirer, Armor of God)

Help me to recognize that I belong to God and that power belongs to God.  His POWER is available whenver I ask, proclaim and receive it!! 

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Phinehas Stood Up and Intervened

Psalm 106:30-31
December 13, 2015



Psalm 106:30-31 - But Phinehas stood up and intervened and the plague was checked.  This was credited to him as righteousness for endless generations to come."

In Number 25:11-13 - Lord said to Moses, Phinehas has turned my anger away; for he was as zealous as I am for my honor so that  I didn't put an end to them.  Therefore, I am making my covenant of peace with him and his descendants because he was zealous for the honor of His God and made atonement.

Dissecting the scripture in Psalms 106:

BUT - means "unless"; if not; without the circumstance that; otherwise than

STOOD UP - means to "rise up"; to take a position; to remain firm; steadfast as in a cause; to take up a position for a cause or issue

INTERVENED means to come between; occur incidently so as to modify or hinder; interfere with force

RIGHTEOUSNESS - means quality of state of being; just or upright; upright, morality; virtuous; acting in upright and moral way.

ZEALOUS - devoted; diligent, eager, passionate; warm


In this scripture, one must question the Lord "So just as Phinehas... what do you want me to do?  How do I pray?  What cause do I intervene?  I will stand up for your cause.

If God is for us, who can stand against us? Romans 8:31

Our God is greater, stronger than any other.. Our God is powerful, awesome in power

Let me honor you in all I do.  My honor is to worship God, the Supreme Being

Let me be zealous for your honor.  Let me delight in God's Word.  

Jeremiah 15:16 When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight, for I bear your name O Lord God Almighty.  

What kind of warrior is God?

Joshua 10:1-15

In this passage of scripture, Joshua is told by God to not be afraid but that he would hand over his enemies to him and God would show amazing power by having the sun stand still.

God shows us several things in this passage about what kind of warrior He is.

1.  Reassures us when facing a battle  v5-8.  God assures Joshua of victory when facing his battle

2.  Brings Peace and Not fear  v8 . Do not be afraid

3.  Gives Promise of Deliverance and Victory  v11.  God brings hailstones

4.  Fights fiercely with us vs.11 God brings hailstones

5.  Defeats the enemy  v11.  More killed by God than man through hailstone.  Only God can bring hailstones and bring deliverance and overcome the enemy.

6.  Displays His mighty power v14.  God allows the sun to stand still so battle is completely won.  .