Praise

Psalm 61:8 NKJV/NIV

New King James Version (NKJV)

8 So I will sing praise to Your name forever, That I may daily perform my vows.

New International Version (NIV)

8 Then will I ever sing praise to your name and fulfill my vows day after day.

David made a vow to praise God each day. David continually praised God through both the good and difficult times of his life. Do you find something to praise God for each day? As you do, you will find your heart elevated from daily distractions to lasting confidence.

In my daily life I have found that no matter what kind of situation I am in, that I am in it for a reason.  I have always believed and been taught that God has a reason for everything.  No matter how hard or how easy something may seem, God is in control.  The bible says that He is the author and finisher of our faith.  God created all is in all.  So why would we not want to praise Him.  

Today is a day that some people look over and other praise.  This is the day that our Lord and Savior was tried and mocked and beaten and placed on and nailed to a cross to die for you and me.  Why?  Did we deserve it?  No!  We deserved death period.   Did He deserve it?  No!  He die for us because He loved us and He wanted to spend eternity with us and He knew that if He didn't die in our place we would still be in sin and there would be no way to the Father.   But through His sacrifice and by taking our penalty He created a way through the Son to the Father.  This day is a sad day but also a glorious day because if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you know that He didn't stay in the grave but on the third day He rose from the dead and conquered death.  Amen!

That is why we can praise Him in all types of situations.  We know that this life here on earth is just a mere vapor, a mere blink of an eye compared to eternity and we have that to look forward to.  I do my best to praise God each and everyday for the things that He has done for me and the things that He has blessed me with.  I am unworthy but because of what He did on the cross and what He did in my heart I am overjoyed to be called a child of God.  Praise be to God.  

Broken but Yearning

Psalm 42:5-6 (New King James Version)

5 Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance. 6 O my God, my soul is cast down within me; Therefore I will remember You from the land of the Jordan, And from the heights of Hermon, From the Hill Mizar.

The NASB states it like this...

5 Why are you in despair, O my soul ? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence. 6 O my God, my soul is in despair within me; Therefore I remember You from the land of the Jordan And the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.

Depression is one of the most common emotional ailments. One antidote for depression is to meditate on the record of God's goodness to his people. This will take your mind off the present situation and give hope that it will improve. It will focus your thoughts on God's ability to help you rather than on your inability to help yourself. When you feel depressed, take advantage of this psalm's antidepressant. Read the Bible's accounts of God's goodness, and meditate on them.

This doesn't have to when you are feeling depressed.  If you are the kind of person who doesn't get depressed but you get aggravated about thing or you allow things to fester in your mind and in your heart, then this also will help you.  Being in the presence of God and meditating on His word can take your mind to heavenly places and take you out of the filth of this world.  God's word is a refresher and a source of joy and peace and it enables you to get out of whatever depressed, aggravated, and or terrible state of mind you may be in.  

In my life I try not to worry about a lot of things.  Someone asked me the question, "Why don't you worry or fret about certain things?".   I told them I know God is in control and He is going to take care of everything.  What is important to know is that I am who I am.  I do worry about things and it is easier to just say those words.  The hard thing to do is to actually believe them.  This is where trust and faith in God's promises come in.  Even though I worry about things, I still say those words because I know that God is going to work through whatever situation I am in and fulfill His promise.  I just have to be willing to allow Him to work through me and the situation I am in so that He gets the glory no matter how I am "feeling" at that time.  I have to die to self, get out of the way, and let God live through me to accomplish His will.  To God be the Glory!

Restoration

Psalm 41:1-2 (New King James Version)

1 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. Blessed is he who considers the poor; The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. 2 The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive, And he will be blessed on the earth; You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.

As the life of a deer depends upon water, so our lives depend upon God. Those who seek him and long to understand him find never-ending life. Feeling separated from God, this psalmist wouldn't rest until he restored his relationship with God because he knew that his very life depended on it.

Understanding that God controls your life regardless of what you do is a hard thing to wrap your mind around.  Even though we are the ones doing the actions, God is the one controlling us and allowing things to happen in our lives.  He is the one that is allowing "life" to happen for us.  If there is a riff or something that has hindered us from walking with Him then we need to do everything that we can to ask for forgiveness and turn our lives back over to Him.  

The Lord want to bless us but He first wants us to know that, as believers, that we must first honor and glorify Him and then the blessing will come.  God is going to keep us from harm but He does allow things to happen in our lives to either strengthen our faith or test our faith.  Through those trials and testing we are able to grow in our faith and in our relationship with Him.

I want my relationship with God to be so close that others can see me walking with Him no matter where I am.  More importantly I want my relationship to be so close with the Lord that no matter what I face or come in contact with, He is the one I go to first for direction and guidance.  I want it to be an automatic thing without hesitation.  If there is anything that gets in the way of that then I want to be just like the psalmist, making sure I do anything and everything it takes to make that relationship right again.  Praise be to God.   

Remind me Lord of the time You give

Psalm 39:4-5

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁴ “Lord, make me to know my end,
And what is the measure of my days,
That I may know how frail I am.
⁵ Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths,
And my age is as nothing before You;
Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah

I like how the NLT puts it, 

4“Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered how fleeting my life is. 5You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath."

To me, when I read this, in both version, it brings me to the realization that I am but a mere man and I am not God.  Time is not on my side in the grand schema of things while I'm on this earth.  God hold time in the palm of His hand and His word says that the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.  In thinking about our lives here on earth we are called to be set apart and separate from the world.  As Christians, we are here to serve God and praise His name.  While our time here on earth is short, we can look forward to one day glorifying God and praising His name for eternity.  

We had a soloist, Angela Meeks, sing a song yesterday that spoke exactly to this.  The name of the song was "I Bowed on my Knees".  Wonderful song.  She did an amazing job.  The song speaks the truth though.  One Day when we get to heaven its going to be so glorious.  Right now it's just to much for us to even fathom.  I know the only thing that is going to be important in heaven is seeing Jesus and praising His name.   

Life is short no matter how long we live. If there is something important we want to do, we must not put it off for a better day. Ask yourself, "If I had only six months to live, what would I do?" Tell someone that you love him or her? Deal with an undisciplined area in your life? Tell someone about Jesus? Because life is short, don't neglect what is truly important and the time that God Himself has given you.

Guidance

Psalm 25:4-5

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁴ Show me Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.

David expressed his desire for guidance. How do we receive God's guidance? The first step is to want to be guided and to realize that God's primary guidance system is in his Word, the Bible. By reading it and constantly learning from it, we will gain the wisdom to perceive God's direction for our lives. We may be tempted to demand answers from God, but David asked for direction. When we are willing to seek God, learn from his Word, and obey his commands, then will we receive his specific guidance.

 

I have been going along these past few days in a fog.  I have been trying to follow God's leading and trying to listen to His word but I have been trying to listen with my ears instead of my heart.  I haven't posted in a few days because I have been lazy.  I don't have anything to hide.  I just haven't been putting in the time.  I have been reading but I just haven't put in the time.  

 

I want God to do just what David was asking of Him.  I want guidance.  I want God to guide my life everyday.  If I allow Him to speak to me and if I listen with my heart and mind, there is no telling what doors God can open up in my life.  God glorified is the most important thing to me and by listening to Him and allowing Him to guide me is one way I can do that. 

This past Sunday I stepped down at my church from my position of Minister of Music.  I sence God moving in my life and this wasn't a dicision that was entered into lightly.  In reading about guidance today and thinking back on what God had been doing in my life upto the time of my dicision I can see how He has been guiding me.   I know that God has something more in store for me and my family.  God will do something great with us and our minisstry if we just let Him.  Questions have been asked to me if I think that this was the right thing to do or even the best time to do it.  My responce to that was if I wasn't obedient to God and His calling the end results wouldn't turn out good for no one.  I am at peace with the choices that were made and I know that God is going to continue to guide me and my family if we are only faithful to what He has called us to be.  Praise be to God. 
 

Seeking His face before seeking His hand.

Psalm 16:7-8 New King James Version (NKJV)

⁷ I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.
⁸ I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.

 

It is human nature to make our own plans and then ask God to bless them. Instead, we should seek God's will first. By constantly thinking about the Lord and his way of living, we will gain insights that will help us make right decisions and live the way God desires. Communicating with God allows him to counsel us and give us wisdom.

 

If we try to direct God in doing something that we want then we are completly out of His will.  If we seek Gods face instead and His desires, then He will direct us along the path that He would have us go.  Many time in my life I find myself doing this very exact thing.  Saying, "God I'm going to do .... and I want you to bless it in Your name."  Well I, for one, am wrong in that thinking and need to ask for forgivness and then I need to take a step back and ask God what His desires and wants are and then align myself with those.  We need to be the people that God has called us to be if we are true children of God's. 

 

My prayer is this, God please allow me to not make a move or a decision without Your moving or directing in my life.  I want You to be the one in the driver seat.  I want You to be the one that I go to for all of my needs and desires.  But above all, I want to seek your will and Your heart before I seek after anything that I "want" in my life.  Lord, let me be a vessel that You choose to use however You so desire.  I love You and thank You Lord.  Praise be to God. 

Wholeheartedly, never give up!

5 But I have trusted in Your mercy; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. 6 I will sing to the Lord, Because He has dealt bountifully with me. (NKJV)

The NLT say, 5 But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me. 6 I will sing to the Lord because he is good to me.  I like the way this version puts it just  because they use the words unfailing.  The ESV uses steadfast.  This tells me that no matter what God's love for me is always going to be.  Even when I sin, and I will, against Him, He will still love and care for me no matter what. 

This hits home with me right now in my life.  Especially when it says I will trust in Your unfailing love.  Meaning I will trust in You God with all that am.  I have to live this out in my life right now with decisions that need to be made and things that need to be done.  God isn't finished with me yet and by staying in His word and listening to Him and praying on a daily basis I am able to trust in Him.  God only want the best for His children but He sometimes needs to test them and try them to see where they are in their walk with Him.  Even though He already knows, I think that He wants us as believers to realize where we are at in our walk and be conscious of it.   

We see throughout this book that David was faithful to God and trusted wholeheartedly in him, but he felt the pressure of his problems as much as anyone. Instead of giving up or giving in, however, David held on to his faith. In times of despair, it is much harder to hold on than to give up. But if you give up on God, you give in to a life of despair.

I think we can learn from David and turn everything that we have in our lives over to God.  No matter if it is good, bad, great, or so-so; God wants to take it and take care of it.  I want God to lead in my life right now.  It is to the point that I am crying out to God telling Him to come and use me but first and foremost humble me so that I can be the man that He wants me to be and the man that I know that He has called me to be. 

This is my prayer: Lord, I ask that you would humble me to the point to where all that I can do is rely on you.  I ask that everything in my life be turned over to you and that you would take control of my life, my job, my family, my desires and place all of these and more in the center of your will.  Speak to me Lord and allow me to put away anything and everything that is going to hinder me from hearing your words.  I love you Lord and I thank you very much for your words that I have read tonight in your holy word.  Praise be to God. 

Honesty, not flattery!

"6 The words of the Lord are pure words, Like silver tried in a furnace of earth, Purified seven times." NKJV

This was todays reading.  I liked what it said as soon as I started reading it.  When the scripture says the word pure it means pure, clean a) clean (ceremonially - of animals), b) pure (physically), c) pure, clean (morally, ethically).  This tells us that Gods words are perfect.  No blemish or spot.  I like that because that is something that you can hold on to and trust in.  Another word that stuck out to me as I read was tried.  This word means to smelt, refine, or test.  This meant to acually place in a fire and refine whatever material needed to be used or molded or tested.  This passage gives us a symbol of how His word is more pure than the most presious of silvers or golds. 

Sincerity and truth are extremely valuable because they are so rare. Many people are deceivers, liars, flatterers; they think they will get what they want by deception. As a king, David certainly faced his share of such people, who hoped to win his favor and gain advancement through flattery. When we feel as though sincerity and truth have nearly gone out of existence, we have one hope-the Word of God. God's words are as flawless as refined silver. So listen carefully when he speaks.

My prayer is that as God speaks to me in my life, that I would be still and know that He is God.  That my life would not be so full of things of this world that I can't hear Him speaking.  I want to hear and listen to each word that God says and treasure tham and hide them in my heart and allow them to lead me in HIs will. 

Lord, lead me and direct me.  Show me the direction that you would have me go.  Show me what is best for me and my family and allow your words to penitrate my heart.  Help me Lord to step out of your way and allow you to move.  I pray that I would die to self every day and that I would allow you to live in and through me no matter what is going on in my life.  I want to praise you in the good as well as in the bad.  Why?  Because you are worthy of my praise.  Praise be to God.