Psalm 19: 1-4a  The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.  Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.  There is no speech or language where their voice is not hear.  Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words too the ends of the world. 

These verses speak of the glory of God that is evident in all creation.  We see God’s work in the day and night as we look around.  Haven’t you been someplace gloriously beautiful and wondered how anyone could deny the existence of Almighty Creator God?  As David, our psalmist, wrote he saw God all around him.  What about you?  Do you put on blinders as you go through your day oblivious to the glories of God all around?  When you go for your walk, as you sit in your garden, as you drive though a park or walk on the seashore,  you can see a world that is masterfully put together.  Take a look today and try to see your world and the creator who designed it.  Don’t miss the smiles of others as they are created being too.

Looking for God all around me today,

Linda

 

 

 

 Psalm 37

1-4      Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither like green plants they will soon die away.     3-4  Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.  Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.      5-6  Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:  He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.     7  Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.      8-11  Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret–it leads only to evil.  For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.      23-24  The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.    27-28  Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever.  For the LORD loves justice; he will not forsake his saints.  They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.     34-38  Wait for the LORD and keep his way.  He will exalt you to  inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.  I have seen a wicked and ruthless man flourishing like a green tree in its native soil, but he soon passed away and was no more; though I looked for him, he could not be found.  Consider the blameless, observe the upright; there is a future for the man of peace.   But all sinners will be destroyed; the future of the wicked will be cut off.    

39-40      The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD; he is their stronghold in time of trouble.  The LORD helps them and delivers them;  he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.

Take refuge in Him today as you go to worship.  Proclaim His glory and rejoice in His righteousness and mercy towards us.

Blessings this Lord’s day,

Linda

Psalm 37: 34-38  Wait for the LORD and keep his way.  He will exalt you to  inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.  I have seen a wicked and ruthless man flourishing like a green tree in its native soil, but he soon passed away and was no more; though I looked for him, he could not be found.  Consider the blameless, observe the upright; there is a future for the man of peace.   But all sinners will be destroyed; the future of the wicked will be cut off.  (NIV)

The psalmist reminds us today that our job is to wait for the LORD’s timing in all things.  No matter what it looks like around us and whoever we see prospering or succeeding we are not to lose heart and keep our trust in the LORD.  The wicked and ruthless are as fleeting as grass which withers and dies.  Our focus is to be on doing what is right and seeking peace.   God is omnipotent and sovereign and will be victorious.   Here are a few reminders from scripture that God is indeed in charge:

Job 42:2   I know that you can do all things, no plan of yours can be thwarted.

1Chronicles 29:12    Wealth and honor come from you;   you are the ruler of all things.  In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.

Lastly, we are assured by Jesus that we are eternally safe with Him. John 10:28  “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish;  no one can snatch them out of my hand.”

Waiting upon the Lord with you,

Linda

 

Psalm 37:23-24  The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.

27-28  Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever.  For the LORD loves justice; he will not forsake his saints.  They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.  (ESV)

Today’s words bring hope and direction into the troubled times in which we live.  Delighting in God’s way, living by His Word, knowing Jesus are all ways God has for establishing us in Him.  Being rooted and grounded in and by faith in Jesus establishes us and brings assurance of His care.  We know that troubles will come into our lives, but with our firm foundation in the Lord we can rely on His mercy and compassion.  He promises to uphold us with His own hand.  What a blessed assurance of His love and care.  Being in Christ and committed to Him, leads us to do good and we know that God will be with us and not leave us or forsake us!   Deuteronomy 31:6 reminds us “Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD you God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (NIV)    Our establishment in the LORD is forever and we will be with Him for eternity!

Take heart and have HOPE in Him today!

Linda

 

 

Psalm 37: 8-11  Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret–it leads only to evil.  For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

Three times in this psalm we have been instructed – do not fret.  We are told not to fret because of evil men,  when others succeed and we don’t seem to be succeeding, and that fretting will lead to evil.   In today’s verses we are first told to keep ourselves from being angry and turn away from anger.  Then we are told not to fret as it will lead us to sin.  The dictionary says fret means: to eat away, gnaw, disturb, irritate, vex, worry or annoy.   I was thinking of fret as just worry but it actually means something that would get under your skin and eat away at you.  Isn’t that what happens when you dwell on problems that are seemingly unresolved and emotions that are flared.   Keeping fretful things in our minds eats away at us and causes us to lose our godly focus.  God wants to be preeminent in our lives and hold every thought captive in Christ.  Letting ourselves become fretful will lead us away from God and into sin.

The psalmist also reminds us that living fretfully will keep us from the blessings He has promised.  His land and His kingdom are rich in blessings for us now and into eternity.  Don’t miss out on the blessings by spending your time fretting.  Jesus said in Matthew 6:26-27 “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?  Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”

Make the commitment today to reign in worry and anxiety.  Don’t waste even a minute on this today.  Remember 1 Peter 5:7  Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you!

No fretting allowed today!!

Linda

 

Psalm 37:7  Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.  (NIV)

Do you have a special place where you can go to be still before the Lord?  How are you at waiting patiently?   I do have a place that I like to study and pray, but I’m not so good a waiting patiently!   I have a friend that when I asked her how is a certain relationship was progressing she would always tell me “I’m waiting upon the Lord.”   I did not understand her answer for the longest time.  Then the Lord had me spend some time waiting upon Him.  When I was pursuing the publishing of my book, Fearless Living, I waited upon the Lord for guidance.  I had no idea how to pursue this, but I knew that God was leading me to publish.  So I waited and prayed.  As I look back now, it still seems like a long time I prayed with no idea what direction God would lead.  I was anxious to know  the how, when and where my publishing journey would come to reality.  But slowly, God led me to take steps and  doors opened.  I was led to Certa Publishing, and it has been a wonderful match.  They are caring professional people that want to see God’s word spread by means of printed  works.   My waiting time was one of the more difficult times of my life as I knew the end but not the journey.  I had to trust and obey as the Lord led.  I now have a better understanding of my friend’s patient answer.  “I’m waiting upon the Lord.”   I also see more clearly how God wants me to live my life.  He wants to guide and direct my path as He knows my journey’s pathway.  I need to trust Him as I know the end of my journey will be with Him in eternity.

The last of today’s lines reminds us again to not fret.  God does not want us to focus on those around us and their seeming success, but keep our eyes upon Him!  This is a needed reminder as we tend to want to focus on the materialistic driven society in which we live and can be pulled and pushed away from what God intends for our lives.

Blessings as you wait quietly before God,

Linda

Psalm 37:5-6  Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:  He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. (NIV)

The verbs really stand out to me today in these verses.  Look at them alone:

Commit       Trust      (He) will  do    (He) will make

Our part involves commitment and trust in the Lord.  His part is doing and making us shine with righteousness and purpose.    This is God’s recipe for success and transformation.  For our efforts in walking with Him, we will be richly rewarded with imputed righteousness from Jesus and fulfilling purpose that will shine and shed His light on others.  Even though walking with Jesus each day, trusting and being committed is a struggle against the world and our own selfish desires, God promises we will be richly rewarded.

Prayer:  Lord, create in me a desire to walk with you, to cling to you and commit myself to follow you wholeheartedly.  Shine through my life and allow me to see your work being accomplished through the purposes you have for me.  Create in me a clean heart that is fully committed to you.  Amen.

May we shine for Him,

Linda

Psalm 37:1-4      Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither like green plants they will soon die away.

Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.  Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.  (NIV)

It is so easy to look at our neighbors, friends and enemies and covet what they have materialistically, the power or position they have at work or the influence they have with others- isn’t it?  The Bible repeatedly tells us wanting what others have is a sin.  My mom frequently used sayings and the one that fits here is “the grass is always greener on the other side of the street”.

These verses begin with a reminder to not fret or be envious over what others have as these things here on earth are temporal and will fade quickly like the new grass.  The grass looks good in spring but does not last even into summer.  The Lord wants our focus to be upon Him and live trusting, doing good and enjoying the life He has given to us.  He even promises us the desires of our hearts if we keep our eyes on Him.

Have you really thought about what is the desire of your heart?  I would guess that it is not something you can touch or hold but a character trait, a relationship or a spiritual truth you’d like to see developed in your life.  Only God can give those types of things and He promises that delighting and trusting in Him will lead us to those goals.

As we begin this 4th week of Lent, prayerful ask God to show you what He desires most for your life and ask Him to develop that within you.  Our willing attitude and open heart is one of the first steps in delighting and trusting in the Lord.  Then you will be on the road to obtaining the desires of your heart.

Praying with you,

Linda

Delight yourself in the LORD!

Delight yourself in the LORD!

Psalm 8 

 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!  You have set your glory above the heavens. 

From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. 

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 

You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 

You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet:

all flocks and herds, and the beast of the field,

the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!     (NIV)

Consider God’s great majesty and mercy as you worship Him today!

Blessings,

Linda

Psalm 8: 1-5  O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!  You have set your glory above the heavens.  From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.  When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?  You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.  (NIV)

This beautiful psalm speaks of God’s majesty and how all of His creation reflects His glory and greatness.  All creation sees His work in the skies every night with the moon and the stars.  Just as all creation shouts out praises to God, our very being speaks of His grace and mercy.  He made us and cares about us.  Why me?  Why should Almighty Creator God care about me?  He created and gave us a position of honor.   I love the fact that David is questioning his worthiness in relation to God’s great power and might.  I have wondered too, why did God choose me?  He concludes the psalm with the same phrase with which he started.  All of this is due to God’s majesty and grace.  How blessed am I to be loved by Almighty God.  I agree with David that I am unworthy of this position and humbled by his mercy and love.

Think about our great God today and thank Him for choosing and loving you.  He cares and loves you!

Being loved by God is a great place to be,

Linda