Wow, one month down (ALREADY!!!!) 11 more to go! (unless the Lord comes first!!)
I have so much exciting news! Katie and I are buying a new home! We are so excited! God has given us one of the best deals I have ever seen! Once again: WE ARE SO BLESSED!!!! Teens: Follow the Lord, and He will take care of you!!!
Psalm 23
1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Wow! This chapter is incredible! Have you ever heard it? Have you ever memorized it? Well, it is definitely one to add to the list! It is one of encouragement, comfort, and guidance. Lets read over it together!
God is my shepherd! He will take care of me! I will never "want" anything if I am focused on Him because He gives me everything and MORE than I need! He gives me comfort and guidance... He leads me to rest and to nourishment.
Verse 4 tells us that even though I am walking in the dark scary valley, I do not have to fear, because God will protect me. God feeds us and anoints us!! If I follow the Lord then Goodness and Mercy will SURELY BE A PART OF MY LIFE! Trust me!! I know!
FRIDAY, January 30th, 2009
Hey Everyone! It looks like we will probably be doing the "sleepover" for our reward trip! I am excited about that! But it will definitely not be fun if it is just Me and Michael Stratton ... SO EVERYONE!!! DO YOUR DEVOTIONS!!!!!! :) See you Later!!!
Psalm 22
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.
18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.
19 But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me.
20 Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.
21 Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.
22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
23 Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.
24 For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.
25 My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.
26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.
27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
28 For the kingdom is the LORD's: and he is the governor among the nations.
29 All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.
30 A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.
31 They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.
Well, yesterday we talked about how Christ came and died on the cross to pay for our sins. We talked about how horrible his death was, we talked abou thow lonely Christ was as He hung on the cross... then we went about the rest of our day... Then TODAY, we come back and read more about how tragic Christs death was FOR OUR SAKE!! how did we live between todays devotions and yesterdays devotions? Did reading yesterday cause us to change our behavior? It should! I think that If I really had focused on Christ agony on the cross, I would have probably complained less yesterday, I probably would have been more patient and more long-suffering. That is the purpose of reading these devotions! To allow God to work in our hearts and then to go about our normal day, LIVING DIFFERENTLY!!! LIVING AS A PICTURE OF CHRIST!!!
This is once again a very sobering passage about the future sacrifice of Christ on the cross! We can look back and better understand that today!
Verse 29 is powerful!!! No man can keep his own soul alive!!! Only God can give our souls life... But if we do not accept Him then we will only know death, and death eternal!!
Psalm 22
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.
18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.
19 But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me.
20 Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.
21 Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.
22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
23 Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.
24 For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.
25 My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.
26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.
27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
28 For the kingdom is the LORD's: and he is the governor among the nations.
29 All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.
30 A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.
31 They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.
Well, yesterday we talked about how Christ came and died on the cross to pay for our sins. We talked about how horrible his death was, we talked abou thow lonely Christ was as He hung on the cross... then we went about the rest of our day... Then TODAY, we come back and read more about how tragic Christs death was FOR OUR SAKE!! how did we live between todays devotions and yesterdays devotions? Did reading yesterday cause us to change our behavior? It should! I think that If I really had focused on Christ agony on the cross, I would have probably complained less yesterday, I probably would have been more patient and more long-suffering. That is the purpose of reading these devotions! To allow God to work in our hearts and then to go about our normal day, LIVING DIFFERENTLY!!! LIVING AS A PICTURE OF CHRIST!!!
This is once again a very sobering passage about the future sacrifice of Christ on the cross! We can look back and better understand that today!
Verse 29 is powerful!!! No man can keep his own soul alive!!! Only God can give our souls life... But if we do not accept Him then we will only know death, and death eternal!!
THURSDAY, January 29th, 2009
Hey Ya'll, I hope you will be faithful in your devotions today! I am excited about spending time with you guys next week! Hey, If I want to throw together a "Man Vs. Wild" activity for the guys next week, who would be interested? Let me know!
Psalm 22
1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
2 O my God, I cry in the day time, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.
3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
4 Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
5 They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.
6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
8 He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.
9 But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts.
10 I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly.
11 Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.
12 Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.
13 They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
Today, I want you to take a second and imagine what it would be like to truely be seperated from God like we read her ein this passage! Shouting out to God!! MY GOD!! MY GOD!! WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME!! Can you imagine the pain, the loneliness if that were your story? The fact is, you will never be able to honestly say that if you have accepted Christ as your savior! God will never leave or forsake you!!! This Psalm has a familiear tone to it... do you know why?
It is horrible to imagine being abandoned by God Himself!! It is scary! But the fact is that while Christ was on the cross, He said these same words!!! As Christ took upon Himself the sins of the world, God the father had to look away! Can you imagine the loneliness that Christ felt on the cross as he paid for the burden of our sin!!! What a great God we serve!! I am so thankful that He was willing to endure affliction like we talked about last night in church!! And He endured it FOR MY SAKE!!! Thank you Lord!!
This whole chapter is really tough! As I read it, I find myself saying: I never want to have it as rough as this person, but the fact is this person who had it so bad was Jesus Christ, and He had it so bad because of My Sin!!! I want to avoid sin AT ANY COST!!!! I do not want to hurt Him, my savior!!
Psalm 22
1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
2 O my God, I cry in the day time, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.
3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
4 Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
5 They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.
6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
8 He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.
9 But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts.
10 I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly.
11 Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.
12 Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.
13 They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
Today, I want you to take a second and imagine what it would be like to truely be seperated from God like we read her ein this passage! Shouting out to God!! MY GOD!! MY GOD!! WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME!! Can you imagine the pain, the loneliness if that were your story? The fact is, you will never be able to honestly say that if you have accepted Christ as your savior! God will never leave or forsake you!!! This Psalm has a familiear tone to it... do you know why?
It is horrible to imagine being abandoned by God Himself!! It is scary! But the fact is that while Christ was on the cross, He said these same words!!! As Christ took upon Himself the sins of the world, God the father had to look away! Can you imagine the loneliness that Christ felt on the cross as he paid for the burden of our sin!!! What a great God we serve!! I am so thankful that He was willing to endure affliction like we talked about last night in church!! And He endured it FOR MY SAKE!!! Thank you Lord!!
This whole chapter is really tough! As I read it, I find myself saying: I never want to have it as rough as this person, but the fact is this person who had it so bad was Jesus Christ, and He had it so bad because of My Sin!!! I want to avoid sin AT ANY COST!!!! I do not want to hurt Him, my savior!!
WEDNESDAY, January 28th, 2009
hi guys! There were not too many people on yesterday! Sad! Well, lets get going! There is a new pole on the side of the main page... this is to figure out what we want to do for our next reward activity... make sure you vote in the pole!
Psalm 21
1 The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
2 Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.
3 For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.
4 He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever.
5 His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.
6 For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.
7 For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.
8 Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.
9 Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.
10 Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men.
11 For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.
12 Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them.
13 Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.
This chapter is a great praise chapter about our King. There are several key thoughts about how great our God is... personally I love verse 2 where it says: Thou hast given Him his hearts desire... God put a desire in his heart... God has done the smae thing in my life. He has put a desire to serve Him full time in ministry! I never had the desire to do this job when I was growing up, It was only when I surrendered to the Will of God that He placed the desire to serve Him in my heart. I am so glad that He did!!! I never dreamed that I could be so happy!
Then I love verse 5 where it says: His glory is great in thy salvation!! God is glorified through our salvation!! It makes His sacrifice worth while! Have you ever done something or made something that people really did not care about? Well, think about how discouraging that can be!! When a soul dies withouth Christ, that must break Gods heart because God knows that the sins of that person were paid for, but they simply never accepted the free Gift of Salvation!!! What a shame!!
Make sure that the people you come into contact with understand the great price that Christ paid FOR THEM!!!!!
Psalm 21
1 The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
2 Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.
3 For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.
4 He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever.
5 His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.
6 For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.
7 For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.
8 Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.
9 Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.
10 Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men.
11 For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.
12 Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them.
13 Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.
This chapter is a great praise chapter about our King. There are several key thoughts about how great our God is... personally I love verse 2 where it says: Thou hast given Him his hearts desire... God put a desire in his heart... God has done the smae thing in my life. He has put a desire to serve Him full time in ministry! I never had the desire to do this job when I was growing up, It was only when I surrendered to the Will of God that He placed the desire to serve Him in my heart. I am so glad that He did!!! I never dreamed that I could be so happy!
Then I love verse 5 where it says: His glory is great in thy salvation!! God is glorified through our salvation!! It makes His sacrifice worth while! Have you ever done something or made something that people really did not care about? Well, think about how discouraging that can be!! When a soul dies withouth Christ, that must break Gods heart because God knows that the sins of that person were paid for, but they simply never accepted the free Gift of Salvation!!! What a shame!!
Make sure that the people you come into contact with understand the great price that Christ paid FOR THEM!!!!!
TUESDAY, January 27th, 2009
Wow, I think it just hit me that we are in 2009!! Less that a year away from 2010!!! I am getting so old! Time is going by so quickly!! Well, lets not let time get away!! Lets do our devotions!!
Psalm 20
1 The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee;
2 Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion;
3 Remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt sacrifice; Selah.
4 Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel.
5 We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners: the LORD fulfil all thy petitions.
6 Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
8 They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.
9 Save, LORD: let the king hear us when we call.
As I started reading this chapter I was not sure what to talk about... I mean, It is clearly a prayer to the Lord, by the writer. This prayer is one that talks about God being a protector, a shield, and a savior. All of which are very important, but we have already read those things in the Psalms... Although it is good and important to be reminded of these things, this morning I was looking for something new, something different than what we have been reading in the last few chapters... and I found it in verse 7.
While I was at the wilds, the staff sang a song called Some Trust in Chariots, and it was such an incredible song! Probably my favorite song that the staff ever did!! It was based off of this verse. Some people choose to put their trust in horses, others choose to pur their trust in horses, some choose to put their trust in money, some choose to put their trust in guns, some choose to put their trust in themselves, BUT WE WILL CHOOSE TO PUT OUR TRUST IN OUR GOD!!! That is so powerful! Think about it: Remember what happened to Pharaoh and his army when he put his trust in his horses and chariots? He was drowned in the Red Sea... Remember what happened to Moses when He put His trust in the Lord? He walked through the Red Sea on Dry Ground!! God will do the same powerful things for us today if we will just TRUST HIM!!!
There are tough situations that we deal with each day, but the truth is that If we want to make it through them, we too must trust in the Lord our God, and not in anything else!! Think about that today as you go about your day... look for ways that we tend to trust in our own strength instead of trusting in the name of the Lord our God!!
Psalm 20
1 The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee;
2 Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion;
3 Remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt sacrifice; Selah.
4 Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel.
5 We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners: the LORD fulfil all thy petitions.
6 Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
8 They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.
9 Save, LORD: let the king hear us when we call.
As I started reading this chapter I was not sure what to talk about... I mean, It is clearly a prayer to the Lord, by the writer. This prayer is one that talks about God being a protector, a shield, and a savior. All of which are very important, but we have already read those things in the Psalms... Although it is good and important to be reminded of these things, this morning I was looking for something new, something different than what we have been reading in the last few chapters... and I found it in verse 7.
While I was at the wilds, the staff sang a song called Some Trust in Chariots, and it was such an incredible song! Probably my favorite song that the staff ever did!! It was based off of this verse. Some people choose to put their trust in horses, others choose to pur their trust in horses, some choose to put their trust in money, some choose to put their trust in guns, some choose to put their trust in themselves, BUT WE WILL CHOOSE TO PUT OUR TRUST IN OUR GOD!!! That is so powerful! Think about it: Remember what happened to Pharaoh and his army when he put his trust in his horses and chariots? He was drowned in the Red Sea... Remember what happened to Moses when He put His trust in the Lord? He walked through the Red Sea on Dry Ground!! God will do the same powerful things for us today if we will just TRUST HIM!!!
There are tough situations that we deal with each day, but the truth is that If we want to make it through them, we too must trust in the Lord our God, and not in anything else!! Think about that today as you go about your day... look for ways that we tend to trust in our own strength instead of trusting in the name of the Lord our God!!
MONDAY, January 26th, 2009
Well today is another beautiful day to do our devotions! To spend time with God in His word!! that is some pretty exciting stuff!!
Psalm 19
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.
12 Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.
13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.
Three main parts about this passage jump right off the page at me... first, I love the first several verses. They talk about how the heavens (the night sky), and the firmament (the day sky) declare the glory of God. It does not matter what language you speak, it doesnt matter where you are in the world... The sky alone tells us a testimony of how Great our God is!!!! The next time you feel alone, or you wonder where God is... look to the sky, look at the beautiful picture that God has painted for you, knowing you would look up right at that moment!!
The next part of this chapter that jumped out to me was verses: 7-11. When I was growing up we use to always sing a song that used these words... they are pretty powerful words...7, 8, and 9 are the verses and 10 is the chorus. Verse 11 is the bridge! It really is a pretty song, maybe I will teach it to you guys some day!! It is all about how great the word of God is!! More to be desired are they (the words of God) than GOLD!!!! Even MUCH FINE GOLD!!! and Gods words are sweeter than honey and the honeycomb!! I love that! Do I love Gods word more than Gold?
Finally, the last verse is one that we should all have memorized!! Let the words of my mouth and the meditations (thoughts) of my heart be acceptable in my heart Oh Lord, My Strength and My Redeemer!!!
One quick story and then I am done! It is great to memorize verses like this, because the Holy Spirit uses them to remind you whenever you are not obeying the verse... While I was at Summer camp one year I had to memorize this verse. Then I would go around camp doing what EVERY TEENAGE GUY DOES.... I would go check out all the girls... the funny part is that I could not get this verse out of my head, and the fact is when you have a verse on your mind that reminds you to ONLY THINK ABOUT GODLY THINGS... it is hard to think about somthing inappropriate... Let me put it this way: Maybe you have a problem with the words that come out of your mouth... Pray this prayer today and memorize this verse... Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart, be ACCEPTABLE in thy sight! O Lord! My Strength and my redeemer!!!!
He is our strength and He is our redeemer!!!! We should strive to please him with our thoughts and our words!!!!
Psalm 19
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.
12 Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.
13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.
Three main parts about this passage jump right off the page at me... first, I love the first several verses. They talk about how the heavens (the night sky), and the firmament (the day sky) declare the glory of God. It does not matter what language you speak, it doesnt matter where you are in the world... The sky alone tells us a testimony of how Great our God is!!!! The next time you feel alone, or you wonder where God is... look to the sky, look at the beautiful picture that God has painted for you, knowing you would look up right at that moment!!
The next part of this chapter that jumped out to me was verses: 7-11. When I was growing up we use to always sing a song that used these words... they are pretty powerful words...7, 8, and 9 are the verses and 10 is the chorus. Verse 11 is the bridge! It really is a pretty song, maybe I will teach it to you guys some day!! It is all about how great the word of God is!! More to be desired are they (the words of God) than GOLD!!!! Even MUCH FINE GOLD!!! and Gods words are sweeter than honey and the honeycomb!! I love that! Do I love Gods word more than Gold?
Finally, the last verse is one that we should all have memorized!! Let the words of my mouth and the meditations (thoughts) of my heart be acceptable in my heart Oh Lord, My Strength and My Redeemer!!!
One quick story and then I am done! It is great to memorize verses like this, because the Holy Spirit uses them to remind you whenever you are not obeying the verse... While I was at Summer camp one year I had to memorize this verse. Then I would go around camp doing what EVERY TEENAGE GUY DOES.... I would go check out all the girls... the funny part is that I could not get this verse out of my head, and the fact is when you have a verse on your mind that reminds you to ONLY THINK ABOUT GODLY THINGS... it is hard to think about somthing inappropriate... Let me put it this way: Maybe you have a problem with the words that come out of your mouth... Pray this prayer today and memorize this verse... Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart, be ACCEPTABLE in thy sight! O Lord! My Strength and my redeemer!!!!
He is our strength and He is our redeemer!!!! We should strive to please him with our thoughts and our words!!!!
SUNDAY, January 25th, 2009
Hey Everyone! I hope you were in church today! There was a great message in both the Sunday School service and the Main Morning Service! It was exciting! I think it was the best message that our church could have heard today. Brother John McCall will be speaking again tonight in the evening service so make sure you attend!
So, onto the devotions:
Psalm 18
42 Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.
43 Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; and thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall serve me.
44 As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.
45 The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places.
46 The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.
47 It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me.
48 He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man.
49 Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.
50 Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.
I am not too sure what the first few verses mean, but the last section is very clear: The Lord liveth, blessed be MY ROCK!!!! If you could stand on anything, you would probably choose to stand on something solid like a rock... Well this message is figurative, but it gives a great message: In life, what will you stand on? What truth will you stand on and depend on? If you want to stay standing, you better stand on the word of the Truth of God. Then verse 47 is incredible! It is GOD WHO DEFENDS ME, PROTECTS ME, and GUIDS ME... what a wonderful promise, I do not have to fear man, or what they might do to me, because God is ultimately in control!
See you tonight!!
So, onto the devotions:
Psalm 18
42 Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.
43 Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; and thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall serve me.
44 As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.
45 The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places.
46 The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.
47 It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me.
48 He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man.
49 Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.
50 Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.
I am not too sure what the first few verses mean, but the last section is very clear: The Lord liveth, blessed be MY ROCK!!!! If you could stand on anything, you would probably choose to stand on something solid like a rock... Well this message is figurative, but it gives a great message: In life, what will you stand on? What truth will you stand on and depend on? If you want to stay standing, you better stand on the word of the Truth of God. Then verse 47 is incredible! It is GOD WHO DEFENDS ME, PROTECTS ME, and GUIDS ME... what a wonderful promise, I do not have to fear man, or what they might do to me, because God is ultimately in control!
See you tonight!!
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