II Samuel 22: 31-34
God's way is perfect. All the Lord's promises prove true. He is a shield to all who look to Him for protection. For who is God except the Lord? Who but our God is a solid rock? God is my strong fortress, and He makes my way perfect. He makes me as surefooted as a deer, enabling me to stand on mountain heights.
("Hinds Feet On High Places.")
O my Father, I know that all Your promises have proved true, and they are all coming to be fulfilled according to Your ways and in your time. I trust in You, and I am learning to trust You more with every area of my life. Strengthen my faith to put into Your hands those things I have taken into my own hands, and have suffered the consequences. Lay Your peace upon me to rest in Your love, settle my heart and mind to leave my circumstances in Your care, not mine. And may You cause all the credit, all the honor and all the glory to redound to You, the only One Who deserves it all, because You have done all things.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, December 17, 2016
Friday, December 16, 2016
National Righteousness
II Samuel 21: 1, 14
There was a famine during David's reign that lasted for three years, so David asked the Lord about it. And the Lord said, "The famine has come because Saul and his family are guilty of murdering the Gibeonites."
Then the king ordered that they bury the bones in the tomb of Kish, Saul's father, at the town of Zela in the land of Benjamin. After that, God ended the famine in the land.
The story here is that the Israelites had previously sworn not to kill the Amorites, and the Gibeonites were Amorites. But Saul, in his mis-placed zeal, tried to wipe them out. Now David is suffering from the famine that resulted from this, and so he negotiated with the Gibeonites. After the execution of the guilty parties and their burial, God lifted the famine. God is very concerned for National righteousness.
O my Lord, what must we do to rectify all the evil that has been done in our own Nation, so that You can bless us with peace and prosperity? What must I do?
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
There was a famine during David's reign that lasted for three years, so David asked the Lord about it. And the Lord said, "The famine has come because Saul and his family are guilty of murdering the Gibeonites."
Then the king ordered that they bury the bones in the tomb of Kish, Saul's father, at the town of Zela in the land of Benjamin. After that, God ended the famine in the land.
The story here is that the Israelites had previously sworn not to kill the Amorites, and the Gibeonites were Amorites. But Saul, in his mis-placed zeal, tried to wipe them out. Now David is suffering from the famine that resulted from this, and so he negotiated with the Gibeonites. After the execution of the guilty parties and their burial, God lifted the famine. God is very concerned for National righteousness.
O my Lord, what must we do to rectify all the evil that has been done in our own Nation, so that You can bless us with peace and prosperity? What must I do?
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, December 15, 2016
I Cried, He Answered
Psalm 120:1
I took my troubles to the Lord, I cried out to Him, and He answered my prayer.
How many times I have cried out to God in my troubles and heartaches. And He has always answered me, since that day He found me, and, I believe, even before, protecting me and guarding me until I would be born into His own family. His faithfulness to me has been continual and constant, always for me, not against me, drawing me gently on.
He has seldom been harsh with me all these decades; the hardest was when He took my dear husband from me, and yet He has carried me in His arms since.
I know that the plans He has for me are for my good and His glory, and He is proceeding to carry out those plans for and in my life; and since He began a good work in me, He will continue until it is finished and perfected on that Day my Lord returns--my Lord, my King, my Redeemer, my espoused Husband.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
I took my troubles to the Lord, I cried out to Him, and He answered my prayer.
How many times I have cried out to God in my troubles and heartaches. And He has always answered me, since that day He found me, and, I believe, even before, protecting me and guarding me until I would be born into His own family. His faithfulness to me has been continual and constant, always for me, not against me, drawing me gently on.
He has seldom been harsh with me all these decades; the hardest was when He took my dear husband from me, and yet He has carried me in His arms since.
I know that the plans He has for me are for my good and His glory, and He is proceeding to carry out those plans for and in my life; and since He began a good work in me, He will continue until it is finished and perfected on that Day my Lord returns--my Lord, my King, my Redeemer, my espoused Husband.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Fair, Perfect And Trustworthy
Psalm 119: 137-138, 140, 142, 144
O Lord, You are righteous, and Your regulations are fair. Your laws are perfect and completely trustworthy. ... Your promises have been thoroughly tested; that is why I love them so much. ... Your justice is eternal, and Your instructions are perfectly true. ... Your laws are always right; help me to understand them so I may live.
O my Father, please help me to understand the spirit of Your laws. Show me Your wisdom in the righteousness and right-ness of Your decrees. Your faithfulness in keeping Your promises encourages and strengthens my faith and trust in You. I know that Your Truth and Your justice will set all things right; I need only to trust You and surrender to Your authority in all the matters of my life. Set me into the cleft of the Rock and cover me with Your hand, that others who see me may not see my flesh, which pushes them away, but that they may see You in me; Your character, Your goodness, Your beauty; and be drawn to You.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
O Lord, You are righteous, and Your regulations are fair. Your laws are perfect and completely trustworthy. ... Your promises have been thoroughly tested; that is why I love them so much. ... Your justice is eternal, and Your instructions are perfectly true. ... Your laws are always right; help me to understand them so I may live.
O my Father, please help me to understand the spirit of Your laws. Show me Your wisdom in the righteousness and right-ness of Your decrees. Your faithfulness in keeping Your promises encourages and strengthens my faith and trust in You. I know that Your Truth and Your justice will set all things right; I need only to trust You and surrender to Your authority in all the matters of my life. Set me into the cleft of the Rock and cover me with Your hand, that others who see me may not see my flesh, which pushes them away, but that they may see You in me; Your character, Your goodness, Your beauty; and be drawn to You.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Political Spying And Intrigue
II Samuel 15: 27-28, 34-36
David the king also told Zadok the priest, "Look, here is my plan. You and Abiathar should return quietly to the city with your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar's son Jonathan. I will stop at the shallows of the Jordan River and wait there for a report from you. ... Hushai, you return to Jerusalem and tell Absolom, 'I will now be your adviser, O king, just as I was your father's adviser in the past.' Then you can frustrate and counter Ahithophel's advice. Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, will be there. Tell them about the plans being made in the king's palace, and they will send their sons Ahimaas and Jonathan to tell me what is going on."
When King David fled from his son Absalom in order to spare the city of Jerusalem from being destroyed by Absalom's Israeli troops, he set up a system, a spy network, that reached all the way into the king's chambers to spy on Absalom and get word to David what was going on. David was very wise and shrewd to not leave himself blind to what would transpire in Jerusalem, the nation's capital.
This shows us that international intrigue is not necessarily evil, but is a necessary requirement in order to promote God's righteousness in the halls of power in the World.
May we all seek to have that same wisdom and shrewdness that David displayed in our world of politics and power. May we have eyes to see how God sees all that is going on in the governments of this world system, including our own.
Then we will discern how to conduct ourselves in our personal lives and our relationships with our loved ones.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
David the king also told Zadok the priest, "Look, here is my plan. You and Abiathar should return quietly to the city with your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar's son Jonathan. I will stop at the shallows of the Jordan River and wait there for a report from you. ... Hushai, you return to Jerusalem and tell Absolom, 'I will now be your adviser, O king, just as I was your father's adviser in the past.' Then you can frustrate and counter Ahithophel's advice. Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, will be there. Tell them about the plans being made in the king's palace, and they will send their sons Ahimaas and Jonathan to tell me what is going on."
When King David fled from his son Absalom in order to spare the city of Jerusalem from being destroyed by Absalom's Israeli troops, he set up a system, a spy network, that reached all the way into the king's chambers to spy on Absalom and get word to David what was going on. David was very wise and shrewd to not leave himself blind to what would transpire in Jerusalem, the nation's capital.
This shows us that international intrigue is not necessarily evil, but is a necessary requirement in order to promote God's righteousness in the halls of power in the World.
May we all seek to have that same wisdom and shrewdness that David displayed in our world of politics and power. May we have eyes to see how God sees all that is going on in the governments of this world system, including our own.
Then we will discern how to conduct ourselves in our personal lives and our relationships with our loved ones.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, December 12, 2016
Treasure And Delight
Psalm 119: 111-112
Your laws are my treasure, they are my heart's delight. I am determined to keep Your decrees to the very end.
O my Father, I know that Your ways are not my ways at all, and I thank You and praise You for revealing to us Your ways in Your laws and decrees. Your system of rules and regulations is the wisest and most advanced and righteous and just system this World had ever seen to the time You gave it to Moses, and it has never been improved upon since.
O Father, please help me to be able to truly follow You in every realm of living on this Earth: the physical and dietary, the moral and ethical, the emotional, the mental, and the spiritual realms. Teach me how to apply Your principles every moment of every day, as I seek Your face and Your ways.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Your laws are my treasure, they are my heart's delight. I am determined to keep Your decrees to the very end.
O my Father, I know that Your ways are not my ways at all, and I thank You and praise You for revealing to us Your ways in Your laws and decrees. Your system of rules and regulations is the wisest and most advanced and righteous and just system this World had ever seen to the time You gave it to Moses, and it has never been improved upon since.
O Father, please help me to be able to truly follow You in every realm of living on this Earth: the physical and dietary, the moral and ethical, the emotional, the mental, and the spiritual realms. Teach me how to apply Your principles every moment of every day, as I seek Your face and Your ways.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, December 11, 2016
Waiting
Psalm 119: 81-82
I am worn out waiting for Your rescue, but I have put my hope in Your Word. My eyes are straining to see Your promises come true. When will You comfort me?
God has given us many precious promises, which He will fulfill in His time. He would never say that He will do anything that He would not be able to do, so we know that He will do everything He promised.
But it will all come in His time, not ours. We can wear ourselves out waiting for His rescue from the uncomfortable situation we find ourselves in. We can strain our eyes looking for His promises to come true. We can wait and wait for His comfort in our distresses.
But we will still put our hope in His Word, in what He has told us He will accomplish. We need never give up looking for His answers to our prayers. We can be assured that He will come through for us, as He has promised.
While we are still in this World, living among those who do not know Him (yet many who think they do, only know their own idea of Him), and we are surrounded by those who have a totally worldly world view, instead of God's Biblical view of reality; we must remember that we are to be His light in this darkness of understanding, we must be the salt that preserves and flavors the society in which we live, we are His witnesses to share with others the wonderful things He has already done for us.
God is faithful to us, and wants us to be faithful to Him, even when we don't see Him in our circumstances. If we want to see Him, He will show Himself, even in the most horrendous persecution we may be called upon to face. Some of us are already facing this opposition in the World, and others of us will soon also be confronted with it. Before long, every one of us who call upon the Name of the Lord will be the object of annihilation by those who are deceived by our enemy.
We all need to be strong in the Lord, availing ourselves of the Armor He has provided (Ephesians 6: 12-17), and standing watch against invasions of the Enemy into our attitudes and thinking processes.
And we know, because we've read the "last chapter," that God wins, and we win with Him, reigning with Him over all Creation, and enjoying Him forever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
I am worn out waiting for Your rescue, but I have put my hope in Your Word. My eyes are straining to see Your promises come true. When will You comfort me?
God has given us many precious promises, which He will fulfill in His time. He would never say that He will do anything that He would not be able to do, so we know that He will do everything He promised.
But it will all come in His time, not ours. We can wear ourselves out waiting for His rescue from the uncomfortable situation we find ourselves in. We can strain our eyes looking for His promises to come true. We can wait and wait for His comfort in our distresses.
But we will still put our hope in His Word, in what He has told us He will accomplish. We need never give up looking for His answers to our prayers. We can be assured that He will come through for us, as He has promised.
While we are still in this World, living among those who do not know Him (yet many who think they do, only know their own idea of Him), and we are surrounded by those who have a totally worldly world view, instead of God's Biblical view of reality; we must remember that we are to be His light in this darkness of understanding, we must be the salt that preserves and flavors the society in which we live, we are His witnesses to share with others the wonderful things He has already done for us.
God is faithful to us, and wants us to be faithful to Him, even when we don't see Him in our circumstances. If we want to see Him, He will show Himself, even in the most horrendous persecution we may be called upon to face. Some of us are already facing this opposition in the World, and others of us will soon also be confronted with it. Before long, every one of us who call upon the Name of the Lord will be the object of annihilation by those who are deceived by our enemy.
We all need to be strong in the Lord, availing ourselves of the Armor He has provided (Ephesians 6: 12-17), and standing watch against invasions of the Enemy into our attitudes and thinking processes.
And we know, because we've read the "last chapter," that God wins, and we win with Him, reigning with Him over all Creation, and enjoying Him forever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
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