Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.

He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.

He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.

Even when I walk through the darkest valley,  I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.

You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies.

You honor me by anointing my head with oil.

My cup overflows with blessings.

Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen

Don't Move

My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved.7 In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God.
Psalm 62:5-7 NLT

The world is full of movers and shakers - people who specifically set out to get things done. And they will move and/or shake whoever and whatever to make it happen. I must admit, at times I am a little envious of them because I don't think 'slip and slide' has the same connotation as 'move and shake'. However, not all movers and shakers are a good thing. Some are steam rollers meant to take you out or make you a mover and a shaker - moving you out of the way and shaking with fear!

However, think about this exhortation - Hold the Line! It doesn't matter what comes against you. Hold the Line! It doesn't matter what the world throws at you or what you're losing or who is leaving you or what bill needs to be paid or what the doctor said - HOLD THE LINE! If God is our Rock, how can we be moved?

Psalm 46:1-4 reads, God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Be the living epitome of 1st Corinthians 15:58 - Be stedfast, unmoveable!

There will always be movers and shakers - good and bad. Don't be moved - In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God.

Prayer:

Father,
          My soul will wait silently for You alone, For my expectation is from You. You only are my rock and my salvation; You are my defense; I shall not be moved. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen

Negligible

For the same God who said, “You must not commit adultery,” also said, “You must not murder.” So if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law.
James 2:11 NLT

When this was written, committing a sin was going against the laws of God. In today's society, there are laws on the books that are in direct opposition to God's law, so there might be some ambiguity for some on certain laws. However, I believe we can all agree that murder and adultery are considered major sins. I think we would agree that robbing banks and stealing cars are also considered major sin issues. Those kinds of actions stem from whatever is in our hearts. We would not commit murder if there wasn't hatred. We would not commit adultery if our hearts were pure. We would not rob a bank or steal a car if we walked according to the Word of God, for example - in honor preferring one another in love.

Then there are things that we consider negligent; for instance, jay-walking or a California Roll at a stop sign. For those of you who don't recognize it by that label, it's the action of slowing down but not completely stopping at a stop sign, and then just rolling on. Houstonians are notorious for not using their turn signals and for running red lights or stop signs. That is considered negligent driving, a minor infraction. Practically negligible, which is defined as being so small as to almost not be worth considering. We'll come back to that in a minute.

Verse 9 reads, But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law. WHAT?!?

Verse 10 further explains, For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws. Think about that!

We tend to think negligent driving is just being careless, but the truth is that completely horrible, tragic things happen through negligence. There are those who may think that favoring some people over others is not a big deal but the Word of God says it's a sin.

Sin separates us from God. That is not negligible, that's tragic.

Prayer:

Father,
          Open our hearts and minds to the Truth of Your Word, so that we can walk in its fullness. Help us to see through ALL of satan's deceptions. Give us clean hands and pure hearts before You, Father. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

The Right Guide

You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 16:11 NKJV

Traditionally, the women in my family line don't like to travel. Don't get me wrong, we go places and we generally have a good time once we get there... It's the process leading up to getting there that makes us (and everyone around us) a little crazy. My mother immigrated to America on a ship, a war bride, by herself with my oldest brother who was a toddler at the time. I've lost count of the times I've driven back and forth across this country. Several times, just me and the Lord - just like my sister's done it - and just like my daughter's done it... It's way out of the comfort zone, separation anxiety, all the what-ifs - like what if I get lost, what if I break down, the whole what-if thing that happens.

That makes me acknowledge one of the things I love best about the Lord. I found Him because He kept calling me so I'd know how to find Him. Now, I always know where He is because He never leaves me.

And I can live my life in Don't-Worry-Be-Happy-mode because in His presence is fullness of joy and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore. And He makes the crooked way straight and He guides my footsteps AND guards them so that I don't fall. (It's all there in His Word. Check it out!)

And to top it off, there's NO separation anxiety because Scripture assures us in Romans 8:38-39, that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Prayer:

Father,
           You are the quintessential travel guide. Not only do You guide our every step, You designed the scenery. You are amazing! Cause us to always be mindful to follow the path of life You have chosen for us. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Time for an IMPORTANT Reminder

 The (IM)Proper Use of OMG!

You shall not use or repeat the name of the Lord your God in vain [that is, lightly or frivolously, in false affirmations or profanely]; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

Exodus 20:7 The Amplified Bible

God is serious about His Name... It would behoove us to be serious about His Name, too. I cringe every time I hear someone take the Lord's Name in vain - every time someone uses "OMG!" as a frivolous response to someone else's drama of the moment/hour, every time I hear "OH MY GAWD!" in the same vein as "Are you kidding me?!?" or "Are you serious?!?"

God IS serious about His Name... actually, He's serious about all of them. They represent the very nature and character of who He is. They are designed to be called upon and they correspond to our needs and dependence on Him. 

Elohim - Strength, power, greatness, and glory

Yahweh (or Jehovah) - I AM

El Shaddai - God Almighty

Adonai - Master, Lord

Jehovah-Jireh - God will provide

Jehovah-M'Kaddesh - God who sanctifies

Jehovah-Shalom - God is peace

Jehovah-Nissi - God our banner

Jehovah-Raphah (sometimes spelled 'Rophe') - God our Healer

Jehovah-Tsidkenu - God our righteousness

The proper use is in the acknowledgment and affirmation of who He is. Calling His Name in faith, confirming who He is and who we BELIEVE He is. It is NOT to be used as an expression of unbelief at someone's trivial pursuit. Selah

Prayer:

Father,

 We pray as Ezra prayed, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to You, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads and our guilt has mounted to the heavens. Open our hearts to receive Your Truths, open our eyes to see and our ears to hear. Forgive us, O God, we pray. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Gathering Together

A happy heart is good medicine, but low spirits sap one’s strength.

Proverbs 17:22 CJB (Complete Jewish Bible)

The enemy of our soul would like nothing better than to divide and conquer us. It's what he does best. We get busy, this practice, that practice, this deadline, that deadline, and always what are the first things to go? Church and family time. Yet the writer of Hebrews tells us in 10:24-25 (CJB), "And let us keep paying attention to one another, in order to spur each other on to love and good deeds, not neglecting our own congregational meetings, as some have made a practice of doing, but, rather, encouraging each other. And let us do this all the more as you see the Day approaching."

Are you part of a small group or Life Group within your church? Oh, how we grow in our relationship with the Lord when we walk this walk with others and share our lives! In the best of times and in the worst of times, Life Groups gather together (at six-foot intervals) to support each other... Masks and all. Social distancing, but not heart distancing. 

We cannot afford to stop gathering together - to encourage one another, to exhort each other to keep following the Lord with our WHOLE hearts, not just as an afterthought or quick-fix therapy. We cannot afford to stop gathering together - to reinforce the ties that bind us together and to God. We cannot afford to stop gathering together - our burdens are lighter when shared, and our joys are multiplied! 

We are stronger together than we are apart. The joy of the Lord is our Strength. Come, let us gather together and celebrate the Lord!

Prayer:

Father,

           You are so good to give us hearts for each other and to love us and give us laughter. Father, we are so grateful to You for family and friends who make us laugh - who love us and encourage us and strengthen us through the tough times! Bless them, Father, this we pray in Jesus' Name. Amen 

Prayer Worriers or Warriors?

But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
James 1:6-7 NLT

We've been talking about it for a while. Do we fully trust God or only part-way? Do we come boldly to the throne of grace with thanksgiving and praise, making our petition known unto God? Or do we come whining with wishes and whimpers? Our Promise for Today in the Message Bible reads, Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.

Will we commit to the Word of God? To stand on His Word - to choose to believe His Word and nothing else? No backup plans, no good luck charms - only God? 

Are we prayer worriers or prayer warriors? I'm going to keep asking until we are sure. An answer is required.

Prayer:

Father, 

           We choose You. We choose the Truth of Your Word over everything else. No matter what we see or hear in the natural, we believe You. We believe, help our unbelief. Give us clean hands and a pure heart. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen