May 28, 2013

Ps 9:1 I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works.

:2 I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

:3 When my enemies turn back, they shall fall and perish at Your presence.

:4 For You have maintained my right and my cause; You sat on the throne judging in righteousness.

:5 You have rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked; You have blotted out their name forever and ever. 

:6 O enemy, destructions are finished forever! And you have destroyed cities; even their memory has perished.

:7 But the Lord shall endure forever; He has prepared His throne for judgment.

:8 He shall judge the world in righteousness, and He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness.

:9 The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.

:10 And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.

:11 Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion! Declare His deeds among the people.

:12 When He avenges blood, He remembers them; He does not forget the cry of the humble.

:13 Have mercy on me, O Lord! Consider my trouble from those who hate me, You who lift me up from the gates of death, 

:14 That I may tell of Your praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion. I will rejoice in Your salvation.

:15 The nations have sunk down in the pit which they have made; in the net which they hid, their own foot is caught.

:16 The Lord is known by the judgment He executes; the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Meditation. Selah.

:17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.

:18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten; the expectation of the poor shall not perish forever.

:19 Arise, O Lord, do not let man prevail; let the nations be judged in Your sight.

:20 Put them in fear, O Lord, that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.

David had alot of trouble in his lifetime. That tends to cause us to pray. When we have made a mess of things, our plans fail, there's no way out, we cry out to God like a child running to his parent for help.

When circumstances tended to contradict what David knew to be true about God, he held on to what he knew was true. That is what faith is, believing what God says no matter what things look like.

Romans 8:30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. 

If He has called you, nothing can separate you from His love. Not distress, not persecution.

Lam 3:21 This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope.

As a general principle, if we would exercise our memories more wisely, we might, in our very darkest distress, strike a match that would immediately light the lamp of comfort.

1 Sam 30:24 For who will heed you in this matter? But as his part is who goes down to the battle, so shall his part be who stays by the supplies, they shall share alike. 

We share the same eternal life even though we didn't fight for it, don't deserve it, and can never begin to pay for it. All we have to do is accept it and pass it on to others.

Lk 15:5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

The Lord delights in salvation.

Pr 4:11 I have taught you in the way of wisdom, I have led you in right paths.

Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Pr 20:24 A man's steps are of the Lord; how then can a man understand his own way?

God knows sometimes we are not sure of the way we should go. We try so many things. At times we feel hopeful, other times not so much. Sometimes the path we are so hopeful of taking leads to disappointment. God knows our journey is sometimes difficult. God will bring good out of all of it. We must trust no matter how things are going. We only see a small piece of the big picture.

1 Tim 6:15 which He manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords,

:16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.

James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Acts 17:28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of Your own poets have said,

Ps 145:3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable.

:4 One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts.

:5 I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wonderous works.

:6 Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, and I will declare Your greatness.

Enjoy the radiant beauty of His presence.

Heb 1:2 But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son whom He has appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe.

Eph 3:16-17 I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

1 Kings 19:12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

Ps 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

God is the creator of the universe, yet He chooses to make His home in our heart. It is there He speaks to us in whispers.

Jn 16:23 And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.

There may be things you don't understand but they don't come between your heart and God.

Ps 40:1 I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry.

Patience slows you down enough to help you find the lessons hidden behind the inconveniences. It reminds you God is in control. 

When God's timing differs from your own, patience keeps you from trying to control something that is out of your hands.

Jn 4:5-7 So He came to a city of Samaria, called Sychar. Jesus, therefore, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink."

She came later then the other women because she was shunned because of her lifestyle. Jesus went straight to the heart of the matter and told her all about herself. He explained eternal life to her.

May 26, 2013

Ps 8:1 O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth, who have set Your glory above the heavens!

:2 Out of the mouths of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, because of Your enemies, that You may silence the enemy and the avenger.

:3 When I consider Your heavens, the works of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained,

:4 what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?

:5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and you have crowned him with glory and honor.

:6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands: You have put all things under his feet.

:7 All sheep and oxen –even the beasts of the field,

:8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas.

:9 O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth!

God created the universe to show us His glory and power, but He created us as the focus of a plan designed to demonstrate His grace and love. We don’t own the world, we are only given charge over it.

Jn 10:17 Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.

:18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.

No one forced God to send Jesus to redeem us, He did it freely and willingly.

1 Sam 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “ Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

We tend to misunderstand each other’s behavior during stressful times because another person’s response is different than ours. We then pass judgment when they don’t respond the way we think they should. These judgments drive wedges in our relationships. We are judging them by their outward appearance not by what is happening in their heart.

Ps 138:8 The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever; do not forsake the works of Your hands.

He relied on the Lord to do the work in him that needed doing.

Is 43:24 You have bought Me no sweet cane with money, nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices; but you have burdened Me with your sins, you have wearied Me with your iniquities.

Are we giving our all to the Lord? Or just what we don’t want?

Mt 6:25 Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more then clothing?

If we have received the Spirit of God, He will press through and say “Where do I fit in this relationship? In this vacation? In this movie? He will press the point until we learn to make Him our first consideration in everything we say, do or plan.

The cares of this world will choke out your relationship with God if you let them.

Mk 10:27 But Jesus looked at them and said, “ With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”

Acts 17:28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, “for we are His offspring.”

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Ps 42:5 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.

Even though we are going through difficult times we must remember God is with us. No matter how hopeless things seem, nothing is impossible for God if it is His will.

Col 2:2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ,

:3 in Whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Is 33:6 Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, and the strength of salvation; the fear of the Lord is His treasure.

Search for deep treasure as you go through this day. You will find Him all along the way.

1 Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Is 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God, for He has clothed me with the garment of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

Ps 89:15 Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! The walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance.

:16 In Your name they rejoice all day long, and in Your righteousness they are exalted.

We must not be afraid to confess our sins to God. It is uncomfortable but we must not try to run away or blame someone or something else. Confess them and leave them with God. Rejoice. He has already paid the price. Receive His forgiveness.

Ps 139:13 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.

:14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; and that my soul knows very well.

:15 My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

:16 Your eyes say  my substance being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.

These were very fitting verses as my youngest daughter just gave birth on Friday to our 5^th grandchild. Her first ! I know God formed this baby and has His hand on him.

God created each of us differently. He has something for each of us to do. We need to ask Him to show us what that is.

May 22, 2013

Psalms 7:1 O Lord my God, in You I put my trust; save me from all those who persecute me; and deliver me.

:2 Lest they tear me like a lion, rending me in pieces, while there is none to deliver.

:3 O Lord my God, if I have done this: if there is iniquity in my hands,

:4 if I have repaid evil to him who was at peace with me, or have plundered my enemy without cause,

:5 Let the enemy pursue me and overtake me: Yes, let him trample my life to the earth, and lay my honor in the dust. Selah.

:6 Arise, O Lord, in Your anger; lift Yourself up because of the rage of my enemies; rise up for me to the judgment You have commanded!

:7 So the congregation of the peoples shall surround You; for their sakes, therefore, return on high.

:8 The Lord shall judge the peoples; judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, and according to my integrity within me.

:9 Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the just; for the righteous God tests the hearts and minds.

:10 My defense is of God, who saves the upright in heart.

:11 God is a just judge, and God is angry with the wicked every day.

:12 If he does not turn back, He will sharpen His sword; He bends His bow and makes it ready.

:13 He also prepares for Himself instruments of death; He makes His arrows into fiery shafts.

:14 Behold, the wicked brings forth iniquity; yes, he conceives trouble and brings forth falsehood.

:15 He made a pit and dug it out, and has fallen into the ditch which he made.

:16 His trouble shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down on his own crown.

:17 I will praise the Lord according to His righteousness, and I will sing praise to the Name of the Lord Most High.

Cush was going around spreading gossip about David. David knew the gossip wasn’t true, but had no way to prove it.

Have you ever been the target of a lie? Usually you are the last to hear it. The one spreading it knows just whose ear to whisper it in to have it travel far and wide. When it finally reaches you, you can hardly believe what is being said. The more you defend yourself, the deeper the suspicion.

What can we do when our integrity is attacked? Do what David did. Ask God to defend us. Let the consequences come on the people who are speaking lies about us. Verses 15-16 say he fell in the ditch he was digging. David stopped trying to defend himself and let God do it. God must have silenced Cush cause we don’t read of him again. God doesn’t do things half way. He’s the Most High God, even over our enemies. We can have peace when we let God protect us.

Chuck Swindoll said, “Each morning this week, as you look at yourself in the bathroom mirror, don’t forget to look at your tongue. Hold your mouth open long enough to realize that slab of skin, membranes, and muscles has the power to injure.. to stab .. to kill. Pray for control.

Ps 107:7 And He led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city for a dwelling place.

By honor and dishonor, by evil report and by good report, by plenty and by poverty, by joy and by distress, by persecution and by peace, by all these things is the life of your souls maintained, and by each of these are you helped on your way.

Song of Solomon 1:16 Behold, You are handsome, my beloved! Yes, pleasant! Also our bed is green.

No matter what is going on in our life, Jesus is always beautiful to us!

Ps 107:1 Oh, give thanks to the Lord for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

Even when we fail His mercy is there.

Duet 32:4 He is the Rock, His work is perfect: for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice, righteous and upright is He.

Only God is perfect, but each day if we allow Him to, He makes us a little bit more like Him.

Ps 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

2 Sam 22:33 God is my strength and power, and He makes my way perfect.

:34 He makes my feet like the feet of deer, and sets me on my high places.

:35 He teaches my hands to make war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

:36 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your gentleness has made me great.

God can only by your refuge if you choose to retreat to His presence.

Judges 7:2 And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, “My own hand has saved me’.

:3 Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying,”Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.

How come it is so hard for us to comprehend if God is on our side, we don’t need anyone else.

Is 25:8 He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; the rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken.

1 John 1:5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

Ps 18:30 As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

In the midst of disasters it is a challenge sometimes to believe that God is both good and sovereign. But disasters, etc don’t change Who or What God is. We must cling to Him in those times also believing His way though not always understood is perfect.

1 Pet 5:6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exhalt you in due time.

Jn 14:6 Jesus said to him, “ I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

In Jesus is everything we need both for this life and the one yet to come. Fix your eyes upon Him, no matter what is going on around you.

1 John 3:20 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.

Eph 6:16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

Rev 12:10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “ Now salvation, and strength, and the Kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.

2 Cor 7:10 For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.

Whenever your heart condemns you, call out to Jesus. Your heart and mind are battlefields. We must use faith to stop the attacks.

Jn 17:21 That they all may be one, as You, Father are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

Since you became a believer you are no longer independent , you belong to Christ.

Are we as close to Christ as He is to God?

The things we go through either make us sweeter, better, or they make us fault finding, more insistent on going our own way. It all depends on our relationship with Christ.

May 21, 2013

Ps 6:1 O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger, nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure.

:2 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled.

:3 My soul is greatly troubled; but You, O Lord, - how long?

:4 Return, O Lord, deliver me! Oh, save me for Your mercies’ sake!

:5 For in death there is no remembrance of You; in the grave who will give You thanks?

:6 I am weary with my groaning; all night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with all my tears.

:7 My eye wastes away because of grief; it grows old because of all my enemies.

:8 Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity; for the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping.

:9 The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer.

:10 Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly troubled; let them turn back and be ashamed suddenly.

Serious illness has a way of focusing our attention on God. Sometimes it is difficult for us to even pray.

At first David thought maybe sin had caused his problem, however that isn’t always the case. He asked for God’s grace and mercy.

Most of the time sickness is a reminder we live in a world corrupted by decay and diseases.

Sickness should have us examining our lives though to see if anything displeases God. Ask for forgiveness if so. Then we can confidently ask God to heal us. We don’t demand healing, we ask for it.

The only thing worse than being ill, is being attacked by your enemies while ill. David’s enemies used his sickness to attack his kingdom. The devil will use sickness to get us to doubt God’s love for us.

Ps 139:1 O Lord, You have searched me and known me.

:2 You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off.

:3 You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.

:6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.

No one knows us as well as God does. He loves us completely. Human love is conditional and that makes it difficult to understand how God loves us in spite of our short comings. We can hide things about ourselves from each other, fearing people won’t love us if they know the real us. But God knows the good, the bad and the ugly. He loves us enough to want to fill the bad and the ugly parts with His light.

1 Pet 2:3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

The if here means there are some who haven’t tasted that the Lord is gracious. Have you tasted that the Lord is gracious? If no, my prayer for you is that you will.

Gen 42:2 And he said, “Indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down to that place and buy for us there, that we may live and not die.

It appeared that everything was against Jacob. Yet God had a plan set in place all along to take care of him and his family. God will provide for us the same way if we live according to His will.

Ex 20:3 You shall have no other gods before me.

Do you have a false god? It can be a person, a thing, or even an imagination. What takes the place God should have in your life? An emotion? It might not be all the time, but any time something or someone comes before God in your life, even for a moment, it / they are an idol.

Mt 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Don’t make the ruling factor of your life what you will eat or drink or wear. Concentrate first on God. You can’t be careless about what you eat and drink or your health will suffer. You can’t be careless about what you wear, you represent God. You can’t be careless about your finances, they belong to God and you need to spend them wisely. But if you seek God first in all things, it will make you careful in all things.

Pr 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;

:6 in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

Ps 37:5 Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.

Rom 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Do you continue to struggle with complete and utter confidence in God even though you have tried for years? The main problem is your desire for understanding, along with a strong desire to feel in control of your life.

Our life experiences train us to do this. It takes a supernatural work in our heart.

Ask the Holy Spirit to control your mind.

Rom 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

:32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

Micah 7:7 Therefore I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.

We think we have to figure out everything, we need to turn control over to Him and let Him take us where He wants us to go.

Pr 29:25 The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.

Gen 3:13 And the Lord God said to the woman, “ What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Jn 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Jn 8:32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Whenever you start to feel insecure, turn to God. The devil has been deceiving people since the garden of Eden. But if you trust God He will reveal the truth of the situation to you.

Jn 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

God is the God of second chances. Accept Jesus as Savior and you can be born again.

Eph 5:15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,

:16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

:17 therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Accomplishing what needs to be done today instead of putting it off until tomorrow or indefinitely helps your life run more smoothly.

Jn 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “ I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

Vonette Z. Bright said: Decisions that are made in the light of God’s word are stake and show wisdom.

Gladys Aylward said: Let nothing deter you… remember it is God who has called you and it is the same as when He called Moses or Samuel.

May 20, 2013

Psalms 5:1 Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation.

:2 Give heed to the voice of my cry, my King and my God, for to You I will pray.

:3 My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up.

:4 For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, nor shall evil dwell with You.

:5 The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity.

:6 You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. 

:7 But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy; in fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple.

:8 Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; make Your way straight before my face.

:9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is destruction; their throat is an open tomb; they flatter with their tongue. 

:10 Pronounce them guilty, O God! Let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against You.

:11 But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; let those also who love Your name joyful in You.

:12 For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround him as with a shield.

Discouragement is a deep, dark hole. We've all been there. That is where David was when he wrote this. The critics are always there too, not to lend us a hand to pull us out, but to push us further down. When we get to that point, the only thing to do is look up.

In verses 1-3 David looked up and called on the Lord for help.

Verses 4-6 he starts thinking about his enemies.

Verses 7-8 he looks up again and remembers God's grace in his life.

Verses 9-10 the enemies keep coming back to mind, pushing him deeper into the hole.

Verses 11-12 Finally he focuses fully on the Lord for deliverance. 

We, just like David, are like a yo-yo when discouragement comes. Up, down, trusting, trampled, hopeful, hopeless.  It can feel like a roller coaster.

Charles Spurgeon said: "Sometimes we cannot put our prayers into words. They are nothing but a cry. But the Lord can comprehend the meaning, for He hears a voice in our cry. To a loving Father, His children's cries are like music and they have an influence which His heart cannot resist".

God doesn't find pleasure in evil people. 

If you try to fight your battles without the Lord, you will become bitter and cranky, and your face will reflect those things instead of joy.

David calls the Lord "my King and my God". We don't make God King, He is King. We either live as His faithful followers or we live in rebellion.

Some days I just have a short time to do bible study and don’t get through all that I would like. That is why I don’t always post. But I decided that I would start posting all my studies and some will be quite long and some very short. I will try and post the psalms study first for those who are only interested in that (assuming anyone but me reads any of my posts lol).

Pr 18:3 When a wicked man comes, contempt also comes, and with dishonor comes reproach.

If we do what God expects of us, despite the pull of sin, we gain strength of character. Negotiating with evil wins us zero every time.

1 John 2:6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He did.

Rebecca Manley Pippert said: “ We cannot separate His demands from His love. We cannot dissect Jesus and relate only to the parts we like.”

Corrie ten Boom said: “Don’t worry about what you do not understand.. worry about what you do understand (in the bible) but do not do.

Ps 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Lam 3:25 The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.

Is 40:31 But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Rom 8:28 And we  know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Jer 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

When you are suffering and God makes you wait, His care may seem imperfect and inadequate. It is neither. There are many different ways to wait, and some are better than others. Trust and love Him. Believe He has only the best planned for you but sometimes we have to walk through the fire to get the best.

Is 29:13 Therefore the Lord said:”Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men.

Has your faith been a lifeless ritual rather than a vital love relationship with Jesus?

1 Cor 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written,” He catches the wise men in their own craftiness”.

Ps 119:18 Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law.

Col 3:1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.

:2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

:3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

:4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

1 John 4:4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater then he who is in the world.

:5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them.

:6 We are of God. He who knows God hears us, he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

Is 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Jn 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “ I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

Our tendency is to hide from our sin, or at least we try to. We seek refuge in the dark thinking no one, including God, can see. He sees everything. He will bring your sin to the light.

Ps 17:7 Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand. O You who save those who trust in You from those who rise up against them.

Sometimes when we give to the Lord it is not from our heart. He always gives to us from His love.

Hosea 11:4 I drew them with gentle cords, with bands of love, and I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck. I stooped and fed them.

God calls us in to eat at His table, yet most of the time we hesitate to go in wondering what it will cost us. His table is not a restaurant, and even if it was, He has already paid the cost.

Col 4:6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

We become like those we spend time with. How much time today did you spend with Jesus? Would you have said some of the things you said if He were right there with you? He is always with you, and he hears every word you speak.

2 Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on our behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.

Acts 2:28 You have made known to me the ways of life; you will make me fullof joy in Your presence.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

Ps 37:4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

If you keep God first in your life, His good gifts won’t become idols to you.

Lk 21:19 By your patience possess your souls.

Patience is never an easy thing. But it is a choice, just like joy.

Ps 147:5 Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.

If there were a point where God stopped being powerful or His understanding ended, He wouldn’t be God.