Month: September 2020

The days I find myself in the midst of chaos, the days during which I become overwhelmed with the constant battle to keep my feet on the path that God has set before me. Days during which the devil bombards me with matters and concerns of this life faster than I can seem to catch my breath, those are the days when I need my deliverer most.

“But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help and my deliverer; O Lord, make no tarrying.” Psalm 70:5

As David struggled to stay out of the path of King Saul, as Saul continued to seek to destroy his life, David sought his deliverer.

“And he said, The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence. I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.” 2 Samuel 22:2-4

Each day I find that my deliverer stands ready to rescue me, ready to remove me from the burden under which this world tries to bury me. “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” 1 Peter 5:7

“Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” Psalm 55:22

“And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” 2 Timothy 4:18

So I will glory in my redeemer, I will rest steadfast in Him; for He has promised to deliver me. He is my deliverer.

“They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.” Psalm 82:5

In my frustration over a world that for the most part seems to have lost all form of common sense and decency, I found myself drawn to this verse. Our world is out of course, the darkness seems to be spreading, yet I know there is still light to be discovered and shared. I know that I have been called out of darkness.

“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6

God possesses the power to bring an end to darkness. “He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death.” Job 28:3

“To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.” Isaiah 42:7

Regardless of the ever present reminder of darkness about us, we have been called out of darkness into light. Though we live in a world infiltrated by darkness, we still possess the ability through God’s provision to walk in the light.

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.” 1 Peter 2:9-10

So we are to walk in the light . . . because we have been called out of darkness.

“For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:” Ephesians 5:8

As a child I have been told my favorite thing to say was, “Me do it me self“; a phrase that gives testimony to a character trait that as I’ve grown up I have learned is both a strength and a weakness. I have the tendency to want to do things myself without relying on others. When faced with challenges I normally buckle down and meet them head on, but often that’s not a good thing. There are times when my stubbornness to do it myself results in a mess.

This has certainly been the case when trying to act like I am in control of my life, times when I fail to remember that my Heavenly Father is in control. I often forget that each day He has a specific plan and in the midst of every situation I face He already knows the answer. It would be so much easier if I would focus each moment on reaching out to Him no matter how big or small the question might be, for He is my helper.

“Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul.” Psalm 54:4

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.“ Psalm 28:7

“Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me: Lord, be thou my helper. Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.” Psalm 30:10-12

The Lord is my help, for He is my helper !!

I have been blessed with many amazing friends in my lifetime, throughout each of the various chapters along the way God has given me special people that I will always hold dear in my heart. Many of them have been an inspiration and help to me in my journey to grow in God’s truth; however, there has never been a friend that has been unto me as the friend I have in my Lord and Savior. He has never left me nor forsaken me. He is my friend.

“A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” Proverbs 18:24

No matter where life has taken me, no matter what I have faced, He has always been there steady and sure; providing all things as I have had need. “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Hebrews 13:5

He loved me and formed me, choosing me; loving me so much that He gave His life for me. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13

He gave His life for me that I might live. I want to give my life to serve Him, to be His friend. I want to be a friend to Jesus, one day I would like to hear Him say, “Welcome Home my servant, my friend.”

“Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.” John 15:14

Abraham was a friend of God, because he believed in God and the finished work of Calvary that he knew would one day be complete. “And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.” James 2:23

I want this to be said of me. “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.” John 15:15 I want to be a friend to Jesus, for He is my friend.

Growing up I was mystified by old deserted mansions, it was always my dream to one day find a rare gem and restore it to its original glory. I envisioned it nestled within the overgrowth of silent stories that hung within the branches of stately old oaks, sheltered from the onward movement of years of time.

As I grew up I discovered many of these old mansions within the pages of books, learning of families of old that had once called similar structures home. Families that had met with numerous hardships and struggles, some that forced them out of their home and some that caused them to retreat within the walls of their home seeking solitude from a world that had rejected them. Today, I often find myself seeking this same sense of solitude; but, rather than retreating within the walls of a stately old home from the past, I find myself seeking refuge within the arms of my Lord. He has become my habitation.

“Be thou my strong habitation whereunto I may continually resort: thou has given commandment to save me; thou art my rock and my fortress.” Psalm 71:3

A fortress is a strong hold, a place of security. In my mind I envision the massive walls of a castle within which no harm can come for the Lord stands guard. He is my fortress, within Him I see refuge and find strength. He has promised to protect me from the evil that lies beyond, because I have made Him my habitation.

“Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.” Psalm 91:9-10

Habitation – a dwelling place.

I have made the Lord my habitation, in Him I have placed my trust. Within my habitation, I need fear no evil, for in my habitation I find rest and peace.

“And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.” Isaiah 32:18

There are days when I find myself completely in need of someone to step in and lift me up, someone to release me from all the things of this world that bury me deep. It seems that I become so entangled in this life that the bondage I once felt as a lost sinner begins to engulf me and I need someone to step in and free me. When I was lost He saved me out of the miry pit of sin and I’m forever His with the promise of an eternal home with Him; yet I can still become so worn down with the cares of this life that I need my Redeemer to help me.

A redeemer is the one that frees from captivity, releases from blame or debt, helps to overcome, frees from the consequences of sin. “As for our redeemer, the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah 47:4

Aside from Him there is no other, He alone is my Redeemer. Just like the words of the song, “He sought me and bought me.” “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10

He saved me and nothing I will ever do will change that, He alone stands ready to help me, to deliver me, for He has redeemed me. He is my Redeemer. “And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer.” Psalm 78:35

He is my God, my strength, my Redeemer. “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14

With God as my Redeemer, I need never fear. Things may come and things may go; but He remains steadfast and sure. I need only rest, looking into Him, my Redeemer.

“Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is his name: he shall throughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.” Jeremiah 50:34

“For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:” Job 19:25

Often I look forward, trying to predict in my mind what will happen and what I should do to prepare. What do I need to have in place to ensure that I have what I need? Will I have the strength I need to meet the needs of the day when the time comes? While it is good to prepare and plan, the responsibility of the preparation lies with our Heavenly Father. He knows what tomorrow holds, He knows what needs to be done ahead of time, and He has promised to provide.

“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?” Matthew 6:25

Whatever the need might be, God is there with sufficient provision to meet that need. “But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth.” Deuteronomy 15:8

So it becomes God that directs us giving us the provision and the strength daily to meet the needs of that day. “For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.” Isaiah 25:4

Yesterday we did not need the strength to face today. Today we do not need strength from tomorrow, we simply need strength for today. If we were to receive from God all of the strength we needed from now until we leave this life, there would be no need for a daily walk with Him. So it is that we move from strength to strength as we appear before Him each day.

“They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.” Psalm 84:7

So today I look to Him for strength, resting in the promise that tomorrow He will be there to provide, once again moving me from strength to strength as the need arises.

“In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.” Psalm 72:7

In sharp contrast to what we are experiencing today, this verse gave me pause. First, I would not say the righteous are flourishing and second, evidence of the abundance of peace is rare. This verse is part of a prayer that David brought before God for his son Solomon. He was seeking God in his desire for Solomon to follow after righteousness, leading the people to know the abundance of peace. He was praying for his son and his people regarding the way to peace, which he knew all too well was through pursuing a life of righteousness.

Sadly, today it is rare to find parents praying such prayers for the lives of their children. For the most part their goals and aspirations are centered around wealth and fame, regardless of what the cost might be. The cost has been that evil has crept in through the lack of prayer in our homes. The Bible has become covered in dust and families no longer make priority for God in their lives. So it is that we find ourselves in a time when righteousness has become viewed by the world as evil and evil has become that which is viewed as right. A time when the way to peace has been lost by the world at large; and now, across our Country. A country that was once established around the principles of righteousness no longer knows the way to peace.

“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20

“Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!” Isaiah 5:23

“The way of peace they know not: and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.” Isaiah 59:8

The door has been open and the welcome mat has been laid out for the ways of darkness that have invaded homes across America. Darkness that has destroyed families, leaving children to follow paths of destruction. Parents have failed to uphold the ways of righteousness, they failed to pray for the ways of their children and now the way to peace as been lost.

“Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Romans 3:14-18

Oh, that we might find our way back, that we might restore the power of prayer. That we might once again spend time praying over the hearts and minds of our children before darkness creeps in to steal their lives. That righteousness might once again flourish, bringing about once again the way to peace. “To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Luke 1:79

Sometimes I love nothing more than to sit and contemplate the magnificence of my God. To close my eyes and envision all that He is and is not. Just, Pure, Holy, Faithful, Longsuffering, Merciful, Full of Grace, Righteous, All Knowing, All Powerful, All Truth, All Loving, Beyond all of my Understanding.

“Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.” Psalm 116:5

“Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.” Isaiah 40:28

He is Not Limited, Not Slack, Not a Respecter of Persons, Not Unjust, Not Weary, Not Willing that Any Should Perish, Not Unknowing, Not Unreachable.

“Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:” Isaiah 59:1

God is my All, my Strength, my Saviour, my Jehovah. “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.” Isaiah 12:2-4

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.” Psalm 28:7

“For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.” Psalm 96:4

Because of Who He is and Who He is not, I will Praise Him.