Psalm 91

Psalm 91

¹ He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

² I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

³ Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.

⁴ He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

⁵ You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,

⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.

⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.

⁸ You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.

⁹ If you make the Most High your dwelling-
even the LORD, who is my refuge-

¹⁰ then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.

¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;

¹² they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

¹³ You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

¹⁴ “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

¹⁵ He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.

¹⁶ With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”

I think this is the first time I have actually used a whole chapter before, but the whole thing really spoke to me.

Few people know who I really am; what I struggle with.  I was diagnosed bipolar at fourteen but threw away the pills when they didn’t help me any.  Now, it’s getting worse.  My emotions go crazy and I can’t control them.  I’m aware of them, but I don’t know what to do about them.  Once, I tried this cutting thing that supposedly made everything better.  To my curse, it actually worked.  It only worked that once, but I still crave the blade.  I’m not perfect.  I fall.

This verse was looked at because I had fallen, hurt the one I love the most because of it.  On Valentine’s Day, Joe gave me a small card, and I stuck it in my Bible.  I opened my Bible to it and began to read one of the scriptures on the page.  It was Psalm 91; a Psalm I really needed to read.

I have once again taken refuge in something that is not guaranteed to make me feel better; it cannot keep me safe, not even from myself.  Only God has that power.

Refuge was a word that stuck out to me the most.  God is my refuge, my shelter, my fort.  No evil can harm me as long as I look to God and not some sharp object or other material item.

Only God can control these emotions I have.  Only God can make me not dark inside.  To Him I should look.

Prayer:

God, I know I have screwed up.  My past comes to haunt me time and time again, but only you can take that away.  Please, God, take this pain.  Take this baggage I have carried for far too long.  Only you can keep me safe.  Amen.

Romans 8: 28-39

Romans 8: 28-39

²⁸And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

²⁹For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

³¹What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?

³²He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

³³Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died-more than that, who was raised to life-is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

³⁶As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

³⁷No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I broke this apart the way I did and italicized certain parts for my own reasons at the moment.

I hit a rough patch in my life, and a thought came to me that through my depression, I should just read the Bible.  Maybe something will speak to me.  I also allowed my depression to turn into anger against somebody I had been angry at for a while.  Nobody’s perfect, especially me.

This passage says so much, or as I put it before in an apology note, “Each verse speaks a different language, so to speak.”  Each verse can speak in a thousand words about a thousand different things.  Somehow, it kind of made me feel better… Or maybe I just know that it’s supposed to.

In all things God works for the good of those who love him.

It stuck out to me (thus the italics), and it really should make anyone feel better.  God loves each and every one of us, and he does work for the good of those who love Him, though maybe He’s the only that knows why it’s good at that moment.

If God is for us, who can be against us?

Why should we listen to the world around us, condemning us (maybe that’s what this whole passage is truly about), when God is the only one we really have to answer to?  And in that, why should we as Christians condemn others when, again, God is the one they have to answer to; not us?  God is for us, not against us, and if we follow Christ, who is God in the flesh, then we who follow Him cannot be against others.

How will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

If it is in His will, it will be given to us.  If it will not blind us to Him, why should it not be given to us?  Of course, only God truly knows what is in our best interest.  In this, why should we worry?  Just trust that God knows what He’s doing, and leave it at that.

³⁴Who is he that condemns?

Am I allowed to admit that I am guilty of this charge?  Just recently, I have condemned.  I have also asked forgiveness, and perhaps that person will forgive me and perhaps not.

³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

This goes along with the “If God is for us, then who can be against us?”  because if we let people condemn us and get down because of it, we are turning our eyes away from the Lord and onto the words of some idiot who dare condemn us; God’s children.  In doing that, we let someone separate us from the love of Christ, except that the love of Christ remains constant-even though we feel as if He has abandoned us.  No one can separate us from the love of Christ.

³⁷No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

We are more than conquerors.  Why?  Because no one can separate us from the love of Christ.  Because, though people condemn, we can walk away with smiles, knowing that God works for the good of those who love Him.  Because God will graciously give all things to us as He did his only Son.  Because his Love reigns over everything.  And in that, we can feel pretty darn good.

³⁸For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Luke 1

Luke 1

Summary:

Zechariah was an old man married to an old woman who could not bear children.  Being barren was considered a disgrace among their people, and I’ve no doubt they were criticized constantly.  Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, would have most likely gotten it worse.  People would probably blame her for God closing her womb, when really, it was all part of His plan.

Now, Zechariah was a priest and was known for being righteous.  One day, lots were cast to see who would go into the temple to do something, and he was chosen.  When he went in, the angel Gabriel showed up and let him know that their cries had been answered, his wife was pregnant, and the boy was to be named John.

Zechariah, struck with fear, stuttered out the fact that he and his wife were too old for that, and Gabriel responded, “OK, because of your doubt, you won’t be able to speak until the boy is born.”  Then Zechariah stumbled out unable to speak.

Six months later, Mary came running, John the Baptist leapt in Elizabeth’s womb, and she knew that Mary was pregnant with Jesus.

When John was born, the people there questioned the name Elizabeth had chosen for the boy, saying no relatives had that name.  So they signed to Zechariah to ask him what he thought.  He had them fetch a writing tablet that could write on, and he wrote, “He is to be called John.”  And after that, he could speak again.

And John the Baptist was born.

My Thoughts:

I have been using the Life Application Bible (LAB) lately, which is pretty cool.  It has a lot of cool things that dissect the Bible pretty well.  Zechariah was a man who was dissected, and the LAB included this:

Lessons From His Life

–Physical limitations do not limit God.

–God accomplishes His will, sometimes in unexpected ways.

That caught my attention.  I liked both of those, and really think they can be great encouragement every day.  And so I thought I would share it with you along with my own thoughts.

Zechariah also momentarily doubted.  For that, he was given an instant and obvious punishment.  Others doubted Jesus, but only received a reprimand.  God was the power to say, “Never mind, then,” but he never does.  He accepts our doubt like a teacher with an elementary pupil.  He takes it, but asks us to do better next time.  The incentive is a better grade.  Maybe we’ll be blessed more if we live blameless like Zechariah and his wife and not doubt God when He tells us something is going to happen.

Not doubting is not easy.  I doubt because I am not sure if it is God I’m hearing or not.  But when I know it is God, I try my hardest to obey.  I may question it a few times, but that’s human nature.

Personally, I do not think doubting is wrong unless you do it to the point where you are a pessimist.  Questioning gains knowledge.

Trust God to know what He’s doing, though.  And remember those things in the LAB.

Prayer:

Lord, forgive me for doubting you.  I know that you have a plan for me, and I praise you for that.  Please help me trust you completely and still that small voice in the back of my mind.  Amen.

Haggai 2:1-5

Haggai 2:1-5

1 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: 2 “Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people. Ask them, 3 ‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? 4 But now be strong, O Zerubbabel,’ declares the LORD. ‘Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the LORD, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the LORD Almighty. 5 ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.’

I am going to pick certain things out of this to make it easier for everyone.

Things that stuck out to me: 4 But now be strong. Be strong, all you people of the land… For I am with you…5 ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.’

But it didn’t look right without the story behind it a little bit, so that’s why I put all of it and then broke it down.

“Be strong. My Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.” If we could just remember this passage when we are stressed out, I think it would do us some good. I know there have been times where I knew He was always with me, and that calmed me down. You have to put your trust in Him, because He asks us to, and because we know it’s in His hands anyways.

“My Spirit remains among you.” Oh, this verse is beautiful. There have been so many times that I just needed to feel Him around me.

“Do not fear.” When we put our trust in Him, it’s easy to still worry about it. But when we feel the presence of God around us, it seems that worry kind of fades away. If we could remember that His Spirit is always there, what need would we have for fear?

Now, believe me, I know it’s not that easy, but it should be. I’ve been there; where fear and worry and stress are pretty much everything in your life. But I have also been in those shoes and trusting in the Lord enough to where I didn’t worry or fear or stress out near as much. Knowing God is there really helps.

Matthew 5:11-12

Matthew 5:11-12

11Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Great is your reward in heaven. Have you realized that Jesus says this constantly? And each time means something else. It’s amazing. Just had to throw that out there.

The more you are persecuted, the more you know that people can tell that you are a Christian. You aren’t just fading into the background of wordly people. People are noticing you, and it’s a good thing. Because while people are throwing rotten tomatoes at you for being a Christ follower, someone else is noticing a different side of things.

Heaven itself is a great reward, which makes me wonder what Jesus means when he says, “Great is your reward in heaven.” Does He mean that there is more, or is he simply stating what I have just stated? That heaven itself is a great reward?

Nobody likes being insulted and treated like trash. But Jesus advises us in other scriptures simply to turn the other cheek. [Matthew 5:38-42] In doing so, somebody is bound to notice and begin to wonder, and may even ask you. What a great ministering opportunity.

But remember this: Do not be someone who brags. Be humble in what you do, so that it is not to show off but as part of your character. [Matthew 6]

Psalm 8:4

Psalm 8:4

What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?

Ah, the sweet words of David. And is it not a question we ask often, ourselves? What are we, God, that you look down on us with love? I don’t understand it, myself. Yet, He does. Amazing.

There have been times where I find myself amazed at the Grace of God and how he wraps His arms around me with love even when I screw up and really don’t deserve it. I wrote a blog on it once thinking about how blessed I was even though the blessings I received I definitely did not deserve.

“…I was thinking about how God has been gracious and has blessed me even though I truthfully don’t deserve it. I got to thinking about so many Christians who get angry that they are not being blessed, but one who doesn’t even believe in God is. I’ll admit the fear gripped me as I thought of the phrase ‘They’re getting the only heaven they know…’ but I also realized that I was blessed because of God’s Grace… His wonderful, amazing Grace…I thought I would share my thoughts about how Christians are still blessed even though we sin just as much as the man next door that doesn’t even believe God is anything but a made up character in a book. Why should we be blessed and not them simply for believing? I know my mind cleared up, and next time I see someone rich who doesn’t believe in God, I’m not going to look down on them and say ‘Well this is the only heaven they’ll know’ or ‘God should smite them instead of bless them.’ I may walk over to them (if I was able to) and say ‘God has blessed you.’ See where THAT goes!” [Exert from that blog]

After rereading “Why should we be blessed and not them simply for believing,” I got to thinking about how if we would just minister to them and allow them to see to believe, then they would have equal rights to get blessed, would they not? So why be selfish and hoard all our blessings and not let them have any? Because selfishness is not of God. Keep that in mind.

Prayer:

Lord, I thank you for your wonderful blessings that you have bestowed upon me time and time again. I don’t want to be a dragon, hoarding up all of your treasures for myself. It is not like you at all. Please help me minister to those, so that they may experience it as well. Though I do not deserve such wonderful grace, I will not complain about it. Instead, I will thank you daily for it. Thank you, Lord. Amen.

John 4:14-20

John 4: 14-20

14The farmer sows the word. 15Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.

Before this passage, the disciples had asked Jesus about a few parables he had told. His response was almost a “figure it out” response, saying that if they could not take it to heart, they were but seeds sown on soil that was not good soil, but if they could figure it out and keep it at heart and then spread their seeds elsewhere, they could help produce a great crop for the Kingdom of God.

I have always enjoyed this passage and the visuals I receive from it. It seems most people I know are like the seeds among the thorns or rocks. They let things get in the way of God, and I’ve done this before, but because of trials I went through, my faith grew as did my trust in Him. If people would look at it this way instead of letting the worry get to them, perhaps the thorns would die instead of the seeds. And the thorns would fertilize the ground creating new good soil, and the process of spreading seeds would begin.

Prayer:

Jesus, help me continue to put my trust in you and be like the seeds sown on good soil. Let your wind blow over me, so that my seeds may spread over those I have the chance to minister to. Thank you. Amen.

1 John 3:18

1 John 3:18

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

So many times, “I love you” is said, but how many times is “I love you” meant? I will admit that I have said those three words reflexively many times. Therefore, why should someone believe it; especially someone who has been hurt many times in the past?

Jesus said “I love you” with more than just words. A woman was thrown at his feet with the accusation of adultery, and he let her go, though the punishment for such a crime was to be stoned to death. Another woman worshipped him by washing his feet with her hair and perfume. His disciples tried to stop her, but he held his hand up and let her continue, showing his love and approval.

We rush about in our busy lives without the time to stop and help a stranger with her dropped groceries, or when we knock someone down, all we do is usher a hurried “sorry” but it’s reflexive. We don’t mean it. We’re too busy to mean it and way too busy to show it by stopping for just a minute.

I want to stop living reflexively and start showing Christ’s love along with my own.

Matthew 7:1-5

Matthew 7:1-2

1Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Matthew 7:1 is a common verse that we all hear on occasion. It is one I think of quite commonly. Personally, I try not to judge, but as humans, it is a common sin we do not see in our own lives, though we are quick to see it in someone else. I probably judge at least three times a day without realizing it.

As soon as one steps out the door into the world, someone judges them, whether it be by appearances, clothes, or choices that one person makes. And when one sees something “abnormal” in their standards, immediately their nose crinkles in distaste, and they jump to their own conclusions. Why? Because it isn’t something that one person is used to. I’ll admit it; I’m guilty. An old man in raggedy clothing with a beard a foot long leaning against the side of Wal-Mart is instantly regarded as most likely homeless, though most people add “alcoholic” to that category. I personally try not to.

I was judged all my life because of being poor and preferring the comfort of my brother’s hand-me-downs versus the girly clothes my grandmother always bought me. And if I did dress a bit girly, I was accused of having some crush. I could never win. So I stopped trying. I had no social life and had a whopping two friends. When I got into college, however, that all changed. Suddenly, I wasn’t judged so much, and if I was, I was given a second chance to prove myself.

Don’t judge or be judged yourself, and with the same measure you use in your judgment. Perhaps this judgment does not come from other people, but it will come when you stand before the King; guaranteed.

Matthew 7:3 and 5

3Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

So many times we want to tell our brother how wrong he is and try to take out the speck of sawdust from his eye, though we are blinded in our own right eye by a two by four. How can we see clearly enough to correct his wrongs until we correct our own?

Prayer:

Lord, please help me realize when I am judging and to correct my own wrongs before pointing out someone else’s. Help me to love even if someone is “abnormal” according to my own standards of “normal.” Amen.