Thursday, October 20, 2016

the poem of prayer

Psalms 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible. It  contains 176 verses. It is written as an acrostic poem. It is beautiful. The messages contained in this chapter are also deep and amazing. It is written as a prayer of one who delights in God and in following His ways. The words and depth of this beautiful poem carry great meaning even for us today.
I was reading this chapter and I began to read it aloud.  I wanted to hear the beauty of the poem and hear the meaning behind it.

Verse 136 stood out to me:

Rivers of water run down from my eyes,
Because men do not keep Your law.

The sorrow that overwhelmed the writer as he knew others did not follow God's law and seek after God. He realized that they were out of God's will and were sinful. He realized the consequences were dire for these folks.  I asked myself, "Do I cry over those who do not know God?"  Do I find that a great concern?  I need to. God is not willing that any should perish. When we seek the heart of God, we will find His concerns will be our concerns as well.
God seeks to save all who need it. He wants us to be used of Him to accomplish His will.

Other verses speak of the desire to understand and seek after God's law. Basically, the writer wants to do the will of his heavenly Father and be found righteous before Him. He is desiring to display his deep love for the One who created him and who loves him most. He wants to meditate on God's law or precepts. He wants to think on the things of God, obey the ways of God, live the ways of God, and please God. Do I desire these things as well?  Do I allow my soul to cry out to the Savior for deeper depths with Him?

Throughout this chapter I find a call to the Lord for deep personal changes and a relationship with a Savior who loves. I find a cry to God to move on those who do not know God and who go against the law of God. This writer has deep conviction and concern for those who are not with God. He desires a change.

Verse 126 says:

It is time for You to act, O Lord,
For they have regarded Your law as void.


Yes, this is a prayer for God to move and bring about salvation or changes for those who do not know Him. This chapter calls me to desire more and find greater delight in God and His Word.

I find in this chapter an example of many parts of our faith walk God wants us to desire to have and pray for:

-deep personal desire to follow after him
-prayer that is deeply personal and seeking God not just for self, but for others
-a grave concern for the lost souls
-a great desire to be righteous and holy before God
-a bond of love between Savior and saint
-a desire to share the gospel with others
-a cry for God to lead and guide throughout each day and in life
-a strong desire to learn all you can about God and His will for your life

There is so much in this chapter, I cannot seem to move on from reading it again.
This prayer poem may become my own. I may weave into my heart's desire and into my prayers the desires to delight myself in the Lord. I will ask Him to be the light unto my path. I will ask Him to act when those I see are falling from His path and need salvation.
I will call on Him to make me who He wants me to be.
I will cry out "You are my portion, O Lord!"
 




Make me walk in the path of Your commandments,
For I delight in it.




Monday, October 17, 2016

my God is real

It is so good to know God is real, alive and moving!  I am saddened to think there are some who don't know this precious truth. God is there and He is my best friend. Just like it says in Proverbs 18:24, there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.  He is always there when I speak too Him, I know He cares and listens. He answers and let's me know what I need.

I can tell you how God is real. I hear Him and see the results of His mighty power. He has performed miracles that we have prayed for. There are two babies living and thriving right now because He answered prayers. Doctors gave little hope, but God said Yes to the miracles.

When God told me that my husband would be at His current job another year, sure enough, Not a week later, my husband was told that the company will be laying off most of the employees over the next year.  I could not have known that would happen in advance, but for the voice of the Lord.

I see God moving and changing people. I hear many testimonies of God healing, leading, guiding, and protecting. He is bringing salvation to this world. He is calling His people to awaken and stand firm in faith. We may look around, just like Peter standing on the raging water with fear and doubt may try to overwhelm, but we can look to our Savior. We have Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. He has already overcome the world.

John16:33 I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

We have a great hope and no need to be fearful. We do not need to doubt. God is real, moving and causing His will to move forward through His people. The knowledge of Jesus, my Savior is my most precious treasure. The relationship I have with him is what sustains me and gives me my very life.  I cannot ever deny Him nor walk away from the very giver of truth and life. He is my everything.

I can sing " my God is real, He's real in my soul. my God is real for He has washed and made me whole. His love for me, is like pure gold. my God is real for I can feel Him deep in my soul!"

I pray That others may know and come to the great knowledge of truth that God loves them, and He is real for them too.


Tuesday, October 4, 2016

setback or redirected

Sometimes we have setbacks when we are working toward a goal. You know, you set a goal, make a plan, and get busy working toward that goal, when all of a sudden, something happens to mess up the plan. Oh so frustrating!  I have had setbacks happen many times and I feel like I have one now. But, as I began to pray about it, I felt like God was asking me, is it really a setback or is it a redirection?

God may be redirecting us, because He knows something we may not know.
We all have heard and read Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

I think we get off track sometimes and He redirects us to get us back on the path.  Sometimes, the "setback" or redirection is part of His plan.  Our perspective is that it is a negative event meant to derail us and throw us off, when in God's plan, it is meant to protect us, guard us, and keep us in His plan.

I heard a dear missionary, Sis. Elizabeth Tolman, testify many years ago about a time that her son was driving down a road in Mexico, when she felt God tell her they needed to stop and get off the road. She told her son to stop and get off the road.  When they got back on the road, up ahead they came across a serious accident where a truck had veered into their lane and would have hit them.  What may have seemed like a delay, or setback, protected them.

I think back to 2008 when I had a car accident that put me out of work for 3 months, in a wheelchair.  I saw it as a setback.  I was frustrated. My husband would take me over to my parents house every day after I was out of the hospital since I could not care for our small children alone and he had to go to work.  I was frustrated. But I got to spent every day with my mother for the last two and a half months she was here on this earth.  I look back now and realize, that was a true blessing in disguise.  I got to be with mom everyday, talk with her and have some great times that I would not have had had I been working and busy.  It was really God giving me a blessing.

About a month ago, my husband and I had attempted to hire someone to make some repairs on our gutters. It was quite a bit of money. When the time came for the work to be done, the person called and tried to reschedule, then said they would call later that day.  They did not call back for two weeks.  We were a bit frustrated with this development. In the meantime, my husband was told that  the company he works for may be laying off 200 plus workers, including him over the next few months meaning his income will be changing. We realized that maybe God kept us from spending some money that we may need later. When the repair person finally did call, we told we would not be requiring his services. We trust that God is protecting us and our financial situation and the work will be completed in a different way.

So, now that I am facing what feels like a little setback, may be God redirecting me for His purposes. He knows and sees a whole lot more than I do.  I may make plans and may think I know what will be done or what I need to do, but He knows better. I just need to choose to trust Him, even when life appears to throw a setback at me.  Proverbs 27:1 says Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth.  We can't really now the future anyhow, so trusting God with it makes a lot more sense than trusting my plans. He can keep us on the right path and going the right direction.  We just need to know that what might appear to be a setback, may actually be a blessing for us. God has it all prepared and He will guide us, when we listen and trust He is truly looking out for us.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.