Jesus and Psalm 91

Have you ever been talking to someone and a scripture for them appears in your thoughts?

It happens to me quite a bit. I believe it's because I ask Father God to give me the words I need to say to people. 

A couple days ago, I told someone I felt like the Lord wanted them to read Psalm 91.  Psalm 91 is also one of my go-to verses to read. 

The next morning I received a text from the same person and I reached for my study Bible and opened it to Psalm 91. As I read through the study notes and shared a bit on how this psalm is arranged, it occurred to me I was studying Psalm 91 too! After a moment of laughter at how sneaky Jesus is, I shared that Jesus wanted me to study Psalm 91, too. 

It's been a few days since I last read Psalm 91. 

To amuse myself, I was scrolling through the items on my Temu app. I didn't really need anything, I was just looking at the bargains. A t-shirt appears and I burst into laughter.  Guess what it said? That's right, printed across the chest was PSALM 91!  Above and below the PSALM 91 was verse 2. I did say Jesus was sneaky right? 

Anyway, I grabbed my study Bible and started reading Psalm 91 again. 

 

Bombarded by God's Love

I read this at a recovery meeting last night:

 "The most common symptoms of emotional insecurity are worry, anger, self-pity, and depression...If  I am unable to change the present state of affairs, am I willing to take the measures necessary to shape my life to conditions as they are?"

Yep, I have a new normal.

 I am a widow. 

I am willing to shape my life to conditions as they are as I follow God's lead. 

I feel as if I've been spiritually bombarded with God's love for the last 24 hours.

 I've heard and read so many pertinent words that apply to where I am today.

• I am a child of God.

• I am a jewel that God treasures. 

• I can't run out in front of God like a dog on a leash. I need to follow Him in obedience.  

Resources

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Page 52

Malachi 3:17

“They shall be Mine,” says the Lord of hosts, “On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them As a man spares his own son who serves him.” 

Devotional by Rebecka Beene on Facebook

Trust in the Lord : Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

Trust. Believe He is taking care of everything. Have no doubt. Believe this 100%. Have no doubt.

And lean not on your own understanding

Do not do it my way. My way takes me out of His way. Have faith and do not try and deal with life on my own.

In all your ways acknowledge Him

Talk to Him. All. The. Time.  Say thank you for blessings. Ask for help in all things. That's not weakness. It's strength. Ask for guidance today in all things. Acknowledge that God is first in all my activities. Pray. Talk. Share.

And He shall direct your paths.

Shall means will. He will direct my paths. Right now. He is in charge. He is the director. I am not. 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV

Writing in Obedience

 

My days, weekends, and evenings have been and are full of homeschool teaching and planning for two grandsons. I haven't been writing for weeks.

However, I've heard the Lord tell me to write twice in the last 2 weeks. Obedience is my heartfelt wish. I just don't see what I have to share as being important. What impact is it going to have? This is where faith has to step in. God obviously knows something that I don't.

#faithinaction

Lost in Life - A poem about living without faith

#NaPoWriMo2020

Faith Times Three : An Acrostic Poem

Full of love and adoration for the Lord

Adore Jesus Christ and his sacrifice

In a relationship with a living God

Testifying about the Good News

Honoring the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit

Finding a strength beyond myself

Acknowledging my weakness - to accept His strength 

Invisible belief without physical proof

Trials are no longer to be feared

Help and healing are mine to receive, as long as I believe

Faith in the Bible as written

Announcing God's Glory to all

Intent on following the narrow path

Telling Jesus all my troubles, listening to the Holy Spirit, appealing to the God of all

Helping and encouraging my brothers and sisters in faith

©2014 Sallee Bonham

Psalm of the Week - 28:7

A Prayer Warrior Week

Whew! This week has been an on-the-knees, pray the word aloud week! 
Bill and I went to the 4 way stop in the center of town Thursday evening to pray for our community. This is the third month and three of us showed up. Bill and I wore our eye-catching Christian Motorcyclists Association colors so that passing folk would know we were there for Jesus. Bill, Sundi Jo and I received a lot of looks from people as we prepared to pray on the east corner of the 4 way for our community and the surrounding communities. It is my hope that someone will ask one of us," I saw you at the 4 way stop. What were you doing?" When this happens we can have a conversation about prayer and Jesus. Yep, this is evangelism outreach and/or discipleship my friends.
This is also spiritual warfare. 
What do you believe about spiritual warfare? I believe we live in Satan's world and that we are in a battle to bring people to Jesus Christ. This is the great commission: to go and tell people about Jesus Christ in the world around us. When we follow this way of life, we will run into the enemy, the ruler of this world whom even Jesus had to face and defeat. Our enemy's mission is to keep people from coming to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. He wants to keep you in the dark, literally and figuratively. To this end, he places obstacles in the paths of believers to try and separate us from our Jesus by keeping us busy, swamped with drama, and overrun with temptations. Satan also places obstacles in the paths of unbelievers who are beginning to see the light of Jesus and begin walking toward him. 
Grabbing my Shield and Sword
 I have been grabbing my shield of faith and Sword of the Spirit all week to extinguish the flaming arrows of the enemy who is trying to discourage a sister in ministry, trying to keep a lamb of God from completely breaking free of Satan's chains, and to stop the umbrella of prayer from being lifted within the center of our community. 
Yes, I have been engaged in spiritual warfare all week AND I believe my prayers are answered. Did you catch that? My prayers ARE answered - maybe not today, tomorrow, or a month from now, but they will be answered in God's timeframe. This is faith in action. This is submitting to God. This is knowing who I am; I am a child of God and he is always good. 
Yes, I know that I sound like a crazy person to many of you.
I don't care. I know who I am through Jesus Christ and I believe the Bible is the inspired word of God. Yes, I am a spirit-led, redeemed follower of Jesus Christ and I know who I am through Jesus Christ. 

• I am a coheir of the kingdom
• I have the mind of Christ
• I have a wise counselor
• I can send Satan fleeing
• I am a prayer warrior in the kingdom of God
• I am a fervently dedicated servant of Jesus Christ

Do you know who you are in the kingdom of God? 
The New Testament tells us who we are through Jesus Christ. The Old Testament tells us the history of God's people and why he sent Jesus as the Messiah. If you don't know Jesus or who you are as a Christian, read the New Testament to discover the truth of letting Jesus into your life. 

• 1 Corinthians 1:18

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.

• Hebrews 12:2

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

• John 14:16-17

16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

• Ephesians 6:11-12

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

• Ephesians 6:16-18

16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 

• 1 John 4:4

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

• Galatians 4:7

So you are no longer a slave, but God's child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

• James 4:7

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Are We Hung by Our Own Tongue?

I was watching Andrew Wommack's television broadcast awhile back with Bill. 
Andrew was teaching from Proverbs 18:21,"The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." Andrew's question was this, "What if the words we speak actually caused someone to live or to die?" How would it change your life?" Immediately, I felt as if I had been struck by an unseen stone somewhere inside my head and my heart. I know I sometimes speak words that would cause death and now I was being convicted by the Holy Spirit. It isn't a good feeling to know I have fallen short and my heavenly Father is bringing it to my attention in an unmistakable manner.
You see, this is an area in which I struggle every day.
Speaking only good about others is not my strongest character trait. I am being kind and not calling myself a slanderer or a gossip. I don't mean to be either of these things. However, if others are speaking unkindly about someone, I usually find myself joining the conversation.
God brought this to my attention through the question spoken by Andrew Wommack.
This isn't the first time he has brought this to my attention, but it is the first time I felt as if I had been struck by an unseen stone from the inside out. No matter how much I desire to not gossip or speak unkindly of others, I am still doing it. That is what brought this sense of being struck, or convicted. I cannot do it anymore. Through the Holy Spirit, I have been corrected and in the aftermath of that correction I am meditating on Proverbs 18:21 and thinking about my words as having the actual ability to cause life or death. Proverbs 18:21 is my tool to combat this area of weakness within myself.
Additionally, I've been given another tool to use, Psalm 15. 
This tool reached me through a bible study of Lisa TerKeurst's book, What Happens When Women Walk in Faith. Psalm 15 was part of the personal Bible study for the "Famine" chapter's first lesson. Psalm 15 says,

"Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary?
Who may live on your holy hill?
He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous,
who speaks truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue,
who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman,
who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things will never be shaken.
who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the Lord,
who keeps his oath even when it hurts, 

The bold print is my addition.
These are the phrases that sank into my head and heart as I read the psalm. These are the phrases that I KNOW are my second tool to use in my battle to keep my tongue speaking words of life. I do not believe this psalm just happened to be part of a bible study that just happened to coincide with the conviction that I received from God through the Holy Spirit. In faith, I choose to believe that I am being given another tool by the Lord to continue meditating upon so that I may dwell in His sanctuary and live on His holy hill.
This is part of God's plan for me. 
I am being shaped and molded into a better vessel to be used by the Lord. I am a branch having the weak and dead areas pruned from it so that I may flourish and grow stronger. You see, my heart's desire is to be the best me I can be for Jesus and to stay squarely in the middle of God's plan for me. To do this, I have to accept truths about myself that hurt. The sting will lessen as I persevere and grow, and now I have two tools to use in my battle to keep my tongue speaking life. Amen?

Ephesians 4:30
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
John 15:1-2
1“ I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
Romans 9:20-21
20 But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ ” 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?

For additional reading and bible verses on this topic go to:
https://joyfilledwoman.blogspot.com/2014/08/dont-get-hung-by-your-tongue.html 

Verse of the Week - Galatians 2:9

God had a plan for each of the disciples. 

Paul and Barnabus were to go to the Gentiles to preach Jesus' message and the other disciples were preaching to the Hebrew people. 

God has a plan for me today.

Today, I am reaching out to my sisters-in-faith and encouraging them to pray and listen for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised this wise counselor would come so that we would not be orphans. Amen? Part of God's plan for me is to help my sisters stand firm in their faith. I know this.

Additionally, I am called to write.

I don't know why, but I am being obedient. I may not be the greatest writer of all time, but I am being obedient. My writing is based on my faith and how I arrived at this point in my faith journey. Anytime I don't write for a week or two, the Holy Spirit calls me back to it. Yes, I feel discouraged at times, but my husband reminds me that what I am doing isn't about reaching masses of people. I am writing to be obedient to God. Hopefully, what I write will help someone but the point is----I am being obedient when I can't see a reward for my commitment. I am being obedient when I don't understand the plan. 

John 14:16-18

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 

Psalm 27:14

 14 Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.

Faith of a Child

The Kingdom of Heaven Belongs to Children
On the way to work last week, I was thinking about Jesus telling the disciples to let the little children come to him for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Jesus was not happy with his disciples when he said this. The disciples had been telling the grownups that they shouldn't have brought children to Jesus. I wonder if they thought Jesus was too busy to pay attention to children? I do know that Jesus quickly let the disciples know that they were in the wrong.  As I thought on this I had a "God moment" of realization, Jesus was telling us to have the faith, focus, and trust of children if we want to follow him. 

My grandson is two years old and he repeats everything he hears at least five times. When I show up at the door, he says,"Hi Grammy!I happy to see you!" and then repeats it four more times. His little face is all smile and lit up from the inside out with his happiness at my arrival. He throws open his arms and runs to me for a big hug and a kiss.  It is humbling to be greeted like this. What a precious gift that little boy is giving me. Unconditional love and joy at seeing me. 

Can you imagine Jesus showing up for a visit and saying,"Hi Jesus!I'm happy to see you!" with a face that is all smile,  lit up from the inside out, and running to hug him in greeting?
That is the joy Jesus wants us to have in our relationship with him. Unconditional love, joy, and trust is a precious gift that can be given to Jesus as each of us lives in the moment, trusting him to take care of us, and finding joy in his presence through the indwelling Holy Spirit. 

How many times have you watched a child playing with complete concentration, totally absorbed in what they are doing? 
Children live in the moment. They aren't worrying about yesterday or tomorrow. Nope, small children live in the moment and trust their parents to take care of their needs.  Can you imagine what would happen if grownups focused on Jesus and his teachings in the same manner? Life would be lived without stress while trusting Jesus to take care of every outcome. 

Verse of the Week - Galatians 1:10

Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people?
Good questions aren't they? As I grew to maturity as a branch on the Lord's vine, I had to be willing to let God prune some extra leaves and twigs from my actions and behaviors. One of behaviors that had to be pruned, or removed was my need to be a people pleaser. Yep, I had a terrible time learning that I could not please people first and God last. Below, is a list of lessons I have learned and strive to live by today.

• I can only accomplish a set number of tasks in today.
• Go to bed early and get up earlier to finish a task. I work more efficiently when I am rested. 
• It is okay to gracefully say no. Example: Thank-you so much for thinking of me. However, I already have a full calendar at that time.  Another graceful way to turn someone down is: I am so happy that you thought of me for this job, but I already have commitment(s) for that time, day, or week. 
• Giving of myself to gain approval - wanting others to recognize my contribution and give me a little pat on the head - is putting man above God. It isn't okay
• Faith requires me to go ahead and step out to do what God tells me to do, even when I feel fear. 
• There are always going to be people who don't like me and it is okay. 

Did you catch what I said about the lessons? 

I am striving, or trying, to live this way.  Am I always successful at living this way? Of course not. However, the moment I become aware that people pleasing behavior has crept back into my life, I remove it as quickly as possible through the following actions:  

First, I call on my father in heaven and ask him to remove that people pleasing sprout that has sprung up again. 

Then, I tell him I am willing to have it taken away. 

After that, I tell him that I am his to command and that I only want to do his will and not mine. The time in between each people pleasing pruning has become longer and longer as I trust my heavenly father to continue to shape me into the person he has plans for. 

If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
To be a bold witness for Jesus, I cannot worry about pleasing people. I can only please Jesus. I am his servant and that is all the approval that I need. Jesus gave me a job to do. I have to tell others about the Good News of Jesus Christ. My Jesus loves me and cares about me. God knows me intimately and sent the Holy Spirit to live in me. I don't need any more approval than that. Amen?

Verse of the Week - Galatians 1:8-9

Paul Speaks a Stern Truth
Paul didn't mince any words in telling the Galatian churches that there is only one gospel and that if anyone else is preaching a gospel, other than the one they accepted through Paul's evangelism, that the consequence is condemnation.

I know this sounds harsh, but many people want to preach a gospel that isn't the one Jesus taught and these gospels don't lead you to eternal life through Jesus Christ. False gospels lead to death and Jesus' gospel leads to eternal life. It is life and death for you and I to know the truth.
You don't have to earn your salvation.
Salvation is a free gift because Jesus already paid the price. My NIV Disciple's Study Bible states it this way on page 1490:

People still find it difficult to accept salvation as a free gift. They want to earn it, so they develop a code or ritual to justify themselves. Even more sadly, they fall prey to cults and sects which have an "aura of holiness" about them because they emphasize some kind of legal regimen which requires discipline...It is his (Jesus') crucifixion that sets us free to serve Him in love-not anything we have done, are doing, or will do. 

Brothers and sisters, don't listen to false gospels and preaching.
Know what your bible says. Don't use the excuse that man interpreted God's divinely inspired word into different versions and now it isn't God's word. That is the deceiver trying to keep you from the truth of God's word.
God's Divinely Inspired Words Have Not Been Changed
Use a parallel bible app, bible study website, and bible commentaries to learn that the original Greek and Hebrew has not been warped. For several years, I use biblehub.com to compare the different bible editions with Strong's Greek and Hebrew translations. God's original word has not been changed from the original, divinely inspired writings. 

Verse of the Week - Galatians 1:6-7

Isn't Galatians so pertinent to today? 
When Paul wrote this, the problem was that Jewish Christians believed that some of the Old Testament ceremonies were still to be practiced by the followers of Jesus. They believed this despite the fact that Paul had preached that man is justified by faith in Jesus and through Jesus, faith in God. 

Today, people are still trying to pervert the gospel of Christ and change the meaning of what is written in the Bible.
I don't want to debate what the Bible says. I've read commentaries for the bible and I believe that the majority of Jesus' followers believe the bible as written.  I am grateful for my salvation and I KNOW I didn't get saved by any works that I did. 

Jesus saved my life and my life changed. 

I like how GotQuestions.org sums up salvation is by grace and through faith in their Statement of Faith:

We believe salvation is received by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Good works and obedience are results of salvation, not requirements for salvation. Due to the greatness, sufficiency, and perfection of Christ's sacrifice, all those who have truly received Christ as Savior are eternally secure in salvation, kept by God's power, secured and sealed in Christ forever (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; Ephesians 1:13-14; 1 Peter 1:5; Jude 24). Just as salvation cannot be earned by good works, neither does it need good works to be maintained or sustained. Good works and changed lives are the inevitable results of salvation (James 2).

I especially love the use of the word inevitable in the last sentence! 
Faith in Jesus causes a changed life. At least, it truly changed mine and turned me into a joyful follower of Jesus. My heart's desire is to be a servant for the Lord and to accomplish the good works that HE sets before me. Do I hear an amen? 

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