My Guide for ever

“For this God is our God for ever and ever, he will be our guide even to the end.”  Psalm 48:14

(Verse chosen from today’s Bible reading – Jeremiah 42-44 & Psalm 48 & Revelation 13)

God is not going away.

My reliance on Him won’t change because He changes………because He won’t change.

God is the same forever.  He is reliable.  This world is terminal.  Putting ultimate trust in anything other than God is folly.

Having God for the long-term enables me to relax in Him.  There is nothing else in this world that I can say that about.

I must wait on Him for guidance trusting in Him with all my heart and not leaning on my own understanding.

I want to be where God wants me to be, saying what He wants me to say.  I must intensify my study of His Word so that I can better know His Will for me.  

“Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me!  I long for Your direction.  I thank You for the eternal part our relationship.  You are not going to ever leave me.  How grateful I am for that!  Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.  Lord, how great You are.  Thank You, Father!”

I need You now

“But as for me, I am poor and needy; come quickly to me, O God.  You are my help and my deliverer; Lord, do not delay.”  Psalm 70: 5

(Verse chosen from today’s Bible reading – Ezekiel 15-16 & Psalm 70 & Revelation 6)

David was in big trouble and he needed help right away.  David knew where the help he needed was.

I cannot assume that I can take care of myself.  I have no control over the circumstances around me.  I may know what I’m going to do but how can I make accurate assumptions for the rest of the world’s populace?  I can’t!

Therefore, I am needy all the time.  Always needy and sometimes, as this psalm references, more needy than other times.

Jesus is at the right hand of the Father interceding for me.  My asking must be aligned with what God wants.  When those two line up then what I ask for is what I’ll get.

It is comforting to realize that God is never too busy for me.  I can call on Him at any time and under any circumstance and know that He hears me.  There is no “Hold, please,” or, “Call back later.”

“Lord, thank You for being available.  How loving You are to even think of me.  I need you every second.  Fill me with Your Presence.  Forgive me for taking my eyes off of You and going it alone.  I cling to You.  I want to know You better.  I want to live for You more consistently.  Obviously, I need a full dose of You.  Fill me, I beg!”

Say goodbye to fear

“They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.  Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear.”  Psalm 112:7-8

(Verses chosen from today’s Bible reading – 2 Kings 24 & Jeremiah 22 & Psalm 112 & John 18)

What a blessed way to live!

Bad news is going to come and there will be plenty of reasons to be afraid.  However, the folks referenced in these verses are steadfast, trusting, and secure in the Lord.

Why do I get unraveled when things aren’t going the way I want them to go?  These verses spell out the solutions:

(1) My relationship with God must be constant (steady).  I can’t be revved up one day about Him and forget Him entirely another day.  My relationship to Him must be ever-going.  

(2) I must not be trusting counterfeit gods.  My trust must be in Him.  I can have other “things” in my life but my ultimate trust must not be in them.  They are all sinking sand and terminal, sooner or later.  I must remember that God is a jealous God.  He doesn’t countenance any rivals when it comes to ultimate trust.

(3) My security must be found in Him.  I know what He has done and I know what He has promised to do.  He will keep His Word.  I can relax knowing that I belong to Him.  He loves me.  He knows my name.  He knows what I need.  He will never leave me nor forsake me.  I am quietly confident because I gave Him my life.

“Lord, Your Word is fabulous.  Thank You for making it available to me.  I love reading it.  I love the spiritual nuggets that You alert me to.  I thank You for loving me.  Fill me with Your Holy Spirit now, I beg!”

How to be blessed (Psalm 128:1)

lilies

(Verse chosen from today’s Bible reading – Ezekiel 40-41 & Psalm 128 & Revelation 21)

“Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways.”  Psalm 128:1

What lessons are there for me in this Scripture?

God is not some cartoon character.  Some figment of my imagination.

God is real.  He is the Creator.  He knows me outside and inside.

He sent Jesus to die for the sins of mine that would separate me from an eternal future with Him.  I believe He did that for me.  I love Him for doing that for me.  Therefore, I want to live as a lover of God.

I want to be in a tight relationship with Him.  I do not want to venture into independent living.  That routine takes me nowhere spiritually good.

Because I love Him I respect Him and I want to do what He wants me to do.  I want His Ways to be my ways.

In this verse He assures me that I will be “blessed” if I respect Him and do what He wants.  Imagine being blessed by God!

He will fill me with joy in the good times and comfort me when things aren’t so good.  Either way He is providing blessing.

I must remember that all insight into His ways are a gift from Him.  I am not going to learn anything of spiritual value in my own strength.

I have His Word full of instructions and examples for how He wants me to live.  I must apply His truths to myself.

He heard (Psalm 116:1-2)

(Verses chosen from today’s Bible reading – Isaiah 4-5 & Psalms 115-116 & Jude)

“I love the Lord, for He heard my voice; He heard my cry for mercy.  Because He turned His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live.”  Psalm 116:1-2

What lessons are there for me in this Scripture?

The Lord listens to me.

I don’t deserve to be heard but He listens anyhow.

I can communicate with Him on anything.  I can share my joys and sorrows.

What an awesome comfort that is, because I need Him for everything.  I can do nothing of spiritual value on my own.

My relationship to Him must be very close.  I must be mindful of Him constantly so that there isn’t a part of the day when I am apart from Him.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

I will call on Him forever.

Jealous God (Psalm 78:58)

(Verse chosen from today’s Bible reading – 1 Kings 3 & 2 Chronicles 1 & Psalm 78 & 2 Thessalonians 2)

“They aroused His jealousy with their idols.”  Psalm 78:58

What lessons are there for me in this Scripture?

I must never have anything to do with counterfeit gods.  They are all around me and ever enticing.  My trust, however, must be completely in God.

As Psalm 78 points out over and over, God has blessed His people.  He has done great things for them.  Yet they, like me, so frequently turn our affections elsewhere.

I know better.  He has done so many amazing things in my life.  He has opened doors and closed doors.

It is so easy to ignore Him when my relationship is shallow.  And therein lies an important truth: My relationship must be tight with Him.  There is no other way to live.

My heart must be clean so that it’s overflow will sound right to Him.

I must do whatever it takes to keep God from being jealous of where my loyalty is located.

Perry Como was born on May 18th.  God gave him the ability to sing.

In God I trust (Psalm 56:11)

(Verse chosen from today’s Bible reading – 2 Samuel 18 & Psalm 56 & Matthew 27)

“In God I trust; I will not be afraid.  What can man do to me?”  Psalm 56:11

What lessons are there for me in this Scripture?

I have every reason to trust God.

David is in a life-or-death situation.  He has recall of God taking care of him in the past.  He is confident that God’s protection will continue.

God is with me no matter what happens.  He is with me when nothing is happening.

My trust in Him must be full-time, nonstop.  I cannot wait for difficulty to come before I start trusting Him.

He is the Creator.  He is my Savior.  He has promised me eternal life.  I have so much to be thankful for.

My life must be clean so that I can walk unfettered in His protection.

If God is with me, what do I have to fear?

Karth Barth was born on May 11th.  God gave him the ability to write.

Have mercy (Psalm 57:1)

(Verse chosen from today’s Bible reading – 1 Samuel 24 & Psalm 57-58 & 1 Chronicles 8 & Matthew 8)

“Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in You my soul takes refuge.”  Psalm 57:1

What lessons are there for me in this Scripture?

I must trust completely in God.  There is no alternative.

David is in serious trouble and he knows to call out to God.  I must steadily interact with God.  There is no one else who really knows what is going on.  He is trustworthy.  He has protected me in the past.  No one can protect me better.

I beg that He will have mercy on the nonbelievers I know.  Judgment is real.  They will be on the wrong side of that judgment in their current condition.  They must establish a relationship with Him.  I must be willing to speak His Words to any of them if it is His Will.

My trust in Him must be ongoing.,  I can do nothing of spiritual value apart from Him.

Queen Elizabeth was born on April 21st.  God has given her the opportunity to be royalty.

Pious motivation

(Verse chosen from today’s Bible reading – 1 Samuel 22 & Psalm 17&35 & Matthew 6)

“When you are practicing your piety, mind you don’t do it with an eye on your audience!  Otherwise, you won’t have any reward from your Father in heaven.”  Matthew 6:1

What lessons are there for me from this Scripture?

So much of religious practice can be done privately.  The concern here is doing those “private” things in public or declaring that I am doing the “private” things.

This verse starkly declares that I forfeit rewards that the pious acts would garner if I do that.  I want everything that God can give me.  I do not want any behavior of mine to provide interference.  Therefore, this verse is an eye-opener.

I must be practicing things like prayer and Bible study in private.  No one needs to know I am doing any of this.

The bottom line should be that His Words become my words and His Thoughts become my thoughts without any fanfare.  I will have my reward in Him.

Hugh O’Brien was born on April 19th.  God gave him the ability to act.

Taste and fear (Psalm 34:8-9)

(Verses chosen from today’s Bible reading – I Samuel 20-21 & Psalm 34 & Matthew 5)

“Taste and see that the Lord is good;  blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.  Fear the Lord, you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing.”  Psalm 34:8-9

What lessons are there for me in this Scripture?

The Lord is good.  I know it for a fact.  He has given me every good gift and every perfect gift.  I lack nothing.

I must completely trust Him for everything.  He knows what is best.  I must turn all of my decisions over to Him.  At no point should I act independently.

“Father, what do You want me to do?  Clarify Your course to me, I beg.”

God will supply what I need.  It could well vary from what I might expect, but it will be best.  I will be blessed on God’s terms.  There is nothing else I want.

God is all powerful.  There is no other source of power that I should be attracted to.  The plight of the godless is well documented in the Old Testament.  Serve other gods and suffer severe consequences.  God will not allow competition.

Nate Archibald was born on April 18th.  God gave him the ability to play basketball.