For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

Psalm 57

For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. v10

God's love is deep and wide - and human understanding cannot fathom and fully appreciate the magnitude of God's love.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:17-19

 

God loves me so much that He drank from the same cup of God's fury that God reserves for Babylon and her inhabitants in Revelation 16:19.

 

God willingly laid down His life for me...broken and sinful.  The greatest gift of all time.

 

My Prayer: Lord, You ARE the greatest gift of all time.  I am not worth such a gift.  I am broken and sinful.  I continue to be impatient and harsh with others and I worry.  Please forgive me.  Help me overcome such sin and turn towards You.  Help me love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure her of her cancer and the side effects from chemo.  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach and Dustin...and serve You.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message today and every day. 

In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise—in God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me?

Psalm 56

In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise—in God I trust and am not afraid.  What can man do to me? v10-11

First of all, the Word of God, the Bible - is God.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

The Word of God, which we know as God Himself is alive, active, and critical to our development as children of God...which should go without saying once you know that the Word of God IS God.
 

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness...2 Timothy 3:16

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

My Prayer: Lord, You are an awesome God and I love spending time with You through Your Word and in prayer.  You appear to me and provide a rest and peace that I am unable to find anywhere else.  Thank You Jesus.  Yet there are many times when I feel anxious and stressed.  Please forgive me for my worry and help me overcome and turn from such sin.  Help me turn towards You instead.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Please heal her from her cancer and the side effects from chemo.  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach and Dustin....and serve You.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message today and every day.

Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.

Psalm 55

Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. v22

As a follow up to yesterday's post, I am once again encourage to be still and to "cast [my] cares on the Lord".  It is in these situations where I must remind myself not to act out of anxiety, of my own design (vs God's) to do something...to say something...something.  It is typical during these times when I hurt someone with what I do or say, or my action otherwise backfires.

I must cast my cares on the Lord.  I must be still.

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. Exodus 14:14

See also verses here. 

My Prayer: Lord, You are a great God, one who knows everything about me, yet loves me anyway...who came after me, sought me, suffered and died for me.  You sustain and hold together all things...You are in all things.  You don't need me...I am broken.  Yet You do.  Thank You Jesus!  Please forgive me for my worry.  Please help me overcome and turn from my sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure Lisa of her cancer and the side effects from chemo.  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach and Dustin...and serve You.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day. 

Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.

Psalm 54

Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me. v4

Life, from an earthly sense, does not slow down and there are many days when it seems chaotic, stressful, etc.  It is in these moments when God is there to slow us down...to help us recognize that life should revolve around Him...after all He is the giver and sustainer of life and all things.

 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  Colossians 1:15-17

My Prayer: Lord, You DO hold all things together. Apart from You I can do nothing.  Yet here I am a sinner - worrying about what I should have done...what I can do...and this worry is sinful!  I am grateful for Your patience, mercy, compassion, gentleness, etc. I am not worthy of such love - please forgive me for my worry.  Help me overcome and turn from my worry and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith. Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure her of her cancer and the side effects from chemo.  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach and Dustin.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

For what you have done I will always praise you in the presence of your faithful people.

Psalm 52

For what you have done I will always praise you in the presence of your faithful people. v9

In the quiet of the morning, I am ever more aware of God's greatness, His creation, His blessings, etc.  God has done more than I can ever imagine and He is always working in my life, for He is a jealous God...jealous FOR me. 

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:17-19

 

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.  Hebrews 4:13

Praise and worship of God is the right and proper response to who God is, what He has done and what He will continue to do.
 

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”  Hebrews 12:28-29

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God full of love and compassion for me...even though I have sinned and continue to sin....all before Your very eyes. You are so full of mercy for me and gentleness, etc.  Thank You Jesus...I am not deserving of such love.  I don't want to worry, or be impatient or angry but I often do and am these things.  Please forgive me and help me overcome my sin and help me turn towards You instead.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength. Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure Lisa of her cancer and the side effects from chemo.  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach, and Dustin...and serve You.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.

Psalm 51

My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. v17

As I have posted here with regards to Psalm 50, and also in Psalm 51:16, empty actions of sacrifice are meaningless to You. You desire us...are cares, concerns, worries, praises, etc.  You desire OUR LIVES to be a living sacrifice:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Romans 12:1

A living sacrifice implies that through our daily actions and in the course of our lives we demonstrate giving something up in our pursuit of God.  We are not to conform to the patterns of this world (Romans 12:2 - this also provides guidance about HOW to do this). 

 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. Luke 9:23-24

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God full of love, compassion, mercy, gentleness, patience, etc. and You chose me, knowing everything about me, including my sin.  You came for me, and suffered greatly and died for me.  You did not have to but You willing laid down Your life for me so that I could have life and in the full.  Thank You Jesus for such a gift of grace and mercy.  I deserved Your death but You stepped in front of my and interceded on my behalf.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not worth such a gift because my worry continues.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me turn from and overcome such sin and turn towards You instead.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure her of her cancer and the side effects from chemo.  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach and Dustin...and serve You.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.


 

Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.

Psalm 51

Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you. v12-13

We all sin and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).  Yet God is so great that He is not only able to forgive us, but He is able to redeem our sin for something much more valuable - His glory!  Incredible.  God want us to use the grace, mercy, patience, compassion, etc. He pours out on us by helping others with similar sin.

Confess our sins and use our words to build one another up (not to tear others down).

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:16

 

 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Ephesians 4:29

 

My Prayer: Lord You are an awesome God - You are able to use broken people such as myself for Your glory and others' good.  You bless me by allowing me to bless others.  Thank You Jesus for blessing me in this way. I am not worth the love and blessing You pour out on me because I worry and I often fail to encourage others with my words.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me turn from such sin and towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure her of her cancer and the side effects from chemo.  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach and Dustin, and serve You.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.