Psalm 91 Remixed: Word up!

God's glory is on tour in the skies, God-craft on exhibit across the horizon. Madame Day holds classes every morning, Professor Night lectures each evening. Their words aren't heard, their voices aren't recorded, But their silence fills the earth: unspoken truth is spoken everywhere. God makes a huge dome for the sun--a superdome!

The morning sun's a new husband leaping from his honeymoon bed, The daybreaking sun an athlete racing to the tape. That's how God's Word vaults across the skies from sunrise to sunset, Melting ice, scorching deserts, warming hearts to faith.

The revelation of GOD is whole and pulls our lives together. The signposts of GOD are clear and point out the right road. The life-maps of GOD are right, showing the way to joy. The directions of GOD are plain and easy on the eyes. GOD's reputation is twenty-four-carat gold, with a lifetime guarantee. The decisions of GOD are accurate down to the nth degree.

God's Word is better than a diamond, better than a diamond set between emeralds. You'll like it better than strawberries in spring, better than red, ripe strawberries. There's more: God's Word warns us of danger and directs us to hidden treasure. Otherwise how will we find our way? Or know when we play the fool?

Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh! Keep me from stupid sins, from thinking I can take over your work; Then I can start this day sun-washed, scrubbed clean of the grime of sin. These are the words in my mouth; these are what I chew on and pray. Accept them when I place them on the morning altar, O God, my Altar-Rock, God, Priest-of-My-Altar.

~(Psalms 19:1-14 MSG)

When you are mine....

This is what God says to His people:

“Don't be afraid, I've redeemed you. I've called your name. You're mine. When you're in over your head, I'll be there with you. When you're in rough waters, you will not go down. When you're between a rock and a hard place, it won't be a dead end -  Because I am God, your personal God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in! That's how much you mean to me! That's how much I love you! I'd sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you.

"So don't be afraid: I'm with you. I'll round up all your scattered children, pull them in from east and west. I'll send orders north and south: 'Send them back. Return my sons from distant lands, my daughters from faraway places. I want them back, every last one who bears my name, every man, woman, and child Whom I created for my glory, yes, personally formed and made each one.'" ~Isaiah 43:1-7 (The Message)

Be full of it...

“These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full”~(John 15:11, KJV)

Jesus came to give you joy and joy to the full! When your joy is full, it can be seen by others. Joy is supposed to be displayed. As believers, we should have a smile on our face and a spring in our step. We should be kind and friendly. We should be fun to be around. We should be full of His supernatural joy!

Have you allowed the pressures of life to push you down? Have you been more focused on your circumstances than on your God? If you’re not enjoying your life or relationships, it’s time to refocus and tap into the full joy within. It’s time to draw the line in the sand and say, “That’s it. I’m not going to live another day negative, discouraged, sour or grumpy. I’m going to put a smile on my face. I’m going to let my joy be seen so I can brighten somebody else’s day. I’m going to live my life happy and full of joy!”

Friend, when you take that step of faith and choose to trust God with your future, something changes on the inside. Your feelings will soon line up. Your faith will tap into His supernatural joy. And when you tap into joy, you tap into His strength and victory so you can live the full, abundant life He has prepared for you!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY
Father, thank You for the gift of joy. Thank You for lavishing Your love and grace on me. Fill me with Your power, strength and virtue so that my joy will overflow and be a blessing everywhere I go in Jesus’ name. Amen.

— Joel & Victoria Osteen

Be Joyful in Hope!

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer”~(Romans 12:12, NIV)


God has given you everything you need in order to enjoy your life. Think about that for a minute. What is keeping you from living life to the full? You may not be in the home you want. You may not have the exact job you would like. Maybe you’re single and really want to be married. If you focus on these temporary things, it opens the door to comparison and frustration.

It’s good to have big dreams. It’s good to want to increase. But if you start comparing yourself to others, it opens the door for the enemy to steal your joy. If you don’t learn to be happy where you are, you’ll never get to where you want to be. But if you’ll choose to be happy, refuse self-pity and refuse to complain, then you are sowing good seeds for God to take you where you want to be in your future.

Friend, realize today that God is directing your steps. You have a future and a hope. Take joy in knowing that He is working all things together for your good according to His divine plan. Stay in faith, focus on Him and obey His commands. Soon, you’ll see those new doors open so you can walk boldly into the place of blessing God has in store for you!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY
Father, today I choose to put my hope and trust in You. I know that You are working all things together for my good. I refuse self-pity. I refuse to compare. I choose joy and the divine plan You have prepared for me in Jesus’ name! Amen.

— Joel & Victoria Osteen

Step by step in faith...

  “ Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.”~Genesis 6:9

Saying that Noah was "righteous" and "blameless" does not mean that he never sinned. Rather, it means that Noah wholeheartedly loved and obeyed God. For a lifetime he walked step by step in faith as a living example to his generation. Like Noah, we live in a world filled with evil. Are we influencing others or being influenced by them?

A Job Well Done...

“And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.” ~(Genesis 1:25)


God saw that his work was good. People sometimes feel guilty for having a good time or for feeling good about an accomplishment. This need not be so. Just as God felt good about his work, we can be pleased with ours. However, we should not feel good about our work if God would not be pleased with it. What are you doing that pleases both you and God?

Even when no one is looking...

7 After some time the wife of Joseph’s master began to desire Joseph, and one day she said to him, “Have sexual relations with me.”
8 But Joseph refused and said to her, “My master trusts me with everything in his house. He has put me in charge of everything he owns.

9 There is no one in his house greater than I. He has not kept anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How can I do such an evil thing? It is a sin against God.”

10 The woman talked to Joseph every day, but he refused to have sexual relations with her or even spend time with her. (Genesis 39:7-10 NCV)


The setting of Joseph's story might seem a little foreign to you and me, but there's nothing unfamiliar with the temptation that he was facing. Beyond the watchful eye of anyone who knew him, Joseph had the opportunity to sin. It's likely that no one else would have found out...and yet Joseph knew what was right. And he chose to obey God.

Notice his remarkable reply to Potiphar's wife's solicitation in verse nine: “How can I do such an evil thing? It is a sin against God.” He knew the bottomline: To do the wrong thing was to sin against God. Regardless of whether it was done in secret, regardless of whether the participating adults were both consenting, it wasn't what God wanted.

The Internet, late night cable TV, week-long business trips in distant cities, the check-out aisle at the grocery store...sexual temptation is everywhere. And God's high moral standards, the very standards that Joseph recognized and upheld, haven't changed. You and I need to claim Joseph's perspective on sin and ask God for the strength to make the same right choice.




*Culled from Dad's Bible, by Robert D. Wolgemuth

Being honest with God...

I am worn out from sobbing.
All night I flood my bed with weeping,
drenching it with my tears. (Psalm 6:6 NLT)

Pouring out his heart with tears, David was completely honest with God. We can be honest with God even when we are filled with anger or despair because God knows us thoroughly and wants the very best for us. Anger may result in rash outward acts or turning inward toward depression. But because we trust in our all-powerful God, we don't have to be victims of circumstance or be weighted down by the guilt of sin. Be honest with God, and he will help you turn your attention from yourself to him and his mercy.