Rejoice in the Lord Always

Phil.4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.
God is good, merciful and slow to anger, that knowledge should be our reason for rejoicing. For in His goodness, He has saved us through grace and faith in His Son's atonement for our sin. We can not atone for anything for we are ever sinful while here on earth. In the most trying times, we have God and He will be there!!
If your name is written in heaven, then you are a citizen of heaven. Wow, what a reason to rejoice!!
Luke 10:20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven".
Rejoice because He provides strength for all of life's trials:
Phil.4:11-13 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Heaven rejoices:
Luke 15:7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
Luke 15:10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
Lord, I think we often forget to rejoice in You! I think of the twenty third Psalm and the precious words we know so well. Amen
1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

The Distress of My Soul

Ps.31:7 7 I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction; you have known the distress of my soul
I praise You God for You are in control of my heart. Keep me in Your will and help me show Your love to all. I will not fear for You are my rock.
Ps.31:14 But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God."
Look to my heart, see if I am humble before You.
Ps.33:13-15 The LORD looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds.
We have no hope but You. You give us all we need.
Ps.33:18-22 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you.
Lord, You are our hope. We bow to Your majesty, we trust in You and we thank you for Your precious grace. Amen

For My Sin Is Great!!!

Ps.25:11 For your name's sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great.
Do you ever ponder on your guilt? Do you even really know the depth of your sin? The little things we do that seem insignificant as sin but are truly sinful. The way we stray from the truth a little, we don't call it a lie but it is! To show the glory of God and His great mercy, He gave His Son as our atonement!
Lord, I am convicted by this verse. I need forgiveness for all the seemingly little things that my human mind tells me are not really sin but they are in Your eyes. Show us mercy and forgiveness but teach us Your Word. Amen
Acknowledge your sin:
1 John 1:8-10 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
The world is not our friend! It is full of evil desires that take our mind off God and God's reason for giving us life!
1 John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world--the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions--is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
Lord, it is by Your power that we were created! It is by Your will we exist! It is by Your grace that we have been saved from hell! But it is by our obedience to Your Word that we show our faith and love! Forgive us our sin by Your grace. Amen

Who Do You Worship?

Ps.22:27-28 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.
We are the church, not the building where we worship! We worship the risen King, Jesus Christ in our mind, soul and actions!
Is your soul thirsty? Do you long for something that is real and that can comfort a weary soul? There is a living water that comes from the Creator through His Son and this precious water is offered to all who will but call on Jesus as Savior, repent and worship Him. Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary; "No past sins can bar our acceptance with him, if we humble ourselves before him, believing in him as the Christ, the Saviour of the world".
John 4:20-24 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." My Redeemer Lives!! Only He can save us from God's wrath!Hebrews 9:24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.Hebrews 7:25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.Only He is worthy!!Rev.4:9-11 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, "Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created."

The Fool says in his heart, "There is no God"

Ps.14:1-2 The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good. The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.
Are you among those who say there is no God? Or do you just not think about this lie at all? You do not take a stand one way or another, just stay neutral! Man is so evil and full of himself that he has no time to seek His Creator.
Romans 3:10 As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one
Psalm 10:4 In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
We are not forced to believe in God, we have proof through His Word. We have proof in the very air we breathe! We have proof in the heavens, the earth and even in our own bodies which are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Romans 1:18-32 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
Lord, we have only the next breath You give us. Help us to use it for Your glory. Help me to teach the power of Your Word so that others will find hope in You. Amen

Fear

Ps.9:20 Put them in fear, O LORD! Let the nations know that they are but men!
You should fear the Lord your God for He alone is your judge! Fear drives you to wisdom (His Word) as you search for understanding.
Ps.111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!
We are not God! We are His creation, we were made in His image but we are under subjection to Him.
Definition of subjection: Being in a position or in circumstances that place one under the power or authority of another
Ez.28:2 "Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord GOD: "Because your heart is proud, and you have said, 'I am a god, I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas,' yet you are but a man, and no god, though you make your heart like the heart of a god--
Acts 17:23-31 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, 'To the unknown god. 'What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for "'In him we live and move and have our being';as even some of your own poets have said, "'For we are indeed his offspring.' Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead."
One God!
1 Cor.8:4-7 But if anyone loves God, he is known by God. Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that "an idol has no real existence," and that "there is no God but one." For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth--as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"-- yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.
Seek God!
Deut.4:29 But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.
Heb.11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Believe that God exists and that He has provided a Savior to the world through His Son, Jesus Christ! Know that you are lost and in need of a Savior! Know that you will forever be separated from a holy God if you do not believe in the Jesus for salvation. It is your choice, but you must choose to accept or deny! You can live in fear or live in Christ! Father God, thank You for Jesus. Let Your Words come alive to the lost, spark in their hearts the wonder that is You. Your Word gives freedom from fear!Amen

Children Yet Unborn

Ps.78:4-6 things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done. He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments;
There are many thoughts on abortion. One thought that seems to cause a lot of discussion is when the fetus becomes a human being? The only thought that matters is what God's Word reveals.
Ps.139:13-16 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.Abortion is an offense to God's sovereign authority as Creator!Definition of offense: a violation or breaking of a social or moral rule; transgression; sin.My pastor preached a great sermon on just what God's Word says. I will lay out some statistical facts that he presented to us.Over 45 million abortions have occurred since it became legal in 1973.1.4 million abortions occur every year.3,000 abortions occur every day.An abortion occurs every 20-25 seconds.1/3 of American women have had an abortion at some point in their lives.In the world, 46 million abortions occur every year. In the world, 130,000 abortions occur every day.A woman has an abortion almost every second of every day!Staggering stats for me to see in print. Father God, I am ashamed to be a part of Your people who have turned a blind eye to this horrible sin. Forgive us! AmenSovereign God is the only giver and taker of life! Man and woman can come together to create life but God ultimately is the Creator of life!We were created by God in His image.Gen.1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.Job 33:4 The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. Job 12:10 In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.God can take what He has created! Job knew God as Creator! Job knew God gives and takes away!Job 1:21-22 And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.Job 10:8-9 Your hands fashioned and made me, and now you have destroyed me altogether. Remember that you have made me like clay; and will you return me to the dust?Moses knew God as Creator!Deut.32:39 "'See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand. Hannah knew God as Creator!1Sam.2:6 The LORD kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up.Ezekiel knew God as Creator! Ez.37:3-6 And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord GOD, you know." Then he said to me, "Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD." What manner of Being is this that can call dry bones to life? God's Word has told us! He is the first and the last, He has no beginning or end, He is the Alpha and Omega and He is Lord and Creator of all things!We belong to God from the womb!Ps.22:10 On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother's womb you have been my God. We were set apart, from before birth, by God for His purpose!Gal.1:15 But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his graceGod plans for us even in the womb!Luke 1:15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.In the womb, God fashions us, He knows us and He calls us!Job 31:15 Did not he who made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb?Jer.1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." Is.49:1 Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The LORD called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name. All of God's works are wonderful! Some of us will have difficulties and some of us will have disabilities. He will show us His glory through all things!!John 9:2-3 And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. Confront your sin of abortion! God is faithful and just to forgive! From the mothers who have aborted their baby, to the fathers who supported the abortion, to the grandparents who encouraged the abortion, to the doctor who performed the abortion, to our government leaders who passed law supporting abortion, God will forgive, heal, restore, and redeem if you repent! Each person is responsible for his own sin!1John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Deut.24:16 "Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.Is.43:25 "I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.Ps.103:12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. He will give you peace!Luke 7:47-50 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven--for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little." And he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, "Who is this, who even forgives sins?" And he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." We have the right to oppose evil. Abortion is evil except to save the mother's life! We have the right tolegislate good to protect us from the bad! It is against the law to steal, murder, speed, drive recklessly and rob, etc., for the the good of society and to keep peace! Government was instituted by God to keep peace.Romans 13:1-4 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. I would just like to say one more thing, in the case of rape or incest, the baby is innocent. God will carry you through this trial, He is able to take what is meant for evil and show His glory!! Pray for God's peace and guidance. Gen.50:20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. Repent! Be humble before God, having faith in Christ for salvation, having hatred for all sin and having a new life in Christ. 2 Cor.7:10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.Lord, teach us about repentance through Your Word. Help us not to judge for we are being judged by You, who are worthy to judge all men. Lord, touch hearts about sin and teach us to run to Your Word for guidance. Amen