Tag: direction

A Run of Refuge to the Psalms

Let’s devote time to run.

To run to the refuge of the Psalms.

Let’s get up and do it. Let’s move our hands to progress. To move our mind from chaos. To choose to run to the Songs.

Do these Words, so ancient speak today of a present situation? Whose words are these anyway?

Psalm 55, Amplified. These are Words penned by David, inspired by God:

Listen to my prayer, O God, and hide not Yourself from my supplication! Attend to me, and answer me; I am restless and distraught in my complaint, and must moan; 

[I am distracted] by the noise of the enemy, because of the oppression and threatenings of the wicked; for they would cast trouble upon me, . . .

Can any of us identify with the cry?

God knows. He’s breathed these words: To the Chief Musician, with stringed instruments. A skillful song, . . .

My heart is grievously pained within me, and the terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fear and trembling are come upon me; horror and fright have overwhelmed me. 

And I say, O that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest, Yes, I would wander far away, I would lodge in the wilderness. Selah
[pause, and calmly think of that]!

Is this a state we find ourselves in? Selah

Pause.

How challenging it is to do that!

When we read these living words aloud, we no longer feel alone.

Why do we wait to run to the shelter in the storm?

Destroy [their schemes], O Lord; confuse their tongues; for I have seen violence and strife in the city. Day and night they go about on its walls; iniquity and mischief are in the midst. 

Violence and ruin are within it; fraud and guile do not depart . . . 

How in the world are these words even a reality in our heart? But they are a reality. Our hearts bleed from all the hurt.

For it is not an enemy who reproaches and taunts me; then I might bear it; nor one who has hated me who insolently vaunts himself against me; then I might hide from him. 

But it was you, a man my equal, my companion and my familiar friend; We had sweet fellowship together, and used to walk to the house of God in company.

Psalm 55:16, Amplified is giving us a place to start:

As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord will save me. Evening and morning and at noon will I utter my complaint and moan and sigh, and He will hear my voice.

He has redeemed my life in peace from the battle that was against me [so that none came near me], . . .

I run to the One who created the sun, the moon, the stars, and every place. Who abides in praise and hears the broken heart.

He hears our voice. Our thoughts are written.

Let us shower and cleanse ourselves continually in His word. And draw near to Him. Asking for increased faith in believing, He is the LORD.

That is how we will get up again, and again. We can face today as we asked to be filled to overflowing with His Spirit. Rain down on us Your sufficient grace, dear Lord.

We lift our eyes to You, we speak Your Psalms back to You, and we praise You. This is our victory. This is our Peace.

You alone are Peace.

 The Scriptures used are from Psalm 55. Amplified. To God be the glory. May His Word be our continual guide.

A Letter to my High School Graduate

A letter to you, our High School Graduate:

I am so thankful and proud that you chose to take your high school years seriously. I’m also very thankful for the great and wonderful teachers and mentors you’ve worked with along the way.

As words from the Book of Proverbs proclaims: “let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance . . .” (Proverbs 1:5).

And Proverbs 12:1 makes a contrast: “Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge; but he that hates reproof is brutish.”

But son, I want to remind you what God’s Word says, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” Proverbs 4:7.

You see, words and voices are at your finger-tips. Opinions, facts, judgements, complaints, entertainment, and hate-speeches, but son, what comes in is very important.

We hear the word “Change” like a charge. Change is good. But I plead with you, Please make that “change” be to seek the Lord, more each day.

Each day, be “careful—full of care,” to read His Word and grow in who He is and what He has to say.

God knows what we need. He instructs. He is protects. He speaks:

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23 warns us. Put a guard around your heart.

Make a distinct decision to be apart for God.

Be sold-out for Jesus. If He would feel uncomfortable standing around the words of thought and conduct, then so should you.

How do we gain and increase in wisdom? God doesn’t leave His children in the dark:

The Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

He holds success in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. Proverbs 2:6-8.

It is always right to trust God. He is able.

You’ve grown up in a house where there is nothing we can stand on except God to get us through. He has given exceptional gifts in each one of us and He is available to lavishly pour out His Spirit.

Keep the rivers flowing.

 “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” Isaiah 55:6-7.

Turn daily to seek the Lord’s face. And you will continually be able to have within you this glorious prize,

“I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes.” Psalm 119:99.

This world is conditional. On condition of this, you can do that. On condition of that, you can have this.

Well, Jesus is love, unconditional. Today, tomorrow, never changing. He will not turn His back. I pray that each and every day, His face is what you seek.

“The Lord bless you
    and keep you;
 the Lord make his face shine on you
    and be gracious to you;
 the Lord turn his face toward you
    and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26.

Ephesians 2:13, “But now in Christ Jesus you who were once  far off have been made near by the blood of Christ.”

Picture by Jonathan Rypkema. God’s Hand.

This is the way, walk in it.

Moving furiously to draw me away, from You, O God, I cry.

Distractions and needless attractions and vices move to catch my eye.

And what about Fear, who continuously lurks nearby?

And Doubt, his best friend who endlessly tempts me to trust only in me, myself, and I?

What a whirlwind of destruction and deception and such. In circles, ever appearing—giant waves of human-ness!

But God, He’s the same. There is none like Him.
He’s able.

His mercy has no end.

He loves not like men.

But I forget . . . unless His Word is on my table!

The stories, the history, God’s provision, the songs. God proclaims salvation from the beginning. His heart . . . so longs:

But Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke Him and said,

“Teacher, don’t You care that we are perishing?”

Then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the sea.

“Silence!” He commanded.

“Be still!”

And the wind died down, and it was perfectly calm.

“Why are you so afraid?” He asked. “Do you still have no faith?”

Mark 4:37-40, tells a story for me, and you? “Do you still have no faith? . . . Why are you so afraid?” 

“Forgive me O God. May I continually seek Your unfailing aid. Give me an ear to hear Your voice in the morning. May I, in awe and wonder, faith-fully  obey.
And may I remember You and Your powerful Word. May I not forget, time and time again, that You are ever with me, that You are,
my Lord.”

 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more;

with your own eyes you will see them. 

 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, . . .

“This is the way; walk in it,” Isaiah 30:20,21.

When the counselor is hidden in a devotional

So I wake. I sit with coffee and thoughts. But on the table is a devotional.
‘Beside Still Waters’ by CH Spurgeon, sits there with it wooing title, ‘Come, and sit beside still waters . . .’
So I pick it up and open it to a random page: “No Smell of Fire.” (Daniel 3:27).
I read on: “When you cherish Christ, the things of the world are of little value, and their loss is not heavily felt.”
‘Cherish?’ The word stops me in my tracks.
I think of traditional wedding vows,  to love and to cherish. Spurgeon incites me to think, “When you cherish Christ . . .”
“Do I cherish Christ?” for better, for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer? Can I? Do I cherish Christ? as long as I live?
But then it hits me – Death will never part us, if we have received the gift that God has given us, with our personal names written on His Son’s sacrifice on the cross. Instead of a bow on the greatest gift to the world, His blood was shed that we would be washed, white as snow. This is what the Good Book says. The Lord loves me so.
“My beloved is mine, and I am his. He feeds his flock among the lilies.” This is the Song of all Songs, Song of Solomon 2:16.
Do I cherish Christ? This is the question. And so continues CH Spurgeon: “When you cherish Christ, the things of the world are of little value, and their loss is not heavily felt. If you feel your losses and if your trials are so ponderous that Christ’s love cannot lift you from the dust, then you have made too much of the world and too little of Him.”
“I see a pair of balances. I see on one scale the loss…, but I perceive on the other scale the great love of Christ. Now we will see which weighs the most. If Jesus lifts the light affliction, all is well, but if the trouble outweighs Jesus, then it is indeed ill for us.” (Spurgeon, beside Still Waters, pg. 161).

The devotion counsels with gentleness. Yet, kicks me hard in the midst of the world’s darkness: “If you are so depressed by your trials that you cannot rejoice, even though your name is written in heaven, then I think you do not love Jesus as you should.”
“Get delightful thoughts of Him, and you will feel as if you lost a pebble but preserved a diamond. If you have a high sense of your Master’s preciousness, you will rejoice in the deepest distress. The sweet love of Christ, when placed on the deepest wound the soul can ever know, heals at once.”
I will repeat words perhaps this sheep forgets: “The sweet love of Christ, when placed on the deepest wound the soul can ever know, heals at once.”
Beside Still Waters, has spoken to me, and even given words of the prayers we must pray: “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Be within us, and we will make no choice of situations. Put us in Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace (Daniel 3:20); if Jesus walks the glowing coals as a companion, the fire will have no power, the hairs of our heads will not be singed, our garments will not be affected, and even the smell of fire will not be on them ” (Dan. 3:27).
So I pray for myself this morning as well, “Bring to remembrance, bring revival in my heart. Dear Jesus, mold me, and make into a new lump of clay and create in me a loving heart as I walk through my day. Teach me what it means to ‘cherish You, Lord.’ That I might be a blessing this Christmas. Help me spend time in Your word.” In Jesus name, Amen. and Amen again.
 

Is there a 'MAPS App' for my 'life directions?

“Where is the MAPS App for my steps today? Is there a voice that can just ‘speak’ and direct me step by step?
“I AM here to those who have ears to hear. Do I have your ear?”
“Well, who are You that I would consider putting trust in You?”
“I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying,’My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.” (Is. 46:9,10).
“Do you know My name? “Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for a light by day and the fixed order of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who stirs up the sea’s roaring billows or stills the waves when they roar; the Lord of hosts is His name.” (Jer 31:35).
“Do you think you can trust Me? I lead the North Star?”
“How do I have peace and joy instead of striving and a sense of competitiveness? What are the steps I take?”
“Quite honestly, ‘truly, truly’ I say to you, you will not be free of this completely until you ‘abide in Me.’ But My speech is a mystery to you. “Stay close to Me, abide in Me,cling to Me.‘I tell you, stop being perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, and about your body, what you will put on. Is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent’ than clothing? Look at the birds of the air…your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth more than they?(Matthew 6:25,26, Amplified).
‘Great is My Faithfulness to them and to thee!’ Look at the plants, or the flowers on display, “I tell you, even Solomon in all his magnificence (excellence, dignity and grace) was not like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and green and tomorrow is tossed into the furnace, will He not much more surely cloth you, O you men with little faith?”(Matthew 6:29,30).
“I’ve heard all that before. ‘bla,bla,bla…it’s just words and no more!”
“And you are so right in what you say. ‘The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, nor can he know them because they are spiritually discerned.'”(1 Cor. 2:14).
“So, the first steps to ‘abiding’ or clinging to You I have to DO something too? Is there a password or something irritating?
“Simply ask…”Father, fill me with Your Spirit, and even more than that, ’empower Me with Your Spirit!’ “Teach me to abide in You!” “If you live in Me – abide vitally united to Me – and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will and it shall be done for you.” (John 15:7, Amplified).
“Seek first My Kingdom and My righteousness and all these things (Matthew 6:33), -all the direction, all the wisdom, all the understanding, all the courage, all the help you need – you will find in Me and in the power of My Spirit.”
“RIGHT NOW! What do I do RIGHT NOW?”
“Be still and know that I am God.”(Ps. 46:10). Put away ‘distilled spirits’ with their adventurous,smiling billboards dripping with deceit, “Do not get drunk with wine…but ever be filled and stimulated with the Holy Spirit!” (Eph. 5:18).
“HOW?!”
“Just ask!(John 15:7).  And as you ask, “Rise, pick up your bed and walk!”(John 5:8). Make no provision for failure.”Great is My faithfulness, for now, for tomorrow, for all eternity. ‘At all times and for everything give thanks‘ (Eph. 5:20),  in My Name to God the Father, and you will discover a power a-new and a song and great confidence too. “You are My beloved and I AM yours.(Song of Songs, (2:16). My banner over you is LOVE!”
“And let Me remind you again and again, HOW: “...if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:11). That’s HOW!”
“Take comfort in ‘step by step’ instructions now that you’ve connected to MAPS: Mighty And Powerful Spirit – but it’s even easier than an App, simply Follow Me:“The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you in His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zeph. 3:17).And don’t forget to keep an ear open to My voice at all times,  It is, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.” (Zech 4:6).
“So, step by step, “be filled with the Spirit’ and ‘speak to one another in a Psalm and a Hymn…’Have you not made melody in your heart in a long time? It is time, it is time…
“Pardon for sin and a peace than endureth, Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide; Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! Great is Thy faithfulness, Great is Thy faithfulness – morning by morning, new mercies I see! All I have needed, Thy hand hath provided…
Great is Thy Faithfulness, Lord unto Thee!”(Great is Thy faithfulness, Thomas O Chisholm).
“OK, OK! I hear, I see! My MAPS is God’s Mighty And Powerful Spirit! I will pray I connect each moment of my day!