Wait
Wait on the Lord;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord!
Year: 2024
Honor the Lord
Psalm 29:1-2
Honor the Lord, you heavenly beings;
honor the Lord for his glory and strength. (Power)
Honor the Lord for the glory of his name.
Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. NLT
Give unto the Lord, O you mighty ones,
Give unto the Lord glory and strength.
Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name;
Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. NKJV
Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; (owed, entitled, worthy)
worship (respect, love, adore) the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. NIV
Praise the Lord, you angels of his; praise his glory and his strength. Praise him for his majestic glory, the glory of his name. Come before him clothed in sacred garments. LB
He Owns It
I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” Psalm 16:2
The last few days I haven’t been able to get this scripture off my mind. Everything I have isn’t really mine at all. Everything is God’s. I’m just a steward of what is already His.
That means when I choose to give, I am just giving back to God what is already His. God is so wealthy. He allows us to share in His wealth. What we do with what He’s given us stewardship over is so important. I often heard my dad say, “you can never out give God.”
May we never forget that all good things we have come from God. He owns it all. We are just taking care of it for a while. May we also remember to use what He has given us for His glory.
I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” Psalm 16:2
Good Gifts
“Ask, and it will be given to you;
seek, and you will find;
knock, and it will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”
Hope of a Cross
The days were dark, the nights were long
There was no hope. It all went wrong
Digging my heels, spinning my wheels
unable to move, so much to lose
All seemed lost; then came the cross.
There’s hope of a Savior, His saving favor
When we’ve exhausted our options
with nowhere to turn,
There’s hope of a cross
Rescue of peace
Rescue of life
Rescue of strength
found in the cross of Jesus Christ
Everything was lost,
but hope came from a cross
heartbreak began mending
The Son dried the rain
The night became daylight
Joy came from pain
All seemed lost; then came the cross.
There’s hope of a Savior, His saving favor
When we’ve exhausted our options
with nowhere to turn,
There’s hope of a cross
Don’t Worry
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Pray
In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Love Your Enemies
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies,
bless those who curse you,
do good to those who hate you,
and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Salt & Light
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
The Beatitudes
Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
He Nailed It
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Colossians 2: 13-15
Things we struggle with tend to rear their ugly heads repeatedly. It’s doesn’t even have to be several things. It can be just the same one thing over and over. What’s a problem for me may not be a problem for you. The devil attacks you and me in different ways.
I’m learning though, we don’t have to live our lives as repeat offenders. Jesus nailed addiction to the cross. He also nailed offense, anger, guilt, gossip, & hurt. He nailed any sin that we struggle with in our lives to the cross. He also stripped the devil of his armor which took away any power and possible authority he thought he had.
There’s no condemnation in Christ and the devil is under our feet. Today receive the authority and triumph of the cross.
Today break the cycle of being a repeat offender. Jesus already nailed it to the cross.
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Colossians 2: 13-15
Fear Not
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.