1 Praise the LORD. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!
2 The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
4 He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.
5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.
6 The LORD sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground.
Our God is infinite. He’s limited by no boundaries in time, space, or character. His qualities are bottomless; His attributes are endless; His power is matchless. There’s much about Him we don’t know, will not discover, and can never fathom. After all, if He were small enough to be comprehended, He wouldn’t be large enough to be worshipped. He is infinite and eternal in all the dimensions of His reality.
Our God is intimate. He encompasses us behind and before, beneath and above. He counts each footstep we take and every hair on our heads. From top to toe, we’re fully known, loved, and cared for by Him, today and tomorrow, both now and forever.
If He were infinite but not intimate, He’d be too vast to be known. If He were intimate but not infinite, He’d be too weak to be helpful. He who counts the stars also knows our names and lifts our hearts.
He is “our Father who art in heaven.”
He’s big enough to rule His mighty universe,
yet small enough to live within my heart.
Stuart Hamblen
(from – http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/magazine.aspx?id=3616)
Technorati Tags: attributes, Bible, boundaries, broken, care, character, compass, comprehend, David Jeremiah, dimensions, discover, endless, eternal, exiles, Father, forever, God, heart, Heaven, help, humble, infinite, intimate, Israel, Jerusalem, limits, Live, Lord, Love, mighty, ministry, names, NIV, numbers, Old Testament, powers, Praise, Psalms, qualities, reality, Scriptures, sing, small, space, stars, Stuart Hamblen, time, today, tomorrow, Turning Point, understanding, universe, weak, wicked, worship, wounds
July 02 2009 | Bible and Blog and Christianity and Church and Devotions/Devotionals and Faith and Family and God and Grace and Hope and Inspirational and Jesus and Life and Love and Mercy and Opinion and People and Personal and Philosophy and Quotes and Religion and Spiritual and Theology and Thoughts and Uncategorized | No Comments »
“All of you, His people, trust in Him. He is your Helper; He is your Shield.
Jehovah is constantly thinking about us and He will surely bless us.”
(Psalm 115:11-12 – The Living Bible)
What a fantastic truth! There are many times when we feel isolated, alone, and abandoned, even by God. In reality, He sees, understands, and is thinking about us.
When depressed by problems or struggling with self-worth, be encouraged that God keeps you in His thoughts. If He thinks about you, surely His help is near!
Technorati Tags: Psalms, Bible, Living Bible, scriptures, Old Testament, people, trust, God, Lord, Father, helper, shield, Jehovah, think, bless, truth, times, isolate, alone, abandon, reality, see, understand, depress, depression, problems, struggle, worth, encourage, thoughts, help, near
July 01 2009 | Bible and Blog and Christianity and Church and Devotions/Devotionals and Faith and Family and God and Grace and Hope and Inspirational and Jesus and Life and Love and Mercy and Opinion and People and Personal and Philosophy and Quotes and Religion and Spiritual and Theology and Thoughts and Uncategorized | No Comments »
2 The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the exiles of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
A number of years ago, on Valentine’s Day, a couple was enjoying a romantic drive along a wooded section near Belle Chasse, Louisiana. Something white, shimmering in the trees, caught their eyes. Their investigation led them to a dead teenager hanging from a limb, a white bedsheet knotted tightly around his neck. A farewell note, laced with despair, was near the trunk of the tree. It was addressed simply to “Mom and Dad.”
I never did develop into a real person and I cannot tolerate the false and empty existence I have created. . . . What frustrated me most in the last year was that I had built no ties to family or friends. There was nothing of lasting worth and value. I led a detached existence. . . . I am a bomb of frustration and should never marry or have children. It is safest to defuse the bomb harmlessly now . . . simply cremate me as John Doe.
Authorities circulated the youth’s description and fingerprints to police across the country. He was later buried—unidentified and unclaimed.
Grim and gripping though they are, such scenes and words are not that unusual. Our nervous age seems on trial for its life, and the fuse on the powder keg is becoming shorter by the day! Contrary to popular opinion, people who threaten suicide often mean it. The old myth “those who talk don’t jump” is dangerously false. Threats should be taken seriously.
Suicide, the ultimate rejection of one’s self, plays no favorites and knows no limit. In my files and memory are unforgettable cases that span the extremes: a successful banker, a disillusioned divorcée, a runaway, the son of a missionary, a mother of three, a wealthy cartoonist, a professional musician, several collegians, a Marine, a retired grandfather, a medical doctor, a middle-aged playboy, a brilliant accountant, a growing number of teens who were in junior and senior high schools. These individuals struggled with feelings of loneliness, worthlessness, insecurity, a lack of hope, intense perfectionism, alienation from meaningful relationships, and a tragic sense of feeling unloved and unlovely.
In all of this darkness, there is one beacon of light. People considering suicide usually want to be rescued. They leave clues that read, “Help me!” They drop hints, consciously or unconsciously, that announce their intentions.
Sensitive, concerned observers ought to be alert to the signals. Here are a few: (1) talk about suicide; (2) a sudden change in personality; (3) deep depression; (4) physical symptoms—sleeplessness, loss of appetite, decreased sexual drive, drastic weight loss, repeated exhaustion; (5) actual attempts; and (6) crisis situations—death of a loved one, failure at school, loss of a job, marital or home problems, and a lengthy or terminal illness.
These, of course, are not “sure signs,” but anyone that seems unusually suspicious warrants your time and offer of help. Occasionally, all that is needed is someone to step in and be a friend . . . a listening ear . . . a support to lean on . . . a shelter in the time of storm. That’s genuine Body life! That’s Romans 15:1 in action:
We who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength.
Certainly you should contact your physician or ask advice from your local suicide prevention hotline if you become reasonably concerned. A close friend, a professional counselor, a church officer, or a pastor might also be of valuable assistance. Don’t hesitate to seek advice.
The need is urgent . . . and always great. During the time it took you to read this, numbers of people in America attempted to end their lives.
Day by Day, Charles Swindoll, July 2005,
Thomas Nelson, inc., Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Purchase “Day by Day” here.
Technorati Tags: accountant, actions, address, advice, age, alert, alien, America, appetite, assistance, attempts, authorities, bankers, beacons, Bible, bombs, brilliant, broken, builds, buried, cartoon, cases, changes, Charles Swindoll, children, churches, circulate, claimed, clues, collegians, concern, conscious, contrary, counselors, country, couples, create, cremate, crisis, Dad, dangerous, darkness, dead, deaths, defuse, depression, descriptions, despair, detach, develop, devotionals, divorce, doctors, drive, empty, exhaust, exiles, existence, extremes, eyes, failures, false, family, farewell, Father, favorites, feelings, files, fingerprints, forget, friends, frustrate, fuses, genuine, God, grandfather, hanging, harm, harmless, heals, hearts, help, high, hints, home, hope, hotlines, identified, illness, illusion, individuals, Insight, intense, intention, investigations, Israel, Jerusalem, jobs, John Doe, jump, juniors, kegs, lack, length, life, lights, limits, listen, lives, living, loneliness, Lord, loss, Louisiana, love, Marines, marital, marry, meaning, medical, memory, missionaries, missionary, Mom, mothers, musicians, myths, nervous, New Testament, NIV, notes, nothing, numbers, observe, offers, officers, Old Testament, opinions, pastors, people, perfect, personality, persons, physical, physicians, police, popular, powder, prevention, problems, professional, professionals, Psalms, read, real, rejection, relationships, rescue, retire, Romans, romantic, runaway, safe, scenes, school, scriptures, security, self, seniors, sense, sensitive, serious, sexual, shelter, signals, signs, situations, sleep, sons, spans, storms, strength, strong, struggle, success, suicides, support, suspicious, symptoms, talk, teenagers, teens, terminal, threat, ties, time, tragic, trees, trials, ultimate, unusual, urgent, Valentines, valuable, value, warrants, weak, wealthy, weight, words, worth, worthless, wounds, years, youths
June 30 2009 | Bible and Blog and Christianity and Church and Devotions/Devotionals and Faith and Family and God and Grace and Hope and Inspirational and Jesus and Life and Love and Mercy and Opinion and People and Personal and Philosophy and Quotes and Religion and Spiritual and Theology and Thoughts and Uncategorized | No Comments »
Psalm 103 (Today’s New International Version)
A Psalm of David
1 Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel:
8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
15 As for mortals, their days are like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field;
16 the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children—
18 with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.
19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.
21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.
22 Praise the LORD, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the LORD, my soul.
David’s praise focused on God’s glorious acts. It is easy to complain about life, but David’s list gives us plenty for which to praise God — His love, forgiveness, salvation, kindness, mercy, justice, patience, tenderness — we receive all of these without deserving any of them.
No matter how difficult your life’s journey, you can always count your blessings — past, present, and future. When you feel like you have nothing for which to praise God, read David’s list.
East and west can never meet. This is a symbolic portrait of God’s forgiveness — when He forgives our sin, He separates it from us and doesn’t even remember it! We need never wallow in the forgiven past, for God forgives and forgets. We tend to dredge up the ugly past, but God will not do this for He has wiped our record clean.
If we are to follow God, we must model His forgiveness. When we forgive another, we must also forget the sin. Otherwise, we have not truly forgiven.
Technorati Tags: Psalms, Bible, NIV, Old Testament, scriptures, David, praise, Lord, God, Father, souls, holy, benefits, forget, forgive, forgiveness, sins, heals, diseases, life, crowns, loves, compassions, desires, things, youth, eagles, works, righteousness, justice, oppressed, Moses, deeds, people, Israel, gracious, grace, anger, forever, deserve, iniquities, heaven, earth, great, fears, east, west, transgressions, children, remember, mortals, days, grass, flowers, fields, winds. everlasting, covenants, obey, precepts, laws, establish, thrones, kingdoms, rules, angels, words, hosts, servants, dominions, glory, glorious, acts, salvation, kindness, mercy, justice, patience, tenderness, difficult, journey, blessings, past, present, future, nothing, symbol, portraits, ugly, records, clean, models
June 27 2009 | Bible and Blog and Christianity and Church and Devotions/Devotionals and Faith and Family and God and Grace and Hope and Inspirational and Jesus and Life and Love and Mercy and Opinion and People and Personal and Philosophy and Quotes and Religion and Spiritual and Theology and Thoughts and Uncategorized | No Comments »
(from – http://www.insight.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=7837&news_iv_ctrl=1963)
Article Summary:
Chuck Swindoll writes this article for those who have been carrying a burden for some time and see no relief ahead. He invites them to learn from Job, who, after suffering more loss than most of us will ever suffer, decided not to waver from his belief in God’s control over his life. Job refused to forget God’s unchanging love for His children. He accepted from God’s hand whatever tool God chose to use to shape Job and teach him about Himself, just as we can today.
Some of you are facing what could easily be called an unsolvable problem. It’s you I hope to encourage today. Often the situations with no human answers form the basis upon which God does some of His best work.
This is illustrated beautifully in the life of Job, who, in my opinion, is a living example of unsolvable problems. Job’s biography includes a clipboard full of questions about suffering.
Is God fair? Is this situation just? What is a person to learn when going through deep waters of suffering?
In Job, we have a unique and rare look within the veil of heaven and behind the scenes on earth.
The Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.” The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.” (Job 1:7-8)
What would God say about you if He were to address Satan right now and tell him about your life? “Have you considered _______,” and then He calls your name. As he describes you, what would He say? With some of you, it might fit very closely to what He said about Job—“blameless and upright.”
Job’s life was a wonderful model of courageous living. Job trusted God in the good times. Now the scene was set to determine if Job would trust God in humanly impossible situations.
The next chapter of Job’s life is a dark one. He endured loss like few have known. His home . . . destroyed. His family . . . perished. His health . . . ruined. His finances . . . wiped out. His friends . . . questioned his godly reputation.
In the long process of working through his questions and struggles, Job finally resolved to trust God—no matter what. He had worshiped. He had humbled himself. He had sat in silence. He finally responded to his wife, “I accept what God has sent. I have accepted good, now I accept adversity.” Read that once more. It is the secret of his stability.
I find three real reasons Job could respond like this. First, he looked up and was comforted by God’s sovereignty. He saw more than God’s actions; he saw His heart. He accepted what God gave and took away. He saw God’s sovereign love, and he said to his wife, “Should we not receive both without question?”
Job also looked ahead and was reminded of God’s promise. In chapter 19, Job said,
“I know that my Redeemer lives, / And at the last He will take His stand on the earth.” (19:25)
Job was reminded of God’s promise that at the end all will be made right. Looking ahead, he felt spurred on.
Lastly, Job looked within and was shaped by God’s instruction. Job 42:6 states that he looked at his life, and he repented “in dust and ashes.” He saw that God had instructed him in his suffering and illness as in no other way. He said, in effect, “Lord, for the first time, I honestly can say, ‘I give myself to You as never before.’”
It’s a courageous thing for a believer to give himself to a sovereign God while facing impossible situations. Perhaps that’s exactly what you need to do right now. I recall what a wise and surrendered person once prayed:
Lord, I am willing to receive what Thou givest. I am willing to lack what Thou withholdest. I am willing to relinquish what Thou takest. I am willing to suffer what Thou inflictest. I am willing to be what Thou requirest. Lord, I’m willing.
My friend, if your days have been difficult and nights have been like a tunnel, dark and long, find your comfort in God’s sovereign control and everlasting love. Your Savior knows your breaking point. The bruising and crushing and melting you are enduring are designed to reshape you, not ruin you. Your strength and courage increase the longer He lingers over you. Remembering Job’s secret can make all the difference.
Adapted from Charles R. Swindoll, “How to Trust When You’re Troubled,” Insights (February 2002): 1-2. Copyright © 2002 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.
(from – http://www.insight.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=7837&news_iv_ctrl=1963)
Technorati Tags: trust, troubles, Charles Swindoll, Insight, Living, ministry, problems, encourage, today, situations, human, answers, God, Lord, Father, works, illustrate, beautiful, life, Job, opinions, examples, biography, clipboard, questions, sufferings, fair, persons, learn, waters, unique, heaven, veil, scenes, earth, Satan, roam, walk, servants, blame, man, fears, evils, Old Testament, scriptures, Bible, address, life, names, describe, models, courage, times, good, impossible, chapters, dark, loss, home, destroy, family, perish, health, ruin, finance, friends, reputations, process, struggles, worship, humble, silence, respond, wife, accept, adversity, read, secrets, stability, reasons, comfort, sovereign, actions, hearts, love, promises, instructions, look, repent, dust, ashes, illness, effects, honest, believers, wise, surrender, praying, prayers, receive, difficult, nights, days, tunnel, controls, Savior, Jesus, Christ, bruise, crush, melt, strength, differences
June 23 2009 | Bible and Blog and Christianity and Church and Devotions/Devotionals and Faith and Family and God and Grace and Hope and Inspirational and Jesus and Life and Love and Mercy and Opinion and People and Personal and Philosophy and Quotes and Religion and Spiritual and Theology and Thoughts and Uncategorized | No Comments »
Next »
