Category: Uncategorized

Psalms 71:1-3 (70:1-3)

O God, in You I hope; may I never be put to shame.
Deliver me in Your righteousness, and set me free;
Incline Your ear to me and save me.
Be to me a God for protection
And a strong place for salvation,
For You are my foundation and my refuge.

Encouraging Words

The psalmist so elegantly reminds us of our need to be thankful for our God and to constantly put our hope in Him. When we walk in the footsteps of His Son, we will never be put to shame. He delivers us from the traps in this temporal life and sets us free. He hears our supplications and petitions and saves us, even from death. He is our protection, our salvation, our foundation, and our refuge. Glory be to God!

Acts 17:6

But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.

Personal Challenge

The Christian message, the Good News, has been turning the world upside down for over 2,000 years. We have been called to be active participants, as followers of Jesus, to be these change agents in the world around us. How are we doing? Can people call us out as they did the apostles for changing every place they went to? Do people recognize us as followers of Jesus? If not, then maybe it is time to let the Holy Spirit start using us for God’s good. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Psalms 63:8 (62:9)

My soul follows close behind You;
Your right hand takes hold of me.

Personal Challenge

Proximity is an important thing in our walk with Jesus. The farther away we are from our source of life and energy, the dimmer He becomes in our lives. If we truly desire to be a disciple of our Lord, then we must always follow close behind Him, our eyes focused on Him, and our hands extended to Him so that He take hold and lead us as we follow Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Acts 16:25

But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

Encouraging Words

One of the precious gifts that God promises to give us when we choose to give our lives to Him is joy. We can embrace that joy and let it permeate our lives or we can take it for granted and let the burdens of life overtake us. Paul and Silas are great examples of holding on to the joy that God gave them to the point that they were able to pray and sing hymns to their God from the depths of prison. We too can choose God in our lives. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Psalms 63:3 (62:4)

Because Your mercy is better than life,
My lips shall praise You.

Encouraging Words

God’s mercy is truly beyond anything that we can comprehend. He is our everything and He covers us with His mercy all the time. Our every breath, beat of our heart, thought of our mind are covered in His mercy and love. So, what should our response be? Praise! Glory be to God!

Acts 8:30-31

So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.

Personal Challenge

Have you ever had God ask you to do something for Him? Before you answer, “No!”, take some time and look back on your life and I bet you will see many times that the Holy Spirit has tried to nudge you to do something, something for God. Sometimes it is that fleeting thought to perform a simple act of kindness to someone. A thought that was suppressed because of the busyness of life or the discomfort of the action. God does ask us regularly to do His work. We are His hands and feet in this world. We should be like Phillip and run into the task that we are being asked to do. We will see God’s hand at work in our lives through us. Glory be to God!

Psalms 63:1 (62:2)

O God, my God, I rise early to be with You;
My soul thirsts for You.
How often my flesh thirsts for You
In a desolate, impassable, and waterless land.

Personal Challenge

This temporal world is a desolate, impassable, and waterless land compared to the glorious kingdom that awaits us. If we are striving to live our lives for Christ, we will have within us an incredible thirst for Him, a thirst that only He can quench. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Acts 6:8

And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.

Encouraging Words

We are all called, as followers of Jesus Christ, to live our lives full of faith and power. If we do that, then we too can see great wonders and signs happening in our lives. In today’s day of enlightenment and scholasticism, we put more stock, and therefore our faith, in the things and workings of the temporal. By doing this hinder ourselves from being full of God’s faith and power. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Psalms 62:8 (61:9)

Hope in Him, all you congregation of people;
Pour out your hearts before Him;
God is our helper. (Pause)

Personal Challenge

God is our helper. There is no denying that if we strive to live our lives for our God, loving Him and loving our neighbor, we will see His mighty hand at work in our lives. Unfortunately, it often becomes easy to lose sight of this and to start putting hope in the things of this world. Ourselves. Our jobs, Our wealth. Our politicians. Our priests and pastors. Everything but God. This is always a significant error. Our hope should only be in God, Glory be to God, and God alone.