Is it your voice He’s hearing?

Ps. 5:1-3:  “Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation.  Give heed to the voice of my cry, my King and my God, for to You I will pray.  My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord.  In the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up.”

Does God hear your voice in the morning?  Do you direct your words to Him?  Do you look up and seek His face?  Do you cry out to Him, pray to Him, meditate upon His Word?

Imagine what your day would be like if you started it in the presence of the King of Kings?  Think of the confidence you’d have, walking out the door when you’ve just been in the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit.

When we have allowed the Lord to hear our voice first thing in the morning, and chosen to look first to Him, we will have chosen what is most important to start our day.  The problems, obstacles, and duties of the day will look much less intimidating when the joy of the Lord has become our strength.

Ps. 1:2 says that the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on it day and night is blessed.  “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also does not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.”  vs. 3

When we turn to God first thing in the morning, we will be strengthening ourselves, showing honor and respect to the Lord, and bringing blessings upon lives.  What more could we possibly want?

Give Him the praise!

jamie

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At the feet of The Teacher

Who is the man that fears the Lord?  Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.  He himself shall dwell in prosperity, and his descendants shall inherit the earth.  The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.  My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for He shall pluck my feet out of the net.” Ps. 25:12-15

The Lord will teach His way to those who fear Him.  I like that!  The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him.  He will show them His covenant.  Do these words warm your soul like they do mine?

Our God is so generous and good.  He has longed for relationship with His children since creation.  He came down in the cool of the day to talk with Adam and Eve.  He opened the Holy of Holies for us when Jesus Christ died on the cross so that we can speak directly with Him.  He pours out His Holy Spirit on His children and speaks to us through Him.  He wants to share with us.

Not only that, but He offers protection, inheritance, and prosperity to us, as well.  What a good and amazing God we have!

We have done nothing to deserve His generosity.  We have not earned His respect or His esteem.  He has simply chosen us.  He wants us.  He loves us.

Do you want to know His ways?  Do you want to see His covenant or hold His secret?  It starts with a relationship.  When we fear Him: respect, worship, submit to, and be in awe of Him, then these things are available to us.  His word tells us so.

I don’t know about you, but I want to tap into that so deeply!  I want to know as much as I can.  I want to be as close to Him as I can get.  I want more and more and more.

Let’s dig in and draw closer.  Let’s let Him teach us even more.

Breathless,

jamie

The Lord wins the battle

Ps. 33:16:  “No king is saved by the multitude of an army; a mighty man is not delivered by great strength.”

This morning I read the story of the army of the Midianites being defeated in the sight of Gideon and 300 Israelites.

It was not their large #’s that defeated the Midianites.  It was not their education, their strength, or their skill.  It was the Lord.  While the Israelites watched, the Lord set every Midianites’ sword against his own companion throughout their whole camp and they fled.  The Lord saved them and delivered them.

We all face battles.  In the face of the battle, we can become afraid.  We can worry that we don’t have the resources we need, that we’re not strong enough, or that we’re not skilled or special enough to win.

This morning; however, let me remind us all.  It is the Lord who saves us.  It is the Lord who delivers us.  We don’t have to have the multitude of an army.  The Lord is our help and our shield.

As you face this day, remember that the Lord who delivered the Israelites, and who spoke our world into existence, is walking before you.  His angels encamp all around you, and His ears are open to your cries.

Walk confidently in Him today,

jamie

Looking for hope

Why are you cast down, O my soul?  And why are you disquieted within me?  Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.”       Ps. 43:5

 

 

Sweeter than honey

Pr. 8:33:  “Hear instruction and be wise, and do not disdain it.”

When is the last time you read Psalm 119?  I encourage you to make time to read it this weekend.  Give yourself 15 or 20 minutes…enough time to not have to rush through it.  It is really quite beautiful and it is very inspiring.

The author of Psalm 119 certainly did not disdain instruction, but embraced and delighted in it.  I pray that this weekend, we would all long for the Word of God the way the writer of Psalm 119 did.  I pray that the Lord would awaken within us a consuming desire for Him and for His Word unlike anything we’ve experienced before.

Lord, like the author of this beautiful Psalm, help us to become devoted to fearing you.  Oh, that our only hiding place would be in You.  As those who have found great treasure, Lord, make us to rejoice in Your word.  Great peace awaits us when our hearts stand in awe of Your Word.  Open our ears, Lord, to truly hear You in Your word; and then let the wisdom saturate us so that we will not just be hearers of the words, Lord, but doers.  Let us be engulfed in Your presence, oh God, and to touch others with the light of Your truth.  All praise and honor and glory be to You, our King and our Lord! 

Happy reading!

jamie

How to fight the giants

Pr. 2:10-11:  “When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you.” 

How do we get wisdom to enter our heart?  How does knowledge become pleasant our souls?  We read and meditate on the Word of God.  We spend time with our Lord in prayer.  We allow the sweet Holy Spirit to guide us and speak the deep things of God to us throughout our day.  If we simply spend time with God, His word will bore into our minds, hearts, and souls and discretion, wisdom, understanding, and knowledge will naturally come.

What I have found is that the more I have of God, the more I want.  The more I stay in His presence, the more I long for His presence in my life.  The more I allow His will to guide my decisions, the more I want His advice.  This is how knowledge becomes pleasant to our souls.

I remember reading how David longed for God, and for God’s presence.  David danced before the Lord with all of his might.  His trust was only in the Lord and He called out to the Lord when He needed anything.  He praised the Lord with harp, song, and word.  He meditated on the scriptures and made them a lamp unto his feet and a light unto his path.  The Lord was the first thing on his mind when he awoke.  The Psalms are full of David’s heart being poured out before the Lord.  This is what happens when we truly get into His presence on a regular basis.  David sought the Lord, and the Lord showed Himself to David and protected Him.

David made mistakes, but God still called him a man after His own heart, because David truly loved and longed for God.  He wasn’t a perfect person, but His Savior was perfect beyond measure and David counted on the Lord to guide and keep Him.  David understood that he had no strength but God.

Ps. 93:4 says, “The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, than the mighty waves of the sea.”  I’m not sure who wrote this Psalm, but I know that David knew this to be true.  Without the Lord, David was just a boy facing a giant that could not be defeated.  David, however, understood that the battle was the Lord’s and that he was simply the instrument the Lord was using to defeat the giant and bring glory to God.

When this kind of wisdom enters our heart, truly we will live in safety.  We understand that life is not about us, our weaknesses, or our strengths.  Knowledge of the Holy One will give us the pleasant truth that God is truly in control.  God will fight our giants.

We only get this knowledge in His presence.  David spent time with God, even time on his face worshiping the Lord who is mightier than the waves of the sea.  His life is a good example for us of how we should live our lives.  He’s not the only one allowed to live this way.  Let’s take a few notes from David today and allow the Lord to opportunity to preserve and keep us.

“Therefore I will play music before the Lord.  And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight.”  -David, 2 Sam. 6:21-22

jamie