Psalm 82

Psalm 82

3 Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;
maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
they walk about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

The weak and the needy weigh heavy on my heart this morning. I feel so helpless when I see people everywhere hurting in so many ways and I can't fix it. They tell me their troubles and struggles and I just want to run to their rescue and be the hero, but I can't. I don't know what to do or how to help! I know that the gospel is the only real hope for everyone. But what about those who don't heed the call and come to Christ. What about those who are already in Christ and are still hurting? I know. The gospel. Christ is our only hope.

So many are walking about in the darkness, like the living dead stumbling through life. It looks so normal to us that we don't notice it, and in some ways we start looking like zombies ourselves!

God, let me be your hands and feet to the poor and needy (physically and spiritually!) Show me who they are and then teach me how to help them. All the foundations of the earth are shaken. Nothing is as it should be. Jesus, show me how your church, your bride, your body, should be rescuing. Let me walk among the living dead breathing life, the life that only you can give.

Psalm 1: In All That He Does He Prospers

Psalm 1

1 Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.

My heart has been heavy for the lost lately. I have repented for trying to shelter myself and my family and realized that we need to be out in the world loving people, and that may mean associating with people who are not like us. But these verses remind me to be on guard in the midst of this mission. Surrounding myself with those who do not know the Lord calls for extra caution. God does not want me to begin to think like them, or take their counsel or walk in their way... that's not going to help anyone.

If I want our work to prosper, I must meditate and delight in God's Word!! I am praying and longing to yield fruit and God has just shown me how that is going to happen. God's words are cultivating in me a stronger love for Christ than I have ever had. This is what is going to bear fruit, in season, when God chooses. I praise Him today that He has given me the desire to soak up His Word.

Father, you know my heart, you know how weak I am! Let me love the people around me without falling. Let me use my Christian liberty to relate to people without becoming them. Lord, keep Your Word in my heart. Do not let this desire fade. I know that if I were left to myself, my love for your word will depart as quickly as it came. Help ours to be a church that is in love with Your Word and with the Jesus that it reveals so that our work here in these communitites will prosper.

Psalm 90: Establish The Work of Our Hands

Psalm 90

9 For all our days pass away under your wrath;
we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
10 The years of our life are seventy,
or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span is but toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.
11 Who considers the power of your anger,
and your wrath according to the fear of you?

12 So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.

A thousand years in God's sight are "but as yesterday when it is past." "Like the grass that flourishes in the morning and fades and withers in the evening." This world is passing away, along with many of the people in it, and I am lamenting my youth slipping away from me. I'm distraught because my face is beginning to show signs that point to the fact that I'm going to get old! Duh! Somehow I am shocked by it. Never mind that everyone from the beginning of time has been getting older everyday. And no amount of working out or eating healthy has ever changed it. Oh, what useless agony to be concerned about aging!

Then I read this verse, "teach us to number our days, THAT WE MAY GET A HEART OF WISDOM." Interesting that numbering our days, or realizing that we're passing away = a heart of wisdom. I am so afraid of thinking about getting older that I am missing the blessing to be found in the mindset that thinks of this world as withering away. There is so much important work to be done and so little time! We see toil and struggle all of our days and we get so distracted by it, when God has left us here as rescuers, to deliver others from the toil!

14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
and for as many years as we have seen evil.
16 Let your work be shown to your servants,
and your glorious power to their children.
17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands upon us;
yes, establish the work of our hands!

O, Lord, teach me to number my days, and be satisfied with your steadfast love. As we commit to working for you in the communities around us, it means nothing if you don't let Your work be shown, and Your glorious power be seen! Let the favor of our Lord be upon us here. Now. And establish the work of our hands!! Let us prosper in our Kingdom work, Lord, for your name's sake!

Psalm 139: You Know Me

Psalm 139

1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.

7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

13 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.

God is acquainted with all of my ways. That could be scary! ... Or very encouraging, for God not only knows my ways, but He made my personality, He formed my inward parts. So, somewhere in the strange mix of who I am, is exactly the ingredients that God intends to use to cause me to walk in the good works that He has prepared for me. In the midst of the sin and the wandering heart inside of me is the light that someone else needs to see that will cause them to glorify our Father in heaven and turn to His Son for life.

Sometimes I feel so incompetent and incapable of the mission that God has set before me. But I am reminded that on the days that I feel closest to Him and my heart is soaring, and I feel like I can touch Him, He is there and my light is shining. But, just as true, on the days when I am in the depths of sin and despair, and my heart is chasing after some lesser pleasure, He is there and my light is shining, though dimly. I cannot flee from His presence because the Spirit has chosen to reside WITHIN me! What a thought. Even when I am doing my best to cover it up, the light of Jesus is shining, because I am in Him. It is who I am, not something I do.

So, Lord, search me and know my heart, find any grievous way within me. And I thank you that, while I am being sanctified, at every given moment, I am perfectly suited to do the work and live the life that you have laid out for me! Shine your light through me, Lord, and lead me in the way everlasting!

Psalm 78: Tell the Coming Generation

Psalm 78

18 They tested God in their heart
by demanding the food they craved.
19 They spoke against God, saying,
“Can God spread a table in the wilderness?
20 He struck the rock so that water gushed out
and streams overflowed.
Can he also give bread
or provide meat for his people?”

God has provided me with breath and life and light. He has given me a husband perfectly suited to me, and filled my home with wonderful children. He has given us an over abundance of food and drink to enjoy over the course of our lives, and a beautiful home to enjoy them in. He has pulled me out of the pit of destruction and made my steps secure! Do you think, maybe, he could make sure we have food to eat this week? And money to pay our bills? Because I'm not sure, I don't know if He can do it. It just seems such a daunting task for God, I just don't know...

Incredibly, this is how my mind works! Of course, I wouldn't say these words out loud, or even think them word for word in my head, but this is what it comes down to. I fret, I worry, I become downcast. Why, if I truly believe that God is my refuge and deliverer? Have I forgotten all that He has already done? What example am I showing my children?

2 I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
3 things that we have heard and known,
that our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children,
but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done. 5 He established a testimony in Jacob
and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
to teach to their children,
6 that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
7 so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God

What would happen if I were constantly reminding my children all that God has done for us instead of walking around discouraged? They should NEVER hear me complain about money or lack of possessions!! What does that say to them about my faith in the goodness of God? If I want them to set their hope in God, and I do, then I must be revealing to them the true God who is always good to His people and always knows what's best for them. The true God whose ways are far above my ways and who deserves unquestioning, unwavering submission. The true God who never leaves and never forsakes!

Lord, help me to see you for who you are so that I can reflect you accurately to my children. Thank you for having a steadfast love that endures forever, so that when I fail and fall you are there to pick me up. You have made my steps secure. You have granted me so much more faith and grace in this area, but, Lord, I have a long way to go. Please reveal yourself to my children despite my failures. Please draw them to you, and let them set their hope in YOU!

Psalm 107: Let The Redeemed of the Lord Say So

Psalm 107

10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
prisoners in affliction and in irons,
11 for they had rebelled against the words of God,
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
12 So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;
they fell down, with none to help.
13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
and burst their bonds apart.
15 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
16 For he shatters the doors of bronze
and cuts in two the bars of iron.

I look around me and I see these people in these verses. In the shadow of death, hearts bowed down with hard labor, spurning the counsel of God, and they don't know why they feel like they are in chains. And I also remember that this was me, and is me without the blood of Christ covering me. But He has burst my bonds apart! Oh, that I would live in light of this freedom everyday!

1 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
whom he has redeemed from trouble

I am so encouraged today by these verses. How easy it seems to advance the Kingdom of God! We all begin in the shadow of death, in chains. Jesus comes and forgives our sins and breaks our bonds. We are so happy to be free that we cannot help but shout his praises. He is good, His steadfast love endures forever! Others in chains hear our cries of joy, and wonder how they could be free from their chains. We tell them the good news of Jesus, and he breaks their chains and they shout for joy, and others hear their cries... and on and on. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!

God, let me be a voice. I have seen you work, Lord, out of my feeble attempt at evangelism. You redeemed me, gave me hope, made me happy, and all I had to do was say so. There are so many others around me who are in the desert, and in the darkness. Give them ears to hear, Lord, because we are going to shout your praises!

Psalm 46: The Lord of Hosts Is With Us

Psalm 46

1 God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

10 “Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

You are God! The nations are raging, the kingdoms tottering. But when you utter your voice, the earth melts and bends to your will. You are our refuge and our strength, you are our only help in trouble. Utter your voice today, Lord, and I will be still and know that you are God.

Psalm75: It Is I Who Keep Steady Its Pillars

Psalm 75

2 “At the set time that I appoint
I will judge with equity.
3 When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants,
it is I who keep steady its pillars. Selah
4 I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’
and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn;
5 do not lift up your horn on high,
or speak with haughty neck.’”

How wonderful to come across this Psalm on the eve of Inauguration Day!

As I have tried to gaze into the future of America in these last months, I am unsure and afraid. I am apprehensive about the fate of even the relatively simple lifestyle that I now live. I am becoming more and more convinced that those who prophesy of the crumbling of the United States, though completely unfounded biblically, may prove to be quite true practically.

But then God says to me, "when the earth totters and all its inhabitants, It is I who keep steady its pillars." And I realize all that is unfolding, wherever it leads, is just another bend in the road of God's redemptive history. It dawns on me that the prosperity and the success that this country has seen in the past has not been due the our perfect expression of government, or our great "Christian" leaders, or the goodwill of the American people, or our capitalist economy, or our mighty military. It has been God who has been holding it up all along. And I dare say that He was not prospering America due to its over abundance of righteous people, or due to the fact that they used to pray in public schools, or display the ten commandments in the courtrooms. It was simply part of His redemption story!

So, wherever we are headed as a nation in the future, I am certain it will be just where God intends us to be.

6 For not from the east or from the west
and not from the wilderness comes lifting up,
7 but it is God who executes judgment,
putting down one and lifting up another.

And it may prove to be a glorious time indeed! When things are going well, the world tends to feel pretty self-sufficient. People are wrapped up in personal comfort and momentary pleasure. When things are miserable, people tend to think about more ultimate questions and start to wonder about God and why they exist. This could be a wonderful opportunity for the church to shine the light of the gospel in a way not possible just a few years ago. My husband said it best, God has raised up Barack Obama, (along with every other leader) for such a time as this! Wherever any president thinks he is leading this country, whether good or evil in our eyes, we need to remember, it is God who executes judgment, putting down one country, one leader, and lifting another up.

1 We give thanks to you, O God;
we give thanks, for your name is near.
We recount your wondrous deeds.

Lord, help me to see with Kingdom eyes! Help me to count this economic and political hardship as opportunity. Help me to think not of what it may do to my personal lifestyle, and what turmoil it may cause, but help me think of the wonderful opportunity it creates to recount your wondrous deed, to share Christ and to add worshippers to your Kingdom! Father, be with our leaders, conservative and liberal, Republican and Democrat, Christian and Atheist, and guide them in the way that best serves your Kingdom. Let us see that this is just the next step toward the day when the skies will be rolled back and victory will be forever ours!

Psalm 34: Taste and See

4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.

What freedom! To be able to just look to the Lord and come away radiant and unashamed. I have so much to be ashamed of, and it is the nature of the Christian to feel some kind of virtue in having our sin in the front of our minds. Maybe for a fraction of a second it is virtuous, but if we will turn to the Lord, we do not have to be ashamed! In fact, we SHOULDN'T be ashamed. If we are constantly ashamed and downcast in spirit maybe we are ridiculously self-centered. If we are focused on Christ (who he is and what he has done for us) we will be radiant and our faces will never be ashamed!

8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

22 The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

Help me, Lord, to continually get a taste of you, and you will always prove to be good! Refresh me with your living water daily so that I can teach my children and show those all around me that, (in the words of TobyMac) "you can't see it with an untrained eye, but if you take some time you are sure to find it, we complicate something so basic, but once you taste, you gon' chase it like me!"

I need you, Lord. I need your refuge. Help me to be ready for the afflictions that you promise will come. But show me always that you deliver your people. You never leave us. I will not be condemned!

Psalm 73: It Is Good To Be Near God

Psalm 73

73:1 Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped.
3 For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

16 But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.

I cannot number the times I have been envious of the arrogant, and jealous to see the wicked prosper. Or even the Christians prosper. How many times have I thought, "Why do we have to struggle and scrape for pennies? What about the pastors who have new laptops and blackberries and whose wives have closets full of new clothes and every new kitchen gadget and they both make 6 digits speaking at conferences? Wouldn't ministry be so much easier if we didn't have to wonder and fret over how to pay our bills? Or if our van is going to make it another day? Or if our kids are going to have schoolbooks this year? "

Yeah, it might be easier. Or would it? Would I still long to go into the sanctuary of God to discern the truth about life? Would my love of people have to compete with my love of people's praise? Would my worship of God have to compete with my worship of possessions? Would my desire to do be helpful be overrun by my desire to be hip?

My heart truly goes out the pastors and families who are on the other end of the financial spectrum! Especially those who are truly trying to be Christ-centered and humble. The ones that stay faithful are much better people than I, and God has laid a heavy burden on them for His sake! I pray that they endure to the end and receive their rewards!

I thank God for my simple life!

27 For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
28 But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.

Thank you, Lord, for using whatever means necessary for keeping me near you! Even if that means making me scrape for pennies for the rest of my days. I have made the Lord my refuge. There is nothing on earth I desire beside you! And, again, you have allowed all of this that I may tell of all your works.

Psalm 51: Create In Me A Clean Heart

3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

5 Behold I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

My sin is ever before me! I am so unworthy of this salvation that I have been given. Whenever I am tempted to think that I have arrived at some higher spiritual marker, God shows me the rebellious child within me! But a broken and contrite heart He will not despise. As quickly as He shows me my sin, He show me my Savior, and restores the joy of my salvation.

But I can't stay there, reveling in my joy, rejoicing in my little Christian box, with my Christian family, in my Christian world. The world I live in is not Christian!

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.

Lord, help me not be annoyed at the way that my life is "interrupted!" My life is yours, there can be no such thing as an interruption if I have given my life to you. Help me to use the opportunities that you give me to teach your ways, that sinners will return to you! Open my lips so that my mouth will declare your praise.

Let me be a part of your work, Lord. Let me see your kingdom grow, and people in the communities around me turn to you. Give me opportunity and then give me the words to say and the courage to say them. It begins and ends with you, Lord. Just let me be an instrument.

Psalm 40, Making My Steps Secure

1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.

If I could only remember that the Lord is inclined to me and hears my cry! Maybe I would wait patiently for Him instead of worrying and fretting and feeling like I am holding the whole world up on my shoulders.

He has set my feet upon a rock and made my steps secure. Wow! If that isn't the ultimate anti-worrying verse. So you mean that I can't make one wrong move and make my whole world crumble? You mean that if I say the wrong thing, I'm not going to fall into oblivion? You mean if I make the wrong decision about whether or not to discipline one of my children for a given offense, they're not going to walk away from the faith and be permanently damaged?

This definitely puts a new song of praise in my mouth. God is the one who drew me up from the pit, and HE is the one who keeps me from falling back into it!

Lord, may my soul rest in you in such a way that those around me can see it! May those who look at my life see one who is not bearing the weight of the world, but rather looking forward to inheriting the earth with the ONE who is actually holding it up! I pray that they would see enough of a reflection of you in me, that many would see and fear and put their trust in you.

17 As for me, I am poor and needy,
but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God

Psalm 39 What Is the Measure of My Days?

Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather! vv5-6

Oh, that I could live like life is a breath! I run around and "heap up wealth" and try to make everything in this life perfect and set things up like they are going to last forever.

I remember when we were in the process of building our house, and everything seemed new and fresh and exciting. We would spend days in Lowes and Menards agonizing over which color of clearance tile to use, and what bathroom and kitchen fixtures were most convenient and not most costly, and how we should design the kitchen for maximum effeciency, and what color countertops and what color paint and what color siding... and on and on.

Several times, on the way home from these stores I would look out the window and see houses all around. Houses that were new at one time, houses which someone agonized over how to build and what to fill them with. Now they were old and dilapitated. Siding faded, window cracked, railing rusted... Sadness would overtake me, because I knew that no matter how sturdy we build, or how hard we try, inevitably, my new house is going to look like these someday. And I would come to my senses and pray, "Thank you, God for showing me the vanity of it all!!" I am so thankful for my wonderful home, but it is going to burn up someday, if it makes it that long.

If everything in this world lasted I would be tempted to forget why I am here. If Christmas didn't end in a let-down, I might forget that these feelings of peace and warmth and harmony are only meant to point me heaven. If the adrenaline rush that comes in athletic competition didn't fade, I might forget that those feelings of triumph are only a minute fraction compared to the triumph when the King comes back for his people and Good prevails over evil once and for all.

Life is a breath. Lord, help me to spend my energy on the things that last forever. Thank you for the daily pleasures that point us to heaven and for the daily disappointments that remind us that we're not there yet.

Psalm 8 How Majestic Is Your Name

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands, you have put all things under his feet. vv4-6

God has "set His glory above the heavens." When I look up into the sky at night and contemplate what is up there, my mind is stretched beyond it's capabilities. I cannot even grasp what I am looking at. All of the smartest and most gifted people from all of the ages combined have come up with very little about what is in the universe and how it works. God's glory is far beyond any of this! The pieces of the cosmos are like his props for his play! And the bible says that he has crowned MAN with glory and honor and put all things under his feet. We are NOTHING compared to him and yet he cares for us, and not only that, has given us a place of honor in His universe.

As one who has been given a place of honor and glory by God, I can't help but be convicted that my life should have a certain standard of excellence. God has given us unbelievably complex bodies and minds and hearts, and what do I use mine for? Mostly my own vain pursuits that will never amount to anything. And when I do use them for something good, I do most things half-heartedly and half-way!

God help me to push my body and my mind and my emotions to their limits in pursuit of you and in the advancement of your Kingdom. I am so lazy!! You have given me the tools to work with and I have misused them and dishonored your name. Thank you for the gift of my body and mind. Help me to use them for you today in any way that you direct me!

Psalm 127 "Unless the Lord Builds the House..."

"...those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep." vv. 1-2

As I have prayed through this Psalm, God has opened my heart to the possibility for a peace that is only possible when we truly trust Him. Anything that I can attempt to build, if God doesn't do it through me, it is in vain. At first, this seems like a negative statement, and it made me question all of my various pursuits and wonder if God is with me in them. But God has revealed the flip side to me, and I am praying that it sticks.

I realize that if I am just willing to put myself out there as a tool for God, then I don't have to worry about the results. If I will just love people, enjoy people, be willing to open my mouth and look like an idiot, I don't have to fret over results. If I cultivate and nurture a Godly love toward my children, and discipline them lovingly, and teach them what I can... God is going to lead them where they need to go. I am going to mess up in my parenting, in my relationships, in my witnessing, but if I just DO IT ANYWAY, maybe God will allow me to be involved in the great things that He is doing. Sometimes I am so paralyzed by the fear of doing something the wrong way that I don't do it at all.

This passage also has reiterated to me the importance and power of prayer. If anything is going to be done for the Kingdom of God, HE is going to do it. As individuals, and as the church, we should be devoting ourselves to prayer. All of the planning and the organizing and talking in the world cannot measure up to an hour in prayer!

God, help me to be able to lay my head down each night knowing that I was an instrument in your hands. Help me not to fret over results, but to leave them in your hands, that's where they are anyway. Help me to open my mouth and speak, even if sometimes I don't say the perfect thing, and love people and not be so afraid of looking stupid, and then show me YOUR great works.

Psalm 66, How Awesome Are Your Deeds

As I read this text, I couldn't help but think of "Testify to Love" by Avalon. I remember when this song was first released I was a fairly new Christian. I thought of this song as a "sell out" because the lyrics were not expressly about Christ. Now, bear in mind, that my LIFE was not expressly about Christ at that time and the singers in Avalon were probably much more mature Christians than me, but I stood in judgment over them for this song.

Years later I was driving by myself and this song came on. It had been a while since I had heard it, and I just sat and listened. Now, I'm a sing-a-long kind of person, it is rare that I listen to a song that I know and don't sing it. But for whatever reason, I was quiet and listened. The lyrics are not profound if you have no context for them, but when you know the God that they are referring to, apparently they can be powerful. As I let these words penetrate my heart, I was filled with the most amazing sense of wonder at who God is. I was overwhelmed by a sense of His presence all around in everything and everywhere. I was in awe of His greatness, and delighted in the realization that all of creation is a reflection of Him. As I looked out the windows of my van, it was like I could see Him everywhere. I felt like I could reach out and touch Him! The sense of peace and joy that I felt was tangible, like I tasted heaven for just a brief moment. I remember it like it was yesterday and it was several years ago.

It still blows me away to think that God used a song that I sinfully judged to give me the most overwhelming encounter with Him I think I have ever had.

Bless our God, O peoples; let the sound of his praise be heard, who has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip. Psalm 66:8-9

Thank you that you do not let my feet slip and no matter how immature and unreasonable my heart is, you keep me, Lord. If it were up to me I would have turned away from you for far lesser things and missed out on the reason that I was made. Thank you for the righteousness of Christ and His saving power!

All the colors of the rainbow
All of voices of the wind
Every dream that reaches out
That reaches out to find where love begins
Every word of every story
Every star in every sky
Every corner of creation lives to testify
For as long as I shall live
I will testify to love
I'll be a witness in the silences when words are not enough
With every breath I take I will give thanks to God above
For as long as I shall live
I will testify to love
From the mountains to the valleys
From the rivers to the sea
Every hand that reaches out
Every hand that reaches out to offer peace
Every simple act of mercy
Every step to kingdom come
All the Hope in every heart will speak what love has done.

Psalm 125

"The Lord surrounds His people like the mountains surround Jerusalem" and "those who trust in the Lord cannot be moved." I pray, Lord, that you give me this kind of trust that cannot be moved. As I begin this prayer journey and begin starting my day early and deliberately, I pray that You surround me and I feel Your presence all around me.

As I confess my sinful discontentment in my financial circumstances, I pray, Lord, that you cause me to stand and not be moved. That I may trust in YOU to provide my happiness. That I do not return and seek my pleasure in the world and the fun that money can buy me.

I thank you, God, that "the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous." I praise You because the ground that the church has been given for the Kingdom can never be taken back. We can never lose ground in this battle, we can only push forward. Forgive me, Lord, for not having a wartime mentality. Help me to be so wrapped up in You and in gaining ground with You in Your Kingdom that nothing else matters.

Most of all I fall on my face and worship You for making me one of the "righteous." I have no righteousness of my own to offer You. You have freely given the righteousness of Christ!