Can You Be Thankful?

 

Bless the Lord

“Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” Psalms 103:1-2

Yes, we are to extol, glorify, and praise the Lord. We do so when we say, “Bless the Lord.” You will notice, David is telling his soul to “bless the Lord.” We are to bless the Lord with everything in us. Bless His holy name. We also are not to forget all His benefits.

What are those benefits? Psalms 103:3-5 says, “He forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.”

As you can see, we have plenty to be thankful for, plenty to praise the Lord for and bless His holy name. When we fully grasp what our benefits are, how can we not be thankful? He forgives us of our sins, heals our diseases, redeems our lives from destruction, crowns us with loving kindness and tender mercies, satisfies our mouth with good things and renews our youth like the eagle’s. Those are amazing benefits.

Every day, should we not be thankful and praise Him for these benefits and for what He continues to do for us?

Each day upon rising, we could start our day by saying to God, “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” (Psalms 103:1-2)

Doing this adds a bonus blessing: our day starts focused on Him. This helps us, throughout the day, to walk with Him. It also reminds us of our wonderful position in the Lord. We are His children.

 Prayer: Oh, gracious God, let praise and thankfulness be on my lips daily for these benefits you have given me. Write them on my heart so my focus stays on you each day. Amen

Excerpt from my book, Listen Close. 

Comments: email sreicert48@gmail.com

Do Not Be Afraid

 Do Not Be Afraid

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help the; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” Isaiah 41: 10

Sometimes we humans make things complex, but God has simplified faith for us. We must choose to use our faith and believe His word and act upon it or not to believe it. That is our choice.

Why did God tell us to fear not? Because He is with us. Imagine, God is with you and me. Why? So, we will not be fearful. That seems clear and simple, doesn’t it? Fear not, because I your God am with you.

But He did not stop there. He went on to say, “Be not dismayed.” What does that word dismayed mean? It means disappointed, unhappy. A feeling of alarm, fear, or serious disappointment. God does not want us to let our courage breakdown. Why? Because He is our God. We do not need to be in stress, or lose courage, He says, “I am your God.” And let me tell you He is a big God. There is nothing impossible for Him. He can do anything.

Have you ever been fearful. . . I mean downright scared. I remember when I was a kid, we had a two-story house, and the sun was setting. I had to go downstairs to get something for my mother. Now this is during the time when we did not have air conditioning, so we kept the windows up and even our doors unlocked. There was still just enough light outside with the setting sun that I did not need to turn on a lamp.

As I walked past the windows I saw out of the corner of my eye, something move. I looked, and there was a man standing at the window. He said something, but it scared me so much, I took off running upstairs, screaming, and yelling for help. (Remember I was a kid.)

Well, they checked it out, but of course he was gone. (I guess I scared him with my screaming and yelling.) I remember that to this day, and I am eighty years old. When I walk by a window I automatically look at the window. Silly? Maybe. But what happened that day is etched in my memory.

As a child, I was not thinking God’s words, “Fear not.” My adrenalin was pumping faster than my legs were running. God had given me faith, but I did not stop and use my faith. I let fear take over and rule my thoughts, emotions, and my heart.

Do we still do that today?

Prayer:

Lord, I confess there are times when I do not obey you, and I allow fear to rule in my heart and mind. Forgive me. Help me. Help me to stand strong in my faith and rebuke fear when it raises its ugly head. Help me to remember that fear comes from the enemy to steal the peace you have given me. Amen

 

This is from an excerpt in my book Listen Close.

Want A Quiet and Peaceable Life?

 

"I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth." 1 Timothy 2:1-4

When I read these verses, I realized that God was giving us instructions as well as urging us. Exhort means urging, strongly encouraging. What is God urging us to do?

He said, “First of all,” I want to stop here a minute. God’s words “first of all” should say to us that what He is about to ask us to do is important. We are to do it first. So, what do we do first? We are to make supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks for all men.

Supplication means we are making a request and bringing a petition to God earnestly and humbly for all men–for kings, those in authority (yes, even those we do not like and those in different political camps).

Prayer means entreat, implore, request. To me it is talking to God and asking God to have mercy upon all men, kings, and those in authority. Request God to help them make wise decisions for their land and its people.

Intercession means intervening on behalf of another. We can intercede for others by praying for their needs will be met, both physical, emotional, spiritual, and financial.

Giving thanks means thanking God. Once we have prayed for all men, kings, and those in authority, we need to thank God for answering our prayers for them. They need God too. By thanking God, we let Him know we expect Him to answer our prayers, and we are grateful that He does.

Why does He tell us to do this? It is for our own good. God truly wants all of us to live a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

Therefore, instead of bashing the political leaders, kings, and all men, we do not care for, we need to obey God (be obedient) and pray for them. Remember God is the one who can change things and people…through prayer. Our doing this will be pleasing to God. Remember, He wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of truth.

Question: Would we rather spend our time doing what God said, so we will have peaceable lives, or would we rather spend our time spewing anger, hate, and criticizing others? Which do you think offers us peace?

I happened to listen to a late-night talk show about three years ago, (I don’t normally watch these things) and did not find their bashing people to be funny, nor find humor at the expense of another human being. Immediately, 1 Timorthy 2:1-4 came to my mind. 

Prayer: 

Lord, help each of us come to you in prayer and thanksgiving each day and intercede for all men, kings, and men in authority everywhere regardless of whether we like and agree with them or not. We pray for them to come to know you, to come into the knowledge of truth, and to have wisdom to lead so that we can have a quiet an peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. Help us to realize our responsibility as a child of God to pray and interced for others, not just the ones we love and like, but also for those we do not like. Amen

(excerpt of this post taken from my book Between Me and You.)

Listen For God's Voice

 Andrew Murray said, "Nothing so effectually hinders hearing God’s voice as opening the heart too much to other voices. A heart too deeply interested in the news, the literature, and the society of this world cannot hear the divine voice. It needs stillness, retirement, and concentration to give God the heed He claims."

Oh Lord God, I ask for you to help me and my family to be still and hear your voice telling us where you want us to go and we trust you to get us there at the right time. In Jesus name. Amen

Getting and Giving!

 

This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. I think this reflects the broader theme of obedience and devotion plus the rewards of faithfully serving our God. This is what Hezekiah instilled in the people. And it works.
Hezekiah was blessed by God and prospered.


It worked then, it works now. It is important that we wholeheartedly dedicate ourselves to God and obey His commandments.


I read somewhere that sacrificial giving is of God's people. But it goes deeper than giving our money, time and talents. It goes down to the core of our sacrificing the necessary things in our own lives so we can draw close to God. Once the people drew close to God they could serve others better. This means we could too. It isn't all about us getting, it is truly about us giving.


Blessings!

A Brief Rest

 God said, "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

God is so gracious to us. He knows when we need rest. Several weeks ago, I had

retina surgery and rested my eye. It is healing and I am doing well. During this time

I followed the Lord's words and rested.

Looking forward to being back within a few days.




God blessings to all!

Change In Life

Philip Doddridge wrote "Blest are the humble souls that wait with sweet submission to His will; harmonious all their passions move, and in the midst of storms are still."

Sometimes we get very discouraged with ourselves. We try working on the faults we see and it gets us frustrated when we don't see change. Be patient with yourself as you would with others. Just ask God to help you each day change the things that you can change and trust Him to change the things He can change.

Change in life is inevitable, but making sure those changes are from God takes prayer and seeking His will for your life. 

When change comes that is not of God, it is wise to again, go to prayer and seek His will in the situation and His guidance.

Maya Angelou said, "I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it."

Blessings!