Verse of the Day 8/28

Verse of the Day 8/28

Psalm 104:31-33

New International Version

31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;

    may the Lord rejoice in his works—
32 he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,
    who touches the mountains, and they smoke.

33 I will sing to the Lord all my life;
    I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

Whenever I read this Psalm I am reminded of driving in the Blue Ridge Mountains and seeing the clouds and the mists rising early in the morning.  It truly looks like the mountains are full of smoke.  The sun comes out and burns off the mist to reveal beautiful sun and North Carolina blue skies.

I am reminded of the Fernando Ortega song  "Lord of Eternity" which mentions today's verses.  The lyrics describe where my heart has been these last few months. The grief and emotions are perhpas the strongest I've felt. There have been times when I've felt alone, but in those times, God's Word has touched me, burned of the mists of grief revealing His light and give me strength and hope. And I can sing this song in hope.

Blessed is the man
Who walks in Your favor
Who loves all Your words
And hides them like treasure
In the darkest place
Of his desperate heart
They are a light
A strong, sure light

Sometimes I call out Your name
But I cannot find You
I look for Your face
But You are not there
By my sorrows, Lord
Lift me to You
Lift me to Your side

Chorus:
Lord of Eternity
Father of mercy
Look on my fainting soul
Keeper of all the stars
Friend of the poorest heart
Touch me and make me whole

If You are my defender
Who is against me?
No one can trouble or harm me
If You are my strength
All I ask, all I desire
Is to live in Your house all my days

Blessings,

Mike

Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com

Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV

Psalm 104:31-35

New International Version

31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;

    may the Lord rejoice in his works—
32 he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,
    who touches the mountains, and they smoke.

33 I will sing to the Lord all my life;
    I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
    as I rejoice in the Lord.
35 But may sinners vanish from the earth
    and the wicked be no more.

Praise the Lord, my soul.

Praise the Lord.

Verse of the Day 8/23

Verse of the Day 8/23

Psalm 63:2-4

New International Version

2 I have seen you in the sanctuary

    and beheld your power and your glory.
3 Because your love is better than life,
    my lips will glorify you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
    and in your name I will lift up my hands.

Yesterday for me was a bad day, one of those where it seemed that nothing was going right and anything that could go wrong did go wrong.  One of the things that I've noticed since my wife Jean's passing is that my temper is shorter than ever (and that is pretty short).  Needless to say that turned a bad day into a really bad day emotionally.

Thankfully, one constant for me has been my early morning devotional time on the back porch.  I sent out a photo in a post on facebook this morning of my backporch with the sun shining through the trees and referred to it as my "sanctuary".  Then, as i opened up my Bible my reading in the Psalms this morning was from Psalm 63 and David's words jumped out at me.  David wrote this Psalm while in the desert of Judah. It seems I've been in a different kind of desert but his emotions and mine are simlar in this respect. I have seen His power and experienced His love.  I must continue to glorify and praise Him with my lips, with my written words and with my life (a greater challenge).

Through this time His "right hand upholds me" (v.8 below).

I am grateful for the sanctuary that He has provided me on my backporch physically, emotionally and spiritually.  Through it all I've learned to depend upon His Word.

I go back to a song that I listened to often in my high school years, the words mean more to me now.   (Through it All - Andrae Crouch)

I've had many tears and sorrows
I've had questions for tomorrow
There's been times I didn't know right from wrong
But in every situation
God gave me blessed consolation
That my trials came to only make me strong

[Verse 2]
I've been to lots of places
I've seen a lot of faces
But there were times that I felt so all alone
But in my lonely hours
Yes, those precious lonely hours
Jesus lets me know that I was His own
That's the reason I say

[Chorus]
Through it all
Mm, Through it all
I've learned to trust in Jesus
I've learned to trust in God
Let me tell you that

Through it all, oh
Through it all
I've learned to depend upon His Word

Blessings,

Mike

Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com

Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV

Psalm 63

New International Version

Psalm 63[a]

A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.

1 You, God, are my God,
    earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
    my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
    where there is no water.

2 I have seen you in the sanctuary
    and beheld your power and your glory.
3 Because your love is better than life,
    my lips will glorify you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
    and in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
    with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

6 On my bed I remember you;
    I think of you through the watches of the night.
7 Because you are my help,
    I sing in the shadow of your wings.
8 I cling to you;
    your right hand upholds me.

9 Those who want to kill me will be destroyed;
    they will go down to the depths of the earth.
10 They will be given over to the sword
    and become food for jackals.

11 But the king will rejoice in God;
    all who swear by God will glory in him,
    while the mouths of liars will be silenced.

Verse of the Dayb 8/15

Verse of the Day 8/15

Psalm 55:22

New International Version

22 Cast your cares on the Lord

    and he will sustain you;
he will never let
    the righteous be shaken.

I read Psalm 55 in my devotions this morning and had several things going through my mind as I read it, culminating in this verse. In verse 4 David writes, "fear and trembling have beset me, horror has overwhelmed me."  Sometimes our greatest fears come to fruition and shake us to our core and we feel overwhelmed.  What are we to do?  We are to cast our cares on the Lord, trusting that He will sustain us.  Casting is not passive.  It is not sitting back and letting things play out.  It is turning them over casting, throwing them out to the Lord hoping for a lifeline in return.

I also thought about "He will never let the righteous be shaken".  The righteous are those in right standing with God.  Not based on who we are or what we do but in trusting what He has done for us and abiding in Him (John 15).  Yes, we can be shaken but He will revive, refresh, restore and renew us (Psalm 23 among other passages.

Abiding is to remain in Him to keep the faith to keep believing.  This brings me to the old Gaither vocal band song by the same name.

When troubles rise and catch you unaware
The day to day of living seems unfair
And you try again at your dreams and plans
That have ended in defeat
And the fancy frills that once fulfilled
Now leave you incomplete

And you wonder where
Your life's gone wrong
And why you can't find peace
Well, your hope's not gone
It's just been too long
Since you've had to believe

Keep believing in what you know is true
Keep believing
You know the Lord will see you through
When troubles rise in your lifе
And you don't know what to do
You'll be fine if you just keep beliеving

You can take Him at his word
He is faithful kind and true
Not a prayer will go unanswered
In His time, He'll see you through

Read that last line again.  "in His time, He'll see you through."

Blessings,

Mike

Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com

Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV

Psalm 55

New International Version

Psalm 55[a]

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil[b] of David.

1 Listen to my prayer, O God,
    do not ignore my plea;
2     hear me and answer me.
My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught
3     because of what my enemy is saying,
    because of the threats of the wicked;
for they bring down suffering on me
    and assail me in their anger.

4 My heart is in anguish within me;
    the terrors of death have fallen on me.
5 Fear and trembling have beset me;
    horror has overwhelmed me.
6 I said, "Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!
    I would fly away and be at rest.
7 I would flee far away
    and stay in the desert;[c]
8 I would hurry to my place of shelter,
    far from the tempest and storm."

9 Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words,
    for I see violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they prowl about on its walls;
    malice and abuse are within it.
11 Destructive forces are at work in the city;
    threats and lies never leave its streets.

12 If an enemy were insulting me,
    I could endure it;
if a foe were rising against me,
    I could hide.
13 But it is you, a man like myself,
    my companion, my close friend,
14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship
    at the house of God,
as we walked about
    among the worshipers.

15 Let death take my enemies by surprise;
    let them go down alive to the realm of the dead,
    for evil finds lodging among them.

16 As for me, I call to God,
    and the Lord saves me.
17 Evening, morning and noon
    I cry out in distress,
    and he hears my voice.
18 He rescues me unharmed
    from the battle waged against me,
    even though many oppose me.
19 God, who is enthroned from of old,
    who does not change—
he will hear them and humble them,
    because they have no fear of God.

20 My companion attacks his friends;
    he violates his covenant.
21 His talk is smooth as butter,
    yet war is in his heart;
his words are more soothing than oil,
    yet they are drawn swords.

22 Cast your cares on the Lord
    and he will sustain you;
he will never let
    the righteous be shaken.
23 But you, God, will bring down the wicked
    into the pit of decay;
the bloodthirsty and deceitful
    will not live out half their days.

But as for me, I trust in you.

Verse of the Day 8/14

Verse of the Day 8/14

1 Corinthians 2:9

New Living Translation

9 That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
    and no mind has imagined
what God has prepared

    for those who love him."

We are to walk by faith and not by sight, not an easy thing to do but possible when our faith is that of Hebrews 11:1 "substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen".

By faith we let go of loved ones who have gone before us, knowing that they are at peace and at rest with their Savior, praising Him and walking with Him day by day. We can only imagine what God has planned for them (John 14:1-3).

Today's verse was of comfort to me and I hopt that it is to you as well.

I can only imagine
What it will be like
When I walk by Your side
I can only imagine
What my eyes will see
When Your face is before me
I can only imagine, yeah

[Chorus]
Surrounded by Your glory
What will my heart feel?
Will I dance for You, Jesus
Or in awe of You, be still?
Will I stand in Your presence
Or to my knees, will I fall?
Will I sing hallelujah?
Will I be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine
I can only imagine

[Verse 2]
I can only imagine
When that day comes
And I find myself
Standing in the sun
I can only imagine
When all I will do
Is forever, forever worship You
I can only imagine, yeah
I can only imagine                            (I Can Only Imagine - Mercy Me)

Blessings,

Mike

Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com

Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV

1 Corinthians 2

New Living Translation

Paul's Message of Wisdom

2 When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters,[a] I didn't use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God's secret plan.[b] 2 For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. 4 And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. 5 I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.

6 Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten. 7 No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God[c]—his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. 8 But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. 9 That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
    and no mind has imagined
what God has prepared
    for those who love him."[d]

10 But[e] it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God's deep secrets. 11 No one can know a person's thoughts except that person's own spirit, and no one can know God's thoughts except God's own Spirit. 12 And we have received God's Spirit (not the world's spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.