Category: Psalms

9/17/2024 0 Comments

With My Eye on You

It did not make sense. John needed to make a difficult financial decision, and the smart move, according to his advisor, was to invest in a quality dividend growth fund to gain more financial stability. But as he prayed about this, he did not have peace. More unsettling, He felt God leading him to give to a single mom in his church who was facing eviction from her apartment along with her two young children. He knew she could not pay him back if he gave her the money; to his surprise, his wife was okay with that. She agreed with what John felt God was leading. So, they gave Steph the money.

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8/23/2024 1 Comment

A Crime More Despicable

Meditation
1 Samuel 25:2,3--A man in Maon had a business in Carmel; he was a very rich man with 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats and was shearing his sheep in Carmel. The man’s name was Nabal, and his wife’s name, Abigail. The woman was intelligent and beautiful, but the man, a Calebite, was harsh and evil in his dealings.

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6/15/2024 0 Comments

Emotions Matter

“Why is it that so many Christians make such lousy human beings?” So asks Peter Scazzero in his book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality (p.23).[1] Scazzero goes on to share the top ten symptoms of Jesus-followers who are emotionally unhealthy.
1. Using God to run from God
2. Ignoring the emotions of anger, sadness, and fear
3. Dying to the wrong things
4. Denying the past’s impact on the present
5. Dividing our lives into “secular” and “sacred” compartments
6. Doing for God instead of being with God
7. Spiritualizing away conflict
8. Covering over brokenness, weakness, and failure
9. Living without limits
10. Judging other people’s spiritual journey (p. 24).

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1/14/2024 1 Comment

I Am Claiming God's Goodness

At the beginning of each year, I select a passage from Scripture to be my verse(s) for the year. This year, I picked Psalm 65:11.

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8/2/2023 0 Comments

Thinking of You

When there is a death in the family, it is so encouraging to see people rally around and step up to provide support and comfort through meals, cards, flowers, phone calls, and just being present to listen, console, and encourage. The sting of death is not erased; the pain is real and sometimes overwhelming, but a caring community can and does make a difference.

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11/24/2020 1 Comment

Thankful

It will go down in history as perhaps mankind’s most bizarre year. Never has the entire globe in unison shut down because of a virus. Restrictions in travel, work, recreation, size of gatherings etc., have ruined businesses, increased the number of suicides and deaths for those with other ailments who cannot be hospitalized, amped fear to unprecedented levels, and created a huge divide in opinion over what should or should not be done. Meanwhile political unrest, rolling waves of violence, storms and disasters add to the cacophony of 2020.

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7/31/2020 0 Comments

I & II Samuel

If you want to read great books on leadership, read 1st and 2nd Samuel. Early tradition suggests that 1 and 2 Samuel were originally one book in scripture so I will do my best to examine the combined 55 chapters and share key leadership lessons. No author is named for these books but scholars largely credit the prophets Samuel, Nathan and Gad. Based on 1 Sa. 27:6, the writing may not have been completed until about 930 B.C.[1]

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6/14/2019 0 Comments

Psalm 15--Unmovable

Have you ever wondered, What do I have to do to live a stable life, to not be twisted with every fierce wind of opposition or pulled from what is right to what is ultimately degrading? How can I have the kind of healthy fellowship with God that will bring joy and fulfillment?

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7/20/2017 0 Comments

Praising God's Greatness

Meditation
Psalm 145:1—I exalt You my God the King, and praise Your name forever and ever.

Psalm 145 is one of my favorite psalms in the Bible. Aside from the eleven different verbs or participles used to praise or recognize God, the entire twenty-one verses are a tribute to God’s greatness. The predominant verb is the word praise (used six times). In addition, the words exalt, honor, declare, proclaim, speak, give a testimony, sing, thank, and informing, are used in the Holman translation. Five times God’s greatness is specifically highlighted.

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1/31/2017

Three Powerful Phrases

Meditation
Psalm 86:11—Teach me Your way, Yahweh, and I will live by Your truth. Give me an undivided mind to fear Your name.

King David’s prayer request is one of my favorite passages in the Bible and was my key verse for 1994. When we break it into its natural three phrases there is so much we can apply.

12/30/2015 0 Comments

Psalm 91 for Protection

Peggy Joyce Ruth and Angela Ruth Schum wrote stimulating stories to complement their verse by verse analysis of Psalm 91 in their book Psalm 91 God’s Shield of Protection. They also compiled a stirring collection of stories from people who experienced, first-hand God’s protection as a result of claiming passages in Psalm 91—by faith.

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10/20/2015

Psalm 101 for Leaders

Psalm 101 is a terrific passage for leaders. King David essentially makes a vow of integrity and we get a clear view into what he saw as important as a leader.

First, David commits to worship. “I will sing of faithful love and justice; I will sing praise to You, LORD.” (vs. 1) As leaders when we put God first, we walk in the right direction. Worship sets the foundation for integrity. It is pretty hard to sin when we are in worship!

11/11/2014

Splendid and Majestic

Meditation
Psalm 111:2,3—The LORD’s works are great, studied by all who delight in them. All that He does is splendid and majestic; His righteousness endures forever.