Devotions 31-05-07

Ps 118:27-29

The Lord is God and He has given us light; bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I give thanks to You; You are my God, I extol You. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His lovingkindness is everlasting.

The Lord is God not a god. He alone can give us true light. Light that reveals truth and wrong. I am not sure what that next phrase has to deal with but I will pass over it today. But I do see the need to declare that God is my God and I must give Him thanks and to also exalt Him. What a privilege to know that God knows me and I know Him. I have a fresh relationship with Him whenever I spend time with Him and communicate with Him. Oh, to remember all the time that God is good and does no evil nor does He tempt anyone with evil. Also His lovingkindness is always there; it is not temporary but everlasting. God does not show us just kindness which would be great but it is loving kindness. Often it is translated mercy.

There is so much to apply from these verses to my life. The Lord is my God. He has given me light in order to live my life. He gives me a grateful spirit and attitude. He reminds me that He is good; there is no evil in Him. He is also loving and kind which is not just sometime but all the time. Oh, Lord help me to never forget these truths; burn them in my mind and character. Help me to live confidently that these truths will forever be in our relationship.

Devotions 30-05-07

Ps 118:19-21

"Open to me the gates of righteousness; I shall enter through them, I shall give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous will enter through it. I shall give thanks to You, for You have answered me; and You have become my salvation."

The psalmist has made a statement of faith. He said to the Lord if You will open to me the gate to righteousness I will go through it. Of course to walk through that gate makes you very grateful to the Lord. He recognized that this gate belongs only to the Lord and only those who exercise faith can go through it. He again expresses thankfulness because God has answered his request of faith. Now he has experienced the salvation of God which is to know Him personally. It is so simple but also so very profound.

God has not just given me salvation but He has become my salvation. It is a personal relationship that has changed my life forever. He revealed to me the gate of righteousness by His grace and lovingkindness . By faith I said I would go through that gate and that gate belongs to the Lord but in fact it is the Lord.
To know God and have His salvation produces in me such a gratefulness for everything. Oh Lord, I am so grateful for all You have given to me but most of all the privilege of having a personal relationship with You. Help me not to keep it to myself but to share it with all those who You bring into my path. Give me boldness and courage to share it with the great and the small.

Devotions 29-05-07

Ps 118:16-18

The right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly. I shall not die, but live, and tell of the works of the Lord. The Lord has disciplined me severely, but He has not given me over to death.

Authority or power is the right hand in scripture. So I could say that the authority of the Lord is exalted; the authority of the Lord does valiantly. In the military the ranking officer is always on the right hand.

God's authority is exalted or praised. The authority of God always does valiantly against all evil and those who reject His authority. He has authority over my life and disciplines me when I do wrong. God desires that I be busy about telling the world about His mighty works. He may severely discipline me but He will not put me to death. There is sin in which He will put me to death but it is vague in scripture what that might be. My concern is that I stay as far away from sin as I can so I never come close to that category. The authority of the Lord is comforting and not fearful.

Lord, I want to be an obedient son and servant of Yours. I want to listen to your commands and follow what You say. I truly want to tell of Your great works to the world in which I live. I want to accept Your discipline respectfully and learn from Your instructions. Oh, Lord help me in my weakness and help me to live in Your strength and not mine.

Devotions 25-05-07

Ps 118:6-9

The Lord is for me; I will not fear; what can man do to me? The Lord is for me among those who help me; therefore I shall look with satisfaction on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.

What a comfort to know that God is my most faithful supporter and He is worthy of my complete trust. Others can deceive me and trick me or trap me but God will not let them succeed. Even when I am around those who hate me the Lord will be my protection and will not allow their evil against me to do me harm.

Even princes of men can not be trusted like the Lord. They do not have the character and wisdom as the Lord so still the Lord is my best confidant or refuge. So I should spend much of my time knowing my Lord and sharing my heart with Him. I should seek His counsel and wisdom in whatever I do.

I can say all these nice words but how do I truly do this. First of all it requires time and in a busy world that requires a strong determination that this is the best use of my time. If I am too busy to spend time with God then I am truly too busy and must cut something out to make time for Him. Time with God in His Word and in Prayer is the best investment of time that I have. Lord keep me ever faithful to this time with You.

Devotions 24-05-07

Ps 116:5-7

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yes, our God is compassionate. The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me. Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

Lord, I am under much stress with some developing health issues, the car, and a lot of things out of my control. I have cried out to You and I know You hear. This morning I was reading Ps 116 and was comforted.

I know You are gracious and righteous and I am so very grateful and yes, You are loving and compassionate. No one can come close to qualities that You possess. I have been so low so many times and You have always saved me. I know You will not forsake me.

So I must be at rest because the Lord has dealt with me so wonderfully and I can never Praise Him enough for all His goodness to me. I must trust You completely for all I am or have. Bless my dear wife and all my children and generations to come. What a joy they all have been to me. I am truly a rich man because of Your goodness.

Today is Melanie's 45th birthday and I am so blessed by her. I pray she will be blessed by You and delivered from all that has come upon her. Lord, give me wisdom in all I need to do today. I need Your presence and power to accomplish what should be done this day.

Devotions 23-05-07

Ps 113:1-3
Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord. Praise the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forever. From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised.

There is a Christian chorus that I like a lot that has used these words. Now I know why I like it so much. It is exalting the name of my Lord. That is what this whole Psalm 113 is about. I must have the name of the Lord always on my tongue giving Praise to my Lord.

The world and the evil in the world is always using the Lord's name to curse and dishonor the name of the Lord. Many do not even know why they use the Lord's name to curse others but it is the work of evil and the evil one, the devil.

What a wonderful song to sing thoughout my day. I must do this more during my days. I do want to have the praise of the Lord and His name on my lips as much as I can. O that I could influence others to praise Him more as well. He is so worthy of praise for all the miracles of goodness He has done.

Devotions 22-05-07

Ps 112:1-3
Praise the Lord! How blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commandments. His descendants will be mighty on earth; the generations of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.

How do I keep "Praise the Lord" sincere and not a routine word that I say and do not bring my emotions and heart into it. I think I should whisper a prayer immediately or even out loud if the situation permits. Making it more a call to prayer and praise than just a statement.

A person will be truly blessed who has a deep respect for the Lord and knows the treasure of what He commands us to do. His children and grandchildren will have a great influence in their land. God has determined that the generations of godly people will be blessed by Him. They will be prosperous and their righteousness will last forever. What an amazing promise to God's faithful children.

Lord, I need Your help to be disciplined in what I desire to do. I am grateful for Your words to me day by day. I do want to cherish them and to make them a part of my thinking and how I live. I wish I could memorize these each day and not forget them forever. Lord help me to remember them today and to share with someone what You have shared with me. O Lord I do Praise You for all You are and bow in deep respect and love to You.

Devotions 21-05-07

Ps 111:1-3
Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart, in the company of the upright and in the assembly. Great are the works of the Lord; they are studied by all who delight in them. Splendid and majestic is His work; and His righteousness endures forever.

The Lord is worthy of my praise and I must keep His praise always on my lips. I must also keep my heart filled with thanks for all God is doing in my life. Oh, the power and blessing of a thankful heart. I want to do this with my friends and small groups of gatherings and also when I am in the congregation of larger groups of believers.

God did a great work yesterday evening as we were coming back from Tartu. We nearly hit a car broadside that went through a yellow light more speedy than he should. We were also going through the yellow light in our lane to quickly as well. Romain hit the breaks hard and we barely bushed the other car and no one was hurt and there was no damage to either car. It could have been a fatal accident to the people in the other car. God did a great work in sparing us all. I must study this work of God and seek to learn all He wants to teach me. I must acknowledge that it is God that protected everyone and not give credit to luck or quick thinking but to God alone.

The work of God is so splendid and majestic and that is why I need to study all the work that God does around me and for me. I can learn and be reminded of how great God truly is. He is righteous and His righteousness will last forever. I can always be confident that His work is done for that which is right. It is good and for my good.

I am amazed at the closeness we came to a bad accident and yet it was so perfectly avoided. Only God could do what was done. I want to proclaim this work of God to individuals and to people wherever I am. I want God to receive the glory and be exalted as the One who does splendid and majestic deeds. I want to do this with all the works of God in my life and not only the ones that are so beautiful.

I know all His works have a purpose to bring Him honor and glory. Even the ones that are very difficult to understand such as my weeks and months of loss of energy and strength. I am grateful to learn more about myself in this time of weakness and my growth in prayer that God has brought into my life. Thank You Lord for Your great love for me and teaching me to trust You in all of the works that You do in my life.

Devotions 18-05-07

Ps 109:26-27
Help me, O Lord my God; save me according to Your lovingkindness. and let them(those who are evil and seek to do me harm)know that this is Your hand; You, Lord have done it.

David was struggling with people who were seeking to do him harm when he had not done anything to them. It might be people or circumstances that is preventing me to do what I feel God is asking me to do. At this point I must cry out to the Lord and ask for His help.

I want others who are watching me know that it is God who has done the work or the miracle and not anything in me. God wants to be glorified because He truly is doing all the work and I am but a channel through which He can work. What a privilege and a blessing to be His servant and allow Him to do wonderful things in the world so the world may see what God does for those who love Him.

So as I seek to serve the Lord in Estonia I pray that others who know me may see that it is the hand of the Lord that is doing great things and not me. Lord, you know my struggles and those who oppose me in winning the lost and discipling. Give me the strength and wisdom in knowing how to answer my critics and those who do not understand what I am seeking to do in the lives of others.

Devotions 17-05-07

Ps 108:1-3
My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing, I will sing praises, even with my soul. Awake, harp and lyre; I will awaken the dawn! I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples; and I will sing praises to You among the nations.

David was determined to sing praises to the Lord and not only to sing but that this expression of praise would could from his soul. This deep emotion from the depth of his being. He would do this even before the sun had risen. He would be singing praises to God before the dawn and the dawn would hear and begin to rise.

David purposed to give thanks to the Lord and to do it among the peoples around him. He wanted his people to see his example and they would also give the Lord thanks. He also wanted the nations to see his faith and confidence in God and they would do the same. He wanted everyone to know The Almighty God who had been so good and gracious to him.

So do people around me see my thankfulness to God and see my praise of God in all I do? How should I do this? I thought my blog would be one way of doing this but I am not sure this is working that well. I must do it personally with those who are close to me and those who know me where I live and work. Oh, to be determined as David and to honor the Lord in all I do.

Devotions 16-05-07

Ps 107:1-3
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His lovingkindness is everlasting. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary, and gathered from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.

God is truly good and does what is good for me and for every person He has created. God will always show lovingkindness to His creation and that includes me. He especially wants me as part of the redeemed of His creation to tell to the rest of those who are yet unredeemed of His great plan of deliverance from our adversary, the devil.

Lord, I do want to be to speak to the lost about Your wonderful plan of salvation to the whole world. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to Johanna and her boy friend in Helsinki and to the man from India at breakfast the next morning. Lord, I want to be able to do a better job at sharing my faith and my love for You and Your marvelous plan of salvation.

Lord, I do thank You for the opportunity to be a living witness of Your Grace and Love to everyone. I know I must do a better job than I have been doing. Give me alertness and boldness to speak of Your Love and the simplicity of Your salvation plan for everyone. Lord, guide me in prayer this morning for the burdens You have placed on my heart for others.

Devotions 14-05-07

Ps 106:1-3
Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His loving kindness is everlasting. Who can speak of the mighty deeds of the Lord, or can show forth all His praise? How blessed are those who keep justice, who practice righteousness at all times!

What a wonderful statement of respect and honor to our God and King. Praise the Lord! Oh, I hope it will never get to be a trite statement without heart and soul in my life. I must never forget to be thankful for all things because God is good. Oh, my friend Robert, God is good to you. Be thankful to Him for all He has brought into your life. The Lord's loving kindness will never end but will always be available to me. I nor anyone else is able to speak of all the mighty deeds of the Lord or show all His praise but we can share some and work at sharing more and more.

God has promised to bless those who do what is right and who live according to the righteousness I have been given in Christ. All my life I must focus on doing justice and living righteously. I can not do this on my own but only by the grace and kindness of God.

Lord, help me to grasp all You have said in these few verses. They seem so simple to do but it really is not that simple. I need the power of the Holy Spirit to give me the courage and the strength to do this even in the smallest measure. Thank You for reminding me of what I ought to do and Your promise to help me because of Your love for me and all those who will trust You completely.

Devotions 08-05-07

Ps 102:27-28
But You are the same, and Your years will not come to an end. The children of Your servants will continue, and their descendants will be established before You.

I am grateful to the Holy Spirit for leading me to this thought in the bible. God is eternal and His years will not come to an end. It is wonderful to be a servant of His and to serve Him all these years He has given me. It has been a very full and rich life. Tomorrow I will be 74 years old and God has been so good and gracious to me.

I do pray that my children will continue to walk with God and be established firmly before God Almighty and for generations to come they will be God's servants. What a wonderful legacy that would be to leave behind for my family and their descendants.

I can never praise the Lord of Heaven and Earth enough for His greatness and Grace which has been so bountiful to me and Lou and our family. I do want to bring Him joy and honor in what I do and how I live before Him. Hallelujah, Praise the Lord!!!

Devotions 07-05-07

Ps 100:1-2
Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful singing.

Our God is a God of joy and not of sadness. He wants us to be joyful and to trust Him for those difficult areas in our lives. He wants all the earth to be joyful. Especially those who are His children should be filled with great joy.

In my serving the Lord, it is a great privilege and I must do it with gladness and not out of duty or requirement. When I come before Him I should come with joyful singing. I used to do that more when I was younger. I need to return to those days.

I must make a list of joyful songs and begin to sing them more when I come before the Lord in prayer. There should be joy as I come to the Lord in prayer for even difficult items because I know God hears and will be my helper and refuge.

Devotions 04-05-07

Ps 98:4-6
Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; break forth and sing for joy and sing praises. Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre; with the lyre and the sound of melody. With trumpets and the sound of the horn shout joyfully before the King, the Lord.

Why is it that I do not do this very often. Is it because I have so much that is a burden to me and I do not live with joy but with cries for help. How can I solve this and live with true joy in my life. I must simplify my life and do well the few things that I can do and trust the rest to the Lord.

Lord, I must quit trying to solve every one's problems and seek for answers for my own life. I must carefully examine what I need to do and figure out the time to do it and spend the rest of the time in prayer and in the Word. For sure the main thing I must do is to spend time in Praise of the King, the Lord.

I can write these words but will I do this. It is so easy to just keep going and trying to do all that is before you. It is so hard to stop doing what you are living with and do something totally different. I think I understand why a lot of people never change their living style and are trapped in the way they have always done things. Oh, Lord, deliver me from such a rut and fruitless lifestyle. I truly want to be able to praise You with joy and gladness.

Devotions 03-05-07

Ps 97: 10-12
Hate evil, you who love the Lord, who preserves the souls of His godly ones; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Light is sown like seed for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. Be glad in the Lord, you righteous ones; and give thanks to His holy name.

Oh to be able to hate evil but to not hate those who are doing evil. It is very difficult to separate the two for me. First I must seek to hate evil myself and not allow any evil to become a part of my thinking or actions. Those who are doing evil I must pray for them to turn from their evil and give them to the Lord to deal with according to His justice and mercy.

I need not fear evil because God preserves the souls of His godly ones and promises to deliver me from the hand of the wicked. If I will do my part in hating evil then God will do His part in preserving me and protecting me from the wicked. Not only will He deliver and protect me but He gives me light into my life.

God says He will give me light like it would be seed for my growth in righteousness. There is a place in scripture that says "the entrance of God's Word gives us light" Ps 119:105 says "God's Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." I want to get as much light into my life so there is no darkness or evil in my life. I want the seed of light to grow into a blazing light that eliminate all darkness from me.

When this occurs there will be gladness and joy that will fill my heart and soul. I will be glad in the Lord and give thanks to His Holy Name.

I am so grateful to all God has done for me. Oh, how I want to hate evil and to allow His Light to fill my life completely. There are so many things I need to be doing and I need to do them in order of priority. I know I must work harder to do what is right and to turn from evil so God is able to give me light and strength.

Devotions 02-05-07

Ps 96:1-4
Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, bless His name; proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.

Songs seem to be important in our worship of God. I know that I enjoy singing to the Lord in my times alone with God. It is good to recall songs of years past that have meant so much to me. God urges me to sing a new song and not just old songs. I think He is saying fashion a song out of what you are experiencing today and keep your faith fresh before me.

When my songs to the Lord are fresh then I will more likely proclaim good tidings of His wonderful salvation every day. I will tell it to the nations are wherever I am; He has done wonderful deeds for everyone. God is great and I must praise Him for who He is and what He has done. He is to be revered and worshiped above all gods.

Lord, I need a fresh song to sing. I am not proclaiming good tidings and proclaiming your wonderful salvation as much as I should. I feel so weak and I need Your strength so very much. You are a wonderful and mighty God and I do love You so very much. In my weakness allow me to be strong in faith and to trust You to do great and mighty things for others.