Tag: Psalm 103

Posted in Bible Journaling, Easter, Forgiveness, Health

Renewed Like the Eagle’s

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Most every day since the heart attack has been filled with a plethora of emotions. There are days I feel awesome! And I appreciate those days because they’ve been less than more. I ask not for pity. It’s just the process of aging and the result of having poured more junk into the vessel the Lord gave me rather than healthy fuels. The truth hurts… sometimes literally.  The same is true spiritually.

I’ve spent a lot of time in the book of Psalms lately. It’s my go to place when I’m in need of encouragement. Most likely because I can relate to many of them which were penned by David, who certainly experienced more than one lifetime of emotions through tribulations and celebrations.  Take Psalm 103… Just in the first 5 verses it describes my day to day:

That is my prayer this morning as I approach the Easter weekend and attempt to dry nigh to the Lord Jesus. It’s difficult when you’re in the flesh and throwing a pity party for your aching arthritic bones. I find myself saying “Oh my stars!” more than “Oh my soul!”

Which is exactly why I needed to fuel my body with His words instead of mine!

The Benefit Package

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

While insurance companies are paying less and less on the average health care bill, the benefits of serving the Lord have been multiplied. A fact I need to remember. As a matter of fact it’s a prescription dose we all need this week.

Because of the cross our benefit package is out of this world. There is nothing that our God cannot do so long as it’s His will. And His will is for certain that His children walk in truth and joy.

However when you reach 40 and over, your responsibilities have likely changed considerably. Most will have families, mortgages and debt, which makes life-insurance an attractive option to ensure financial protection should the unthinkable happen. But for you to know the reasons why you might consider getting life insurance in your 40s, you can visit a helpful site like lifecoverquotes.org.uk for more info!

The Prescription Plan

3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

In 2017 I took no medication. At the beginning of 2018 I took 2, by mid 2018 to now I’ve been on 9-13 daily meds to make this body of mine function. How ridiculous is that!

Well, I may not like it, but it’s what keeps me going. Missing anyone of those pills can make life difficult. The same holds true with my spirituality. Failure to take the prescribed daily dosage of God’s word and time in His presence takes its toll on me. I feel terrible. And not only that,  I miss the blessing of feeling clean and whole through His forgiveness. And for certain I lose sight of the fact that He has the power to heal this body and strengthen me for His service.

The Forgiveness Clause

4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;

This was an “oh my stars!” moment for me today. Only God has the power to take back the damage that I have inflicted to this soul and body. He created me, through sin and poor decisions I destroyed me, through doctors and medicine He restored me, but He can just as well heal me. He has that ability and His mercy may go there… or it may not. But either way He has given me so many opportunities I did not deserve. Yes Glory to God it is an Oh My Stars! Kind of day.

Open Enrollment

5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Unlike the insurance world enrollment isn’t limited to a certain time. It’s any time. God’s ready and willing for us to use our benefits and renew our relationship with Him. This is a good week to think about that…

Posted in Bible Journaling, Church attendance, Life Inspiration, Praise

It’s Not about Us this Morning

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A quick drawing and a quick thought this morning as I prepared my heart for church. I needed to remember, and perhaps you do as well, that God’s idea of mercy and mine are two entirely different notions. Mine has limitations, His goes higher than my mind can fathom.

As I prepare my heart for worship, Satan loves nothing better than to bring my failures into view in hopes that rather than glorifying God, I’ll remember me. But the fact of the matter God has thrown them as far as the east is from the west.

Now let’s go to church and praise Him for it.

Posted in Bible Journaling, Forgiveness, Grace, Life Inspiration

The Extent of Forgiveness

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It’s not an original thought. I heard a preacher close his sermon out with it this morning, and then it was stuck in my head… which basically means that the preacher did his job!

If you’re a Christian you’ve likely heard the sermon, you know the salvation message and you understand the concept. But it is so easy to lose sight of the depth of God’s love and the extent of His forgiveness. Especially if you’re discouraged or have feelings of unworthiness.

So just what is the extent of God’s forgiveness, lest we forget?

As far as the east is from the west

As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:12)

That’s pretty far wouldn’t you say?  In God’s realm, I don’t think the east ever meets the west. God took (removed) our sins from us, and yet we so often take them back and fail to accept His gift of forgiveness. I am the worst at rehashing failures and staying in a mindset of defeat.

I need to remember what God chooses to forget. And that forgetting is a choice.

As deep as the ocean

Who is God unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retaineth not His anger forever, because He delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; and thou will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. (Micah 7:18-19)

Satan would love us to view God as angry all the time. So would a few preachers I’ve heard preach. But God does not retain His anger. It doesn’t say He doesn’t get angry. I believe that with the worst, despicable sins out there, God gets angry. When a child is abused, or a heart broken by broken vows and abuse, God’s upset. But at the first sign of repentance of that sinner, God is ready and willing to forgive. The word says He delights in it! It brings God great joy for us to come to Him in search of a renewed relationship. It is then that He casts our sins in the depths of the sea. That’s not only a deep thought, that’s a deep location.

Never Void

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11)

This is a verse we often use to remind ourselves that anytime the word is preached, it always serves a purpose. But have you thought of yourself being the recipient of it? If God spoke it to you, it was spoken with purpose and its purpose will be fulfilled. So when we read these verses as personal, we understand that they are written to prosper us. To help us live a life of joy and abundance through the price Christ paid on the cross to cover our sins.

I wrote these verses down in the back of my bible under the title “The extent of Forgiveness.” I want them handy so I can show myself, my friends and for certain Satan. He seems to need reminded a lot.

Posted in Church attendance, Life Inspiration, Life's Failures, salvation

The Old Man is Dead!

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Chick new

Romans 6:6 ~ Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

I may not recall the first time I heard the song, “The Old Man Is Dead,” but I can recall that every time I hear it my soul is deeply stirred within. It’s a powerful message for the believer when they understand that their guilt is buried deep in the grave of the past, never to be remembered by the Savior. David said in Psalm 103:12 ~ As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.  And yet I see so many children of God living in defeat day after day. I’m not talking the occasional “oops” that can happen to any of us at the drop of a hat, but I’m talking about a continual drifting away from God until He is so far removed the conviction is nigh on gone… but not quite.

There’s something about the scars of a crucifixion that run deep. And even though ours is a spiritual crucifixion, not a literal one as Christ bore, the scars are still there. That day of salvation when reminisced upon cannot help but bring with it a desire to be that clean again. For those who have gotten themselves away from Christ, and are back out in the world of sin it’s like the zombie apocalypse in your own life! The old man was dead and you resurrected him (or her as the case may be.) Now you’re walking around with your sins hanging out all over for all the world to see. They can’t be in you, because the Holy Spirit dwells there, you’re forgiven! But because you’ve chosen to go back into the world you have  this dead junk hanging all over you, dragging you down day after day, bringing no pleasure whatsoever but you’re stuck. You know the world sees you as a sinner, not as a saint; and if you go back to church they’ll see you as a hypocrite. So Satan has you where he wants you, hanging out with zombies.

So what’s the answer?

There is only one answer to getting rid of the zombie crowd and that’s the blood of Jesus Christ. It miraculously will wash away the sin of alcohol, sex, drugs, and any other immoral act you could have possibly committed when the zombies reigned. But don’t try to go it alone. You knew it was coming… you need church! There’s a reason Christians hung out together in the Bible and they still hang together today, because there’s safety and encouragement in numbers, and you’re in need of both. You’ll need the safety of their prayers and the encouragement of their company.

I pray you’ll hear the message today whether you stumbled upon this blog, or if someone sent it to you because they know you’ve been hanging with zombies. Have you distanced yourself from God, but you can still hear His faint cry… come home. Or perhaps you’ve never gotten rid of the old man at all, and you’ve got sin inside and out. Christ has got that covered too. When He was crucified He went to Zombieville and took the keys to death, hell and the grave. All that junk and heartache you’ve been carrying around will just fall off when you speak the name of Jesus, and ask Him to save your soul and come into your life. It’s true!

Tell the old man to get packin’… you’ve got new friends!

Posted in Life Inspiration, Life's Failures

Deserving of Mercy?

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mercy-grace-21585658

Who deserves it? Certainly not I. This is something that is a daily struggle in my walk with Christ. So much so that it is often detrimental to my service because I’m always feeling lower than a snail’s belly. Maybe it’s not so with you, but for the record I’m a wretched sinner. No, I’m not going to confess it to you, you’re not God. Just trust me, okay. And although confession is good for the soul I’ve seen too many people’s lives turn into an episode of Jerry Springer and he’s not in the building. James 5:16 does say “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” But it doesn’t say for you to air your dirty laundry or somebody else’s on Facebook and Twitter. A close friend will do nicely. Whew! That was tangent of a commercial break. Now back to the message.

So who does deserve mercy?

Psalm 103:17-18

17 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children;

18 To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.

God’s Property for God’s People

Mercy is “of the Lord.” It’s entirely up to Him and His righteousness on who He chooses to dole it out upon. I know one thing for certain, I’ve been extended an abundance of mercy. But that’s okay, because there’s an endless supply. His word said it was “everlasting to everlasting.” That’s a really long time. For those that fear him. That’s the child of God. He or she who has made a confession of faith that Jesus Christ is Lord, crucified for our personal sin, risen again the third day, proving He alone has the power over death, Hell and the grave and now is our intercessor at the throne of God providing forgiveness for our sins, and yes, mercy. It’s one of the awesome benefits of a child of God that we take for granted, until we need it. And then we’re begging for it. It’s there for not only us but for our “children’s children.” My Grandbabies! I am the Mama of Mercy when it comes to them, I extend it far above what I should or so my children say. I consider it a privilege of grand parenting to have that right. That’s probably not actually biblical, but to say that God has the right to extend mercy to the undeserving is true.

God’s Promise to God’s People

If you’re disobedient you have no promise of God’s mercy, you may receive it, but you’ll not have peace in the process. But the Word says “To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.”  To them mercy is promised. Those who believe in the New Covenant, which is Jesus Christ, but not forsaking the law. Yes, Christ died because man couldn’t keep the law, but that didn’t make the law of no effect. We will sin, but we’re to turn from it and repent to God in sincerity. You cannot live in blatant sin and expect the mercy to continue to rain down upon you. But, to the child of God who sincerely tries to live in the ways of Christ, they have a promise!

I must confess again, I’m not the keeper of the faith. I fail God so often it’s ridiculous. Please live better than me. I’m trying to live closer to the foot of the cross, I want that promise and the peace.

May God’s mercy be with us all…