Posts with the category “2024-21-days”

Psalm 150“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.” (Psalm 150:6)God is good and always worthy of our praise. Take a moment and think about all the good things in your life that God has blessed you with. Yes, your family, friends, home, and job are definitely worthy of praise. Keep counting your blessings and then give God your praise! Have you praised Him for your salvatio...  Read More

Psalm 143Revival simply means to be restored. It reminds me of a campfire. When the fire appears to have died out on the surface, there is still a small ember waiting to rekindle the flame. It just has to be stoked.As Christians we face trials, have doubts, and endure spiritual battles. At times our flames of passion begin to fade and our faith is tested. The great news is that in the midst of the...  Read More

Psalm 133I remember a time several years ago, when we took our youth group to a conference called the Ramp. While we were in worship service, several hundred kids were worshipping the Lord, then the worship team stopped the music and all you could hear were the voices of the whole room worshipping the Lord in one accord. There was no direction from anyone, and there was nobody leading a song; it w...  Read More

Psalm 127“Unless the LORD builds a house, its builders labor over it in vain.”Each passing year contains trials which lead to a new year filled with fresh desires. The optimism of a new year with new hopes and dreams can take many shapes and forms. Maybe it's a better job or better health, maybe it’s more money or a bigger house. The notion of being successful in material terms is not in and of it...  Read More

Psalm 121Asking for help is about the last thing I want to do. It does not come easily to ask for help and sometimes I don't realize how much help I may need in a situation until someone steps in. Or, a task becomes too overwhelming and then the last resort seems to kick in and I am forced to ask for help. That question usually comes with the added statement, "if not, its ok," because I can't seem...  Read More

Psalm 116What are you thankful for? Kids, grandkids, a house, a job, money? I’m thankful for most of these things but let's remember, these things are from God. He has blessed us with these things.What am I thankful for? First and most importantly, I am thankful for forgiveness. I am thankful thatGod allowed Jesus Christ to take care of my mistakes. I mess up too often, but I am so thankful for th...  Read More

Psalm 95Worship is one of the ways we express our love and appreciation for God saving us. To worship God is to come bow before Him, and to show how much He is worth to us. We can express worth to Him through song, and through obedience. We are reminded in scripture to do all things whole- heartedly as though working for God and not for man. The way we live our lives shows worship to God, and when...  Read More

Psalm 91Mentally, Psalm 91 is an anxiety-busting balm for my soul. It’s a reminder that I'm so important that God commands his angels to guard me. It’s a reminder that I have to go through the difficult time I’m facing. But while I’m going through it, He is my fortress; He is my refuge.They say there are two absolutes in life, taxes and death. There is a third, hard times. They’re coming, just end...  Read More

Psalm 84When I volunteered to write a devotion on “church” I planned on going down the “what is church" rabbit hole. As I read through Psalm 84, it became clear that “what does the word church mean” was not where this Psalm was leading me. So, before finishing this reading today please read Psalm 84; I’ll wait.Over the past few months, I’ve had a series of interruptions that have kept me from atte...  Read More

Psalm 60Last year as we studied Israel crossing the Jordan into the Promised Land, Pastor Rick had us write a word on a rock to make memorial stones for our lives. My rock says “Restored” and it lives on my mantle as a regular reminder that the Lord does restore.Psalm 60:1-3 says: “O God, You have cast us off;You have broken us down;You have been displeased;Oh, restore us again!2 You have made the...  Read More

Psalm 51In Psalm 51 we see how and why David is called “a man after God’s own heart”. David has been confronted by his friend and prophet, Nathanial, about his sin of adultery with Bathsheba and organizing the murder of her husband. This is clearly a dark time in his life, and we see that being a man after God’s own heart is not about how good you are, but how you respond in life. David appeals to...  Read More

Psalm 46When Pastor Rick gave me a list of words to write about, I struggled with which one I shouldchoose. As I went back and forth between the words "praise," "unity," and "help," I stopped for asecond and prayed, "Which one, Lord?" He said, "Neither." Instead, He led me to the word "stillness" -the one I struggle with the most, letting my mind and body be still and listen.I have a hard time shu...  Read More

Psalm 42If we look back at our experiences with God throughout our lives, it's easy to identify places where He felt so close, and where we could sense we were right where we were supposed to be. The Israelites would establish altars at these times – landmarks that would stand through the ages, pointing to the Lord's works among His people.But not every place the Israelites traveled is marked by a...  Read More

Psalm 32Forgiveness is great unless we are the ones that have to offer it. We feel like we are letting someone off the hook that has hurt or wronged us. After all, the world tells us that to get ahead we need to get revenge, not forgive. We resent the other person and, at times, seem to enjoy it. Saint Augustine is quoted as saying, “Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other per...  Read More

Psalm 30:2 says, “O Lord my God, I cried out to You and You healed me.” I lived this verse in 2012. On February 28, 2012, I went to the emergency room with unbearable stomach pain. A few days later, I had major colon surgery to remove a tumor. I was 33 with two kids under the age of four. I remember crying out to the Lord during that time, asking for His will to be done and praying that He would h...  Read More

Psalm 23Close your eyes for a moment and imagine sitting in a pasture beside those still waters. Can you feel that? Peacefulness.This peace isn’t merely the nonexistence of hard times, but a deeply rooted, abiding restfulness that comes from knowing Jesus and knowing He is our shepherd.The scripture states that there will be times when we might feel afraid or unsettled. That same scripture also sa...  Read More

Psalm 19Jesus is the Word! The Bible is God's written account of the Living Word (John 1:1, John 5:39-40).Jesus is the greatest pray-er in the Bible; He is our pattern (Mark 1:35). His Spirit is our Power (Ephesians 6:18, Romans 8:26-27).Jesus teaches us these things about prayer:1. Precedence - Prayer precedes everything in our walk with Jesus. It is the oxygen that invigorates us to action (Matt...  Read More

Psalm 12Psalm 12 reflects David’s plea for God's intervention in a world filled with deceit and unfaithfulness. The opening verses in this chapter paints a stark picture of a society where truth seems scarce and the faithful appear to be diminishing. Sound familiar? Kind of feels like our society today. Yet, amid the chaos, David turns to the Lord as the unchanging source of refuge.In times of mor...  Read More

Psalm 8Psalm 8 is a well-known chapter that sings the praises of God for how He chose to include youand I in his beautiful work of creation. We are not only part of God’s creation, but we werebestowed the title of rulers of all that was created. In my opinion, the most profound verses ofPsalm 8 read as follows. “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that youcare for him?” The...  Read More

Psalm 5“YAHWEH” – The most sacred name for God in Bible times was only spoken aloud by the priestsin the Jerusalem temple. After the destruction of the temple in AD 70, it was not spoken aloudat all. The name was translated to Adonay (or Adonai). As I was thinking about this, it becameso special to me that God allows me to come before His throne and call upon His holy name in apersonal way for wha...  Read More

Psalm 1When I think of righteousness, the first thing that comes to mind is the breastplate of righteousness out of the book of Ephesians. The purpose of the breastplate of righteousness is to protect our heart against sin and the enemy’s attacks. It is supernatural armor!  We all make mistakes but God is merciful. The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy but God comes to give life and give it ...  Read More