Tag Archives: God

Psalm 32:6-7 Urgency of Deliverance

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Psalm 32:6-7

“Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You [for forgiveness] in a time when You [are near and] may be found; Surely when the great waters [of trial and distressing times] overflow they will not reach [the spirit in] him. You are my hiding place; You, Lord, protect me from trouble; You surround me with songs and shouts of deliverance. Selah.” ‭‭Ps‬ ‭32:6-7‬ ‭AMP‬‬

What a great consolation the Word of God is! The psalmist exhorts us in vs 6 to pray with urgency to the Lord for forgiveness- which will SURELY keep keep the judgement and trial of distressing times from reaching our spirits!

This made me shout! When I read this, I felt that joy mentioned in verses 1-2 in this chapter Ps 32 – this is why we are blessed! When we come to God quickly, we will avoid the consequences and trials of sin.

There is urgency in this passage, so we should not hesitate to ask for forgiveness. The verse says, pray while the Lord is near or can be found. Sometimes, I think this means rather than God withdrawing from us, it’s because when we don’t confess and hold sin in our hearts, we become hardened and withdraw from God, putting distance between ourselves and God. Heb 4:16, exhorts us to “come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of trouble.”

Verse 7 continues, for God indeed is our hiding place and He protects us from all trouble. As we come to Him, He not only forgives us, but He truly covers us and shields us — we are always in a safe place. I especially love the last part of verse that says He surrounds us with shouts and songs of deliverance. In His presence, his declarations of victory over our lives restores us from that broken, weakened place caused by sin. How wonderful is that?!

So put on that that worship/ praise music and bask in God’s restorative presence!

Lord, Let us quickly come to your throne so that we don’t have to be overtaken by stressful circumstances caused by our sin. Help us not only to come to you, but continue to abide in Your presence. You are our hiding place, our shelter and May your restorative grace and declarations of victory build us back up and empower us to reach others that desperately need You.

Ps. 32:3-5 Confess and Be Free

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Psalms 32:3-5 NLT

When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Interlude. Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone”. Psalms‬ ‭32:3-5‬ ‭

When we hide and don’t confess our sins, the burden of it weighs us down and impacts our health and mental well-being – we groan under this great burden. Additionally, we lose strength because God’s hand of discipline is heavy on us.

So why do we continue to hide from God? Shame is a primarily reason, just as Adam hid from God in the Garden of Eden after the fall. The guilt of sin makes us feel exposed and we don’t want to be judged. Pride can also hinder us from coming to God. We would rather be right than healed and we are weakened by holding it in.

But then when we finally stop trying to hide and confess our sins to God, He frees us immediately, and the burden is lifted. Like the Psalmist, we have to talk to ourselves and encourage our souls to run to God to get the deliverance we need.

Lord, help us to confess our sins to You and not hold them back. Don’t let pride, shame or anything else keep us from coming to You so that we are unnecessarily carrying the burden of sin. Help us to come to ourselves and quickly confess our guilt – Help us to resist the tendency to hide! Father, by Your Word, the stronghold of guilt/shame to hide is broken in Jesus name. Thank You for forgiving us and freeing us from guilt, in Jesus name.

Stagger Not at the Promises

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Romans 4:20-21

Morning Mediation: Stagger Not at the Promises of God- Fully Persuaded!

I was praying with my sister this morning and Romans 4:20 popped in my mind. I love this King James Version (KJV) in the photo which is what I memorized long ago. I am putting the entire passage (New Living Translation) for full context! What a promise we have in God.

“Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb. Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous. And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.” Romans‬ ‭4:18-24‬ ‭NLT‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/116/rom.4.18-24.NLT

fullypersuaded #staggerNot

Morning Meditation: Galatians 5:24 Intention

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Galatians 5:24

“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5:24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I am so thankful that I don’t have to deal with my wayward tendencies – sinful nature on my own. I bring them to the cross and nail them there, because He alone endured the cross and was crucified for our sins. My job is to make sure that they are nailed on that cross.

It can be so hard to to let go of behaviors that may be comfortable, but harmful or detrimental to our growth. But we can bring them to Christ who carries that burden for us.

Nailing things down has a sense of permanence, a long-term resolute intention compared to simply casting off, or even tacking them down. When we nail the sinful nature, we are saying good riddance- it is a permanent separation from that former life.

It may feel like you are giving things up, but you are really setting yourself free from things that were weighing you down. Putting aside those “weights and the sin” that try to encumber us as we run this race.

Paul said, “No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”
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Lord , help us to nail our sinful nature, desires, bad habits etc to your cross and leave them there in Your capable hands. We want to be free in You and walk/ run unhindered in the life that comes by abiding in Your presence.

Morning Meditation: Galatians 5:22-23 Fruit of the Spirit

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Galatians 5:22-23

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” Gal.‬ ‭5:22-23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Many of us have heard about the fruit of the Spirit, and when we read that listing, we all want them present in our lives. Who doesn’t want love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control operating in full measure in our lives. But like any fruit, it comes from seeds that have to cultivated, watered, sometimes fertilized in order for them to grow. Many times branches have to be pruned so that more energy can go into making fruit. There is definitely a growing season, because fruit certainly doesn’t happen overnight.

Seed ✨Time ✨Harvest!

And this fruit isn’t just some extra fluffy candy – like sugar on top. Love never fails and is a sign of maturity, the Joy of the Lord is our strength! Peace guards our hearts and minds and brings wholeness, Patience brings endurance. Kindness/Goodness reveal compassion and the very nature of God toward us. Faithfulness is one of God’s attributes and requires trust in Him to follow His example. Gentleness ( meekness) is a sign of humility and Gods character, and Self control – the discipline to rule oneself, David said was greater than someone conquering a city. The Holy Spirit, our helper, empowers us with all these to live a victorious live.

This passage concludes that if we were all operating in these fruit, there is no law against it- you don’t even need a natural law! These spiritual laws are above them.

Lord, help us yield to your Spirit and allow these fruit to be developed in our hearts to bring abundant life. Have your way Holy Spirit in our lives.

Morning Meditation: Galatians 5:16 Live by the Spirit

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Galatians 5:16

“So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.” Galatians‬ ‭5:16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This sounds so simple and yet Paul describes in the following verses and elsewhere in Romans 7, the battle that we wage with our flesh to follow the Spirit, to walk in the right path, to do the right thing. There is a war within us and that’s why it’s so hard sometimes to walk in the Spirit.

I am reminded of the Native American tale of two wolves that battle inside each of us. One is evil and the other good. The one who wins is the one we feed. We are to feed the Spirit- live and be guided by the Spirit – then we won’t be moved by harmful destructive desires. My daughter used to be able to tell whether I prayed or not in the morning because I was calmer, lest hyped up.

Sewing to the Spirit in prayer, reading the word of God, fellowship with others, singing spiritual hymns and songs all magnify the sovereignty of God is every situation and put us in His presence. When we experience that peace it gets harder and harder to be shaken and distracted by life’s challenges that may have formerly caused us to derail.

Lord, help us to walk in Your Spirit where there is liberty, life and freedom, so much so that we are not tempted to cave in to sinful ways. Thank you for hiding us and strengthening us as we practice and walk this out in our daily lives. In Jesus name! #WalkintheSpirit #FeedtheSpirit

Morning meditation: Galatians 5:13 Freedom to Serve others

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Galatians 5:13

“For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5:13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I really love how Paul builds on this narrative about the freedom we have in Christ. But it comes with some parameters. After exhorting us to stay free & warning us to keep from enslaving false doctrine, this passage now provides guidance to use this freedom God provides, not just for our own benefit but to humbly serve others.

This is counter culture which glorifies serving and indulgence on selfish desires ( beyond self care). Now that we are free we should use it to love and serve others.

As Toni Morrison famously quoted “ The function of freedom is to free someone else”. This is a good paraphrase of this scripture.

Now that God has made us free. We should be conduit of Grace, love, mercy, service and freedom for others. Help us O Lord, to walk in this kind of freedom with a heart to serve and liberate others.

Morning Meditations: Galatians 5 Stay Free

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Galatians 5:1

“So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.” Galatians‬ ‭5:1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

When I read Galatians 5 at the end of October, I was really provoked to study it during this November, my birthday month, because so many verses were encouraging, spoke to self reflection, and walking in freedom! Holy Spirit Activate!

From the first verse, it starts off with a bang, proclaiming now that Christ has set us free, we need to make sure we STAY FREE! This means we have do our part in maintaining the freedom that Christ brings! And the first thing to avoid is not getting entangled in the legalistic performance based mindset of earning our way to freedom. The law of do’s and dont’s. And it says don’t get tied up AGAIN, which means that is is something that we have struggled with before. It takes effort to cast off old mindsets, unhealthy beliefs, etc to fully embrace that Christ brings!

Now thankfully, the scriptures tell us that His burden is light and that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. If we keep our focus on Christ Jesus, we are consumed with His light, His glory, His peace, His limitless possibilities and those former things no longer have power over us. Hallelujah!

Galatians 5 verses in a nutshell in following posts:
✨Stay Free
✨Who is holding you Back?
✨Use your freedom to Serve
✨Live by the Spirit
✨Fruit of the Spirit in you
✨Follow the Spirit’s Leading

Psalm 92: 9-11 Declaration of Power- Anointed to Serve

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Psalm 92:9-11

“For behold, your enemies, O Lord, for behold, your enemies shall perish; all evildoers shall be scattered. But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox; you have poured over me fresh oil. My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies; my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.” Psalm‬ ‭92:9-11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

This passage begins with The Psalmist reminding us that the Lord’s enemies ( evildoers) will perish and be scattered in comparison with the previous verse exalting the Lord as the Most High! We should never be confused about what will happen to those who do evil – their end is certain.

Then the Psalmist declares how God has strengthened him and anointed him! The Amplified version makes it even more clear, saying,
“But my horn [my emblem of strength and power] You have exalted like that of a wild ox; I am anointed with fresh oil [for Your service].”

The wild ox has not been domesticated, and so it has unharnessed power and strength. Likewise, the psalmist declares the Lord has empowered us in the same way, and He has anointed us with FRESH OIL. This is a renewed anointing and consecration to serve the Lord. The Lord gives power and strength to DO something – to fulfill the purposes and plans He has given us to accomplish!

And in vs 11, the Lord allows us to see the downfall of those things sent to distract, disrupt, undermine or destroy us. We can’t always see it every time, but it is always a blessing to experience triumphant victory over challenges.

Thank you Lord for empowering us to do what we have been called to do with renewed passion and anointing! Thank you for your Holy Spirit and grace which causes us to overcome challenges and persevere through our own limitations!

#anointing #freshoil #victory

Psalm 92:8 The Most High

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Psalm 92:8

“But you, O Lord, will be exalted forever.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭92:8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Several versions say You, O Lord are On High forever. The lord Most High is one of the names of God, Elyon in Hebrew.

This middle verse directs our attention back to God who is above all. He dwells and reigns in the highest, in all His majesty and splendor. He reigns on High forever even as other rise and fall. Glory to God! Glory to God in the Highest!

Lord we exalt You and praise Your name! You alone are worthy of our worship and praise! You are our Eternal Lord, from everlasting to everlasting. Be glorified. #TheMostHigh #Elyon #BeExalted