Tag Archives: inspiration

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.

Psalms 32:1-2 Have JOY today!

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Ps 32:1-2

“Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!” Psalms‬ ‭32:1-2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There is great joy in having our transgressions/disobedience forgiven – our sin is put out of sight or covered. They are not only covered but removed! Ps 103: 12 says “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.” We are blessed indeed!


Ps 32:2 continues that the blessing and joy is not only because we have been forgiven, but the Lord also removes the guilt and shame associated with our sin/ transgression AND we can live our lives in complete honesty and transparency- free of deceit! Our records are wiped clean. That sounds a lot like freedom to me!

I am reminded of when you have been given an expensive parking or camera ticket and you are driving around fearful or dreading another one. But when that ticket has been paid or has been thrown out, you are not only elated that it is gone, you move about with greater freedom because it’s no longer hanging over your head.

Lord, I thank You for the joy You bring in forgiving my transgressions and covering and delivering me from sin! Thank You also for the joy and blessing of wiping our records free from the guilt of sin and allowing us to live without deceit, in complete honesty! We declare victory over every intrusive thought that tries to make us relive the guilt and shame associated with the transgression. We are forgiven, Hallelujah! Help us walk boldly and freely in victory 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 5:22-23 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 meditation: Galatians 5:7-10 Course Correction: Who’s holding you back?

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Galatians 5:7-10

“You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth? It certainly isn’t God, for he is the one who called you to freedom. “This false teaching is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough! I am trusting the Lord to keep you from believing false teachings. God will judge that person, whoever he is, who has been confusing you. Gal‬ ‭5:7-10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There is so much in Galatians 5! This passage immediately follows the exhortation in vs 5 Christ has set you free! NOW make sure that you STAY FREE! Like a good. friend, Paul continues in verse 7 paraphrasing , You were doing so well – WHO is detracting you from the truth which guides your purpose, goals, (insert whatever else).

This is a pause to examine your relationships or whoever you have been listening too! The news? A new distraction? Paul is clear it is a WHO. In this case, he is calling out false teaching that was requiring an old practice of circumcision as a requirement of righteousness. It had an “appearance” of a good thing to show off our intention, but Paul called it out as false principle that was gaining traction!

This distraction is clearly not from God either, who is calling us into Freedom! God knows us so well and our propensity to fall into performative works based religion, rather faith-based relationship!

Likewise, it may not seem like a big thing to you ( or it may even appear like it’s in alignment) but as Paul notes, if it is not judged it is like yeast where a tiny bit permeates the whole loaf! We must nip this thing in the bud!

As we bring these things to God, He will keep us from believing whatever may cause us to detour, AND HE will judge the person who caused the confusion. So thankful that God gives us counsel and provides these course corrections to keep us on the path of Freedom #Thankful

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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

Reflections Psalms 92:4-5

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“You thrill me, Lord, with all you have done for me! I sing for joy because of what you have done. O Lord, what great works you do! And how deep are your thoughts.”
Psalms‬ ‭92:4-5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

When we consider all that God has done for us personally and His wonderful works- His creation, His omnipotence, His salvation and His great love, we are filled with elation and joy!

David wondered in awe in Ps 8, how the God who made the glorious stars and heavens was mindful of us mere humans, to care for, empower and lavish His love on us.

Job exclaimed after his tribulations in Job 42, of things “to wonderful for me” when he finally saw who God truly was. He was complaining about His circumstances and had a limited view of who God was, but then experienced God is a new way and found joy.

The word joy is mentioned over 100 times in the Bible and “rejoice” is mentioned over 60 times. It is an essential component in our walk with God, and it’s source is derived and fueled by God Himself. This joy that God provides strengthens us to remain steadfast, optimistic and hopeful in challenging times. (Neh. 8:10)

While these verses focus on praising God for what He has done, we can always sing praises to God whether we are on the mountain top or in the valley- because God is always worthy, always good. He inhabits our praises, and in His presence there is always fullness of Joy, there is life, light and peace. Thank you Lord! #Rejoice #Joy #Praise #godshandiwork