Psalm 81-87

The Earth has Nothing...... Psalm 81-87

Listen to Psalm 81-87

Insight Into Scripture
Good Monday Morning! I hope that you have had a restful weekend and are ready for an awesome week in the LORD.
Over the weekend we started into book 3 of the Psalms. When you have been reading, have you noticed that these Psalms reflect the joys and pains of Israel and GOD's people?
Remember do not read these Psalms, but pray or even sign them to our LORD. The Psalm below is a good example, as you are reading or listening, I am sure that you have sung some of it's verses before in church.

Psalm 84
1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
O LORD Almighty!
2 My soul yearns, even faints, f
or the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young-
a place near your altar,
O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you. Selah
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.
8 Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty;
listen to me, O God of Jacob.
Selah
9 Look upon our shield, O God;
look with favor on your anointed one.
10 Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
the LORD bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.
12 O LORD Almighty,
blessed is the man who trusts in you.

Listen to Psalm 84

Thought for the Day
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. - Psalm 73:25-26

In the Bible there are several principles to happiness. The greatest of these is Mathew 22:37-40 where Jesus tells us, love our GOD with all our heart, soul, and mind. He then goes on to tells us to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Psalm 73:25-26 is another Kingdom principle. Our human nature is to desire. We have desires that need to be filled by something. The world is full of "Things" to satisfy these desires, and most of us do try to fullfil these desires with what the world has to offer. Relationships, sex, possesions, technology, work, the list could go on and on, and I am sure you could think of some of the desires you have tried or are still struggling with.
The problems with these desires, is that when you obtain them, they will satisfy you for awhile, but the craving for more slowly comes on again. Jesus Christ is the only one that will satisfy your need for more. I know it sounds strange that this Being, could cure your desires, but it is the truth. The closer that we come to Christ, the more you want, the more He will give. It is a relationship that you will never get your fill of, you are always finding a deeper area, and Jesus always gives more and more.
If you are not at a point in your life where you can say, "All I desire is Jesus" I would encourage you to go deeper with Jesus, seek Him and He will show Himself to you, There is no feeling like being totally satisfied with your desire. Have a wonderful day In Christ! - Jim

Psalm 60-66

Are You Honest with GOD? - Psalm 60-66

Listen to Psalm 60-66

Insight Into Scripture

I hope that you have had an exciting fourth of July. I am writing this before we go out on the fourth, but we have a very late night planned!

Just to refresh what direction we are taking, a lot of the times when we read the Bible we look for lessons, guidance, and theology. As we read through the Psalms, I would like to turn the analytical part of our brains off, and I would like to turn on the sensory and feeling parts on. Alot of the Psalms were written as prayers and songs to GOD. They were written by men who were seeking the face of GOD, praising GOD, and crying out for help. I believe that we should read them as they were meant to be.

Book 2 Chapters 42-72

Psalm 64

1 Hear me, O God, as I voice my complaint; protect my life from the threat of the enemy.

2 Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from that noisy crowd of evildoers.

3 They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their words like deadly arrows.

4 They shoot from ambush at the innocent man; they shoot at him suddenly, without fear.

5 They encourage each other in evil plans, they talk about hiding their snares; they say, "Who will see them ?"

6 They plot injustice and say, "We have devised a perfect plan!" Surely the mind and heart of man are cunning.

7 But God will shoot them with arrows; suddenly they will be struck down.

8 He will turn their own tongues against them and bring them to ruin; all who see them will shake their heads in scorn.

9 All mankind will fear; they will proclaim the works of God and ponder what he has done.

10 Let the righteous rejoice in the LORD and take refuge in him; let all the upright in heart praise him!

Listen to Psalm 64

The psalm above is written by David. I have always admired David's honesty with GOD. The fact that GOD called David a man after HIS own heart has made me want to know why GOD made such a bold statement, that HE didn't make about anyone else.

David had a relationship with GOD like one that you would have with a very good friend. I would imagine that GOD was his best friend other than the friendship that he had with Jonathan. A good friendship means being honest with the person, opening up your heart for all kinds of emotion. Knowing that your friend will accept you no matter what. We see evidence of this openness with the first verse. David asks for GOD to hear his complaint.

I bet if you talked to some people about complaining to GOD, they might tell you that you should be careful, that GOD may get angry at you for your complaints, and punish you.

Do you have that kind of relationship that David had with GOD? A totally open and honest friendship. One that you would not be afraid to speak your mind to GOD, you can do this in confidence due to the fact that you praise and worship HIM daily. When I became sick I was very angry at GOD, and I screamed and cried out to HIM many times. I know by me not holding my feelings inside, but expressing them to GOD, has helped the relationship that I have today.

He truly is my best friend, I love HIM more than my life, each day I wake and am excited for what HE has planned for me. We draw closer and closer each day, I never thought I would ever have this amazing relationship. The only way that I could have this kind of feeling is to start with an open relationship with GOD. If you do not have this kind of relationship with HIM, what is holding you back?

Psalm 40-45

Is Your Life Comfortable?

Insight Into Scripture

Delight yourself in the LORDand He will give you the desires of your heart. - Psalm 37:4

Book 2 Chapters 42-72

Good Morning! The verse above is one of my favorite's. Yes, I have a lot of them, but this one truly means alot to me because I have/am living it. It is very true! Today's devotional is a little different and I hope that you like it. :)

Thought for the Day

I have to tell you a story that happened to me today, and through this story you might be challenged or maybe it will confirm some things for you.

My parents are visiting us, they got into town on Saturday. We are having a wonderful time with them, and when they come visit with us, spending time with them is my priority. Sunday we went to church, the beach, fellowship, and ate dinner. When they left I knew that I had about 3 hours worth of work still to complete, plus doing this devotional.

My first thought was to not do the devotional, I know that all of you would understand, and I know that Jesus would understand? Right? I started to feel guilty, like maybe Jesus would punish me, or maybe He would be mad at me. Then I started to think that I do not want to do it just because I do not want Him mad at me with the fear of punishment. I was torn on what to do. While I was doing some of my busy work for our business I had two thoughts, and maybe these will speak to you or maybe you will find yourself fitting into one or the other.

We should not do things out of fear for Christ. GOD is not a GOD of fear, HE is a GOD of love. We should do things for Him because we LOVE him, serve Him, and have this sense of appreciation for the huge sacrifice that He made for us.

Being a Christian is not living a life of comfort. Yes, we do have times of comfort and peace, but if your life is all comfort, I would question, are you living the life GOD called you to live. GOD pushes us to grow here on earth and in our faith with HIM, and in my experiences, growing can be uncomfortable and sometimes painful.

GOD does not live our 9 to 5 work life schedule, HE lives in a realm that I am sure would amaze me. So, GOD I am sure will call you to do something that will not be the best time for you, but it is the best time for HIM. And I know that GOD will call you to do something for HIM, HE will meet you there. Like this devotional, I do love my sleep and comfort, BUT, I love Jesus more. I know that someday I will be in the presence of Jesus and I want to hold my head up high, and KNOW in my heart, that I stepped out of my comfort zone and did things that HE wanted me to do.

The other thought is that I have seen people use the principle above to hide from their problems. For example they have a problem with their marriage and instead of fixing it, they serve in the church while their marriage falls apart. This is not what GOD wants! Yes, HE wants you to serve, but getting a divorce is not in HIS plan. Your live's priorities should be Jesus, family, ministry.

If you are a parent, GOD has called you to be a parent. You have a huge responsibility to raise Godly children and it is no easy task! If you are married, GOD called you to be married. If you are single, you have a church family that involves other human lives, GOD called you to love your brother and sister.

Well it is getting late, have a blessed day and think to see where you would fit into these two thoughts. GOD BLESS!!! Jim :)