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Blessed is the man You discipline, O LORD,
And teach from Your law,
To grant him relief from days of trouble,
Until a pit is dug for the wicked.

For the LORD will not forsake His people;
He will never abandon His heritage.
Surely judgment will again be righteous,
And all the upright in heart will follow it.

Who will rise up for me against the wicked?
Who will stand for me against the workers of iniquity?

Unless the LORD had been my helper,
I would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence.

If I say, “My foot is slipping,”
Your loving devotion, O LORD, supports me.

When anxiety overwhelms me,
Your consolation delights my soul.

~ Psalm 94:12-19
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The LORD reigns! He is robed in majesty;
The LORD has clothed and armed Himself with strength.

The world indeed is firmly established;
It cannot be moved.

Your throne was established long ago;
You are from all eternity.

The floodwaters have risen, O LORD;
The rivers have raised their voice;
The seas lift up their pounding waves.

Above the roar of many waters—
The mighty breakers of the sea—
The LORD on high is majestic.

Your testimonies are fully confirmed;
Holiness adorns Your house, O LORD,
For all the days to come.

~ Psalm 93
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It is good to praise the LORD,
And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High,

To proclaim Your loving devotion in the morning
And Your faithfulness at night
With the ten-stringed harp
And the melody of the lyre.

For You, O LORD, have made me glad by Your deeds;
I sing for joy at the works of Your hands.

How great are Your works, O LORD,
How deep are Your thoughts!

A senseless man does not know,
And a fool does not understand,
That though the wicked sprout like grass,
And all evildoers flourish,
They will be forever destroyed.

But You, O LORD, are exalted forever!

~ Psalm 92:1-8
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He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.a
I will say to the LORD, “You are my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

Surely He will deliver you
from the snare of the fowler,
and from the deadly plague.
He will cover you with His feathers;
under His wings you will find refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and rampart.

You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the calamity that destroys at noon.

Though a thousand may fall at your side,
and ten thousand at your right hand,
no harm will come near you.
You will only see it with your eyes
and witness the punishment of the wicked.

Because you have made the LORD your dwelling—
my refuge, the Most High—
no evil will befall you,
no plague will approach your tent.

For He will command His angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
They will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

You will tread on the lion and cobra;
you will trample the young lion and serpent.
“Because he loves Me, I will deliver him;
because he knows My name, I will protect him.

When he calls out to Me,
I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble.
I will deliver him and honor him.

With long life I will satisfy him
and show him My salvation.”

~ Psalm 91
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A prayer of Moses the man of God.
Lord, You have been our dwelling place
through all generations.
2Before the mountains were born
or You brought forth the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting
You are God.

3You return man to dust,
saying, “Return, O sons of mortals.”
4For in Your sight a thousand years
are but a day that passes,a
or a watch of the night.

5You whisk them away in their sleep;
they are like the new grass of the morning—
6in the morning it springs up new,
but by evening it fades and withers.

7For we are consumed by Your anger
and terrified by Your wrath.
8You have set our iniquities before You,
our secret sins in the light of Your presence.

9For all our days decline in Your fury;
we finish our years with a sigh.
10The length of our days is seventy years—
or eighty if we are strong—
yet their pride is but labor and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

11Who knows the power of Your anger?
Your wrath matches the fear You are due.
12So teach us to number our days,
that we may present a heart of wisdom.

13Return, O LORD! How long will it be?
Have compassion on Your servants.
14Satisfy us in the morning with Your loving devotion,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

15Make us glad for as many days as You have afflicted us,
for as many years as we have seen evil.
16May Your work be shown to Your servants,
and Your splendor to their children.

17May the favorb of the Lord our God rest upon us;
establish for us the work of our hands—
yes, establish the work of our hands!

~ Psalm 90
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As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” [And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”] And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. Acts 8:36-28

Is there anyone here - at the coffee table today who is still pondering over water baptism? What is stopping you from being baptized. If you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, then you must be baptized. Do not delay.

God bless you! And congratulations on your decision. 

Have a blessed day.


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This is a continuation from last few days on Psalm 37:1 (Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong)

Again, he said, "Neither be thou envious against them that work unrighteousness." It is so easy to look upon those who are rich and who are not using their money for God, and think, "I wish I had their money; how much good I might do with it!" Or perhaps when we see talented people of the world, we might say, "Oh, if I had the ability they have, I would use it for the Lord!" God does not want us to do this; that is, to envy them their riches or their talents. It is all right for us to wish that we had more money or greater talents to use for the Lord, but it is not right to be envious of others. 

Even wishing that we had more is a waste of time. The thing that is important is that we use what we do have.

If we are given to letting ourselves worry and fret over things that others do toward us, it is often an incentive to them to try to make us trouble. We see a good illustration of this in the life of Hannah. 

Elkanah had two wives. Peninnah had a number of children, but Hannah was childless. Peninnah took advantage of this to reproach Hannah, and it is said she "provoked her sore, to make her fret" (1 Sam.1: 6). 

There are some people who delight in twitting others about some fault or physical defect, or because of lack of ability or something of that sort. If they see that this causes us to fret, it only increases their desire to provoke us. Then again, some people like to make sport of others, and tease them; and if they see that some one can not hear it well, if it frets him and worries him, this only increases their delight. Therefore, the thing to do is to learn not to fret over it, but to submit our ways to God and bear it patiently.

Never allow yourself to fret over anything. Fretting never helps. It always hinders. Learn to commit these things to God. Cast your burdens upon him -- and do not try to bear his burdens. Learn to be happy in spite of your difficulties. Keep your own soul-life separated from these troublesome things. God will help you, and you can make a success. 

He commands you not to fret, and he will give you grace to keep from doing it. Amen!

(An excerpt from a sermon by Charles W Naylor)
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Do not fret--it leads only to evil. Psalm 37:8

He tells us why we should not fret. "Fret not thyself; it tendeth only to evil-doing" (v.8). 

* Fretfulness has a tendency to make us doubt God and his wisdom: how natural for us to think that if we had the power that he has we would put a stop to such things. 

* It has a tendency to make us murmur and to be dissatisfied. 

* It is likely to discourage us; and when we are discouraged, we are likely to murmur against the way things appear to be going. 

* Fretfulness is almost certain to take the sweetness out of our hearts and out of our communion with God. 

* It will lead to a loss of spirituality. 

* It will rob us of spiritual tone.

When we are fretting we may think that we are doing the best we can, but we are not. We may think that we can not help fretting, but we can. There is a way in which we may possess control of ourselves and cast the burden of the responsibility upon God, and he will bear it if we do thus. 

We have to decide that we will be happy no matter what happens, no matter what the conduct of others may be, no matter what obstacles they place in our way, no matter what burdens they may throw upon us. We will be happy anyway, because God has willed that we should be happy. 

If we see things going wrong we should take the burden to the Lord, saying: "Lord, thou must bear the responsibility of these things. My shoulders were not made to bear these burdens. They are thine. I give them over to thee. If anything is to be accomplished, thou must do it." 

Then we must take our hands off. We must let the thing go, treat it as something that is none of our business, and let God handle the situation.

(An excerpt from a sermon by Charles W Naylor)

Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. Psalm 55:22
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Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. Psalm 37:1

Some people are always worrying about the wrongdoings of others. They fret and grieve, and can not remove the subject from their minds nor the burden from their hearts. The Bible says, "Fret not thyself because of evil-doers".

Many people choose to do wrong; many people do wrong to themselves and to others, including God's people. Of course, we can not rejoice over this, but we should not let it spoil our own lives. We should not fret about it. We should have a proper concern for the welfare of their souls, so that we shall earnestly pray for them and do all in our power to cause them to do better, but this is very different from being fretful, from worrying and bothering ourselves continually.

If we keep our eyes on the wickedness of others and continually grieve over it, we shall have no time to be joyful ourselves, we shall have no time to live our life with God.

Psalm 37 further says, "Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass" (v.7).

What all of us need to learn is to let God bear his own responsibilities. He tells us what to do in the first part of the verse -- "Rest in Jehovah, and wait patiently for him."

If evil-doers prosper, if they seem even more prosperous than the righteous, if they seem to get along without trouble, we should not be bothered over that. That is God's business. We see a great many evil things going on, and we should like to stop them. They grieve us in spirit, and this is but natural. But we ought not to fret ourselves over them.

There is a vast difference between godly concern and human worry, and we need to learn this difference clearly. To be concerned about such things, and to pray earnestly for God to overcome them and put a stop to them, is all very well; but when it comes to fretting over them and worrying and being bothered, this is quite another thing. We should never let these things mar the peace of our souls.

God means for us to have peace and be thankful right here in the midst of all this wickedness...

(An excerpt from a sermon by Charles W Naylor)
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Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. John 14:1

Let not your heart be troubled. In other words fret not!

To fret means to chafe, to be irritated, to be uneasy, to be troubled and bothered. It is just the opposite of peaceful, trustful rest. Jesus has promised us rest to our souls, and we may have this rest. We can not have it, however, if we give place to worrying and fretting. God's purpose for us is that we shall have calmness and soul-quietness, even in the midst of tribulation. He has said, "My peace I give unto you." He followed this by saying, "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful" (John 14: 27).

It is not God's will that we be continually worrying. This world is full of things that are not as they ought to be, and if we are to be happy and peaceful we must adjust ourselves to circumstances and learn to be happy in spite of the things that are displeasing to us, that are not as they ought to be. We can never be amidst ideal conditions in this world.

Fretting is like sand in a bearing; it is likely to make all sorts of trouble. It will use up the energy that we ought to be using for something else; it will keep our physical and spiritual nerves on edge; it will spoil the tranquility of our lives; it will mar our peace and take the sweetness out of our devotions.

(An excerpt from a sermon by W Charles Naylor)

So, let us take heed to today's instruction and try not to fret. God bless you all!
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Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. Revelation 3:20

The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen for his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. John 10:3

So also, when you see all these things, you will know that He is near, right at the door. Matthew 23:33

When we were in Dublin, I went out one morning to an early meeting, and I found the servants had not opened the front door. So I pulled back a bolt, but I could not get the door open. Then I turned the key, but the door would not open. Then I found there was another bolt at the top, then I found there was another bolt at the bottom. Still the door would not open. Then I found there was a bar, and then I found a night-lock. I found there were five or six different fastenings. I am afraid that door represents every sinner's heart. The door of his heart is locked, double-bolted, and barred. (D. L. Moody.)
I hope our hearts are open for our Lord Jesus Christ. Hope it is not locked, double-bolted and barred as in the illustration here by D.L.Moody.

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Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. John 3:18
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16:16

But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12

Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life. John 5:24

Whoever believes in the Son of God has this testimony within him; whoever does not believe God has made Him out to be a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony God has given about His Son. 1 John 5:10

Let us therefore believe in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ - God's only Son so that we are not condemned. Eternal life is as simple as that folks!  
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You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3

Abundant peace belongs to those who love Your instruction; nothing can make them stumble. Psalm 119:165

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

So, as per the scriptures we have in front of us today, we do not lack peace and that too the perfect peace if our mind is steadfast on the Lord. 

In other words we lack peace or the perfect peace when our mind wanders from God. 

So, it is totally up to us if we want peace or not. 
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The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.

~ Psalm 23
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Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
Oh, give thanks to the God of gods!
For His mercy endures forever.
Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords!
For His mercy endures forever:


To Him who alone does great wonders,
For His mercy endures forever;
To Him who by wisdom made the heavens,
For His mercy endures forever;
To Him who laid out the earth above the waters,
For His mercy endures forever;

To Him who made great lights,
For His mercy endures forever—
The  sun to rule by day,
For His mercy endures forever;
The moon and stars to rule by night,
For His mercy endures forever.

- Psalm 136:1-9
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Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. Colossians 3:16

Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your hearts to the Lord Ephesians 5:19

We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.Colossians 1:28

The scriptures speak for themselves, do they not? Let us heed to the instructions provided. 

Have a blessed day everyone!
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So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared." Genesis 32:30

So Hagar gave this name to the LORD who had spoken to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "Here I have seen the One who sees me!" Genesis 16:13

When Gideon realized that it was the Angel of the LORD, he said, "Oh no, Lord GOD! I have seen the Angel of the LORD face to face!" Judges 6:22

"We are going to die," he said to his wife, "for we have seen God!" Judges 13:22

I speak with him face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you unafraid to speak against My servant Moses?" Numbers 12:8

It always excites me to read about people's encounter of God or His messengers face to face. What a blessing it is to see God! Praise the Lord. 

I have twice seen our Lord Jesus once in a vision and a second time in my dream. It was a beautiful experience both times. 

It is my desire to someday see Him face to face and give Him a big hug. I am sure yours too. Actually every single human being that has ever lived on this earth will see Him one day - face to face. 

Now we see but a dim reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:12

The question is are we ready to face the Lord?

Can we rejoice seeing Him or will we be terrified of seeing Him? The answer lies on how we relate to God here on earth while living. If we have accepted Lord Jesus Christ as our personal savior then we will rejoice on that day. If we ignored Him the one true Living God in our lives we will be terrified of the judgement that is to follow.

I hope and pray that everyone reading this blog is ready to meet our Savior. If not, please seek Him while He can be found.

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Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. Psalm 73:25 ~ Asaph

More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ. Philippians 3:8 ~ Apostle Paul

I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing." Psalm 16:2 ~ King David

I find it interesting that these great men we read about in the Holy Bible, have taken such ultimate delight in the Lord - the same God whom you and I serve!!

But can we confess the same today? 

Is there anything else in our lives that takes higher preference than the delight we experience in our Lord, this is fearsome folks! 

Let us put aside all our distractions and make God as our first priority.

Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4


I hope we a

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And David spoke to the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies… 2 Samuel 22:1-51

Please read today's scripture portion if you can. 

Would you know? asks William Law, in his beautiful chapter on singing psalms — would you know who is the greatest saint in the world? Well, it is not he who prays most or fasts most; it is not he who gives most alms, or is most eminent for temperance, chastity, or justice; but it is he who is always thankful to God, who wills everything that God wills, and who receives everything as an instance of God's goodness, and has a heart always ready to praise God for His goodness. 

And then Law winds up with this, and I wish it would send you all to the golden works of that grace-laden writer: 

Sometimes, he adds, imagine to yourselves that you saw holy David with his hands upon his harp, and his eyes fixed" upon heaven, calling in transport upon all creation, sun and moon, light and darkness, day and night, men and angels, to join with his rapturous soul in praising the Lord of heaven. 

Dwell upon this imagination till you think you are singing with this Divine musician; and let such a companion teach you to exalt your heart unto God every new morning in his thanksgiving psalms. 

Or make a morning psalm suitable to your own circumstance out of David's great thanksgiving psalms. You should take the finest and the selectest parts of David's finest and selectest psalms, and adding them together make them every morning more and more fit to express your own thankful hearts.

~ An excerpt from A. Whyte, D. D.'s sermon on the same text

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The Sovereign LORD has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed. Isaiah 50:4

Now go! I will help you Psalm 5:3 as you speak, and I will teach you what to say.Exodus 4:12

In the morning, O LORD, You hear my voice; at daybreak I lay my plea before You and wait in expectation.Psalm 5:3

But to You, O LORD, I cry for help; in the morning my prayer comes before You. Psalm 88:13

I rise before dawn and cry for help; in Your word I have put my hope. Psalm 119:147

Let me hear Your loving devotion in the morning, for I have put my trust in You. Teach me the way I should walk, for to You I lift up my soul. Psalm 143:8

If kings and prophets made time to come before the Lord in the mornings, do we really have an excuse not to? Especially at these difficult times?

Wake up church! Let us stand in the gap and pray for the world. Amen!


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His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love. Psalms 147:10-11

God always looks at our hearts and not our appearances. Just the opposite of what we humans do. We go by the appearances and know little about their heart.

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or height, for I have rejected him; the LORD does not see as man does. For man sees the outward appearance, but the LORD sees the heart." I Samuel 16:7

So, if it is true that God looks at our hearts rather than our appearances, don't we need to take a toll of how our heart looks this morning? Is it ready and presentable to the eyes of our Lord? Is there any junk tucked away in in? Is there any sin lurking in it? Is it clean?

If not, let us work on it earnestly. Let us pray like King David prayed: 

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.Psalm 51:10
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* Rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 1 Peter 2:1

* each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor Ephesians 4:25

* Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice. Ephesians 4:31

* get rid of all moral filth and every expression of evil, and humbly receive the word planted in you, which can save your souls. James 1:21

A good Spring Cleaning tip of what things to toss this morning, as we get ready to worship our Lord in the confinements of our home.

There is no hypocrisy so strong and evident than a person who claims to be a believer and follower of Jesus Christ yet hates his own brother. He/she is definitely truly not a Christian - or Christ like.

Let us be watchful to remove such hypocrisy from us and become holy like the One who called us in Holy. Let us pray and take in to effect the suggested Spring cleaning tips in our lives, starting this very morning.

Have a blessed Sunday everyone!
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A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. Psalm 68:5

He executes justice for the fatherless and widow, and He loves the foreigner, giving him food and clothing. Deuteronomy 10:18

The victim entrusts himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless. Psalm 10:14

The LORD protects the sojourners; He sustains the fatherless and the widow... Psalm 146:9

These scriptures are shared by the Holy Spirit for the individual(s) among us who are missing their earthly daddies and feeling sad about their loss thinking there is no one else now to care for them. 

Please be reminded that we serve a God who is also our Loving Father. Please take comfort knowing that and taking refuge in His love. 

May God bless you and keep you safe!
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So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. Acts 5:41

I find it interesting of the mind set of Jesus' disciples which is so unlike any of us in these modern times. We are quick to get offended at the very slight comments of our friends and associates at the sovereignty of our Lord Jesus, and definitely won't withstand much to any physical abuse for the gospel however much we believe in it.

Just the verse before today's text states that: They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and released them. Acts 5:40

And the immediate verse after that states: Every day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.…Acts 5:42

Given all the modern facilities and now even the hard-to-find time due to quarantine, how are we proclaiming the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ? Are we ready to forsake the world and everything in it for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ? Or do we still consider our friendships with the world more valuable than Jesus Himself that we are afraid to "offend" them by standing up for our believes?

Points to ponder folks. Hope this helps to reassess our priorities...

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He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed. Luke 5:16

He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone Matthew 14:23

Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and slipped out to a solitary place to pray. Mark 1:35
In those days, Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and He spent the night in prayer to God. Luke 6:12

He took with Him Peter, John, and James, and went up on a mountain to pray. Luke 9:28

If our sinless Savior Lord Jesus Christ had to often withdraw Himself to His own personal prayer time, how much more you and I need to do so? When was the last time we withdrew ourselves to pray in solitude?

If it is not our regular practice, shall we make a conscious effort and try?
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Be very careful to love the LORD your God. Joshua 23:11

Loving the Lord our God is the first and foremost commandment, we all know. Here Joshua is insisting the people of Israel to do just that. 

Just the fact that we need to be very careful to love the Lord, implies that it takes a conscious effort and that it is not our default mindset. What then is our default mindset, you may ask. Not surprisingly it is the love of our self. 

This is only possible when we can recognize the leading and guiding and involvement of God in our lives. If not for God who fought our battles, we would have succumbed to this life's demands. We owe everything to the Lord; therefore let us render to Him all His due.

Another important aspect that would elicit our love for our God is the fact that He died for our sins, in our place, which no one else would have ever done for us, but God. Once we truly understand the enormity of this sacrificial love, it no longer becomes an effort to love the Lord, but comes naturally. 

Let us therefore leave aside all distractions that demand our attention, and re fall in love with our God - Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Father in Heaven and the Holy Spirit all over again. 

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:4,5

 
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No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

The verb to tempt meant originally to try, to test, or to prove. 

Today's text reminds us that - 

* God permits temptations/trials. 

* He adapts them to the character and the capacity of the individual - in that He does not let us be tempted beyond what we can handle/control. 

* He subordinates them. "Will with the temptation also make a way to escape." Or, "make the issue that ye may be able to bear it." 

Whether the trial is a temptation to your patience, honesty, resignation, confidence in God, etc., He will cause this issue to be good. And this virtually will be for you a deliverance.

So, how do we deal with temptation? Just understand and submit to His prompting, choose the escape routes He shows us and run!!!

Further, let us make this our daily prayer: "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.' Matthew 6: 13
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Come, children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
Who is the man who delights in life,
who desires to see good days?

Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from deceitful speech.
Turn away from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it. Psalm 34:11-14

Last couple  of days we have been learning about the importance of fearing the Lord. Today's scripture portion tells us how we can teach our children to fear the Lord.

In a nutshell this is all we need to impart to our children to instill God fearing in them:

* Keep your tongues from evil
* Keep your lips from deceitful speech
* Turn away from evil
* Turn towards doing good
* Seek peace
* Pursue peace

May be in the coming days let's dig a little deeper on each of these advice. Stay blessed.






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He will bless those who fear the LORD-- small and great alike. Psalm 115:13

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His loving devotion for those who fear Him. Psalm 103:11

Blessed are all who fear the Lord,
who walk in obedience to him.
You will eat the fruit of your labor;
blessings and prosperity will be yours.

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
around your table.

Yes, this will be the blessing
for the man who fears the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion;
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.

May you live to see your children’s children—
peace be on Israel. ~ Psalm 128


Need I say more?
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"Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. Joshua 24:14 

"If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and Ashtoreths among you, prepare your hearts for the LORD, and serve Him only. 1 Samuel 7:3

House of Levi, praise the LORD; you who fear him, praise the LORD. Psalm 135:20

Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed." Revelation 15:4

We saw yesterday that we must fear the Lord. Today's focus is on the how to. How to fear the Lord, or what does it actually mean to fear the Lord? There are quite a few scriptures giving us insight into this, pretty much reinstating the very same message; and we have a few listed above. 

From these scriptures we gather the following as what it actually means to fear the Lord:

1. Serve Him faithfully
2. Return to the Lord with all your hearts
3. Rid yourselves of the foreign gods
4. Prepare your hears for the Lord
5. Praise the Lord
6. Bring glory to the name of the Lord.

Makes sense right? Then why not start applying these as part of our day to day life?!


NRIGirl
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Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. Ecclesiastes 12:13

"And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God by walking in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 10:12

Above all, fear the LORD and serve Him faithfully with all your heart. 1 Samuel 12:24

The Holy Spirit revealed to the prophets the messages of Scripture. The writers of the Bible wrote not according to their own will or whim, but only as they were moved, or controlled, by the Spirit of God. The Bible is God’s own book! 2 Peter 20:21)

2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

True indeed! This explains very well why today's three scriptures though written by different authors (Solomon, Moses & Samuel respectively) of different life times, all convey the very same message - Fear the Lord.

Elsewhere we read that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10) and again that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7).

Don't we all wish to be wiser and better? All is takes is the fear of the Lord folks! 

In the next couple of days we will learn how to. Please stay tuned. Oh yes, Happy May!