Maranatha!!!

I was driving to work the other day and listening to my audio Bible. At the time, I was in Psalms, and the Lord impressed upon me the words “the Lord is my.” I decided to check to see how many times this phrase is used in Scriptures and what the phrase referenced. I was so blessed by what I discovered, I had to put it down in writing. I hope you are blessed!

The Lord is my:

Strength

(Exo 15:2) The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

I do not know I need anyone, let alone God, until I am down and at my weakest. It is then that I can see God at work and His strength is made evident.

Song

(Psa 118:14) The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.

God gives me a new song when I finally realize that He is the one that I need.

Rock

(2 Sam 22:2) And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;

God becomes my Rock because there is no other. My salvation cannot rest on anyone else or else it rests on sand.

Fortress

(Psa 18:2) The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

When all the world falls apart around me, I know that I can run to Him and rest in His protection. No one can take away what He has given to me – that is, my salvation.

Deliverer

(Psa 18:2) The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

He delivers me from the evil around me. I do not need to succumb to temptation because He is there to provide a way out.

Shepherd

(Psa 23:1) A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

The Lord gently guides me in the paths that I take but also firmly rebukes me when I am going down the wrong one.

Light

(Psa 27:1) A Psalm of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

My God sheds light on His Word to light my path so that I do not walk in darkness as I once did. I can clearly see what lies ahead.

Salvation

(Psa 27:1) A Psalm of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

There is salvation in no other than in the Lord. What do I have to fear if I am threatened with death if I do not bow down to other gods?

Shield

(Psa 28:7) The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.

My God shields me from the devil’s darts of destruction. He helps me to recognize them through His Word and helps me day by day. What comfort and joy this brings to a child who is going through tumultuous times.

Defence

(Psa 94:22) But the LORD is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge.

When I am mocked and wronged, my God will come to my defense. It may not be in my lifetime but this child knows that it will all be made known in eternity – and that’s a long time!

Portion

(Lam 3:24) The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

At the moment I was born again, salvation became my inheritance. God’s righteousness is over me, not my own, praise His Holy Name!

God

(Zech 13:9) And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.

He no longer is just “god” but He is now my God and Lord.

Helper

(Heb 13:6) So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

It is appropriate that the New Testament closes out this phrase with the fact that God is our Helper. There is no way we could gain salvation on our own. After salvation, there is no way we could keep it or live a perfect life without His doing. He is my Helper.

God is all these things and more to the child of the King! Rejoice in Him this morning!

Lord open up my eyes
To behold Your wondrous skies
Keep my thoughts fixed on You
That I may walk in ways of truth

Refrain

You are my hiding place
In Your Word I seek your face
I hide it in my heart
And from it I’ll not depart

Teach me to turn away
From those paths that lead astray
Resting in Your shelter
And there I find peacefulness

Refrain

You are my hiding place
In Your Word I seek your face
I hide it in my heart
And from it I’ll not depart

From my porch the tears flow as the rain
I wonder when they will end
Forlorn, deserted, forsaken
When will my groanings be silenced

So I continue to cry out
Believing that You will hear
As I beg for reprieve from this testing
A glimmer, a trace of expectation

Alas, hope springs from despair
Creeping in like a flickering candle
Bringing in light through the darkness
And flooding my heart with Son shine

My path becomes clearer with each step
As I walk to my harbor of rest
And meet with the Healer of my soul
At that Rock that is higher than I

~Psalm 61:2 From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed:
lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

My heart needs encouragement,
Sunk in the depths of despair…
Overwhelmed by life’s turmoils!
When will my prayers be answered?

I cry, my tears hot and never ending.
How can this be oh God, my strength?
I am alone in all areas of my life…
No human contact – no tender touch

I walk in the Psalmist’s shoes,
My heart being torn apart!
I cry out my thoughts and pain,
You hear me and dawn comes once again!

There is a lesson here, I know…
Growing closer to my Strength…
Learning that He is my Provider in all,
And in the end, receiving His peace!

~Psalm 30:5b … weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

Kate Plourde
February 2010

~Job 28:28 And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

When the Christian is in the middle of a crisis, as Job was, he must ask himself this question:

Am I where I should be in my walk with God?

There’s no sense asking this question if the believer is living his life in rebellion and does not want to know the answer. The Christian who truly wants to know will seek God’s face and will search His Word to find out the answers. The Lord spoke and said that the fear of God is wisdom and departing from evil is understanding. When a believer rightly fears God – has a moral reverence for God – he will desire the things of God. He will desire to walk more closely with God. This desire also produces the need to be in the Word, studying and learning, and applying it to his spiritual walk. The results produce a Christian who receives understanding from His God.

Are there areas in your life where you do not acknowledge God’s words? Are you in the midst of a trial and it is due to neglecting God’s Word and His instruction? You will not receive wisdom and understanding if you are in direction contradiction to what God is saying. In fact, you are in rebellion to His Word. Instead, repent of this rebellion and fix your eyes on God’s Word. Let His Holy Spirit instruct you in the way you should go. Seeing your God with the reverential awe He deserves will humble you and will open your heart to His instruction. Departing from known sin is a start. You know in your heart when you have sinned – admit that. It is then that you will receive that wisdom and understanding.

~1 Chronicles 28:9b … for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.

I don’t have to go far to find someone who truly does not care what God thinks. They don’t care about God … they don’t even believe that He exists. Whether one believes or not, it doesn’t take away from the fact that God does indeed exist and He is aware of more than you give Him credit for.

The Word says that God searches your heart. That ought to be quite disturbing to you. It is very convicting for me because I know that His Bible says in Jeremiah that my heart is wicked. God knows every thought that goes through our heads!

~Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

He knows what the unsaved man thinks of and the thoughts he is having. If our thoughts were an open book for all the world to see, we would be very careful as to what we allow ourselves to think! But you know what? God sees our thoughts, even though the world does not. When we stand before Him, those thoughts will be made known to all. We will stand before Him without excuse.

1 Chronicles 28:9b says that He can be found if you seek Him. Seek Him now, won’t you? If you refuse, there will come a day that He will not be found and He will cast you away forever into the eternal torment of burning fire.

~Mark 9:43-44 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

Don’t delay … if you feel even the slightest tinge of conviction as you read this, act on it and seek Him. God will not fail you. Mankind will, but not God. However, He will not always wait for you. There will come a time when He will leave you to your own devices.

~Romans 1:28-32 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Don’t allow yourself to get to this point! Seek Him now!

The mountains shout out your majesty
The oceans roar of your might
The birds sing your glorious wonders
The night skies glitter your light

Refrain
Lord God, oh King and Creator of all
Your people shout and cry
You fill our lives with your wondrous works
We praise your name on high!

The country side reveals your beauty
Each flower and tree your grace
The valleys are filled with your presence
Creation sings their praises!

Refrain
Lord God, oh King and Creator of all
Your people shout and cry
You fill our lives with your wondrous works
We praise your name on high!

Kate Plourde – February 2010

~Galatians 6:7-8 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

The longer I live, the more I see this verse fulfilled. I see much more complacency toward anything holy. I see much more hatred of the things of God. I see much more hatred toward God, period. I don’t have to go far to read comments about beliefs, or lack of beliefs. The Internet is filled with these comments – and these are the ones that are spoken! There are countless others who do not make a verbal statement but simply think it in their hearts! The bottom line is that God sees everything. God will judge all things. He will not be made a fool because He knows every detail of every life, even those details that are done in secret. He will not be mocked. So, just who will be included?

~Romans 1:28-32 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

According to these verses, all men are described! It is not a funny matter. It is not something to joke about. It is not going to be a party where all your friends will join you. In fact, the Scriptures describe the end result for these people as one of torture. The most horrendous torture done to any martyr will be a cake walk compared to the torture for all eternity that awaits to the one who rejects Jesus Christ.

~Revelation 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

~Revelation 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

~Revelation 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

~Revelation 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

The words “lake of fire” are descriptive enough – picture yourself swimming endlessly with no shoreline as your flesh burns. Anyone who has burned himself on an iron or stove can get a small idea of what awaits the one who rejects God and His Son, Jesus Christ. Even more, Christ spoke more on this subject than any other. He does not desire anyone to go to this lake of fire – it is your choice.

~Matthew 8:12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

~Matthew 13:42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

~Matthew 13:50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

~Matthew 22:13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

~Matthew 24:51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

~Matthew 25:30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

~Luke 13:28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

How, then, can one prevent going to this horrifying place?

Acts 8:30-37  And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

Jesus Christ is the Son of God. No one can enter Heaven any other way but than to believe this, as the eunuch did.

~John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

His good news is simple. He left Heaven. He came to earth – born of a virgin. He died for our sins because there’s no way we could live a good enough life – even one sin keeps us out of Heaven. He rose from the dead. He ascended into Heaven and He will come again to judge all.

No Christ, no peace. Know Christ, know peace!

James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.

Trials and tribulations are not considered a positive experience in life. In fact, we dread ever having to go through them. Leave it to the Lord to teach us that we should not look at our trials through negative eyes but to count it all joy! You’re kidding, right? There is no joy in sinning for the believer. Therefore, the word temptation in this verse does not mean temptation to sin but a “trying” – a trial – adversity.

peirasmos
pi-ras-mos’
From Strong’s G3985; a putting to proof (by experiment [of good], experience [of evil], solicitation, discipline or provocation); by implication adversity: – temptation, X try.

Why should we count it joy, though? James answers this question a few verses later saying that these same trials will give us patience. If we are patient and we do not give up, our trials will turn into blessings. God will teach us something with every trial. Whether the trial was for our own personal benefit or for the benefit of another, there is a blessing to be had!

James teaches us to look at our trials at the git go as an opportunity to witness an upcoming blessing. Rather than be fearful of the trial its outcome, be thankful – be at peace – be joyful in your heart knowing that the King of Kings has your back. Your Shepherd is on the job, keeping you. Once your thoughts are off the circumstances about you, you can now share that peace and that joy with those who are watching you as you go through your trial. People are watching, you know. Your children are watching – your relatives are watching – your friends are watching – your co-workers are watching! You may not realize it but the way you conduct yourself, spiritually, will clearly define your faith in your God.

This is important for two reasons. The unsaved do not want to believe in a God that cannot prove Himself in someone’s life. In other words, how can your God help me if you are falling apart at the seams during your financial crisis? The second reason is that our trials help other believers to grow – we are a living testament of God’s abilities. If a young believer is watching you as you go through a severe trial and he sees you falling apart, he is not learning to run to God in all things. Instead, the babe in Christ is learning to run to his friends and family before running to God. He does not have the opportunity to witness God’s mighty hand in your life.

What a testimony it can be to all who are around us when we radiate peace and joy in our hearts! This same peace and joy brings with it gracious words, praises to the Almighty and the believer glorifies God in his actions!

What kind of living testament are you of the Living God to those around you?

~John 16:13-14 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

When I hear people say that they don’t read the Bible because they need someone to interpret it for them, I am reminded of today’s verses. Why would God leave His words in a book if He did not intend for us to read it and understand it? It absolutely makes no sense!

As we instruct our children, so does God. We would not give our children misinformation nor would we keep them in the dark about what our wishes are for them. God is the perfect Father and has provided His own Spirit to live within the born-again believer. My friend, if you open the Word of God and it is dry as day-old bread, then something is wrong. If you don’t understand even the Gospels, then something is wrong.

Notice what happened in the account of the eunuch:

~Acts 8:30-31 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.

~Act 8:35-38 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.

The eunuch knew that as an unbeliever he needed someone to interpret the Scriptures for him. So what did Philip do? He preached Jesus Christ to the eunuch! As a result, the eunuch was gloriously saved! He no longer needed someone to guide him. He now was able to interpret the Word of God himself.

When we question what is going on around us, let’s remember to turn to the Word of God first so that we may hear from His “mouth” what He wants us to learn. The Holy Spirit’s ministry is to teach us the truth – not some man’s opinion or interpretation. I have been approached by some who tell me that when I personally read the Bible, I am interpreting the Bible in my own way and not the way God intended. That is their support for depending on another for interpretation. Again, today’s verses prove those skeptics wrong.

First of all, God carefully chose His words when He called the Holy Spirit the Spirit of Truth. As God’s born-again child, how can I read His words and interpret wrong? Granted there will be verses that I do not understand just yet but in due season, He will reveal to me their meaning. But on the most part, I can open the Bible and read and understand what God intended because I possess the Spirit of Truth!

Furthermore, the Holy Spirit will guide me into all truth and will show to me what I do not understand. James penned it beautifully:

~James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

Before you go to someone for guidance, turn to God’s Word. It is the ultimate guide!