Commit your ways

SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY

Psalm 37:5

 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

Commit means to give in trust or charge; to consign for preservation;to pledge (oneself) to a position on an issue or question;to bind or obligate, to entrust, especially for safekeeping.

We are to entrust our ways (our way of doing things) to the Lord! May I sidebar for a moment? God's way is so much better than our way. Our way may feel good to our flesh for the moment but God knows all and His way will lead us away from hurt, devastation and destruction. God knows whats best for us we must trust God and His way. 

Again, we see the word also. Remember that yesterday we said that also by definition means in addition to. So I must conclude that I can't just trust in God but I need to commit my ways unto Him as well as trust Him. Many don't have a problem with trusting God. After all we know His character and we can glance back and remember all the ways He has made for us in the past. But to commit our ways to God will take much action and effort on our part. It is easy to do things the way we have always done them but to put God's Word into action takes dedication and determination. So, how do we commit our ways to the Lord?  By being a doer of His Word and not just a hearer. (James 1:22) We do this by practicing the scriptures.For example, the Word says to love our enemy. Our way says to dismiss them. When we commit our ways to God we will actively find ways to show love to our enemy. Remember, it will take action, effort, dedication and determination. And let me remind you that you have the power of the Holy Ghost within you to help you do those things that you feel you can not do. We can live by God's Word. Make a decision today to commit your ways unto the Lord and trust in Him. The last part of the scripture says that he shall bring it to pass. What will he bring to pass? I believe this goes back to the beginning of the chapter. First, let's establish that He is God. God will bring to pass everything that has been said in the first 4 verses. God is not slack concerning His promises. As stated yesterday, there are directives in this passage. We know God will do His part. Are you willing and ready to commit to your part?

Delight thyself in the Lord

SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY

Psalm 37:1-4

1 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.

² For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

³ Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

⁴ Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

We have looked at the first three verses of Psalm 37 thus far. Today we will explore the fourth verse. 

Delight- a high degree of pleasure or enjoyment; joy;

We should get great pleasure in our relationship with the Lord. When you delight yourself in God it is far more than just being saved. It is being involved in a personal relationship with Him. When you delight yourself in the Lord, you will be joyful when reading His Word. You will long to be with Him in prayer and you will want constant connection with Him. Because it is God that brings great joy into your life. Are you really delighting yourself in the Lord? Have you lost the joy of your salvation? I remember a brother named David. He found that at a point in his life, he too had lost that joy. In Psalm 51:12 David cried out for God to restore unto him the joy of his salvation. If you find yourself like David, you too can cry out to God for restoration. 

The use of the word also connects me back to the previous verses. The word also by definition means in addition; too; besides; likewise; as well. We have been given some directives in these four verses. 

1. Fret not 

2. Don't envy

3. Trust in the Lord

4. Do Good

5. Delight thyself in the Lord

How can I apply this word to my everyday life?

Take my focus off the evil one who seems to be doing better than me and prospering in his evil ways. Put my trust in God and focus on doing good deeds. In addition to trusting God and doing good I am to delight myself in God. I am to find great pleasure in the things of God. In the very presence of Him and our relationship. When I can achieve this, the latter part of verse four declares that God will give me the desires of my heart. It is important to not that when we get to the point that we are delighting in God our hearts desires will be God's desires for us. We will yield our ways and desires to His ways and desires. 

My question to you today is," What brings you great joy?" What are you delighting in? If your answer is not God, then it is time to cry out like David and ask God to restore the joy of your salvation. To create in you a clean heart and renew the right spirit within you. God's ears are open to your plea.

What good are you doing?

Today we will explore verse 3.

SCRIPTURES OF THE DAY

Psalm 37:1-7

1 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.

² For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

³ Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

⁴ Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

⁵ Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

⁶ And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

⁷ Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

Today's text instructs us to trust (reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence) in the Lord. When we trust in the Lord we are putting our belief in His ability. We have confidence and rely on His ability, strength, wisdom and way of doing things. It is because of this trust that we can then move on to doing good. Remember that yesterday we looked at the first two scriptures and determined that we should not be concerned about the success or prosperity of the evil person. We know their success is short lived and their end is destruction. Instead of focusing our energy into what we see as injustice we should trust God and focus our energy on doing good deeds.After all, if we are completely honest with ourselves the only reason we are overly concerned about the success and prosperity of the wicked is because it seems as though we are not prospering. And we feel like it should be us. Is that not the sin of coveting?  Let's just be honest. My friend, it is time to turn your attention. Count your blessings and know that you are blessed and the promises that God has promised will come to pass. So, lets adjust our attitude and look at what we should focus our attention towards. Pause for a moment to reflect on the good you have done lately. Would God be pleased? There are many opportunities to share acts of kindness or to speak a gentle word, to lend a helping hand or to be a listening ear. There is plenty of good to be done. Are you doing your part or are you too concerned about the sinners perceived success? If we trust God and focus on doing good, we will dwell in this land and our needs will be fulfilled. 

Plan on doing good for someone today! Change your focus and your whole outlook will change. 

Fret Not

We will look at Psalm 37:1 & 2 today and then deal with more of this passage tomorrow. 

SCRIPTURES OF THE DAY

Psalm 37:1-6

1 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.

² For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

³ Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

⁴ Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

⁵ Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

⁶ And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

This Psalm has been attributed to the authorship of King David. There is much wisdom in this passage. David penned fret not thyself because of evildoers. To fret means to feel or express worry, annoyance or discontent; to cause corrosion. David goes on to warn us not to be envious (a feeling of discontent or covetousness with regard to another's advantages, success, possessions, etc.) towards the workers of iniquity (gross injustice or wickedness). The wisdom in this verse warns us not to place our energy into being concerned about how those who do evil and work iniquity seems to prosper and have success.  Spending our energy and concerns on this injustice will cause corrosion in our lives. We must put our trust in the Lord and believe that God will administer due justice in due time. The second verse assures us that justice will come to the evildoers and the workers of iniquity. Don't waste another moment concerning yourself in this matter. Turn your concerns over to God. Do not be worried or annoyed just trust God.The success of those who work evil will soon fade. The analogy in verse two deals with creation. We must know that God the Creator governs the grass, herbs and vegetation.  In the same sense the Creator will govern the justice of evildoers.  

Dear Lord, Help us to put all our concerns and efforts into trusting your plan for our lives. Endow us with the power of the Holy Ghost that we may be focused not on the evil or workers of iniquity but on how we can overcome evil with good. Help us to love others as you Lord love us. Help us to keep our minds on you that you may keep us in perfect peace. In Jesus Name, Amen!

Courage

SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY

Joshua 1:9

Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

God has given us a command. A command is a directive. It means to direct with specific authority or prerogative or to order. God has ordered us to be strong and courageous. He told us not to be fearful or alarmed at danger or trouble. 

How can we achieve this command? The answer is in the second part of the scripture. We must always remember that God is with us and greater is He that is within me than he that is in the world. 

Whatever  "danger or trouble " is in your life right now I admonish you to be strong and of good courage. Courage is defined as the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear. When you go through the cares of life, set your mind on your God not your situation. Let your spirit connect with the fact that God has promised that He will go through everything with you. Lift up your head and know that you have the victory and your God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that you could ever ask or think according to the power that worketh in us. Ephesians 3:20. 

Listen to the command of the Lord. Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thous dismayed!

Daily Benefits

SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY

Psalm 68:19

Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.

Some jobs come with benefits. Many times it's the benefit package that make the job appealing. We as Christians should not follow God for the benefits but for the very essence of Who God is. However; with that being said, it is also noteworthy to mention that it is impossible to be saved and not partake in the benefits of salvation. 

Praise and honor is due our God. It is He who blesses us daily. The scripture said loadeth. How true! If I were to stop and think back on just this mornings blessings they are already multiple. There are many benefits of serving God. One that I treasure is knowing that whatever I endure, whatever the day brings, I can always count on my God to be right there. What a wonderful benefit! Take a moment to  view your salvation benefits package. What a Great God we serve.

Selah! Amen! and Bless the Lord!

Become a disciple

Become a disciple

SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY John 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples  indeed;   Amplified Bible So Jesus said to those Jews who had believed in Him, If you abide in My word [hold fast to My teachings  and live in accordance with them], you are truly My disciples.   Once we believe in Jesus Christ and accept Him as our Lord and Savior our new life begins. We begin to  make the journey from salvation to discipleship. How do we make this journey? The answer is found in our  scripture today.  We must continue in God's Word. To continue in God's Word involves a two step process. 1. We must read the Bible We should develop a habit of daily Bible reading. 2. We must be doers of The Word Just reading the Bible is not enough. We must put into practice what we have read.   If we live in accordance with God's Word, Jesus declared we were His disciples. In other words, we are his  followers. We are following His training and teaching. If you desire to be a disciple of Jesus, you must be a  Bible reader and a Bible doer!

Your plans/God's direction

^{SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY}

^{Proverb 16}

 A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.

Devise- to contrive (to bring about or effect by a plan),  plan, or elaborate; invent from existing principles or ideas

Direct

 

1.

to manage or guide by advice, helpful information, instruction, etc.

2.

to regulate the course of; control: 

3.

to administer; manage; supervise: 

4.

to give authoritative instructions to; command; order or ordain:

5.

to serve as a director in the production or performance of 

NIV says:In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.

It is good to make plans and goals for your life. After all, if you fail to plan then you plan to fail. So, it is very important to have a good understanding of where you are trying to go in life and plan how to get there. But we also must understand that even with our elaborate plans, it is God who determines our steps. 

We must never leave God out of our plans for we can do Nothing without Him. The plans of our hearts should be lined up with God's will for our lives. Our daily prayer should be for God to direct our steps that we may walk in our divine destiny. 

Pray for leaders

In recognition of President's Day I decided to share the scriptures below.

SCRIPTURES OF THE DAY

1 Timothy 2:1-3

1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;

² For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
³ For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
In this passage we find Paul giving instructions to the church.
Exhort means to: urge, advise, or caution earnestly; admonish urgently
Supplications- humble prayer, entreaty, or petition.
Prayers- a devout petition to God; spiritual communion with God
Intercessions - an interposing or pleading on behalf of another person; a prayer to God on behalf of another.
Gving of thanks - to express gratitude, appreciation, or acknowledgment
In the first verse we can summarize that Paul is urging or advising the church to petition or pray to God for all men. To stand in the gap for and offer appreciation for all men. Isn't that just like God? To instruct us to pray for everyone even those we may consider bad or helpless.
The second verse specificly addresses us to pray for Kings and those in authority. We should pray for all leaders both political and spiritural. We should pray for our leaders to yeild to the guidence of God. That they would seek God in every decision that must be made because we desire to lead a quiet and peaceable life!
We should note that all leaders, whether we voted for them or not, whether saved or unsaved, whether the President of the United States or the Bishop of a Congregation all leaders need our prayers.
The act of sacrificial prayer on behalf of leaders is good and acceptable to God. It is God's will that we pray for leaders.
Make a commentment this President's Day to pray daily for all our leaders and those who are in authority.

Call God

^{Technology has afforded us wide variety of ways to communicate. Staying in touch with family, friends and loved ones is easier today than ever before. I appreciate this because I have family that lives out of State and I desire to stay connected with them. Thus, God has always desired communication with His children and have set forth the tool of prayer to keep us connected.}

SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY

^{Psalm 18:3}

^{I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.}

^{We have the privilege to call (talk) to God at any given time. God desires to have a conversation with us. He is always available to listen.}

^{God is worthy of our praise. We have so much to be thankful to God for; His blessings are bestowed upon us daily! We should praise God for who He is and the relationship that we have with Him.}

^{When we call on God in the midst of our distress, we can be assured that He hears us. We should have confidence that God will deliver us from our adversary. If you are in a season of storms in your life, call upon the Lord!}

^{God longs to communicate with you. Call Him today.}

^{And always remember our God is worthy to be praised!}

History of Valentine's Day

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Saint Valentine's Day, commonly known as Valentine's Day,^[1][2][3] or the Feast of Saint Valentine,^[4] is observed on February 14 each year. It is celebrated in many countries around the world, although it remains a working day in most of them.^[3]

St. Valentine's Day began as a liturgical celebration of one or more early Christian saints named Valentinus. The most popular martyrology associated with Saint Valentine was that he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the Roman Empire; during his imprisonment, he is said to have healed the daughter of his jailer Asterius. Legend states that before his execution he wrote "from your Valentine" as a farewell to her.^[5][6] Today, Saint Valentine's Day is an official feast day in the Anglican Communion,^[7] as well as in the Lutheran Church.^[8] The Eastern Orthodox Church also celebrates Saint Valentine's Day, albeit on July 6th and July 30th, the former date in honor of the Roman presbyter Saint Valentine, and the latter date in honor of Hieromartyr Valentine, the Bishop of Interamna (modern Terni).^[9][10]

The day was first associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. By the 15th century, it had evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines").^[1][3] Valentine's Day symbols that are used today include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards.^[11]

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day. Today I will share some love scriptures. I will also post the history of Valentine's Day in another post. Enjoy the day and my prayer for you is that you will develop a spirit of love and actively seek creative ways to show love everyday. Blessings and love to each of you.

John 15:12

This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

Romans 13:10

Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Proverbs 10:12

Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.

Proverbs 17:17

A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Jeremiah 31:3

The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

Ephesians 2:4

But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

Ephesians 5:25

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

2 Timothy 1:7

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Titus 2:4

That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

Hebrews 13:1

Let brotherly love continue.

1 John 4:18 & 19

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us.

1 John 4:8

He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

Bless the Lord

The scripture of the day is one of my favorites. I pray it encourages you to develop a habit of praise.

SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY

Psalm 34:1

I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Bless-to bestow good of any kind upon;to extol as holy; glorify

Glorify-to honor with praise, admiration, or worship; extol

Extol-to praise highly;

The Author of this verse-David- begins with I will. He is determined, convinced, his mind is set that He will bless the Lord. My friends, we must develop the same attitude. No matter what comes or who goes,  whether in the valley or on the mountain top, in the midst of trials or celebrating a victory God is worthy to be praised! 

David wrote this Psalm in reference of a time when he was on the run. His very life was being threatened. Can you stand in the midst of your current situation and declare that God is to be praised! 

If we vow and strive to praise God continually, we would see an immediate difference in what comes out of our mouth. If we continually praise God, it would be impossible to curse your neighbor or speak negative or defeat. There is a joy that comes along with giving God praise. There was a song of old entitled, "The more I praise Him the better I feel." Offering admiration unto God releases your focus from you and your current situation to being fixed on the awesomeness of our Creator. God is worthy of our praise. We could never give God the praise that He is entitled or justly due but we can fix our mouth to bless Him at all times. We can make a conscious decision to use our mouth as a tool for continual worship. 

Luke 19:37-40

³⁷ And when he (Jesus) was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen;

³⁸ Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.

³⁹ And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.

⁴⁰ And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

There is no need to hold your peace today. God has performed mighty works in our lives and we have a right to praise His name. God is great and worthy to be praised! Hallelujah!