Encouragement O my God, do not delay!

Here is your daily encouragement words and thoughts. Today I bring you encouragement from Psalm 40:11-17

11 O Lord, you do not withhold your compassion from me.
May your loyal love and faithfulness continually protect me!
12 For innumerable dangers surround me.
My sins overtake me so I am unable to see;
they outnumber the hairs of my head so my strength fails me.
13 Please be willing, O Lord, to rescue me!
O Lord, hurry and help me!
14 May those who are trying to snatch away my life
be totally embarrassed and ashamed!
May those who want to harm me be turned back and ashamed!
15 May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
be humiliated and disgraced!
16 May all those who seek you be happy and rejoice in you!
May those who love to experience your deliverance say continually,
“May the Lord be praised!”
17 I am oppressed and needy!
May the Lord pay attention to me!
You are my helper and my deliverer!
O my God, do not delay!

Biblical Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Ps 40:11-17). Biblical Studies Press.

"May all those who seek you be happy and rejoice in you!" These words can so fill your heart when you are seeking the Lord.

So often when we are oppressed and needy we feel like God is taking forever. We want to yell out to God "Lord pay attention to me!" We need to draw on the confidence of the psalmist and just declare in our situation "You are my helper and my deliverer!" and then pray reverently "O my God, do not delay!"

Amen

Music Encouragement I Surrender All" By The Isaacs (2008)

Encouragement: take an offering

Here is your daily encouragement words and thoughts. Today I bring you encouragement from Exodus 25:1-8

The Lord spoke to Moses:
2 “Tell the Israelites to take an offering for me; from every person motivated by a willing heart you are to receive my offering.
3 This is the offering you are to accept from them: gold, silver, bronze,
4 blue, purple, scarlet, fine linen, goat’s hair,
5 ram skins dyed red, fine leather, acacia wood,
6 oil for the light, spices for the anointing
oil and for fragrant incense,
7 onyx stones, and other gems to be set in
the ephod and in the breastpiece.
8 Let them make for me a sanctuary, so that I may live among them.

Biblical Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible.
English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Ex 25:1-8). Biblical Studies Press.

So often we have the view of Old Testament giving as a forced act. A regulation that must be done. But what does God say to Moses "take an offering for me, from every person motivated by a willing heart."

Just like many other things, giving is something that the Lord enables you to do.
I for quite sometime was a real promoter of tithing (giving 10% of your money and things) as you earn them. For me it was a "have to" item on my list.

What I have come to realize over the past couple of years is that in your giving you need to turn it over to God in joy. When you decide in your heart to give, you have to, at the point of offering, turn over control of that money over to God. It is no-longer yours once you give it to God. No control over the money and no complaining how it is to be used.

Our reading here is just another example of how giving needs to be out of gratitude, not obligation. I believe that it is more important to God that your heart be in the right mode when you give of your money or your time or talents than how much you give. Chances are if your heart is in the right moment you would give more.

(Side note here: You should give a 10th of each, time, talent, money. There are 168 hours in a week so a 10th of your time is 16.8 hours. How long was that Sunday Service?)

So when you give, give with a willing heart, knowing that God does enable you to do your giving.

Amen

Music encouragement You Are by Mark Roach

Encouragement: Do we thank God enough?

Here is your daily encouragement words and thoughts. Today I bring you encouragement from Psalm 105:1-5

Give thanks to the Lord!
Call on his name!
Make known his accomplishments among the nations!
2 Sing to him!
Make music to him!
Tell about all his miraculous deeds!
3 Boast about his holy name!
Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
4 Seek the Lord and the strength he gives!
Seek his presence continually!
5 Recall the miraculous deeds he performed,
his mighty acts and the judgments he decreed,

Biblical Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Ps 105:1-5). Biblical Studies Press.

Do we thank God enough?

We should thank God with every breath we take. He made us, all that we are, all that we have, all that we do. We need to thank Him in the good times and in the bad times.

In fact thanking Him in the bad times is even more important than the good times. In the bad times, we need to seek the Lord and draw close to Him, and receive the strength He has to offer. We need to thank Him and recall the miraculous deeds He has performed.

So Sing to Him! Make music to Him! Boast about His holy name!

Thank Him!

Amen

Music Encouragement don moen thank you Lord

Encouragement: The Lord is my strength

Here is your daily encouragement words and thoughts. Today I bring you encouragement from Exodus 15:2

The Lord is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.
This is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

Biblical Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Ex 15:2). Biblical Studies Press.

I always enjoy finding treasures in the old testament. Here is a promise that I would like to claim and proclaim.

The Lord is my strength, my song and my salvation.

Amen

Music Encouragement My Salvation Shawn Mcdonald

Here is your daily encouragement words and thoughts. Today I bring you encouragement from John 6 26-29

26 Jesus replied, “I tell you the solemn truth, you are looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate all the loaves of bread you wanted.
27 Do not work for the food that
disappears, but for the food that remains to eternal life – the food which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has put his seal of approval on him.”
28 So then they said to him, “What must we do to accomplish the deeds God requires?”
29 Jesus replied, “This is the deed God requires – to believe in the one whom he sent.”

Biblical Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The NET Bible First
Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Jn 6:26-29). Biblical
Studies Press.

So easy, yet so hard. Jesus tells us the answer here to the question we all ask at some point or other. "What must we do to accomplish the deeds God requires?”

Jesus tells us that we just have to believe in the one whom God sent. We always want to find a way that would justify what God has done for us. But we only need to believe in Him. What a great God we have that he would love us so much. Share the good news with those you meet.

Amen

Music Encouragement Here am I -- MercyMe

Encouragement: your sleep will be pleasant

Here is your daily encouragement words and thoughts. Today I bring you encouragement from Proverbs 3:19-28


By wisdom the Lord laid the foundation of the earth;
he established the heavens by understanding.
20 By his knowledge the primordial sea was broken open,
and the clouds drip down dew.
21 My child, do not let them escape from your sight;
safeguard sound wisdom and discretion.
22 So they will give life to you,
and grace to adorn your neck.
23 Then you will walk on your way with security,
and you will not stumble.
24 When you lie down you will not be filled with fear;
when you lie down your sleep will be pleasant.
25 You will not be afraid of sudden disaster,
or when destruction overtakes the wicked;
26 for the Lord will be the source of your confidence,
and he will guard your foot from being caught in a trap.
27 Do not withhold good from those who need it,
when you have the ability to help.
28 Do not say to your neighbor, “Go! Return tomorrow
and I will give it,” when you have it with you at the time.

Biblical Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Pr 3:19-28). Biblical Studies Press.

Today I bring you some advice from the book of Proverbs. The book of Proverbs is just loaded with good advice for living life. I think we do not as a church, look at the book of Proverbs enough.

Amen

Music Encouragement Hillsong - Made Me Glad

Comment

Harvest time on the farm in now proceeding. I will post to the blog when I can as it is a very busy time.

Encouragement His own image....

Here is your daily encouragement words and thoughts. Today I bring you encouragement from Genesis 1:26-31

26 Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness, so they may rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move on the earth.”
27 God created humankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them,
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it! Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the ground.”
29 Then God said, “I now give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the entire earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.
30 And to all the animals of
the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to all the creatures that move
on the ground – everything that has the breath of life in it – I give every green plant for food.” It was so.
31 God saw all that he had made – and it was very good!
There was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day.

Biblical Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The NET Bible First
Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Ge 1:26-31).
Biblical Studies Press

I have read the first chapter of Genesis many times. In reading through it today I picked up on two little messages that are so important.

They are especially important when I am feeling like I just do not get it. On those days when I am not really able to do what I should do, I am not the person I should be. You must be able to relate to those kind of days. The days when everything goes wrong, or you just let your friends down or you just demand too much from your friends.

What are the messages you ask, that are so important. The first one is "Let us make humankind in our image". What a wonderful desire that God would make us be like him.

This is not quite enough though because you can have the feeling "well at least God tried but the image must have been blurred."

That is where the second message comes in to remove all doubt. "God saw all that he had made – and it was very good!" Not just good but very good. God does not make junk.

Now because of our freedom. we can still mess things up, but Jesus Christ takes our place that we can be in His image.

Thanks be to our Loving God.

Amen

Music Encouragement Nothing compares ~ Third Day

Encouragement: better than life itself

Here is your daily encouragement words and thoughts. Today I bring you encouragement from Psalm 63:1-4

63:1 A psalm of David, written when he was in the Judean wilderness.
O God, you are my God! I long for you!
My soul thirsts for you,
my flesh yearns for you,
in a dry and
parched land where there is no water.
2 Yes, in the sanctuary I have seen you,
and witnessed your power and splendor.
3 Because experiencing your loyal love is better than life itself,
my lips will
praise you.
4 For this reason I will praise you while I live;
in your name I will lift
up my hands.

Biblical Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The NET Bible First
Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Ps 63:1-4). Biblical
Studies Press.

I will lift up my hands to the Lord. God's power and love is something to behold. Once you have had a taste of the grace God so freely gives to us, you are forever changed and the thirsting and longing for our God increases with each new experience of his loyal love.

Amen

Music Encouragement I Lift My Hands, Hillsong London

Encouragement: God is Strong

Here is your daily encouragement words and thoughts. Today I bring you encouragement from Psalm 62:1-12

For God alone I patiently wait;
he is the one who delivers me.
2 He alone is my protector and deliverer.
He is my refuge; I will not be upended.
3 How long will you threaten a man?
All of you are murderers,
as dangerous as a leaning wall or an unstable fence.
4 They spend all their time planning how to bring him down.
They love to use deceit;
they pronounce blessings with their mouths,
but inwardly they utter curses. (Selah)
5 Patiently wait for God alone, my soul!
For he is the one who gives me confidence.
6 He alone is my protector and deliverer.
He is my refuge; I will not be upended.
7 God delivers me and exalts me;
God is my strong protector and my shelter.
8 Trust in him at all times, you people!
Pour out your hearts before him!
God is our shelter! (Selah)
9 Men are nothing but a mere breath;
human beings are unreliable.
When they are weighed in the scales,
all of them together are lighter than air.
10 Do not trust in what you can gain by oppression!
Do not put false confidence in what you can gain by robbery!
If wealth increases, do not become attached to it!
11 God has declared one principle;
two principles I have heard:
God is strong,
12 and you, O Lord, demonstrate loyal love.
For you repay men for what they do.


Biblical Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Ps 62:1-12). Biblical Studies Press.

This week has been a long week. I continue to watch the harvest season move along. A month has passed since we would normally be starting. We have yet to go to the field with the combine as it is still too wet.

I flip open my bible and again God greats me with "For God alone I patiently wait;" So indeed I continue to wait. With the hope of the big harvest in the field, I wait patiently.

In God I put my trust, He alone is my protector and deliverer.

Amen

Music Encouragement Hillsong From The Inside Out

Comment

I am too blessed

to be stressed

and

too anointed

to be disappointed!

Encouragement: Reveal your light and your faithfulness!

Here is your daily encouragement words and thoughts. Today I bring you encouragement from Psalm 43:1-5

43:1 Vindicate me, O God!
Fight for me against an ungodly nation!
Deliver me from deceitful and evil men!
2 For you are the God who shelters me.
Why do you reject me?
Why must I walk around mourning
because my enemies oppress me?
3 Reveal your light and your faithfulness!
They will lead me,
they will escort me back to your holy hill,
and to the place where you live.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
to the God who gives me ecstatic joy,
so that I express my thanks to you, O God, my God, with a harp.
5 Why are you depressed, O my soul?
Why are you upset?
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention.

Biblical Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Ps 43:1-5). Biblical Studies Press.

One of my mentors in Christ once told me: "When God has something really important to say to us from His word he repeats it."

Well waiting on the Lord must be really important. In our psalm today our writer must have been really feeling the heat of the moment. Often when we are in the middle of our valley or tough time it may seem like a long time that we have to wait on the Lord.

This psalm gives us a good example of what to do in our time of trouble. First we get the problem off our chests. We exclaim the nature of our problem and then reach into our faith experience and claim what we know God has promised us. "For you are the God who shelters me."

The psalm then suggest that we may slip back into the challenge of our situation and start to question God further like "why is this taking so long." Like the psalm suggests, we need to catch ourselves questioning and we need to grab hold of our faith drawing on our experience with our faithful God, to lift ourselves up to worship him in the face of the oppression of our situation.

When we get to that state then we can start questioning ourselves. "Why are you depressed, O my soul? Why are you upset?" and we can answer ourselves with the instruction to "Wait for God! For I will again give thanks to my God for his saving intervention."

We have a God who is faithful and true. Who will enter all situations no matter how bad and make something of them. Again we may not see God's intervention in "the now", in the current moment. But when we look back in our rear view mirror we will see Gods grace intervening on our situation.

Will the result be exactly as we ask, maybe, then again maybe not. God in his wisdom has full view of the canvas he paints. He will use the situation for maximum gain for his purpose in his story. The story that is real and eternal.

Wait on the Lord! Trust Him. Receive his peace. Receive it in your moment of despair when all is wrong. He will carry you and you will make it to His holy hill to be with Him for ever.

Amen

Music Encouragement Praise You In This Storm

Encouragement: thirst for God

Here is your daily encouragement words and thoughts. Today I bring you encouragement from Psalm 42:1-8

42:1 For the music director; a well-written song by the Korahites.
As a deer longs for streams of water,
so I long for you, O God!
2 I thirst for God,
for the living God.
I say, “When will I be able to go and appear in God’s presence?”
3 I cannot eat, I weep day and night;
all day long they say to me, “Where is your God?”
4 I will remember and weep!
For I was once walking along with the great throng to the temple of God,
shouting and giving thanks along with the crowd as we celebrated the holy festival.
5 Why are you depressed, O my soul?
Why are you upset?
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention.
6 I am depressed,
so I will pray to you while I am trapped here in the region of the upper Jordan,
from Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
7 One deep stream calls out to another at the sound of your waterfalls;
all your billows and waves overwhelm me.
8 By day the Lord decrees his loyal love,
and by night he gives me a song,
a prayer to the living God.



Biblical Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Ps 42:1-8). Biblical Studies Press.


This world can be a challenging place to reside. I have on many occasions, had people express doubts of the God I serve. "Where is He? How did he let that happen? Sure does not look like God is very good, based on looking at you!" But by day the Lord decrees his loyal love, and by night he gives me a song, a prayer to the living God.

Our psalm writer talks of the longing we all have for the Lord to be close to us. We have a thirst for Him. We want Him to be there with us always. He has promised to never leave us or forsake us. But in our walk we often feel left out alone. We long for God and want to be in his presence. We reflect back to our mountain top experience with God back to the start of our journey with God. But now that seems so far away we weep. Why are you depressed, O my soul? Why are you upset?

In all this the psalm writer tell us to wait on God as God will come through.

Amen

Music Encouragement "My Eyes Are On You, O Lord"

Encouragement: help me understand

Here is your daily encouragement words and thoughts. Today I bring you encouragement from Psalm 39:1-9

39:1     For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of David.

I decided, “I will watch what I say

and make sure I do not sin with my tongue.

I will put a muzzle over my mouth

while in the presence of an evil man.”

2      I was stone silent;

I held back the urge to speak.

My frustration grew;

3      my anxiety intensified.

As I thought about it, I became impatient.

Finally I spoke these words:

4      “O Lord, help me understand my mortality

and the brevity of life!

Let me realize how quickly my life will pass!

5      Look, you make my days short-lived,

and my life span is nothing from your perspective.

Surely all people, even those who seem secure, are nothing but vapor.

6      Surely people go through life as mere ghosts.

Surely they accumulate worthless wealth

without knowing who will eventually haul it away.”

7      But now, O Lord, upon what am I relying?

You are my only hope!

8      Deliver me from all my sins of rebellion!

Do not make me the object of fools’ insults!

9      I am silent and cannot open my mouth

because of what you have done.

Biblical Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Ps 39:1-9). Biblical Studies Press.

This word jumped out at me today.  How many times have you made a decision where you were going to go out and do something for God all in your own strength.  This is a classic example of the result when you try to do it on your own.

"I decided, 'I will watch what I say and make sure I do not sin with my tongue.' "  Sounds like an easy task, but even our psalmist does not get very far.  Just a few steps in to this declaration and the psalmist is looking for a muzzle to keep his mouth in check.

Reading on this elevates even higher "My frustration grew;  my anxiety intensified.  As I thought about it, I became impatient."  When we walk out on our own without God's strength. we make things much harder for ourselves.   In the end we too have to exclaim "O Lord, help me understand my mortality and the brevity of life!"  We need to get to the point where we realize our hope has to be in Him.  

Our psalmist requests "Deliver me from all my sins of rebellion!"  We are so fortunate in that his request has been answered for us.  In Jesus Christ our sins are forgiven, be they past, present and future.  He paid the price for us all.

Amen

Music Encouragement  Third Day - My Hope is You

Encouragement: Eternal Arms

Here is your daily encouragement words and thoughts. Today I bring you encouragement from Deuteronomy 33:26-27

26 There is no one like God, O Jeshurun,
who rides through the sky to help you,
on the clouds in majesty.
27 The everlasting God is a refuge,
and underneath you are his eternal arms;
he has driven out enemies before you,
and has said, “Destroy!”

Biblical Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Dt 33:26-27). Biblical Studies Press.

This is one of my scripture favorites. "There is no one like God" he rides through the sky to help you. He is your refuge and underneath you, are his eternal everlasting arms to hold you and protect you. To catch you when you fall.

Amen

Music Encouragement Leaning on the everlasting arms

Encouragement: Favor from the Lord

Here is your daily encouragement words and thoughts. Today I bring you encouragement from Proverbs 12:1-3

The one who loves discipline loves knowledge,
but the one who hates reproof is stupid.
2 A good person obtains favor from the Lord,
but the Lord condemns a person with wicked schemes.
3 No one can be established through wickedness,
but a righteous root cannot be moved.

Biblical Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Pr 12:1-3). Biblical Studies Press.

Proverbs are so direct and to the point. Proverbs provides us with God advice on how to focus our lives.

Having this information is only part of the equation. It is through the saving grace of Jesus Christ that we can follow the advice.

Amen

Music Encouragement: God Is God