He Makes Us Victorious

 Scripture:

“He has made his people victorious, and given all his loyal followers reason to praise – the Israelites, the people who are close to him. Praise the Lord!” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭148‬:‭14‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

This verse tells a little of what God does for His people. It says that He has made his people victorious and given us a reason to praise Him. The Psalmist gives God honor for everything in life. He says His victory comes, not from his own hands, but from the Lord. 

Application:

We must realize that every good and perfect gift comes from the Lord. We must acknowledge that our victories are His victories. Our wins are His wins because He is faithful to us and causes us to triumph in life. We must learn that it is God who brings every good thing in to our lives and give Him praise for it. He is worthy of it all! He is incredible and we should praise Him more and more. 

Prayer:

Father, You are great and glorious. Your name is greatly to be praised. You have blessed my life over and over through the years. You have blessed my family. You have made me victorious so many times. Thank You for taking such good care of me throughout the many years of my life. 

Yours,

Jeff

Focus

 Scripture:

“I will focus on your honor and majestic splendor, and your amazing deeds!” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭145‬:‭5‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

Three things the Psalmist says he will focus on concerning the Lord God Almighty. He declares that he will focus on the Lord’s honor, His majestic splendor, and His amazing deeds. These are a good place to start when we are focusing on the Lord.

Application:

Focus helps us achieve great things. What gets our focus will shape our future. It is easy to focus on all the negative things in life because they present themselves right in front of us. The fact is, we choose what we will focus on. I want to focus on the Lord, His honor, His splendor, and His amazing deeds. I choose to focus on God.

Prayer:

Father, help me to maintain my focus on You at all times. Let my heart be pure and my path be straight. Let my life be focused on right things. Help me to follow You completely and to remain focused during good times and bad times. I want to live a life focused on You and Your will in the earth. 

Yours Forever,

Jeff

God Knows Me

 Scripture:

“You know when I sit down and when I get up; even from far away you understand my motives.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139‬:‭2‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

God knows and understands everything about us. He knows when we sit down and when we get up. He knows the thoughts of our hearts and the intentions we have. He knows the what motivates us and what strengthens us. We cannot comprehend the vastness of His knowledge. He knows every detail of our lives.

Application:

Nothing is secret from the Lord. He knows, not only everything we do, but why we do what we do. Our thoughts and desires are no secret to Him, yet He chooses to love us and accept us anyway. His love is incredible. Many times our love diminishes the more we know about someone’s failures and mistakes. God knows every detail, and love us through it all. This makes me want to live in total purity. I want what He sees to be as pure as refined gold.

Prayer:

Father, purify my heart. Let me walk before You in humility and patience. You are my rock and my defense. Teach me Your ways. Let my heart and motives be pure before You. Let Your will for my life be accomplished. Help me to live in a way that pleases and honors You.

Forever Yours,

Jeff

God’s Loyal Love Endures

 Scripture:

“Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his loyal love endures!” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭136‬:‭26‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

In this Psalm, the Psalmist speaks a phrase and then repeats, “his loyal love endures.” He does this over and over throughout the Psalm. The Psalm closes with these words once again. He wanted to remind the reader, or singer, that God’s loyal love endures and never fails.

Application:

Sometimes we need reminded of the loyal love of God. His love isn’t just love, it is loyal love. Loyal means it doesn’t go away quickly or easily. It is something trustworthy. God is loyal to us and we need to be loyal to Him. Our love for God cannot fluctuate because His love for us is loyal.

Prayer:

Father, let my love and my life be loyal to You. You are faithful and loyal to Your people. Help me to be loyal and faithful to You. Speak to me and guide me by Your Spirit. I want to know You more. Teach me the deeper things of God. Show me things to come. I want to walk in step with You at all times. Guide my path and direct my steps. I am Yours.

Forever Yours,

Jeff

Loyal Love Brings Hope

 Scripture:

“O Israel, hope in the Lord, for the Lord exhibits loyal love, and is more than willing to deliver.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭130‬:‭7‬ ‭NET‬

Observation:

This verse is simple, yet profound. It tells us to hope in the Lord because He shows loyal love. It finishes by saying that God is more than willing to deliver us. The words, “loyal love” are so beautiful. God wants us to trust Him in everything we do. He is more than willing to deliver us, but He needs us to put our hope in Him.

Application:

Hope gives you a good attitude towards the future because when there is hope, there is an understanding that things will get better eventually. Because of God’s loyal love, we can have hope for every situation. Lack of love increases despondency and decreases hope. When we feel loved, we also feel hopeful. We must trust God’s love and learn to hope again.

Prayer:

Father, help me to grow in my hope instead of wallowing in what is not happening. Help me to increase my faith. Teach me Your ways and help me to walk in Your paths. You are more than willing to deliver me. Help me to see that, understand that, and have hope because of that.

Your Son,

Jeff

Determined to Praise

 Scripture:

“I am determined, O God! I will sing and praise you with my whole heart.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭108‬:‭1‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

The Psalmist describes the fact that he is determined to sing and praise God with his whole heart. Determination means that you won’t stop, no matter what happens to you. The determined person will not be deterred from what they set out to do. The Psalmist was determined to praise God with his whirl heart.

Application:

There are times when worship is a delight and sometimes when it is more of a determination. Either way, nobody should be able to stop our praise. We should live determined to give God our very best praise. We should not let our circumstances determine our praise, but in every situation, we must be a people that are determined to sing and give God praise. 

Prayer:

Father, I am determined to give you praise and honor in and through my life. Let my whole heart be involved in my worship. I don’t want to give you something that doesn’t require much of me. I want to give You my very best. Help me to serve You well and to praise You with my whole heart.

Yours Forever,

Jeff

Seek the Lord!

 Scripture:

“Seek the Lord and the strength he gives! Seek his presence continually!” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭105‬:‭4‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

The Psalmist here encourages us to seek God. He also encourages us to seek the strength He gives and His presence as well. In other words, God is worth the pursuit. We are called to be continual seekers and the Lord is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Application:

It is easy to become self-reliant because we trust ourselves. God wants us to seek Him. He wants us to seek His presence, His power, His strength, etc. Throughout our lives, we should pursue the Lord continually because there is always more in God. He has a never-ending supply of everything we need. Our place is to seek Him concerning everything in our lives, then to trust Him to do what is best for us. Trusting God is central to a life of faith. 

Prayer:

Lord God Almighty, I seek You this morning. I want to know You more. I want to hear Your voice speaking clearly so I can follow accurately. I want to know Your heart and will for my life. Let me always be a seeker of God and one who is after Your presence. You are my everything! Fill me each and every day with what I need to serve You well.

Yours Forever,

Jeff