That the Nations Will Praise You

 Scripture:

“I will proclaim your greatness through the coming years, then the nations will praise you forever.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭45‬:‭17‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

This simple verse stood out to me this morning because it reflects my heart. The Psalmist says that he will proclaim God’s greatness in the coming years and that the nations would then praise God forever. He connected his proclamation to the nations praising God.

Application:

I want to spend the latter years of my life proclaiming the greatness of the God who has been my refuge, my fortress, and my strong tower all the days of my life. I want to tell every nation of the goodness of my God. I want the nations to give God praise. I want to declare the awesome deeds of the Lord all over the world for His glory. 

Prayer:

Father, in my latter years, use me for Your glory. Let me tell of Your greatness in all the earth. Let my life proclaim how awesome You are. Give me strength to walk through the doors You open and help me to represent You well. I want to tell the world that my God saves.

Forever Yours,

Jeff

Permanent Access

 Scripture:

“As for me, you uphold me because of my integrity; you allow me permanent access to your presence.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭41‬:‭12‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

David tells us here that God upholds him because of his integrity and gives him permanent access to His presence. Our integrity holds us up and gives us access to God’s presence. This is powerful!

Application:

I want to live a life that God will bless. I have always wanted to please the Lord and walk in His ways. I want to demonstrate a life of integrity to those around me. Through Christ, we have already been given permanent access to the Father, but it is a good reminder to us of something we have, but don’t access as often as we should. I love the idea of permanent access through Christ. I don’t just have access when I’m having a good day, but because of Jesus, on my worst day, I still have access.

Prayer:

Father, let me live my life as one who has permanent access to You. You are my everything and I love You more every day. Help me to live, not feeling distanced from God, but close enough to realize I have permanent access at any time of any day. Today at Disney, remind me that I have permanent access to the power and presence of God.

Your Son,

Jeff

Look to God for Help

 Scripture:

“Those who look to him for help are happy; their faces are not ashamed.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭34‬:‭5‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

In this passage, David tells us that those who look to God for help are happy and they are not ashamed. Rather than looking to Him to help us, we often look to ourselves, our friends, our family, etc. This verse lets us know that we should look to God.

Application:

As a believer, our first response in every situation Should be to look to God for help. When trouble comes, as it often does, we need to look to God for help rather than trying to figure out and fix everything ourselves. When we do that, David promises us that our faces will not be ashamed. My first place to run needs to be to Jesus, no matter what the problem is. 

Prayer:

Lord, let my eyes be open and my ears attentive to Your Word and Your Spirit. Help me to always look to You for help. You are my resource. You are my God and I trust in You. Teach me to keep my eyes on You at all times. Show me how to trust You over leaning on my own understanding.

Yours,

Jeff

Joy Comes in the Morning

 Scripture:

“For his anger lasts only a brief moment, and his good favor restores one’s life. One may experience sorrow during the night, but joy arrives in the morning.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭30‬:‭5‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

In this verse, the. Psalmist declares that God’s anger lasts only a brief, short moment, but his favor restores a person’s life. He finishes by saying that we may have sorrow at times, but that will be brief because joy comes in the morning. In other words, God will bring us through every difficult season. He will bring joy when the world has brought us sorrow.

Application:

We cannot allow discouragement to ruin our lives. When we have setbacks, we must look to the Lord and know that it won’t last forever. We serve a God we can trust. He will bring joy into our lives again! There will be times when it feels like God is mad at us or things are not going the way we pictured, but we can also know that favor and joy are coming. 

Prayer:

Lord God, help me to walk by faith and not by sight. Help me to live according to Your words. When I go through difficulties, help me to remember that You are faithful, reliable, and that You will bring me out. Let it sink deep into my heart that joy will come again, no matter how difficult the current season is.

Yours,

Jeff

Depend on the Lord, Not Yourself

 Scripture:

“Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we depend on the Lord our God. They will fall down, but we will stand firm.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭20‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭NET‬‬ 

Observation:

This little couplet of verses is a great reminder to put our trust in the Lord and not in the things we think can help us. God wants to be the one we trust, not ourselves. When we do this, the Psalmist says we will stand firm and those who depend on other things will fall down. 

Application:

Sometimes it is easier to trust doctors, attorneys, people, machines, computers, etc. than is is to trust God. It is easier to trust what we can see and control than to trust in a God we can’t see and cannot control. He does what He wants to do, and we have to trust He will always do the right thing. The good news is that He is faithful and haas never failed His people. 

Prayer:

Father, increase my trust level. As in video games, let me level up my trust walk. Help me not to trust only the things I can control, but to believe You are good and Your plans for my life are wonderful. Let me trust You more this week and believe You will do what You say You will do.

Yours Forever,

Jeff

Trust God’s Faithfulness

 Scripture:

“But I trust in your faithfulness. May I rejoice because of your deliverance!” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭13‬:‭5‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

The Psalmist was asking God when He was going to overthrow his enemies and bring justice. The Psalm was basically saying, How long will You allow bad things to happen and You not intervene? He seemed frustrated, but in this verse he gives some wisdom, “but I trust in Your faithfulness.”

Application;

Psalms like this help me because there are times when it seems like God is not answering our prayers. There are seasons when it may seem like He is distant. At those times, we must remain like David and trust in God’s faithfulness. We may not understand why He allows certain things to happen, but we know in the end, it always turns around and He always delivers. 

Prayer:

Father, teach me to trust Your faithfulness. You have always been faithful to me and always come through for me, but sometimes it is not when I want You to. Help me to trust You more and to remain in faith when things are not going the way I want them to go. When I see how You have worked in my life, I should never wonder if You are going to work on my behalf, but I do. Help me to trust You more.

Yours Forever,

Jeff

A Life God Can Bless and Prosper

 Scripture:

“He is like a tree planted by flowing streams; it yields its fruit at the proper time, and its leaves never fall off. He succeeds in everything he attempts.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

In this first Psalm, the Psalmist describes a person who is righteous and flees from evil. It says he is planted like a tree whose leaves never fall off and that produces fruit at the right times. He says of that person that he succeeds in everything he attempts. 

Application:

I want to fit into this category of person. I want to always have leaves on my tree and to yield much fruit for the Kingdom of God. Lastly, I want to succeed at everything I attempt. I want the blessing of Almighty God on my life. This Psalm is attached to obedience. It is those who live godly lives who see these things. As for me, I want to live a life that God can bless. I want to live aligned with His purposes and plans for me. 

Prayer:

Lord, I give myself to You. Guide me. Guard me. Lead me into Your will at all times. Help me to live a life You can bless and prosper. You are faithful and true. Teach me to hear Your voice and to respond accordingly. Show me how to walk in Your blessing. Meet every need in my life and family. Meet every need in the church and the ministry I lead. Prosper my life and let every need be met. 

Yours,

Jeff