When They Call on Me

Scripture:

“When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭91:15‬ ‭NLT‬

Observation:

The Psalmist says here is speaking on God’s behalf.  He tells us that when we call on the Lord, He will answer, He will be with us in trouble, He will rescue us, and He will honor us.  The key is simply in calling on the name of the LORD.  Jeremiah said “Call unto me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things that you cannot know.”

Application:

God makes great promises here concerning our lives, but they are contingent promises.  They are contingent on the fact that we call on Him.  When I am in trouble, I usually try everything to figure out what I need to do before I simply cry out to the LORD.  I need to call out first instead of trying to work it out.  He is faithful to do what He says He will do, we need to do our part.

Prayer:

Father, I call out to You.  I need you in my life, my family, my church and my nation.  I call out to You for revival in our region and in our nation.  I call out to You and ask You to move powerfully once again.  Pour out Your Spirit on all flesh.  I call out to You and ask You to bring in the great harvest of the nations. I call out to You and ask You to bless my life so I can be a blessing.

Your Son,

Jeff

No Good Thing

 Scripture:

“For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭84:11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Observation:

The Psalmist tells us here that God is our sun and shield.  He is our light and our protection.  He then says that God gives grace and glory.  God is full of grace and mercy and chooses to share His glory with us.  This is beyond comprehension.  He adds at the end, “The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.”

Application:

When reading this morning, the words, “no good thing” stood out to me.  God doesn’t want to withhold blessings from us, He wants to get them to us, but there is something we must do.  We must do what is right, or live righteous lives.  God is not trying to withhold things from us, but to get us in a position to receive them.  When we do our part, He does His.  He also shares His grace and glory with us, which is beyond understanding.

Prayer:

Father, You are good, kind, loving compassionate, and truly amazing!  You have blessed my life over and over.  You do give grace and glory.  You don’t withhold good things from us.  Help me to walk righteously before You all the days of my life.

Yours Forever,

Jeff

Living Like King David

 Scripture:

“So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭78:72‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Observation:

This verse is referring to King David.  The prior verse says he was taken from shepherding the sheep to become the shepherd of Israel. According to this verse, David led with two things; integrity of heart and skillfulness of his hands.  His heart was pure and undivided and his hands were well trained.

Application:

When Serving the LORD in any position, these two things are critical.  We must be a people who lead with integrity and character above anything else.  Integrity comes from integer, which is a number that can’t be divided by another number equally.  It means you have an undivided heart.  We also need skillful hands to handle things well.  We need to take advantage of every opportunity for education and training so we are skillful at what we do.

Prayer:

Father, let me lead Your people with an undivided heart and skillful hands.  Help me to be a better leader.  Teach me to lead with a right heart and increase my skills to be more effective for Your Kingdom.  Help me to never become complacent, but to always strive to be better in every way.  I want to lead Your people well in my generation.

Yours,

Jeff

It is Good For Me

 Scripture:

“But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, That I may declare all Your works.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭73:28‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Observation:

In this passage, the Psalmist tells us that it is good to draw near to God and to put our trust in Him, then you can declare all His works.  Drawing near to God is always a good thing.  When you do, you will always have some works to declare to others.

Application:

The more we draw near to the LORD, the more our lives are changed and the more we trust God.  The more we trust God, the more answers we see.  The more answers we see to prayer, the more we are able to declare God’s good works to others.  It all starts with drawing near to God, which is the passion of my heart.  I want to know Him so I can declare His works to my generation.

Prayer:

Lord God Almighty, thank You for making it easy to seek You.  Thank You for blessing those who draw near to You.  You are amazing and I love drawing near.  When I draw near, I always have something to declare.  Help me to seek You more and more.  I want to know You and I want my eyes and ears opened to hear and see You more often.  Enable me to declare Your works to the nations.

Yours Forever,

Jeff

Living Hearts

 Scripture:

“The humble shall see this and be glad; And you who seek God, your hearts shall live.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭69:32‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Observation:

Here in this passage, the Psalmist declares that the humble will see the good things he had just uttered.  He then goes on to say that those who seek God, their hearts will live.  He brings life to dead hearts.

Application:

Jesus didn’t die to make bad people good, He died to bring dead people back to life.  When we seek God, we will truly begin to live life.  Life begins when we humble ourselves and begin to truly seek the LORD. He will give us a reason to live and fill our hearts with life.  Out of our belly should flow living water.  I want to live with a living, tender, heart that God can use for His glory.

Prayer:

Father, help me to walk before You in humility and brokenness.  Let my heart come alive more and more.  You are the one who sets our hearts on fire and brings life to them.  I want to live from the heart you gave me.  Create in me a clean, new heart that reflects Your goodness.  Let me live from a living heart that lives to honor You.

Yours,

Jeff

Trust in the LORD

 Scripture:

“Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭62:8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Observation:

The Psalmist here tells us to trust in the LORD at all times and to pour out our heart before God.  He ends this verse by saying that God is a refuge for us.  God desires a people who will truly trust Him to lead and guide them.  He longs to be the one we pour out our heart to.

Application:

God is our refuge.  He is a safe place we can run to when things are not good around us.  He is the place we should run when we feel like the enemy is after us.  He desires us to pour our hearts out before Him.  During this 21 day fast, I want to pour out my heart to the LORD and then trust Him to take care of every detail of my life.  I want to find my place of safety in Him and not in my out resources or my own defenses.

Prayer:

Father, I cry out to You this morning.  Move in my life.  Help me to trust You more fully each day.  Teach me to pour out everything in my heart to You.  You are the only one who can turn things around.  You are my help and my hope.  Step in and show Yourself strong in my life, in my family’s lives, and in our church.

Your Son,

Jeff

Cast Your Burden

 Scripture:

“Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.”  ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭55:22‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Observation:

The Psalmist says here to cast our burdens on the LORD and He will sustain you.  To sustain is to keep healthy and alive.  It is to keep someone fed and cared for.  He goes on the say that when we cast our burdens on the LORD, He will never let the righteous be moved.  He empowers us to stand firm.

Application:

When we are overwhelmed, we are to cast our cares and burdens on the LORD.  He is faithful and will give us what we need to get through any situation we find ourselves in.  He will give us everything we need to stand strong.  When I am overwhelmed, instead of trying to fight through things on my own, I need to cast things on the LORD.  He can handle it and will help me.

Prayer:

LORD, I cast every worry, stress, and issue on You today.  Thank you for offering this to Your servants.  It is powerful that we are able to cast our troubles and burdens on You and not pick them back up.  You are amazing and I appreciate You so much.  Help me not to be moved by the things around me, but to be moved by You.

Your Son,

Jeff