Taking time to watch this video will be worth your time…we can depend on God because He protects us, delivers us and gives us confidence to move forward. I needed this today and I hope that it blesses you, too.
Category: Video
Fix Me, Jesus
God is in the business of repairing hearts, relationships, and souls. Let this old gospel song speak to your heart today as it spoke to mine.
May your day be blessed with God’s presence, love, grace and mercy.
Psalm 34
I have two favorite Psalms that I often read to help me get through challenges or walk through valleys. This is one of them; the other is Psalm 91. Both are filled with promises of God’s loving care, so I turn to them when I need to feel His comfort all around me.
We are not supposed to just praise God when all is going well for us. We are to praise God AT ALL TIMES! If we feel like bragging (and who doesn’t sometimes), then our boast should be in the Lord and all He has done. There is always something great that God has done or is doing for us that we can tell others about. As Christians, when we give a testimony about what God is doing or has done, we are exalting His name in the hope that others will want to know God in the same way that we know Him.
These verses don’t say that God takes away our troubles; rather, He takes away our fears. He saves us FROM our troubles, surrounding and defending us, but we still have troubles. I have found in my life that I grow more spiritually during the challenging times because that is when I press in closer to God.
The big word for me in these verses is “refuge.” Those who are safe don’t need to look for shelter, so this is telling me that troubles will happen, even to those who are “godly people.” But even when we face difficulties, God will continue to supply all that we need, physically, emotionally, mentally. Trusting in the Lord means that we don’t have to fret over our needs because we will “lack no good thing.”
How do we show that we fear the Lord? By speaking truth and love and goodness, not evil and lies. By turning away from bad choices and choosing to do good instead. It is up to us to maintain peace with others, even those with whom we disagree. Notice the word “work.” I think that means peace doesn’t come easily but it is a task that we must exert effort to keep.
I am so thankful that God is always watching over me and listening to me when I cry out to Him. I am not righteous because of what I have done, but because of His Son’s sacrifice, so I call on God frequently for help. I feel sad for those who don’t know God and who live for doing evil; they may have everything shiny here on earth but one day, they will no longer exist, with even the memory of them gone. God does not promise that we won’t have troubles, but He promises to rescue us. If we are broken-hearted and our spirits are crushed, assailed by all of the evil around us, God holds us close and rescues us from our feelings of hopelessness and helplessness.
I really don’t like the reality and truth of this verse: “the righteous person faces many troubles….” But I do like the promise here, that the Lord comes to rescue us each time. He doesn’t sometimes look away and leave us to be washed away. He protects us. Verse 20 is a prophecy about Christ. If you recall, Jesus did not have His bones broken on the cross as the soldiers started to do because He had already died. I would like to claim this promise for me, too, but it specifically refers to Jesus. (I have broken my right elbow three times and my left ankle once because I fell. Fortunately, God took care of me during these incidents and I did not need surgery…just time to heal.)
I love the idea of redemption for those of us who are serving the Lord. And the part about the wicked being destroyed spurs me to tell more people about Him so that they can change their lives and become righteous. My favorite part of this section is that the psalmist returns to the theme of God’s being our refuge. We take refuge in Him because we need a shelter and He doesn’t kick us out to fend for ourselves. He provides the shelter we need for as long as we need it.
I pray that these verses have spoken to your hearts today just as they do to me each time I read them. I will leave you with a song that started me on my journey of seeking solace in this beautiful and promise-filled Psalm.
A Prayer for Today and Maybe Everyday
Authors have written books about the day after 9-11. Presidents have made speeches. Congress has passed resolutions. But I have done nothing on the day after one of the worst days in the history of the United States. This morning I was feeling kind of out of sorts, not really discouraged, but just not feeling as though I had done much for the survivors, the people left behind. Then, in Dr. Denison’s Forum this morning, was this song that is also a prayer. I share it with you in the hope that you will join me in praying it, today and everyday that you remember. You don’t have to remember the words, but I hope that the heart of the message will touch you deeply in your soul, where you long to make a difference.
God of the Poor Lyrics by Graham A. Kendrick
Beauty for brokenness
Hope for despair
Lord, in your suffering
This is our prayer
Bread for the children
Justice, joy, peace
Sunrise to sunset
Your kingdom increase!
Shelter for fragile lives
Cures for their ills
Work for the craftsman
Trade for their skills
Land for the dispossessed
Rights for the weak
Voices to plead the cause
Of those who can’t speak
Friend of the weak
Give us compassion we pray
Melt our cold hearts
Let tears fall like rain
Come, change our love
From a spark to a flame
Refuge from cruel wars
Havens from fear
Cities for sanctuary
Freedoms to share
Peace to the killing-fields
Scorched earth to green
Christ for the bitterness
His cross for the pain
Friend of the weak
Give us compassion we pray
Melt our cold hearts
Let tears fall like rain
Come, change our love
From a spark to a flame
Rest for the ravaged earth
Oceans and streams
Plundered and poisoned
Our future, our dreams
Lord, end our madness
Carelessness, greed
Make us content with
The things that we need
Friend of the weak
Give us compassion we pray
Melt our cold hearts
Let tears fall like rain
Come, change our love
From a spark to a flame
Lighten our darkness
Breathe on this flame
Until your justice
Burns brightly again
Until the nations
Learn of your ways
Seek your salvation
And bring you their praise
Friend of the weak
Give us compassion we pray
Melt our cold hearts
Let tears fall like rain
Come, change our love
From a spark to a flame
Friend of the weak
Give us compassion we pray
Melt our cold hearts
Let tears fall like rain
Come, change our love
From a spark to a flame
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Graham A. Kendrick
God of the Poor (Beauty for Brokenness) lyrics © Make Way Music
Broken from the Inside
This is an eye-opening devotional. We can get value from brokenness if we are allowing the Holy Spirit to work inside of us.
Our Intercessor
Many years ago, back in the 70’s actually, my husband and I attended Youth with a Mission. There we studied the Bible in preparation to share the gospel with others wherever we went. We also studied the works of some great theologians. One such book was by Norman Grubbs and was entitled Rees Howells: Intercessor. If you are interested, you can get a copy here:
This book tells the amazing story of a man who dedicated his life to intercession. So, what is intercession?
The Cambridge Dictionary defines intercession as “the act of using your influence to make someone in authority forgive someone else or save them from punishment.” https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/intercession
The Bible says that each one of us who has accepted the Lord Jesus has an intercessor because He intercedes for us.
Jesus’s death on the cross was a “once and done” action, but His intercession for us is constant because although we strive to be like Him, we have not achieved perfection.
What is our role in the world if we want to be intercessors like Jesus and plead for the souls of friends and loved ones? We are standing in the gap for them, asking God for mercy and as David Ettinger said in his blog today, we are to realize that they are blinded and need to pray for their eyes to be opened. David Ettinger on WordPress
For more information about Rees Howells, check out this video,
A Word about “Sound of Freedom”
Just the message that I sent out yesterday that my husband and I had tickets and were going to see “Sound of Freedom” evoked various responses. My liberal sons jumped on the QAnon bandwagon, ridiculing our choice of movie. My sister wanted to know which theater we were going to because there had been many glitches in the AMC theater chain. (We went to the Regal.) But I was not going to be thwarted from my desire to see this film, so after my medical appointment, we headed into town for the matinee.
I would like to encourage everyone to see this heartbreaking movie, not because of the heartbreak but because of the truth that is in it. No, it is not totally factual. It has been fictionalized to make a better story, but if you read the real story of Tim Ballard and his efforts to rescue children, you will see that there is plenty of truth in the film and that is what breaks my heart. Especially the part about our nation being the largest purveyor and supporter of child trafficking and pornography.
“Sound of Freedom” -Official Trailer from Angel Studios
If you cannot afford a ticket, then Angel Studios has provided a “pay it forward” program to help you to see the movie. Just go to their site and follow the links. Tickets for Sound of Freedom
The tagline for the movie is that “God’s children are not for sale.” Remember that Jesus took the little children into His arms and blessed them; He did not turn them away. The current problem with our border is not just drugs, though that is horrific, too. The cartels use the open borders to traffic children. See the movie. Pray hard for this evil to be exposed and that God will have mercy on the children and save them. See the movie. If you are like me, your eyes are already somewhat open to the evil that men do to little children in the name of profit and pleasure. But if you are like me, you have no idea of how extensive the problem is. See the movie. And then spread the word so that others will see it.
Pray and Give Thanks
I think that this verse has been a theme in my life for the last three or four months. Undergoing one medical test after another, I must say that anxiety fluttered within me and tried to take hold. I kept repeating verses to myself about casting my burdens on the Lord and that He was with me no matter what I faced.
My last medical test was on Monday, an MRA, which I was told means Magnetic Resonance Angiograpy. In other words, they were taking pictures of the blood vessels inside my brain to see if anything was amiss there. (This followed an episode with blurred vision and severe vertigo.) Anyway, I would be lying if I did not confess my anxiety that hit strongly as my husband drove me to the hospital for the test. He prayed for me, I went in and tried to read as I waited to be called. The test itself wasn’t so bad, just a helmet like thing fit over my head and face and into the tight quarters of the MRI machine I went. I prayed while I was in there, and I gave thanks for all of the good reports so far. None of the multitude of tests had shown anything significant, so I was very grateful that all kinds of medical issues had been ruled out.
I got the results sent to me via message from the hospital later that evening. Of course, I couldn’t understand the medical terms but I did notice that the MRA picked up on the fact that part of my brain doesn’t get blood anymore. That would be where I had my stroke, of course. So, I waited for my neurologist to call to interpret the results. He called after I was in bed (he is one of the hardest working, most dedicated doctors I know, working long after office hours) and left the message with my husband.
“The results are normal!” That was the doctor’s pronouncement.
My husband let me know once he got off the phone and I was exultant that God came through for me again. As I prayed, I asked God why so many tests and then normal results. Now, don’t get me wrong. I didn’t want a bad report. I was just surprised that I had so many symptoms and the test results were all fine. God spoke to my heart and told me that He used the tests to draw me closer to Him and the healing came from Him.
Arising this morning to a new day without any new tests or specialists to see, I immediately turned to praise. As I took my shower, I sang “1000 Hallelujas” quietly to myself. As I read my devotionals, I played Chris Tomlin’s “Holy Forever” over and over again, worshipping the Lord for His power, grace, mercy and love for me.
I accept God’s sovereignty in my life and His magnificent way of getting my full attention. I am thankful that He loves me enough to take the time to work on me.
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 