Psalm 4:3-4

"But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself;the Lord hears when I call to him. Don't sin by letting anger gain control over you. Think about it overnight and be still."

Psalm 4:3-4

I am a teacher and sometimes I find it fascinating to do a little word study on bible verses. Yesterday at church a man read this verse and I really liked it and wanted to know some of the root meaning of the words in the verse so here are 2 that stuck out to me!

Set Apart: Hebrew word: Palah

1) to be distinct, marked out, be separated, be distinguished
2) to be wonderful

Be Still: Hebrew word: Damam

1) To be silent, to wait

The man's word about this verse (vs.3) was "Imagine you are in a crowd and God is looking at the crowd with a straight face, no emotion and then He sees you and His face lights up, He smiles on you!" God finds us faithful and he separates us from the rest of the crowd. We are wonderful and distinguished in His eyes! Even when we have sinned... the next verse says to not sin or let anger control us, but to be still and wait on the Lord. Wait on Him, meditate on Him and His word. We are, I AM, His favorite one!! What an awesome promise!

Here it Goes!

"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; He was lost but now he is found!" Luke 15:20&24.

Isn't this just so WONDERFUL!! I love this verse! We may walk away from the Lord but He never walks away from us. He is with us whether we feel so close to Him or if we feel so distant. That is so encouraging!

You may have a past or things you regret but remember this verse! He sees you and He has COMPASSION on you! He will throw His arms around you and kiss you with His love!

We are alive in HIM!!

... Hmmm Revamp...

I sometimes think about how nice it would be to truly just start over... so... I guess I will start simple and "revamp" my blog. I have heard people say that they do something interesting with their blog (i.e. funny thing for the day or I'm thankful for... etc.) Anyways I wanted to think of something to do with my blog. So I thought of doing a random fact, or a wacky word (all of which I might do at some point) but I wanted something more meaningful. So I decided to do a blessing blog. I hope to find a bible verse and use it to encourage anyone who happens to read this blog. This will not be a daily thing (I do have a life) but as often as possible! I hope and pray that God encourages and uplifts some people!

His Promises!

"My Beloved" by Kari Jobe

You're my beloved, You're my bride.

To sing over you is my delight. Come away with Me, my love.

Under My mercy came and wait, till we are standing face to face.

I see no stain on you, my child.

You're beautiful to Me, so beautiful to Me.

I sing over you My song of peace

Cast all your cares down at My feet

Come and find rest in Me.

I'll breathe My life inside of you

I'll bear you up on eagles' wings and hide you in the shadow of My strength.

I'll take you to my quiet waters

I'll restore your soul.

Come rest in Me and be made whole.

**There are times when life seems really hard, like nothing is going the way you saw it, and you don't know which way is up or down. During these times a song like "My Beloved" reminds me of what God thinks of me and wants for me! Along with the song I thought about these verses! They are such powerful promises that the Lord has for us! He is so AWESOME!!!!**

Song of Solomon 4:9 "You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes"

Isaiah 1:18 "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."

Song of Solomon 1:15 "How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful!"

Psalm 55:22 "Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you"

Isaiah 40:31 "Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. "

Psalm 23:2 "He lets me rest in green pastures, he leads me beside still water"

The Garden of Life

John 15:1-2 " I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch that does not bear fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be more fruitful."
To cause a tree to be more productive people cut off the branches that are dead or not bearing fruit. Same as a garden, to help the plants in the garden grow people pull out the weeds.
In our lives as Christians there are "weeds" or "bad branches" that come into our lives. These can be alot of different things. They can even be things that on the outside look good. Think about those wild flowers and dandelions that are pretty to look at but deep down are destroying the other plants.
What in your life are the "weeds?" What does God need to pull out or cut off of your life? Pray for Him to reveal these things to you and to give you strength because weeds have strong roots. Allow Him that access into your life to take those things away so the good fruit and plants can grow and flourish!

DWAI

Why all the acronyms?!?!
Again Dr. David Jeremiah had a great devotional, this time about acronyms. Sometimes it feels like you need a degree just to understand some of them! The FBI and the CIA are two examples he used. Then I got to thinking about the acronyms I/we use ASAP, DWAI (don't worry about it), ATM, YMCA, the list could go on and on. The one that Dr. Jeremiah emphasized was NTKB (need to know basis) He said that Jesus gave us all the information we need for the end time prophecies and that we just need to keep studying His word to discover them.
How true that is with every situation not just the end times. God's word is so full of wisdom for any and all the situations and issues we might face in this life. How often do I turn to my BFs (best friends) when I need wisdom and forget about the Bible, or turn to it after the fact and say "Oh that makes sense!" How much more in tune with God's voice would we be if we just took that one simple step? How much simpler would the questions I ask everyday be able to be answered? Hmm... I know that this is so what the Lord desires for each of us and this is what the Lord has been teaching me so I am PTTC (preaching to the choir) on this one! lol!
His word "is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." Psalm 119:105

Found Faithful

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7

"Sometimes we get crippled with distraction by all that's going on in the world; injustice, sin, materialism and war. But if we are faithful to the end, it doesn't matter what trials and tribulations the world experiences because we have a Heavenly Father who is always beside us, helping us run the race. Through Him, the race has already been won; all we have to do is remain faithful until the finish line comes into view."

This is an excerpt from an email devotional I receive, written by David Jeremiah. I found it to be so true and relevant in my life. We all get crippled, we all fall into sin, we all get consumed by this world. But if we turn to God and seek Him, His knowledge and wisdom, He will come alongside of us and guide us through to the end. There is a song by Justin Rizzo that came to my mind when I read the devotional its called "Found Faithful"

Here are some of the lyrics:

"I wanna run the race, I wanna keep the faith. Help me win the prize of the knowledge of you.
I wanna be found faithful, I wanna be found steady, I wanna be found faithful til the end.
Don't wanna be ashamed the day I see your face. Keep my footsteps firm hold me in your grace. I wanna live before your eyes, I wanna stay before your gaze. Keep me steady."

God wants to be the One we run to, He longs to be the arms we find our comfort in. I know from experience that this is very hard especially for women. As a woman I long for a man to be my strength and I want to find comfort in a man, to rely on him. Jesus is that man! I can not allow myself to get out of the Lord's sight, away from His eyes or out of His gaze while I am waiting. I need to be steady and faithful and have complete trust in Him, His will for my life not mine! I want to be found faithful til the end!