Talking to Yourself

Psalm 103:1-2

   "Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy Name. Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all His benefits."

  Here is a good example of the psalmist talking to himself. When David writes phrases like "my soul" and "o my soul" he is saying, "I am talking to myself."

(What do you say when you talk to yourself?)

What is he telling himself in this Psalm? He is saying "Praise the LORD," and "don't forget how God as blessed you!"....really great things for us to say, too, when we talk to ourselves!

(You could take out those words - 'my soul' -  and put your name in their place.)

 Maybe it would be good for us to stop now and remember how God has blessed us! 

Remember the old song, "Count Your Blessings"? We used to sing it a lot - I don't hear it much anymore. Maybe that helps explain why we are so cynical and pessimistic these days.

Count your blessings. 

Name them one by one.

Count your blessing 

See what God has done!

Count your blessings

Name them one by one

And it will surprise you

What the Lord has done!

Maybe this would be a good time to take out your journal - your big one - and start making that list...and it may surprise you -- what the Lord has already done for you!

What's first on your list?

Did YOU forget to ask? John 4 -

What Jesus Reminds Us....(Recorded in John 4)

Remember the woman at Sychar? 

She was a Samaritan woman and I purposed to meet her at the ancient Jacob's well.

I asked her for a drink of water. She was surprised
at the request. But she didn't ask Me for anything.

Right there, in front of her, the Creator and Sovereign Lord of the Universe, the One able to bestow any gift to any humble creature.

But she didn't ask. I had to call it to her attention -
Look, I said to her, If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Me and I would have given you living water.

She still didn't understand. She didn't "know the gift" and she didn't know who I was.

I explained it to her, just as I have patiently explained it to you.

Now you do know.  You know the gift I bring and you know who I am.

It delights Me to give my Children gifts.

So why don't you ask for more?

You have not because you ask not.

James 4:2

The Seventh Trumpet-- - Are you listening for it?

 

"The seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and  ever.'"

(Revelation 11:15)

Jesus has already begun His kingdom reign, in us, His willing subjects.

As He reigns in our hearts, the rest of creation is groaning in eagerness and longing as we await the return of our Righteous King to His throne He was ordained to rule from since before earthly time began.

His reign will cover the whole cosmos and all His subjects will be the willing, loving, redeemed and rescued ones He brought into His eternal family.

We spend a lot of time analyzing and investigating visible signs of His coming, but maybe we should have our ears tuned to hear that trumpet!

Matthew 24:29-31 tells us how we will all be gathered from all over the earth to join His reigning kingdom.

And in the Old Testament book of Daniel we read how the prophet Daniel explained and predicted that coming kingdom to  Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon: centuries earlier:

     And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up  a  kingdom that will never be destroyed..it shall stand forever....

     (Daniel 2:44-45)

With all this information recorded for us, certainly no one should be surprised when it happens!

Who Could Imagine?

                                     

                                      Who Could Imagine?   

      Jeremiah 31:34 tells us that God says, "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." And in Hebrews 10:17 He says, "Their lawless acts I will remember no more."

      In both of these passages 'remember no more' is equated with 'forgiveness.' 

      Psalm 130:4 states this truth another way: "If You, O LORD,  kept a record of sins, O LORD, who could stand?  But with You there is forgiveness."

      So God deliberately chooses to not only forget our sins but also to not even keep a record  -- a list somewhere that He could go back to and check if He wanted to refresh His memory...like if He got tired of fooling with us and wanted to really punish us! 

     Since God is all-knowing, this act of forgetfulness is a conscious deliberate act of His divine will. And  'no more' means it is permanent! 

      Who could even imagine a God like this?

      Thanks to Him and praise Him forever that we don't have to imagine -- He has explained it to  us - and showed us at the Cross!    

Faith Floats

My life seems unusually difficult these days. Dealing with car and health insurance companies, doctors, family issues....I feel like I am struggling just to tread water.

I imagine those buoys out in the harbor. They, like the little red robin, just keep "bobbing along!" They don't get far, but they keep bouncing up! They are anchored -- placed in a special place to alert sailors to rocks or shoals, or to mark a channel.

They just keep doing their job. Does a buoy ever just give up and sink?
The Holy Spirit gives us buoyancy. He asserts pressure from below to keep us floating and He anchors us just where He wants us. Just where we need to be.

I read these words from R. C. Sproul today:

Have you ever felt you were living your life swimming upstream?

Swimming upstream is difficult, if not impossible. You might make some headway in a wide, slow-moving river. But, if you are in whitewater rafting territory, forget it.

You are going downstream, and no matter how hard you paddle, your strength will not save you. You might even die.

Instead, picture yourself seated in an unsinkable inflated boat as you head down the river. It's inevitable; you will wind up downstream at your destination simply because you are in the boat, whitewater or not.

As a believer, you were chosen in Christ from before the foundation of the earth. Your destination, holiness and blamelessness before God, is assured because you are in the unsinkable boat: Christ. (Ephesians 1:4)

It is not because you have been paddling so hard to meet God's standard of holiness that you arrive.

It is because He is taking you.

Be assured that when you "pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you" (Isaiah 43:2) because He is with you!

O God, please restore my buoyant spirit today!

P.S. When you reach the end of your rope, reach out and touch the hem of His garment!