In His Time

Psalm 54

English Standard Version (ESV)

To the choirmaster: with ^(A)stringed instruments. A Maskil^[a] of David, ^(B)when the Ziphites went and told Saul, “Is not David hiding among us?”

54 O God, save me by your ^(C)name,
    and vindicate me by your might.
² O God, ^(D)hear my prayer;
    give ear to the words of my mouth.

^3 (E)For ^(F)strangers^[b] have risen against me;
    ruthless men ^(G)seek my life;
    they do not set God before themselves.  Selah

⁴ Behold, ^(H)God is my helper;
    the Lord is the upholder of my life.
⁵ He will return the evil to my enemies;
    in your ^(I)faithfulness ^(J)put an end to them.

⁶ With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you;
    I will give thanks to your name, O Lord,^(K)for it is good.
⁷ For he has delivered me from every trouble,
    and my eye has ^(L)looked in triumph on my enemies.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2054&version=ESV

I have never feared for my life because of ruthless men, not to say that I won’t but thus far I have lived a sheltered life.  However, there have been times in my life when I have felt the attack of the enemy upon my life and I want the Lord to quickly take care of it.  There have been times when I have seen those who do not honor God prosper and I wondered why God would allow that to happen.  I have come to realize that they are being given their time of glory on this earth but eternity belongs to those who love and serve the Lord.  Vengeance will come to those who do not honor God.  It is not for us to decide when that time will be.  What we need to do today is give thanks to the Lord!  He is good and His love endures forever.  He will deliver us from our times of trouble at the perfect time.  Our job is to remain faithful to Him because He is faithful to us.

Seek Him and find Him and when you do, thank Him for what He has done and will do for you.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila  

Exemplify the Father

Psalm 53

English Standard Version (ESV)

To the choirmaster: according to ^(A)Mahalath. A Maskil^[a] of David.

53 ^(B)The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
    They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity;
    there is none who does good.

² God looks down from heaven
    on the children of man
to see if there are any who understand,^[b]
    who seek after God.

³ They have all fallen away;
    together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
    not even one.

⁴ Have those who work evil no knowledge,
    who eat up my people as they eat bread,
    and do not call upon God?

⁵ There they are, in great terror,
    ^(C)where there is no terror!
For God ^(D)scatters the bones of him who encamps against you;
    you put them to shame, for God has rejected them.

⁶ Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
    When God restores the fortunes of his people,
    let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2053&version=ESV)

I am sure you have heard of people saying, “Why should I be a Christin, they are no better than I am?” or maybe someone has said that to you!  In some ways they are very right but in others they could not be any further from the truth.  People are people and as the scripture say, “All have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.” (Romans 3:23).  There is no doubt that sin has entrapped our lives in such a way that none of us are perfect.

However, there is a stark contrast between the one who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ and the one who says there is no God.  The scriptures here make it very clear that the one who denies there is a God is a FOOL.  Yes, a FOOL.   This person may try to do good but they are in essence an enemy of God.  While the Christians will be rejoicing in Heaven, terror will be upon the one who says, “There is no God.”  Terror will come to the one that persecutes or mocks the Christians.

Today maybe it appears there is no difference, which is sad because Christians should be living a life that exemplifies our Father in Heaven.  Sometimes those who do not believe look at ways to trip up a Christian or draw or expound on one fault of a Christian just to make their point.  Today they may think they are winning the race but they don’t realize they are running the wrong direction.

Don’t be a fool but rather seek Him with all your heart in order that you can exemplify the Father in your actions.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila 

Waiting for God to Work

Psalm 52

English Standard Version (ESV)

To the choirmaster. A Maskil^[a] of David, when^(A)Doeg, the Edomite, came and told Saul, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”

52 Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?
    The steadfast love of God endures all the day.
² Your ^(B)tongue plots destruction,
    like ^(C)a sharp razor, you ^(D)worker of deceit.
³ You love evil more than good,
    and ^(E)lying more than speaking what is right. Selah
⁴ You love all words that devour,
    O deceitful tongue.

⁵ But God will break you down forever;
    he will snatch and ^(F)tear you from your tent;
    he will uproot you from ^(G)the land of the living. Selah
⁶ The righteous shall ^(H)see and fear,
    and shall ^(I)laugh at him, saying,
⁷ “See the man who would not make
    God his refuge,
but ^(J)trusted in the abundance of his riches
    and sought refuge in his own destruction!”^[b]

⁸ But I am like ^(K)a green olive tree
    in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
    forever and ever.
⁹ I will thank you forever,
    because you have done it.
I will wait for your name, ^(L)for it is good,
    in the presence of the ^(M)godly.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2052&version=ESV

I believe this may need a little bit of background information from I Samuel 21 and 22.  I would encourage to read it.  David was on the run from Saul because Saul thought David was going to kill him and take over his throne.  David, however, was faithful to God who had appointed Saul to be king of Israel and he had no intentions of killing Saul.  He knew that God would remove Saul in due time.  Saul on the other hand desperately tried to protect the throne thinking he knew better than God. 

One day God told David, through the prophet Gad, to leave his stronghold and go into the land of Judah.  Now I might have started arguing with God about this time but David listened and went.  He confided in the priest, Ahimelech who gave him holy bread to eat and the sword from the slaying of Goliath.  Because of this the king feared his life even more and had Ahimelech and his family killed.

David recognized the wrong actions of the king but yet he would not kill the king, although he had plenty of opportunity, because he recognized that it was God who anointed Saul as king and it would be God who would take that honor away from him. I think I would have reasoned that God gave me the opportunity so I should seize it.  This just goes to show that even if opportunities come our way we should not always jump on them if it is not a decision that would honor God.  If David would have killed the king, the supporters of the king would have been angry and the kingdom would have been divided because of the actions of David. 

Although David was ready for God to work and put him on the throne he waited for the Lord and rested in the assurance that God loves Him.  Just like David we can live in that assurance.  No matter how long we have to wait to see the wicked fall, we know that God is at work because He loves us.  We need to surround ourselves with righteous people who have that same assurance and seek Him with all our hearts.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila 

We All Struggle

Psalm 51

English Standard Version (ESV)

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when^(A)Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

51 ^(B)Have mercy on me,^[a] O God,
    according to your steadfast love;
according to your ^(C)abundant mercy
    ^(D)blot out my transgressions.
^2 (E)Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
    and ^(F)cleanse me from my sin!

^3 (G)For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is ever before me.
^4 (H)Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil ^(I)in your sight,
^(J)so that you may be justified in your words
    and blameless in your judgment.
⁵ Behold, ^(K)I was brought forth in iniquity,
    and in sin did my mother conceive me.
⁶ Behold, you delight in truth in ^(L)the inward being,
    and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

⁷ Purge me ^(M)with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
    ^(N)wash me, and I shall be ^(O)whiter than snow.
⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness;
    ^(P)let the bones ^(Q)that you have broken rejoice.
^9 (R)Hide your face from my sins,
    and ^(S)blot out all my iniquities.
^10 (T)Create in me a ^(U)clean heart, O God,
    and ^(V)renew a right^[b] spirit within me.
^11 (W)Cast me not away from your presence,
    and take not ^(X)your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and uphold me with a willing spirit.

¹³ Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    and sinners will ^(Y)return to you.
¹⁴ Deliver me from ^(Z)bloodguiltiness, O God,
    O ^(AA)God of my salvation,
    and ^(AB)my tongue will sing aloud of your^(AC)righteousness.
¹⁵ O Lord, open my lips,
    and my mouth will declare your praise.
^16 (AD)For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
    you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are ^(AE)a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

^18 (AF)Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
    ^(AG)build up the walls of Jerusalem;
¹⁹ then will you delight in ^(AH)right sacrifices,
    in burnt offerings and ^(AI)whole burnt offerings;
    then bulls will be offered on your altar.

                                                           

I could have split this up into section but just felt that it all belonged together so I decided to post all of Psalm 51.  I hope today that this is your prayer to our Lord and Savior.  I haven’t posted for quite some time and mostly because I needed to have discussions with the Lord on my own.  I have had some struggles lately, not bad in comparison to many many people in this world but life has not found me with a lot of joy in my heart. 

One thing is for sure, God knows our hearts.  He knows how to answer us when we call upon His name.  He is a God of comfort, a God of strength, a God of love and a God to be feared.  David knew that!  He knew that the only way he could be cleansed is through God Himself.  He was guilty of murder amongst other things yet He knew God would forgive Him but He also knew that He had to confess that sin to God.  His confession in this passage is not full of ritualism through blood sacrifices but rather David is asking for a cleansing from God Himself. In fact, in verses 16 and 17 he states that God does not delight in sacrifices that are done out of duty but rather He delights in a broken and contrite heart. David knew that he would be much more effective with others if he confesses and gets things worked out with God and once again feels the love of His Father God.  That is where I was and why I stopped writing. I felt pain and dissatisfaction and I still do to some degree but today I felt I needed to write.

I like David want to be blessed by God.  I want to know and accept each and every blessing that He gives me but sometimes I don’t recognize all of those blessings the way I should.  And frankly sometimes I am not sure they are a blessing and feel like it is more of a curse.  Life is hard for everyone at some time.  Those who think others “have it altogether” don’t really realize that we all struggle.  You can look at David and realize that!  You would have thought that God blessed Him so much and showed His power through him so well that David would never try to do anything on his own yet David did.  I believe he struggled with depression, lack of self-worth, and even fear.  He certainly felt rejection which is one of the hardest things for me to overcome.  He could feel sorry for himself at the drop of a hat and yet he was the young boy that faced a giant and won!  He was the king of Israel and was the family line that brought our Savior into this world.  So you see, we all struggle and that is why we need a Savior who is there waiting for us to come to Him.

Seek Him and know that He is GOOD!

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

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Psalm 51

English Standard Version (ESV)

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when^(A)Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

51 ^(B)Have mercy on me,^[a] O God,
    according to your steadfast love;
according to your ^(C)abundant mercy
    ^(D)blot out my transgressions.
^2 (E)Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
    and ^(F)cleanse me from my sin!

^3 (G)For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is ever before me.
^4 (H)Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil ^(I)in your sight,
^(J)so that you may be justified in your words
    and blameless in your judgment.
⁵ Behold, ^(K)I was brought forth in iniquity,
    and in sin did my mother conceive me.
⁶ Behold, you delight in truth in ^(L)the inward being,
    and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

⁷ Purge me ^(M)with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
    ^(N)wash me, and I shall be ^(O)whiter than snow.
⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness;
    ^(P)let the bones ^(Q)that you have broken rejoice.
^9 (R)Hide your face from my sins,
    and ^(S)blot out all my iniquities.
^10 (T)Create in me a ^(U)clean heart, O God,
    and ^(V)renew a right^[b] spirit within me.
^11 (W)Cast me not away from your presence,
    and take not ^(X)your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and uphold me with a willing spirit.

¹³ Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    and sinners will ^(Y)return to you.
¹⁴ Deliver me from ^(Z)bloodguiltiness, O God,
    O ^(AA)God of my salvation,
    and ^(AB)my tongue will sing aloud of your^(AC)righteousness.
¹⁵ O Lord, open my lips,
    and my mouth will declare your praise.
^16 (AD)For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
    you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are ^(AE)a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

^18 (AF)Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
    ^(AG)build up the walls of Jerusalem;
¹⁹ then will you delight in ^(AH)right sacrifices,
    in burnt offerings and ^(AI)whole burnt offerings;
    then bulls will be offered on your altar.

                                                           

I could have split this up into section but just felt that it all belonged together so I decided to post all of Psalm 51.  I hope today that this is your prayer to our Lord and Savior.  I haven’t posted for quite some time and mostly because I needed to have discussions with the Lord on my own.  I have had some struggles lately, not bad in comparison to many many people in this world but life has not found me with a lot of joy in my heart. 

One thing is for sure, God knows our hearts.  He knows how to answer us when we call upon His name.  He is a God of comfort, a God of strength, a God of love and a God to be feared.  David knew that!  He knew that the only way he could be cleansed is through God Himself.  He was guilty of murder amongst other things yet He knew God would forgive Him but He also knew that He had to confess that sin to God.  His confession in this passage is not full of ritualism through blood sacrifices but rather David is asking for a cleansing from God Himself. In fact, in verses 16 and 17 he states that God does not delight in sacrifices that are done out of duty but rather He delights in a broken and contrite heart. David knew that he would be much more effective with others if he confesses and gets things worked out with God and once again feels the love of His Father God.  That is where I was and why I stopped writing. I felt pain and dissatisfaction and I still do to some degree but today I felt I needed to write.

I like David want to be blessed by God.  I want to know and accept each and every blessing that He gives me but sometimes I don’t recognize all of those blessings the way I should.  And frankly sometimes I am not sure they are a blessing and feel like it is more of a curse.  Life is hard for everyone at some time.  Those who think others “have it altogether” don’t really realize that we all struggle.  You can look at David and realize that!  You would have thought that God blessed Him so much and showed His power through him so well that David would never try to do anything on his own yet David did.  I believe he struggled with depression, lack of self-worth, and even fear.  He certainly felt rejection which is one of the hardest things for me to overcome.  He could feel sorry for himself at the drop of a hat and yet he was the young boy that faced a giant and won!  He was the king of Israel and was the family line that brought our Savior into this world.  So you see, we all struggle and that is why we need a Savior who is there waiting for us to come to Him.

Seek Him and know that He is GOOD!

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila