Psalm 15:1-3 - As Christians we need to guard our tongues

“Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart; he who does not backbite with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor. Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend.”

Psalm 15:1-3

God wants us to walk uprightly. He wants us to work righteousness. He wants us to speak the truth in our hearts. He wants us to not backbite with our tongues. He doesn’t want us to do evil to others (our neighbor). Evil can be done to others with our tongues. When we do this the enemy has an open door to cause destruction in our lives as well as to those that were talked about. It puts a crack in our armor (the full armor of God that we are supposed to be wearing). God doesn’t want us to take up a reproach against our friend. What does He want us to do? He wants us to walk in love! Walking in love should be our highest goal as a Christian. If we love God and love others we will keep all of God’s commandments. It will also keep us on the straight and narrow path that leads to life. 1 Corinthians 13 can be a reality check concerning our walk. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 says “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become a sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.” Do you love God? Do you love others? We should as God is love and He lives and abides in us. Let Him love others through you. Have and experience the life that He wants you to have.

Father, may we walk in love. May we keep a tight reign on our tongues. May our words speak life and blessings. May we stop ourselves if something unkind is about to come out of our mouths. We don’t want to give Satan an opportunity to do any damage in our lives or the lives of those around us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Psalm 27:14 - Wait on the Lord

“Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!”

Psalm 27:14

Sometimes waiting can be hard. We are used to doing something. Waiting forces us to rely on God and God alone to work things out. It is putting our trust in Him and allowing Him to bring things to pass. Maybe you have been praying about something and you have been patiently waiting for God to do what He has promised you. Don’t lose your hope. Keep on waiting and put your full hope and trust in Him. We can be spiritually blessed as we wait on Him to act. Isaiah 40:31 says “But those that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like the eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” This verse is a promise. Blessings come to those that wait on the Lord. Let Him be God and let Him work things out. If He does the work it will be right. If we decide to interfere and take action, we may make mistakes that takes years for the Lord to make right. Keep the hope in you alive. Don’t let your faith waver. God is faithful. Hebrews 10:23 says “Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”

Lord, we thank You that You are faithful and true. Father, may we wait on You to work things out after we have prayed about them. Help us to be of good courage and strengthen our hearts as we wait on You. Help us not to do anything on our own (in the flesh) that could make matters worse and take years for You to make things right. Give us Your patience. We put our hope, faith, and trust in You. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

James 5:10 - We learn when we walk in the valley

“My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience.”

James 5:10

Sometimes we learn more when we walk in the valley about the Lord, His goodness, His greatness and His faithfulness, than when we experience things on the mountaintops with Him. Heartaches, pain, trials, disappointments and times of adversity operate as lessons to us. These lessons are from the school of experience. They teach us as He teaches us through these experiences as well as His Word. They give us new insight and understanding. They help us perceive the Lord in a new, more personal way. They can be used to change and transform us more into His likeness. Heartaches, pain, trials, difficulties and times of adversity grab our attention. We need to humbly go to the Lord when these times come into our lives and pray to Him. He may be getting our attention so that He can teach us something about our inner selves or about His faithfulness so that we can get through these hard times. Heartaches, pain, trials, difficulties, and times of adversity reveal our hearts true condition. Our hearts condition is brought to the surface, learning what He wants us to learn through these experiences. We have to be teachable, and being teachable leads to a change in the innermost parts of us. We take these things to the cross and then we become more like Christ. We grow and mature in our faith. We reflect the love of Christ to the world around us. Be encouraged today. If you are experiencing any heartache, pain, trials, disappointments or times of adversity seek the Lord as He’s gotten your attention. Be teachable. Learn from the school of experience. Ask Him what He wants to reveal to You through these times. Pray about the things He reveals to you. You will find that He is good, great, faithful, and true. He will walk with you in your valley. You will know and trust Him more.

Father, we sometimes experience suffering. The prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, suffered at times too. Help us to be patient during these times. Help us to run to You. When we experience pain and suffering and You have our attention, teach us what You want us to learn through the school of experience. May we grow closer to You through these times. May we be more dependent on You and trust in Your faithfulness to get us through the valley. Make us more like Your Son. And may we reflect the love of God to the world around us. If we learn our lesson the first time, we might not have to learn it a second time. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.  

Psalm 34:14 - How to have good days

“Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.”

Psalm 34:14

Do you experience good days? God’s Word tells us how we can have good days. We have to make a point to keep our tongue from speaking evil. This means that we don’t slander and defame others. We don’t gossip about people behind their backs. We don’t complain, grumble, find fault, or be critical. We don’t sin when we get angry and lash out to others in a fit of rage. Praises are on the lips of our tongue. This also means that we don’t lie about things and try to deceive others. We speak the truth and walk in it. We have to depart from evil. We have to do good throughout the day. We must seek peace in our relationships. We must pursue peace. If we do these things, we will have good days and have the life God wants us to have.

Father, we desire life. We want to experience many good days. Help us to keep our tongues from evil, and our lips from speaking deceit. May we depart from evil and do good. May we seek peace continually and pursue it with all we have. We thank You that if we do these things we will have and experience the good life You have for us. We will love our lives and our walks and fellowship with You will be sweet. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. 

Psalm 33:18-19 - Fear Him and you will be blessed

“Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.”

Psalm 33:18-19

The eye of the Lord is on those that fear Him and those that put their hope in Him and His mercy. He delivers our soul from death. And when times get tough and we are in need He provides for our needs and keeps us alive. Psalm 34:9 says “O, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.” This is a promise. Psalm 34:15 says “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry.” Psalm 34:17 says “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.” Psalm 34:19 says “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” Be encouraged today. Keep your eyes on God. Put your hope in Him. You will find that He is faithful. He promises to take care of you.

O, Father, how we praise Your name. How we appreciate You. Your eyes are on the righteous. Your ears are open to our cries. To those who fear You and put their hope in You, You deliver our souls from death. Hallelujah! Thank You Jesus! You are so good to us. And when times get tough and we are in need, You provide for our needs and You keep us alive. You even make sure that those that seek You not lack any good thing. You are such a good God! Thank You for Your love, and thank You for Your faithfulness. We love You! In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

1 Kings 8:58 - May the culture not affect us anymore

“that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers.”

1 Kings 8:58

Robert Morgan once shared that some of his best memories as a child was when his family would go to Myrtle Beach. At one such time his father got upset. Robert had been playing in the ocean for an hour or so, and suddenly his father was running through the waves with concern and relief. He pointed to the shoreline so Robert could see how far down the beach he had gone. He was a quarter of a mile from the family’s umbrella. His folks had lost sight of him. While Robert was swimming and splashing around, the tide had carried him down the coastline and he hadn’t realized it. Robert then shared that the same thing was happening to the church. The currents of our culture are carrying many of us from our moorings, and it is so subtle that we don’t even realize it until it is too late.

In 1 Kings 8:54-61 Solomon blesses the assembly with a powerful blessing after he prayed. “And so it was, when Solomon had had finished praying all this prayer and supplication to the Lord, that he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven. Then he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice saying: ‘Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses. May the Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers. May He not leave us or forsake us, that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statures and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers. And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before the Lord, be near the Lord our God day and night, that He may maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, as each day may require, that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God, there is no other. Let your heart therefore be loyal to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes, and keep His commandments, as at this day.’” O, may this be our hearts cry!

O Father, that we would be loyal to You, walk in Your statutes, and keep Your commandments. May all the peoples of the earth know that You are God and that there is no other. May You be blessed. We praise You this day. Be exalted our God. And we ask that the currents of our culture not carry us from our moorings. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.  

Isaiah 30:21 - Trust and Obey the Lord's promptings

“Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it.’ Whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.”

Isaiah 30:21

God wants to lead and to guide His people. If we really want to do His will, He promises to make it clear to us. Then it is up to us to obey Him. Obedience is a blessing, not a burden. We will be blessed by God Himself if we obey Him. Others may be blessed by your obedience as well. If we are tuned into the Lord, our walk can be a thrilling adventure. Life becomes exciting. If we back off from obedience because we think it is our own thought or we are afraid to do what He has asked us to, we deprive God of demonstrating His awesome power in and through us. Small steps of obedience may seem insignificant, but they are not. They lead toward a lifetime of walking with God. As God’s children, we should ask Him what He wants us to do each and every day. We must learn to listen to our heavenly Father and remain sensitive to the still quiet voice that prompts us throughout the day. Hebrews 3:7-8 says “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: ‘Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.’” We should be willing to obey His promptings as they come. Don’t second guess yourself. You know when the Lord is prompting you. Once you hear from the Lord today—decide to take your next step of obedience with Him. You will be glad you did. You will be blessed by God Himself and others may be blessed through you.

O Father, how we want to walk with You on a regular basis. We desire for our lives to be exciting. We want to do Your will so therefore we want to hear from You. Prompt us as to what Your will is and then may we obey You. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.