PSALM 146:1-2 - PRAISE SONG

PSALM 136:26 - POEM by Susie Hale

PSALM 136 - POEM by Susie Hale

Psalm 19:14 PRAYER

PSALM 19:1 POEM

Psalm 95:1-2 - ROCK CONCERT

Day 22 -  ROCK CONCERT

Psalm 95:1–2

O come, let us sing unto the Lord:

let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving,

and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.

            God, who is the Rock, provided water from the Rock.  Numbers 20:8 (NIV) states, “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together.  Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”  According to 1 Corinthians 10:3-4 (NIV), Jesus was the Rock that poured out the water, “They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.”  Jesus, being the Rock, is the provision and is the River of Life.  John 7:38 (NIV) says, “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”   The living water is the Holy Spirit flowing through the life of the believer and bearing witness to the world.  The Rock, in scripture, is also a symbol of safety and security.  The high rocks of the holy land served as natural fortresses. Jesus is our stronghold, and we rest safely in His care.

            Since I was unconscious or semi-conscious during the following episode, allow my roommate, Susie, to tell about leaning on the Rock:

Susan had come through her amputation surgery well and was getting settled in a regular hospital room for the night.  I had not really eaten since noon, and it was now nearing midnight.  So, while the respiratory therapist was trying to get her oxygen adjusted, I ran down to the cafeteria.  I came back to the room, ate two bites of my pizza, and realized Susan’s oxygen saturation was too low according to the monitor.  The respiratory therapist and the nurse came in to try to replace the nasal cannula with a face mask.  I kept telling Susan to breathe.  Suddenly the nurse hit a button on the wall and called “Code Blue.”  Susan had ceased breathing at all.  I exclaimed, “Susan, I am not leaving you! I will be in the hallway.”  She says she was aware of that even as they were sitting astraddle her and “bagging” her.  I sank against the wall in the hallway for fear I would fall, but as I began saying the Lord’s prayer (couldn’t formulate a prayer of my own), I realized it was not the wall I was leaning on but the Rock, our Lord Jesus Christ.

           

Let us sing and shout joyfully to the Rock.  Let’s hold a “Rock” concert. 

PSALM 84 MEDITATION by Susie Hale

Psalm 138:3 & Philippians 4:6-7 - PEACE PREVAILS by Susan R. Slade

PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7

PEACE PREVAILS

Be careful for nothing; 

but in everything by prayer 

and supplication with thanksgiving 

let your requests be made known unto God.

 And the peace of God, 

which passeth all understanding,

shall keep your hearts and minds 

through Christ Jesus.

PSALM 138:3

In the day when I cried thou answeredst me,

and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.

When sores began cropping up on my feet, I did not understand the depth of the problem. They began creeping up my legs despite the doctors’ best efforts to cure them and my family’s efforts with home remedies. I had only short periods of relief before they returned with a vengeance. I realized the seriousness of the problem when the doctors scraped the wounds to do a culture and nothing definitive came back. They did not have a name for what was causing these necrotic ulcers, so they were unable to come up with an effective treatment plan. I cried out to the Lord for healing, but physical healing did not happen. My feet looked like they were rotting, melting. One doctor said the danger of sepsis and even dying were possibilities that could occur at any time. The Lord gave me the strength and peace I needed to make the decision to have both legs amputated. On one hand, it was a heart-wrenching decision; but on the other hand, it was a “no-brainer.” It was only in Jesus Christ that I could make this choice, and His peace prevailed even during the difficult time of recovery.

Not every time we cry out to the Lord is this drastic, but we can be assured that the Lord hears our cry. We can be certain that the Lord is with us, and as long as He is with us, we can have the peace to face any challenge, large or small. He has the power to bring us out of our situation or through our situation when we rest in Him as our Prince of Peace. What are you crying out to the Lord about today? Thank Him in advance for the answer and the peace He will provide. 

PSALM 23:4-6 - MY PROTECTOR AND PROVIDER

PSALM 23:1-3 - MY GOOD SHEPHERD

DEUTERONOMY 6:5 - ADORATION OF ADONAI

DEUTERONOMY 6:5 (KJV)

ADORATION OF ADONAI

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart,

 and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

I read this in the Complete Jewish Bible and gained insight into the depth of the love we are to have for the Lord.

Deuteronomy 6:5 (CJB) . . . and you are to love ADONAI your God with all you heart, all your being, and all your resources.

This scripture encompasses everything. Every ounce of our being should love God, resulting in pouring all our energy into doing His will and fulfilling His purposes. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 comprised the morning prayer of the Jews. These were a portion of the foundational verses placed in a box(mezuzah) to be attached to the doorframe and in leather boxes (Phylacteries) tied around the forehead and the hand. The box attached to the head was to symbolize immersing the thoughts of the wearer in God and His love. The one on the hand reminded the wearer that if he loved God, he would walk in obedience in his daily living, resulting in actively doing what God has commanded. Jesus said:

John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Jesus clarified that abiding in Him, soaking in His love and in His word, would enable the believer to keep His commandments and bear fruit.

John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Are you abiding in God or are you hiding something from Him? Is there anything you are withholding from God? Is God your soft place to fall? Do you have total trust, reliance, dependence upon His strength and love? Are you returning that love like a child loves a parent? Is Jesus your first love or has something else in your life filled that space reserved for God and God alone? Do you love God with everything you are, everything you have, and everything you do? It is impossible in human effort; but with God, allowing yourself to be a living sacrifice is possible (Romans 12:1). Jesus loved us enough to die for us. Therefore, we love Him enough to live for Him. 

LEVITICUS 19:18&34 - LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR EVEN IF A STRANGER

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR

EVEN IF A STRANGER

LEVITICUS 19:18 & 34

Thou shalt not avenge,

nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people,

but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself:

I am the Lord.

But the stranger that dwelleth with you

shall be unto you as one born among you,

and thou shalt love him as thyself;

for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt:

I am the Lord your God.

God, without question, wants us to emulate His pattern of unconditional love. To “love your neighbor as yourself” would indicate to sow love everywhere but particularly to those you come into contact with daily, within your sphere of influence. Then He goes even further by stating the Israelites should love the stranger—the resident alien—living in their cities. God’s reasoning is that they were once the strangers living in a foreign land, enslaved in Egypt, so they should have empathy for the plight of someone living in a foreign land.

When the hunt for Osama Bin Laden was raging, the Lord impressed upon me to pray for his children which I at first took to mean his biological children, but now realize could apply to his philosophical children—radical Muslims—as well. My reaction to that was, “Come again, Lord? You want me to do what?” However, I obeyed this word from God. Then I found myself also praying that the hunted Osama Bin Laden would have an experience with Jesus that he could not explain away leading him to become radically saved. As far as I know the Lord answered no to that specific prayer, but I still pray for those of the Muslim faith to experience the grace of God and trust Jesus as their savior.

Is there someone to whom you need to demonstrate God’s love today?

PSALM 78:4 - TELL THE STORY