1 In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
deliver me in your righteousness.
2 Turn your ear to me,
come quickly to my rescue;
be my rock of refuge,
a strong fortress to save me.
3 Since you are my rock and my fortress,
for the sake of your name lead and guide me.
4 Free me from the trap that is set for me,
for you are my refuge.
5 Into your hands I commit my spirit;
redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.
6 I hate those who cling to worthless idols;
I trust in the LORD.
7 I will be glad and rejoice in your love,
for you saw my affliction
and knew the anguish of my soul.
8 You have not handed me over to the enemy
but have set my feet in a spacious place.
9 Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;
my eyes grow weak with sorrow,
my soul and my body with grief.
10 My life is consumed by anguish
and my years by groaning;
my strength fails because of my affliction, [a]
and my bones grow weak.
11 Because of all my enemies,
I am the utter contempt of my neighbors;
I am a dread to my friends—
those who see me on the street flee from me.
12 I am forgotten by them as though I were dead;
I have become like broken pottery.
13 For I hear the slander of many;
there is terror on every side;
they conspire against me
and plot to take my life.
14 But I trust in you, O LORD;
I say, "You are my God."
15 My times are in your hands;
deliver me from my enemies
and from those who pursue me.
16 Let your face shine on your servant;
save me in your unfailing love.
17 Let me not be put to shame, O LORD,
for I have cried out to you;
but let the wicked be put to shame
and lie silent in the grave. [b]
18 Let their lying lips be silenced,
for with pride and contempt
they speak arrogantly against the righteous.
19 How great is your goodness,
which you have stored up for those who fear you,
which you bestow in the sight of men
on those who take refuge in you.
20 In the shelter of your presence you hide them
from the intrigues of men;
in your dwelling you keep them safe
from accusing tongues.
21 Praise be to the LORD,
for he showed his wonderful love to me
when I was in a besieged city.
22 In my alarm I said,
"I am cut off from your sight!"
Yet you heard my cry for mercy
when I called to you for help.
23 Love the LORD, all his saints!
The LORD preserves the faithful,
but the proud he pays back in full.
24 Be strong and take heart,
all you who hope in the LORD.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Marathon...down the drain :(
So sad. So I had begun training for a half marathon in February. I was getting pumped...I really was. I was so excited to be working towards a goal, I was finally enjoying running and I was building my endurance up. And then today, it all came crashing down :(...my poor little left knee decided that it couldn't take it anymore, that it didnt want me to run the race, that rather it wanted to swell up like a big balloon and hurt really bad :(. So my dreams of being an amazing champion marathon runner are shattered...back to square one, I'll have to find something else to work towards.
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Friday, November 03, 2006
Blessings??
"This is only a season, your blessing will come after this."
"I know this is hard, but your blessing is just around the corner."
"Your blessing is coming."
"I know you are suffering, but after this test/trial, your blessings will come."
".... you fill it in"
How many times have we heard this from those who love us when we are going through a tough time? It seems that the hope that we have is often placed in some future blessing that we are supposedly supposed to recieve, but unfortunately that is not as biblical as we would want it to be. However don't be discouraged, there is an eternal hope and glory that we can cling to.
If you are a Christian, you have experienced one or both of the following: a test or a trial. These sometimes are small and sometimes are so big we can't even see how we are going to come out of it. Its funny to look back over time, a year or so later after we have experienced something so life changing, so transitional, so painful, yet looking back we view it as so instrumental in conforming us more into Christ's image and making us more like Him...in fact without it, we wouldn't be the person we are today.
Although we want to cling onto this "false hope" that because we are suffering we are going to get some big "earthly" blessing right when we come out of it, just isn't true. In fact, the truth is, we aren't promised anything on earth, only for eternity. But the reality of the situation, is an earthly blessing could NEVER compare to the blessings we will one day receive in heaven.
"For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance" (Hebrews 9:15)
"and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you" (1 Peter 1:4)
Think of this...how much are we blessed on an everyday basis that we take for granted? Safety, shelter, provision, family, friends, and the list goes on. We search for these LARGE earthly blessings that we think will make us more happy then we already are, but our hope and our joy should be in Christ alone. We should hope in that eternal inheritance that we will one day receive. Praise God!
Not to say that God isn't going to bless you on the 'macro' level, but don't forget how he blesses you on the 'micro' level as well.
Be encouraged, if you are going through a trial, a test, or suffering right now, you have already recieved your blessing...Christ's promise that you will one day be able to share in the joy and eternal glory of His heavenly father. What greater blessing could we ever have?
"I know this is hard, but your blessing is just around the corner."
"Your blessing is coming."
"I know you are suffering, but after this test/trial, your blessings will come."
".... you fill it in"
How many times have we heard this from those who love us when we are going through a tough time? It seems that the hope that we have is often placed in some future blessing that we are supposedly supposed to recieve, but unfortunately that is not as biblical as we would want it to be. However don't be discouraged, there is an eternal hope and glory that we can cling to.
If you are a Christian, you have experienced one or both of the following: a test or a trial. These sometimes are small and sometimes are so big we can't even see how we are going to come out of it. Its funny to look back over time, a year or so later after we have experienced something so life changing, so transitional, so painful, yet looking back we view it as so instrumental in conforming us more into Christ's image and making us more like Him...in fact without it, we wouldn't be the person we are today.
Although we want to cling onto this "false hope" that because we are suffering we are going to get some big "earthly" blessing right when we come out of it, just isn't true. In fact, the truth is, we aren't promised anything on earth, only for eternity. But the reality of the situation, is an earthly blessing could NEVER compare to the blessings we will one day receive in heaven.
"For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance" (Hebrews 9:15)
"and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you" (1 Peter 1:4)
Think of this...how much are we blessed on an everyday basis that we take for granted? Safety, shelter, provision, family, friends, and the list goes on. We search for these LARGE earthly blessings that we think will make us more happy then we already are, but our hope and our joy should be in Christ alone. We should hope in that eternal inheritance that we will one day receive. Praise God!
Not to say that God isn't going to bless you on the 'macro' level, but don't forget how he blesses you on the 'micro' level as well.
Be encouraged, if you are going through a trial, a test, or suffering right now, you have already recieved your blessing...Christ's promise that you will one day be able to share in the joy and eternal glory of His heavenly father. What greater blessing could we ever have?
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
sanctification?
What is it? I thought I knew, but after reading what Oswald Chambers had to say, my idea was not accurate. Read on...it is very interesting.
"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly." 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
When we pray to be sanctified, are we prepared to face the standard of these verses? We take the term sanctification much too lightly. Are we prepared for what sanctification will cost? It will cost an intense narrowing of all our interests on earth, and an immense broadening of all our interests in God. Sanctification means intense concentration on God's point of view. It means every power of body, soul and spirit chained and kept for God's purpose only. Are we prepared for God to do in us all that He separated us for? And then after His work is done in us, are we prepared to separate ourselves to God even as Jesus did? "For their sakes I sanctify Myself." The reason some of us have not entered into the experience of sanctification is that we have not realized the meaning of sanctification from God's standpoint. Sanctification means being made one with Jesus so that the disposition that ruled Him will rule us. Are we prepared for what that will cost? It will cost everything that is not of God in us.
Are we prepared to be caught up into the swing of this prayer of the apostle Paul's? Are we prepared to say - "Lord, make me as holy as You can make a sinner saved by grace"? Jesus has prayed that we might be one with Him as He is one with the Father. The one and only characteristic of the Holy Ghost in a man is a strong family likeness to Jesus Christ, and freedom from everything that is unlike Him. Are we prepared to set ourselves apart for the Holy Spirit's ministrations in us?
----Oswald Chambers
"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly." 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
When we pray to be sanctified, are we prepared to face the standard of these verses? We take the term sanctification much too lightly. Are we prepared for what sanctification will cost? It will cost an intense narrowing of all our interests on earth, and an immense broadening of all our interests in God. Sanctification means intense concentration on God's point of view. It means every power of body, soul and spirit chained and kept for God's purpose only. Are we prepared for God to do in us all that He separated us for? And then after His work is done in us, are we prepared to separate ourselves to God even as Jesus did? "For their sakes I sanctify Myself." The reason some of us have not entered into the experience of sanctification is that we have not realized the meaning of sanctification from God's standpoint. Sanctification means being made one with Jesus so that the disposition that ruled Him will rule us. Are we prepared for what that will cost? It will cost everything that is not of God in us.
Are we prepared to be caught up into the swing of this prayer of the apostle Paul's? Are we prepared to say - "Lord, make me as holy as You can make a sinner saved by grace"? Jesus has prayed that we might be one with Him as He is one with the Father. The one and only characteristic of the Holy Ghost in a man is a strong family likeness to Jesus Christ, and freedom from everything that is unlike Him. Are we prepared to set ourselves apart for the Holy Spirit's ministrations in us?
----Oswald Chambers
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