Psalm 57 - v. 5 - "Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth."
and repeated in v. 11.
v. 9 and 10 - "I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. 10. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies."

These are wonderful verses of praise and adoration to God. David interspersed these praises in the midst of being hunted down by Saul. He was holed up in a cave that Saul entered, and was pleading for help and mercy from God. Right in the middle of his dire circumstances, he extols God for his mercy, as though the rescue had already taken place. This is a man of great faith, because God had already proven faithful to David.

And God has already proven faithful to me. I must remember to praise and thank Him at all times, in confidence of His proven ability to deliver me from every circumstance.

Luke 6:45 You Are What You Say.

Luke 6:45b ".. for out of the abundance of heart his mouth speaks." We heard people say "You are what you eat." This verse tells me we are what we say. My words reveal my heart. The things I say and how I say them expose and unveil the condition and attitudes of my heart. I must be more careful about what I say and how I say it. The Bible says the words speak loud enough by themselves.  It is out of the overflow of the heart that the mouth speaks. It's the tongue that sets the body on fire. It's not what goes into a man that makes him unclean but what comes out of him. Therefore it's the heart issue. My heart must be right to speak right. Father God, transform my heart so that I can speak the words of love and truth.

Jonah 2:2 A Second Chance

Jonah 2:2 "I called out of my distress to the LORD, And He answered me. I cried for help from the depth of Sheol; You heard my voice." Jonah a fugitive prophet, fled from God's call to preach to Nineveh, and was swallowed up by a great fish. God gave him and each one of us a second chance. Oh the heights—and the depths—God goes to in rescuing us from our disobedience with His redeeming love!
Jesus' death on the cross rescued us from our sins.
Dear God, how we need Your rescue today!

Romans 15:13 Abounding in Hope

Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."

Romans 15:13 is a wonderful prayer that Paul wants every believer to experience. Yet very few of believers can legitimately claim to be filled with all joy and peace in believing and abounding in hope. A common factor among those who are depressed is that they lack hope. Discouraged people and those who are apathetic about life also lack hope. A medical report says depression will be the second largest killer after heart disease by 2020. There is a solution. The God of hope wants us to be filled with all joy and peace in believing, so that we will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

1. The source of this abundant hope is in the God of hope. God is the source or giver of hope. He is also the object of our hope. Biblical hope is certain because it rests on God's promises. So if we are lacking hope, we know where to find it: Seek the God who is the source of all true hope and put our hope in Christ as our Savior and Lord.

2. The foundation for this abundant hope is to be filled with all joy and peace. Paul does not pray that we will have just a little bit of joy and peace trickling into our life now and then. Rather, he prays that the God of hope will fill us with all joy and peace so that we will abound in hope. Paul wants our “jugs” of joy and peace to be overflowing so that we are continually abounding in hope in God. Let's ask God to fill us to the brim with His joy and peace and hope. The biblical joy is an inner delight in God and His sure promises that gives us comfort and contentment in every trial. It comes from knowing that our sovereign God will work all things, including tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril or sword, together for our good because we love Him and are called according to His purpose. (Rom. 8:28) Biblical peace comes from taking all of our anxieties to God in thankful prayer (Phil. 4:6-7)

3. The human means of this abundant hope is to keep believing in God and His Word. Romans 10:17 says faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of God. To have and increase in abundant hope, I must believe and keep on believing in God and His Word.

4. The divine means of this abundant hope is the power of the Holy Spirit. 
God the Father is the God of hope. The object of our hope is Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. The power for joy, peace and abundant hope comes from the Holy Spirit. The Spirit's power is the resurrection power that gives new life to dead sinners. The Hope Spirit opens our minds so that we can understand the truths of God's Word. The Hope Spirit is the power that produces His holiness in us as we walk in dependence on Him. It is the Holy Spirit who produces in us His fruit of joy and peace as we trust in Him, so that we abound in hope.

Hebrews 10:22-25 Stir up to Love and Good Works

Hebrews 10:22-25a "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,  for He who promised is faithful.  And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together." Sometimes we struggle with the feeling of being alone. God did not intend for us to walk alone. He made us for community. He put us in a community of love and encouragement. Believers need one another for support and care. I learned three exhortations from this passage: 1. Worship - Let us draw near. 2. Perseverance  - Let us hold fast. 3. Fellowship- Let us consider one another. Father God, help us come worship you in the Spirit and in truth. (John 4:24). Help us hold fast our faith and encourage one another to love and to do good deeds and look forward to Christ's return.

Psam 3 Preserving with Peace

Another Friday again! Without God, our life is hard, day after day,  week after week, year after year. It reminds me of Genesis 3:19 "By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food." But this morning Psalm 3 refreshes my soul. King David wrote, "1. Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! 2. Many are saying of my soul, 'There is no salvation for him in God.' 3. But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory,  and the lifter of my head. 4. I cried aloud to the Lord and he answered me from his holy hill. 5. I lay down and sleep; I woke again,  for the Lord sustained me. 6. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.  7. Arise, O Lord! Save me, my God! 8. Salvation belongs to the Lord." King David fled from Absalom, his son who wanted to kill him and take the kingdom.  Though David lamented his painful situation (Psalm 3:1-2), he trusted God's protection and expected Him to answer his prayers (vv 3-4). The king didn't lose sleep  worrying or fearing what could happen, because he trusted God to sustain and save him. We may be tempted to give up or wish to escape when we are weary and cannot see the end of our current battle. But, like David, we can learn to trust that God will hold us up and help us rest in His constant and loving presence. Dear God, thank you for preserving us and sustaining us with your power and peace.

Jeremiah 29:11 God has a Plan for me.

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” I used to approach this verse as a security blanket. It sounds like God promised us prosperity and health. God has a plan for me that is good, so clearly this suffering I’m going through will end soon and then my flourishing will begin! But that is not at all what God was promising to the Israelites, and it’s not what he’s promising us, either. The Israelites were in exile, a punishment from God as result of their disobedience. The prophet Jeremiah confronted the false prophet, Hananiah, who had boldly proclaimed that God was going to free Israel from Babylon in two years. Jeremiah gave them this directive from God, "Seek the peace and the prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” (29:7)  God’s plan was for them to stay right where they were, and to help prosper the nation that enslaved them! The heart of the verse is “not that we would escape our lot, but that we would learn to thrive” in the midst of it. Let's cling to it for the right reason: not in the false hope that God will take away our suffering, but in the true, gospel confidence that he will give us hope in the midst of it.