Our Cries For Help Are Answered by the Lord When Lies Cause Trouble For Those Who Love Peace

Today's Focus Scripture: Psalm 120

Psalm 120:1-7

Prayer for Deliverance from the Treacherous.

A Song of Ascents.

¹In my trouble I cried to the Lord,
And He answered me.
² Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips,
From a deceitful tongue.
³ What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you,
You deceitful tongue?
⁴ Sharp arrows of the warrior,
With the burning coals of the broom tree.

⁵ Woe is me, for I sojourn in Meshech,
For I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
⁶ Too long has my soul had its dwelling
With those who hate peace.
⁷ I am for peace, but when I speak,
They are for war.



NOTE:

If you cannot find the light at the end of the tunnel, it could be we need to go and change the light bulb.

Defensive Mechanisms of Life – Do Not Let Them Cause Doubt – Believe Without Seeing – Jesus’ Love Never Runs Out, His Love Can Never Be Exhausted

Today's Focus Scripture: John 20:24-31

John 20:24-31

Seeing and Believing

²⁴ Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”

So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

²⁶ And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” ²⁷ Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”

²⁸ And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

That You May Believe

³⁰ And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹ but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

Can We Shape Our Lives Better Than God Can? Can We Say That "He Knows Nothing?"

Today's Focus Scripture: Jeremiah 18:3-6 (And the Daily Devotional "God's Daily Word" with Steve Troxel - [Hebrews 12:4-10]

Jeremiah 18:3-6
(NKJV)
3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. 
4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 
6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the Lord. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!

********* God's Daily Word *********

About 2600 years ago, God taught the prophet Jeremiah what it meant to be a sovereign God. He taught that His plan WOULD be fulfilled - one way or the other. Either His children would submit to His gentle guidance, or He would bring discipline to teach them the need for obedience.

Although God has the ability to directly give us understanding, His usual method is to teach us through His Word and then allow us to see the application and gain wisdom through our experiences. In order to give a clear understanding of His sovereignty, God told Jeremiah to go to the potter's house and wait for His message.

Jeremiah 18:3-6
"So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the Word of the Lord came to me: 'Can I not do with you as this potter does?' declares the Lord. 'Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in My hand.'"

Jeremiah understood that God was the Potter and had total control over the shape of the clay. How foolish it would be for the clay to complain or rebel; "Can the pot say of the potter, 'He knows nothing'?" (Isaiah 29:16). The Potter will continue to mold the clay. If the clay begins to harden in its unfinished state, the Potter loves the clay enough to crush it down, sprinkle it with water and begin anew.

The only way for us to become all that God desires is to yield and remain moldable. We have no ability to shape ourselves! The Potter is creating something eternally beautiful - we are being "conformed to the likeness of His Son" (Romans 8:29). Oh, if we could only trust that His shaping is so much better than anything we could ever create. How prideful to think we can do better!

There may be times when we have rough edges which must be removed. There may also be times when we need to be crushed down so the shaping process can start over. But we must trust the Potter and believe the results will be worth any pain or discomfort; "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18).

Our Heavenly Father is in complete (and loving) control. Let's daily be filled with His Spirit and commit our lives to His shaping process - a process which undoubtedly will last a lifetime! Let's remain moldable clay and yield to the shaping of the Potter's Hand.



Hebrews 12:4-10
4 You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; 5 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
Nor faint when you are reproved by Him;
6 For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines,
And He scourges every son whom He receives.”

7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.

The Secrets of Our Hearts Will Be Revealed (Not Just Unbelievers) - Personal Honesty - Diagnose Your Own Heart

Today's Focus Scripture: 1 Corinthians 14:23-30

1 Corinthians 14:23-30

Tongues a Sign to Unbelievers

²³ Therefore if the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind? ²⁴ But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. ²⁵ And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.

Order in Church Meetings

²⁶ How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. ²⁷ If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. ²⁸ But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God.²⁹ Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. ³⁰ But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. ³¹ For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged.

Who Can Stand Marked With Iniquities? O Lord There Is Forgiveness With You

Today's Focus Scripture: Psalm 130

Psalm 130

Waiting for the Redemption of the Lord

A Song of Ascents.

1 Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord;
2 Lord, hear my voice!
Let Your ears be attentive
To the voice of my supplications.
3 If You, Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with You,
That You may be feared.
5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
And in His word I do hope.
6 My soul waits for the Lord
More than those who watch for the morning—
Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.
7 O Israel, hope in the Lord;
For with the Lord there is mercy,
And with Him is abundant redemption.
8 And He shall redeem Israel
From all his iniquities.

We Need Not Concern Ourselves With Great Matters, Nor With Things Too Profound for Us

Today's Focus Scripture: Psalm 131

Psalm 131

Simple Trust in the Lord

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

1 Lord, my heart is not haughty,

Nor my eyes lofty.

Neither do I concern myself with great matters,

Nor with things too profound for me.

2 Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul,

Like a weaned child with his mother;

Like a weaned child is my soul within me.

3 O Israel, hope in the Lord

From this time forth and forever.

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Today's Focus Scripture: Luke 12:24 – 34

Luke 12:24 – 34

24 Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds!

25 And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span?

26 If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?

27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.

28 But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you?  You men of little faith!

29 And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, nor have an anxious mind. 

30 For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things.

31 But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.

32 Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure [and plan] to give you the kingdom.

33 “Sell your possessions and give [alms] to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.

34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

LANGIAPPE

"Do not fear, little flock, it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom."

~ Luke 12:32

Luke 12:32 – “good pleasure”

Strong's G2106 – eudokeō  

εὐδοκέω

1) it seems good to one, is one's good pleasure 
    a) think it good, choose, determine, decide

    b) to do willingly

    c) to be ready to, to prefer, choose rather

2) to be well pleased with, take pleasure in, to be favorably inclined towards one

Luke 12:32 – “to give”

Strong's G1325 – didōmi

δίδωμι

1) to give something to someone

    a) of one's own accord to give one something, to their advantage 

    b)to supply, furnish, necessary things


Proverbs 22:6
(NKJV)
6 Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.