Category: Inspiration

A Look at Psalm 37 (verses 20-24) We’re at the halfway mark!

Psalm 37:20-24 (NIV), “20 But the wicked will perish: Though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field, they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke. 21 The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously; 22 Those the Lord blesses will inherit the land, but those he curses will be destroyed. 23 The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; 24 though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

Wow! We’re halfway through Psalm 37! Thanks for reading it with me. I hope you’re enjoying the journey. It’s been exciting sharing it with you. Like I mentioned in the beginning, it’s my favorite Psalm. I’ve read it many times. But this is my first time, taking time to write about what God is showing me as I read it.

Throughout Psalm 37, the fate of the wicked is constantly being compared to the fate of the righteous. Bottom line is that you’re blessed or you’re cursed. You’ll live or you’ll die. We know that sin when full grown leads to death (James 1:15). But Jesus Christ is Life (John 14:6).

The wicked borrow and do not repay, in other words, they steal. However, the righteous give generously. As the saying goes, “We are blessed to be a blessing.” Our wells will never run dry because our Source is Jesus Christ. As long as we stay connected to Him, the True Vine, we will produce good fruit (John 15:1-4).

Our God knows we are human. That’s why He said we will at times stumble, but He also said He will not let us fall. An occasional stumble keeps us humble. It keeps us aware of our need for Jesus. As the old hymn says, “Prone to wander Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love.” Unfortunately we are naturally prone to go in the direction of the world, but by living supernaturally through Christ, we can stay on the life giving path that He has personally prepared for us.

Corinthians 12:7(NIV), “…Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.

I, like many people, have often wondered what Paul’s thorn in the flesh was. God chose not to take it from him so that He would not be tempted to become conceited and full of pride. Can you think of struggles that you have had that kept you humble and caused you to grow in Christ? It’s through our weaknesses that we learn our true strength is found in Him (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

Never forget, you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength (Philippians 4:19)!! Anything He instructs us to do, He will equip us to do. Is there something that God is instructing you to do, but fear keeps holding you back? Trust God to make your steps firm as He promised. Then boldly move forward in Him, one day at a time!

Feel free to comment if you have any additional thoughts to add or any insight to share on what God is teaching you.

A Look at Psalm 37 (verses 16-19)

Psalm 37:16-19 (NIV), “16 Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked; 17 for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous. 18 The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care, and their inheritance will endure forever. 19 In times of disaster they will not wither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.”

The plenty that God offers us far outweighs what the world has to offer. The things of the world are fleeting, here today and gone tomorrow. The inheritance God offers us through Christ will endure forever.

God will provide.

I remember a time when I was in between jobs and didn’t have health insurance. I needed to go to the doctor but was afraid of the bill. I felt inside that I needed to trust God and go. Long story short, at the end of my appointment, the doctor looked at me, smiled, and said no charge. I was stunned! Our Heavenly Father intervened to provide me with exactly what I needed. For me it was a time of “famine” because I didn’t have insurance, but for God it was a time to uphold His child and provide. He always has plenty. His resources never run out.

When we are in His care, no matter what state the world may be in, He promises that even in times of lack we will have plenty. Plenty isn’t just material things, it encompasses all of our needs. He will give us plenty of peace, plenty of joy, or plenty of strength so we can endure the trials of life.

We can’t let fear of the unknown keep us from trusting in God. No matter what your situation is, remember He is the God of plenty and He will always provide for His children.

Music Mondays- Exhale by Plumb

Fellow blogger Jesusluvsall shared this song and I think the words are amazing!

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I love the lyrics that begin Exhale by Plumb:

“It’s okay to not be okay
This is a safe place
This is a safe place
Don’t be afraid
Don’t be ashamed
There’s still hope here
There’s still hope here”

The opening lyrics remind me of what Jesus said in Matthew 11:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Jesus invites all people to come to him and he promises to give us rest. He promises healing for our souls.

Plumb goes on to sing about the love to be found in God’s arms and the healing he brings to our lives. I love how she sings about breathe in God’s love and exhale.

For anyone who struggles…

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A Look at Psalm 37 (verses 12-15)

Psalm 37:12-15 (NIV), “12 The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them; 13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming 14 The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright. 15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken.”

Have you ever had times where all you can do is laugh? You can clearly see the wicked schemes of the enemy and all you can do is just shake your head and laugh. I always find it humorous to know that God laughs at the wicked. Psalm 37 definitely has no shortage of warnings to the wicked. The pending destruction for those who choose to persist in evil and not repent, is reinforced over and over again.

Before I moved to the complex where I am currently living, I had a landlord that was very unfair and was often being used by the enemy. It was a year of foolish schemes. I could tell many stories, but I think out of all the stunts she tried to pull, the worst of all was when she tried to say she never got the last month of rent from me. If you ever move to South Florida and decide to rent from a private landlord, be prepared to pay three months of rent upfront (first and last month, plus the security deposit, which is equal to one month of rent).When move out time came, she tried to say I never gave her the last month of rent. Thank God I had ALL my receipts!

I guess the second runner up would have to be when my daughter and I had no A/C for two weeks in August as hot as South Florida is. She blamed it on the WiFi I had installed by the cable company, even though she told me it was okay to have it installed. She said the WiFi was too much for the apartment. Not to mention the A/C had stopped working a couple of times prior to the WiFi install, but she would always go to the fuse box and make it work again. This time the fuse box trick would not work, so she blamed me. Coming in at third place is the time she called me at 5:00am to ask me when I would pay the rent, even though it wasn’t due for another week.

That twelve months with her was a real circus! I could go on and on but I’ll stop here. I think you get the picture. I was so relieved and thankful to get out of her apartment before she could find a stupid reason to keep my security deposit.

She had many wicked schemes, but by God’s grace I still found strength to pray for her, and pray against the evil one that was using her. Many of my family members were praying for me and her during that difficult year. God heard our prayers and answered. I feel like her sword pierced her own heart, because my daughter and I were covered under the blood of Jesus. Everything she tried ultimately failed.

God laughs at the enemy’s foolishness and sometimes we His children just gotta laugh too. I wasn’t laughing much at the time, but it makes me laugh now looking back.

Remember this: The battles that come our way have already been won by The One who never fails us.

A Look at Psalm 37 (verses 10-11)

Psalm 37:10-11 (NIV),”10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. 11 But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity.”

Have you ever thought about your inheritance?

I know that from a natural standpoint to inherit something usually means that someone has passed away and left behind money, property, businesses, or some other type of asset. On the flip side they could have also left behind a debt or obligation that someone else now has to take care of. We can also inherit traits that have been passed down from previous generations.

My grandparents had a very strong faith in God. That is a trait that has been passed down throughout the generations within my family. Most of us in my family have definitely heard about their faith in God. We’ve heard about how He provided for them and how they were people who believed in the power of prayer.

Have you ever thought about your spiritual inheritance in Christ Jesus?

Verse 11 specifically mentions peace and prosperity. Inheriting peace in a world full of chaos and confusion is golden. The Bible tells us that in Christ, we lack no good thing (Psalm 34:10). He wants to prosper us in ways we have not even thought about, because His ways and thoughts are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). We have also inherited the fruit of The Holy Spirit who lives within us when we accept Jesus as our Savior (Galatians 5:22-23). Most of all, I’m super excited about our eternal inheritance that we have in heaven.

Jesus said in John 14:2-3(NLT)…

“2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.”

These verses make my heart leap for joy when I think about how much it cost to own a home here in America!!! There is an eternal home being prepared for me, and it’s free!! Jesus already paid the price!! I honestly don’t have a lot in terms of material wealth, but the best things in life often don’t have much to do with money anyway. I do want to try and enjoy my life here on Earth as much as I can. However, it’s most important to me to leave behind an inheritance of God’s love and testimonies of the saving grace and never ending faithfulness of Jesus Christ. Why? So that I know I will see as many people as possible spending eternity in the presence of our Savior. It’s where we will spend eternity that matters most.

Please take some time to consider the inheritance you are leaving behind, both natural and spiritual, but especially spiritual. Remember heaven is real, but so is hell. Both are eternal homes. Time is short. Choose this day whom you will serve (Joshua 24:14-15).

My prayers are with you that God will continue to bring His love into your life, even in the little ways. I also pray His Spirit will guide you into all truth and overthrow the plans of the evil one in your life, so that you can enjoy the inheritance that Jesus Christ died to give you both now and in eternity.

A Look at Psalm 37 (verses 8-9)

Psalm 37:8-9 (NIV), “8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret it leads only to evil. 9 For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.”

It’s pretty easy to see that the world we live in has become a very angry place. Many people are extremely unhappy and feel very empty inside. They are attempting to fill the void in their hearts in ways that are only creating more emptiness.

Anger usually happens when we feel that we have been cheated out of something in life. Rather we caused the misfortune in our lives ourselves, or rather someone else did it to us, we feel hurt. Constantly living in this pain called anger can lead to evil. When we are angry it can cause us to say and do things that bring harm to others. That’s why God tells us to refrain from anger and turn away from wrath. It’s natural to get angry in certain situations, but it’s how we handle that anger that determines our destiny. We have to learn how to give our angry feelings to the Lord, so that it doesn’t destroy our lives or our relationships.

We don’t have to fight anger alone. God has given us options that will keep us out of trouble. Prayer, meditating on scripture, exercising, talking to someone you trust, journaling, or spending time doing your favorite hobby, can help release anger. It also helps greatly to remember what God says about you. His opinion of you is what matters most. We are priceless to Him, no matter what others may think. The inheritance we have in Him is greater than anything we could ever achieve on our own. When we hope in Him we will never be put to shame (Psalm 25:3)

Keep Reading: A Look at Psalm 37 (verses 10-11)

When You Feel Like You’ve Failed God

We’ve all had these moments, days or even seasons where we feel we have failed God. When we go through these times where we feel like we are “less than” in God’s eyes, He still loves us. He doesn’t have the ability to stop loving us. His love for us endures forever.

pexels-photo-1161268When we fail, it can cause us to want to draw away from Christ, but instead of drawing away, He desires for us to draw closer to Him. He always fully accepts us, just as we are. Remember His love perseveres through our setbacks, our anger, our disappointments, and even our rebellion. His dreams for you don’t go away because you have failed. He never gives up on you. He is a perfect Father who loves you perfectly.

When we fall into sin, it breaks His heart if we choose to ignore His love for us and go the other way. He wants us to know Him intimately enough to understand that even in our sin, His love for us still persist. After all, Jesus died for us while we were sinners.

Romans 5:8 (NLT), “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.“

Does He desire for us to repent and refocus on Him? Yes He does. He wants us to abandon our sinful ways the same way we want our loved ones to do better when things are wrong in their lives. God really, really loves us. If need be, He will discipline us to get our attention when we insist upon disobeying His instruction. Hebrews 12:6 reminds us that the Lord disciplines those He loves, just like we as earthly parents discipline our children.

One thing is for certain, God’s discipline will always be done with unconditional love. His discipline is intertwined with His mercy, and is measured out according to what He knows will benefit us most. I’ve been on the receiving end of God’s discipline. Although it doesn’t feel good, it is good for me. I’m thankful for His discipline, because it has helped me to become a better woman. I want to be all He wants me to be, and I know you do too. Part of us walking in our purpose is submitting to God’s divine discipline in our lives.

Thank you Lord for your loving discipline and your sweet mercy!

 Are you feeling like you’ve failed God today? Maybe it’s something that you did last night or last week. Maybe it’s something from your distant past that you can’t seem to shake. Whatever the case, God loves you and regardless of how you may feel right now, He has never stopped loving you. Just repent, receive His forgiveness and allow His love to begin healing your heart. His healing may happen instantly or it may happen slowly, one day at a time. Which ever way The Holy Spirit of God chooses to work in your life, He will bring healing and restoration if you will only trust Him.