Psalm 5

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope everyone is having (& had) a great day with lots of rest. We are so blessed with the greatest gift of all, Jesus. Happy Birthday Jesus! :)

Psalm 5

Two things stand out to me in this Psalm. At the very beginning there's a significant 3 verses. In Psalm 5:1-3 it says, "Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my groaning. Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray. O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch." (ESV) Is there a time that you spend consecutively with the Lord? There's definitely not in my day, I can tell you that. I spend time with him, but it's always "when I have time." Like my time is so precious. I don't sacrifice time in the morning to spend with Him. Why? & because I'm not a morning person is not an excuse. There is NO excuse for it. I am going to take time to wake up every morning and actually spend more time with Him, communicating to my Father & Creator.

The secret to having a close relationship with anyone is communication. So, we shouldn't think that God is the exception because "he'll understand why we don't communicate with him." In the morning, our minds are free from problems; therefore, we can commit our ways to the Lord for the rest of the day.

Another aspect of this Psalm is throughout the rest of the passage it is talking about lying. I have had a lot of trouble with friends who lie to me all throughout high school and college. I've actually had a huge battle with trust, & it is something that I am working through every day. I have learned to forgive those people who did that to me. Forgiving those who have done wrong to you isn't easy. Trust me--I told a few of my friends that lately, "You think it's easy to just forgive that?!" It is not okay to lie, obviously. It's in the Bible. It's part of the 10 Commandments, "Thou shalt not lie." & it's not okay to lie in order to be forgiven time after time. But also, if you have not forgiven those who do lie, you have not let that situation go. You still let it conquer your thoughts. Colossians 3:13 (which is below) tells us we should forgive as the Lord forgave us. When the Lord forgave us He held NOTHING against us. Nothing. Yes, that is a hard concept for me to imagine, but I am trying to do that every day. I challenge you to do this.

I love this next piece of scripture. Colossians 3:13-17 tells us, "If one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do; in the word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." (ESV)

Psalm 4

Goodness, it's been a while. I have been working a lot & spending some time alone with the Lord, but I have not been spending enough time on this study. My apologies. Even though I have been working a lot is not an excuse at all. This study is so important because at the end of the day, you can gain so much from a Psalm.

Thanks.

Peace.

Trust.

Those are the three things I have been really praying hard on the past few days. Being thankful for what the Lord has given me & making the best of all situations. No complaining :) Having peace with certain situations in life. Completely giving them to the Lord. Which leads me to trust. Having peace with a certain thing in life is giving your trust to the one who it needs to be in. I'm learning a lot about trust such as what is the difference in trust on earth & trusting in the Lord? I'm really digging deep into some thoughts about that.

As long as we are curious...

Psalm 4

I believe Psalm 4 goes hand-in-hand with Psalm 3 - both being based on peace & being at peace. Verse 5 stands out to me saying, "Offer right sacrifices and trust in the Lord." (NIV) We should give ourselves over to him in complete obedience to see what his overall plan is for us. Trusting in him is where our sacrifice lies. Even if we don't want what his "obedience" calls of us at a certain time, we trust in him to know it is for the best. Not only should we trust in him, but we should praise his name. At the top of our lungs we should praise his name!! Tonight, praise him for the things he has put in our lives. Give him thanks & let your heart rest in peace tonight as you lay your head on your pillow that your life is in the Lord's hands. & trust in the Lord.

Psalm 3

A lot of things have happened just in the past couple weeks of my life. I have learned a lot about many, many things: myself, others, life, God, character, trust. I feel the Lord around me in so many ways. & in this Psalm it helps me reemphasize that to myself.

Psalm 3:

Verse 3: "But you are a shield around me, O Lord; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head." (NIV) When we find refuge in him, (like we just talked about in Psalm 2) he is our shield from trouble. He protects us from that which is evil. Going on throughout the scripture--

Verse 4 & 5: "To the Lord I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me." (NIV) The Lord has freed me from worry because I tell him my worries, & then it is out of my hands. I cannot touch what he does. & who more to give your worries to than your Creator. But, then I think..do I give all of my worries to him? Do I give him things that I am fearful of? Do I trust him with everything in my life? I know the answer to all of these questions is no. I should because in Romans 8:28 it says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (NIV) If we put our trust in the Lord, he will work everything out for us in the end. He is aware of every single situation we encounter in life, & he WILL fit it into the master plan for your life.

I have been worrisome of the plan the Lord has for my life after graduation. I have worried about it enough for about 10,000 people. But, when studying the Word I found that I can only give that over to the Lord. I can do things about it (such as send out resumes & do job searching); however, the best plan for my life will be delivered in the end by him. All we can do is pray about it and go about life putting our trust in him.

Today, give over your fears and worries to the Lord. Be still before the Lord; Psalm 46:10 tells us, "Be still, and know that I am God." (NIV) I have learned (in some situations) & I am still learning to give things over to the Lord. It's definitely not easy, but reading more into his word and studying it I find it to be a peaceful place. Pray to give your worries over to the Lord. Everything that you fear, give it over to the Lord. He will deliver the best answer for you.

Psalm 2

Something that is so great about long car rides is how much time you have to think. While I've been driving back & forth to work every day I have been singing to the top of my lungs (which isn't very pretty) praising HIM. One of my favorites right now is "Desert Song" by Hillsong. I rock that song out. Anyways, while I am singing I find so much to be thankful for and to rehearse my day to thank him & praise him for things in my life. It's so great. I love that time with the Lord.

Psalm 2:

Two key lines to me in this:

1. Verse 3, "Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us." (ESV)

We will always belong to something, whether it be God, an organization, or some other idol. It could even be our sinful desires that we cling to if we stray from the Lord. Taking away our bond from the Lord is only bounding us to something else. I do not want to be bound to my sinful desires. Even though it may be what I want, it will only bring me heartache in the end because I am not clinging to Jesus through that. Instead, cling to Jesus & find his true plan for me. The Lord brings us freedom! In the end, that could be what I wanted in the first place; however, it is all about the Lord's timing.

2. End of verse 12, "Blessed are all who take refuge in him." (ESV)

I am amazed at how the Lord brings me to my knees every day. I have no words really to describe that feeling. Refuge. He is our refuge, our shelter. Especially in times of trouble. Right now, I am going through some really hard times. I'm in a really hard place wondering why to many things. But, I am putting all of that aside and he is my shelter from the storm, and I am okay. He brings me my happiness and joy. Yes, there are hard times. & that's okay. We are only human. But, I run back to him, and following him only makes me stronger.

Are you taking your refuge in Christ? Are you asking him to help you in times of trouble or are you pushing him aside & going forth with your selfish desires or seeking other idols? Pray with me tonight: "LORD, I ask you to reveal my sins to me & help me learn from them & wipe my slate clean. I want to be closer to you, Lord. I want to feel you in & through me every single day. Pouring out of me. I am seeking you for shelter. I will only seek you, Lord. Nothing can give me the freedom you freely give to me every second of every day. In the words of Brooke Fraser, "You are the One I want." Amen."

Song: "Arithmetic" Brooke Fraser

Today is the day! wooo hooo

So, this is the day we have all been waiting for, myself included!! THE FIRST DAY OF THE STUDY! :D :D I'm so excited! Along with my study I will have a few things that I have pondered that day to start it off..ya know. Putting my thinking down because I like to get others feedback.

Even though I have been sleeping most of the day because I have a case of the flu.. :( I have so much to praise the Lord for. Hopefully my ADD postings won't be too hard for you to follow. :) Because I know they will be everywhere...literally. You will see soon!

Also, have fun with this study! Keep me updated on awesome things! I want to know because I care! REALLY

I was on twitter earlier -- twitter is so much cooler than facebook because I love statuses! -- I follow Rev Run & his post said "Maturity begins to grow when you can sense your concern for others beginning to outweigh your your concern for self." And I begin to think back to what are we supposed to do all the time..be more like Jesus. I will never be perfect, ever. & I will never claim to be perfect, but I should strive to treat others as Jesus would treat them. & then Rev Run's "tweet" comes to my mind because he is so right. When we put ourselves on the back burner for others we will grow so much. In Philippians 2:3-4 it says, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." (NIV) We should lay selfishness aside & treat others with respect. Don't sit and ponder all the times you haven't done this & feel bad. Think of all the times you haven't & how you can in the future. The past is behind us. First, let's begin with that. The past is behind us. I know I need to do this SO BAD. Forget the past and let's think about the future. How can we be better servants of Christ? Gosh, I'm so excited to learn so much in the next few months with this study. So, here goes :)

Psalm 1:

I believe the biggest thing that stands out to me in this text is "meditating day & night" on God's Word. What does meditating mean? It could mean a number of things for many of us. There are so many interpretations of that. However, the only way we will encounter the law of the Lord is knowing it. What better way to do this than read & study Him? Do I do this every day? I believe what we all do is put Jesus on the back burner too much. I know I do, many, many times. I want to do what I want to do & when I want to do it. I need to step back and take a look in the mirror. I am NOT what makes the world go around. I need to stop putting myself on a high pedestal like what I want is more important than God's plan for me.

However, going back to the text -- was going off on a little tangent there :) -- I should seek "the way of the righteous" and read His Word to know Him better. Because knowing Him better will bring me to my knees, humbling myself before Him.

Something else I think about in this psalm when I think of being in the way of the wicked: how we all think we can do things on our own. The world says we can be independent and we need nothing in life but ourselves, money, fame, & success. WE NEED JESUS! We will get absolutely nowhere on our own. Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart & lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." (NIV) I have tried to do so many things on my own all throughout my life. After giving my life to the Lord, it has not been easy to just give things over to the Lord. Many of us want to control every situation we are faced with. But, we have to let the Lord do his work.

What we can do though is pray: pray for the Lord to reveal to us that we are but a mere breath and to wipe our selfishness aside and walk with him.

an intro to a great study

I hope you will all join me on the quest I am about to embark on. I will be studying one Psalm every day. The book of Psalms is a book filled with melodious songs & prayers that range from sorrow to thanksgiving to praise to the King of Kings. Even though many topics and feelings are discovered throughout the book of Psalms, something unifies the whole book: God. The Lord our God is our refuge if we trust in Him. Going through these Psalms will help us reach out to the Lord not only when we are in need but also to lift praises to Him.

I'm really looking forward to jumping in this study & to really look deeper into my relationship with the Lord and praise His Glorious Name. Won't you join me?

out with the old & in with the new

it seems as if i always say i am going to do something different. well, today i guess i am. somehow, i am going to realize what i want to talk about on this dern thing. & hopefully guide some eyes to it. there's so many things to talk about, but i don't know where to begin. so, today is short to let you know of a new beginning that will actually begin another day.