Persevere in the Faith

(Psalms 18:36-50) You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip. I pursued my enemies and overtook them, and did not turn back till they were consumed. I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise; they fell under my feet. For you equipped me with strength for the battle; you made those who rise against me sink under me. You made my enemies turn their backs to me, and those who hated me I destroyed. They cried for help, but there was none to save; they cried to the LORD, but he did not answer them. I beat them fine as dust before the wind; I cast them out like the mire of the streets. You delivered me from strife with the people; you made me the head of the nations; people whom I had not known served me. As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me; foreigners came cringing to me. Foreigners lost heart and came trembling out of their fortresses. The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation-- the God who gave me vengeance and subdued peoples under me, who delivered me from my enemies; yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me; you rescued me from the man of violence. For this I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations, and sing to your name. Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever.

(Romans 11:29) For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

One of the doctrines that came out of the Protestant Reformation is the perseverance  of the saints. Simply, this means that once a person is born again, he will not turn away from the Lord. Perseverance means steady persistence in a course of action in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement. Is it by our own strength or by God's own strength that we persevere in our faith?

In these and similar passages throughout the scriptures, God speaks, not so much of our own perseverance, but of His perseverance in our calling. God does not save us, give us an assignment, and then sit back to see if we will sink or swim; He is actively involved in our perseverance. David says "You gave a wide place for my steps", "You equipped me with strength for the battle", "You made those who rise up against me sink under me.", "You made my enemies turn their backs to me", "You delivered me from strife", "You made me the head of the nations", "You gave me vengeance", "You subdued people peoples under me" (paraphrased), "You delivered me", "You exalted me", "You rescued me".

God's gifts and God's calling are irrevocable. God will persevere in carrying us through today and keeping us on track to accomplish what He has called us to accomplish.

Questions For Discussion

In what way does God equip us for the calling or task to which He assigns you?

Explain a Christian who falls away from the Lord.

What does perseverance in the faith mean?

Hold Your Shield High

(Psalms 18:31-35) For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?-- the God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless. He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights. He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great.

(Ephesians 6:16) In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;

Through your faith you are saved. It is not empty faith, or faith in the cosmos, or faith in something about which you know nothing. It is faith that has been given to you by the almighty, supreme, and sovereign creator; it is faith in Him. There is power in faith but the faith itself does not produce or provide the power; it is He who gives you the faith who is, produces, and provides the power.

Your faith is from God, in God, and for God. Your faith is your shield and your shield is your salvation. Through it you are able to accomplish what God has given you to accomplish, you are able to resist temptation and win every battle against the enemy, you are able to persevere.

Your strength is in your faith but remember that it is not your own faith but the faith God has given you and that the source of your strength is not your faith and the source of your faith is not yourself; it all comes from God. To rely on others is futile because others fail you; to rely on yourself is futile because you fail yourself, but to rely on God is effectual because God never fails.

Walk into every battle today with your shield held high and you will overcome.

Questions For Discussion

Why is a Christian's faith effectual?

What is the source of your strength and your faith?

How do you hold your shield high?

Be Weak

(Psalms 18:28-30) For it is you who light my lamp; the LORD my God lightens my darkness. For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. This God--his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

(2 Corinthians 12:9-10) But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Who alone can lighten darkness? What one person can run against an entire troop of soldiers? Who can leap over an enormous wall? No one can do these things of his own strength, anymore than a person can save himself from his own sins or sanctify himself to the image of Christ. It is only by God's infinite strength that any of these things can be accomplished in you. When God accomplishes these great things in a weak vessel like you, His strength is displayed and He is glorified.

Your weakness highlights God's strength. When you are too weak to accomplish something yet you accomplish it, the accomplishment is the Lord's and it becomes obvious that you are operating in the Lord's strength and not your own. His strength becomes your strength in your weakness. Your strength is God accomplishing that which is impossible for you to accomplish on your own. The great temptation is to take credit for His strength as your own and the greater temptation is to actually believe that His strength is your own strength and not your own weakness. Resist this temptation by always giving God the glory for anything good in your life.

Recognize your own weakness in the challenges you face today and rely upon the Lord's strength to overcome and accomplish them; then you will be strong!

Questions For Discussion

What does it mean, "For when I am weak, then I am strong."?

What can you do to resist the temptation to take credit for God's strength in you?

What is the first step in relying upon the Lord's strength in all areas of your life?

Live a Godly Life

(Psalms 18:20-24) The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me. For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his rules were before me, and his statutes I did not put away from me. I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from my guilt. So the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

(Titus 2:11-12) For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

David was a man who committed many sins throughout his life. There were times when he was unfaithful to the Lord and times when he did not rely upon the Lord's strength and wisdom when faced with certain difficulties. There were times when David acted foolishly. Yet he says that he kept the ways of the Lord and did not wickedly depart from God, and God refers to David as a Man after His own heart. David sinned but he was not characterized by sin; he did not follow sinful patterns of behavior throughout his life; he did not constantly repeat his sins. David learned by his sins.

God has saved us from our sins, not so we can just continue sinning and rest in the fact that all of our sins are forgiven. No more than God's purpose for saving the Israelites from Egyptian oppression was to have them eternally march around mount Horeb with the confidence that they would have manna to eat everyday. God's purpose in each trip around Mount Horeb was for the Israelites to turn away from their sins and His purpose for us is that we would turn away from our sinful patterns of behavior.

Concentrate today on renouncing ungodliness and not continuously repeating the same sins. Concentrate today on living a Godly life.

Questions For Discussion

What is the difference between being blameless before God and being perfect?

How do you think God characterizes a person?

What does repeatedly committing the same sin say about your perspective on that sin?

Work On the Eternal

(Psalms 17:13-15) Arise, O LORD! Confront him, subdue him! Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword, from men by your hand, O LORD, from men of the world whose portion is in this life. You fill their womb with treasure; they are satisfied with children, and they leave their abundance to their infants. As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.

(Luke 12:19-21) And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God."

Many around you are rich and have much in the way of materialistic possessions and physical security. David saw the same thing; he looked around himself and saw many who were rich in wealth, who stored up bountiful treasure for themselves and their children, but were far away from the Lord. David was committed to the Lord's desire for His people: to be satisfied with God's likeness. To be satisfied is not just to accept your lot in life, but to truly understand the magnitude of the wealth God has given you in conforming you to the image of His Son. All of the possessions, wealth, and security of this world can't  compare with the riches God has given you and that are stored up for you in heaven.

To work and expend your energy for the temporal things of this world (that would be anything outside of God's desire) is futile. Any pleasure these things might bring has no substance and is short lived, even in this lifetime.

Today and everyday, put forth your effort and use up your strength working on and toward the things that God desires; store up your treasure with God and know that on that final day your treasure will not be burned up in the fire but will be taken with you into heaven for eternity.

Questions For Discussion

What is the greatest inheritance one can leave to his children?

What is the Lord's purpose for His people?

How do you know that the pleasures of this world have no substance?

Live According to God's Word

(Psalms 17:4-5) With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent. My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped.

(Romans 5:20-21) Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

You know you sin because God's Law shows you your sin; it defines your sin; it shines the light on your sin so that you are able to see every contour and detail of your sin. The more you absorb God's Word and the more you bury God's Law in your heart, the more you are aware of your sins. This is how David avoided sin and this is how you are to avoid sin. But knowing about your sin and even avoiding sin is not enough to save you or redeem you. It is God's grace alone that drew you into God's kingdom, that empowers you to live according to God's Word (i.e., avoid sin and do what is right in the eyes of God), and that assures you of eternal life with God in heaven; all of this through the sacrificial blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

To live according to God's Word is your participation in God's act of conforming you into the person He desires and designed you to be; in short it is your part of your own sanctification. It is God who saved you, it is God who conforms you, and it is God who is leading you to heaven.

Each time that you are tempted to sin today, remember that God has filled you with His Holy Spirit both saving you from your sins and empowering you to sin no more.

Questions For Discussion

What does it mean to bury God's Word in your heart?

Why is avoiding sin and doing what is right in God's eyes not enough to save you?

What is sanctification?

Felloship with Saints

(Psalms 16:3-11) As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight. The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips. The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

(1 Corinthians 15:33) Do not be deceived: "Bad company ruins good morals."

King David emphasizes his delight in those who walk in the ways of the Lord. He draws attention to the fact that those who seek and worship any other god are counter-productive in their quest for happiness and contentment; that their sorrows will actually increase. He says he will not participate in their activity and that he will not even speak of them. By saying that he will not speak of them he is speaking of them but this is not a contradiction. The meaning here is that he will not speak favorably of them; he will not find delight in what they do against the Lord.

Paul gives the Corinthian church a warning not to enjoy or find favor in the evil deeds of others. Paul puts emphasis on the corrupting power of heart-level association with those who do evil. Fellowship, which is the heart-level connection and enjoyment of others, is designed by God for those who are like-minded in their knowledge and love for the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you just simply enjoy the company of those who do evil in the eyes of God, you run the serious risk of being spiritually influenced by there lifestyles. You are to associate with unbelievers for the sole purpose of sharing the gospel, showing God's love, and demonstrating the holiness of God. Any other association is as counter-productive as their own running after other gods.

Do not separate yourself from the unbelieving world, for God has placed you here as a light in a dark world. Instead, differentiate between your relationships with saints and unbelievers; fellowship with saints and evangelize unbelievers.

Questions For Discussion

What is a saint?

What is fellowship?

How should you differentiate between your relationships with saints and unbelievers?

Remember to Whom You Belong

(Psalms 16:1-2) A Miktam of David. Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you."

(2 Corinthians 1:8b-9) For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.

David realized that the circumstances of his life were far beyond what he could deal with. He took refuge in the Lord and recognized that there was no good in him apart from the Lord and that the Lord was the sole source of his strength.

The Lord wants you to rely on Him and Him alone in the same way His servant David did. He superintends your life and takes you through specific, sometimes difficult and unpleasant, circumstances as a way of communicating with you. He guides and directs you, encourages you,  gives you opportunities to practice His principles, and even forces you along His path; all through the circumstances of your life. You had the sentence of death and were pardoned by the Lord. He paid the price for your death sentence and your life now belongs to Him.

Today, remember to whom it is you belong and to whom you owe your life. Submit to His will and authority but at the same time, enjoy the safety, security, and confidence that He is in control.

Questions For Discussion

What does it mean to superintend?

Could you learn the Lord's principles without being taken through difficult and unpleasant circumstances?

What do you think about belonging to and owing your life to the Lord?

Live According to God's Word

(Psalms 12:1-8) To the choirmaster: according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David. Save, O LORD, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man. Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak. May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts, those who say, "With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?" "Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise," says the LORD; "I will place him in the safety for which he longs." The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times. You, O LORD, will keep them; you will guard us from this generation forever. On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among the children of man.

(1 Peter 1:3-7) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

The world seems full of unbelievers who hate, oppress, and persecute God and His people. They consider themselves wise, self-sufficient, strong, and independent from God, and quite often they appear that way even to those who walk in God's light.

The reality is that through God's strength we are like the solid granite boulders that waves continuously pound against but on which have absolutely no affect. The wicked are like crashing cymbals that make tremendous noise but have no real substance. Fear of the wicked is lack of faith and trust in the Lord, as everything of this world, even gold that is tested by fire, will ultimately perish, but what God has stored up for us in heaven is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading.

Place your faith and trust in the Lord and not in the world. Find your confidence in knowing that you are living according to God's Word and thus pleasing Him. Be strong by standing on the solid rock of Jesus Christ who will live forever.

Questions For Discussion

What is faith, trust, and confidence?

Why does the world and its ways seem so strong and the Lord and His ways seem so weak?

When will you as a believer be vindicated?

Build the Kingdom of God

(Psalms 11:1-7) To the choirmaster. Of David. In the LORD I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, "Flee like a bird to your mountain, for behold, the wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart; if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?" The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD's throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man. The LORD tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence. Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. For the LORD is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.

(James 1:12) Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

The Lord tests His people to stretch them, to mold and shape them, to sanctify them. When the wicked experience suffering and trials it is a foreshadow of judgment from the Lord for their evil deeds. When the righteous experience suffering and trials, it is from the intense love God has for them; it is always for their greater good, and it is ultimately for the purpose of their sanctification which is building the kingdom of God.

Giving thanks for trials and suffering is difficult when you have your eyes focused on yourself. Christ would not have endured what He did if He was focused on Himself. If you keep the eyes and ears of your heart oriented to the Lord in all circumstances, you will be thankful for the trials knowing that you are participating in the building of God's kingdom.

Know that the difficulties and trials the Lord takes you through actually reflect His great love for you. Remember and remind yourself that there is a tremendous and significant difference between the suffering of the wicked and the suffering of the righteous. Build the kingdom of God by fully embracing and participating (from the Lord's perspective, not your own) in the life circumstances the Lord brings to you.

Questions For Discussion

Who are the wicked?

How are trials and suffering expressions of God's love?

How can you participate in the building of God's kingdom through your own sanctification?

Be Thankful

 

(Psalms 9:1-2) To the choirmaster: according to Muth-labben. A Psalm of David. I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

(Hebrews 13:15) Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.

When David says my whole heart he means his entire being; what he feels, what he doesn't feel, what he thinks, what he says, what he does, and the choices he makes. He means that he will give thanks to the Lord even when he does not feel thankful. He will be joyful and happy at all times, not because of his circumstances but because of the wonderful things that the Lord has done. This is possible by continually meditating upon and speaking about the Lord's wonderful works.

In the Hebrews passage, continually is translated from the Greek word dia (G1223) which literally means the channel or vehicle of an act. The Lord intends for you to be a vessel of praise to Him meaning that you are not to just offer praise but you are to become the actual praise yourself. This indicates that every fiber of your being is to be praise to Him. Remember that thankfulness is and expression, not a feeling. You can (and should) express thankfulness through appropriate thoughts, words, and deeds, even when you do not feel thankful. Both of these verses indicate that you are to worship the Lord with all of your being all of the time. That leaves absolutely no time, place, or circumstance in which you are free to not be focused on the Lord and worshiping Him.

Express thankfulness to the Lord today by thinking, speaking, and acting according to His Word. Think less of your own circumstances and more of the Lord's steadfast love and faithfulness to you.

Questions For Discussion

Do you ever not feel thankful for the things the Lord has given you and done for you?

How can you express thankfulness when you do not feel thankful?

What is the difference between being thankful and being the thankfulness itself?

Thank God

(Psalms 8:1-9) To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

(Romans 1:20) For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

God is not hiding. He has made who He is and what He is obvious and plain to see by everyone since the very beginning. No one has any excuse not to believe in God or not to attribute all glory to Him. Even those who never have the gospel clearly explained to them or who are never properly educated in the scriptures know of God's existence through the work of His mighty glory.

Unbelief is a smokescreen for rebellion. Those who do not want to honor God and give Him the glory that is due His name, claim not to believe.

Thank the Father today for clearing the smoke and opening the eyes of your heart to acknowledge His glory and honor. Thank the Father today for giving you a heart to not only believe in Him but to have faith in Him. Thank the Father today for saving you!

Questions for Discussion

Why do unbelievers not believe?

Can you convince an unbeliever to believe?

Why does this give believers greater reason to thank the Father?

Spend Today In the Presence of the Lord

(Psalms 5:4-7) For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you.

(Hebrews 4:16) Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

King David was speaking prophetically. At the time, only the High Priest was allowed to enter the Lord's dwelling place, and then only under certain conditions and at a certain time. King David was referring to a future time as described in Hebrews when the sacrifice of God's only Son would open the way for believers to enter God's house and to worship Him face-to-face. David was prophesying, looking forward to, the day of salvation.

Today is that day. You are able to enter into His presence and truly be in His presence because of what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross. You do not have to look forward to the day or perform any specific duties, works, or rituals. Through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ you are constantly in His presence and more; His Holy Spirit abides within you!

Spend all of today and everyday in the presence of the Lord. Worship Him at His holy temple all day long through all you think, say, and do.

Questions For Discussion

Where is God's Holy Temple?

In what way are you in a deeper presence of the Lord than even the High Priests of the Old Testament were?

From where do you draw your confidence to draw near to God even when you sin?

Begin Your Day with the Lord

(Psalms 5:1-3) To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David. 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.

(Mark 1:35) And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.

The morning is a very special time. You are fresh from the nights sleep with no distractions yet from the day. It is the beginning of your day and what you do first thing in the morning sets the tone for your entire day. It is said that one hour with the Lord in the morning is worth two in the evening. As a disciple of Christ, it is not optional to spend quiet focused time with Him every day; it is absolutely necessary. Beginning each day with the Lord leads you to spending your entire day with Him which is the very definition of worshiping Him. 

Although the morning is not the only time or the commanded time to have this quiet special meeting with your savior and King, it is the best. The Lord Himself began His day in the still, quiet presence of His Father. What better example to follow than the Lord Jesus Himself. If your lifestyle does not permit this time with the Lord, consider changing your lifestyle!

Do as David and the Lord Jesus Himself did and begin each day in the presence of God. If not an hour, take at least a few minutes at the beginning of each day to speak to the Lord, prepare your daily sacrifice for Him, and to hear His voice to set the tone for your day.

Questions For Discussion

Why is it important to spend time everyday with the Lord?

Why is first thing in the morning the best time of day to do this?

What should this time with the Lord look like?

Offer Him Sacrifices

(Psalms 4:1-8) To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of David. Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer! O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him. Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the LORD. There are many who say, "Who will show us some good? Lift up the light of your face upon us, O LORD!" You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound. In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

(Hebrews 13:15-16) Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

God has promised to love, protect, and bring joy to those who do not neglect His instructions and who offer right sacrifices to Him throughout their lives. In war, it is difficult to rest and even more so to sleep; for it is these times that you are most vulnerable to your enemy. David placed his complete confidence in the Lord's promises when he said that he would both lie down and sleep. David had this confidence because he knew to what God had called him, he trusted the Lord to provide and care for him, and he offered right sacrifices to the Lord in all that he did.

Your daily acts of righteousness and obedience to God's Word are true worship and praise. These acts are only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit living within you through God's act of salvation. What He has called you to, He has equipped you to fulfill; therefore through your worship, all glory and honor is given to Him.

Please God today by offering right sacrifices to Him throughout your day; seek Him and test what you think, say, and do, before you act. Trust in the Lord and know that He alone makes you dwell in safety.

Questions For Discussion

What are right sacrifices to Lord?

What results in following the  Lord's directions and offering right sacrifices to Him?

Where should you look first if you have a difficult time resting or sleeping?

Feel Safe In All That You do

(Psalms 3:1-8) A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son. O LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God. Selah But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked. Salvation belongs to the LORD; your blessing be on your people! Selah

(Romans 8:28-31) And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

It is true that you can not trust your feelings to guide you in the way God wants you to go. It is true that you do not always feel like doing what you know should do. It is also true that you do not always feel the way God wants or intends you to feel but know this: God does intend you to feel and He intends you to feels particular ways.

God loves His people; so much that He gave His only Son--truly He gave Himself--for you. He has had you in His mind and heart since before creation, and he has ordained and superintended all of creation  to bring you to the place where He has you today. God watches over you, He protects you, He guides your every step. He will not let your foot stumble or let you fall. If you trust in Him He will sustain you. God has a plan and a purpose for each of His people and He will see to it that you accomplish yours. Your part is to cooperate with Him in all ways. If you trust in the Lord, there is no need to be afraid; if you are afraid, you are probably not trusting in the Lord.

Do not be afraid of anything today. Feel safe in all that you do today because God is for you and anyone or anything that tries to come against you will ultimately fail.

Questions For Discussion

What is your part in God protecting you and not letting anything outside of His plan happen to you?

Why does God allow His people to have wrong feelings?

How do you turn wrong feelings into right feelings?