Encouragement Post - Coronavirus Distancing Day 53 (Monday)

Encouragement Post Day #53 (Monday) - Psalm 79:8-9 "Do not remember the iniquities of our forefathers against us; Let Your compassion come quickly to meet us, For we are brought very low. Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name; And deliver us and forgive our sins for Your name’s sake."

The Glory of Your Name
by Watermark

It was in the way You came
As a lowly babe
That Your glory was displayed
And it was in the sacrifice
Of the purest life
It was in Your Father's will obeyed

[Chorus]
The perfect Lamb that was slain
And there's the glory of Your name
No other one, no other way for me to see
You took my place, You are the way
And there's the glory of Your name
Yes, there's the glory of Your name

It was in Your victory, risen for the world to see
That all who would believe could enter in
And it is in the passionate price
Now demanding all my life
And beating in the chambers of my heart
[Chorus]

And there is nothing in this world
That could take the place of You
That could take the place of You my Jesus
And there is nothing in this life
That could take the place of
One life, one love
One power to save us all
One hope, one truth
And one glory in it all
One glory in it all
[Chorus]

Encouragement Post - Coronavirus Distancing Day 48 (Wednesday)

Encouragement Post #49 - First of all, thank you all for your prayers! I am definitely better today. I love this Psalm and it has really been on my mind today for some reason... maybe it's for you.

Psalm 63
1 O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly;
My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You,
In a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.
3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips will praise You.
4 So I will bless You as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
5 My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.

6 When I remember You on my bed,
I meditate on You in the night watches,
7 For You have been my help,
And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.
8 My soul clings to You;
Your right hand upholds me.
9 But those who seek my life to destroy it,
Will go into the depths of the earth.
10 They will be delivered over to the power of the sword;
They will be a prey for foxes.
11 But the king will rejoice in God;
Everyone who swears by Him will glory,
For the mouths of those who speak lies will be stopped.

Encouragement Post - Coronavirus Distancing Day 48 (Tuesday)

My soul waits for the Lord... If you were wondering where the encouragement posts went these past few days, I have been battling a pretty nasty diverticulitis attack with a tremendous amount of pain and honestly just haven't felt much like looking at a computer. But God is faithful, whether I feel like it or not. I am so grateful for His love and His word. I am hoping to feel better soon, but He SO ministered to my heart through Psalm 130 this morning. When I opened my YouVersion Bible app, I discovered it was today's reading. It was as if He were speaking the words directly to me. And the marvelous thing about Him and His word is that He can speak to you just as personally through the same words.

Psalm 130
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 does wait,
And in His word do I hope.
6 My soul waits for the Lord
More than the watchmen for the morning;
Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.
7 O Israel, hope in the Lord;
For with the Lord there is lovingkindness,
And with Him is abundant redemption.
8 And He will redeem Israel
From all his iniquities.

Encouragement Post - Coronavirus Distancing Day 44 (Tuesday)

Encouragement Post #44 (Tuesday) - Do you know? I do...
“As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will take His stand on the earth." (Job 19:25)
"Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; let them not rule over me; then I will be blameless, and I shall be acquitted of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer." (Psalm 19:13-14)

O Lord, My Rock and My Redeemer
by Sovereign Grace Music

VERSE 1
O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer
Greatest treasure of my longing soul
My God, like You there is no other
True delight is found in You alone
Your grace, a well too deep to fathom
Your love exceeds the heavens’ reach
Your truth, a fount of perfect wisdom
My highest good and my unending need

VERSE 2
O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer
Strong defender of my weary heart
My sword to fight the cruel deceiver
And my shield against his hateful darts
My song when enemies surround me
My hope when tides of sorrow rise
My joy when trials are abounding
Your faithfulness, my refuge in the night

VERSE 3
O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer
Gracious Savior of my ruined life
My guilt and cross laid on Your shoulders
In my place You suffered bled and died
You rose, the grave and death are conquered
You broke my bonds of sin and shame
O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer
May all my days bring glory to Your Name

Encouragement Post - Coronavirus Distancing Day 40 (Friday)

Encouragement Post – Day #40 (Friday) Now more than ever, I think it is increasingly clearer that our worth does not depend on what we own. Nor does it depend on our own strength. These beautiful lyrics are in the song I linked below, "Two wonders here that I confess, My worth and my unworthiness; My value fixed - my ransom paid, At the cross." These days are teaching me over and over again that my worth is completely in Him... He is my greatest treasure and the ONLY thing in this world that can truly satisfy my soul. Have you considered the magnitude of these words from Psalm 82, "No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly"?

Psalm 82:1-2, 4-5, 11-12
“How lovely are Your dwelling places,
O Lord of hosts!
My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord;
My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.

How blessed are those who dwell in Your house!
They are ever praising You. Selah.
How blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
In whose heart are the highways to Zion!

For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord gives grace and glory;
No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
O Lord of hosts,
How blessed is the man who trusts in You!”

Encouragement Post - Coronavirus Distancing Day 31 (Wednesday)

Encouragement Post – Day #31 (Wednesday) WHO is like our God?

Psalm 113

"Praise the Lord!
Praise, O servants of the Lord,
Praise the name of the Lord.
Blessed be the name of the Lord
From this time forth and forever.
From the rising of the sun to its setting
The name of the Lord is to be praised.
The Lord is high above all nations;
His glory is above the heavens.

Who is like the Lord our God,
Who is enthroned on high,
Who humbles Himself to behold
The things that are in heaven and in the earth?
He raises the poor from the dust
And lifts the needy from the ash heap,
To make them sit with princes,
With the princes of His people.
He makes the barren woman abide in the house
As a joyful mother of children.
Praise the Lord!"

Encouragement Post – Coronavirus Distancing Day 18 (Thursday)

Encouragement Post – Day #18 (Thursday) Really, really familiar words... but no less powerful because of their familiarity.

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd, (He takes responsibility for me)
I shall not want. (I have everything I need)
He makes me lie down in green pastures; (this allows me to rest in a wide open and beautiful space)
He leads me beside quiet waters. (among some of the most soothing sounds of His creation)
He restores my soul; (He makes the broken places in my heart and soul whole again)
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake. (Because He desires honor for His name, He leads His children faithfully toward right paths)

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me; (wherever I am, in whatever situation no matter how perilous or difficult, there is no need to fear because You are WITH me ...and not just *with* me but as Immanuel You are *IN* me)
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. (You are perfectly equipped with the ability to prod... a gentle nudge with the rod, to lead... with a hook around my neck if necessary, and to protect me by using the rod or staff as a weapon)
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; (because I am Yours, you feed me from the abundance of Your own table, the King's table, even when my enemies would seek to do me harm)

You have anointed my head with oil; (You cover me with gladness, with a pleasing fragrance before the Father, with salve for protection from disease and pestilence)
My cup overflows. (You freely give me abundant life beyond anything I could imagine)
Surely goodness and lovingkindness
will follow me all the days of my life, (Your goodness and lovingkindness will always, always, always be with me)
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (I will live in Your safe and magnificent abode forever.)

Encouragement Post - Coronavirus Distancing Day 8 (Monday)

Encouragement Post #8: (Monday) How are YOU doing? What has God been teaching YOU in this present situation? For me, I think more than anything He is teaching me that He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. No matter how everything around me changes, He does not. No matter how I have failed Him, He continues to love me... HIS mercies are new every morning, every hour, every second. And His faithfulness is beyond our ability to comprehend it. The One who is all righteousness and complete justice is also completely merciful. So I am "chewing on that" for the next little while. Would you take refuge with me under the shadow of His great wings?

Lamentations 3:21-25 "This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I have hope in Him." The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him."

Psalm 36:5-7 "Your lovingkindness, O Lord, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; Your judgments are like a great deep. O Lord, You preserve man and beast. How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings."

Encouragement Post – Coronavirus Distancing Day 5 (Friday)

Encouragement Post #5: Today (Friday) I am lifting my eyes to the One in Whom I have entirely set my hope. Would you join me in calling out to Him? (I know, :) you probably already have been.) He has given us so many great and precious promises, but He also tells us that we do not have because we do not ask or that we ask and do not have because we have asked with wrong motives so that we can spend it on our own pleasures (James 4:2-3). So today, I am coming in humility to say, "Lord, I lift my eyes to you and know that help can only come from You." When the burden seems heavy, the questions are many, the stresses seem greater... I will say with the songwriter Edward Mote, "When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay. On Christ the Solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand." That is true and real peace.

Psalm 121
"I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
From where shall my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to slip;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, He who keeps Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The sun will not smite you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
The Lord will protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in
From this time forth and forever."

Some real encouragement for these troubling days

In my current study of the Psalms of ascent, one activity that I love is that once we have thoroughly studied the Psalm, we then write it our own words. I wanted to share the first two with you and hope that it will somehow encourage you.

Psalm 120

LORD, I feel that our nation and world have been taken over by deceitful liars.
I want Your Name to be honored here and everywhere.
Yet, it seems that all people do is lift up themselves by using any means necessary, including lies and deceit.
Show Yourself strong; reveal who You are to Your people and then through Your people.
Help us to remain faithful to You whatever the cost.




Psalm 121

My gaze begins to lift; I look up to Your creation -- to the beauty of the mountains --
Knowing the One who created them and all their grandeur is the only One in Whom I can find help!
My Covenant Keeper has promised that He will not allow my foot to slip because He will be watching out for me every moment of every day,
And He never sleeps.
My Covenant Keeper protects me because He is always with me... right by my side... to ward off danger and evil.
Even the sun or moon cannot harm me because He is in charge, and He has promised to protect me.
My Covenant Keeper will protect me wherever I go -- from this day until tomorrow and every day after that.

Wishing you all a blessed day!