The Psalms

The Psalms are a book of songs praising God, therefore it is often referring to as "The Book of Praises".  I am studying Ps. 119, and I am going to share a bit of what I learn.  
I found that, though this book of lyrics are often attributed to David, he actually wrote about seventy-three (about half) of the songs. The Palms were written over a period of one thousand years from Moses to Ezra (Believer's Bible Commentary - Kindle).

Alepha

1 Blessed are those whose ways are blameless,
who walk according to the law of the Lord.
2 Blessed are those who keep his statutes
and seek him with all their hearts.

Ps 119:1,2

These two verses say lot to the reader.  In a nut shell, to me it convicts me and tells me to walk with God instead of the worldly. To "seek him with all [our] hearts".  Then, we shall be blessed with His love.

God bless you,

God's Grace

God's Training to Reach the Goal

"Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come."

1 Timothy 4:8

The beginning of the year brings resolutions for us all, from physical exercise to diet change. Here, God is telling us through Timothy, that our spirit life is important more and will last us to eternity.  We need a good regiment, not only for the physical, but the spiritual part of us. If you have a good spiritual life, everything else falls into place.  Then, we know that we can depend on God for everything, including being our coach through life.

God's Will on Sexual Purity

This is Part One of a message delivered by Pastor Kevin Schmidt of Grace Baptist Church in Sonora, Ca. (http://www.gbcsonora.com.)

Topic:  Is God pleased with our lifestyle; the way we act??

Intro:  God has a will for our lives.  When we accept God, of course, He gives us a whole new life, which includes sexual purity.

A few quick questions to ponder about God's will  for us.

1. Do we believe in God?
2. What is our relationship with God? 
3. Why should God care about what I do with my body?

Thessalonians 5:23 is proof that God is concerned about our whole being, not just how we think or feel.

May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.   May your whole spirit, soul and body be blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

                                                                                     Thessalonians 5:23 (NIV) 

A. Three reasons why God cares about things like sexuality

     1. It's God sovereign right as the creator

         a.  Gen 1:1 says that He created heaven and earth
         b.  Gen 1:26  God sees that all is good
               I. perfect for mankind

         c.   Gen 1:26,27 states that God created man and woman in their 

               I.   notice, first that God says "let us make mankind in our image"
                      a. proof of trinity

Now God obviously has no body.  What does He mean when He said, "in our own image"? Here are some of the characteristics that God might have meant.

      1. dignity
      2. dominion
      3. duty
          a. to multiply
      4. to commune with God
          a. before the fall 
      5. moral discernment

Obviously, we have just skimmed the surface of the subject.  Please come back for more.  In the meantime, have a blessed day.
       
       

Welcome Back

I am back from a long medical process.  I hope to be able to share with you again, my interpretation of sermons that I have heard in the past.  Thank you for visiting me.

Worshiping God by Name ~ Part 2

As I said last time, these are my notes from Worshiping God by Name. This is the second part of a two part message, and was preached by Dr. Jeremiah from Turning Point.  

None of us really know God as much as we should.  Therefore, we do not love Him as we should. Oh yes, we love God...a lot; but we could show Him so much more love if we would only take the time to know Him.  We have the chance to know a little more about Him when we look at the names that the people of the Old Testament gave Him. Last time, we went through the first four names; today we will learn the last four, along with the meanings.  So let's get stated.

1. Jehovah - M'kaddesh ~ from Lev 20:7,8
        a. meaning The-Lord-Who Sanctifies

2. Jehovah - Shalom ~ from Judges 8:24 
        a. meaning The Lord-Who-is-Peace

3. Jehovah - Tsidkenu ~ from Jer 23:5,6
        a. meaning The-Lord-Our- Righteousness

4. Jehovah - Shammah ~ from Eze 48:35
        a. meaning The -Lord-Who-is-Always-There

Jehovah - Shammah is, perhaps, my favorite, as it reminds me how much God loves me.  He is there to help us through trials and to share triumphs.  He loves us because we are His children, and he accepts us and will forgive us anything.  He is always there!

I hope that you have enjoyed this study as much as I.  Next time, we will begin a study on the book of James.  Until then, have a blessed day, and remember that God loves you!

Worshiping God by Name

Today's message is from my notes on Worshiping God by Name, which was a sermon given by Dr. Jeremiah on Turning Point. Let's get started.  For a lot of us, parts of this message will be a review.  However, it is important information for everyone to have before we go on to all of the names of God.  

To worship is to celebrate God.  To know God, which is what we want, we need to love Him. Really love Him; to stop and realize who He is and what He has done;  to be in awe of Him; then to worship Him.

Dr. Jeremiah quoted Ronald Alan.  Here are my notes:

** Worshiping God  is to:
        a. celebrate in Him
        b. boast in Him (not in yourself, but in Him)
        c. extol Him
        d. sound His praises
        e. come together in prayer and song

All of these we need to do to be more like our Savior.

The people of the Old Testament had this down pat.  Every time that God  answered their needs, they would build an alter and give Him a new name. Oh, He was still known as God, but they would give Him a "nickname", for lack of a better word.  Today, we will go through the first four names, and we will finish up next time.

1. Jehovah - Rohi  ~ from Ps 23
        a. meaning My Shepherd

2. Jehovah - Jireh
        a. meaning The-Lord-Will-Provide ~ from Gen 22:13

3. Jehovah - Rapha
        a. meaning The-Lord-Who-Heals ~ from Exo 15: 22-26

4. Jehovah - Nissi ~ from Exo 17:15
        a. meaning The-Lord-Is-My-Banner
        b. meaning of banner in this context is to glisten

That is all for today.  Next time we will finish Worshiping God by Name.  Until then, God bless you all.

Worshiping a Loving God

First, let me begin by saying I'm sorry for the delay in posting.  I have been in the hospital on and off, but I am back now, praise the Lord!

The study today is from Dr. Jeremiah, entitled "Worshiping a loving God".  The link to the lesson is Worshiping a Loving God.  Our lesson comes from John 3:16.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

                                                             Jn 3:16

As we all know, God is the author of love.  John 3:16 reveals the gospel in one verse.  As we read this wonderful verse, we will pick out seven words and phrases that summarize God's love for us.

The first word is "so", which refers to the quality of God's love.  He loves us so much, that His Son died for us.  Let's stop and think about the magnitude of that fact.  Jesus actually took all of our sins and died a horrible death on the cross.  And He did it so that we may have eternal life.

The next word is "object".  Well, this one is easy.  The object of His love is spelled out in the next two words: the world.  This means all of the world..not just one gender; or nation; or creed; or color; but the whole world...ALL OF US! And it's a personal love.  The kind that makes each of us feel like He's loving us particularly, and in the special way that we need Him to.

The third word that summarizes God's love for us is actually a phrase.  "He gave us His Son" refers to the sacrificial love of God.  Which of us would voluntarily give our child, as God did? Even if it would save others, I believe that I couldn't do so.  Another verse that helps us to fathom the reason that God gave His Son is Romans 8:32, which reads:

"He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?"

                                                               Rom 8:32

Reading that verse, you cannot deny God's love for us.

The next word that we come to in John 3:16 is "whosoever".  This depicts the serious offer of God's love.  God makes His Word, in the form of the Bible, available to everyone.  This word shows that it includes the whole world, as God's love is available to the world (remember the second word: object), but those who do not believe are not included.  Isn't it sad to think of the people who miss out on God's wonderful love only because they choose not to believe in it.

"Believes" is the fifth word and it goes right along with "whosoever".  It is the selective choice of God's love.  This is where free will comes in;  we receive God's love only if we believe in Him and His Holy Son.  We also must believe that Jesus died for us, taking all of our sins; and that He rose again on the third day; and, finally, that He ascended into heaven.  He will return to take us to our heavenly home.  Isn't a comforting thought.   

Then, we come to the next phrase, which is: "shall not perish".  This refers to God's special love.  As we know, perish is the opposite of everlasting life, which is the promise.  We shall all have everlasting life if only we believe.

The last phrase is tied into the previous.  "Everlasting life" referring to eternal life.  Eternal life starts the moment you believe.  In other words, you do not have to wait until your outer shell is dead to have eternal life, but when you are "saved", you are saved from death and from hell.  We who believe shall never die!  Because everlasting life starts when you are saved, it refers to the quality of your life.  Simply put, believe and the quality of your life will rise above those who don't believe.  A perk to believing that is comforting.  This is not to say that Christians have it made in this life on earth.  But we have God's grace to help us through anything that befalls us.

To sum it up, John 3:16 shows us that God loves us, warts and all.

Thank you all for joining me this morning.  Have a blessed day, and I will see you next time.

Living Your Life on Purpose

This is a lesson that  I heard on Turning Point Ministries.   If you would like to listen to this lesson for yourself, you can find it on Living Your Life on Purpose.  Today, many people are confused as to what their purpose is in life. What does God have in store for me? Why am I here?  Dr. Jeremiah went through four different people from the Bible that were examples of "living on purpose". We will cover one person a day.

Daniel

Daniel shows the power of purpose in his life. He shows this very early in the story where the king takes Daniel captive to change his belief system to the pagan beliefs of the times. So the king called Daniel to partake in a feast with him. The custom was to offer the wine to their pagan gods.  In this way, Daniel would have to acknowledge the king's gods.

"But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with a portion of the King's delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself."
                                                                                                                           Daniel 1:8

"That moment set him up for the rest of his life" (Dr. David Jeremiah). He put God first and because of that, he became "Daniel the Dearly Beloved". He set himself apart because he refused to change his heart and he lived "on purpose for God".

The lesson that we learn from Daniel is that we have to prepare our hearts for God.

The next example that we will study is Ezra.  Thank you all for studying with me today and may God bless you.

What is God's Will for the New Year

As we go into 2014, we must think about God's will for us in the coming year. Today, we will go over Psalm 143:8 – 10. This lesson is from a message given by Pastor Kevin Schmidt. If you would like to listen to the message, please go to Grace Baptist Church The sermons are under the media tab. The following message is dated 1/5/14.

Our text reads:

vs. 8  Cause me to hear Your loving kindness in the morning,
          For in You do I trust;
          Cause need to know the way in which I should walk,
          For I lift up my soul to You.


vs. 9  Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies;
          In You  I take shelter

vs.10 Teach me to do Your will,
          For You are my God;
          Your Spirit is good.
          Lead me in the land of uprightness.

We must ask ourselves, "What is Your will for me in the coming year, God?" When we get up in the morning, vs. 8 comes into play. We ask God to help us hear His lovingkindness. This is the day that the Lord has made and nothing will tear us apart from Him.

vs. 10 asks God to teach us to do His will. God knows what challenges we have, and because He is a personal God, He has something for each of us to do. This is His will, and we must ask what it is for us.

After we get our answer through studying the Word of God and prayer, we need to "[do]the will of God from the heart" (Eph 6:6).

In Matthew 6 we find the Lord's prayer which states "Your kingdom come. Your will be done" (Matthew 6:10).


So again we ask God, "What is Your will for me?" We need to focus on, not just the future, but on today, right this minute.  We also need to ask ourselves,"In what decision is God going to be honored and glorified?" Remember: we exist only for Him.

So in closing, let us pray, "God, I want to know Your will, so that I can do Your purpose for me. Help me to have a teachable heart."

Thank you for joining me today. Make God bless you and yours.

Holy New Year

I have been sitting here pondering 2013 as it is on its way out, and as 2014 is coming with all its surprises and opportunities.  I have to stop and thank God for the last year of my life with the Lord in my heart.  He has giving me so many blessings, too numerous to mention.  Suffice it to say that all of my needs were met, but beyond that, He gave me His love.  I am not worthy, but He gives it anyway.  And even though I have had trials in the past, or maybe because of them, I have gotten stronger and stronger in the Lord with each passing day.  As James puts it, 

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything" (James 1:2-4).

I am also thankful that with every year, every day and every moment that I have God in my life, I also have His grace, understanding, mercy, counsel, and friendship, and above all else, at the risk of repeating myself, I have His love. 

Thank you for joining me on this blessed first day of the new year.  I hope that you will count your many blessings, and never lose sight of the Lord, for He is right beside you always!

II Chronicles 14:11 ~ Asa

When we are in trouble, to whom do we turn? Our neighbors, our friends, our spouses cannot possibly help when we have no strength to go one more step. So who can rely on?  That's right, God!  As Asa realized that God is there to give him the strength that he needed when he was outnumbered in battle, so should we rely on Him.  

And Asa cried unto the Lord his God, and said, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, rather with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude.  O Lord, thou art our God; let no man prevail against thee. 
                                                                                                  II Chronicles 14:11

Note that Asa declared that God is so great and that He has so much power over everything: "Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, rather with many, or with them that have no power".  All that he had to do was to rest in Him: "for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude".  In other words, as long as we are doing God's will, we need only call on Him, and He will give us strength.

Amen!

Thank you for joining me this morning.  May God bless and keep you and yours always!

Alignment with God

Today, we are going to discuss how to align yourself with God. Notice that I a did not say "how how we can get God to align with us". Think about it: most of us are from the 'Me Generation'. One thing that people of that generation are known for is manipulating situations to benefit themselves. We want something, we pray for it, we automatically think that God should blessed us with exactly what we want. Then, when we don't receive it right away, we get angry with God, sometimes to the point of turning our backs on Him.  Sound familiar? I would venture to guess that nine people out of 10 have, at one time or another, found themselves in exactly that situation. This lesson will aim to show us why we should align ourselves with God, instead of the other way around.

We take our lesson from Matthew 20, verses 20 through 23. This is a story about a mother who believed that her two sons deserved to be seated at the right hand side and at the left-hand side of Jesus in His kingdom (vs 20, 21). But Jesus, knowing what His future held, asked the sons, "Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with" (vs 22)? They hadn't a clue what Jesus was about to go through; the persecution and the crucifixion that He would experience was to much for any man.

This shows how a mother tried to have Jesus align with her wishes. In vs 22 and 23, Jesus asks the sons the two very important questions. When the sons answer, "We are able" (vs 22). In vs 23, He tells them how it's going to be. "You will indeed drink from My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with", meaning that the boys will go through persecution (drink from My cup), and they will be baptized (receive the Holy Spirit). But, and here's the catch, "To sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those whom it is prepared by My Father" (vs 23).

This short story is just one example of how God gently guides us back into alignment with Him. So the next time that you think that you "deserve" something, instead of getting mad at God when you do not receive it, try thanking Him.  He, more than likely, just saved you from a lot of heart ache.

Thank you for joining me today. God bless you and keep you until next we meet.

The Beatitudes ~ Matthew 5:8

Yesterday, we started a lesson on the Beatitudes.  This was from a message that my pastor, Kevin Schmidt, gave at my church a while ago. We covered Matthew 5:3 – 7, and today we will cover vs 8. This should be a relatively short lesson, and we will cover the rest of the Beatitudes at a later date.

vs 8  Blessed are the pure in heart,
         For they shall see God.

We will be focusing on the word 'pure'. When we hear this word in connection with us, we know that we cannot possibly be totally pure. This may make us uncomfortable or even give us feelings of shame. If you do not know God, you may not care whether or not you are pure. You may ask yourself how do I be completely pure. The answer to that question lies, of course, in God's Word. We are now going to use what we have learned yesterday to open our eyes to God's expectations. 

Matthew 5:3 uses the phrase 'poor in spirit' to refer to those who recognize that Jesus is the only way to see God. This tells us to be spiritually humble.

In vs 4, Jesus tells us, "Blessed are those who mourn…". This refers to those who are sensitive about sin; to those who realize that when we sin, we hurt God. In other words, in order to be pure, we must recognize our sins, but more important then that, we must try not to send in the first place. Of course this is an impossible task, but to be aware of our actions before we act makes it easier.

vs 5 tells us simply to surrender our hearts to God. This is perhaps the first, and most important, step to becoming pure.

vs 6 tells us to hunger and thirst, or to seek God's Word. This, we do in exchange for righteousness.

The above are steps to becoming pure. First we must surrender our hearts to God, then recognize that Jesus is the only way to live our lives. We must be aware of our sins, and "nip them in the bud". In other words, we must stop them before they start. Lastly, we must keep reading our Bibles every day. We need to thirst for God's Word at all times, good and bad.

Other verses to read:

Matthew 5:48
Romans 12: 1, 2
Psalm 24:3 – 6

Thank you for joining me for this lesson. May God bless and keep you until we meet again.

The Beatitudes ~ Matt. 5:3-7

Today, not only did I read my devotional by Millie Stamm, I listened to a lesson given by my pastor, Pastor Kevin Schmidt of Grace Baptist (a fundamental Baptist church).  He covered Matt. 5:3-8 which, as most of you know, are the first six verses of the Beatitudes.  As I listened with an opened heart, for this is what I prayed for before my lesson, I realized that, even though I have accepted the Lord, I still have a lot of work to do on improving my heart to make me acceptable in the presence of God, and I must do it now...today, right at this moment.

Most of us think the same way.  As long as I accept Jesus, live a good life, pray at supper and go to church on Sunday morning, I am good.  After all, I am a flawed human.  What can God expect?  The answer to that burning question is:  EVERYTHING!  We can find what is expected of us in the book of Matthew, specifically Matt. 5:1-12, or as it is commonly known as The Beatitudes.

We are only going to study the first five verses today.  So here we go.

vs 3:  Blessed are the poor in spirit,
          For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Let's look at the phrase 'poor in spirit'.  I used to believe that, because the word poor is used, this verse refers to those who have not received the Lord.  This is as far from the truth as possible (and we all now that God's Word is the truth).  The truth makes a lot more sense.  'Poor in spirit' actually means spiritually humble, or to put an even finer point on it, those who recognize that Jesus is the only way to get a clean heart.

vs 4:  Blessed are those who mourn,
          For they shall be comforted.

This simply means those who are sensitive to sin, who realize that when we sin, we hurt God, will be blessed.    We need to be aware of our actions and stop ourselves from hurting God, and ultimately ourselves.

vs 5  Blessed are the meek,
        For they shall inherit the earth.

Meaning if we surrender to God, we shall inherit everything.

vs 6  Blessed are those who hunger
              and thirst for righteousness;
         For they shall be filled.

If we seek the Lord, our God, in the search of righteousness, we shall have everything that we need.

vs 7  Blessed are the merciful,
         For they shall obtain mercy.

This one is not hard to decipher.  If use show mercy to your fellow man, God will give you mercy.

We will wait to cover verse 8, for it is a long lesson, as well.

May God bless you and keep you always.

He is Always With Us ~ ALWAYS!

In my devotion today, Millie Stamm covered one of God's promises to us.  It is proceeded by a command to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19, 20)  I have italicized today's promise so that we can discuss this wondrous gift from God.

Today, for an example, I will share part of my testimony to show how faith in God's promises can be spread around the world.  First, I must explain a little about myself.  At the age of ten I had a stroke.  It affected my right arm and leg.  Soon, with a lot of support from my family (with which God had blessed me), and a lot of hard work on my part, I got about 90% of the use of my leg back.  However, I chose not to work on getting the use of my arm back, so I never did.  I tell you this not to gain your pity, for I despise it as much as I do criticism about my different ability, but to give you some insight into my heart.  I chose to work hard, and God blessed me with the use of my leg again; but I chose also to ignore my arm and paid the consequences for the rest of my life. God did not give me the stroke because I had sinned or was a bad person.  He allowed it to make me strong and to give me a chance to rely on Him.

As a result of my childhood, which could not have been more full of love and support, I have always had medical problems, or trials, if you will.  My last major one, a broken hip, which required numerous surgeries, finally landed me in a wheelchair (something that I have fought against for all of my life).  But, as Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Isn't that a wonderful thought. God loves us so much that He will use all circumstances for good.  The good that my trials brought me was that they made me a stronger person.  But, besides that, they gave me a chance to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations..." (Matthew 28:19), even with my restrictions.  God put me into situations which allowed me to witnessed to people who were without hope and searching for something, someone in which to believe.  Most of these situations were as a result of my trials.

So you see, we can all spread God's word and no matter what, He is beside us giving us the strength to see it through...always!

May God  bless you and keep you until the next time we meet.

Jabez's Prayer

This lesson is from my devotional, Meditation Moments by Millie Stamm.

And Jabez called on the God of Israel, "Oh, that thou wouldest bless indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me,  and that though wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me!" And God granted him that which he requested.

                                                                                                   1 Chronicles 4:10

Though we do not see Jabez in the Bible more than this one verse, theologians believe that Jabez is truly the prayer warrior.  First, we see him ask God to bless him.  Now, ordinarily we would say that this alone is a selfish prayer way to pray.  However, Jabez knows that without God's blessings, he cannot bless others.  He then asks Him to "enlarge [his] coast".  Here, Jabez is praying that God bring more people into his life that he might lead them to Him. Jabez prayed lastly that God would guide him and keep him from evil.

This prayer is near and dear to my heart.  I truly admire Jabez and love this prayer.

Thank you all for joining me today.  May God bless you and keep you from evil.

Hopeful! Peaceful! Prayerful! ~ Romans 12:12

My devotion today, written by Millie Stamm, is from Romans 12:12.

Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer.

God's Word gives us strength to get through the tribulations of life.  It gives us hope in our prayers and we need to be patient for God's answer .  Though we do not always get the answer that we want, He gives us the answer that we need at the time.  Romans 12:12 reminds us to rejoice in hope because God is is the God of hope.  We are to rejoice in the hope that He will give us what we need, AND we are to rejoice in the hope of Christ's return.

Our prayer lives are to be constant and never ending.  We are to be patient in times of trouble, for God is allowing the trouble to refine us. Patience brings peace.

As Ms. Stamm writes, "God is interested in our lives.  We can rejoice in our hope in a God who is all-powerful.  We can be patient in tribulation, knowing that He is near to comfort and encourage.  We can be steadfast in prayer, for He has promised to hear and answer."

Hang your hopes on His promises!

Be thankful this Thanksgiving day, and always!

Psalm 84:5 – 7

I have been reading daily devotion by Millie Stamm called Meditation Moments. I would like to share with you the scripture Ms. Stamm shared with us today.

Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
They make it a spring;
The rain also covers it with pools.
They go from strength to strength;
Each one appears before God in Zion. 
                                           Psalm 84:5 – 7

This lesson was close to my heart as I have had many occasions where to draw on God's strength in the past couple of months. I have been plagued with one medical problem after another, but God is always there. 

This piece of scripture reminds us that, as we pass from trouble to trouble, we go from strength to strength. Meaning that when we are in trouble, there always is God's strength and grace to pull us through.

Thank you for joining me today, and may God bless each and every one of you.

God's Grace is Sufficient

I have been having more medical problems than usual.  I have not been able to attend church, so I have been feeling more doubtful and less faithful that normal.

My pastor came by today to pick up a few items that he left when painting my house.  We talked for some time about God's grace.  I asked him why God would keep His children from the fellowship of His people. 

You see, lately I have been feeling as if I was set apart from my church family; as if I was isolated on my own island. Of course, I knew the answer to the question even before I asked; however, I needed someone else to confirm it for me. We could never know what's in God's mind, but we know that God is in control. His love for us is astronomical, and we need to have faith in what He has planned for our lives.  
Pastor then said something was not expected. He told me that when I go through my hardships I teach others the same lesson that God teaches me. To have faith is the most important thing that we can learn from our trials. We need to remember that others learn from how we deal with our tribulations. This may sound like a simple lesson, but I felt that it is important for all of us to remember.

Magnify the Lord With Me

Today's lesson comes from my pastor's message on magnifying the Lord (Psalm 34).  It is short, but oh so sweet!

He brings up a scenario in which a mother brings a newborn home.  That mother is now responsible for baby's physical welfare, as well as it's soul.  Now, that is a lot of responsibility.  So imagine, if you will, a mother looking on with adoration, as she tenderly holds her beautiful infant in her arms.  Her soft voice envelopes the child as she says,"This is what we will do, you and I.  We will magnify the Lord throughout our lives."