Let God Directs your path

Psalm 8

Lead me in the right path, O Lord,
or my enemies will conquer me.
Make your way plain for me to follow.

This is my prayer, God, “Lead me in the right path!” Your path is clearly laid out in Scripture, how I should live, what values I should place as gems in my heart, and how to decide and live out the different decisions I must face daily: how I should treat my friends, how I should respond to misunderstanding or insults, how I should respond to rejection, how I should respond to people who say mean things or treat me poorly; how I should receive truth from people rather than fighting them; how I should lay down my rights to serve others; how I should use my time and energies not to indulge my desires but to build Your church; how I should treasure people over things; and that I can have the spiritual eyes to see the responsibilities given me not as burden or mere duty, but as tremendous privilege and joy.

Lord, I ask you to lead me in the right path because the consequence of not living according to Your Word is that “my enemies will conquer me.” The enemies are my sinful nature, my old desires, my natural comfort-seeking, entertainment-seeking, self-preserving heart. This is the old self which I am daily trying to put off (cf. Eph 4). Lord, please lead me in the right path, and let your way be plain to me to follow. Help me to be well-grounded in Scripture, because Your word makes it plain, makes it clear for me how to follow You no matter what decisions or struggles I may have (cf. Psalm 119:105, Psalm 19:7-8).

Healing in your Words

Assurance of Answered Prayer- Psalm 4

Assurance of Answered Prayer

Key Verse: But know that the Lord has set apart the godly man for Himself; the Lord hears when I call to Him. (Psalm 4:3)

We can identify with the desperation and plea of the psalmist in the opening verses. Sometimes we feel rejected or maybe are conscious of having made a mistake. Having offended someone, we feel the reproach of a strained relationship. We are out of sorts with God—that sweet fellowship and sense of His presence has vanished—and we plead with Him to answer our prayer, be gracious to us, and relieve our distress.

The contrast is made clear in characterizing one who succumbs to worldly and ungodly attitudes and behavior and what one does who is walking a godly life in the righteousness of the Father. One who is out of fellowship with the Father is attracted to worthless things—values of the world, materialism and entertainment that appeals to baser instincts and passions. Such a person is deceived and misleads others in his example and influence. We recognize our need for God’s help. It is not because we are deserving but because of His righteousness that we can expect Him to answer when we call; it is on the basis of His grace that He hears our prayer.

Verse 3 is a beautiful reminder that if we live a godly life, it is because God has chosen us and set us apart; it is not for our blessing but for His glory. Why does the godly person have assurance the Lord hears when he calls? It is because we belong to Him and walk in fellowship with Him. Life becomes communion with God in which the Father responds to our pleading and manifests Himself to us in an outpouring of grace.

The person set apart for the Lord is to do four things to maintain that relationship:

• Tremble and do not sin; the fear of the Lord should be a deterrent from sin.

• Meditate and think about the Lord and godly things in times when we are still, while lying in bed or perhaps waiting in a line or stalled in traffic.

• Offer the sacrifices of righteousness; do what is good—“What would Jesus do?”

• Trust in the Lord. Walk in faith, confident that God is leading and enabling us.

The result of being a godly person who walks with God in doing these things is that God is consistently revealing Himself to us and through us. He is “lift[ing] up the light of [His] countenance upon us” (v. 6). He puts gladness in our heart, a joy that abounds like the farmer who reaps a prosperous crop beyond all expectations. And we can sleep in peace and dwell in safety. There is no distress, problem, or threat that infringes on our security.

Prayer: Lord, there is no goodness at all in me; any element of holiness and godliness comes from You. You have demonstrated grace and mercy in setting me apart from worldly things, but never let me forget it is for Your glory. I encounter so many conflicts and temptations in my mind, but You give a blessed peace and joy in abundance because I rest in You and You alone.

He will not let you stumble-Psalms 3

Psalms 3

Psalms 3 says, “A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son. LORD, how are they increased that trouble me! Many are they that rise up against me. Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah. But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah. I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.  Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly. Salvation belongeth unto the LORD: thy blessing isupon thy people. Selah.”

       

Every day has 24 hours. In every day there are the hours of light and hours of darkness. Life is like this. There will be times of darkness and times of great light. Sometimes the forces of evil will assault you and sometimes the worst assaults will be those who are closest to you turning against you. It happened to King David and it may happen to you. 

In such situations of great distress the world is going to say to you just what it says in Psalms 3:2, “Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God.” The way to handle such a situation is the same way King David handled things when his own family turned against him: keep trusting in Jesus. When bad things happen to you and people try to tell you God is not helping you, or that God is punishing you, what you need to do is remember the promises of God. Jesus said, “I will never leave thee, or forsake thee.” Jesus also said in the Gospel of John 14:16-18, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever. There will always be comfort found in Jesus even in the face of your own family seeking to kill you. King David’s son sought to kill him, and the world said to him that God had abandoned him, and the response of David is given in verse 3. It says, “But thou, O LORD, fyou are my shield for me, my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.”

       

There are three important points to this verse. The first is that God is your shield. A shield protects from attack. We live in a violent world, and you are going to be attacked. There are robbers, murderers, and rapists. There are wars and gangs and even senseless violence. But God will protect you from all of these things. God is your shield. King David was cast down from his position of power as ruler of a country sought by armies of men and forced to hide in caves, but he understood that even in such situations God was his shield. No one can harm you physically unless God allows it to happen because God is your shield. 

God watches over you. Psalm 1

God watches over you.

Psalms, like Proverbs, is a book of wisdom, it is in the bible to teach us about the Lord and his Word. The Psalms were written to praise, worship, and confess to God through poetry. The bible is timeless. The wisdom in Psalms was true when David, Asaph, Solomon and others wrote them, and it is true today. Many of the Worship hymns sung on Sunday mornings in churches are rooted in Psalms.

God watches over you. He looks every step that you take and guides you under his care.

-v. 6 gives us a promise that the Lord watches over the righteous. No one is righteous except through him. (Romans 3:19-31 in context) Rom 3:22-23 "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, (23) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." He is promising that those who obey him, have faith in him, and desire to draw near to him will be made righteous in him. God's promise here does not say that nothing bad will happen to his people, believing that is foolhardy. But God's will is always in his peoples best interests. Take the book of Philippians, which Paul wrote from prison. Philippians 4:19, "My God will meet all your needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus" It amazes me that Paul, in prison, has so much faith in the Will of God that he is content wherever God has him, even in a cold, dank prison. I pray that God would give me faith like Pauls and I praise him that he is working in my life to accomplish the good work that he started.

Jehovah Rohi-He cares for you

Jehovah Rohi

Jehovah Rohi means the “Jehovah, my Shepherd” Ps.23:1  The people of God have One that guides them through life and shows them which path to take, One that leads them. If you are searching for direction in your life you need to go to Jehovah Rohi. He wants you to know His will for you personally.

Rohi means “to feed”.  It is first used in Gen 37:2 when Joseph fed the flock with his brothers.  Joseph told Pharaoh that his family were shepherds. Gen. 47:3,4 Both Joseph and David are men that started as shepherds and became national leader.

Rohi also indicates “the relationship between the prince and his people. 2Sam 5:2  and “the relationship between the a priest or prophet and his people”. Jer 3:15  It is used in regards to feeding judgement Ez 34:16 A beautiful translation of rohi is “companion” or “friend”.  This expresses the idea of sharing life and food, my sustenance.  We share the very life of Jesus. Col 3:3,4  Moses experience this relationship. Exodus 33:11 God desires that relationship with you.

When you see the Lord as your Shepherd remember all that involves: He will lead you, feed you, bring judgement. He is your close and intimate companion and friend. The highest aspect of this relationship is that He lead you to life through his sacrifice for you and from there to an intimate personal sharing of the bread of life, for He is the Word made flesh. He leads you away from the danger of sin.

Is 40:10-11 He leads in a way that is a loving example for us to follow toward others. What an awesome combination of strength and tenderness! True shepherds draw the sheep together and care for the wounded. They drive off the wolves that try to wound and divide the flock. Genesis 49:24  Strength and gentleness are perfectly displayed in Jesus who is Jehovah Rohi.

Jn 10:11 ‘Good’ here can also mean appealing.  Jesus in us makes us irresistible to the sheep. They see the Good Shepherd shining through. Ez 34:11,12,14-16  People are looking for someone to gently but firmly lead them, feed them, be a friend to them. Jesus is all that and more. He is a Shepherd that can relate because He is also the Lamb of God. He understands what this life is like from living as a sheep in the sheepfold of mankind. That is one avenue of his mercy. Mercy is the Greek word ‘checed’ which means to climb inside someone’s skin and look out of his eyes, hear out of his ears, and feel what he feels. Who could better be a Shepherd than One who had been a sheep?

Jn 10:10,11,14  Rev 7:15-17 Hebrews 13:20,21 1Pt 2:25, 5:4