Saturday's Stop and Reflect ~ Psalms 130

This Week's Scripture for July 22 - July 28, 2012

Nuggets of Reflection:

• The Lord is our portion, especially when it seems like we have nothing else left.
• Put all your hope in God and wait patiently for Him to deliver.
• Don't stress. Enjoy life and receive the joy of the Lord while you wait.
• Don't let the devil fool you while you wait. God's word clearly states that He is good to those who wait for Him.
• There is always hope in God's salvation.

 


Psalms 130
(Waiting for the Redemption of the Lord)

Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord;
Lord, hear my voice!
Let Your ears be attentive
To the voice of my supplications.

If You, Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with You,
That You may be feared.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
And in His word I do hope.
My soul waits for the Lord
More than those who watch for the morning—
Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.

O Israel, hope in the Lord;
For with the Lord there is mercy,
And with Him is abundant redemption.
And He shall redeem Israel
From all his iniquities.

Feel Free Friday ~ Enjoy Your Weekend!! :)

I love Fridays!! Don't you?? I am excited about for today's post. Feel Free Friday is about feeling free to Enjoy Your Weekend!!  Yep, you heard me!!  Enjoy Your Weekend!! This whole week we talked about Lamentations 3:24-25. One of the key points is putting your hope in God and waiting patiently on Him to deliver. While you are doing that, it doesn't mean that you should waddled in self pity or not enjoy life, but 100% of the opposite.




If you truly put all your hope in God, you can have joy in the Lord. The bible says, "The joy of the Lord is your strength," (Nehemiah 8:10 ). And it's that same strength you can use to wait patiently on the Lord and to feel free to enjoy your weekend!! Amen and Amen!!




As I bid you adieu, if you haven't already, make some fun and awesome plans for the weekend or just plain ol' relax. Bottomline is don't fret and don't stress just enjoy your weekend because God has it all under control in the name of Jesus!! So, Have a blessed weekend and ENJOY!!



 Picture by: George's Journal via Toia on Pinterest



 Picture by: Anaamli via Toia on Pinterest

  
 Picture by: George's Journal via Toia on Pinterest

Quench Your Thirst Thursday ~ You Are My Portion By: Darrell Evans

I love Quench Your Thirst Thursday. It gives me an opportunity to share some great praise and worship music. God always shows me the right song at the right time. That's just how are awesome He is. For this Quench Your Thirst Thursday, we are listening to You Are My Portion, written and sung by Darrell Evans.


This week continue to confess that the Lord is your portion. If all else fails, you know that without a shadow of doubt that God is right there and on time. He is our portion, our everything, and we put our hope in Him. As you listen to this song, I pray that it is a blessing to you in the name of Jesus.

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Wisdom Word Wednesday ~ Hope

It's Hump Day!!! Hallelujah!! That means we are almost there.....to Friday!!! For today's Wisdom Word Wednesday, we are going to focus on hope. Part of Lamentations 3:24 states, "Therefore, I hope in Him!" When you are to point where you feel like you are all alone and have nothing, there is no other peron I would rather for you to put all your hope into, but the Lord God Almighty.

Where there is hope, there is faith. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen," (Hebrews 11:1). When you put your hope in God, you are believing without seeing the outcome of your situation, that He is going to work it out for the better. This means you are taken ownership of things that are hoped for, but not exactly manifested.

And that is what God wants us to do. He wants us to put our hope and faith in Him, regardless of what our circumstances are. He wants us to see spiritually and not physically. "For we walk by faith, not by sight," (2 Corinthians 5:7). Furthermore, Jesus clearly states, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed," (John 20:29).


One of the wisest thing that you can do is to put your hope in our awesome and powerful God.   If at anytime you feel a little discouraged, don't fret or doubt, but, "Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord," (Psalms 31:24). Amen and Amen.





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Tuesday's Prayer ~ My Portion

My Heavenly Father

Where would I be without Your grace and mercy? You are a faithful God. Your love for me is unconditional. You sacrificed Your One and only Son, Jesus, so that I can be reconciled with you. There is no other name I know. There is none like You, Heavenly Father. Even in my disobedience, You still have compassion and give me so much love.

Lord, I come to in repentance for all the times I have disobeyed Your Word, ignore Your commands, and didn't follow Your instructions. In the name of Jesus, I ask you to forgive me. You only, oh God, are my portion. I put every bit of my hope in You. Your tender mercies console me in my time of need.

I will wait on You all day. During this waiting period, I refuse to be ignorant to satan devices. I believe and trust in Your word. And Your word says that You are good to those who wait and seek Your face. Heavenly Father, I extend my prayers on the behalf of those who are in need of Your grace, mercy, compassion, comfort, and most of all, Your unconditional love. I give You all the praise, all the glory, and all the honor in the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

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Manic Monday ~ Portion and Wait

I am glad that Monday doesn't have be (you know) crazy. Sometimes, I do find it hard to be productive on Mondays. I guess because in my mind I have four other days in a regular work week to make up for it. But today was different. I actually felt like I got some things accomplished today. I feel a wee bit ahead of my game this week. We just have to see what tomorrow will bring.


As for right now, we are going to get started with Manic Monday. This week theme scripture is Lamentations 3:24-25. I do recommend that you read chapter 3. In today's post, I am going to focus on two words:  Portion and Wait.



Portion ~ [hebrew word:cheleq; #2506] - means a part, inheritance, an allotment.

Because everything was taken away from them, the only thing that the tribe of Levi can called their own was the Lord's mercies. They were able to console themselves with God's mercy. "Through the Lord mercies, we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not," (Lamentations 3:22). This verse assures me that no matter how difficult a trial maybe God's mercy and compassion will always be there. And since the Lord is my portion, my inheritance, no one can take that away from me. Therefore, I can put my hope in my heavenly Father.

Having said that, in the midst of declaring that you put your hope in God, you must wait. While waiting, sometimes you may feel like God hasn't heard your cry or you are just alone. The devil may very well try to play with your emotions, get inside your head, and try to get you to lose faith in God. There is hope in God's salvation, but we have to (sigh) wait.


wait ~ [hebrew word:qavah; #6960] - to wait for, expect, hope, the idea of waiting hopefully

Don't let the devil fool you while you wait. God's word clearly states that He is good to those who wait for Him. David had more than enough experience in waiting on the Lord. He talks about it throughout the Book of Psalms.  In Psalms 27:14, David wrote, "Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say on the Lord." In His plea for Deliverance and Forgiveness, David said in Psalm 25:5, "...For You are the God of salvation; On You I wait all the day." Our time is different from God's time. David could have waited years for God to delivered him. But, nonetheless, David waited. So, please, "Be patient and wait for the Lord to act; don't be worried about those who prosper or those who succeed in their evil plans," (Psalms 37:7).

Scripture References to Lamentations 3:24-25:
"My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
(Psalms 73:26)


"The Portion of Jacob is not like them, For He is the Maker of all things, And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance; The LORD of hosts is His name." (Jeremiah 10:16)


"....You are my hope in the day of doom." (Jeremiah 17:17)


"I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord More than those who watch for the morning, Yes, more than those who watch for the morning."
(Psalms 130:5-6)

Sunday's Scripture Reading ~ Lamentations 3:24-25

Before I announce the theme scripture for this week, let's continue to lift up the Aurora Community in Colorado and pray for the oppressed, broken-hearted, those who are sick, and depressed. Let's remember to send our prayers out to people all across the nation in the name of Jesus.


This week's theme will be based on Lamentations 3:24-25:

“The Lord is my portion,”
says my soul,
“Therefore I hope in Him!”
The Lord is good to those
who wait for Him,
To the soul who seeks Him.

Lamentations is a book divided into three poems. Lamentations 3:24-25 is in the third poem, which talks about God's mercy, man's submissiveness, and concludes with a prayer. Both verses, indicate a sense of hope and humility in the midst of troubles.

To paraphrase a bit, the tribe of Levi was basically saying..."Lord, you are the One and Only and there's no other. Everything we have is gone. No matter how long it takes, we will wait because all our hope is in You. "


This week we are going to dig in a little deeper. May God continue to add blessings upon the reading of His word.

Other Bible Translations for Lamentations 3:24-25

"I say to myself,
“The Lord is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in him!”
The Lord is good to those
who depend on him, to those
who search for him."
(nlt)

"I say to myself,
“The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”
The Lord is good to those
whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;"
(niv)

"I'm sticking with God
(I say it over and over).
He's all I've got left.
God proves to be good to
the man who passionately waits,
to the woman who diligently seeks."
(msg)


"The Lord is all I have,
and so in him I put my hope.
The Lord is good to everyone
who trusts in him."
(gnt)


"The Lord is my portion or share,
says my living being (my inner self);
therefore will I hope in Him
and wait expectantly for Him.
The Lord is good to those who
wait hopefully and expectantly
for Him, to those who seek Him
[inquire of and for Him and require
Him by right of necessity and
on the authority of God’s word]."
(amp)