Psalm 13 - God is emotionally invested in our lives

Psalm 13How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?How long will You hide Your face from me?  How long shall I take counsel in my soul,Having sorrow in my heart daily?How long will my enemy be exalted over me?  Consider and hear me, O Lord my God;Enlighten my eyes,Lest I sleep the sleep of death;  Lest my enemy say,“I have prevailed against him”;Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved.  But I have trusted in Your mercy;My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.  I will sing to the Lord,Because He has dealt bountifully with me

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Our church is studying through the Psalms this summer, this past Sunday our Pastor took us through Psalm 13, a Psalm of Lament. I took notes as I listened and I would like to post them here today. Perhaps you will be encouraged as you consider my notes.

"How long Oh Lord?" we have felt this and asked the Lord this question ourselves.

Psalm 13 is a lament before God, spoken from the depth of pain.

We have felt stuck in the brokenness of this world.

The Psalms are personal prayers - we can use these to come to God with our own difficulties.

Also as a community - we can use the Psalms as prayers of intercession - speaking and praying on behalf of another person.

Be honest before God - tell Him what is going on in your situation, we must not be fake. We must come before the Lord with truth, telling Him exactly what our situation is and how it is affecting us.

Pray to God with your emotions - with no holding back!

Laments teach us to pray from the depth of our hearts.

In Psalm 13, David accuses the Lord of having forgotten him "How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?"

God will never forget us - Has has promised to never leave us or forsake us.  It is His #1 promise.

David demands for God to do something, to show up and to move in his life.

God hears our prayers, we need to be convicted and expect Him to act and to answer our prayers.

God remembers His promises to us.

God does respond to our prayers.

When we are completely open with God, we will sometimes ask Him for things that we should not ask for. Do not worry about this - The Lord can handle this.  Bring it all to God. 

Become real before Him.

He will change us when we are honest with God.

He will teach you to bless and to love that person who is causing you grief.

God can handle us!

We can express our fears, our anxieties, our heartaches to Him - He is touched by our grief.

Be real with God.

Praise is the foundation of our prayers.

David is convinced that God is good! And we also need to be convinced that God is good!

What breaks your heart breaks God's heart as well!

God is emotionally invested in our lives - He cares for us.

God loves us!

Trust in His unfailing love.

His love will hold you!

In the LORD I put my trust....

May 5, 2014

Isaiah 25:4 For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

photo from thisoldhoue.com

Psalm 61:3-4 For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.

 I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah.

photo from fotothing.com

Isaiah 25 8-9 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.

 And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

picture from nallifollowthelight.wordpress.com

Click link to listen to George Jones - Jesus Hold My Hand

"Jesus, Hold My Hand" 

( http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/georgejones/jesusholdmyhand.html )

As I travel through this pilgrim land
There is a friend who walks with me
Leads me safely through the sinking sand
It is the Christ at Calvary.

This would be my prayer dear Lord each day
To help me do the best I can
For I need Thy light to guide me day and night
Blessed Jesus hold my hand.

[Chorus:]
Jesus hold my hand
I need thee every hour
Through this pilgrim land
Protect me by thy power.

Hear my feeble plea
O Lord look down on me
When I kneel in prayer I hope to meet you there
Blessed Jesus hold my hand.

[Instrumental]

Let me travel in the light divine
That I may see the blessed way
Keep me that I may be wholly Thine
And sing redemption's song some day

I will be a soldier brave and true
And ever firmly take a stand
As I onward go and daily meet the foe
Blessed Jesus hold my hand.

[Chorus:]
Jesus hold my hand
I need thee every hour
Through this pilgrim land
Protect me by thy power.

Hear my feeble plea.
And O Lord look down on me
When I kneel in prayer I hope to meet you there
Blessed Jesus hold my hand.

When I kneel in prayer I hope to meet you there
Blessed Jesus hold my hand...

Sickness and Suffering - Why?

Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

Sunday, March 17, 2013
This is a sermon review from my home church that I attend regularly. This year for our Lent season we are doing a series on grief and suffering. We are learning how to be the hands and feet of Jesus in difficult situations. The topic this Sunday was   Sickness - what to say to a friend who is suffering.
Our speaker was Mike. He is a Chaplain at one of the larger hospitals in my area.

2 Corinthians 1: 3-4 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 
 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

Here is some of what Chaplain Mike said:
What do you say when someone has just received bad news from the doctor? How do you speak to a person who is suffering?

We all experience pain. In some ways pain is a good thing. If you bump your toe you experience pain. If you get near a hot stove, the thought of pain from a burn will keep you from touching the hot stove. 

Suffering involves pain, also emotional pain - pain of a life cut short.
There are heartaches that no level of medication can cover. 

The longer the period of suffering lasts, the heavier it becomes, the harder it is to hold up under it.

Comfort
- comfort comes from God.
2 Corinthians 1:3  describes our Heavenly Father as the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all of our troubles. It is a promise. God wants to comfort you and He will comfort you.

What is comfort?
To comfort someone is to encourage them with compassion. It is urgent and life changing.
The comfort we have experienced in our own trials is meant to be used to comfort others in their situations.

Many times, when we are in a time of suffering we just want it to be over. But we need to give it time to allow God to work in us.

Three Reasons why God allows Suffering
1) It gives us the capacity to enter into other people's suffering.
* your suffering is not just for you
* don't waste what you are going through
* use it as a ministry tool when possible

2) We can learn to rely on God
* 2 Corinthians 1: 8-9 ... that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:  But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:
* the suffering is so bad we want out but we need to rely on God
* suffering makes the lesson stick
* suffering makes us realize how much we need God ALWAYS

3) It helps us to learn to give thanks in everything
* we learn to know the Hand that feeds us and takes care of us
Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Way to Comfort people
Key - to say very little
1) be present - just be there even if it is uncomfortable or awkward
* don't be afraid when nothing is being said
* don't be afraid if it is awkward

2) listen - 
* by listening you validate the suffering person's feelings
* just sit, allow them to talk and just listen
* you will hear them say things like: money has not fulfilled life's dream, generosity is important, family is important, wish spent more time with loved ones, etc

3) Pray - ask the person if you can pray with them
* we serve a loving God who cares for us

What suffering have you experienced?
It was not meant to be wasted.
You have been ordained to comfort others.

If you are suffering, tell someone, reach out to others and allow them to comfort you.
Use your own suffering to help and comfort others.
We will all face suffering.

Develop a strong faith in Jesus now. Develop a strong relationship with Jesus now!

Next Sunday Pastor Ben will answer questions that have come in over the last couple of weeks.

Thought for the week: Christians keep the faith.... but not from others!

Who Holds Tomorrow (Newsletter) - Part 2

Recently I wrote a post titled "I Know Who Holds Tomorrow" - link to post here http://sharingthefaith-northernsparrow.blogspot.ca/2012/11/i-know-who-holds-tomorrow.html
I shared how the song "I Know Who Holds Tomorrow" holds a special place in my heart.
So I was pleasantly surprised to find that this song is also a favorite to the Dr Thomas Wyatt.
I am on the Wings of Healing mailing list so I am blessed to receive their letters regularly. In his most recent letter, Dr Wyatt included a New Year's message which I would like to share with you here:
I will share parts of his letter here below. His letter includes warnings, prophecies, comfort and encouragement. I believe you will be blest by reading Dr Wyatt's insights.

The Newsletter:


Newsletter from Wings of Healing

You can link to his website at -  www.thomasrwyatt.org

He begins by saying:

My faithful friend:
The New Year, traditionally, has been the opportunity to envision what the year ahead and even beyond may have in store.......
Regrettably, just as our Lord prophesied, our world is one of "wars, and rumors of wars, ( meaning wars close by, and wars half a world away), but we are not to be alarmed, for this must happen, but it is not the end... there will be famines, and earthquakes in various places, but all this is but the beginnings of the birthpangs.....and you will be delivered up to tribulation, and put to death, you will be hated by all nations for My name sake... ( Matthew 24)
What our Lord describes is a world of chaos and lawlessness, and He will add, one of falsehood and treachery, which will cause many to fall away. But He affirms "those who endureto the end will be saved, and the gospel of the Kingdom will be preached as a testimony to all nations. Then and only then, He declares, the end will come......

What the world and it's princes have done is to excude God for centuries, and of course they have made matters worse. So as we see markets and governments crumble, as it results in carnage in places we have never heard of before, needless, heartache, the deprivation of far too many, and increased uncertainty and unrest, remember it is the consequences of ignoring God. This will result in unimaginable events, not just in some far corner of our globe, but very close at hand. Evil will raise its hand against even the innocent, as we have discovered in a small town in Connecticut.
As I see such evil I remember the old hymn by Ira Spanphill, and yes, find myself singing, "...I don't worry o'er the future, for I know what Jesus said, and today I'll walk beside Him, for He knows what lies ahead. Many things about tomorrow I don't seem to understand, but I know who holds tomorrow, and I know who holds my hand".

We should know Him, and His love, and thus be able to say, regardless of the evil, regardless of what may confronts us, we have " The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive... you know Him, for He dwells with you, and will be in you" ( John 14:17 )......

So as this coming year unfolds, as the frequent chaos persists, as the futility of human and governmental meddling continue, I would have your remember with me just who it is "who holds tomorrow" and that it is He "Who holds ours hands." He has promised to always be there for His people, those who He has called unto Himelf. He will, with His strong arm cover us, undertake for us, and enable us......

 The above are the words from the letter written by Thomas Wyatt.

Peace and Comfort in Trying Times...

Isaiah 48: 17-18 Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.  O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:
 God has made each of the four season, each one comes with its own distinct gifts and beauty. Fall has arrived now and again we see how  God has made everything beautiful in its time. I took this photo of our small river that runs by our property. It reminds me to be still and reflect on the Lord and his care for us ( His children) in these dark times.

 This past week has brought much turmoil in the world. We see there is no peace in the Arab countries where the Muslims are violently protesting and we ask the question - Where is this all leading to? At just such a time as this we need to be still and remember our Father God Almighty is in control of all things and we need not fear. Psalm 46: 9-11 brings the comfort that we need for today - He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

God is in control, He is the one who will draw the line in the sand ( figuratively speaking) and will only allow the wicked to go so far with their evil schemes. He will raise His arm and put an end to all evil and God will be exalted in all the earth!