MY REFUGE  O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love. –Psalm 59:17  God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. —Psalm 46:1      Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. —Psalm 124:8 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. —Psalm 121:2             My strength is in the Lord. I have none of my own. If I think I do then I am setting myself up for a fall. He is my fortress, my protection, my refuge. In Him is my…

HE KNOWS YOUR PAIN! You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? —Ps 56:8 Surely He… carried our sorrows. —Isaiah 53:4 I served the Lord with great humility and with tears and in the midst of severe testing… —Acts 20:19 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. —Acts 20:31 Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. —II Timothy 1:4            God knows your pain! Each tear that has slowly rolled down your cheek has been…

CAST AND BE SUSTAINED AND NOT MOVED Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. —Psalm 55:22             Why carry your burden? Our Lord desires to take it and sustain you. He does not want those following Him to be moved because of a burden. Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matt…

GOD DOES WHAT HE SAYS HE WILL DO So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. —Acts 27:25             You can be sure that God will keep His Word exactly as we have been told. “So take heart… have faith in God.” Trust Him to do what He said He would do. Want peace? Jesus said that “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Listen!   “In this world you will have trouble.”  …

EVIDENCE OF LOVING OBEDIENCE TO JESUS For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth… For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm! God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne. The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted! —Psalm 47:2, 7-9             The Lord is the Most High. That is a fact that nobody can change regardless if they want to live for Him or not!   He is King over the whole earth regardless…

THE ALL SEEING KING For he knows the secrets of the heart. —Psalm 44:21 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. —Hebrews 4:13             Nobody is getting away with anything! Our Lord God Almighty knows everything about me, everything about you and everything about everybody who has ever lived— past, present and future.   He knows everything about those who know Him and He knows everything about those who do not know Him. People can deny that He exists, but He that doesn’t change His knowledge of them. And… we will,…

HELP THE POOR! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DadzAe1JVAQ Blessed is the one who considers the poor! —Psalm 41:1 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land. —Deuteronomy 15:11 Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God. —Proverbs 14:31 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” —Matthew 19:21 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each…

MERCY AND GRACE AT THE CROSS But for you, O LORD, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer. For I said, “Only let them not rejoice over me, who boast against me when my foot slips!” For I am ready to fall, and my pain is ever before me. I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin. But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty, and many are those who hate me wrongfully. Those who render me evil for good accuse me because I follow after good. Do not forsake me, O LORD! O my God, be not far from me! Make haste to help me, O Lord, my…

DON’T FRET OVER OPPOSITION Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Refrain from…

WITNESSES TESTIFY I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.  As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’And he said…