MY LORD GOD IS SOVEREIGN KING AND SHEPHERD For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods.  In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.  The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.  Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. —Psalm 95:3-7             Our Lord God is great and is above all authorities.  “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in…

PASSING ON LOVING OBEDIENCE When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon his son.  “I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, act like a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go and that the Lord may keep his promise to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul,…

But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” —II Samuel 24:24             Do the offerings I offer to the Lord have any cost to me?  What do I offer Him?  Treasure?  Time?  Talents?  Thoughts?  Tasks?    How has my life been affected by what I offer Him?  Has my life been affected by what I offer Him?             When David could have freely obtained what was needed to sacrifice to our Lord, He responded with— “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord…

BE A TREE! The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God.  They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.” —Psalm 90:12-15             Those who love our Lord are like palm trees and growing like the cedars of Lebanon.  They flourish in the presence of our Lord and will still bear fruit in old age, staying fresh and green.  They will proclaim, “The Lord is upright; he is…

IN HIM I TRUST! Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” —Psalm 91:1-2 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. —Psalm 91:5-6 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.  He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will…

MY DESIRE IS TO HONOR HIM! A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. —Psalm 90:4 Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures. — Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. —Psalm 90:10 May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands. — Psalm 90:17             What is a thousand years in the sight of our Lord?  They “are like a day that has just gone…

OUR LORD IS ALWAYS GOOD! The Lord will do what is good in his sight. —II Samuel 10:12 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.  Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, Lord.  They rejoice in your name all day long; they celebrate your righteousness. —Psalm 89:14-16             Our Lord always does what is good in His sight… always.  Now you say, if that is true then why is their suffering, conflict, mourning, death and so many tears and heartache?  Hold it… wait… are you trying to say that is our Lord God Almighty’s fault? …

LOVERS OF GOD ARE OBEDIENT TO HIM! The Lord said, “Go up.”  David asked, “Where shall I go?” —II Samuel 2:1             When our Lord says to go, then we should go.  David desired to go as our Lord told him to, but he asked about where specifically.  He said, “Where shall I go?”  In David’s case our Lord told Him to go to Hebron. But isn’t that a good question for us to ask as well?  Don’t we want to be going where our Lord wants us to go? “Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped…

LORD, I NEED YOU! Hear me, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. —Psalm 86:1 For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God. —Psalm 86:10             Truly, “Whom have I in heaven but you?  And earth has nothing I desire besides you” (Psalm 73:25).  “For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God.”  I am truly “poor and needy.”  Yet You have said that— “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then…

THE PERFECT KISS! Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other.  Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. —Psalm 85:10-11             “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).  The love of God came to this earth through His Son, Jesus.  “So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ” (Romans 10:17).  “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  The faithfulness of believers meets with the love of God.  It is because “God…