I DEPEND ON YOU LORD FOR MY STRENGTH AND PEACE! The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace. —Psalm 29:11             People may think they have strength, but we do not have much.  The only strength we have comes from our Lord, Creator of all— “The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1).  The strength that our Lord gives is beyond physical strength.  Physical strength wanes— “Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures” (Psalm 90:10).  But the strength our Lord gives leads to eternal life, a strength that will never wane— “I give them…

BE A CHEERFUL GIVER! Everyone who was willing and whose heart moved them came and brought an offering to the LORD for the work… 35:21 All the Israelite men and women who were willing brought to the LORD freewill offerings for all the work the LORD through Moses had commanded them to do. —Exodus 35:29 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. —II Corinthians 9:7             When we give toward our Lord’s work that He has commanded us to do, we are to do so willingly what we have decided in our…

MY LORD IS MY PROTECTOR! The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid? —Psalm 27:1             My Lord reveals, guides and gives me the ability to see Truth.  He is my Savior and He is the only One who can save anyone (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 10:13).  If I seek to navigate through this dark world when Satan seeks to blind me, I need to stick close to Jesus and live according to His Word— “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path” (Psalm 119:105).            …

BE REAL BEFORE HIM, BEFORE MEN AND IN THE SHADOWS Test me, Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind.  —-Psalm 26:2             Only our Lord truly knows fully what is going on in our emotions and intellect- the way we feel and act.  He knows why we feel what we feel and why we are thinking what we are thinking— “Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely” (Psalm 139:4).  So when He examines and tests our hearts and minds, what does He find?  Are we being sincere with Him?  Are we seeking to live before Him and men the same way when nobody’s…

TRUST OUR LORD GOD ALMIGHTY TO GUIDE YOU! In you, Lord my God, I put my trust… Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths.  Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long…. Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.  He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way… Who, then, are those who fear the Lord?  He will instruct them in the ways they should choose. —Psalm 25:1, 4-5, 8-9,12             Who can I trust fully but my Lord?  Yes, I can trust others, but there are none…

DO RIGHT ACCORDING TO GOD’S WORD! Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, and do not show favoritism to a poor person in a lawsuit. —Exodus 23:2-3 Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent. —Exodus 23:8             This is pretty clear to “not follow the crowd in doing wrong.”  Just because “everyone else is doing it” does not mean it is right.  Wrong is wrong and right is right.  Good is good and evil is evil.  I am reading a book by…

YOU ARE CALLED TO BE A GOD PRAISING PRIEST ‘Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.” —Exodus 19:5-6  For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. —Exodus 20:11 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. —Psalm 23:1             Just keep this in mind— the whole world is the Lord’s.  It is not ours.  We do not own any of it as much as man may think He does.  As a matter of fact, you…

PASS ON THE TESTIMONY OF HIS WAYS AND PROVISION Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt.’ ”  So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omer of manna in it. Then place it before the Lord to be kept for the generations to come.”  As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law, so that it might be preserved. The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land…

THE GIFT OF CHILDREN Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.” —Exodus 1:22 When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.” —Exodus 2:10 “So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” —Exodus 3:10 By your hand save me from such people, Lord, from those of this world whose reward is in this life. —Psalms 17:14             Satan works through leaders of this world…

KEEPING MY EYES ON THE ONE WHO IS MY REFUGE AND DEPENDENCY You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. —Genesis 50:20 Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge.  I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” —Psalms 16:1-2 I keep my eyes always on the Lord.  With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. —Psalm 16:8             People do such evil things to other people.  There are those who intend to harm others, but God can take that very situation of…