Moments With God

I Timothy 4:12-16

The Lord wants us to radiate our love for Him in our lives. Paul instructed His fellow believer and preacher, Timothy, to be an example to others. Paul told Timothy that he needed to "set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." (I Timothy 4:12b) We may not be pastors or spiritual leaders like Paul and Timothy, but we too must set an example of faith to those around us. Other people, including our children and grandchildren, are watching our lives. Our lives must be examples of faith. Our lives must reveal our love for the Lord and our desire to serve Him.

We must be examples of Christ-likeness in our speech. Are we patient and kind in our speech when everything seems to be going wrong on a particular day? Are we patient and kind in our speech when our children become difficult? Are we patient and kind in our speech with our spouses? Do we set a good example for the Lord in our speech when we deal with unreasonable employers or clerks in a store? Is the words that come out of our mouths pleasing to the Lord? Are we good examples of Christ-likeness in our speech?

Secondly, we must be examples of Christ-likeness in our lives and in our love. Do others, including our family members, see Christ-likeness in us in our conduct, habits, priorities, and actions? Are we examples of Christ-likeness to others in our work ethic and in even in our recreation? Are we examples of Christ-likeness in everything we do? Also, are we examples of Christ-likeness in the love and concern that we show for others in their needs; or are we wrapped up in our own little self-centered worlds?

Further, we must be examples of Christ-likeness in our faith. Do others, especially our children and grandchildren, see us as examples of those who are persevering in the faith? Do they see us as completely relying and trusting in the Lord even in the difficult times in our lives? True faith exhibits joy and trust in the Lord even in dark times. The writer of this devotional remembers when her dad was suffering from the extremely painful effects of radiation for throat cancer. One day he told of an experience that he had the night before. He said, "The devil was whispering to me very strongly last night to try to get me to renounce my faith, but he didn't succeed!" That is an example of persevering in the faith and trusting the Lord no matter how difficult the circumstances are in our lives. Are we examples of faith to others? Are we passing on the faith to our descendants by our examples of faith? People are watching us, especially our children and grandchildren. Do they see examples of faith in us?

Finally, we need to be examples of purity in our lives. Do others, especially those in our families who are closest to us, see purity in our words and actions? Does everything we do reflect the Lord Jesus Christ? Everyone of us fail everyday in our struggle to live for the Lord, but do others see our desire to live for the Lord? Do they see our love for our Lord and our struggle to become more like Him in our thoughts, actions, and words?

We can become more Christ-like in our thoughts, actions, and words by spending time in God's Word every day. We must read and meditate on God's Word. More importantly we must make God's Word part of our lives, and we must obey it. Meditating on God's Word makes us grow in our love relationship with the Lord and shapes us to become better examples of Christ-likeness in our lives. We must also take time for prayer every day. Paul said to Timothy and God says to us today, "Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers" (I Timothy 4:15-16)

Psalm 118

Psalm 118:6-8

Praise the Lord for His never ending love and goodness to His children! In Psalm 118 we, as His redeemed children, are commanded to "give thanks to the Lord, for He is good." (Psalm 118:1a) We need to give thanks to the Lord, because "His love endures forever." (Psalm 118:1b)

The psalmist, David, in Psalm 118 had just gone through a difficult trial in His life. The Lord had been with David through this trial, and the Lord had brought him to victory. David was giving thanks to the Lord for this victory in his life. He said in Psalm 118:5-7a, "In my anguish I cried to the Lord, and He answered by setting me free. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? The Lord is with me; He is my helper." God is with us today also in times of great difficulty. He brings us through these difficult times in our lives to victory. The Lord is with us each step of the way. What can anyone or anything do to us? No ultimate spiritual harm will ever come to a child of God!

David went on to say in Psalm 118:8, "It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man." The Lord is our only source of strength, protection, and help. People will sometimes fail us, but the Lord never will fail us. We must also not trust in ourselves and in our own devices, because these too will fail. The Lord will never fail us, however. We do not always understand the Lord’s ways with us, but we can trust that He is in control and knows what is best for us.

If we go through life "in the name of the Lord," He will help us through life’s difficult moments. (Psalm 118:10) The Lord will lead us from victory to victory! You and I must put our whole trust in the Lord alone. You and I must say with the Psalmist in Psalm 118:14, "The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation." The Lord brings us through difficult times to victory and joy. He also gives us joy in the midst of the difficult times. Psalm 118:15 promises us that "Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous." This joy is found in God’s people, because "the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!" (Psalm 118:16b)

The Lord has done mighty things in our lives in the past. What is more the Lord will continue to do mighty things in our lives, if we put our trust in Him alone. No matter what the obstacles in our lives we can trust the Lord to see us through them or around them. No obstacle is too big for the Lord including cancer which this writer is presently fighting. There is no problem too big or too small that we can not take them to the Lord in prayer.

Let's also not forget to give thanks for the Lord’s answers to our prayers and for His victories in our lives. The psalmist says in Psalm 118:21, "I will give You thanks, for You answered me; You have become my salvation." We need to be glad and rejoice in each new day the Lord gives us, for He is so good to us! He saves us, protects us, guides us, and gives us His best for our lives. His light of blessing shines on us. He is our God, and we owe Him our thanks and our lives. "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever." (Psalm 118:29) Praise His name forever!

Psalm 103

Psalm 103 is a beautiful Psalm written by David. It is a Psalm in which David is thinking about all God's blessings in his life, and David's heart and lips are overflowing with thanks and praise to God. Our hearts and lips should also be filled with praise and thanks for all God's blessings in our lives. We need to also praise God for all He is in His character. Giving our praise and thanks to God is the highest and best of all spiritual exercises.

David listed many things for which we should tell ourselves to praise the Lord. "Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits." (Psalm 103:2) What are some of His "benefits" and blessings to you and me? Psalm 103:3 tells us that the Lord "forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases." Not only does the Lord forgive our sins, but the Lord also protects our lives from many troubles and pitfalls. He does even more than this. The Lord showers us with His blessings! He "crowns" us with His awesome "love and compassion!" (Psalm 103:4b), and He satisfies our "desires with good things." (Psalm 103:5a) The Lord only gives us what is good for us. This is true even when we do not always recognize everything in our lives as being good. The Lord makes even the "bad" circumstances in our lives come together for our ultimate spiritual good! He also daily renews our strength to go out and live our lives each day for Him.

Psalm 103:6 reminds us that in this world of sin and injustice the Lord is in control. The Lord ultimately works out His righteous will in our lives. He brings about justice and restoration in our lives even when we go through dark times in our lives. The Lord is always "compassionate and gracious" to His people. (Psalm 103:8a) For these blessings our hearts should be filled with praise and thanks.

Praise the Lord that He forgives our sins when we are truly repentant! Praise the Lord for His love and compassion to us! Psalm 103:8b goes on to remind us that the Lord is "slow to anger, abounding in love." The Lord doesn't have some kind of lukewarm love for us. He is "abounding in love" for us! His love for us is overflowing, limitless, and eternal! Isn't that an awesome thought? Shouldn't that fill our hearts with love and praise for Him? Let's delight ourselves in the promises found in verses ten through thirteen of Psalm 103. "He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him." Verse seventeen in Psalm 103 again reminds us that God's overflowing love for us will be with us forever! God's love and faithfulness will also be with our children and grandchildren who love and serve Him! "But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear Him, and His righteousness with their children's children."

Praise the Lord that He is in control of the universe and every detail of our lives. Praise Him for His wonderful blessings and protection in our lives. Praise the Lord for all He is in His character. May everything in creation praise the Lord. Most of all may you and I praise the Lord. Let's continue to remind ourselves to praise the Lord. He is such an awesome God and worthy of our praise. "Praise the Lord, O my soul." (Psalm 103:1a)

Today I am taking a break from my usual devotional blog. Today I am instead asking for your fervent prayers. Tomorrow, October 16, I am scheduled for a mastectomy at 2:00 in the afternoon in my ongoing struggle against breast cancer. Pray that I will have peace of my mind about this. Pray that I can truly rest this with the Lord. Pray for me also, as I still have a long road ahead of me even after surgery. After surgery I will need still more chemo treatments and later radiation. I have already had four pre-surgery chemo treatments.

Finally, also pray for my husband who has a serious neurological disease. This also makes it questionable how long he can work, and raises issues about insurance for us in the future and finances. In spite of this we know our God is still in control. He has us in the palm of His hand, and He is sovereign. He also loves us with an everlasting love. Psalm 62:5 says, "Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken."

Psalm 95

"Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song." Psalm 95:1-2

Psalm 95 was written as a call to God's Old Testament people. It was a call given by the Levites or priests to worship God. May we apply the exhortations to worship the Lord God to our lives today.

Psalm 95:1-2 exhorts us, "Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song." Is our hearts filled with joy for all the Lord God is in His character? Do we daily sing His praises for His faithfulness in our lives? The Lord is our Rock and our sure foundation. He has saved us from our sins, and He is our refuge and protector. He will be our sure foundation and Rock for time and for eternity. Praise His name! So often we get bogged down with life's difficulties, and we fail to have a thankful heart and a heart which is full of praise for our Lord. Psalm 95 is a call for us to rejoice in the Lord. It is also a call for us to center our thoughts on the Lord and not on the circumstances around us.

We are to praise God for His daily blessings, but most of all we need to praise Him for who He is in His character and greatness. It is the Lord who is the great and sovereign God of the universe. He is the One who owns and controls all of creation, and He is the One who controls and plans every detail of our lives. Hence, let us bow in humility and repentance before this great God of ours. Psalm 95:6-7 says, "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." This great God who created and maintains the universe has a personal interest in us! He knows each of us by name. He watches over us, as a shepherd watches over his sheep. We are His "people of His pasture" only because of His grace and mercy to us. Hence, let us "bow down in worship" before Him. May we make our lives a sacrifice of praise before Him.

May our hearts remain passionate in our love and devotion to our Lord. May our hearts never become hard or indifferent towards the Lord. Psalm 95:7b-8a warns us, "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts." God's Old Testament people, the Israelites, often hardened their hearts against the Lord. Hence, the Lord had to repeatedly discipline them. God calls us to forsake our rebellious and sinful ways and to follow Him in loving and obedient thankfulness. May the voices of this world's philosophies not crowd out our ability to "hear His voice." May serving and obeying the Lord be our consuming passion!

Psalm 91

God's children dwell "in the shelter of the Most High." The Lord is our shelter in the trials and storms of life. As His children we "rest in the shadow of the Almighty." (Psalm 91:1) The Lord is our shadow of protection from the oppression of the heat of life's difficult circumstances. The Lord is also our "refuge" and our "fortress." (Psalm 91:2) He is the God that we can trust and run to for protection and shelter in the storms of this life. We can always run to the Lord for protection and shelter, because He is "the Most High" and the Almighty God who has the power to help us. The Lord also loves and cares for us. He is our security and place of safety.

Psalm 91:3 also suggests that the Lord protects us from many unforeseen dangers and pitfalls. He is often protecting us when we don't even see the dangers surrounding us. Do we ever stop to contemplate how many "accidents" and other unforeseen things the Lord protects us from each and every day? Psalm 91:4 tells us that "He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart." The Lord will protect us in His eternal love, faithfulness, and great power! We need not fear anything whether it be day or night. The Lord will always protect His own! Nothing will happen to us that the Lord did not plan from eternity. Verses nine and ten of Psalm 91 reminds us that if we make the Lord our dwelling place and our place of refuge no ultimate spiritual harm will ever come to us! The Lord even commands "His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways." (Psalm 91:11) The Lord will even use His angels to help protect us against many dangers and frightening situations! What an awesome and exciting thought!

Verses fourteen through sixteen of Psalm 91 promises us that because we love the Lord and acknowledge Him as Lord, He will come to our aid and rescue us in life's difficult moments. The Lord is our protection and security in the many uncertainties and dangers of life. When you and I call on the Lord for help in life's troubles, He will receive us with open arms. He will then deliver us and rescue us and even honor us! The Lord will do this all, because He loves His children! He will also bless us with abundant life and give us His eternal salvation! What grace! What love! Praise His name! Why should we ever give way to self-pity or worry with such a loving and faithful God always protecting us? Let us always rest our lives in the Lord!