TerryLema

Have you read Psalm 25 lately? It is mainly a prayer to the Lord by David. Except for a few verses in the middle where David seems to be telling others about his God, David primarily addresses God.

I’ve heard people say they don’t know how to pray like they should. I know Jesus gave us the outline and main points of prayer in “The Lord’s Prayer,” but David was also good at praying. He put his prayers to music in Psalms. We can learn a lot about prayer from Psalm 25.

It begins: “O Lord, I give my life to you. I trust in you, my God! Do not let me be disgraced, or let my enemies rejoice in my defeat. No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced, but disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others.” [NLT]

That’s where it all starts … “I give my life to you. I trust in you, my God!”  Every prayer we pray is because we have first given our life to God, we have placed our trust in Him and Him alone. Now we have the assurance that our enemies are defeated and that we will not be put to shame.

I remember the day I prayed that first prayer of trust in God, August 1973. It was at a small interdenominational Charismatic Prayer Group run by perhaps the oddest couple in history. She was 80, he was 50. I had been witnessed to by my Pentecostal great aunts for years. I had been bullied into driving my mother that day. I had no desire, no intention of being anything but a chauffeur. And God met me there.

My life turned around forever with one little prayer, which was nowhere near as eloquent as David’s “O Lord, I give my life to you. I trust in you, my God!” but still every bit as effective. I became His and my trust and my hope in my Savior, Jesus Christ, has only increased over the decades.

The “ber” months have begun! My favorite season, SeptemBER, OctoBER, NovemBER and DecemBER. They are my reminder to once bathe my thoughts in gratefulness. Also, I am not a summer girl, so having the cooler temps refreshes my soul.

I am especially hopeful because on SeptemBER 3 (just two days), I may be set free from this neck brace, to start some physical therapy, be allowed to drive again, and return to a more “normal” lifestyle. This neck brace has felt like a shackle. It affects everything I do. It is relenting in its discomfort. It makes me yearn for freedom – counting the days until I am released from its grip.

Wearing it makes me think of the hold that sin has on our lives. It touches every area of our lives. Our only hope is for someone to set us free as we cannot unlock sin’s shackles by ourselves. Jesus promised “So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.” [John 8:36 NLT]

Only Christ Jesus through His cross, resurrection and ascension has the power to set us free from sin’s hold. Now sin’s power is broken through our faith in Him. Now Paul reminds us to “Give [ourselves] completely to God … [and] live under the freedom of God’s grace.”

“Give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.” [Romans 6:13-14 NLT]

How we should continually rejoice that we are living under the freedom of God’s grace!

Wow! Two days in a row my daily MedNews from Drugs.com had an article that caught my attention. This one was titled, “A Sense of Purpose Can Protect Brain Health in Aging.” (Link Below)

I loved the last paragraph that summed up the article. “What’s exciting about this study is that people may be able to ‘think’ themselves into better health. Purpose in life is something we can nurture,” researcher Dr. Thomas Wingo, a UC Davis Health neurologist, said in a news release. “It’s never too early — or too late — to start thinking about what gives your life meaning.”

Paul wrote about purpose … “Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.” [Philippians 1:27 NLT]

“Fighting together for the faith” is the purpose of all who call on the name of Christ Jesus as Savior and LORD. That plays out differently in each person, and I believe that it also plays out differently in various stages of our lives.

As I have aged, my body does not enable me to “fight for the faith” as I once did. I am more limited in what I can do physically. But I have learned to “fight” in different ways now. I once stood behind a pulpit now I write. If I can encourage just one person to lift their head to the LORD, my life will have meaning. Amen

A Sense Of Purpose Can Protect Brain Health In Aging - Drugs.com MedNews

I was reading an article on depression and stress titled, “Drowning in Chaos? A New Mindset Can Protect Against Depression, Stress” found in Drugs.com MedNews. (Link Below)

It was the title “Drowning in Chaos?” that grabbed my attention. Researchers say, “Changing your mindset can help protect you from the stress caused by disease outbreaks, wildfires, earthquakes, political uproars and traumatic life events.”

They added, “Mindsets are the core beliefs, attitudes and assumptions that serve as a foundation for how people see and engage with the world … These mental ‘lenses’ can dramatically change how events affect a person.”

As I read through the article, I thought the researchers were a bit behind. God provided those truths centuries ago! And God’s truths hold true in the secular world as well.

God told us to change our mindsets through the renewing of our minds in Romans 12:1-2.

God promised that He will cause “everything to work together for the good of those who love [Him] and are called according to His purpose for them.” [Romans 8:28]

Jesus let us know that “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” [John 16:32-33]

When we allow our minds to filter the chaos of this world through God’s truths and principles, we truly can protect against depression and stress.

Drowning In Chaos? A New Mindset Can Protect Against Depression, Stress - Drugs.com MedNews

Decades ago, I traveled from California to Pennsylvania in a small motor home with my youngest child who was ten years old at the time and my brother and his two daughters. It took us 10 days, and we visited 12 states. Somewhere along the way I picked up a trivet inscribed with “If your wife doesn’t treat you as you deserve, be thankful.”

That trivet has been in my kitchen ever since and every time I notice it, it reminds me to thank my LORD and Savior…because I read it as “If God doesn’t treat you as you deserve, be thankful.”

The Scriptures are clear about what we deserve and why we deserve it. “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” [Romans 3:23 NLT]

The Scriptures are also abundantly clear that those who accept God’s offer of salvation don’t get what is deserved but receive His grace and mercy instead.

“For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.” [2 Timothy 1:9 NLT]

And for that we should be continually and eternally thankful! Amen!

I came across another quote the other day and I can’t remember where I found this one either. It made me think of our relationship with our LORD. “Relationships don’t come packaged in perfection—they only come wrapped with potential—and they can’t survive if only one half is doing all the work.”

“But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.” [John 14:26 NLT]

As Christians, we have a relationship with the Living God. Like all relationships it won’t work if God is doing all the work.

I understand that God does DO all the work of salvation through Christ Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension. I understand that He provides ALL the grace and strength we need. I understand that the Holy Spirit comes to live inside our hearts and has the job of teaching us the ways and truth of our Holy God and our salvation.

But I also know that we can refuse to learn. In Romans 12:1-2 Paul writes, “I plead with you to give your bodies to God,” and “…let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” [NLT]

Look at those three words … plead, let, and learn. We have our work to do in this relationship with our LORD and Savior. Let’s do it well.

“Shame is nothing more than the fear that you aren’t good enough.” I came across that quote recently and it stuck with me. I can’t remember where I saw it, but it sure made me think. My immediate thought was “News Flash: WE AREN’T GOOD ENOUGH!” and when we realize that, then we are filled with shame.

The Scriptures repeatedly speak of being ashamed. And they repeatedly provide a remedy for shame. One place the remedy is found is in Psalm 34.

“I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears. Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces.” [Psalm 34:4-5 NLT]

Psalm 34 is a song of triumph. It speaks of the Lord’s greatness, care, rescue, and redemption. Read it today and soak in how good our God is and how when we turn to him, there isn’t even a “shadow of shame” darkening our faces.

Psalm 34 was written by David when he found himself in desperate trouble. Fleeing from King Saul he ended up in enemy territory. He went to the King of Gath where he was recognized. 1Samuel 21:12-15 says that he panicked and that he “pretended to be insane, scratching on doors and drooling down his beard” to escape. [NLT]

Reconciling that scene with the grandeur of Psalm 34 always leaves me wondering about the ways of God and how we view them and our own hearts. David should have been filled with shame, yet when he turned to the LORD, he was freed from his fears and filled with joy – and “no shadow of shame” darkened his face.

Sometimes when reading through the Bible you can skip right over the most amazing truths with nary a pause. But then when you see two verses side-by-side, it often compounds the amazement and commands your attention. That happened to me this morning.

I was reading an article and the author referenced Acts 17:24: “He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples.” [NLT]

Later in the morning I was reading in Colossians 1 and came across another thought. “To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” [vs 27 NKJV]

Do you see it? God who made the world and everything in it – the great Creator – the LORD of heaven and earth – the One Who Rules all things – doesn’t live in structures. No, this Great Creator, LORD of everything, lives in you!

Christ, who spoke the world into existence spurns buildings – no matter how grand they may be – and chooses to live in us!

Put those thoughts side-by-side, the grandeur and power of the Creator … and us. Think of the greatest structures ever dedicated to Him and think of how lowly and inconsequential we are. Then remember that He spurns those grand buildings and chooses us instead. Chew on that a bit today!

The neighbors to our left moved out several months ago. No one has moved in, and nothing has been done around the house since they left. I can see the weeds in the backyard over our six-foot fence and the ones in the front are at least two feet high. There are thistles and dandelions and those awful crawling things that spread out and take over the lawn that was there.

The worst part is that they have begun to invade our lawn where the lawns meet on that side and Bob is having a difficult time keeping them from taking over our yard.

The neighbor on our right is diligent about the weeds that try to overrun his lawn. Bob doesn’t have to worry much about that side of our house at all. There are seldom any weeds there.

As I looked at these three houses, I thought it was a visual representation of 1Corinthians 15:33. “Do not be deceived: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits.’ Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God.” [NKJV]

The company we keep can have a positive or negative influence on us. It is good to seek out those who can encourage us in our Christian Walk.

It is also good to strive to be that “good company” to others!

I was scrolling through Facebook and spotted a post by a friend. It quoted Ephesians 2:20. “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” [Ephesians 2:10 NLT]

That stopped me in my tracks! It was that word “masterpiece.” I looked up the verse in my Bible App and found that it is most often rendered workmanship or handiwork in other translations.

The Greek word here is poiēma (Strong’s Greek 4161). We get our English word “poem” from it. It means a product of creative action, such as a workmanship, handiwork, or the thing made. The NT uses it to highlight divine craftsmanship, whether in the material universe or in the redeemed community.

I think I feel more comfortable being labeled God’s workmanship rather than God’s masterpiece! And yet, if I really stop and think about it, everything that God does is perfect. In modern vernacular – God doesn’t make junk!

My life may have been touched by sin, marked by guilt, shame and regret, but as the Scripture says, “[God] has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the things he planned for us long ago.”

I think we should each go face a mirror and remind ourselves that in Christ Jesus, “I AM GOD’S MASTERPIECE!” Amen