Author

TerryLema

Heartbroken

by TerryLema

Have you ever been heartbroken? The dictionary defines heartbroken as suffering from overwhelming distress, being very upset. Synonyms are anguished, devastated, inconsolable, crushed, shattered, miserable, sad, dejected, just to name a few. There are more.

I am sure that most of us could grab one of those synonyms and say, “That’s me!”

I have been broken hearted a few times in life. When we left our baby in the ICU on her first birthday with a hot bacteria. When I left our 17 years old son in California for his senior year as Bob and I moved to Idaho. When my dad died. When we lost the home that we built and had to move into rentals. When my body was overcome with two auto-immune diseases and my strength disappeared. There have been many other times when life has left me distressed, miserable, sad, or dejected.

And yet I am not a distressed, miserable, sad, or dejected person. Why? Because God’s favor lasts a lifetime. As God’s child, “weeping may spend the night, but there is joy in the morning.” [Psalm 30:5 HCSB]

Our God can take the harshest of days and make them bright. He can turn the bleakest of trials and circumstance into something for our good. [Romans 8:28]

As the writer of Psalm 30 puts it, “You turned my lament into dancing; You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, so that I can sing to You and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise You forever.” [Psalm 30:11-12 HCSB]

Thank you, LORD. Today I will focus not on the lament or sackcloth but on the dancing and gladness. I will sing my praise to You forever. I will not be silent. Amen

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My Stronghold, My Strength

by TerryLema

Psalm 27 is titled “My Stronghold” in my Bible and its beginning is a roar.

“The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom should I fear?  The LORD is the stronghold [strength] of my life—of whom should I be afraid?” [vs 1 HCSB]

It is attributed to David. I picture him standing on a mountain top shouting to the skies just Who God is. Then I see him looking down the mountain and asking himself – whom should I fear, whom should I be afraid of – and responding with a resounding “No one!”

Later on in the psalm we find that God is also our “shelter” and “cover,” and that he is our “helper” and will never leave nor abandon us. [vs 5, 9]

But it is that opening verse that captures our hearts with that one word translated “strength” in many translations and “stronghold” in others. The word in the original language means a place or means of safety and protection.

Everything around us is geared to generate fear. Politicians love to create fear, so we keep thinking we must depend upon them to overcome all the issues they keep highlighting. News broadcasters love to highlight fear, so we keep tuning in to see if there is any relief on the horizon. Big companies create fear. Stock market analysts create fear. Inflation creates fear. Recession creates fear.  The world is one big fear-monger.

But God is our “stronghold” and when we trust Him, He is that place of safety and protection.  What or whom should we fear?  Nothing, No one.

Thank you, LORD. Today I focus on the stronghold you have provided for those who love You. Thank you for being our light, salvation, strength, shelter, cover and helper. Amen

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#23

by TerryLema

When I dock my Kindle at night, it will occasionally ask me if I want a bedtime story to help me fall asleep. I tell it I do not need one as I have my own “bedtime story” that I tell myself every night. I repeat Psalm 23, paraphrasing it, and visualizing it in my mind.

“The LORD is my Shepherd.” My Shepherd. MY Shepherd. I am His and He is mine. (You are His and He is Yours.)

“I shall not want.” Every … EVERYthing I need is found in Him.

“He makes me [some versions say He lets me) lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul.” Sometimes I come to Him for rest, other times, He reminds me I need to “come away with  Him to a quiet place to rest”. And the place He takes me is green and peaceful with living water that revives my soul.

“He leads me in paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake.” He is in front of me, marking my way. He does that so that I honor Him in my walk. I think of His Names … Almighty God, Savior, Sustainer. First and Last, Alpha and Omega, Beginning and the End. My Provider, My Righteousness, My Peace. Resurrection, Life, Light. On and on His Names flood my soul.

“Yes, though I walk through [THROUGH!] the valley of the shadow of death, I will not fear, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff they comfort me.” I see my Shepherd walking beside me, holding the hand of me as a little girl (a child of God). He has his staff in His Hand and His Rod in His belt. And He is the light when darkness  is all around me.

“You set a table before in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with [healing] oil. My cup overflows.” The table before me contains everything I could ever need to nourish my soul. My Shepherd anoints my head with oil that saves and heals. My cup is flowing with the water of life.

“Surely, goodness and mercy follow me all the days of my life.” Goodness and Mercy follow me. They are attributes of My Shepherd. They are my rearguard. Nothing of my past can rise up to pull me down. Everything is under the goodness and mercy of my God.

“I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” Amen

Thank you, LORD. Today, I will focus on all my Great Shepherd provides. Thank you, LORD, for my eternal “bedtime story.” Amen

 

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Rescue & Reward

by TerryLema

Enemies – we all have them. I remember my mother telling me once when I was a teenager that no matter how great and wonderful I was, there would always be people who did not like me. That has proven true through the years.

I have acquired some enemies because of my own careless or hurtful words or actions. Others became enemies through no fault of my own but because I am a Christian.

Psalm 18 was written by David when he was rescued from his enemies, namely King Saul. It begins with a wonderful section of praise for God’s rescue.

“I love You, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my mountain where I seek refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I was saved from my enemies.” [Psalm 18:1-3, 20 HCSB]

Wow, look at that list of attributes of this LORD we love so much.  Strength. Rock. Fortress. Deliverer. God. Mountain. Refuge. Shield. Salvation. Stronghold. Savior.

Have you known the God of Rescue as David did?  I have. Have you had times in your life when God brought His strength to bear while you were overcome with weakness? I have. Have you been hidden in the rock, in His fortress, on His mountain, in His stronghold in times of danger? I have.

But notice when you read David’s song of rescue the interesting turn in verse 20. There He acknowledges not just rescue, but reward. “The Lord rewarded me ….” [vs 20]

The LORD rewarded David. It isn’t enough for God to rescue us. In His faithful love, He also rewards us – not because of our righteousness remember, but because Christ died for us and gave us His righteousness. Blessings upon Blessings. Rescue & Reward.

Thank you, LORD. Today we focus not just on rescue, but also on that marvelous inheritance you provide for us in Christ Jesus.  We thank You for both rescue and reward. Amen

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Nothing Good Besides You

by TerryLema

I have been in the Psalms for a number of days. The Psalms contain a great deal of truth about Who God Is, and who we are in Him. They teach us to praise. They remind us about thanksgiving. If we allow them, they will burrow deep into our thoughts where they will spring up when we most need them. One way to read the Psalms is to simply read one each day. Another way is to read five each day of a month, saving Psalm 119 for months that have 31 days. I have done both.

I have favorite Psalms. One of them is Psalm 16. It is titled “Confidence in the LORD,” and I love that beginning verse. “Protect me, God, for I take refuge in You. I said to YAHWEH, ‘You are my LORD; I have nothing good besides You.” [HCSB]

I have some “good” things in this life, people who love me and whom I love, a nice home, a good doctor, a few mementoes, clean water, food for the day. But when I survey those things, I know that in a moment they could all be taken from me. And then what would I have?

I would have my LORD. David in Psalm 16 tells us what that means.

Vs 5: “LORD, You are my portion and my cup of blessing; You hold my future.”

Vs 6: “…I have a beautiful inheritance.”

Vs 7: I have “the LORD who counsels me.”

Vs 8: I have the LORD “at my right hand.”

Vs 11: “in Your presence is abundant joy; in Your right hand are eternal pleasures.”

Those are the “good” things that can never be taken from us. He is our All in All.

Thank you, LORD. Today we focus our praise on all the good we have in You. We thank you for being our portion, our cup of blessing, for holding our future and giving us a beautiful inheritance. We thank you for Your counsel, for remaining close to us, for your abundance joy and eternal pleasures. Amen

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Abandoned!

by TerryLema

Social media is full of videos about pets, mainly dogs and cats. Some are really funny. Some show pets misbehaving and with captions that are amusing. One picture I see every year is of a dog, with a Christmas tree crashed on the floor behind him. The caption reads, “Glad you are home, the Christmas Tree fainted!”

Some of the videos are sad, often showing pets abandoned by their owners, some even mistreated. People move away and rather than surrender their pets to someone who can care for them, they just leave them in the homes or outside. By the time they are found, these animals are usually in desperate trouble.

Pets are not the only ones abandoned. Children are abandoned by their parents. Or parents by their children. Sometimes siblings leave and never contact their brothers or sisters again. Husbands abandon their wives and wives their husbands.

We can feel abandoned by our employers, our government, our school systems. Where once we stood among many, now we stand alone.

But God … BUT GOD … will never abandon us.  Psalm 9:10: “Those who know Your name trust in You because You have not abandoned those who seek You, Yahweh.” [HCSB]

The New King James says it this way, “And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.”

Psalm 9 is a celebration of God’s justice. And right in the middle of those 20 verses, the Psalmist reminds us that the LORD (YAHWEH) will never abandon or forsake those who place their trust in Him. Our God has not, will not leave, forsake, move away, abandon, or walk away from us.

Jesus confirmed that. “And remember, I am with you always to the end of the age.”  [Matthew 28:20 HCSB]

Thank you, LORD. Today we focus our praise for never abandoning us. Thank you that we never have to face life alone. Amen

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In the Morning!

by TerryLema

How delightful that Psalm 4, which speaks of our prayers in the night, is followed by Psalm 5, our prayers in the morning!  “In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice. In the morning I plead my case to you and watch expectantly.” [vs 3 HCSB]

The early morning hours are often when I hear God’s voice best. They are also times when I am comfortable, with little or no pain. I stay snuggled in bed, trying to stall having to rise and face the day. I am like David in that I “watch” or “wait” expectantly for God to speak to me.

If you read Psalm 5 today, you will find three things that should thrill your soul and make you want to shout in praise.  They are abundant love (vs 7), blessing (vs 12a), and favor (vs 12b).

Abundant Love (Multitude of Mercies as some render it). “I enter your house by the abundance of your faithful love.” God’s love, His mercies, are more than can be numbered. That is exactly what keeps us day to day. His mercies are great, they renew every morning. His love is too much to even comprehend.

We see His abundant love, multitude of mercies, in the enormous sacrifice made by our LORD and Savior so that we might one day have entrance into the very presence of God Almighty.

Blessing. “For You Lord bless the righteous one .…” In Scripture blessing usually connotes preference, happiness, God’s approval. It is difficult to define, but it is so wonderful to experience that security found in the “blessings” of our LORD. Blessings come to the righteous not because they are morally excellent, but because Christ Jesus, the sinless One, took our sin upon Himself so that “we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” [2 Corinthians 5:21]

Favor. “You surround him with favor like a shield.” Favor means goodwill, delight, acceptance. Might we say, “Grace?” It is all because of God’s Amazing Grace!

Thank you, LORD. Today our praise focuses on Your Abundant Love for us that brings us into Your presence. We thank you for your blessings and favor to us. Amen

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A Night Prayer

by TerryLema

Nighttime. Sometimes I welcome it. Sometimes I curse it. It is a welcome relief when I am physically exhausted and just need to “lay me down to sleep.” Other times I curse it when sleep will not come.

Psalm 4 is described as “A Night Prayer.” It is a prayer of David who proudly proclaims, “I will both lie down and sleep in peace….” [vs 8a HCSB]

How can David find such restful sleep when he admits in the first part of the prayer that exalted men insult his honor?  He can because of Who God is, and who he is in God.

He declares right off the bat that God “vindicates” him. [vs 1]

He also declares that the LORD has “set apart the faithful for Himself,” and that the LORD will hear when he calls to Him. [vs 3]

Then he remembers that it is the LORD which has put “joy” in his heart. [vs 7]

Vindication. It means to have our distress relieved. God hears us and He is gracious to us.

Set Apart. It means we have been separated by God for His own special purpose. It carries the idea of being wonderfully distinct.

Joy. And when we know that our God hears us, relieves our distress, and has separated us for His own special purpose, that fills our heart with God’s joy!

Thank you, LORD, today our praise focuses on our vindication and separation for Your special purpose. We thank You for the joy You have imparted to our hearts. Amen

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Confidence in Troubled Times

by TerryLema

Between now and Thanksgiving Day, November 24, I am spending time in the psalms. I am praising my Redeemer for Who He is and thanking Him for who I am in Him.

Yesterday, I started in Psalm 3, titled in my translation, “Confidence in Troubled Times.” And I praised and thanked the LORD for being a shield around me, my glory and the one who lifts my head.

David, who wrote Psalm 3, did not stop with just those three things. Before he finishes, he adds two more.

“I lie down and sleep, I wake again because the LORD sustains me.”  Then He adds, “Salvation belongs to the LORD ….” [vs 5, 8 HCSB]

Sustains! The word in Hebrew means, “to lean, lay, rest, support.” What a wonderful picture.

In this world where nothing is permanent, sometimes including relationships, the LORD is the One person we can always depend upon to support us. We can lean on Him when everything else is crumbling. We can lay our head upon His Breast when everything else is rocky and unstable. We can rest in Him when there is only unrest surrounding us. He is our support in troubled times.

Salvation! Deliverance, health, helping, welfare, victory, aid – all those things are wrapped up in that word.

Pretty soon we will be reading the Christmas story and we will hear the declaration of the angels to the shepherds, “Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David.” [Luke 2:11]

Thank you, LORD, today our praise focuses on You as our Sustainer and our Savior. We thank you for coming to us when we could not come to You. Amen

 

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Thanksgiving 2022

by TerryLema

Thanksgiving Day this year is November 24. That is 17 days from today. As Christians, our attention should be on praising and thanking our Savior every day, but I have talked to many a believer who has problems with praise and thanksgiving.

Their attention is often on the temporal things going on around them – all of which will pass away at some point. Our praise and thanksgiving to our eternal LORD, however, will never die. I believe our praises will echo through the ages of eternity.

Sometimes we struggle with praise and thanksgiving because we just do not know where to begin. So, I thought for the next 17 days, let’s go back to some basics. If you want to know about the wonders of God, one of the best places to start is in the Psalms. They often tell us about who God is and what we are in relation to Him. They plainly express praise and things for which to be thankful.

Psalm 3 in my translation is titled, “Confidence in Troubles Times.” That pretty well sums up why we should be reading Psalm 3 in our day! After expressing the scorn of the foes, David reminds us, “You, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.” [vs 3 HCSB]

God is our shield “around” us. To me that says He protects us in every direction. North, south, east, west, no matter where our foes try to attack, God is our shield.

He is also our “glory.” I am an almost 76 years old woman of little consequence to this world. I will have little acclaim or honor from this world when I leave it one day. But my God – He is my glory! When I enter His presence, when I proclaim “I am a child of God and I have come home,” all heaven will rejoice! Not because of what I have done, but because of Whose I am.

And my God “lifts up my head.” The world will try to beat me down, but it can only do so much. When the LORD lifts up my head, I see Him in all His glory and know that I am His!

Thank you, LORD. Today our praise focuses on You as our shield, glory, and the lifter of our head! Amen

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