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I have chosen this summer to seek God through the Psalms. I write out a psalm in a lined notebook, I reread it in my cursive handwriting, and then I write it back as a prayer to the Lord. I occasionally look up a word that may not be contextually clear, but for the most part, I just spend time seeking to understand the heart of God through David's inspired songs. It has been a restful season of study, and I have grown in the most important way of faith: love.
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Our women's group has been studying Philippians on Wednesday evenings and these verses summed up my desire and result of this habit so far; "I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God", Phil 1:9-11 NLT.
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It is through the knowledge and understanding we find in God's Word that we are drawn to love Him with greater depth. It is not merely an intellectual task but a knowing that leads us to grasp the magnitude of God's love for us through Christ. Experiencing the overwhelming grace of God shapes us into love offerings He so desires of His children.
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What really matters? 1. For our love to overflow more and more. 2. That we keep growing in knowledge and understanding.
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Why? So that we can live pure and blameless lives until Christ returns for us.
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How? By being filled with the fruit of our salvation.
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What fruit? The righteous character produced in our lives by Jesus Christ Himself.
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Result? Bringing much glory and praise to God! This is the ultimate goal of any believer's life. It's always about Him.
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God desires and deserves much glory and praise for all He was, is, and will be. If we truly value God and rightly know the vastness of His love and mercy for us, we begin to experience the reality that David did in Psalm 28:6, "Praise the Lord! For He has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving."
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How often do I find my heart filled with joy upon meditating on the awesomeness of God and His love for me? How often do I burst out in songs of thanksgiving and speak it to those I have conversations with?
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This has been a prayer of mine after being challenged to be obedient to thank, praise, and declare God's faithfulness in my life.
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So, I begin with you, dear friends and readers. I am so thankful for these things this week:
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- God providing a connection with my former foster daughter that led to her and a new boyfriend sitting next to us in church hearing a sermon about what to do with Jesus. That's totally a God thing. He cares about them and is working in a tough situation!
- Blessings on my small business that is helping our family!
- Being flexible in my work so I could be with my Dad for a heart procedure in AR . Praise God that it went well and Dad is doing great!
- God keeping me safe on the drive home after a trailer came free on the highway and made it's way toward me. He heard my cries for help, I have no doubt. And I have a Dad who prays!
- The grace of Scripture! I'm so thankful for how investing in it brings me such a confident peace and joyful outlook on my life.
- Health concerns that found solutions and physical relief.
- For Jason working hard to plan a long anniversary trip to the East coast.
- Family and community that loves God and loves me. Not everyone has that, and I don't want to take it for granted...EVER! Thank you, Jesus, for the godly, praying people in my life.
So, I would love to hear from those who read this email. How can you testify to God's grace in your life this week? How can you show your love by bursting into songs of thanksgiving and praise? It would encourage me greatly, and if you are willing, I'd love to share them with this group of readers. Let us not be silent in expressing our thanks to God forever.
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As Paul prayed over those at Philippi, so I pray Phil 1:9-11 over all of us. May He cause our love to overflow in abundance. May we keep growing in knowledge and understanding of God through the reading of Scripture. I ask God to help us see what really matters so that we may live a faith-filled life that pleases the Lord. May our hearst be filled with joy and our mouth always speak of the gracious character of God -- in good times and bad.
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May we each "burst out in songs of thanksgiving" as our hearts are filled with the joy of knowing Your love, God. (Psalm 28:7)
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I love this song, Unbroken Praise, by Matt Redman. No matter our circumstances, may we be faithful to recognize the kind and faithful character of God. This is a music video so the song will start a few seconds in if you want to skip forward. :)
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In case you missed it, here is a little study of Psalm 3 that I did recently about how to process truth in our tough questions as David did during a crisis in his own life.
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Happy 1st Anniversary to my book called Grace!!
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Here is the link to my devotional on the ways God reveals His grace to us. If you feel led, I would appreciate any shares or Amazon reviews from those who find it helpful!
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Thanks for reading. See you soon!
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