Tag: Mighty

Walk among them

“as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

“ The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; “

“teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

Zecharuag 2:10  Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the LORD. And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.

John 14:23    Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

Revelation 21:3    And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

Leviticus 26:12     And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people.

Ezekiel 37:27    My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Isaiah 40:9  Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”  Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.  He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.

Philippians 4:4    Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

God, the creator of all there is, has made His dwelling place with His people and He will walk among them. He will gently lead them who are willing to be led by Him.  He will guide those who desire Him.  He will give them hope and assurance. He will carry them through hard times.  He will teach us how to live to honor, glorify, follow, and obey Him if we are willing to grow in this knowledge.  With so much pulling at our time we must commit to this with urgency and heart deep desire.

Unless the Lord builds

“He is wise in heart and mighty in strength —who has hardened himself against him, and succeeded?”

“Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it?”

Malachi 1:2  “I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet I have loved Jacob but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.” If Edom says, “We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,” the LORD of hosts says, “They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called ‘the wicked country,’ and ‘the people with whom the LORD is angry forever.’” Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, “Great is the LORD beyond the border of Israel!”

Isaiah 9:9  and all the people will know, Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, who say in pride and in arrogance of heart:  “The bricks have fallen, but we will build with dressed stones; the sycamores have been cut down, but we will put cedars in their place.”

James 4:13  Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—  yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.  Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”  As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

Job 12:14    If he tears down, none can rebuild; if he shuts a man in, none can open.

Job 34:29   When he is quiet, who can condemn? When he hides his face, who can behold him, whether it be a nation or a man?—

Psalms 127:1  

Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.

Proverbs 21:30  No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the LORD.

Matthew 12:30   Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Revelation 3:15  “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!  So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.

Joshua 24:15  And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

Pride, arrogance, strength and riches have been the fall of many.  They stand out and are easy to see.  They boast in what they have and what they have accomplished.  What is hard to see are those who are luke warm in humbly serving, complacent in giving their whole heart, mind and soul, , and negligent in following and obeying.  These are people who we see everyday and they pass through life on false hope, no joy, and little substance of faith.  Their mouth speaks of believing but their actions and maturity in God’s word reveal no depth, understanding, wisdom or discernment.  Those who boast with pride and arrogance absolutely know they have chosen live without God and reject Him in their life.  Those who are lukewarm deceive themselves into thinking their life is secure.  Satan has deceived them into thinking they can go through life with lukewarm commitment, being good or at least better than others, and spending no time in God’s word seeking understanding, wisdom, and discernment.  They actually feel safer living apart from full commitment to God.  This lie brings these who fall into it’s trap thinking they can pretend everything is ok or perform works that will make them right before God.  Commitment to God wether seen by others or not is most definitely seen and known by God.  Though others may be fooled He is not. Commit fully to Humbly serve, honor, follow and obey.  Spend time in His word and seek His guidance, leading and perfect plan for your life.

Content in all things

“but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint”

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,”

Psalms 68:28   Summon your power, O God, the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.

Psalms 68:32  O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God; sing praises to the Lord, to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens; behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice. Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel, and whose power is in the skies. Awesome is God from his sanctuary; the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God!

Psalms 42:8     By day the LORD commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.

Psalms 71:3   Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come; you have given the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.

Psalms 138:8   The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Being content in the hands of God is both hard and easy.  It depends on our choice to have faith in Him, to wait on Him, to trust in Him, and to believe in Him and His purpose for our lives.  We must believe He is sovereign and in control of all there is.  And then patiently wait for His mighty and awesome timing.  Sometimes it is immediate and other times it is not.  In our culture our access is almost unlimited to anything we are seeking.  I wonder if this doesn’t play a part in our lack of seeking God and His purpose.  When problems arise we run ahead on our own without giving second thought to Him. Other times we are so blessed we even forget that these blessings come from Him.  I recently heard a man tell of great success he was having in training dogs.  He said at one point he just thought it was too easy.  Then God showed him it was not easy and gave him a time of trials in this training.   He said he was humbled by God and knows all success is at the hands of God.  If we listen, God will speak to our heart and lead us on paths where we continually see His sovereignty.  Commit to humbly serve, honor, follow and obey Him.

Worship and Praise

Psalms 35:27  Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, “Great is the LORD, who delights in the welfare of his servant!” Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long.

Jeremiah 32:40  I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.  I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.

Zephaniah 3:17   The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Psalms 149:4   For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.

Romans 12:15   Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

John 16:22   So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

Psalms 70:4   May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, “God is great!”

Psalms 68:3  But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy!

1 Peter 3:4  but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.

Proverbs 11:20   Those of crooked heart are an abomination to the LORD, but those of blameless ways are his delight.

Psalms 117:2   For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD!

Psalms 90:17    Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!

We get to make a choice on being joyful, glad, humble, praising and delighting in God.  I read this comment on what seems to be a reality in may lives: “instead of praise and worship there is constant murmuring and complaining which are prevalent among God’s children!”  We have a choice to worship and praise no matter what circumstance we find ourself in.  No matter what trial or burden our God is the same.  He is our heavenly Father who has the perfect purpose and plan for each of our lives.  We can rejoice in this no matter what comes our way.  We can praise Him knowing that He is our comfort, rock, strength and place of rest.  I have no idea why some seem to be be given great burdens to carry for extended periods of time.  Likewise I don’t understand why others are blessed without.  It is our place to know God is sovereign and in control, worthy of praise and worship forever.  Turn complaints to praise and worries to joy.  I am sure you will see the hand of God much clearer and His presence much closer.

Rejoice & Praise

“But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy!”

Psalms 35:9  Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD, exulting in his salvation. All my bones shall say, “O LORD, who is like you, delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him, the poor and needy from him who robs him?”

Psalms 35:27  Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, “Great is the LORD, who delights in the welfare of his servant!” Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long.

Psalms 13:5   But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

Psalms 21:1  O LORD, in your strength the king rejoices, and in your salvation how greatly he exults!

Psalms 33:21  For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.

Isaiah 61:10  I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness

Habakkuk 3:18  yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

Luke 1:46-47   And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,  and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

Galatians 5:22   But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

Job 5:15-16  But he saves the needy from the sword of their mouth and from the hand of the mighty.  So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts her mouth.

Psalms 140:12  I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and will execute justice for the needy.

“My soul will rejoice”, “my soul will magnify”,  “my spirit rejoices”, “I will take joy”, “our heart is glad”, “Praise all the day long”, “shout for joy”, “be glad”, and “jubilant with joy”, are all outcomes of relying on God, serving Him, humbly waiting for His timing, trusting in Him, and clinging to His power, might, strength, steadfast love, mercy, and grace.  I was recently speaking with a godly man who had every reason to be upset about a situation he faced that could have easily ended his life if he had blindly followed instruction from a trusted professional.  When I spoke with him last Thursday he was very upset and could not believe what  could have happened had he not had previous training and understanding and the ability to know this course of action was seriously wrong.  Today his whole mindset was changed.  He was thankful, rejoicing, and praising God.  Why?  Because he realized that God had prepared him long ago for this very incident and kept him from making a fatal decision.  I think this is how we need to look at those issues that pop up in our lives.  What is God trying to show us?  What is He telling our heart?  God is ever present in our walk and it is good for us to take on a heart that rejoices, praises, and lives in joy knowing our God is in full control.

Crying out

 “O LORD, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, you are our God; let not man prevail against you.”

 

Psalms 11:1 In the LORD I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, “Flee like a bird to your mountain, for behold, the wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart.

2 Chronicles 14:11
And Asa cried to the LORD his God, “O LORD, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, you are our God; let not man prevail against you.”

Psalms 56:11
in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?

Psalms 25:2
O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me.

Isaiah 26:3-4
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.

Psalms 16:1
Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

1 Samuel 22:3
And David went from there to Mizpeh of Moab. And he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother stay with you, till I know what God will do for me.”

Psalms 55:6-7
And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest;  yes, I would wander far away; I would lodge in the wilderness;

There are so many heart cries in these scriptures today.  Cries for preservation, refuge, knowledge in God’s plan, peace, protection, fear, and shame.  It is important to note these are cries from men to God and they are cries from a host of different problems they are facing.  Where do you turn to?  Have you ever neglected crying out for these?  Why do we neglect crying out to God?  What are we missing in our daily walk that keeps us ever searching for solutions apart from God?  I fear it is neglect of His word and because of this it is lacking application in our lives.  His word says precept upon precept, line upon line, and here a little and there a little.  The question we need to ask ourselves is what is the time between precepts, and lines and here a little there a little?  Keeping close to God is a heart and mind desire.  Staying in His word is feeding this desire for more.  Keep His word in your life everyday.

Garden or Desolate wasteland

“And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.”

Joe 2:3
Fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them, but behind them a desolate wilderness, and nothing escapes them.

Psalms 50:3
Our God comes; he does not keep silence; before him is a devouring fire, around him a mighty tempest.

Amos 7:4
This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, the Lord GOD was calling for a judgment by fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land.

Genesis 2:8
And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.

Isaiah 51:3
For the LORD comforts Zion; he comforts all her waste places and makes her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song.

Gen 1:31
And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Gen 2:8
And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.
And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers.

God created man and planted the garden of Eden. It was pleasant to the sight and good for food.  In fact God saw everything He had made and behold it was very good.  However we see in Joel that the land before them was like the garden of Eden and behind them desolate wilderness.  It seems to me that our lives are somewhat like this.  If our eyes, heart, mind and soul are desiring to humbly serve , honor, and obey Him and continuing to look to God for our strength and guidance we have blessings and hope of a place created for us in eternity.  Alternatively if our eyes, heart, mind and soul are focused on what seems right in our own eyes and not focused on God the only thing that is ahead of us is desolation, waste, and judgement. Knowing this, why would we neglect our calling to serve and obey Him?  I wonder how much of what we approve of is ok’d by our culture and is detestable in the eyes of God.  My wife and I were talking last night about a popular face book personality who has many followers and looked upon for their understanding, knowledge and application of scripture into everyday application.  This person had changed their view on essentials and was condoning something that is not right according to scripture.  It confirms to me that society/culture has influence on even the best of us.  We need to be absolutely sure our actions and stances are based on what God’s word speaks into our heart.  For every stance of obedience there will be multiple corresponding views.  We are going to be held accountable for our walk in this life before God.  The excuse “I thought what so and so said was true and I followed it” or “everyone else was doing it” or “it was ok by law” will not be an excuse before God.  We have at our finger tips more access to scripture than anytime in history yet we choose to neglect this blessing from God.  We will be held accountable for this neglect.  Today choose to find purpose, meaning, hope, joy, love, peace, etc… each day through reading His word with the single purpose of knowing Him and how to honor and glorify Him more and more.