Romans 10:11

No one who believes in him will be put to shame.


Here we have the promise of the covenant.  If we believe that Jesus is Lord and God, then we will be his people and be saved.  We will not be put to shame.  We can claim the Cross of Victory as our own.


Look not on our sins oh Lord, but upon our faith.


I look at peace, 
That once was out of reach 
And now it's here 
I read Your word  
That some believe is so absurd  


But I hold dear  
'Cause You loved me with Your dying breath 
You saved me when You conquered death 
And You're living in my heart 
I know the truth, 
and I love to confess that...


I know You now 
I know You're in my heart 
I know You now 
Beyond a shadow of a doubt 
I know You now
4HIM- "I Know You Now"

Isaiah 58:11

The Lord will guide you always and give you plenty even on the parched land.


At every moment in life, God is with us to guide us.  That is a fact.  Why then do we seem to think he is only with us if we call upon him?  He is always with us.  That is his name- Emmanuel- God is with us.  


He is our Father and like any father, he wants to provide for his children.  He will give us plenty even when we think that there is none.  But he wants to be asked.  Yes, sometimes with us not even asking, he will give to us, but he likes it when we ask him.  


Let us ask the Lord for a lot so that he can give us a lot.


I've had questions, without answers
I've known sorrow, I have known pain
But there's one thing, that I'll cling to
You are faithful, Jesus You're true

When hope is lost, I'll call You Saviour
When pain surrounds, I'll call You healer
When silence falls, You'll be the song within my heart


How faithful and true
Sustain me through and through
You are hope and truth
You’re my spring of living water
You’re my spring of living water

In the lone hour You are there
Like a well watered garden
Whose springs never fail
You're faithful and true


Like a well watered garden
Like a spring that never fails
You're my spring that never fails
NEWSBOYS- "When the Tears Fall"

1 Kings 2:2

Take courage and be a man.

David's death bed words to Solomon serve as good advice to us too.  As we journey through life, we shouldn't allow fear to get in the way of our relationship with God.  Over and over again, scripture tells us: "Don't be afraid."  Fear is one of the most effective tools that the devil uses against us.  And although fear in and of itself is not necessarily a bad thing, it is if it keeps us from trusting in God and being confident that he cares for our well-being.

Jesus tells us that we should be childlike if we want to enter the kingdom of God.  But there is a difference between being childlike and childish.  When we allow fear to stop us from doing what is right or from trusting in God, we are being childish.  When we take courage and overcome that fear and do the right thing and trust in God, we cease being childish and act like adults.  This is what David means when he says "Take courage and be a man".  In turn, when as adults we recognize that God is our Father, we can approach him without fear and be the children that he calls us to be.  This is what Jesus means when he instructs us to be childlike.

These are the days
For the children of faith
To stand up and be counted
Now is the time
For the light in us to shine
On whoever's around it

One life can be the proof
Of the hope that is You

I'm gonna live what I believe
I'm gonna walk that line
If it costs me everything
I'm gonna stand for what is right
So that everyone can see
It's Jesus that they need
I'm gonna live what I believe
RUSS LEE- "Live What I Believe" 

Psalm 32:5

I said, "I confess my faults to the Lord," and you took away the guilt of my sin.

Recognizing our wrong doings and feeling guilt is a necessary first step in overcoming our faults, but turning to God and confessing our sins is the more important step.  Recognizing that we have done something wrong and feeling guilty about it doesn't reconcile us with the Lord.  Turning to him, confessing what we have done and asking forgiveness is the act of a humble person and shows true sorrow.  

Our Lord is not a God who is waiting to find a way to condemn us for our sins and cast us into the fires of hell.  We need only look at a crucifix to understand that he is a God who will do whatever it takes to help us be reconciled with him.  He longs for us to be one with him.  Think of the father in the parable of the Prodigal Son.  He longs for his son and keeps a watch out for him, waiting for the day when he will come to his senses and come home.  While the son is still far off, the father sees him and runs to him and throws his arms around him.  Confession of our sins may seem tough, but the Lord makes it easy for us.

 

Malachi 3:2-3

For he is like the refiner's fire, or like the fuller's lye.  He will sit refining and purifying.

When gold is first mined, it has impurities speckled throughout it.  In order to rid it of these impurities, it must be refined.  It is heated to a very high temperature until it turns to a liquid, at which time the impurities are separated from the gold.  Only after it is refined can it be used to make beautiful things. 

Our soul is like gold.  From the moment of our conception it is speckled with the impurities of sin.  But through Baptism, Reconciliation and the Eucharist, the Lord is constantly refining and purifying it of the sin and making it a beautiful thing.  Often at our death the soul is not yet fully refined and therefore needs to go through a final purgation of the sin.  This is what we call Purgatory.  Once it has been fully refined, it is welcomed into the kingdom that our Savior and King has prepared for us.

I come into this place
Burning to receive your peace
I come with my own chains
From wars I've fought for my own selfish gain
You're my God and my Father
I've accepted your Son
But my soul feels so empty now
What have I become?

Lord, come with your fire,
Burn my desires; refine me
Lord, my will has deceived me
Please come and free me
Refine me  

JENNIFER KNAPP- "Refine Me" 

Psalm 3:5

When I call out to the Lord, he answers me.

So often people have an image of God that is of some impersonal being, sitting on high looking down from heaven, waiting for us to make a mistake so that he can pounce on us.  But God is really just the opposite of that.  He knows each one of us better than we know ourselves.  He loves us more than anyone.  He is not off in some distant place, but is right beside us waiting for us to speak.  Wehn we call out to him, he answers in the depths of our hearts.

I think that that may be the problem that people have with God.  They're not used to listening to, or possibly they can't hear, what is being spoken to them in their hearts.  They're bombarded by so much information and noise that they can't hear the quiet whisper of God anymore.  Instead, they hear the many loud deceptions that are thrown at them each day.  Gradually, they begin to listen to those deceptions and to accept them as the truth.  But the Truth is found in knowing and having an on-going relationship with the Lord.  He's right beside them waiting for them to call out to him.

Pencil marks on a wall, I wasn't always this tall
You scattered some monsters from beneath my bed
You watched my team win
You watched my team lose
Watched when my bicycle went down again
And when I was weak, unable to speak
Still I could call You by name
And I said, Elbow Healer, Superhero
Come if You can
You said, I Am

Only sixteen, life is so mean
What kind of curfew is at 10pm?
You saw my mistake and watched my heart break
Heard when I swore I'd never love again
And when I was weak, unable to speak
Still I could call You by name
And I said Heartache Healer, Secret Keeper
Be my best friend
And you said, I Am

You saw me wear white by pale candlelight
I said forever to what lies ahead
Two kids and a dream, with kids that can scream
Too much it might seem when it is 2am
And when I am weak, unable to speak
Still I will call You by name
Shepherd, Savior, Pasture Maker
Hold onto my hand
You say, I Am

The winds of change and circumstance blow in and all around us
So we find a foothold that's familiar
And bless the moments that we feel You nearer

When life had begun, I was woven and spun
You let the angels dance around the throne
And who can say when, but they'll dance again
When I am free and finally headed home
I will be weak, unable to speak
Still I will call You by name
Creator, Maker, Life Sustainer
Comforter, Healer, my Redeemer
Lord and King, Beginning and the End

I Am
Yes, I Am
NICHOLE NORDEMAN- "I Am"

Psalm 51:6

Against you only have I sinned...


So often we think of sin only in terms of how it touches someone else.  We believe that if we hurt someone else, whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually, we have sinned.  If what we do doesn't hurt anybody than we haven't sinned.


But the real essence of sin is not how it touches someone else, but how it touches God.  We can sin by doing things that really don't have an effect on someone else, and yet is a sin against God.  Not keeping the sabbath day holy is just one example.  


The root of all sin is selfishness and a self-centered attitude.  Whenever we put ourselves before God, we have sinned.  When we make ourselves number one instead of God, we sin.  Each day we should ask God to show us in what ways we are putting ourselves before him, and then reflect on how we can change our attitude so that God is at the center of our life, which is where he belongs.


I look beyond the empty cross
forgetting what my life has cost
and wipe away the crimson stains
"dull the nails that still remain"
More and more I need you now,
I owe you more each passing hour
the battle between grace and pride
I gave up not so long ago
So steal my heart and take the pain
and wash the feet and cleanse my pride
take the selfish, take the weak,
and all the things I cannot hide
take the beauty, take my tears
the sin-soaked heart and make it yours
take my world all apart
take it now, take it now
and serve the ones that I despise
speak the words I can't deny
watch the world I used to love
fall to dust and thrown away
I look beyond the empty cross
forgetting what my life has cost
so wipe away the crimson stains
"dull the nails that still remains"
so steal my heart and take the pain
take the selfish, take the weak
and all the things I cannot hide
take the beauty, take my tears
take my world apart, take my world apart
I pray, I pray, I pray
take my world apart
JARS OF CLAY- "Worlds Apart"