Count Your Blessings

 “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and

all that is within me, bless his holy name.”

Psalm 103:1

“Psalm 103 is a Psalm of blessing.  David’s praise focused on the good things God was doing for him.  It is easy to complain about your life, but David’s list gives us plenty for which to praise God - He forgives our sins, heals our diseases, redeems us from death, crowns us with love and compassion, satisfies our desires, and gives righteousness and justice.  We receive all of these without deserving any of them.  No matter how difficult your journey, you can always count your blessings - past, present and future.”

~ Life Application Study Bible

Hope, Peace, Joy

 “May the God of Hope bring you

all joy and peace as you trust

in him, so that you may overflow

with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Romans 15:13

Paul makes this request of the God of hope, another beautiful name for God. He is the only lasting source of hope we have for meaning in this life, and for a life beyond death. Paul asks that the God of hope fill these believers with all joy and peace "in believing" or as they trust in Him. In other words, Paul is not asking God to simply dump joy and peace into their hearts without cause. He is asking that as these believers trust in God, their faith will bring joy and peace to their hearts. In other words, help them to keep believing so that they can experience joy and peace. 

Finally, Paul asks that they might have this joy and peace in believing so that they may abound with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul is asking God to give them more than just regular human hopefulness. He is asking for supernatural, Holy Spirit-powered hopefulness. 

What a fantastic prayer to ask God for others or for ourselves. What more could we wish for other believers than to be filled with joy and peace and abounding in hope?

~ Bible Ref

God’s Guidance

 “Show me the right path, O Lord;

point out the road for me to follow.  Lead 

me by your truth and teach me,

for you are the God that saves me.  All 

day long I put my hope in you.”

“Psalm 25:4-5

“Lead me in your truth and teach me.” So he doesn’t just teach us, like tell us what to do. He leads us. This is the beauty of his Spirit in us. We don’t just have instructions. We have the instructor dwelling in us, leading us, guiding us, directing us. “Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation.” He’s our savior. He saves us from not just the penalty of sin, he saves us from the power of sin in our lives so that we can walk in his truth, so that we can obey his teaching and follow his leadership as we trust in Him. “For you I wait all the day long,” and the picture of waiting there is just looking to God, trusting in God as our teacher, our leader, and our savior.

~ by David Pratt

Walking With Jesus

 “Therefore as you have received

Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him.”

Colossians 2:6

“Christianity is enjoying a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  It is interacting with God throughout the course of the day, feeling his presence and power and receiving His strength and guidance. Your spiritual growth is directly related to your walk with God.”

~ Paul Chappell

God Is My Everything

 “Whom have I in heaven but you?

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion forever.”

Psalm 73:25-26

“When I say he is my everything I mean: he is the air I breathe. Peace that calms my storms.  Joy of my life. Strength when I am weak. Water when I’m thirsty and bread when hungry.”

~ by January Scott