November 5 – Always Accomplish, Never Forsake

“The Lord will accomplish what concerns me; Your lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting; Do not forsake the works of Your hands.”  Psalm 138:8 (NASB)

Each day we look at a verse or two in our Bible and we consider the promises from God that we find there. We know that when God promises He will absolutely keep that promise.  David is affirming his belief in this in today's verse. We take notice of two promises from God. Promise number one is that our Lord God will, in all ways, accomplish what concerns each of us each day because he is involved in our lives.  Other versions say that the Lord will “fulfill His purpose” or, that “He will vindicate”.  God's work is our salvation and growth in the Holy Spirit.  A second promise is that God's love is steadfast and endures forever and it is out of His everlasting lovingkindness to us. The last promise David declares is his confirmation plea to God to not forsake or abandon His work.  David knows, and so can we, that God will never forsake us and He will never abandon His work in our lives. We have assurance of that certainty.  Let's affirm these promises today.  God is at work and He will accomplish what He intends to do.

 

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August 16 – Awesome Respect is Fear of God

“By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, And by the fear of the LORD one keeps away from evil.” - Proverbs 16:6  (NASB)

Words used in other versions for ‘lovingkindness’ in this proverb are: ‘steadfast love,’ and ‘mercy.’ We receive what we do not deserve and we don’t receive what we do deserve. This is the mercy given to us by God Himself to those who believe in Him and in His promise of salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus. It was the work of Jesus who willingly went to the cross to dies as a sinless man that provided all who believe the atonement they need.  By God’s “lovingkindness and truth,” He affects the atonement or covering of sin, which for the believing sinner inclines him to keep away from evil. And “the fear of the Lord” is reverential awe and admiring, submissive fear which is the foundation for all spiritual knowledge and wisdom. The unbeliever may make statements about life and truth yet they don’t have true or ultimate knowledge until they are, by the Holy Spirit brought into a redemptive relationship of reverential awe with God. The fear of the Lord is a state of mind in which one’s own attitudes, will, feelings, deeds, and goals are exchanged for God’s.

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July 12 - Remember Our Good and Merciful God

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.” Psalm 107:1 (NASB)

“The upright see it and are glad; But all unrighteousness shuts its mouth. Who is wise? Let him give heed to these things, And consider the lovingkindnesses of the Lord.” Psalm 107:42-43 (NASB)

The opening line of Psalms 105–107, “Oh give thanks to the Lord,” links together this trilogy of songs which praise God for His goodness and mercy. Most likely this psalm (107) has its origin in the time after the Exile of Israel. It begins declaring the goodness of the Lord and ends reminding us to heed what is said in the song. We find these two themes: 1) praising God for His continual deliverance in verses 4-32 verses, and 2) remembering God’s response to man’s obedience/disobedience in verses 33–42.  The entire 107th Psalm was written to remind God’s people of how He had helped them and their ancestors in various kinds of circumstances. And it concludes with this verse. The point of the verse is that people who knew how God had helped them in the past should remember that and be reminded of His great love for them. We should do the same. Think back of how God has helped us in past days and then remember that He has done it because of His great love for us. This will encourage us to trust Him for today, tomorrow and always. That is what God calls “wisdom.”

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March 27 – Unshaken. Unmoved.

“For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, And My covenant of peace will not be shaken,” Says the Lord who has compassion on you.” Isaiah 54:10 (NASB)

The promise we look at today comes to us in the book of the prophet Isaiah many years ago. We might look at the hills and especially the majestic mountains as being reminders of the greatness of God who created them. In our verse, however, God wants us to know that there is something more majestic and more enduring than the mountains for us to marvel about. Even the mountains can be shaken but God's care for us cannot be. God's lovingkindness is an unfailing love and it is forever for those who believe. Our promise reminds us that God's love for us will always remain, and so will His promise of peace. Realize that God loves us and we’ll have this assurance – He’ll give us peace in our hearts even in the midst of a world of turmoil. Whatever challenges we are facing, let’s allow these words from our God produce His peace in our heart today. There is nothing that can cause us to lose God’s mercy not a hurricane, not a tornado, not an earthquake They may move hills and mountains but cannot move God’s lovingkindness.

 

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March 24 – Praise For Glory

“Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!"  Psalm 115:1 (ESV)

We would be right to understand that nothing we can do that is greater than giving God the Glory He deserves.* Many of the songs in the Psalms remind us of the reasons we have for thanking and for praising our Lord. We notice that the very act of giving praise to God is the way we are to give Him glory. We do not worship God in order to generate good feelings within ourselves – although sincere praise does bring satisfaction and joy to us. Our verse teaches us that the reason we have any reason for thankfulness and praise is because of God's love and because of His faithfulness. It is true, isn't it? The reason God helps us and does so much for his children is His love for us. His love is steadfast, it is the lovingkindness that he has for us. When God does something for us, if He answers our prayers and meets our needs because of His love, not our merit.  God also helps us because He is faithful to His promises and to His character also.  He can be depended on, what He says, He will do.

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*What is Glory of God?

February 4 – From Despair to Desires and Delight

“But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, Because He has dealt bountifully with me.” – Psalm 13:5-6 (NASB)

This psalm, written by King David is a prayer for help in time of trouble. Before he became King he frequently faced such troubles which threatened his life. “How long?” he asks will the Lord seem to forget him and turn away from him. But David shifts radically from turmoil to tranquility in the space of this short Psalm (6 verses). One commentary describes David’s attitude being in three levels. The first two verses he was expressing Despair for he was below “sea level.” Verses 3 and 4 he is at “sea level” expressions of Desires. In the last verses, which are our selection today, David’s expressions are of Delight and rejoicing in a “mountaintop level.” Why can he move so quickly from “How long?” to “I will sing?” The answer for him is the same for us – Trust. David trusted God’s steadfast love. He believed God’s promise of forever love. Another way to say this would be that David understood and believed in God’s mercy, His lovingkindness. It is the also a promise we can trust in. God does and will deal abundantly with us His children because of His lovingkindness, His  mercy, His steadfast love.

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October 12 – Who/What God Is

“The LORD descended in the cloud and stood there with him as he called upon the name of the LORD. Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth;” – Exodus 34:5-6 (NASB)

While we are not expected to have experiences with God in the manner that Moses did, we find in these verses from Exodus a promise for us from God. He came down to Moses who had ascended to the top of the mountain. On this particular occasion God came down in a glorious cloud. This was what is called a theophany—a visible manifestation of the invisible God. God had appeared to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-9), so he appeared again on the mountain. The Bible says almost nothing about God’s appearance. Moses wanted to see God, but rather than telling us what he saw, the Bible tells us what Moses heard: The Prophet heard the promises which defined God’s character. Our LORD God is, compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness, truth and faithfulness, Verse 7 goes on; God maintains love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Each of these characters also define names of our LORD. For God’s name stands for his entire being. It is his nature. It is who He is—the God of creation and redemption, who made and saves His people.

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Source: Philip Graham Ryken and R. Kent Hughes, Exodus: Saved for God’s Glory, (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005), 1040–1041.

September 3 – He Provides Our Answer

“May Your lovingkindnesses also come to me, O LORD,
     Your salvation according to Your word;
So I will have an answer for him who reproaches me,
      For I trust in Your word.” – Psalm 119:41-42 (NASB)

There is an increase in the resistance of our world to the Word of God. There is also a significant decrease in the number who hold the Bible to be absolute truth. Within this battle, those who oppose the teachings in the Bible are becoming more active in demonstrating their hostility. The psalmist called on God to deliver him through His love and His Word and He will for us based on the promise God has given to us. He sought and trusted that he would have an answer for his enemy. He prayed and affirmed that the Word would continue to be his pattern of life. That is the way God has prepared for us to enjoy victory over the obstructions they set to the spreading of His Word. When opposition comes we frequently take it very personally but here we can know that it is God that the non-believer is rejecting and fighting against. We can like this passage teaches learn to delight in God’s commandments grow to love them for they are life to our soul. Next time we meet resistance, lets remember, God’s Word has an answer for us to give in return. 

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June 28 – Covered In Hope

“For our heart rejoices in Him, Because we trust in His holy name. Let Your lovingkindness, O Lord, be upon us, According as we have hoped in You.”  Psalm 33:21-22 (NASB)

Psalm 33 was written to praise God as the Creator and Preserver of life.  Especially our life if we have believed His word. God's unfailing love is defined as his mercy or his lovingkindness. Another word used would be steadfast love. Can we imagine a love that is loving, kind, and steadfast?  The Psalms in our Bible offers many expressions of praise to God. There are also many prayers in these songs as our verse today in an example. God's love is eternal, it never fails. In order to experience this unfailing love, something is required on our part. We must have an attitude of expectation, of true hope. The psalmist has the request for God’s love to be upon us “according as” which is ‘even as’ or ‘according to’ the hope we have in God’s promises. Our hope is built on that which comes from what we know is true and we can expect it to happen. To experience God's unfailing love, we need to expect Him to show it to us – then His love will cover us, it will be with us. If we constantly expect His love, we'll constantly experience it.

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June 12 – Not Rejected

“Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer Nor His lovingkindness from me.” Psalm 66:20 (NASB)

Perhaps there are times when we feel as if God has not heard our prayers or maybe rejected them. God  always hears the prayers of those who abide in Him and love Him. As so many of the songs we have in the book of Psalms in our Bible, this is an expression by the writer about what God had done for him. Written many centuries ago we can still believe this promise and it can become our own expression of praise to God. We know that God hears and answers our prayers and even in those times when we receive an answer different than our request, we know that God has not rejected our prayer. He may have answered it in a different way than we expected or hoped, but we know it is in a way that is best for us because He loves us and he does not withhold his love from us. Our promise today is that He has not rejected our prayer, and because he loves us so much, he has given us an answer that is better for us. Let's trust Him today and enjoy His love for us. 

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March 1 – Trust the Immutable God

“The LORD will accomplish what concerns me; Your lovingkindness, O LORD, is everlasting; Do not forsake the works of Your hands.”  Psalm 138:8 (NASB)

The importance of the promises, as in our verse today, is better understood when we consider source and context.  This is a psalm of thanksgiving and praise by David. We have considered this verse previously and repetition of God’s promises is always beneficial. David declares our LORD God is exalted over all His creation. He favors the humble in spirit but the arrogant, who David calls haughty, are kept far from Him. Additionally, God watches over our lives and protects us from the hatred of our enemies. The conclusion of Psalm 138 has critical importance for us because we do not always turn to God and trust these promises. Our fears and worries distract us and we are prone to believe God gives up on us. He doesn't because His promise is that He will accomplish and fulfill all that is His purpose for us. God’s love is steady and holds fast in all circumstances. We can always trust this promise even though we might strongly feel the need to call on God to continue His work in our lives. When we think we’ve lost, God says it is not finished. God’s work continues in our lives. 

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September 15 – Praise, Better than Life

“Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise You.  So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.”  Psalm 63:3-4 (NASB)

There is a chorus that uses the words of these verses.  It is a song that praises God for His lovingkindness.  It is a wonderful verse / song for us and especially in times when we need the reminder that God’s love for us is better than anything our life has to offer.  God cannot be out done in His steadfast love which he showers down on us.  Such abundant love evokes praise for God and honest heartfelt praise is the best thing we can give to God. So when we find ourselves in a dry and weary land where there is no water to quench our thirst, we can be assured that our Creator God, our Savior God loves us perfectly and without holding back.  Let’s sing along with David, “So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.”  Praise your name Almighty God!

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April 20 – Everlasting Good

“O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”  -1 Chronicles 16:34  (NASB)

We often consider God's promises from the scriptures which are those God spoke out or delivered to His prophets to give the people.  They often come with an attached instruction such as “fear not,” or with a condition that initiates the promises.  The statements of promise do not always describe what God does for us or how He does it.  Some promises are statements of truth about our LORD God.  Just as when we give our support of someone else by stating the truth of their character, the Bible does that about God’s character.  Today we have the promise that the LORD is good and that's a promise that causes us to be thankful to Him.  Furthermore we are given the promise that God’s lovingkindness, or steadfast love is everlasting and will never end.  That means it is there forever and if we are children of God, it is for our blessing.  We do not need to ever doubt God’s goodness or His love because it is promised to always be and be so forever. God’s word can be trusted because his goodness means He cannot lie or renege on a promise He has made.  

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December 27 – Wonderful Deeds Indeed

“Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men!”  Psalm 107:21 (NASB)

For some people Christmas is over.  The holidays came and went and it is over.  Next is the time to focus on the New Year and what is ahead. But if we know the real meaning of the coming of Jesus to this earth, we know that we keep on receiving benefits and blessings from that event every day.  This is true for as long as we live on this earth and on into eternity.  If you are a child of God we hope you have been stirred these days to thank God for sending His Son to be your Savior. You will want to be reminded of His great unfailing love. And you will want to continue thanking Him for loving you and doing wonderful things for you.  In Christ Jesus you are secure and you can look to Him for guidance in the days and months ahead.  For all this we are thankful as well as for the many promises He has made according to His purpose and for His name's sake. Yes, God promises to always be with us and continue the wonderful deeds for mankind.  So let us listen to the psalmist and give thanks to the Lord today.

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November 28 – Thanksgiving Day (USA) – A Great Promise, Be Thankful

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Oh let Israel say, “His lovingkindness is everlasting.” Oh let the house of Aaron say, “His lovingkindness is everlasting.”” Psalm 118:1-3 (NASB)

Here is an idea for today.  If and as you gather around your Thanksgiving Day feast, take the time to read Psalm 118.  It has 29 short verses and begins with “Oh give thanks.” in our selected passage. Verse 29 ends the Psalm with the same words.  What greater thing do we have to be thankful for on this day than Jesus Christ and His gift of salvation. A gift that is free to us but cost Jesus His life. The one man without sin was dying a criminal's death on the cross in our place.  This psalm is intensely messianic and is the psalm most quoted in the NT*.  But even with the profound personal language that pre-visions the life of Jesus Christ and how He was rejected by the people, the essential message is the one that brackets the whole Psalm making it a wonderful passage to read on Thanksgiving Day. We give thanks to the Lord because “His lovingkindness is everlasting.”  God's promise is that his steadfast love will never end. Once given to us it is ours for keeps.  What a great gift to be thankful for.   

*
Matt. 21:9, 42; 23:39;
Mark 11:9, 10; 12:10, 11;
Luke 13:35; 19:38; 20:17;
John 12:13;
Acts 4:11;
Heb. 13:6;
1 Pet. 2:7

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November 25 – Never Closed – Always On Duty

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;  To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning And Your faithfulness by night,” Psalm 92:1-2 (NASB)

It is Thanksgiving week in the United States. Other countries have similar celebrations at different times.  It is the time of the year when most of us spend a little more time thinking about the benefits and blessings we have from God.  Those who follow Jesus will focus a bit more on offering thanks to God for the gift of His Son.  These words mean that it is a good practice to thank God all the time. It means that it does us good to thank and praise Him. Giving thanks is not just for one day or one season of the year.   Because God is never off duty or on vacation and is a 24/7/365 God, it is good for us to respond in kind and thank God in the morning for His love for us. It helps train our focus on the blessings we receive from Him.  It is also good to thank Him at night for His faithfulness during the day. It makes the day different and strengthens our faith for the next day.  Practicing daily thanksgiving makes a difference in our lives and it makes a difference in our outlook.  Let's make it a habit we practice. 

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October 10 – It Will Be Done

“The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.”  - Psalm 138:8  (ESV)

When faced with the most difficult circumstances and the world seems to be piling it on toward our destruction, God is with us and He is not giving up on accomplishing His purpose in us or for us. Without the promises God has given us we would be very miserable people from time to time in our lives.  Especially those times when we anxiously fear what our future holds and uncertainty .  Recognizing that there are those who do not believe in God or even that He exists, we who do believe can know that God is watching over us and He has a purpose for us in this life on earth.  Our promise today is that God will fulfill His purpose both here and hereafter when we are with Him in heaven.  God's love for us is steadfast, never wavering and will last forever.  We too can have this hope which is assurance that God will not forsake His work, it will be accomplished by His hand for His glory. Let's think about this today and rest in this promise.   

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August 12 – Unremovable Unshakeable Promise

“For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, And My covenant of peace will not be shaken,” Says the Lord who has compassion on you.” Isaiah 54:10 -   (NASB)

Today we have a promise that we can cling to tightly.  The promise is that NOTHING can remove God's love from us.  Even if the mountains collapse and move and the hills shake – something we have seen in the mighty power of volcanoes, and earthquakes and floods – we can know that God's lovingkindness is steadfast.  God promises that He cannot stop loving us with whom He has chosen and made a covenant of peace.  These words were given first to His people through His prophet Isaiah, but we can rest with confidence that the same promise is for us today as well.  Earlier in this prophecy (vs. 3) God promises that its message will spread to all nations and cities through the people of Promise.  There are things in this world which do change due to catastrophic events but God does not and His word is trustworthy.  His love is steadfast and will never end – it will be ours forever. 

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March 20 – Everlasting Lasts Forever

“The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.”   Jeremiah 31:3  (NASB)

The prophet Jeremiah was reminding the people of his day that God had assured them of His love. Notice how Jeremiah declares the words of God and that God's love is an everlasting love.  With God's love, there is no “drifting apart” or “growing apart” or “falling out of love.”  We may experience such a faulty love for each other but God's love for us is not so fickle.  It is EVER – LASTING so it never ends.   Because God had told them that His love was unending, they could depend on His love to be always effective.  Well, that was a long time ago but we believe that this promise is still good for us today.  God's love is still everlasting.  It has lasted through all these centuries since and before the time of Jeremiah and it is still effective.  And what happens when God loves His creatures?  He keeps drawing them closer and closer to Himself, every day and every year.  What does God use to draw us?  His lovingkindness, His steadfast love.

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November 18 – Thanks Giving Every Day

“Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men!  For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good.”  Psalm  107:8-9 (NASB)

Today begins Thanksgiving week in the United States.  Our friends and families in Canada already observed Thanksgiving Day on October 8.  We want to remind ourselves that being thankful is not an activity reserved for just one day.  Giving thanks is what we do every time we pray or worship our Lord.  Our verse gives us several reasons for praising God.  For His great love which is steadfast and never fails.  For all the wondrous things he has done for us providing a way to be a part of His family which never fail.  We are thankful that God provides what we need spiritually as well.  He satisfies our thirsty spirit, our soul, and feeds our spiritual hunger with what is good.  We have reason for every day to be a day of thanksgiving and as we gather with family this Thursday, we can bring all that forward and celebrate our loving God.  

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