Help from on High

God offers us some serious heavenly help.

It is a statement that could stand all by itself and on its own.  Yet, it is also a statement supported by all sorts of verses from the Scriptures.  The Book of Psalms gives us an array of God’s attributes such Him being “good and upright” (Psalm 25:8).  In particular, Psalm 25 shows us how the Lord offers us help from on high.

Show me Your ways, O Lord ; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day.
– Psalm 25:4-5

Good and upright is the Lord ; Therefore He teaches sinners in the way. The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way. – Psalm 25:8-9

Who is the man that fears the Lord ? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.- Psalm 25:12

The secret of the Lord  is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant. – Psalm 25:14

Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for You. – Psalm 25:21

Look at all of the different types of help that He provides His people.  He gives us mercy and truth along with His covenant and “the way” as He teaches and protects us.

God gives us help from on high.  Take a moment and embrace every ounce of His help.

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Try Giving God a Chance

“I pray, expecting an answer.” – Andrew Murray

 

The LORD has heard my supplication, The LORD receives my prayer. – Psalm 6:9

“Pray and let God worry.” – Martin Luther

You have some issues.  I mean, after all, your issues may require some serious attention.  To be honest, they may require more than you can offer.

Why not give God a chance?

He’s almighty.  He’s able.  He’s all-powerful.

Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, – Jude 1:24

God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. – Psalm 46:1

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. – 1 Peter 5:7

Just give in.  Just go on and give Him a chance.

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God is Real

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, and their ways are vile;

 there is no one who does good.

– Psalm 53:1 (NIV)

The believer should know that God is alive and present.  True believers understand that God is, as an anonymous psalmist stated, ” a great God and a great King above all gods” (Psalm 95:3).  In fact, it is the believer who is full of faith who can honestly put his or her trust in the Lord with all of his or her heart and not rely upon on his or her own understanding.

The psalmist says that it is the fool who says that “there is no God.” It is not the person who is full of faith who is the fool spoken of here.  It is the person who is faithless.  Naturally, by the world’s standards, we are the fools for believing in the unseen.  However, by what we regard as holy, the world is foolish for not accepting God as the Almighty.

God is real.  India Arie sang it into reality for listeners on “Voyage to India.”  Joan Osbourne sang, asking if God was one of us.  Singers and songwriters share it just like psalmists.  After all, a psalm is just a poem set to music.  Sounds a lot like soul music to me.  Maybe if we add the Funk Brothers folks might feel more appreciative of the presence of God with a Motown flavor.  Needless to say, God is still the Almighty and that’s all by Himself.

After all, it is the fool who says that there is no god.  That’s with or without any background music.

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The Power to Provide

 ⁶ “‘Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security. ⁷ I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity^[a] and will rebuild them as they were before. ⁸ I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me. ⁹ Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.’- Jeremiah 33:6-9 (NIV)

Imagine what the Lord can do for you.  Put it this way: Imagine what the Lord could do for you based upon what is in His will for you.

He is able to do all.  That’s why we call Him the Almighty.  He has power and dominion over everything.  It’s just part of who He is to us.  He is Lord.  He is Jehovah Jireh.  He is our Provider.  He provides what is within His will and what is necessary to confirm His Word.

Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. – Psalm 115:3 (NIV)

But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. – Psalm 115:3 (KJV)

The rationale is simple once we have the proper perspective on who god is and how He operates based upon His revelation through His Word.  Our theology must be based upon His holy revelation through the Scriptures.  When we accept Him in faith, we believe all that is said about Him in His Word.

Such a God as this is awesome.  He is powerful.  He is wonderful.  He causes us to give pause and wonder if we could ever manifest such goodness in our own lives.  We question whether we can ever love in the true sense that God offers love.  We know that we fall short and stand in the need of grace, but we are certain that God has called us to be better than we ever do in this life.

This is the type of God who forgives Israel for its rebellion against God.  This is the God who can love a nation full of harlotry and idolatry.  Here is God who provides by the might of grace and supplies by His own mercies.  He called Israel out on all of their stuff, but He still said that He could and would bring them health and healing, even cleanse them despite them having sinned against Him. 

He can provide through His power.  He can forgive .  He can love.  He can heal.  He can cleanse.  He can do all of these by His own power.  He is a powerful provider.  He can provide more in restoring us than we ever could imagine that we could ever deserve.  He is powerful.  He is our provider.  He has all the power that we need to provide us with all that we need.

20Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21 (KJV)

 

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Keep Count in 2012

For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? – Luke 14:28 (KJV)

In 2012, you had better keep count of some things.  You should keep count and keep track throughout the year. Look back at how God answered prayers and provided for you thus far, holding on with hope for Him to continue to grant you such blessings of grace and mercy in 2012.

• Count Up the Costs: Know what it will require of you to get more done in God’s name in 2012.  Be sure that you seek wise counsel and pray to the Lord for guidance in all of your endeavors.
• Count Off the Blessings: Record all of what God does for you.  Use a calendar, diary or journal, even a simple notebook.  Record the answered prayers and unexpected blessings.  Keep track of these blessings so that you may recall the Lord’s many blessings bestowed upon you.
• Count On the Lord: Keep your faith and trust rooted in the Lord’s ability to do more with your availability.  Trust Him with all of your heart.  Take your prayers and petitions to the Lord and trust Him to have all of the answers.

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A Prayer Plan for the New Year

 ^“Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.” – Psalm 55:17 (KJV)

With the new year approaching, it seems quite appropriate to share a simple prayer plan. 

A prayer plan?

Yep.  A prayer plan for the new year could assist  you in staying on track just like a daily Bible reading plan can help one staying on track with reading the Bible throughout the year.  The plan offers you an opportunity to get in touch with God on a consistent basis throughout the day.

 Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud. . .

David offers the believer the outline for a daily prayer plan.  Evening. . . morning. . . at noon are the time periods that David mentions in this psalm.  He speaks on his own personal commitment to prayer.  He shares his own daily prayer commitment to God.

We can do so, too.  We don’t have to write a psalm or a pledge, not even a covenant.  We just have to commit to the plan and commit the plan to prayer.  That sounds both rhetorical and redundant, but let me make it clear to you.  In order to make a commitment to daily prayer, you will need to have a plan on how to get started.  You can choose to follow David’s prayer prescription or do otherwise.  You just need to decide on a plan that will get you consistent with daily prayer.  Once you have decided on that plan, then you need to commit that decision to prayer.  You will even need to pray to the Lord as you decide upon the plan and pray to the Lord once you have decided on what to do and how to do it.  You need prayer throughout the planning and preparation for engaging in daily prayer.

Pray to God for:

• Clarity
• Commitment
• Consistency

Start with prayer in order to continue in prayer.  Start the year with prayer and stay consistent in prayer.

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A Tasteful Blessing

O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!- Psalm 34:8

The psalm shares how taking refuge in the Lord can cause one to be blessed.  In fact, it starts this particular verse with an intriguing invitation to “taste and see that the Lord is good.” It is an entreat, starting with “O.” It implores and beseeches the one who reads or hears it read to pay close attention to what is being said.  It calls upon one to open his or her ears and eyes to what is being laid out.

O taste and see. . .

In other words, the psalm writer is beckoning others to come and try the Lord out for themselves.  He doesn’t simply say for others to take his word for it.  He offers others the opportunity to taste and see about the Lord on their own.  He assures them that once they have tasted of what the Lord has to offer that they will see just how good He truly is to those who seek Him.

Beyond everything else, the psalm shares how taking refuge in the Lord can lead to one being blessed by the Lord.  You do not have to keep running around and looking here and there.  Run to the Lord.  Seek refuge in Him.  Go to the Lord.  Flee to Him.  Make haste and come unto Him.  He alone can bless you beyond belief.  God alone can bestow blessing upon you that surpass your own imagination.

Try to recall the last time that you invited someone to taste of the Lord’s goodness and see for themselves.  Offer the invitation to the blessing of a lifetime to someone who may be near and dear to you.  Share it with a perfect stranger.  Put it on your Facebook status.  Tweet it in a direct message to a friend.  You’ve already tasted of His sweetness.  Share it with someone else.

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