Psalm 143 May his good spirit lead you!

Are we questioning our direction? Should we be? Lately I feel like I have been crying out to God every day on which direction he wants me to go. God delights in giving us his wisdom.

This past month for me has been a whirlwind of change. Our house sold, my son started school for the first time and I lost a baby. To say the least, God was bringing me to my knees. I haven't felt this emotionally drained...ever. However, I was prepared. I had prepared myself for battle by putting on my full armor of God. I was able to stand firm with the belt of truth buckled around my waist. I had my breastplate of righteousness in place and my feet were fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. I had his peace in my heart in the midst of the storm. I took up my shield of faith--believing in His plan. And I was swaying my sword of the spirit which was the word of God. (Ephesians 6) God was preparing me for battle this summer--through reading the psalms, drawing me to his heart and drawing me near to the ones that I love.

Now life has settle a bit. We are moved into our new house, signing final paper work on our old house (eeks! hope everything goes OK...) meeting new neighbors and saying goodbye to old ones. My son is a bit more settled in school (took a lot of bribing yesterday) and I am healing from all of my hormone ups and downs. I can say after the storm that God is good. God is faithful. And "he showed me the way I should go" vs. 8. Surrender it all to Him--for after all, it's His to begin with. He'll give it back to you--a good measure, pressed down--and running over!

Psalm 150 - Everywhere for everything with everything

Psalm 15o sums things up with a call to praise God everywhere for everything with everything you got. So what have you learned though your journey through the psalms? How has your understanding of God changed? How have you grown in your relationship with Him? What has He shown you and what blessing and trials has He taken you through? God is to be praised everywhere in heaven and on the earth. He is to be praised for what He has done by His power and greatness. He is to be praised with everything we got. It gives us a list of instruments, some highly skilled others more basic. No matter if you are a technical lyre or a simple tambourine you can still make noise and give testimony to Gods glory. God gives us different skills, talents, and style because He loves diversity. Do you? Can you worship Him even if you don't like that rendition of a certain song played on a Sunday morning? Can you still see the benefit of a ministry even if it is one that you haven't been called to serve in? There are different levels of skills that He accepts as long as it is to His glory, not your own. Anyone can pick up a cymbal and crash it. The point is to pick it up and do it for Him. Are you serving in the way He has called you to serve. Are you too afraid to try something new for Him because you don't feel adequate. He will equip those He calls so don't be afraid to pick that cymbal up and crash it for Him. Is there a job you are serving Him in but you don't feel content or you feel jealous of the lyre players? Pick that cymbal up and crash it for Him. Let is resound because it is for Him not you. The psalm closes with the famous verse: Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Take a deep breath. Now go forth and praise Him everywhere for everything with everything you got!

Psalm 148 - All in All

The psalmist is like a conductor bringing in different instruments into a symphony of praise. He calls to the things of heaven and to the things of the earth. All to praise the name of God. God is worthy of ALL praise because He made ALL, is above ALL, and controls ALL. Everything contributes to the chorus of giving God glory. Everything reflects God in its own unique way and is part of the collective orchestra that brings God glory. Even in this fallen world that is subject to decay we all reflect the Creator in some way. The Psalmist gives credit to the creator not the creation. He also recognizes humans as more special then the rest of creation. All people young and old, male and female, rich and poor are called to praise God. And because His people are close to his heart he raised up for them a horn. A horn was used to hold oil to anoint a king so when this symbol is used it means to communicate a leader. God gives us Jesus as that horn, a leader who came to serve and to save. Praise and thanks to you Lord for who you are and what you have done, sent us Jesus to be Savior and King. How and for what will you worship Him today?

Psalm 146 - Help and Hope

When our hope is in God alone nothing will disappoint us. When our trust for help in God alone we can be confident in the way things are. He reassures us here of His care and backs it up with the credentials. Are you oppressed, hungry, imprisoned, blind, humble, righteous, foreign, fatherless or a widow in anyway physically, spiritually or emotionally? God will uphold, feed, free, restore, uplift, love, watch over, and sustain your every need because God is powerful, creative, faithful, eternal, loving, and just. What specific ways does God speak to you in this chapter. Where do you need reassurance that His help is all you need to trust in?

Psalm 146 Questions -

1. Does your soul engage when you worship? Or is it just your mind and body in routine?

2. Have you allowed God to be all of your life, not just part?

3. What things of this world, which riches, which power or which person do you trust in? Your spouse, family, church, stock portfolio, the government, your job, your hairstylist to keep you beautiful, your grocery story, your bank account?

4. What are your plans in life? Will they last past your death? Gods word and the souls of men are the only things eternal of this world. How are you investing in them? Are you content with just your own soul saved?

5. What comfort do you receive from know ing your help and hope is in the Maker of Heaven and Earth and that He remains faithful forever?

6. Reread the ways God cares for people in verses 7-9. How has God been there for you? How has He used you to meet the needs of others? What item inspires your spirit to action and obedience today?

7. How does God frustrate the ways of the wicked? How can you stand strong for God against the ways of the wicked and of this world? How are you modeling this for your kids?

8. What comfort do you receive from submitting to the God who will reign forever and for all generations? How can you be used to impact the next generation?

Psalm 141 Accepting the Oil

Are we open to hear what we need to work on? A lot of times my husband and I (in a semi-joking way...) will open this can of worms. Of course we love to throw in our snide comments throughout the weeks like "well...if you were more like this or that". But those little "picks" don't really make a difference. They just drain out the other person. But when we really sit down and have a heart-to-heart about what hurts our heart THEN change happens. When my husband and I sit down and truly express our heart needs to one another--change usually occurs from that. Verse 5 stuck out to me in this psalm..."Let a righteous man strike me--it is kindness.; Let him rebuke me--it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it."

When we can listen to the words of a righteous man...and let the oil of their words sink in deep...we can hear their words as kindness to our soul.

*Who is speaking words of "kindness" to you today? A righteous man that you may see as rebuke at the moment--but really, it's kindness?!

*Are we strong enough to listen to this? Or do we shut down immediately and think "who do they think they are!"

No one wants to be around a critic--but we can all learn from the righteous men and women in our lives. I know I am often humbled by the ones in my life. And it is a GIFT to see it this way.

Psalm 144 - A better mom

This psalm has a lot in it but what is sticking out to me is the language directed at me as a parent. God trains my hands for war and fingers for battle. Not against my kids but for my kids. I have been given talents and go through training for big hand tasks and for detailed finger work. God is my example as a loving parent and He is my fortress because alone I am so weak. He is my stronghold when I want to give up and give in to their whims to watch or participate in worldly things. He is my deliver when I am in need. He is my shield when things start flying at me from all directions and I can take refuge in Him as the chaos swirls around me. He can subdue the peoples under me, He has given me authority over my kids but He also has the power to subdue them when they are out of control so I don't have to fight the endless fight with them. Yesterday Brooke threw a gigantic tantrum in the grocery store, I continued to pray for wisdom and patience but I missed praying for her. That her heart would be calmed, that she would feel loved and secure enough not to need to seek attention this way and that she would have a submissive heart to authority. Verses 3-4 remind me that my life is a breath but so are my kids lives. I don't want regrets, I might not see tomorrow to tuck them in to bed or get another hug. I need to live my life like today is my last day everyday. Or worse yet, it could be their last day and I will have a lifetime filled with regret for not cherishing their few breaths on this earth. I beg God for verses 5-8 to happen, for Him to come down from Heaven and wipe out the enemies that attack my kids. That He would deliver and rescue them from the mighty waters of life and the tears that well up and flood out of their eyes. That they would be protect from lies and deceit and that God would give them discernment to recognize truth. Verses 9 and 10 emphasize again the importance of voicing the testimonies God has given us. God enabled David to be a skilled musician on a complex instrument but it took years of preparation and practice to reach the level that he was at to compose such music. Our gifts and talents rarely develop overnight and may take years to achieve and a life time to maintain. Our life testimony will be full of victories and ways God delivers us, use the talents and situations in your life to share God with others. David asks for deliverance and rescue again on behalf of the sons and daughters so that they may be successful. So that sons will be like well-nurtured plants. What is a well nurtured plant like? Healthy, fruitful, beautiful, productive are just some ways I would describe a well tended plant. But the key is well tended, the most successful plants are those who are cared for by a master gardener. The daughters will be like pillars carved with detail and thought, beautiful enough to adorn a palace fit for the King of Kings. My daughter almost got us kicked out of a grocery store yesterday yet I am part of the process that will carve her into a beautiful and strong pillar that will be admired and relied on in Gods palace. We are promised provisions, increase of wealth and safety from captivity. Some may see this literally in their life times or for a portion of it but we are all guaranteed this spiritually and eternally. How can you pray this psalm for your life today?

1.How does this chapter speak to you on being a parent?

2. Is your ideas of God rock solid or are they soft and change with circumstances? Do you recognize His as good and caring in times of trial and of blessings?

3. Hands are trained with tools, fingers are trained for detailed and precise tasks. How is God preparing you? What are your tools God has given you to fight the battles against the enemy? What kind of details are you good at handling?

4. Do you have people under your authority at work or at home who you can ask God to subdue instead of fighting an endless battle? Can you ask to find refuge from their emotional drain?

5. Take time to notice shadows today. Ask God to point out the meaning of your life.

6. Are you still trying to save yourself and fix your own problems or have you asked God to come down to rescue and deliver?

Psalm 142 - Troubled

What has gotten you in trouble lately? Have you lied, gossiped, fought, said too much or too little? Who do you turn to when you have a problem? Your spouse, mom, or friend? Psalm 142 models that it is God alone who we should be crying out to, lifting our voice and complaints to. To Him we should tell our troubles. It goes on to explain why. When I don't know which way to go it is He who knows my way in life and the path that I should take. My enemies may have set traps for me trying to tangle me and hold me back from moving forward but if God is my leader He will direct me past safely. Have you ever felt like no one really cares or understands you? But ask yourself, how much do you really care or work to understand others? We do until it inconveniences us. There are family members and a couple close friends that we sacrifice for but would we give our life for them? And even for argument's sake you are willing to sacrifice for a few even until death are you sure there is someone that is willing to do that for you? Would your death really bring them life? Do you possess the power to really protect them, can you really be all that they need, can you be their portion filling them up, could you really rescue them from their desperate needs? NO, that is the heartache of being a mother, caring for someone but not being able to fully protect them. That is the frustration of being a wife, loving someone that you spend a life time trying to understand. But God does. He is concerned for you, he cares about your life and understands who you are because He made you. He has the power to rescue you from your strong enemies, he has the resources to fill you up, and most importantly he sacrificed his very life to set you free from the prison of sin and death. God sets us free so that we may praise His name and glorify him, not just go on living the way we want. He rescued us to be with us. Go to God alone with your problems because He alone can fix them.

Psalm 142 Questions:

1.What make you feel better? Eating, venting, zoning out in front of the TV, alone time?

2. Do you talk out loud when you pray? Do you write in a journal? Do you pray on your knees? Do you lift up your hands? How do you keep focused in prayer time? How do you keep prayers from just turning into thoughts? How can you turn your thoughts into prayers throughout the day?

3. Do you feel weak or that you've lost your way or that you don't know what to do next? How do you find comfort in a current situation that God knows the way?

4. How is God your refuge? How is he everything you need? What other things are you finding refuge and fulfillment in?

5. What are you in desperate need of? Money or contentment? Justice or forgiveness? Rest or movement? Love? Appreciation? Strength?