Made it to Dubai

We spent 16 hours in close quarters on Emirates airlines- beautiful 2 level plane! Thanks for your prayers as I had a few health issues the night before departure!! Thanks to KP, I had meds started and toted along with 2 L of water. We are now experiencing Dubai after our flight (since the hotel reservation fell through)- beach at night, marina mall at midnight….lounging in the airport for tomorrow’s flight to Uganda. Miracles are already happening (like a team member forgetting their passport in a taxi and still able to locate the right driver amidst the crazy traffic). Trusting Him for all we need. – Teresa

#travellingwithmillenialsgenz #Lordhelpmestayup!

He’s got you covered

It is interesting to note that in verse 9, the Psalmist denotes the idea of being covered by God (in the Hebrew). This passage was part of my memory verse challenge in 2012. Everyday, as I walked from my car to the hospital and watched the sun rise, I would repeat David’s inspired words. Even now, I find so much comfort from these words. As I head to Uganda in three days, I’m praying for God’s covering or refuge from my own self doubts and whatever fiery darts Satan has in store. Please pray with me for the city of Kampala. – Teresa #runningtoYou #thelifterofmyhead #tradingsorrowandshameforthejoyoftheLord

Psalm 143: 8-12 (ESV)

8

Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,

for in you I trust.

Make me know the way I should go,

for to you I lift up my soul.

9

Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord!

I have fled to you for refuge.[a]

10

Teach me to do your will,

for you are my God!

Let your good Spirit lead me

on level ground!

11

For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life!

In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!

12

And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies,

and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,

for I am your servant.

Footnotes:

a Psalm 143:9 One Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts To you I have covered

Waking up to love

As Zerubbabel was re-building the temple, although not as magnificent as Solomon’s temple, he was empowered for this great task by God’s Spirit. According to Matthew Henry, Jesus is our Zerubbabel in building His church. No mountain of man-made opposition will stand in the way. The grace of God is a powerful tool to tear down mountains of unbelief #notgoodenough. It heals our ancestoral wounds and binds us up with the balm of Gilead. – Teresa #yourlovesatisfies#awakenedtoyourperspective #letyourpowerfulSpiritflowoutofclayvessels

Zechariah 4:6,7 (ESV)

6 Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. 7 Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’”

Cover your head

In the day of battle, David trusted that God had his head “covered”. Priscilla Shirer shared a delightful devotional reminder on one of her teaching CD’s… when the crows are dive bombing you on the running trail of life, just raise a tree branch over your head!! Jesus is our protection from attack and brings a new identity to our life in the spiritual realm (the crows no longer see us but Him). When you need protection, raise up His provision for you. – Teresa #thehelmetofsalvation #Hewasraisedonatree #mydebtpaid #deliverancefromshame

Psalm 140: 1-8 (ESV)

Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men;

preserve me from violent men,

2

who plan evil things in their heart

and stir up wars continually.

3

They make their tongue sharp as a serpent’s,

and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah

4

Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;

preserve me from violent men,

who have planned to trip up my feet.

5

The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,

and with cords they have spread a net;[a]

beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah

6

I say to the Lord, You are my God;

give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O Lord!

7

O Lord, my Lord, the strength of my salvation,

you have covered my head in the day of battle.

8

Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;

do not further their[b] evil plot, or they will be exalted! Selah

Zechariah 1:7-11 (ESV)

A Vision of a Horseman

7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying, 8 “I saw in the night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses. 9 Then I said, ‘What are these, my lord?’ The angel who talked with me said to me, ‘I will show you what they are.’ 10 So the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, ‘These are they whom the Lord has sent to patrol the earth.’ 11 And they answered the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, and said, ‘We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth remains at rest.’

The Lord’s purpose fulfilled

Those who are born again know that Jesus has made a highway to Zion- a way to the Father through the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit. The trinity is the mystery of One God (or being) with three persons. Nabeel Qureshi wrote about this from a Muslim perspective in his book, “No God but One: Allah or Jesus“. The two passages below describe God’s joy at the people of earth coming to Him. The difficulties of our earthly existence cannot compare to the powerful sweep of love that quiets us when we are forgiven of our sin. The tears of injustice are wiped away as we hear His loud exultation and singing rejoicing over the life of Christ moving in us. God does not forsake but fulfills the purpose He has for us. It is a time to sing! – Teresa #Hesingsoverus

Zechariah 1:14-20 (ESV)

14

Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;

shout, O Israel!

Rejoice and exult with all your heart,

O daughter of Jerusalem!

15

The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;

he has cleared away your enemies.

The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;

you shall never again fear evil.

16

On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:

“Fear not, O Zion;

let not your hands grow weak.

17

The Lord your God is in your midst,

a mighty one who will save;

he will rejoice over you with gladness;

he will quiet you by his love;

he will exult over you with loud singing.

18

I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival,

so that you will no longer suffer reproach.[m]

19

Behold, at that time I will deal

with all your oppressors.

And I will save the lame

and gather the outcast,

and I will change their shame into praise

and renown in all the earth.

20

At that time I will bring you in,

at the time when I gather you together;

for I will make you renowned and praised

among all the peoples of the earth,

when I restore your fortunes

before your eyes,” says the Lord.

Psalm 138: 4-8 (ESV)

4 All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,

for they have heard the words of your mouth,

5 and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,

for great is the glory of the Lord.

6 For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,

but the haughty he knows from afar.

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,

you preserve my life;

you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,

and your right hand delivers me.

8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;

your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.

Do not forsake the work of your hands.

The end of bitterness means obedience

God’s salvation brings us out of the depths of selfishness into a place of beauty. When our own bitterness keeps us from seeing opposing views, we must trust God to resurrect us in Christ’s power. Jonah eperienced God’s salvation from the root of bitterness in his heart. Those Assyrians from Ninevah were viscious and had done countless evils to the Jewish nation. Why would Jonah want them to experience God’s mercy? Only by experiencing God’s heart of mercy for himself was Jonah able to extend this grace to his enemies. – Teresa

Jonah 2: 2-9 (ESV)

2 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, 2 saying,

“I called out to the Lord, out of my distress,

and he answered me;

out of the belly of Sheol I cried,

and you heard my voice.

3

For you cast me into the deep,

into the heart of the seas,

and the flood surrounded me;

all your waves and your billows

passed over me.

4

Then I said, ‘I am driven away

from your sight;

yet I shall again look

upon your holy temple.’

5

The waters closed in over me to take my life;

the deep surrounded me;

weeds were wrapped about my head

6

at the roots of the mountains.

I went down to the land

whose bars closed upon me forever;

yet you brought up my life from the pit,

O Lord my God.

7

When my life was fainting away,

I remembered the Lord,

and my prayer came to you,

into your holy temple.

8

Those who pay regard to vain idols

forsake their hope of steadfast love.

9

But I with the voice of thanksgiving

will sacrifice to you;

what I have vowed I will pay.

Salvation belongs to the Lord!”

10 And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.

Surrounded

Imagine this revelation I had years back…that as a “middle” child, I was surrounded by buffers and cushions similar to the yoke of an egg. The yoke did not break thanks to those things around me that God set in place. He was working upstream. I was given the beautiful verse (Psalm 125:1) found in this passage by a wise mentor, Rita Clark. In turn, I passed it on to a dear co-worker in the midst of experiencing the dying process of someone near to her. Many years later, I ran into this co-worker and she was full of praise for how God worked upstream for the education of her daughters. Their family was filled again with joy. Take heart today and keep the faith. – Teresa #Hisgoodness=deliverance

The Lord Surrounds His People

A Song of Ascents.

125

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,

which cannot be moved, but abides forever.

2

As the mountains surround Jerusalem,

so the Lord surrounds his people,

from this time forth and forevermore.

3

For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest

on the land allotted to the righteous,

lest the righteous stretch out

their hands to do wrong.

4

Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,

and to those who are upright in their hearts!

5

But those who turn aside to their crooked ways

the Lord will lead away with evildoers!

Peace be upon Israel!

English Standard Version (ESV)

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.