Psalm 138:1-3 (ESV)
138 I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
before the gods I sing your praise;
2 I bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
for you have exalted above all things
your name and your word.[a]
3 On the day I called, you answered me;
my strength of soul you increased.[b]
When is our granddaughter most satisfied and calm? …after her mama feeds her! All her needs are met for that moment. Even so, we are full of hope and calm pervades our stormy circumstances after taking in the body and blood of Christ. We can experience spiritually abundant life, which is more than enough, when we partake. – Teresa #communion # onewithHim #Christinthecommonplace
Psalm 131: 1-3
131 O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
3 O Israel, hope in the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore.
How do we know we are blessed? God turns us from our wickedness through the powerful love act of His Son, Jesus Christ the LORD. Some interpret this passage as referring to another prophet but the Holy Spirit (through Moses and Peter) has encouraged our hearts by explaining that it has to be God (aka His Son). Only He can capably turn us from our sin once and for all. – Teresa #allotherprophetsfallshort
Acts 3: 22-26 (ESV)
22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ 24 And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. 25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ 26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”
In the midst of multiple ways to gain spiritual assistance, the people are reminded of Creator God’s unfailing ability to keep them protected. Although we all like sheep have a tendency to go astray, we can return our eyes to His ever present help and call to Him. – Teresa #Omnipotent#Omniscient#Omnipresent
Psalm 121: 1-8 (ESV) (bold added for emphasis)
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved;he who keeps you will not slumber.4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
Thank you, King of the Jews, for paying the penalty for my sin. Thank you, LORD, for your amazing love…Go to Him, in your weary state. Go to Him, and He will give you rest. Give up striving, give up figuring it all out and let Him lead the way. – Teresa #followingChrist’slead
Matthew 11:28 (NIV)
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
The beautiful flowering cactus represents beauty amidst adversity. David recognized this in Bathsheeba as he was truthful with himself re: who he was- a fallen man who took Uriah’s life and wife, unmercifully. The consequence of his sin was difficult for Bathsheeba, as she mourned the death of her baby. After David repented, he was able to see beyond himself and comfort his new wife vs. use her for his own pleasure. This action was blessed, resulting in a baby who was named “beloved by God”, Jedidiah (aka Solomon). – Teresa
2 Samuel 12: 24-25 (ESV)
24 Then David comforted his wife, Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her, and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. And the Lord loved him 25 and sent a message by Nathan the prophet. So he called his name Jedidiah,[c] because of the Lord.
The type of peace that Jesus gave brought His disciples safely through witnessing firsthand cruel and unjust deeds done to the One they loved. He was about to leave them but not abandon them, for the Holy Spirit would come to indwell them. The Holy Spirit would act as a seal (or authorizing mark). He would be sent from the Father in Jesus’ name as a significant downpayment or deposit, guaranteeing their eternal inheritance. Although at times it appeared as though the ruler of this world had won (aka Satan and the demonic presence that blinded the minds of those running “the world system”), Jesus said that Satan had no claim on Him. Rather, Jesus laid down His life for us in obedience to the Father’s command. – Teresa #Lovewasinourfavor
John 14: 25-31 (ESV)
25 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, 31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.
When we are tempted to throw in the towel or take our irritation out on those closest to us, I propose that we sing. In His provision we are never lacking. He loves when we recognize Him as our strength and our song. If we truly rely on God’s salvation, then His right hand valiantly rescues us from sinful solutions to His righteous ways. – Teresa #worshiptheLORDwithgladness
Psalm 118: 14-16 (ESV)
14 The Lord is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
15 Glad songs of salvation
are in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the Lord does valiantly,
16 the right hand of the Lord exalts,
the right hand of the Lord does valiantly!”
Our daughter sang in the University Choir under Donald Kendrick while earning her bachelor’s degree. To know the music, she had to spend hours in practice (to sing complex arrangements from memory). Although the musicians knew the music, their conductor understood the music at another level. Jesus Christ our Lord gives another statement of His deity in this passage. The people knew from memory the facts about Messiah but Jesus knew God the Father in a way that surpassed human logic. – Teresa #truthwasentousfromGod
John 7: 25-30 (ESV)
25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? 26 And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.” 28 So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. 29 I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” 30 So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.
These are the lovely hands of our grandaughter. As the Lord brings peace to our lives, we have the opportunity to acknowledge His victories. His powerful hand against our enemy is all we need for life and godliness. Set up an “Ebenezer” today as a reminder of where your help comes from.- Teresa #Godishelpertoman
1 Samuel 7: 12-14 (ESV)
12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen[b] and called its name Ebenezer;[c] for he said, “Till now the Lord has helped us.” 13 So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14 The cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath, and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites.
Reconnection 
