When life presses in and weighs us down, we have the choice to look up and come into His presence with singing. Why does this work and lift our spirit? It is in the act of worship that our mind can jump from current circumstances to lining up with the truth of His word- “the LORD is good, His steadfast love endures forever and His faithfulness to all generations”! -Teresa #perspective

Psalm 100  

1Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!

2 Serve the Lord with gladness!

    Come into his presence with singing!

3 Know that the Lord, he is God!

    It is he who made us, and we are his;[a]

    we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

    and his courts with praise!

    Give thanks to him; bless his name!

5 For the Lord is good;

    his steadfast love endures forever,

    and his faithfulness to all generations.

I took this photo during the eclipse while backpacking in Yosemite (notice the outline of the moon in the top third, middle of the picture). When tbe Psalmist asks for God’s work to be shown to us, his servants, and his glorious power to our children, I am reminded of nature- including wildlife, which indeed displays the glory of God in a powerful way. – Teresa #creatorGod #satisfiedinthemorning

Psalm 90: 14-17 (ESV)14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,

    that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,

    and for as many years as we have seen evil.

16 Let your work be shown to your servants,

    and your glorious power to their children.

17 Let the favor[d] of the Lord our God be upon us,

    and establish the work of our hands upon us;

    yes, establish the work of our hands!

The Lord spoke to Jeremiah and reminded him of His sovereignty. As the God of all flesh, YHWH was able to turn the rebellious heart of His people back to Him. Even Nebuchadnezzer was instrumental by capturing Jerusalem. The inhabitants had been involved in idol worship including offering their sons and daughters to Molech. The new covenant, promised to the nation in ch. 31, would now have opportunity to transform their repentant hearts. – Teresa #Heisable #escapethroughflames #purifiedbyfire

Jeremiah 32: 26-35 (ESV)

26 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 27 “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me? 28 Therefore, thus says the Lord: Behold, I am giving this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall capture it. 29 The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city shall come and set this city on fire and burn it, with the houses on whose roofs offerings have been made to Baal and drink offerings have been poured out to other gods, to provoke me to anger. 30 For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth. The children of Israel have done nothing but provoke me to anger by the work of their hands, declares the Lord. 31 This city has aroused my anger and wrath, from the day it was built to this day, so that I will remove it from my sight 32 because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah that they did to provoke me to anger—their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 33 They have turned to me their back and not their face. And though I have taught them persistently, they have not listened to receive instruction. 34 They set up their abominations in the house that is called by my name, to defile it. 35 They built the high places of Baal in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, though I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place,   Jeremiah was asked to deliver bitter news to wayward Israel. He also wrote a letter of hope for their future. God promised to bring them back home. In seventy years, He revealed that their fortunes would be restored. This may not have been encouraging in the moment but brought tremendous hope for their children and grandchildren. – Teresa #captivityended #wholeheartedevotionisrequired #bemycomfort

Jeremiah 29: 8-14 ( ESV)

8 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let your prophets and fortune-tellers who are with you in the land of Babylon trick you. Do not listen to their dreams, 9 because they are telling you lies in my name. I have not sent them,” says the Lord.

10 This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. 14 I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.”
Psalm 86:15-17 (ESV)

But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,

    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

16 Turn to me and be gracious to me;

    give your strength to your servant,

    and save the son of your maidservant.

17 Show me a sign of your favor,

    that those who hate me may see and be put to shame

    because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

When Jeremiah complained about the bitter message he was assigned to speak, God promised him not only the strength to stand but redemptive deliverance from the wicked. Being steadfast, unmoveable always abounding in the work of the Lord happens when we understand that our labor is not in vain (1 Cor 15:58). – Teresa #preciousutterings #beneathascarletsky

Jeremiah 15:19-21 (ESV)

19 Therefore thus says the Lord:

“If you return, I will restore you,

    and you shall stand before me.

If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,

    you shall be as my mouth.

They shall turn to you,

    but you shall not turn to them.

20 And I will make you to this people

    a fortified wall of bronze;

they will fight against you,

    but they shall not prevail over you,

for I am with you

    to save you and deliver you,

declares the Lord.

21 I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked,

    and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.”

Being a citizen of heaven means we have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. His ability to transform us from earthly mortality to heavenly glory reveals His Lordship over both the natural and the supernatural. It doesn’t always make logical sense but wisdom transforms us through His word. – Teresa #theWordofGod #SaviorandLord

 Philippians 3:20, 21 (ESV)

20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

I read an article this morning on emotional intelligence and why some people are liked more than others. (And this matters?…why?) We are social beings and rely on this safety net of social acceptance. When the Savior was despised and rejected, mankind felt it was God’s judgement against Him. In actuality, it was God’s judgement of us and our iniquities that He bore in our stead. We may reject certain personality traits but in essence our judgement is not always accurate of who truly loves us! – Teresa #whowillaydowntheirlifeforafriend

Isahiah 53: 4-6 (ESV)

4 Surely he has borne our griefs

    and carried our sorrows;

yet we esteemed him stricken,

    smitten by God, and afflicted.

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;

    he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

    and with his wounds we are healed.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray;

    we have turned—every one—to his own way;

and the Lord has laid on him

    the iniquity of us all.

When facing a cunning or crafty opponent with doctrines that are meant to divide, Paul reminds us of our choice to use mature discernment. Our voice speaking His word in love connects us in a powerful way to other believers!  Rather than debate about errors we will grow up into Christ Jesus (and be built up) when we speak His truth in a relationship of love (by meeting needs*). – Teresa #Heisheadofthebody #thechurch 

*Dr. Gil Steiglitz

Ephesians 4: 11-16 (ESV)

 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds[c] and teachers,[d] 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,[e] to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

If someone teaches that God does not keep score, they may have forgetten the Biblical outcome for the redeemed. The narrow way is called narrow for a reason- the difficulty of the journey is contrasted to the glory of the promise in the end. Those who are ransomed rejoice at their good fortune. – Teresa #everlastingjoy #wayofholiness

 Isaiah 35: 1-10 (ESV)

35 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;

    the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;

2 it shall blossom abundantly

    and rejoice with joy and singing.

The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,

    the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.

They shall see the glory of the Lord,

    the majesty of our God.

3 Strengthen the weak hands,

    and make firm the feeble knees.

4 Say to those who have an anxious heart,

    “Be strong; fear not!

Behold, your God

    will come with vengeance,

with the recompense of God.

    He will come and save you.”

5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

    and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer,

    and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.

For waters break forth in the wilderness,

    and streams in the desert;

7 the burning sand shall become a pool,

    and the thirsty ground springs of water;

in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down,

    the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

8 And a highway shall be there,

    and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;

the unclean shall not pass over it.

    It shall belong to those who walk on the way;

    even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.[g]

9 No lion shall be there,

    nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;

they shall not be found there,

    but the redeemed shall walk there.

10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return

    and come to Zion with singing;

everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;

    they shall obtain gladness and joy,

    and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Although the desolate woman has no husband she has more children than the one under the law. The law is the ruling husband of a woman in slavery. The promise frees desolate women to bear extreme fruit!- Teresa

Galatians 4;22-26 (ESV)

21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. 23 But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. 24 Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia;[f] she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written,

“Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear;
    break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!

For the children of the desolate one will be more

    than those of the one who has a husband.”