...for not by their own sword

         did they win the land,

nor did their arm give them victory,

but Your right hand,

                  and Your arm,

      and the light of Your countenance,

for You delighted in them.

                           Psalm 44.3

(Victory and strength are from the LORD.

    His presence makes the difference

       not just in the outcome,

        but in the journey.)

And Jesus said to him, "If you can!
      All things are possible
         to him who believes."

                              Mark 9. 23

(We have no idea the extent of His power,
    no conception the depth of His purposes,
no grasp the enormity of His love.)

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God;
     for I shall again praise Him,
my help
          and my God.

                          Psalm 42.5

(Keep my eyes focused on You,
        not on circumstances.
You are my help
         and You are God.)

And His disciples answered Him,

        "How can one feed these men

          with bread here in the desert?"

And He asked them,

         "How many loaves have you?"

                            Mark 8. 4-5

(With what can I bring Him glory today?)

As for me, I am poor and needy,

but the LORD takes thought for me.

                             Psalm 40.17

(God is working still

     -- even when we don't understand.

My needs keep me focused on Him.)

But immediately he spoke to them and said,

      "Take heart,

                      it is I;

            have no fear."

                                 Mark 6. 50

(God fulfills His purposes

        even in what we don't expect,

   even in mystery,

   beyond our comprehension.)

...for today the LORD

            will appear to you.

                 Leviticus 9. 4

(Don't miss or dismiss

              what God is doing)

...for He had healed many.

                         Mark 3. 10

(No matter where He was.
Approach relationships
           with healing in your hands
           and in your heart.)

Go home to your friends,
and tell them
how much the LORD
              has done for you,
and how He has
              had mercy on you.

                       Mark 5.19

(Just tell the story
         God has given you.)

I will bless the LORD
              at all times;
His praise shall continually
       be in my mouth.

                      Psalm 34.1

(Not just a mindset,
         but a heart set.
It impacts everything about you.)

Fret not yourself;

it tends only to evil.

               Psalm 37. 8

(Worrying, 

complaining,

grumbling, 

freaking out,

all distract me from trusting Him.

Fretting changes my vision

and drains me of the strength

           I need in this situation.)

...in Your light
           do we see light.

                    Psalm 36. 9

(When we seek God
        and follow Him into it,
He causes us to
   see things we never knew were there.
We see everything differently.)

Let those who desire my vindication
shout for joy and be glad,
and say evermore,
"Great is the LORD,
who delights
        in the welfare of His servant!"
Then my tongue
    shall tell of Your righteousness
                       and of Your praise
all the day long.

                             Psalm 35. 27-28

(What is God's purpose in this?
There is no higher calling
than to let God be glorified
though it.)

Do not reprove a scoffer,

          or he will hate you;

reprove a wise man,

           and he will love you.

Give instruction to a wise man,

and he will be still wiser;

teach a righteous man

        and he will increase in learning.

                           Proverbs 9. 8-9

(The wise are easily identified

                by a teachable heart.)

...for God is love.
In this the love of God
     was made manifest among us,
that God sent His only Son into the world,
      so that we might live through Him.
In this is love,
not that we loved God
      but that He loved us
and sent His Son
      to be the expiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us,
we also ought to love one another.

                             1John 3. 8-11

(You are greatly loved.)

Happy Valentine's Day!

I sought the LORD,
          and He answered me,
and delivered me
          from all my fears.

                        Psalm 34.4

(Seek Him through it.
Fear will only distract you
     from awareness of His Presence.)

...Moses did not know
      that the skin of his face shone
because
       he had been talking with God.

                                Exodus 34. 29

(When we spend time with God,
others can always see
                        a difference,
because He changes us.)

Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses,
face to face,
as a man speaks to his friend.

                             Exodus 33.11

(Daily intimate time
             with the One who loves you,
       He who listens,
              He who guides,
                     He who responds.
It is not a matter of "Where is God?"
              but "where are we?")

You are a hiding place for me,
You preserve me from trouble,
You encompass me
             with shouts of deliverance.
I will instruct you and teach you
             the way you should go;
I will counsel you
              with my eye upon you.

                               Psalm 32. 7-8

(God will protect, preserve,
           provide and guide
when we follow Him fully
                      in all things)

Be strong,
     and let your heart take courage,
all you who wait for the LORD.

                             Psalm 31. 24

(Follow His way into it.
Don't get ahead of Him.
His timing and His purposes
           are always perfect.)

...for I was hungry and you gave Me food,
I was thirsty and you gave Me drink,
I was a stranger and you welcomed Me,
I was naked and you clothed Me,
I was sick and you vistited Me,
I was in prison and you came to Me.
...And the King will answer them,
"Truly, I say to you,
as you did it
   to one of the least of these My brethren,
                        you did it to Me.

                                Matthew 25. 35-36

(Any act of grace
          resounds with God's love and purposes.
Love God.
Love others.)

His master said to him,
"Well done,
         good and faithful servant;
you have been faithful over a little,
I will set you over much;
enter into the joy of your master."

                       Matthew 25.21

(We are not called to be successful,
        we are called to be faithful.)

Behold,
I send an angel before you,
to guard you on the way
and to bring you
    to the place which I have prepared.
Give heed to him
    and hearken to his voice...

                      Exodus 23. 20-21

(Follow God into the center
         of His purposes.)
 

The voice of the LORD

            makes the oaks to whirl,

and strips the forest bare,

and in His temple all cry,

                           "Glory!"

                      Psalm 29.9

 (The Almighty God dwells in you,

  awesome in His power,

  profound in His grace.)

...keep my teachings as the apple of your eye,
bind them on your fingers,
write them on the tablet of your heart.

                                 Proverbs 7. 2-3

(God's Word impacts what you see,
what you do,
how you respond.
He changes your day.
He changes your life.)

And one of them, a lawyer,
 asked Him a question,
                        to test Him,
"Teacher,
which is the great commandment of the law?"
And He said to him,
"You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
and with all your mind.
This is the great and first commandment.
And the second is like it,
    You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

                               Matthew 22. 35-39

(Just two items on our to-do list today
           which embrace everything.)


         

...but the people of Israel
            walked on dry ground

in the midst of the sea.

                               Exodus 15.19

(No matter where God leads,

                        He is faithful.

He has strategically placed you

            for His glory.)

Then Moses stretched out his hand

                            over the sea,

and the LORD drove the sea back

         by a strong east wind all night,

and made the sea dry land,

and the waters were divided.

                                   Exodus 14.21

(And quite suddenly,

God provides a path

            through the impossible.

Seek His way through it.)