Thought for the Week: Psalm 91

The Lord My Refuge

Though the author of most of
Psalms 90-97 are unknown,
the Object of their worship is well
known: the God of eternity (Ps 90),
the God of protection (Ps 91),
the God of greatness (Ps 92),
the God of majesty (Ps 93),
the God of vengeance (Ps 94),
the God of salvation (Ps 95),
the God of glory (Ps 96) and
the God of holiness (Ps 97).

Praise be to Jehovah Machsi:
He who dwells in the secret place
of the Most High shall abide
under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord: He is
my refuge (Jehovah Machsi)
and my fortress; my God,
in Him I will trust (Psalm 91:1-2).
Because you have made
the Lord, who is my refuge
(Jehovah Machsi), even the
Most High, your dwelling place,
no harm shall befall you,
nor shall any plague come
near your dwelling. For He shall
give His angels charge over you
to keep you (Psalm 91:9-11).

Lord Jehovah Machsi, as I dwell
in Your shelter, I will abide in
Your shadow. For You truly are
my refuge and my fortress,
my God in whom I trust.
Under Your wings, I seek
my refuge, Your faithfulness
is my shield and strength.
I have made You my refuge
and my dwelling place. Amen.

Lord, there is power in the name
Jehovah Machsi to free me from
that which holds me in bondage.
Forgive me for not accessing
that power on a regular basis; and
trying to figure it all out in my own.
Rather than simply resting in Your
refuge, I try to overcome it, all in
my own strength, which leaves me
only frustrated mostof the time.
May I know You as my refuge
and abide in Your power. Amen.

Lord Jehovah Machsi, show me
where my refuge really is. For I
often run to distractions to take my
mind off of what I’m dealing with.
Open my eyes so that I can see
as Elisha’s servant saw Your army.
Show me my refuge that I may run
there each and every time I need to.
In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.

Meditating on Romans 4-5

Walking By Faith In God (Apr 4)

After painting man’s sorry condition,
Paul turns to God’s merciful solution.
Jesus Christ’s death on the
cross has paid sin’s penalty and
satisfied God’s righteous demand.
To the one who in faith accepts
Jesus’ full payment, God stamps
across the debt of sin: “Paid in Full.”
That is justification. Its basis is
the work of Christ; its means is
the grace of God; its requirement
is faith in God and His promise.
Abraham and David are examples
showing how justification brings
peace & access,hope & forgiveness
to the one who has faith in God.

Lord, our sin points out our need
to be forgiven and be cleansed.
Although we don’t deserve it,
You God in Your lovingkindness,
reached out to forgive us;
by providing Christ to save us.
Lord, though there may be life’s
challenges, we will walk by faith.
We Believe in Your Promises;
we Allow Problems to Shape us;
we Hold On to Eternal Perspective.
In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.

Lord, we’ll Believe Your Promise:
When God promised Abraham that
he would become the father of
many nations, Abraham believed
him…even though such a promise
seemed utterly impossible!
Abraham’s faith did not weaken
even though he knew that he was
too old to be a father at the age
of 100 and that Sarah his wife had
never been able to have children.
Abraham never wavered believing
God’s promise. In fact, his faith
grew stronger…He was absolutely
convinced God was able to do
anything he promised. Because
of Abraham’s faith, God declared
him righteous (Rom 4:18-22).
Lord, like Abraham You may give
us a promise without any details.
All we can really do is to wait and
that seems extremely frustrating.
Like Abraham, we will choose
against all hope, hope anyway, and
believe what You promised; for
U are God of impossibilities. Amen

Lord, we Allow Problems Shape us:
We can rejoice too when we run
into problems and trials, for we
know that they are good for us,
they help us to endure. And
endurance develops strength of
character in us, and character
strengthens our confident
expectation of salvation.
And this expectation will not
disappoint us. For we know how
dearly God loves us (Rom 5:3-4).
Lord, You want me to trust You
during hard times. Rejoicing isn’t
natural for me, so help make it my
supernatural response to pressures
and difficulties in life. Teach me
Lord to endure so that my faith
will grow and get stronger. Amen.

Lord, we Cling to Eternal Perspectiv:
God demonstrates His own love
towards us in that while we were
still sinners, Christ died for us…
Since we’re restored to friendship
with God by the death of his Son
while we were still sinners, we will
certainly be delivered from eternal
punishment by his life. So now
we can rejoice in our wonderful
new relationship with God – all
because of what our Lord Jesus
Christ has done for us in making
us friends of God (Rom 5:8-11).
Father, I rejoice in my relationship
with You God all because of what
Jesus Christ has done for me.
Having an intimate relationship
with Jesus also enable me have
an eternal perspective of life.
I gratefully praise You for the joy
such a friendship brings. Amen.