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Thursday, June 5, 2025

Do You Call Upon God For Help?

                                                                    He Is Our Help  

If our relationship with God was strong, unwavering, and intimate, would we automatically call on His name first? In other words, would we call out to Him first if we saw a storm coming?

            The question should be, do we believe He will save us?


That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.  A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” Mark 4:35-41

 

                                                                                    


            When we are in the middle of a storm, do we let doubt inch its way into our minds? If we lean toward doubt, this creates thoughts of fear. Doubt is a breeding ground for fear. It is the tool of our enemy, satan (I never capitalize his name).

           

            A question we might want to ask the Lord is, will He stop the storm for us as He did for the disciples on the Sea of Galilee.


If we listen, we can hear the banter in our minds, going back and forth. “Will He save us?”

 “Sure, I think He will, maybe.”

 

Listen carefully, you will see where the doubting phase begins in the mind. “Well, I might not deserve it.”

 

Then the questions repeat. “Will He calm the storm?”

 

“Will He bring us through?”

 

“Why hasn’t He done something?”

 

“What is He waiting for?”

 

          “Where is He?”

 

          “Doesn’t He know I am going through this terrible storm?”

 

          “Why am I going through this?”

 

       “What did I do to deserve this?”

 

          “When is He is going to do something?”

 

Do any of these questions sound familiar to you? Why do we wonder if He will do the same for us as He did for the disciples? Don’t we think we are as important to Him as they were?

 

Okay, that question brings us into the phase of comparing. We are now comparing us to the disciples in the boat. We say, “Well after all, they were disciples, I am just me. I am not important like they were.” If we let this train of thought continue along this track it will take us down into a pit of despair. We will sink into an abyss as dark and black as the Sea of Galilee was that night for the disciples in their storm.

 

On the other hand, it is possible we will not even think about Him. We are so frightened and busy trying to keep our head above water and figure out what to do to save ourselves.

          

            It could also be that we tried asking Him for help once in our past and we did not feel He answered us. So, we figure why bother waiting around to ask Him to help us now with this storm; odds are He may not help. We think He does not care, or He does not bother with things like that. Some people believe we are supposed to help ourselves, right? We should not depend on others, which would include Him. If that is our thinking process, then of course we are going to try to figure it out for ourselves––independently of Him. We will try to ride out the storm and hope it does not take us under.

 

If we know Him, really know Him, then we have a close relationship with Him, and we trust Him and call upon Him immediately. We do not doubt. He will either quiet the storm or shore us up and bring us through the storm.

Our faith in Him will bring us through. Our faith will grow as we come to know Him better. This can only happen if we are spending time with Him, reading His word, studying His word, meditating on His word––praying, talking with Him.

                                                          

                                                             

Prayer

 Oh Father, I do want a close relationship with You. I want to know You like the back of my hand. I want to know what You think; I want to know Your will and Your desires for me. I want to know the plans You have for me, for good not evil to give me a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

 

Excerpt from my book Storms in Life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday, May 31, 2025

How to Receive Blessings

 

Bless the Lord

“Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” Psalms 103:1-2


 

Yes, we are to extol, glorify, and praise the Lord. We do so when we say, “Bless the Lord.” You will notice, David is telling his soul to “bless the Lord.” We are to bless the Lord with everything in us. Bless His holy name. We also are not to forget all His benefits.

What are those benefits? Psalms 103:3-5 says, “He forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.”

As you can see, we have plenty to be thankful for, plenty to praise the Lord for and bless His holy name. When we fully grasp what our benefits are, how can we not be thankful? He forgives us of our sins, heals our diseases, redeems our lives from destruction, crowns us with loving kindness and tender mercies, satisfies our mouth with good things and renews our youth like the eagle’s. Those are amazing benefits.

Every day, should we not be thankful and praise Him for these benefits and for what He continues to do for us?

Each day upon rising, we could start our day by saying to God, “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” (Psalms 103:1-2)

Doing this adds a bonus blessing: our day starts focused on Him. This helps us, throughout the day, to walk with Him. It also reminds us of our wonderful position in the Lord. We are His children.

 

Prayer: Oh, gracious God, let praise and thankfulness be on my lips daily for these benefits you have given me. Write them on my heart so my focus stays on you each day. Amen


This is an excerpt from my book, God's Prayer Power.

Friday, May 23, 2025

Protection and Guidance–Safe

 “For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore, for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me.”  Psalm 31:3

 


What I like about this verse is our focus is immediately on God. We recognize that God is our source. He is our protection. He keeps us stable regardless of what is going on in our lives. We can depend on Him. The word fortress is all encompassing. Think about a fortress…strong walls, fortified. We are safe in Him.

In our world, we need to feel we are safe and secure. And we can be in our God. He watches over His children. His eyes are looking over everything, going to-and-fro, making sure we are protected.

After we know we are safe and secure, then we asked Him to lead us and guide us. We say for His name’s sake, lead and guide us. Because of God’s character and reputation, we want His divine direction in the challenges we face. He is perfect, we are not. Only by His leading us can we bring honor and glory to Him.

Prayer:

Oh Mighty God, let our personal identity, hope, and values be found in You, and in You alone. Do not let our circumstances blind us. Let us remember to put our trust in You. For You are our rock and our fortress, for thou name's sake lead us, and guide us through the days ahead. Amen

(The excerpt of the post was taken from my book, God's Prayer Power.)

Monday, June 24, 2024

Complaining or Thanking?


 In Psalm 78:52 the Bible says, "But He brought His people out like a flock, He lead them like sheep through the wilderness.


When we look back at the Israelites leaving Egypt we can see why the scripture compares them to sheep. He did lead them, protected them, and provided for them day and night. Yet after all He had done, they grumbled and whined.

I had to ask myself how often do I do that. With all the Lord does for me daily, do I still complain that it isn't enough? 

Lord, forgive me for my complaining. I thank you for all you have done for me. For my salvation, for eternal life with you, for your healing, and for your provisions while here on earth. Help me each day to start my day thanking you for all you do for me.

Blessings!

Monday, June 17, 2024

A Brief Rest



God said, "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28




God is so gracious to us. He knows when we need rest. Several weeks ago, I had

retina surgery and rested my eye. It is healing and I am doing well. During this time

I followed the Lord's words and rested.

Looking forward to being back within a few days.




God blessings to all!