October 31, 2023

HAVE MERCY ON ME, O GOD

Psalms 57:1-3 (56:2-4)

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me,
For my soul trusts in You;
And in the shadow of Your wings I will hope,
Until lawlessness shall pass away.
I will cry out to God most High;
My God who is my benefactor.
He sent from heaven and saved me;
He gave over to disgrace those who trample me down. (Pause)
God sent out His mercy and His truth,

Encouraging Words

Our God is real! He is alive! He reigns over all of creation! Because of these truths, we can freely call out to Him and ask for His mercy and protection. Because He loves us, and all of His creation, He gives us that mercy and acts as our benefactor. Glory be to God! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

October 30, 2023

HE WILL COME AGAIN

Acts 1:9-11

Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

Encouraging Words

So many of the world religion look backward to base their teachings and actions on. In our Christian faith we look backward for the teachings and events that lay the foundation for what we believe and look forward to the return of our King as promised 2,000 years ago. This gives us hope for tomorrow. Glory be to God!

October 29, 2023

IN GOD I HOPE

Psalms 56:3-4 (55:4-5)

I will not fear by day,
But I will hope in You.
I will praise God with my words all day long;
In God I hope; I will not be afraid; what will flesh do to me?

Encouraging Words

I love reading through the psalms and learning from David, the author of many of them. God, himself, labeled David as "a man after His own heart". David had a very diverse life filled with challenges as well as victories. He sinned in and repented completely. He also proclaimed very often that his hope was in God, and God alone. We can learn from his writings and his passion for his God. Glory be to God!

October 28, 2023

Saint of the Week

St. Ignatius of Antioch

October 27, 2023

PLUNGED INTO THE SEA

John 21:7

Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea.

Personal Challenge

How much do we really love God? How about Jesus? Do we abandon everything in our life and "plunge into the sea" when we see Him active in our lives? It is so easy to get all caught up in the tyranny of the urgent that we miss those times when Jesus shows up in our lives. Or worse yet, we are so focused on the world that we live in that we stop looking for His presence. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

October 26, 2023

HOPE IN GOD

Psalms 55:22-23 (54:23-24)

Cast your care upon the Lord,
And He shall support you;
He will never allow the righteous to be moved.
But You, O God, will bring them down into the pit of decay;
Men of blood and deceit
Shall not live even half their days.
But I will hope in You, O Lord.

Encouraging Words

We can cast our cares upon our Lord and know that He will support us. He cares for us. He loves us. He puts His hedge of protection around us. This is the benefit of putting our hope in Him. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

October 25, 2023

BLESSED

John 20:29

Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Personal Challenge

They say that seeing is believing. I wonder if this saying comes from this account of Thomas. Jesus, however, teaches that believing is seeing. He calls those of us who believe in Him, having never seen Him, blessed. He appears to raise up the believers with higher esteem than the seers. We put our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ whom we have not seen, and we begin to see Him. Praise be to God!