Friday, December 18, 2015
(6:21 a.m.)
Blessed Father God,
Thank You. You are faithful.
You are good. Holy. Perfect. Loving. Kind. Good. There's that word
again. Good. Hmm.
Blessed God, thank You that
I get to come to You. Readily. Without an agenda. And able to
consider the many things You are.
Thank You Father. Thank You
for ready access to Your Word. An incredibly simple approach to Your
Truth and goodness.
Psalm 100:5 (Common
English Bible) doesn't hesitate in
telling us, “Because the LORD is good, His loyal
love lasts forever; His faithfulness lasts generation after
generation.”
Beginning with verse one of
this brief psalm of praise, we are reminded to “Shout with joy to
the LORD, O earth!” We are to worship You with
gladness. Come before You, singing with joy (v. 2).
Verse three tells us to
acknowledge that You are God. You made us. We're Yours. Your people.
The sheep of Your pasture. We are to enter Your gates with
thanksgiving [♫in
our hearts♫]
and go into Your courts with praise. We are directed to give You
thanks and bless Your name (v. 4).
Father, thank You for the
freedom to do this very thing. Thank You for the reminders of the
importance of keeping You first and foremost in our hearts, souls,
minds and strength. Thank You Father that You alone are the strength
of our hearts and our portion forever (Psalm 73:26).
Blessed Father, You bless
us. You keep us (Numbers 6:24). You make Your face shine upon us and
are gracious to us (v. 25). You watch over us and give us peace (26).
And I get to be reminded of all this because I remembered that You
are good. Thank You Father.
Quoting Don Moen's song to
You, ♫There
is nothing on earth I desire beside You My heart and my strength many
times they fail But there is one Truth that always will prevail God
is the strength of my heart... And my portion forever♫
Turning to Bible Gateway I
read the various translations of this particular Truth (Psalm 73:26).
“My body and mind may waste away, but Elohim
remains the foundation of my life and my inheritance forever”
(Names
of God).
Easy-to-Read
says, “Maybe my mind and body will become weak, but God is my source
of strength. He is mine forever.”
Expanded
Bible,
“My body and mind [heart] may become weak, but God is my strength
[the Rock of my heart]. He is mine [my portion] forever.”
Lexham
English Bible,
“My flesh and heart failed, but
God is
the strength
of my heart and my reward forever.”
The
Living Bible,
“My heart fails; my spirits droop, yet God remains!”
New
English Translation,
“My flesh and my heart may grow weak, but God always protects my
heart and gives me stability.”
New
International Reader's Version,
“... You are everything I will ever need.”
New
Living Translation,
“... health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak...”
The
Voice,
“I admit
how
broken I am in body and spirit...”
And
this from The
Message,
“You're all I want in heaven! You're all I want on earth! When my
skin sags and my bones get brittle, GOD
is rock-firm and faithful. Look! Those who left You are falling
apart! Deserters, they'll never be heard from again. But I'm in the
very presence of GOD
– oh, how refreshing it is! I've made Lord GOD
my home. GOD,
I'm telling the world what You do!”
Thank
You Father. Thank You for reminding me that You are good. Use me this
day to tell the world of Your goodness. Empower me to live each moment in Your
hope, love and joy. I love You Father. Thank You that You are good!
Work me to Your good. Thank You. I love You. Amen.
(630
words ~ 7:59 a.m.)