Serving God -John 12:25-26

I haven't been as good posting lately, (I'm blaming that for a lot of school and being on vacation), but I thought I'd get something in tonight.

"He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor."

A Heart Set on Pilgrimage -Psalms 84:3-7

...and I caught up missing yesterday! In David's poetry, we see the promise given to those who seek and rely on God.

"Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young - even Your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; They will still be praising You. Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a spring; they rain also covers is with pools. They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion."

Your Heart Shall Live -Psalms 69:32-36

"The humble shall see this and be glad; And you who seek God, your hearts shall live. For the LORD hears the poor, and does not despise His prisoners. Let heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and everything that moves in them. For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah, that they may dwell there and possess it. Also, the descendants of His servants shall inherit it, and those who love His name shall dwell in it."

To Live With Him -1 Thessalonians 5:1-2,6-11

This passage is a great reminder/encouragement. Since the day of the Lord is coming, we should continue to seek Him. It ends with the promise that Jesus died for us so we could live with Him.

"But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night....Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing."

To Be a Doorkeeper -Psalms 84:10-12

"For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You!"

Those Who God Down to the Sea in Ships -Psalms 107:23-32

This is a long passage, but really good. This was the promise from Scripture that my Dad shared with me at my senior piano recital when I graduated from high school.

When we are going through life, we will hit rough times...we just need to remember to cry out to God!

"Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters, they see the works of the LORD, and His wonders in the deep. For He commands and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up the waves of the sea. They mount up to the heavens, they go down again to the depths; Their soul melts because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end. Then they cry out to the LORD in their trouble, and He brings them out of their distresses. He calms the storm, so that its waves are still. Then they are glad because they are quiet; So He guides them to their desired haven. Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people, and praise Him in the company of the elders."

He Delivered Them -Psalms 107:4-7

"They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way; They found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses. And He led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city for a dwelling place."

It Is Good For Me -Psalms 73:27-28

"For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish; You have destroyed all those who desert You for harlotry. But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all Your works."

Refuge -Psalms 14:6

"You shame the counsel of the poor, But the LORD is his refuge."

Yet He Thinks On Me -Psalms 40:17

"But I am poor and needy; Yet the LORD thinks upon me. You are my help and my deliverer; Do not delay, O my God."

Honeycomb -Proverbs 24:13-14

"My son, eat honey because it is good, and the honeycomb which is sweet to your taste; So shall the knowledge of wisdom be to your soul; If you have found it, there is prospect, And your hope will not be cut off."

You Will Answer Me -Psalms 86:7

Well, I haven't really been writing anything extra in my posts lately. Maybe it's because I've been a little lazy, but probably it's due to the fact that I've been swamped with a lot of school! On top of that, I'm pretty bad with my schedule, so I tend to not post until really late...

But I just wanted to comment on this one, as this encouragement is huge for me right now. I really feel like the things God has me going through are really bringing to light all the weakness and failures that I have. It's hard when multiple struggles hit you all at once!

This verse, however, reminds me to put my hope in and seek help from God...why? Because God will answer me.

"In the day of my trouble I will call upon You, For You will answer me."

Take Heart!

Help in Our Weaknesses -Romans 8:26-27

"Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God."

Evening and Morning -Psalms 55:17

"Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, And He shall hear my voice."

He Gave Ear to Me -Psalms 77:1

"I cried out to God with my voice-To God with my voice; And He gave ear to me."

Perfect Peace -Isaiah 26:3

"You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You."

Ready to Forgive -Psalms 86:5

"For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You."

In Time of Trouble -Psalms 27:4-6

"One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple. For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. And now my head shall be lifted up above me enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD."

Ask -Matthew 7:7-8

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."

Now, we have to be careful and remember that this promise doesn't necessarily mean we will get whatever what we want if we pray for it. The Book of James reminds us:

"You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures." (James 4:3)

Being Blessed -James 1:22-25

In James we find the secret to being blessed...obey God's Word!

"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does."