OUR TRUSTWORTHY FATHER
XOCHITL DIXON- My six-foot-three son, Xavier, liften his giggling toddler, Xarian, into the air with ease. He wrapped his large hand around his son's tiny feet, securing them firmly in his palm. Stretching out his long arm he encouraged his son to balance on his own but kept his free hand at the ready to catch him if necessary.
Xarian straightened his legs and stood. With his smile wide and his arms resting at his side, his eyes locked on his father's gaze. (Baby standing on dad's hands)
The prophet Isaiah declared the benefits of focusing on our heavenly Father: "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you: (Is. 26:30)." He encouraged God's people to be committed to seeking Him in the Scriptures and connected with Him through prayer and worship. Those faithful ones would experience a confident trust built through their established fellowship with the Father.
As God's beloved children, we can cry out with boldness: "Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD himself, is the Rock eternal" (v.4) Why? Because our Father in heaven is trustworthy. He and the Scriptures never change.
As we keep our eyes fixed on our heavenly father, He will keep our feet planted firmly in His hands. We can count on Him to continue being loving, faithful, and good forever!"
Let's pray-
Father, as the giggling toddler was balanced on his dad's hand, may we have our feet firmly planted in Your Hands. We know that You're ready to catch us if we start to fall!
As the prophet Isaiah declared the benefits of focusing on You, may we keep in mind that You will keep us in perfect peace when our minds are steadfastly committed to seeking You through prayer and worship.
Remind us often that You are trustworthy and don't change at all. Help us keep our eyes fixed on Your Ability to keep our feet planted in Your Word!
In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. Amen
#95 Testimony- of a pastor
Huegel tells of a pastor who longed for new awakening in his church. He convened a week's meetings of nothing but priase. At first the people did not understand and kept asking and begging God for things. But the pastor kept explaining that he wanted nothing but praise.
By Wednesday the service began to change. Thursday saw much praise, and even more was evident on Friday. By Sunday "A new day had dawned. Sunday was a day such as the church had never seen. It was genuine revival. God's glory filled the temple. Believers returned to their first love. Hearts were melted . . . It was wonderful. Praise had done it."
Our Word today on Praise-
One of the greatest values of praise is this: it decentralizes the self. Praise takes self off the throne of a person's life. Worship and praise of God makes a drastic change in our lives. Praise demands a shift of center from self to God.
A person cannot praise without giving up his overt concern with himself. When praise becomes a way of life our kind, merciful and eternally-loving God becomes the center of our lives rather than our weak and broken self. Then our personality becomes properly blended and put togeher, and stresses and strains disappear.
This results in mental wholeness. Praise actually prduces a kind of forgetfulness of self; forgetting self produces mental health."
1511-1515 One-line Scriptures for those of you who want to learn some more verses this week- or to review them from when they were first posted-
1511- Ez. 11:5a "And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me and said unto me, Speak."
1512- Ez. 3:10b "All my words that I speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and
hear with thine ears."
1513- Prov. 7:4 "Say unto wisdom, thou art my sister; and call understanding
thy kinswoman."
1514- Is. 56:4b "Choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant."
1515- Is. 43:25 "I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own
sake, and will not remember thy sins."
Some encouraging words-
Having our prayer time first each day, giving the Lord the best part of the day, we'll set the tone for the rest of the day. A good time to tune up an instrument is before the concert!
Church Notes:
God's desire is to build sanctuaries in His people! The original Sanctuary for the Israelites had very specific directions and details for every piece in the Tabernacle. It was to remind His people where they came from and to give them hope through the skillfully crafted pieces that He loved them.
He gave them a place to wash hands and feet, used special wood, had each piece beautifully and artistically made.
As the Holy God is calling us to be holy, we're set apart and especially designed for His purpose, once sin is removed through the cleansing of the blood of Jesus. We become the temples of God. He wants to dwell with us, and to instill special giftings, so we'll be pictures of Jesus to our family and friends.
#95 Hymn- How Firm a Foundation 
The information about this song, is taken from the book by Robert J. Morgan, THEN SINGS MY SOUL (p. 83)
Robert Keene may be the author of "How Firm a Foundation, as the letter, "K" was the only thing given as its author. It first appeard in a selection of "A selection of Hymns from the Best Authors", and intended to be an appendix to Dr. Watts' Psalms and Hymns, published in 1787. It was a runaway hit, especially among the Baptists. It went through eleven British editions during Pastor John Rippon's life time, of the Lane Baptist Church in London. An american edition appreared in 1820.
The unique power of this hymn is due to the fact that each of the seven original stanzas were based on famous biblical promises from Is. 41:10; Isaish 43:2; 2 Cor. 12:9; and Hebrews 13:5.
Upcoming posts:
7/19th- NEW HOPE IN JESUS- Amy Boucher
26th- WORTHY OF ALL PRAISE- Bill Prowder
8/2nd- WHAT I CONTROL and WHAT'S IN GOD'S HANDS- Karen Girl Friday
Jean's blog (Click to see snippets of the 7 recent posts)
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