Patricia Raybon- My grandchildren are running around my backyard. Playing games? No, pulling weeds. "Pulling them up by the roots!" the youngest says, showing me a hefty prize.
Her delight as we tackled weeds that day was how much we enjoyed plucking the weedy roots—clearing away each pesky menace. Before the joy, however, came the choice to go after them. (Google image)
Intentional weeding is also the first step in removing personal sin. Thus, David prayed: "Search me, God, and know my heart . . . See if there is any offensive way in me" (Psalm 139:23-24).
What a wise approach, to go after our sin by asking God to show it to us. He above all knows everything about us. "You have searched me, LORD, and you know me," wrote the psalmist. "You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar" (vv. 1-2).
"Such knowledge," David added, "is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain" (v. 6) Even before a sin takes root, therefore, God can alert us to the danger. He knows our "landscape." So when a sneaky sinful attitude tries to take root, He's first to know and point it out.
"Where can I go from your Spirit," wrote David. "Where can I flee from your presence?" (v. 7). May we closely follow our Savior to higher ground! [3/31/21 Our Daily Bread]
Father, may we learn lessons from Patricia's grandchildren, to get excited about pulling up unwanted weeds. Intentional weeding of personal sin that is offensive to You, is a wise approach to having our hearts to be clean.
Taking the time to spend in Your presence to become aware of what displeases You, is the start of what can be a soul-searching process. You above all know everything about us. Your Word states that You know when we sit down and when we rise, and You also perceive our thoughts before we even think them!
Such knowledge was too wonderful for King David, and is for us too. Help us to be aware of sinful attitudes that try to take root in our souls, so we can see them and root them out! Help us follow Jesus to higher ground, for it's in His name we pray. Amen.
Our Ambassador to Israel, Michael David Evens' comments:
"God is a God of deliverance. When we are surrounded by trouble and enemies, He is able to reach down and guard us from every threat and danger." [Michael David Evens]
Psalm 144:7-10 "Stretch out your hand from above; Rescue me and deliver me out of great waters, from the hand of foreigners, whose mouth speaks lying words, and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. I will sing a new song to You, O God; on a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to you, the one who gives salvation to kings, who delivers David His servant from the deadly sword."
491-495 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-
491- Ps. 70:1 "Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me. O LORD."
492- Ps. 119 :77 "Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live: for thy law is my delight."
493- Ecc. 7:9 "Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools."
494- Ps. 33:12 "Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance."
495- Nahum 1:7 "The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble: and he knoweth them that trust in him."
Quotes for today-
~ Eugene H. Peterson- 'Exile is the worst that reveals the best. 'It's hard believing,' says Faulkner, 'but disaster seems to be good for people." When the superfluous is stripped away we find the essential—and the essential is God. Normal life is full of distractions and irrelevancies. Then catastrophe: Dislocation. Exile. Illness. Accident. Job loss. Divorce. Death. The reality of our lives is rearranged without anyone consulting us or waiting for our permission. We are no longer at home.' " [p.156, Run with the Horses, by Eugene H. Peterson]
~ Winn Collier- "Transformation happens whenever we open ourselves to see another's experience, looking beyond our own vision and encountering another's pain, fear, or hopes. When we follow Jesus' example and 'do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit' and instead 'in humility value others about [our]selves,' then we notice things we would nave missed otherwise (Phil. 2:3).
Our concerns broaden. We ask different questions. Rather than being preoccupied with only our own needs or angst, we become invested in others' well-being. Rather than looking to '[our] own interest,' we become committed 'to the interest of . . . others' (v. 4). Rather than protecting what we assume we need to thrive, we joyfully pursue whatever helps others flourish." [Taken from 4/25/21 ODB]
Words of insight-
"In the Bible we read of God's Omniscience—His knowledge of everything. In 1 Samuel 2:3, Hannah declares that He's the "God who knows." In Psalm 44:21, the psalmist says "he knows the secrets of the heart."
In Psalm 139, David marvels that God knows his every move and thought (vv. 1-4). Yet instead of trembling with fear, David's awestruck at the thought that God has such intimate knowledge of him (v. 6). Why? Because David has a close relationship with
God—he loves and is loved by Him.
As a result, he can ask God to search his heart and, if he's found wanting, to lead him down the right path (vv. 23-24). Our all-seeing and all-knowing God "searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought" (1 Chronicles 28:9). [Alyson Kieda, 3/31/21 ODB devotional].
The North Country Christian Fellowship Center Churches,
located in the St. Lawrence county of NY,
broadcast their Sunday services at 10 or 10:15
You can view past services too.
Helpful ways the Lord helped me in my marriage
Upcoming posts-
#121 Claim God's Promise for Salvation or Need
11th-Tuesday's post- Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
#122 How to Prepare Prayer Lists
13th- Thursday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
_________________11 days vacation_________________
#123 How to Agree in Prayer
25th- Tuesday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
#124 My Prayer of Commitment in Intercession [Duewel]
27th- Thursday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
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