Hope

Sing out your thanks to the Lord; sing praises to our God with a harp. He covers the heavens with clouds, provides rain for the earth, and makes the grass grow in the mountain pastures. He gives food to the wild animals and feeds the ravens when they cry. He takes no pleasure in the strength of a horse or in human might. No, the Lord’s delight is in those who fear him, those who put their hope in his unfailing love. Psalm 147: 7-11 NLT

What does God really love?

According to the psalmist, God loves it when we fear him. 

The psalmist is not speaking of terror. Instead, the fear for God is a very healthy and loving respect. In fact, the next sentence speaks of putting our hope in God’s unfailing love. That is another way of saying you fear God: you hope in God’s unfailing love.

The interesting thing about hoping in God it is not something you can put your finger on. You can’t measure what you hope for. You can give it words and emotions but not scientific facts. Hope is otherworldly and fragile. Hope can give strength and conviction. To hope in God means to hope in something you cannot even imagine but are assured will happen. 

God, I give you my hope. I hope in your unfailing love. I give you my respect and my life. I am in your hands. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Copyright 2013 Amelia G. Sims

Feeling Brokenhearted

Praise the Lord! How good to sing praises to our God! How delightful and how fitting! The Lord is rebuilding Jerusalem and bringing the exiles back to Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds. He counts the stars and calls them by name. How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension! The Lord supports the humble, but he brings the wicked down into the dust. Psalm 147: 1-6 NLT

I am hanging on to the fact that God heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds. I guess I am feeling a bit brokenhearted today. You wouldn't know it by the smile on my face (fake) or the clothes I am wearing (nice). But inside, I am torn to pieces.

I am depending on God's strength and healing power. I need to have God's bandages on my wounds right now. I need God's medicine and God's nursing to get me back to health. I am confident that God understands where I am and what has happened in my own life.

I don't think I am into the enthusiastic praise that is coming from the lips of the psalmist today, but I know I will again praise God. I know that when God heals me from the inside out that I will again be among those shouting God's praises.

What are you hanging on today in this scripture?

God, you are so good. You rebuild, heal, bandage, name, understand and support us. We give you thanks and praise. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Copyright 2013 Amelia G. Sims

A prayer from Psalm 146

He made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them. He keeps every promise forever. He gives justice to the oppressed and food to the hungry. The Lord frees the prisoners. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down. The Lord loves the godly. The Lord protects the foreigners among us. He cares for the orphans and widows, but he frustrates the plans of the wicked. The Lord will reign forever. He will be your God, O Jerusalem, throughout the generations. Praise the Lord! Psalm 146: 6-10 NLT

God, you made heaven and earth! You are an awesome creator and we marvel at all of creation.

You keep every promise forever. You never forget your promises but you do forget our trespasses -- thanks to Jesus!

You free prisoners -- and, God, you know what bars I have been behind in my life. Free at last!

You are one who gives justice to the oppressed and food to the hungry. I am too quick to judge and only want my selfish rights to be acknowledged. But you know true justice and who is truly hungry.

You open the eyes of the blind. Boy, have I been blind most of my life -- open my eyes, Lord, help me to see!

You lift up those who are weighed down. I have taken on so much unimportant stuff that simply bends me over. I am weighed down. Lift up my load, and take it from me! I promise not to grab it back.

You love the godly. I am trying to be among those, Lord.

You protect the foreigners among us. What is that, Lord? You want me to do the same? Does that include illegal immigrants? Oh. Okay.

You care for orphans and widows but frustrates the plans of the wicked. May my plans never be wicked. May my plans be yours -- to care for the orphan and the widow, the helpless and the lost. 

You, God, will reign forever!

Amen.

Copyright 2013 Amelia G. Sims

Where's your confidence?

Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there. When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them. But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God. Psalm 146: 1-5 NLT 

As I was typing this verse, the President came on the television (I don’t normally have the television on but my mother-in-law is staying with us -- see yesterday’s blog). Seeing this made me think of how much we put our confidence in our political candidates and our political parties -- no matter which way we swing. 

Yet, the psalmist reminds us that the powerful - from politicians to investors - cannot help us. They are human, too. When they breathe their last, they also become dust. Their power and influence is only skin deep. Their plans often die with them.

But being a follower of God is different. When we put our hope, trust and confidence in God, we know we shall receive help. God will last beyond our own mortal lives. God is infinitely graceful and powerful. God is not just another politician or corporate CEO. God is who God is.

God, help me to put my full confidence in you rather than so-called powerful people. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Copyright 2013 Amelia G. Sims

My dying breath

Praise the Lord! Let all that I am praise the Lord. I will praise the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath. Psalm 146: 1-2 NLT

I have been thinking of a lot of end of life issues lately. My parents just bought into a retirement community -- complete with nursing home if necessary. In addition, my mother-in-law has been living with us for the last couple of months due to her health issues. And the mother of one of my church members has chosen not to go through dialysis. 

So, I have been focusing on housing and health care.

But the psalm tells me that there are other issues.

We are to sing God’s praises up until we draw our last breath.

How many times do we think of that? We are so focused on our bodies that we forget our spirituality. Our discipleship does not end with retirement or downsizing. 

We are to be faithful until we die.

I guess I have thought about patients with Alzheimer's or dementia. What must their relationship with God be like? Do they pray? Have they forgotten God? Has God forgotten them? 

I am not jumping to the end of my life yet. What all this makes me realize is that I need to do a better job of using each breath to praise God NOW and not wait for forty years in the future.

Praise the Lord! Let all that I am praise the Lord. I will praise you, Lord, as long as I live. I will sing praises to my you with my dying breath. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Copyright 2013 Amelia G. Sims

Hope

The Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads. The eyes of all look to you in hope; you give them their food as they need it. When you open your hand, you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness. The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth. He grants the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cries for help and rescues them. The Lord protects all those who love him, but he will destroy the wicked. I will praise the Lord, and may everyone on earth bless his holy name forever and ever. Psalm 145: 14-21 NLT

Sometimes I think we Christians are incredibly self-absorbed and too focused on our mortality. We are always praying for people to be healed or removed from suffering. We want to live longer -- and we want our loved ones to be able to do the same. We forget the smallest details of all that God has endowed to us as God’s people. And we overlook the eternal hope that God desperately wants for us.

The psalmist’ words in Psalm 145 are words of hope for me. I can see more clearly what God provides for us. God doesn’t just heal but God lifts up our hopelessness. When we focus on God and what God has already provided for us, we see a glorious future and a promise that God will never go back on. 

Where do you need hope to shine in your own life?

God, we praise you and bless your holy name forever and ever. Amen.

Copyright 2013 Amelia G. Sims

God's mercy and compassion

The Lord is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. The Lord is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his creation. All of your works thank you, Lord, and your faithful followers will praise you. They will speak of the glory of your kingdom; they will give examples of your power. They will tell about your mighty deeds and about the majesty and glory of your reign. For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. You rule throughout all generations.  The Lord always keeps his promises; he is gracious in all he does. Psalm 145: 8-13 NLT

What is God like to you?

The psalmist (yes, from the Old Testament where it seems God is always about punishment) says that God is merciful, compassionate, slow to anger, full of love, and good to everyone.

Wow! That is my God!

I am thinking right now about how God has shown me mercy. I see God’s compassion in my life. God has certainly be slower to get angry at me -- much slower than I am to get angry at God. God loves me, more than any human being will ever be able to accomplish. Sometimes I think I am only lovable in God’s eyes! God is so good to everyone...yet so many don’t see God’s goodness. 

How has God shown you love? Compassion? Mercy? 

How have you and I shown those same traits to others?

God, I thank you for your compassion, mercy, love, patience and goodness. May I always have the same for others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Copyright 2013 Amelia G. Sims

The Next Generation

Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power. I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles. Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue; I will proclaim your greatness. Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness; they will sing with joy about your righteousness. Psalm 145: 4-7 NLT

How good have I been to tell the next generations about God’s mighty acts and power? 

I have been reading a lot of teen books lately and I can tell you the characters in these books certainly don’t know about God or God’s mighty acts. Mostly, they see God as indifferent or don’t see God at all. 

Sometimes when I am with teens or even children I am trying so hard to “relate” to them that I miss the opportunity to share God with them. 

The pulpit does only so much in telling of God’s mighty acts.

I wonder how many of generations younger than me read this devotional blog?

God, may each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power. I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles. Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue; I will proclaim your greatness. Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness; they will sing with joy about your righteousness. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Copyright 2013 Amelia G. Sims

No one can measure God's greatness

I will exalt you, my God and King, and praise your name forever and ever.I will praise you every day; yes, I will praise you forever. Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness. Psalm 145: 1-3 NLT

No one can measure God’s greatness. 

Certainly, we can try. When we praise God or thank God for our blessings and for the world, we come close to measuring the greatness of God. However, we will never run out of what to praise God for or what to thank God for. God’s worth and creation is endless. 

I guess the best thing for us to do is to try to thank God and praise God for everything we can think of, for everything in our world. Just because we can never get to the end of things to give God glory for does not mean we shouldn’t try! 

God, you are most worthy of praise. You are the one we should be constantly thanking. We will never be able to measure your greatness. However, we will never stop giving you our worship and our love. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Copyright 2013 Amelia G. Sims

Joyful Thinking

May our sons flourish in their youth like well-nurtured plants. May our daughters be like graceful pillars, carved to beautify a palace. May our barns be filled with crops of every kind. May the flocks in our fields multiply by the thousands, even tens of thousands, and may our oxen be loaded down with produce. May there be no enemy breaking through our walls, no going into captivity, no cries of alarm in our town squares. Yes, joyful are those who live like this! Joyful indeed are those whose God is the Lord. Psalm 144: 12-15 NLT

What is your idea of success for this year?

I don’t know how many of you want your sons to flourish like plants or your daughters to be beautiful pillars, but I am certain we all want enough to eat and enough to live on. We would like our family to do well, if not to prosper. Certainly, we don’t want outside forces attacking us or any crisis that would harm us. 

The psalmist wants his sons to grow and flourish, his daughters to be graceful and beautiful, his barns full and his crops loaded with produce. He would like there to be no enemy at his walls, no chance of being taken captive and no cries of alarm in the village square. He knows that those who live like this are joyful indeed.

Makes me wonder if the psalmist has known just the opposite of these things. Perhaps his sons have not flourished, his crops have failed and he has been taken into exile. It was known to happen in the time this prayer was written. 

Maybe we should look at what went poorly last year and pray for the opposite this year. We can always hope because God is indeed the Lord.

God, help us to be joyful in all times and all circumstances because you are our Lord. Amen.

Copyright 2013 Amelia G. Sims

The Trap of Lies

Open the heavens, Lord, and come down. Touch the mountains so they billow smoke. Hurl your lightening bolts and scatter you enemies! Shoot your arrows and confuse them! Reach down from heaven and rescue me; rescue me from deep waters, from the power of my enemies. Their mouths are full of lies; they swear to tell the truth, but they lie instead. I will sing a new song to you, O God! I will sing your praises with a ten-stringed harp. For you grant victory to kings! You rescued your servant David from the fatal sword. Save me! Rescue me from the power of my enemies. Their mouths are full of lies; they swear to tell the truth, but they lie instead. Psalm 144: 5-11 NLT

How can we fall into the trap of lies? 

I don’t suppose it is strange that we call the devil the father of lies. 

Sometimes I think the media is full of lies -- is there ever truth there? Certainly, they want us to see the world from their point of view. Doesn’t matter if they are considered right or left in their ideology! They are all the same in their twisting of facts to get their own outcome. 

Yet, we tend to take the media most days on face value. We trust what we hear to be the truth. We also trust that our friends will tell us the truth. Take facebook, for instance. When we see that our good friends say that this happened or that the facebook owners are doing something to revoke our privacy, we trust that they are telling us the truth. However, it is sometimes revealed to be a hoax. Our friends have not willingly lied to us -- they also see this as the truth. We all easily fall into the trap of lies. 

The psalmist reminds us that the only truth we can count on is God’s truth. So, we should sing a new song to God. God gives victory, God overcomes enemies and God will rescue us. 

God, thank you that you speak the truth in my inward being. May I listen to you, and not to those who lie. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Copyright 2013 Amelia G. Sims

Why does God care for us?

O Lord, what are human beings that you should notice them, mere mortals that you should think about them? For they are like a breath of air; their days are like a passing shadow. Psalm 144: 3-4 NLT

So, why does God care so much for human beings? Why try so hard to help them? They are not going to be around as long as God is around. What is it about us that attracts God and keeps God trying to redeem us?

I think about the two creation stories. God created human beings in God’s image. And God wanted a relationship with them. Remember how God was walking in the cool of the evening in the garden of Eden? God was used to hanging out with Adam and Eve. 

God seems to be pretty social. God seems to want a relationship -- a special relationship -- with us. All through the Old Testament, God keeps saving God’s people and trying to get them to return God’s attentions. Then in the New Testament, we see that God loved us so much that God was willing to be one of us in the form of Jesus. And not only that, to die for us so that our relationship would continue and be stronger.

Forget the idea that humans are worthless. If God loves us so much, we must be worth way more than we tend to give ourselves credit for.

God, I don’t know why you love me so much but I thank you for your love. I pray I can always return your love in my relationship with you and with others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Copyright 2013 Amelia G. Sims

Skills for Success

Praise the Lord, who is my rock. He trains my hands for war and give my fingers skill for battle. He is my loving ally and my fortress, my tower of safety, my rescuer. He is my shield, and I take refuge in him. He makes the nations submit to me. Psalm 144: 1-2 NLT

Although the war imagery in these verses is disturbing, the idea of God preparing us for life skills, for teaching us to work with our hands for a special purpose is empowering. Certainly, learning skills for battle would have been a good thing for God’s people in the land, although it was God who actually won their battles for them. 

Perhaps that is what we need to remember: God helps us by giving us talents and resources. God helps us find instructors and instruction to learn the skills we need to not only survive but to flourish. Yet, it in the end it is not us who triumph or succeed. It is God’s will and grace that comes through for us. 

Let us remember to give God the glory for our successes. 

God, thank you for your guidance, gifts and teaching. May your name be praised for you have provided for me and given me what I need to succeed in life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Copyright 2013 Amelia G. Sims

Show me where to walk each day

Come quickly, Lord, and answer me, for my depression deepens. Don’t turn away from me, or I will die. Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you. Rescue me from my enemies, Lord; I run to you to hide me. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing. For the glory of your name, O Lord, preserve my life. Because of your faithfulness, bring me out of this distress. In your unfailing love, silence all my enemies and destroy all my foes, for I am your servant. Psalm 143: 7-12 NLT

I think this is going to be my scripture for 2013:

Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you. Rescue me from my enemies, Lord; I run to you to hide me. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing. (Verses 8-10)

The whole image of surrendering to God first thing in the morning is a powerful one for me. I really like the imagery of asking God to show me where to walk, where to put my steps. Asking God to teach me to do God’s will and lead me in firm footing is what I need. I think I had a tendency to do my own thing and follow my own guidance way too much in 2012!

Do you have a favorite Bible verse for the year? I would love to hear what it is!

God, let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you. Rescue me from my enemies, Lord; I run to you to hide me. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Copyright 2013 Amelia G. Sims

Adore God

Hear my prayer, O Lord; listen to my plea! Answer me because you are faithful and righteous. Don’t put your servant on trial, for no one is innocent before you. My enemy has chased me. He has knocked me to the ground and forces me to lie in darkness like those in the grave. I am losing all hope; I am paralyzed with fear. I remember the days of old. I ponder all your great works and think about what you have done. I lift my hands to you in prayer. I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain. Psalm 143: 1-6 NLT

The psalmist is in a dark place. He is appealing to God, but asking for God not to judge him as he knows that no one can be completely innocent before God. He lifts up what his enemy has done: knocked him to the ground, forcing him to lie in darkness. He is losing hope, paralyzed with fear. While he gropes in the dark, he remembers all that God has done -- in the greater world as well as the psalmist’s own life. He lifts his hands to God in prayer and admits his thirst for God. 

I love how, even though he is at his wit’s end, the psalmist puts adoration of God first. He praises God and God’s mighty works. He somehow realizes in his own predicament what is truly important: God. That takes quite a bit of maturity. 

I tend to get in lost in my own pity parties sometimes and forget God’s bigger picture. Yet the psalmist is able to overcome his own fears and praise God. Oh, that I would have such faithful maturity!

God, when I am in a dark place and need you, help me to give you praise and adoration. Take away my self-centeredness and lift you up in blessing and praise. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Copyright 2013 Amelia G. Sims

God is My Center

I cry out to the Lord; I plead for the Lord’s mercy. I pour out my complaints before him and tell him all my troubles. When I am overwhelmed, you alone know the way I should turn. Wherever I go, my enemies have set traps for me. I look for someone to come and help me, but no one give me a passing thought! No one will help me; no one cares a bit what happens to me. Then I pray to you, O Lord. I say, “You are my place of refuge. You are all I really want in life. Hear my cry, for I am very low. Rescue me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me. Bring me out of prison so I can thank you. The godly will crowd around me, for you are good to me.” Psalm 142 NLT

How is your prayer life these days?

Mine is not so great. Getting better, yes, but plenty of room for improvement. I have managed to let a whole lot of other “good” things interrupt my time with God. God is not my center at the moment. My world feels more tilted toward family and work. 

But I know deep down that I need God as my center. 

I suppose you could say that the enemy, the Father of Lies, has changed my focus. However, I think I have done a pretty good job with that on my own. 

I like how the psalmist says that he pours out all his complaints before the Lord. Only God cares what is happening to him.  Only God can save him. The bottom line of all of that is that God is really all he wants. When the complaints are poured out to God, they pale in comparison to God. The relationship with God is all he really wants or needs. 

How about you?

God, you are my place of refuge. You are all I really want in life. Hear my cry, for I am very low. Rescue me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me. Bring me out of prison so I can thank you. The godly will crowd around me, for you are good to me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Copyright 2013 Amelia G. Sims