Nancy H

When I praise the Lord, I am full of awe at His power and filled with gratitude for all the blessings He has given me. I come from a place of humility & joy, thanking Him for the unconditional love He has given me. Throughout the day, I whisper simple praises to the Lord. But I don't take a special time during my morning prayers to do so. I will now! Also, it's a new concept for me to "bless" the Lord. Who am I to offer Him my blessing? But thank-you Pastor Ralph for helping me understand that blessing is the same as praising and is a reflection back "to" Him all I have received "from" Him. To receive a blessing from almighty God is pure joy for me! It reinforces my faith, strengthens my bond and is a reminder that He is in charge and all is well. It's also an opportunity for me to glorify His name. Thank-you Pastor Ralph for this Bible study. I appreciate all your hard work to put all this together. God bless you!

The picture of dew on the mountain takes me to a place of peace, calm, stillness, refreshment and renewed vitality. I can almost smell the clean air & feel a slight breeze on my face. Lasting unity requires a foundation of love that is inspired & enabled by the Holy Spirit. Without this, progress can be made but won't last or stand the test of time. My chief obstacles to love in my life are my selfishness, pride, self-centeredness, resentments and jealousy.

The Davidic Covenant is a promise from God to king David that a descendant of his would always rule over Israel. Solomon built the Temple in Jerusalem where the Arc of the Covenant would come to rest. Jesus fulfilled the promise as the Messiah, the Son of God, who came to deliver the Israelites from the bondage of sin. When Jesus returns, all glory will belong to Him, the Son of God, who will rule over His kingdom for all time.

The times that I have been demanding answers, I am already in a state of stress. I'm usually angry, frustrated or devastated with overwhelming sorrow & loss. When I approach the Lord with this kind of an unreasonable attitude, my expectation is to get a response "right now!" When He takes a little longer than I think is necessary, I become more frustrated & stressed. Then I start to doubt if He even cares, or worse yet, if He even exists. This downward spiral continues and I am unable to see that perhaps He "has" answered my prayers...in His way...in His time. Spending quiet time with the Lord in the morning before I look at emails, texts, "to-do" lists or the news helps me to focus on the most important thing in my life...my relationship with Jesus. Prayer, meditation and reading the Bible help me get to a quiet place. This is a process for me requiring self-discipline and practice. But God seeks persistence not perfection. To hope in the Lord means believing & accepting that He is in charge of my life. It means having faith that things are just as they are suppose to be. It means trusting in His love, guidance and promises. I believe He has a purpose for my life on earth but eternal life with Him in heaven is my final destination.

Knowing that God forgives me helps me move forward, leaving guilt, remorse and regrets behind me. This frees me to view things from God's perspective (some of the time). His love & forgiveness increases my faith & trust in Him. As the Lord forgives me, I must forgive others. When I look at others who have hurt me, I then must look at myself. Have I not the same thing or worse? As God's unconditional love fills my cup, I can pour it out to others. As I grow in my faith, more is revealed to me. My expectancy level, my hope & my faith is not as strong as the psalmist, but it is stronger than it used to be. I walk each day humbly with the Lord and with gratitude. My hope & faith tend to wax & wane depending on circumstances & my spiritual condition. My biggest hope is to see Jesus in heaven.

I have been fortunate to have not suffered from the hands of others. My enemy is myself. My nervous system is damaged. I vividly remember the doctor telling me I would never walk again. As I sat in the wheelchair looking out the window, I felt an overwhelming sense of despair. My life as I had known it was over. I couldn't walk, I couldn't use my hands to even grip a pen, I couldn't work and had no friends.The bitterness & self-hatred consumed me. My alcoholism which caused my disability continued to oppress me. But God gave me hope and helped me to recover partially--enough so I could function. Then one day, God removed the craving for alcohol and the obsession to drink. That was a miracle. Then He showed me a program of recovery. That was almost 2yrs ago. Since that time, I have remained sober. I have come to know & accept Jesus as my Lord & Savior. I came back to Him, like the prodigal son. When I look back 7yrs ago in my wheelchair, I could never have imagined my life as it is now: full of hope & joy, friendships & family. God places people on my path, gives me opportunities to be of service to others and has given me a renewed sense of purpose for my life. Because of God's love for me and His grace, I am beginning to forgive myself. I am able to let go of the past and place my trust in Him. Do I still struggle with self-love & self-forgiveness? Of course, but gratitude & acceptance, along with prayer keep me close to God's will for me.

I have a healthy respect for God's omnipotence, knowing that at any moment He could strike me down. My blessings have included a wonderful husband of 40yrs, 2 beautiful children, living abroad and a successful career. But, some devastating trials have resulted in hidden blessings. The disease of alcoholism has left me disabled. The blessing is that now I am sober and can share my experience & be of service to others. My disability has left me in a position of needing to ask for help and being dependent on others. This has given me more patience & gratitude for what I have rather than resentment & bitterness over what I lost. The ongoing struggles I have now allow me to grow closer to Jesus. I depend on Him and trust in Him. My love for Him grows stronger each day. Prosperity is so individual to each person. I define it as being successful in life & growing with each new experience. For me it means physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being. I don't think faith=prosperity. Believers whose faith is strong may experience failure, poor health, and catastrophic loss. By the same token, evil persons may be very successful with wealth, fame, talent, beauty etc.

Day 8 Meditation (Psalm 127). Why is work without trust inadequate? Why is trust without work an illusion? How can we achieve the kind of balance that affords us good rest? Why do you think the psalmist stresses that children are both a “heritage” and a “reward”? If I am humble & grateful, then I know I am nothing & can do nothing without the Lord. He gives me special talent, but it is my responsibility to use it appropriately. I've heard it said that God can move mountains but He expects me to bring the shovel. He may answer my prayers, but expects me to put forth the effort. He expects me to carry my part of the load. It might be helpful to examine motives. Am I working long hours because I am avoiding my spouse or my family obligations? Or is my ego telling me that no-one else can do this job? Am I reluctant to to ask for help believing I will look weak, imperfect or incompetent? Maybe after some prayer & soul searching, I might conclude that I don't need to work this long or this hard. Perhaps after this awareness, I can begin making changes and put God in charge of my calendar. My Bible translation (NLT) Psalm 127: 3 "Children are a gift from the Lord" I have always felt like my children were a gift from God. In their youth, I delighted in their play. Later, as I am aging, they are a source of comfort, support & security.

Day 7 Meditation (Psalm 126). Why doesn’t God always do the stupendous miracles of which he is capable? Why is patient obedience over the long haul necessary to both the success of our labors and our own spiritual maturity? Can we shout for joy now, even before we receive the answers to our prayers? What might prompt that in us? God wants me to learn to depend on Him & trust Him in all things, big & small and at all times, good & bad. I appreciate happiness more when I know sadness. When I trust God to turn the messes in my life into something good, and when I have doors closed only to have new ones opened, and when the pain of my losses is turned into joy---then I can glorify His name. How can I truly appreciate all that I have unless I have lost some, if not all of it? If I never fell into a hole, I would never need God to help get me out. Patient obedience works my "trust muscles" and teaches me to depend upon God in all things. I must have faith that more will be revealed as I go along in this journey with Him. I must learn to hold His hand & wait. Waiting patiently quiets my mind so I can hear Him speaking to me. It also helps me prepare for the Holy Spirit to work in me & thru me. Yes, I can feel joy now before my prayers are answered. I believe this comes from an increasingly close relationship with Jesus. The more I can let go and surrender my will to His will, the more serenity & joy I feel. I believe the Holy Spirit facilitates all of this.

Day 6 Meditation (Psalm 125). What does this psalm teach us about the security that the Lord gives us? What examples do you see of unrighteous rulers? What kind of government happens when rulers are unrighteous? What happens in the government of our hearts when we allow unrighteousness in us to continue to guide our actions and thoughts? It teaches us that God's protection is as unshakable as a mountain and endures forever. As majestic peaks rise above me, I can't help but think that God is with me now & for all time. Rulers that have no respect for human life or human rights. Rulers that incite hatred & fear. I believe God is in control of governments and everything else that goes on in the world. I don't begin to question or try to understand His ways. Sometimes bad things happen to good people (nations) and prosperity, wealth etc happen to corrupt people & governments. My responsibility is to pray... My heart will grow hard (like the kings & pharaohs in the Old Testament) and I will be in great danger of temptation & sin.

Day 5 Meditation (Psalm 124). Think back on your own life. In what circumstances have you seen God deliver you from danger from others? Even from danger from yourself? How do you explain God’s undeserved love toward you? What undeserving person comes to mind who can be the object of your love and mercy? 1) 2 severe car accidents that my son & I walked away from without injury. 2) He saved me from my own reckless & irresponsible thinking & behaviors. Behaviors that resulted in my physical health problems and sickness to my soul. Behaviors that caused emotional harm to others, especially my husband & sons. 3) His saving grace thru His son, Jesus Christ. That He would still love me after I had abandoned Him and after I was so full of pride...I never gave God credit for saving my life and my son from the 1st car accident. I said it was the type of car I was driving! He patiently waited & loved me until I finally came back to Him with heart-felt sorrow & remorse. I am so grateful to have Jesus central in my life! 4) Myself. I must learn to love myself and see myself as Christ sees me--clothed in the robe of His righteousness. As He has been merciful to me, so I must be merciful to myself and others.

It teaches me that first I must believe in God and never take my eyes off Him. In this way He becomes central in my life. This opens the way to have a relationship with Him, (Jesus) which increases my trust & confidence. God loves everyone equally. We are all the same in His eyes. He teaches us to be humble and warns us about pride. I enjoy the diversity in my community with people of different cultures. I like to listen & learn from them to better understand our differences. But more importantly to appreciate our similarities. A smile or handshake can go a long way to show respect for our fellow man.

Many years ago, I became angry at the church I was attending. I remember feeling deeply hurt & stopped going to "any" church. I regret to say, I also turned my back on God. But He never turned His back on me. Now Jesus Christ is the center of my life . Perhaps many Christians believe they are on solid ground with Jesus when they may actually be standing on a cracked foundation. I have found that when I submit to God's will, He puts people in my life to help, guide, nurture & challenge me to grow and mature in my Christian faith. I can be an example of Christian love, overlooking the flaws of others while trying to correct my own. I can pray for God's influence in our gatherings and concentrate on gratitude & praise to our Holy Father.

God helps me see things from His perspective. He lifts the veil of darkness enabling me to catch a glimpse of His love & omnipotence. He gives me strength to carry my burdens. He speaks to me thru other people or gives me an intuitive thought or inspiration. He keeps me safe everyday from injury & accidents. He watches over me day & night. He protects me from evil & helps me make good choices. He reminds me to stay watchful and take nothing for granted. When satan is attacking me with spiritual lies, God is my shield, an ever present help in times of trouble. God is stronger than satan & nothing can harm me when I call upon the Lord.

Stress causes me to slip into self-pity & to become self-absorbed with my problems. Anxiety, fear, worry & resentment block me from the sunlight of God's Spirit. I forget to pray. I forget to call upon God & begin loosing my faith & trust in Him. God reminds me that He is always with me if I call upon Him. He is the light in my darkness. When I surrender to His will & pray for strength, courage, hope & comfort, He will answer me. Yes, I have given my stress points to God fully. I am asking what His will is for me & the strength to carry it out. I pray that He help me accept the people, situations & circumstances just as they are, knowing that He is in charge not me. I am asking that He take my worries, fears & anger from me & that He increase my trust in Him that things in my life will happen according to His plan.