The Cry of the Oppressed (Psalm 10 TPT)

"Lord, you seem so far away when evil is near!

Why do you stand so far off as though you don't care?

Why have you hidden yourself when I need you the most?

The arrogant in their elitist pride persecute the poor and helpless.

May you pour out upon them the very evil they've planned against others!

How they brag and boast of their cravings, exalting the greedy.

They congratulate themselves as they despise you.

These arrogant ones, so smug and secure!

In their delusion the wicked boast, saying, 

"God doesn't care about what we do. There's nothing to worry about!

Our wealth will last a lifetime."

"So seemingly successful are they in their schemes,

prosperous in all their plans and scoffing at any restraint.

They boast that neither God nor men will bring them down.

They sneer at all their enemies, saying in their hearts,

"We'll have success in all we do and never have to face trouble"--

never realizing that they are speaking this in vain.

Their mouths spout out cursing, lies, and threats.

Only trouble and turmoil come from all their plans.

"beasts lurking in the shadows of the city

they crouch silently in ambush for the people to pass by.

Pouncing on the poor, they catch them in their snare

to murder their prey in secret as they plunder their helpless victims.

They crush the lowly as they fall beneath their brutal blows,

watching their victims collapse in defeat!

Then they say to themselves, 

"The Lofty One is not watching while we do this.

He doesn't even care! We can get away with it!"

"Now is the time to rise, Lord! Crush them once and for all!

Don't forget the forgotten and the helpless.

How dare the wicked think they'll escape judgment, 

believing that you would not call them to account for all their ways.

Don't let the wicked get away with their contempt of you!

Lord, I know you see all that they're doing, noting their each and every deed.

You know the trouble and turmoil they've caused.

Now punish them thoroughly for all that they've done!

"The poor and helpless ones trust in you, Lord,

for you are famous for being the helper of the fatherless.

I know you won't let them down.

Break the power of the wicked and all their strong-arm tactics.

Search them out and destroy them for the evil things they've done.

You, Lord, are King forever and ever!

You will see to it that all the nations perish from your land.

Lord, you know and understand all the hopes of the humble

and will hear their cries and comfort their heart, helping them all!

The orphans and the oppressed will be terrified no longer,

for you will bring them justice, and no one will trouble them."

Dear Reader, no matter what you are going through today, you must remember that there is Someone who is looking out for you, even if you can't feel it. There is Someone who loves you enough to have died for you, and would have if you were the only person on the earth. His name is Jesus. Be encouraged!

A Thanksgiving Prayer

My Lord,

I love You! I have been getting so encouraged reading the words of the prophets you have sent out through my morning devotion Give Him 15. Thank You so much for bringing it to my attention! Thank you for the word of truth I receive each week from my pastor. Thank You for the prophets of old and new and the pray-ers. Thank You for directing so many toward the truth! Let them be made free!

The time is coming quickly when You will come forth and right the wrongs that have been done in this country and in the world. It is almost here! The evil that has perpetrated this nation for decades is about to know defeat at the hand of Almighty God! The enemy forgot the end of the story. He forgot that YOU have already won!

I wait with a trusting and hopeful heart for what You will do. You are stirring up hearts everywhere, and You are shaking the nations. I know that this year will end much differently than it began. Those in places of influence and government and those who finance them and their evil will be fully exposed like a grotesquely putrefied naked man in the middle of Times Square at high noon. People will try to look away but their eyes will see the truth that You are making visible. All the blinders will come off! Evil will be seen clearly for what it is.

I am excited to see and hear all that You will do. I try to think of ways that You may do what You're going to do, but You have reminded me that Your ways are not my ways, and Your thoughts are much higher than mine. So I have to 'be still and know that You are God and You will be exalted among the nations, and You will be exalted in the earth!*' Oh hallelujah!

I believe the blind will see and the deaf will have their ears opened - finally - to the truth. I believe there will be a multitude that will come to You, there will be a multitude begging Your forgiveness. There will be repentance like we've never known. Repentance for regrets of wrongdoing and tears of joy shed all over the world, but I pray that here in the blessed United States of America it will change the world and how they see Your amazing glory! 

Oh God, my God, let Your glory come forth! Bring peace, bring love, bring forgiveness and  bring forth from us a burning desire to know and please You! Bring truth and light up the world with Your presence!

You make my heart so filled with joy! Let 2020 be remembered as the Year of the Lord! The year evil in this world was slain. The year You showed us Your glory and honor and splendor! The year You did something new and awesome! Change the history books, drain then purify the swamp! Let Your glory fill the earth! We are waiting and watching. Let no man even try to take credit for what You do. Make that impossible. I know it already is, but there are those who will try.

Thank You! Thank You for loving us! Let this Thanksgiving be a day of grace and mercy as we come humbly before You in awe and love. Let us celebrate YOU! Wow. I love You!

*Psalm 46:10

How Do You Receive God's Love?

What does it take to receive God’s love? Do you have to always be on your best behavior? Do you have to be sin-free? Do you have to give to charities and go to church? Have as many children as possible to help the church grow?

No! None of these things will make God love you any more than He already does! Divine love knows no limits, and no contingencies. It’s pure and true and real.

The ultimate love you can ever receive is the immeasurable love you already have from God. We can’t even make Him love us less. He is all forgiving and all understanding, and best of all, all loving. Isn’t that reason to rejoice?

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  John 3:16 NKJV

Who Are You?

"Brothers and Sisters, consider who you were when God called you to salvation. Not many of you were wise scholars by human standards, nor were many of you in positions of power. Not many of you were considered the elite when you answered God's call. But God chose those whom the world considers foolish to shame those whom think they are wise, and God chose the puny and powerless to shame the high and mighty. He chose the lowly, the laughable in the world's eyes - nobodies - so that he would shame the somebodies. For he chose what is regarded as insignificant in order to supersede what is regarded as prominent so that there would be no place for prideful boasting in God's presence. For it is not from man that we draw our life but from God as we are being joined to Jesus, the Anointed One. And now he is our God-given wisdom, our virtue, our holiness, and our redemption. And this fulfills what is written: 

If anyone boasts, let him only boast in all that the Lord has done." 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 TPT

Who do you say you are?  I was a nothing; a nobody. Not born of wealth or fame, but ordinary in the world's eyes. I was not to be 'discovered' by man for my beauty or my intelligence or for my abilities. To the world I have nothing to offer, I'm not even a face in a crowd.

But to God! I am beautiful, in need of nothing the world can give. I am wise and have great talent. And I can tell the world about the King of kings, my Jesus. And he can pick me out of a multitude of thousands in the blink of an eye.  I am the righteousness of God in Christ. He has given me salvation, and redeemed me from the sins of my past. He carved out a path for me before He made the heavens and earth with His words. I have all I will ever need to spread the good news. My power and influence come from Him, as do my strength and my faith. I am His, not of this world. And dear Reader, so are you if you have chosen Jesus to be your Lord and Savior. *

Leave the old, fail-filled life behind and see with a clear mirror the image of the King whose reflection is cast before you. It is not I, but because of Him that I may be privileged to touch a heart and spread the word that you are valuable! You are thought of highly! You are able! You are loved! 

In these unprecedented times it is easy to get so worn down that we forget the truth, and that is the fact that Jesus died so we may live. He suffered already, so we don't have to. He has defeated death so we have eternity with Him! Be still and know that He is God, and even though He is the Creator of every single thing that was made, you are His masterpiece! His love for you is more vast than the east is from the west; it is more powerful than we can imagine, and best yet, it is relentless. He doesn't turn His feelings for you off and on because you may have slipped up. He doesn't walk out of your life because He got tired of you. He never thinks of separating Himself from you. You are His! 

I pray that your day is a day filled with wonder about how very important you are to the only One who matters. Enjoy some time with Him. He's never too busy. May your discoveries bring you ever closer! 

* If you have not accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior yet but want to, please see my (link above for the Sinner's Prayer of Salvation. And if you pray that prayer for the first time, and believe the words, please let me know so I may welcome you into the family! God bless you!

Walking in the Light

"For anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, 'Awake O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.'" Ephesians 5:14

The first sentence struck me this morning. As is so often with God's word, it is filled with truth and is as plain as the nose on my face. It is the kind of sentence, that when reading the Bible, I don't even stop to think about it. Something said in such obvious truth gives no cause to dispute it.

If something is in the dark, like a shoe somewhere it doesn't belong, and I get up to investigate a noise and walk into it, it startles me, and causes me to lose my footing. I may trip and fall and hurt myself. There are two ways to avoid this. The first is to of course put my shoes away so this doesn't happen again, or turn on my tiny LED flashlight as soon as I slip my feet into my slippers. 

Once I have added the smallest amount of light necessary to not wake up my sleeping husband, everything is exposed that once lay hidden by the darkness.

The enemy lives this way. Just thriving in the darkness waiting to trip us up. He chooses to place himself dead center on the path we know as familiar in the light. Once we trip and fall, he has us. At least until we are able to find a light switch or to wait for the arrival of some godly help.

So we must never take our path for granted. There are those who would take great pleasure in making us believe that we should take a different way. Rest assured, our path is ordained by the Great Mapmaker Himself. So don't let go of the fact that the simple truth is--keep the light shining. Walk your path in righteousness and shine God's light before you. In this way, you will protect yourself, and you will also expose what's hidden to those who have also been trapped. The Word of God is and will always be our best defense!

"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God." Matthew 4:4