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Psalm 11:7b

Psalm 11:7b “His countenance beholds the upright.”
 
[You, Lord, in your love and goodness, consistently look after us, your children–we who now stand in the righteousness of Christ. You are aware of every event that comes to us, you filter out what is truly evil and harmful, and you have equipped us to deal with whatever you allow into our lives.
 
You have qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the Kingdom of Light! You are carrying us forward on to glory, honor and praise as we respond to your direction in faith! Your love is wonderful, rich, pure and powerful, and it is a great privilege to live in it!]
 
Psalm 146:5 “Blessed is the man whose help is the God of Jacob”
 
[You work with us, as you worked with that rebellious rascal Jacob. You are patient and persistent, providing consequences to bring us up short, penetrating our lives at the right time with conviction and wisdom, and pointing us the way to full surrender],
 
“[Blessed is the man] whose hope is the Lord his God”
 
[Jacob kept calling you, “the God of my father” rather than his own God. It took a whole lifetime of self-imposed suffering, fear and loss before Jacob, on his death bed, finally bowed before you and worshiped you as “my God,” making you his personal hope. May we not wait so long to surrender! ]
 
Psalm 146:6 “[Blessed is the man whose hope is the] maker of heaven”
 
[You made both the throne room of Heaven where you dwell, and the great expanses of space where all the starry hosts dwell: zillions of stars (and you know the name of every one!) placed in trillions of galaxies, spread across billions of light years of space]
 
“and [maker of] earth, the sea and all that is in them”
 
[You spoke the earth into existence with its mountains and valleys, rivers and streams, the seas with all their great expanse. And you created the astounding myriad of plants and animals, ranging from the single-celled, up through insects, cats and dogs, to elephants, walrus and whales–plus the unseen spiritual creatures around us.]
 
You, Lord God, are amazing and awesome: powerful and creative, wise and all-knowing, all-seeing and all-present–the Creator, the Victor, our Savior and King.
 
From you alone comes real, sure, enduring hope, giving us the great certainty of having salvation from sin, a surplus of significance and security, and the assurance of a sinless eternity with you. We can know that all which comes to us in this life will be for your glory, our good and the outworking of your triumph over evil.
 
To you be glory, honor and praise forever: may you be lifted up, esteemed and exalted today, in my life, in my motives, in my thoughts, words and actions.]
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Psalm 11:5b-7

Psalm 11:5b “But the wicked and the one who loves violence, His [God’s] soul hates.”
 
[Here is one of those seeming paradoxes of the Bible: God loves all yet hates the wicked. Here are three possible understandings among several, all of them true:
–He hates what they do, but loves them as His creatures;
–He loves them, but when they refuse to come under His protection by surrendering to Christ, they fall under His hatred for sin;
–or here He is speaking of Satan and his hoard of demons.
 
The certainty is that, in God’s character there are no contradictions: He hates sin and will punish it, yet found a way (an extremely expensive one) to redeem sinners within this context.
 
Psalm 11:6 “Upon the wicked He will rain coals; Fire and brimstone and a burning wind shall be the portion of their cup.”
 
[As part of your plan to eliminate evil, you, Lord God, will in your justice punish rebellious evil doers–those who refuse your gracious forgiveness and instead love violence, those who hate what is good, those who refuse to believe you and accept Truth.
 
This is what you did in Sodom and Gomorrah, what you did in Canaan to those who rejected you, and what you will do to all those who refuse your offer of goodness and grace. There can be no justice without the punishment of evil.]
 
Psalm 11:7 “For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness;”
 
[Praise you, Lord God, that in you there is no evil, no darkness, no sin, no wrong doing. You are righteous and love what is right. You cannot be corrupted and corrupt no one. You cannot be tempted and you tempt no one. Instead, you call all to righteousness.
 
When we believe your Word, the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us. Then we get to grow in righteousness as we walk in obedience to what we know to be true:
–loving your Word by reading, studying, memorizing and meditating on it;
–listening to and obeying the conviction of the Spirit, that most often comes through the Word;
— working by and through prayer, living the truth that without you we can do nothing;
–participating in fellowship, knowing that in your church we will learn to give and receive, help and be helped; we will both enjoy and be irritated by others, repent and forgive, love as Christ loves us.
 
Help us to be faithful in participating in your righteousness, Lord, living worthy of you, as sons and daughters of the Most High King, the Creator and Sustainer of all. May our central and deepest goal today be to glorify, honor and please you.]
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Psalm 11:3-5

 
Yesterday ended with a dissatisfying taste, an emptiness which I tried at first to banish with reading and popcorn. But then you, Lord, led me in the right path, reminding me to praise you for it, as this emptiness was a reminder that my soul finds rest in you alone—and the right response is to offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving.
 
Therefore I praise you now, Lord Jesus, for this emptiness that reminds me of the wonder and stability of knowing you, of being a child of the eternal living, God. You give us all we need for life and godliness and I can praise you for both the pleasant and the painful.
 
As it says in Psalm 11:3, “If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?”
 
[When everything seems to fall apart, we can look away to you, Lord God, the only sure foundation in all of existence. We can rejoice in your character, rest in your love, live in your wisdom. The instability of the world only serves to highlight the surety of your character: Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever!]
 
Psalm 11:4-5 “The Lord is in His holy temple, The Lord’s throne is in heaven;”
 
[You are ever ruling, ever awake, ever alert. Nothing escapes your notice and you always act in inexorable power at exactly the right time. You rule wisely, wonderfully, willfully. You are moving events to the great conclusion of history, sweeping as many as are willing into your Kingdom and taking us with you, while giving those who aren’t willing multiple opportunities as well.]
 
“His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. The Lord tests the righteous,”
 
[You watch every person, you test each one, giving opportunities for belief to the not-yet-sons. And to your children, who have been granted the righteousness of Christ, you give tests that are possibilities to grow, to give you glory and to display grace.
 
Ah, Lord, help us to remember that difficulties, disappointments, danger and discouragement are tests, each one an opportunity to take up your grace, rise up in praise and defeat the enemy on his own ground.
 
Help us to follow you on the path that you have laid out for us. May we not fail in these tests but cooperate with you and join you for your glory! Help us today to live in the light of your lavish love, trusting in your great and glorious goodness in each trial, fulfilling the purpose of our lives by offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving in all.]
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Worship of the Wonderful

Lord Jesus, my God and Lord, my King and Master, my Savior and Shepherd, you have undeservedly set us, your illogically adopted children, in such a wide and wonderful place, in a positive position of light and love, of grace and goodness, of beauty and brightness, of care and color, like the scene below.
 
You have brought us into a place of belonging, where all depends on your faithfulness, your gracious heart and your ever-flowing spring of love that waters all relationships, washing away the stains of selfishness and shame of failure.
 
From your deep forgiveness-filled eyes, from your pure, grace-giving lips, from your powerful, health-bestowing hands, flow the messages of acceptance, cleansing, delight and favor. In your presence we, who deserve only eternal banishment from your presence, are dearly loved, deeply cared for, doted on and delighted in.
 
This is not because of anything we are or have done, but because of all you are, Lord Jesus: the King of Grace, the Lord of Love, the Savior of sinners and Ruler of Restoration. In you all is made right, all harm is transformed, all wrong will be righted in the end.
 
Your eyes are both fiery and forgiving; your heart both loving and giving. Yours acts of righteous grace cause mercy to triumph over justice; your thoughts are incredible, returning only good for the evil we have done.
 
You are consistently, faithfully at work, turning the kingdom of this world right side up, starting within us. You have rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of Light, and now you are teaching us to see things as you do: to rejoice in persecution; to offer thanks in difficulty; to understand that in mercy you chasten all those you love.
 
With you there is hope, meaning and purpose, a future with the certainty of an eternity in joy. Praise you for the foretaste we can have now in your Word as we gaze upon your grace and beauty, and are consistently transformed more and more into your image by the Spirit of power (2 Cor. 3:18).
 
You, Lord Jesus, are truly worthy of worship, glory and honor, both now and forever more. May we honor you all through this day with obedience to what we know to be true.
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Summer of 2008

Big Challenges
In the year of 2008, things beyond our control were developing which would take us in a new and different direction. Barbara’s mother was 89 at the time, living alone in her own home and in need of help. After much prayer we sensed the Lord leading us to move to Germany and take care of her.
 
This was not at all to my personal liking. First, I loved being in Turkey where my work was, where my disciples were, and now where my boys and their brides were.
 
Second, my ability to speak German was very weak. I would have to start learning another language at the age of 62—not an easy or welcome prospect.
 
Third, I did not like Germany. As beautiful as it is, in my opinion it is over-regulated. There is a rule for everything and everyone works to make sure you obey! And in general, everyone was critical of everyone else!
 
After functioning within the very flexible cultural situation in Turkey (with the exception of bureaucracy), this change would be hard for me. In Turkey you can cross the street anywhere there’s no barrier; you can park on the sidewalk if it’s low enough; you can ignore certain traffic lights that all the drivers agree are irrelevant; you can wash your car yourself. All these are forbidden in Germany.
 
However, when the Lord calls, the best response is obedience. And when we obey, God gives us joy whether we get what we “want” or not.
There was, however, one big “plus ” to life in Germany: driving on the autobahn. On the German freeway system, you can drive 110 miles an hour and do it legally! I could look forward to that!
 
While living in Germany, I would be able to continue my area supervision work with the use of email, skype and occasional visits to Turkey. So we began our preparations for leaving in the Fall of 2008.
 
The summer of 2008 proved to be an incredibly stressful one for me. We were finishing up a big construction project for the business, one that had promise of a good profit.
 
However, that was the year the world-wide financial crisis crashed onto the scene, and our hopes of good sales were dashed. This left us unable for the moment to pay back the interest-free loans we’d been given. Fortunately the men who had made the loans were willing to wait for repayment.
 
Then my car was stolen. It was an old one, a 1993 Fiat station wagon, a model no longer in production. Used parts were hard to come by, so it is probable that the thieves immediately chopped it up to sell for parts.
 
At any rate, we never saw it again. I was sad to lose it, for we had hoped to sell it and use the money to buy a car in Germany. We would just have to trust the Lord to work that out. So we praised Him and moved on.
Picture: Nat, Real Soldier and me standing in the apartment house we built.
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Prayer Desired

Well, I hope this finds you well. Here I’ve been struggling with my vertigo which has basically incapacitated me, which is why I haven’t posted the last two days.
 
Yesterday we both slept til noon (!). Guess we needed the rest. Finally today I am able to be up and around, not yet fully normal, but much better. It is so good to know that God has a plan and is working it out. All the events I had to cancel are in his hand, and if he so desires will have those things happen at a later time.
 
Barbara’s shoulder replacement surgery will be on Tuesday, March 17, so we would appreciate prayer for this to go well, and that she will be able to effectively combat the fears about her operation that assail her from time to time.
 
Nat and Abby were able to make it to the US from Germany, just squeaking in under the travel ban. They were able to rent a house in the right place for their future ministry.
 
Thank you for your prayers. Below here is an email Josh wrote to his fellow workers in T. It is good advice for us all. Warmly, Steve.
 
As I (Josh) was reading the news today, I was struck how the fearful response to the COVID-19 is out of all proportion. It is damaging nations, economies, livelihoods and relationships in unprecedented ways. This leads me to believe that it is a wide-spread spiritual attack. For this reason, I propose we take time to pray daily at 9:19 for 19 minutes. Let us pray:
 
against the fear that is enshrouding the hearts and minds of people
for healing for the sick
or the spread of the virus to stop
for people to seek God in this time of darkness
for sanity among our leaders
for the silencing of the sensation mongers
for courage and wisdom in how to be witnesses for Christ amidst the panic
Who will join me? Feel free to pass this on to others. The more people we can get praying the better!
Picture: even in darkness a light shines.
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True safety

What an appropriate message for me as I am down with a severe bout of vertigo, unable to be up, having to cancel all my plans–an opportunity to join God in His plans!
 
Psalm 11:1 “In the Lord I put my trust;”
 
[Yes, Lord, I willfully choose to trust you, not myself, not people, not circumstances, not power, nor politicians. You alone are the One to rest in, for you alone are All-powerful, All-knowing, All-seeing All-present, and All-loving.
 
Therefore, I choose to praise you in and for all things–all the proof we need for trusting you, Lord, is found in your faithful, sinless, pure and positive character, displayed in the rich outpouring of your Love in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Therefore, I choose to trust you.]
 
“How can you say to my soul, ‘Flee as a bird to your mountain’?”
 
[No mountain will save me, no mountain will love me, no mountain is impregnable. Only You, Lord God Almighty, are the actual, adequate, all-protecting refuge and strength needed; you alone are my High Tower, my Mighty Rock and my Stronghold.
 
To you, Lord, I will flee when worry, fear, danger, sickness or loss threaten. To you I will offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving—praising you when it costs me, when I don’t feel like it–thereby honoring you and opening the way for your salvation to come to me. Your help is all I need.]
 
Psalm 11:2 “For look! The wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow on the string, that they may shoot secretly at the upright in heart.”
 
[If I fly to temporal help, I make myself vulnerable to attacks of the enemy. If I set my heart on a desired solution rather than God’s glory, I have made myself open to attack, to loss, to failure, pain and in the end death.
 
However, if I set my heart on praising you, Lord, rather than on having my way, my desire, my plan, than you will shield my head in the day of battle.
 
I may not get what I desire, but I will be able to exalt your name in praise, fulfilling the purpose you have for my life and live in the freedom of knowing you will do what is best.
 
What a privilege to live for you, my Great King, the Ruler of the universe, Spinner of the Earth, Bringer of the dawn, Beginner and Ender of time. You are the One to be exalted, praised, honored and worshiped.
 
So I bow before you now in surrender, I will rise up before you to obey you this day with all my heart. May the meditations of my heart and the words of my mouth be pleasing to you, my mighty Rock and my Redeemer. (Ps. 19:14)]

Picture: the Lord is our hiding place.

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Vastly Good

“Your faithfulness will be my shield and my rampart….”Psalm 91:4b
 
Today, Lord Jesus, I walk in amazement under the canopy of your love, knowing that you look at me, not with tolerance, or thinly disguised disgust because of my stubbornly selfish choices, but you see me clothed in your righteousness! You look on me with delight, with joy, with pleasure, glad to have me as your child, as your brother, in your family, in your Kingdom.
 
You call me to meet with you each day as you stoop low to gather me to your heart, glad that I am your son, enjoying our interaction. I praise you that, contrary to all logic, you revel in our relationship, you delight in doing good to me, you rejoice in being my rampart, you savor shielding me from harm. And all this when I deserve the opposite: there is no earthly reason for your love; no, only heavenly reasons.
 
I praise you, O Elohim, that in your power and faithfulness you consistently shield my head in the battle of each day, you always stand as the rampart between me and the attack of the enemy; I can rest in you.
 
You are the Most High, the All-knowing, the All-present One. You are never caught off guard, are never late, are never out-witted by the enemy. Your defenses are impenetrable, your presence is unassailable, your plans are impregnable, you are impressive and unmovable as mountains. The enemy can never get by you without your permission; you are always the Victor in the end!
 
You, Lord Jesus, are a wonder, a marvel, majestically awesome, massively powerful, magnificently good. Your great compassion has sowed in me the seed of love for you, the seed of submission, the seed of adoration for you.
 
As I gaze on you in worship with unveiled face, you are moving me towards living those sublime words: “Whom have I in heaven but you, and earth has nothing I desire besides you” (Ps. 73:25).
 
Therefore I adore you, I lift high your name, I revel in you, I exalt you. I offer you praise, glory and worship, O Great and Mighty High King, Lord of Glory, Ruler of the Universe, Judge of the world, Redeemer of all sinners, Concluder of all history. You only are fully Patient and Profound, Gracious and Good, Pure and Perfect. You only are worthy of worship!
 
Prayer: “To you, Lord Jesus be joy, power, authority, victory and honor today, now and forever. Guide me in giving you glory this day. Amen.”
Picture free from internet
mountain range covered with snow
 

Thank you for the opportunities!

 
Thank you, Lord God, that all which will come to us today will come from your hand.
 
Praise be to you, Lord Jesus, for your wonderful wisdom, working consistently and graciously in the lives of your children, bringing guidance and goodness, challenges and protection.
 
You know what is best, you know what is right, you know what is loving, for you are the wise and powerful One, that entirely good One whose heart is set on bringing glory to yourself through doing what is good and merciful.
 
I praise you that in your mercy, you bring positive pressure on us to see truth, to come to ourselves and surrender to you. You are the One we can trust, the One who is our refuge and strength, our joy and wisdom, our Loving Shepherd and Warrior King.
 
Through challenges and adventures (including suffering, tragedy and persecution) you give us opportunities for faith-responses, for glory-giving, for grace-demonstrations, for clenched-teeth praise, for faith-filled obedience. These are opportunities to fulfill the purpose of our existence: to bring honor to you, to be reflectors of your glory, exalting your name and your Word above all other things.
 
I praise you now for another day, another opportunity to live for you, to live by faith, to offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving– and thereby honor you while opening the way so your daily salvation can flow further into my present and future and into the lives of those around me (Ps. 50:23).
 
May you be glorified.in my thoughts, actions and words today, May those around me be touched by your Spirit overflowing from me. May grace be the fragrance of my life. For your glory, may I be a strong aroma of life to those around me who are looking for truth. And through that may many more be swept into your Kingdom. Amen.
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First Love Lengthened

 
Jesus tells us that nurturing our first love for Him is very important; failure to do so is sin, as Jesus said in Revelation that if we fall from our first love for Him, we must repent. Today’s post is to help you nurture your first love for Jesus.
 
To you, Lord Jesus, the God of creation, the Guardian of Truth, the Giver of grace and the Guide of believers, to you be glory and honor this day. You are the great One: great in purity, in wisdom, in knowledge, in power, in might, in strength. There is no good you cannot do, there is no evil you can do.
 
You are Yahweh, the eternal I Am: sharply separate from your creation, utterly other than your creatures, gloriously unique in your holiness, majestically mighty in your strength, astoundingly amazing in Your awesomeness, beautifully bright in your brilliance.
 
You are all knowing, all seeing, all hearing. You are intensely, intimately aware of what is happening in the lives of each of your children, carefully filtering events, protecting and guiding in each one.
 
As we make you our dwelling place, “the Most High, who is my refuge….will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone” (Ps. 91:9,11).
How true this is, Lord Jesus, my Shepherd and Protector. How often while I was driving have you prevented me from changing lanes, when if I had, I would have hit a car in my blind spot. You caused me to hesitate, or to look over my shoulder, or to sense that a car was there when I could not see it. You send your angels to help, guide and protect.
 
I think of the dark evening when I was about to cross a small street but for no apparent reason hesitated, and suddenly a black car with no lights flew by. If I’d stepped out as I had planned, I would have been run down.
 
I think of the many times when I was working on some construction project when you narrowly prevented accidents, like when the large rock fell off the stonewall and just nicked the end of my thumb—if my thumb had been ½ inch further in, it would have been cut off! Or when my arm caught in the handle as I jumped off the backhoe and even though I was left dangling, my arm didn’t break.
 
Lord, you have been very active in our lives. You have been with us in the trouble you allowed to come and then saved us out of it each time. You have delivered us from all our fears as well as dangers.
 
You are wonderful and faithful, powerful and ever present, always true to your Word. You are worthy of praise, of honor, of glory, of adoration, of worship. We bow before you in awe, we rise up to love you in obedience, we go forth to praise you throughout this day for whatever you will bring into our lives in your wisdom, love and grace.
 
Prayer: “Lord help me to live in the truth of your goodness, the warmth of your grace and the light of your guidance. Help me to see your provision and protection, and praise you for them. Help me to obey what I know to be true about you. I thank you now for the answers you will send. Amen.”
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