Psalm 22:28 “and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the LORD and he rules over the nations.”

[You, Lord God, are the Sovereign One who reigns and rules;

you have control,

you use all for good,

you make your major plans come to pass

while still giving us moral and ethical responsibility in our own spheres of responsibility.

And in the end, all will come, every human being, and bow before you,

whether willingly in belief,

or grudgingly at the judgment seat.

Praise you, Lord God, for the wonder of knowing you and bowing before you now, the King of All, the Lord of Lords, the Ruler of the universe.

Help me to live today in the light of your greatness,

standing in awe of you,

of your love,

of your Word,

of your commands.

May this result in fearing and obeying you instead of raising my thoughts or those of others above your Word. I do  not know better than you.

You are worthy of my full conformity,

my total surrender,

my wholehearted obedience,

so I bow before you now,

that I might bring you great honor today

That I may be fruitful as this bush.

This morning I woke up realizing that I was both worrying and complaining. OHHH! Thank you, Holy Spirit, for pointing this out so I could repent. What you brought to  mind are a series of God sightings, some recent, some in the last two years.

This week as I was preparing to do a repair job on some asphalt, a man came walking by and asked me what I was doing. I explained the project to him and he said, “I can do that for you for this much.” Wow, that was less than the supplies I needed for the project and I didn’t have to spend all that time doing it, plus this man was a professional and said he would do more that I’d planned! God sent him at the perfect time.

Then there was the fact I was concerned about my income but the Lord reminded me that He recently had a church, out of the blue,  send me a large amount—the pastor said they’d forgotten to send support for the last several months. It came just  in time to pay a bill.

Then recently another church gave a gift of just the amount I lost in the eviction process.

Just as God said to the Israelites “Remember!” and often did remind them of all He had done for them, so it is important that we remember what He has done for us, especially faced with a new challenge. As He helped me in the past, so He will help me now.

So instead of complaining and being a glory stealer, the Spirit turned me to offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving so I can honor God and open the way so He can show me His salvation. (Ps. 50:23)

Picture: Remember what God has done.

I praise you, Lord Jesus, for your unending presence; you are everywhere at the same time (here on earth, behind the moon, on the other side of the universe and in Heaven). In another way, you are especially near to those who seek you, those whose hearts are open to you. You are near the brokenhearted. You are near the repentant. You are near those righteous in Christ. You are near the obedient. You are deeply at work in the elect, those you know will believe.

I give you glory, Lord God, for how we can trust you with all our hearts because you are faithful with all your heart. Wherever I go, whatever I do, you are always watching, protecting, guiding, keeping, equipping, teaching, revealing, convicting, blocking and loving. You are worthy of praise and glory, of adoration and obedience.

You are the great One, the wise One, the loving One, the holy One, the pure One, the faithful One, the true One, the eternal One.

To you I bow down today, to you I give my heart, my mind, my soul, my body, my time, my possessions, my money, my relationships, my future, my desires, my projects, my health, my strength, my will–my all. I am your son, your steward, your servant, your subject. Praise you for what you will do in me and through me today to bring greater glory to your Name.

Picture from internet; on the other side of the moon?

Psalm 22:24 “For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one;

[You, Father, planned Jesus’ suffering, knowing that it was necessary for Him to be the perfect Savior: “Because [Jesus] himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” (Heb. 18).

Jesus “endured the cross, despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of God” (Heb. 12:4). You valued His suffering because you knew it was necessary; Jesus was able to reject the shame of his suffering because He looked forward to what it would do in saving many and giving His Father glory.

You are also aware of the suffering of your children, ever giving us the grace needed to move through persecution and problems with power to become more like Christ. Help us to not despise or disdain the suffering you allow into our lives, but to look beyond it in joy to what it will accomplish in our lives and to the honor it will bring to you as we respond in faith.]

“he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.”

[You came in at the right time and rescued Jesus, not from the cross, but from the grave. You are the absolutely reliable One, as we see in your repeatedly helping David when he called out to you, “This poor man cried and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles” (Ps. 34:6).

And you do the same in our lives when we flee to you for help: “The angel of the Lord encamps round about those who fear him and delivers them” (Psalm 34:7).

As David so confidently states in Psalm 34:8, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.” Help us to consistently run to you, Lord, for refuge in each situation, to fear you, not men, to trust you, not ourselves.]

The last installment from my autbio, finishing the catalogue of how God has set me free

You have set me free from “junk stress”, showing me where I set my heart on tiny, insignificant things and then live in fear about whether I’ll get them or not.

You have set me free from idol worship, showing me where I’ve set my heart on being happy by having this or that, rather than delighting in you.

You have set me free from being enslaved to comfort. You make it possible to praise you in and for all things, pleasant and painful, nice and nasty, good and grating, ecstatic and evil, for you are the Sovereign, good God who will use each thing for your glory and our growth.

You free me from the trap of complaining, grumbling and negative thinking. You make it possible to delight in weakness, hardships, insults, persecutions and difficulty.

You set my heart free so I can run like the wind on paths of suffering, because I know they are paths of growth, glory and goodness.

You have made it possible to set my heart on things above, setting me free from living on a low and limited earthly level only . You have made it possible for me to think on things above.

You are moving me mightily towards living like Asaph, the author of Psalm 73 who said, “Whom have I in heaven but you and earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:25-26).

I give all praise to you, O Lord, for you have truly, powerfully, continually, eternally set my heart free

So, as I come to the end of this book, I encourage you, my reader, to keep on in your journey with Jesus, adopting the discipline of delighting in Him and allowing Him to work the wonder of the gospel in your life every day. The clouds, the sky’s the limit—actually Heaven is the limit!