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Psalm 18:25,26

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 11, 2022
 
Psalm 18:25,26 “To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
to the blameless you show yourself blameless, to the pure you show yourself pure,”
 
[we can only have these qualities, Lord Jesus, as your Holy Spirit produces them in us. As we cooperate with you in the process of transformation, willfully wanting to be faithful, blameless and pure, you reveal your marvelous qualities to us more and more, giving us greater ground for surrender, worship and wonder–which then bring more transformation.
 
As it says in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “And we all, who with unveiled faces, contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” This is a gracious cycle of your goodness poured out more and more on those who are willing to join you in what you are doing.]
 
Help us, Lord, to walk in obedience to your revealed will that we may lead faithful, blameless and pure lives, giving you honor and glory.
May be an image of nature, cloud, twilight and tree
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Psalm 18:22-24

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 10, 2022
Psalm 18:22,23 “All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees. I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin.”
[Again, I cannot say any of this for myself; I continue to be blameworthy, struggling with the sinful, selfish ways of my old nature—but you, Holy Spirit, also continue in transforming me in love and grace. So, I stand before you, Lord Jesus, blameless in your love, a new creature, dearly loved, doted on and deeply cared for. Praise be to you!
You are our hope, our holiness, our purity, our power. In you is goodness, grace and glory, all of which you generously, whole-heartedly share with us, continually, unconditionally, contra-conditionally. Praise be to you!]
Psalm 18:24 “The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.”
[It is wonderful that you have rewarded me, Lord, not according to my righteousness, but according to the righteousness of Christ, according to the cleanness of His hands, for in your sight I am in Christ, I am cleansed, claimed and commissioned as your dearly beloved child.
Praise you, Lord Jesus, for your great and, humanly speaking, impossible, unspeakable work, far beyond what any created being could do. You reward your enemies! You pour out on your foes who come to you, eternal life, eternal relationship, eternal love and eternal goodness–when we deserve the opposite! Praise be to you.
Help us to revel in your love, to bask in your grace, to rejoice in your forgiveness—and to forgive and accept ourselves as you have us. May we each day grasp more of the greatness of your love, which surpasses knowledge, so that we might be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God (Eph. 3:19).]
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(Untitled)

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 9, 2022
 
Psalm 18:20 “The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness;”
[O Lord, praise you that you deal with us according to the imputed righteousness you have given us in Christ, not our own–for I have none. You would have to condemn me instantly to Hell if my goodness were the measure. But praise be to your glorious name that you have made me to stand before you in your all-cleansing righteousness: forgiven, transformed, accepted, adopted, dearly loved!]
“according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.”
[My sin-stained hands are now washed in your blood, cleansed of guilt, purified in forgiveness and empowered for good. Praise you, Lord Jesus, that you see me as your dearly loved child, delighted in, cherished and deeply cared for. The cleanness is there because of your great work.]
Psalm 18:21 “For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I have not done evil by turning from my God.”
[By your grace, by your power, by your obedience, Lord Jesus, I am counted as having kept your ways. What my old nature could not do in that it is weak, you did in your power. And you, Heavenly Father, in spite of what I am, have qualified me to be a partaker in the inheritance of the saints in the Kingdom of Light.]
What a wonderful series of truths! May we ever be in awe, rejoicing in who we have become in you. Help us to live in the light of this truth.
May be an image of lake, tree, twilight, nature, sky and grass
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Open Hand Theology

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 8, 2022
Here in this world we actually own nothing, but are given everything we need to steward. We are called to hold all with an open hand, telling our gracious and kind, good and wise Heavenly Father, “Take what you want, leave what you want, give what you want. I trust you to do what is best.”
Holding all with an open hand is, on one side, scary at first, because there are plenty of things we don’t want to give up (health, relationships, income, security, savings, etc.).
But as we come to know more and more of God’s beautiful and wise character, our fear lessens (perfect love casts out fear), and is replaced by a sense of security (safety is not the absence of danger, but the presence of Jesus), and a sense of adventure (every day is a battle with spiritual enemies who use people against us; but as we keep on the armor and fight the right enemies, there is a continual string of victories). We begin to understand what it means to be more than conquerors in the midst of challenges (Romans 8:37) .
What a God we have, what a life He gives us, what a future He’s prepared for us! To live in the wonder of getting the opposite of what we deserve, to revel in His unconditional love, to bask in His unending goodness (instead of thinking all the natural negative thoughts the devil throws at us)–all this is part of the joy He desires for us. Let us continually embrace these truths while rejecting the lies that contradict them, living instead in the Light of His Love.
May be an image of cloud, twilight, tree and nature
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Light Living

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 7, 2022
Praise you, Lord, that with you, every day is a Sonny one, for your light of love and life shines continually on us and in us, giving encouragement, perspective, purpose, power and joy.
 
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you,” said Jesus, and then “These thing I have spoken to you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full” (John 15:9,11).
There is a condition to receiving this joy: trust. As it says in Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you will all joy and peace AS YOU TRUST IN HIM, so that your lives may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Trusting God involves submitting to Him, to His description of reality, to His Word, to His leadership, to His purpose and meaning.
We can’t walk in the light while keeping our eyes closed, living just in the tiny world in our head. We have to open our eyes wide to the wonderful, awesome, expansive and beautiful reality of God’s Kingdom.
 
In the Kingdom we have rest, joy and peace; purpose, meaning and hope; belonging, worth and competence. Help us to live in the grace of this reality, giving you honor at every turn with praise and thanksgiving.
May be an image of snow, tree, sky and nature
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Psalm 18:19b

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 6, 2022
Psalm 18:19b “…he rescued me because he delighted in me.”
 
[This statement, in my opinion, is the most important one in this passage. You, Lord, do not act just out of pity or obligation, but because you delight in us, your children. You see us in Christ, transformed, accepted and beloved by you! What an amazing, encouraging, faith-building, wonderful statement!
 
You are powerfully pleased that we belong to you, that we cry out to you, our Abba Father. You are not bothered, irritated or agitated by our coming to you. No, you are richly pleased, mightily happy, deeply delighted, for you have inexplicably made us the objects of your unending, deep and rich love. You have made us the apple of your eye, the delight of your heart, the object of your continual affection.
 
We do not deserve this–which is all the more reason to praise you for your wonderful, eternal, infinite forgiveness, your unlimited, ever flowing grace and all-encompassing, deep love that gives us the opposite of what we should have gotten: a trip straight to Hell.
 
I will praise you now, today, and forever because you are worthy of all honor, exaltation and glory. You are the God who loves His enemies, who rescues those who deserve condemnation, who saves those who deserve defeat.
 
May your name be exalted in my life today and forever through surrender, faith, obedience and thanksgiving. Amen.]

Picture: beloved children of the most high King!

May be an image of 5 people, child, people standing and indoor
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Psalm 18:9-15

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 4, 2022
Psalm 18:6 “In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice.
 
Psalm 18:9-15 tells how He answered:
“He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet.
He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.
He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him—the dark rain clouds of the sky.
Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning.
The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.
He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies, great bolts of lightning and routed them.
The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of breath from your nostrils.”
[What a display of powerful, righteous and compassionate anger! Far bigger than any star wars episode! You, Lord God, Breather of the stars, Spinner of the earth and Bringer of the Dawn, bent the elements to your will and acted in passion, bringing a storm at the right time to protect your own.
You are the God of wisdom and power, passion and might, mercy and action.
As David said in the beginning of this Psalm, you are our Rock, our Fortress and our Deliverer. In you we can trust, no matter how terrible things look. You have a plan to rescue us, and as we cry out to you, you will work it out at the right time and carry us forward along with you.
 
Help us to demonstrate our belief in you today by turning to you first in our needs, offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving in all and praising you for your answers before they come.]
 
(Picture from the internet)
May be an image of lightning
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Psalm 18:6-8

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 3, 2022
Psalm 18:6 “In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.”
[And when, in faithfulness and love He heard David’s cry, God moved in His might to answer:]
Psalm 18:7 “The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry.”
[You, Lord God, are a person of passion: when you are aroused, there is no stopping you. You act in justice, you act in love, you act in conviction, you act in power! Praise be to you for your love so displayed.]
Psalm 18:8 “Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.”
[You wrath is righteous and will not be quenched until there is justice done and wrongs righted. The heat of your heart leads to the rescue of your children in the right way and at the right time. You act in power and swiftness, swooping in at just the right time.
 
Thank you for your great love and wisdom in entering our lives daily. May we recognize this and rejoice in who you are!
May be an image of 2 people, people sitting and indoor
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Psalm 18:4-6

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 2, 2022
Psalm 18:4,5 “The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.”
[In David’s case, his life was in physical danger as Saul was in hot pursuit of him. This is also the case now for many Christians in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, as groups like ISIS and hostile governments try to eliminate all followers of Jesus.
On another level of danger, we all were entangled by the cords of death, for we lived in the dominion of darkness, in the despairing, depressing world of the dying, ensnared by the traps and tricks of the devil. Death was our certain destiny, there was no hope, no light, no escape in our own strength.]
Psalm 18:6 “In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.”
[But you, LORD God, Jehovah Elohim, were there to hear us when we cried out to you and have delivered us from the darkness of death and brought us into your Kingdom of light.
You now continually invite us to cry out to you for you hear our cry and act in your undeserved faithfulness and love. Because you are faithful we can be certain that, despite our natural unworthiness, you will hear and answer.]
It is wonderful, comforting and encouraging to know that in all our difficulties we can cry out to you, that you hear us and will answer in what is best and in power. As it says in Psalm 86:7, “In the day of my trouble I will call to you and you WILL answer me.”
May we live in the light and joy of this truth, trusting through thanksgiving before we see any answer, knowing that your timing and wisdom are perfect. To you be honor and glory today in my life as I live in the truth that “my soul finds rest in God alone (Psa. 62:1).
May be an image of nature and grass
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Psalm 18:3

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 1, 2022
Psalm 18:3 “I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,”
[You, Lord [Jehovah], are worthy of praise because of your holiness. You are completely other than your creatures: eternal, pure, wise, all powerful, all knowing, all seeing, totally independent of all you have created. In contrast, we are weak, tiny, limited and ignorant—we are in total need of knowing you, fully dependent on you, whether we know it or not.
In your holiness, LORD, you are the One who hates sin and must punish it, while at the same time you love your rebellious creatures and have provided for them a way of escape from condemnation. Truly you are worthy of praise!]
“and I am saved from my enemies.”
[You hear my prayers, and in your power, in your love, in your faithfulness you save me from my enemies. You rescued me from the devil’s dominion of darkness, you delivered me from his demonic depression, you freed me from the clutches of sin, you brought me out from under the condemnation of the world.
You saved me from death and despair, and you continue to save me every day from the attacks of sin, selfishness, Satan and his servants. You are my Superb Savior in whom mercy triumphs over justice. You are worthy of continual praise, honor and glory for your incomprehensible love and grace!]  You save me from death and it’s fear, as seen when Barbara visited her mother’s grave last November.
May be an image of 1 person and outdoors
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