Tag Archives: rejoice

2023 First 100 days – day 5 Reading Wisdom and Praise

2023 First 100 Days, Day 5, January 5

Image by Pexels from Pixabay


Wisdom and Praise Reading
Psalm 5, 35, 65, 95, 125 and Proverbs 5

Today, there is a lot about praying, and settling your mind, or setting your heart for the attitude of the day.  There is continued praying. Many of these are David’s prayer journal entries.  We can learn about heart attitudes from them, and take verses to strengthen our hearts in times of trial, depression and despair, as well as how to find joy in every situation and detail of life.

  •  Psalm 5 – Again, Crying out to God to be heard
    • Day 2, Day 3, Day 4
    • Psalm 5:1-2 Cry out
      • Listen to my words, Lord;
        consider my sighing.
        2 Pay attention to the sound of my cry,
        my King and my God,
        for I pray to You.
    • Psalm 5:3 Confession of faith
      • At daybreak, Lord, You hear my voice;
        at daybreak I plead my case to You and watch expectantly.
    • Psalm 5:4-6 listing things that come between us and God
    • Psalm 5:7 declaring that we can enter in
      • But I enter Your house
        by the abundance of Your faithful love;
        I bow down toward Your holy temple
        in reverential awe of You.
    • Psalm 5 continues with a request to be led in righteousness
    • Psalm 5:11-12 declaration of faith
      • But let all who take refuge in You rejoice;
        let them shout for joy forever.
        May You shelter them,
        and may those who love Your name boast about You.
        12 For You, Lord, bless the righteous one;
        You surround him with favor like a shield.
  • Psalm 35 – A longer Psalm, again, from David’s Prayer Journal
    • Psalm 35: 1-8 Prayers for deliverance and a defender
      • 1 – Oppose my opponents, Lord;
        fight those who fight me.
    • Psalm 35: 9-10 Declaring victory
      • Then I will rejoice in the Lord;
        I will delight in His deliverance.
        10 My very bones will say,
        “Lord, who is like You,
        rescuing the poor from one too strong for him,
        the poor or the needy from one who robs him?”
    • Psalm 35:13-14 an attitude towards our enemies
      • Prayer – 
      • when prayer is not answered, go to fasting
      • FOR OUR ENEMIES – do we do this for our family and friends?
    • Psalm 35:18 – a “go to” verse to declare in times of trouble
      • I will praise You in the great congregation;
        I will exalt You among many people.
    • Psalm 35:28 – a “go to” verse to declare to the Lord
      • And my tongue will proclaim Your righteousness,
        Your praise all day long.
    • Psalm 65 – sort of follows the Our Father – 
      • Matthew 6:9 -13 (RSV)

        •  Pray then like this:

          Our Father who art in heaven,
          Hallowed be thy name.
          10 Thy kingdom come,
          Thy will be done,
              On earth as it is in heaven.
          11 Give us this day our daily bread;[a]
          12 And forgive us our debts,
              As we also have forgiven our debtors;
          13 And lead us not into temptation,
              But deliver us from evil.[b]

        • Psalm 65: 1 – Our Father who art in Heaven
          • Praise is rightfully Yours,[a]
            God, in Zion;
            vows to You will be fulfilled.
        • Psalm 65:2 Thy Kingdom come thy will be done on earth
          • All humanity will come to You,
            the One who hears prayer.
        • Psalm 65:3 forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors
          • Iniquities overwhelm me;
            only You can atone for[b] our rebellions.
        • Psalm 65:4 Give us this day our daily bread & thy Kingdom come on earth
          • How happy is the one You choose
            and bring near to live in Your courts!
            We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
            the holiness of Your temple.[c]
        • Psalm 65 5-13 is a declaration of the Creator God
    • Psalm 95 the first 7 verses are a song that I have sung, but I cannot find the music.  So I will share several that I have found:
      • Psalm 95:8-11  God pleading to man to come to Him
        • Hebrews 3:13
          • But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
        • Romans 2:5
          • But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
    • Psalm 125 – a song 
      • Ps 125:1-2 a Song, I sing on the video above. Here are other optios
      • Psalm 125:4-5 a Prayer
        • Do what is good, Lord, to the good,

          to those whose hearts are upright.
          5 But as for those who turn aside to crooked ways,
          the Lord will banish them with the evildoers.

          Peace be with Israel.

           

Proverbs 5 – counsel to avoid the wicked woman – or to avoid being with an adulteress, and to avoid being unfaithful.  It describes the suffering that happens when one is loose with their sexual self.

Image by Myriams-Fotos from Pixabay

There are many things in today’s readings. Some “go to” verses. Some songs. Prayers. Declarations of Faith. And then, counsel to keep yourself pure, and faithful. I hope that this has tweaked or tickled your mind on these readings and that you have found something from today to take with you, for now and forever.

 

Hi! My hope in the midst of despair and my joy in the face of depression is because of my relationship with Jesus Christ. If you do not have one, or are not sure you will join him in heaven, please check out these links.

Thanks for joining me in this journey, In His hands and under His wings, ~Christi Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

M. Christine Wildman“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear. If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation. If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

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This is the Day that the Lord has made? Really?

Psalm 118:24
This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Sometimes, this is how I feel about this verse:
(apologies to Prince William and Lady Kate!)

This is the Day(at the Royal Wedding)

I feel like I sing it slow, without meaning, without passion.
Why?
Because sometimes I wake up in pain.
Sometimes, I wake up to issues.
Sometimes, I don’t want to wake up! I want to roll over and go back to sleep.

What does it mean “This is the Day the Lord has made?”

I believe that it goes back to:

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

AND:

Genesis 1:5
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Do I believe this?

Yes I do.
Does it make my heart jump up and down with joy for the new day?
Honestly, not always.
Why not?
Honestly, I don’t always think about it – I take it for granted!
Why do I take it for granted:
It is part of my faith being, part of who I am as a Christian, it is a core belief that cannot be shaken.
If I believe it, why don’t I choose it? And, why does it matter?
What do I say I believe?

This is what I believe – what I confess – in a nutshell.

The Apostles Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.

As I said – this is woven into the fiber of my faith – without it, my faith foundation falls!

1 Corinthans 3:11
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Why does it matter?
Because Jesus said it does – believing is crucial!

John 20:29
Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

John 4:24
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Faith is crucial:

Heb 11:1-3
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
For by it the elders obtained a good report.
Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Why does it matter?

Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

But – Why does this matter?
Because it is WHO I AM!
I am a Christian.
I am a “little Christ”
I am Christ with a little i!

When everything is stripped away from me – what is left?
I belong to Jesus.
I have been delivered from darkness into light.
I have been chosen.
I have been adopted into the Family of God.
My desire is:
In Him I live, and move and have my being!(Acts 17:28)

In one of the most honored sermons of Jesus, he says this:

Matt 5:11-12
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

James says it this way:

James 1:2
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;

And I wrote about the James 1:2-4 experience!

WHY DOES IT MATTER?
Because I have a destiny:

Jeremiah 1:5
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

WHY DOES IT MATTER?
Because I belong to God, bought with a price:

1 Cor 6:19-20
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Why does it matter?
Because there is a reason I was created:

Eph 2:10
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Why does this matter?
Because I am all I have to give to God.

Romans 12:1
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Why does it matter?
Because I’ve been given gifts, and I should be a good steward!

Romans 11:29
For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance

1Peter 4:10
As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
(1 Cor 12:4, Romans 12:6, Eph 4:7

Why does it matter?
Because I am not to hide my light!

Matt 5:15-16
Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

WHY DOES IT MATTER?
Because My God says He has a plan for me.

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

And why does it matter?
Because I believe!

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, whofn have been called according to his purpose.

The point is, no matter what is going on – the One I believe in – the One I believe created the world – for that matter – the one that created me says to rejoice!

Psalm 118:24
This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

And when I really, truly meditate on what that means – this is the song that I sing!

The Answer to my question – yes, really.
THIS IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE!
I must CHOOSE to rejoice!

Why is it a choice? Why is it a command to REJOICE or COUNT IT ALL JOY?
Because Faith is not stagnant – we have to choose.

I choose joy!

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

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