Day: January 18, 2018

Psalm 117:1,2
Praise the Lord all you Gentiles! Laud Him all you peoples! For His merciful kindness is great toward us, and the truth of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!

David is not shouting praises to God! He is not even shouting to anyone who may be in earshot! The Gentiles are the foreign nations. People and people groups outside of his dwelling place, outside of his community where his own people would hear him!

David did not ask that the nations be saved. He commanded them to praise the Lord, praise his God, for the merciful kindness shown to all humanity, declaring the truth of the Lord forevermore.

Praise Him all you (coworkers of your place of employment)! Laud Him all you employees who follow other gods! For His merciful kindness towards you is great and He is eternal Truth, Creator of Heaven and Earth!)

Praise the Lord KANAWHA and Putnam Counties! Praise the Lord Saint Albans! Praise the Lord!

I awoke to the smell of jasmine, gardenia and rose this morning. I could just sit here, take it all in and be carried away.

It was quite natural then, that I expect the Lord to stop me at a scripture that would describe a beautiful garden. But…..

Psalm 119:71 Before I was afflicted, I went astray.

After a short while, the connection of the fragrances to the “affliction word” was made.

Song of Solomon 4:16 Awake, north wind! Come, south wind! Blow on my garden to spread its fragrance.

We need the fires and harsher winds of affliction, (north winds) to humble us and keep us steady, just as much as we need the warmth of the sun and gentle rains (south winds) to grow.

Some of you are experiencing affliction at this moment. I want to encourage you to keep eyes upon Him. Your fragrance and colors and stamina are being established; your ability to keep His commands are being perfected in you today.

Psalm 33: 8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

I am in awe this morning of my Creator. As I consider the works of His hands and all that He has made I think, who am I that He should have such love for me?

Maybe you can’t see how much He loves you, I mean really how much. Then take a look at all He has created. Then consider that you are loved more than the stars and heavens and all things that creep on the ground, fly in the air and swim in the oceans.

Proverbs 4:18
But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, shining ever brighter till the fullness of the noon day.

Isaiah 60:1-3
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth in thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Isaiah 60:5
Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, do you the riches of the nations will come.

Arise, shine! Your Light has come and this, THIS, draws nations (coworkers, unsaved family members) to you, as darkness settles upon the peoples. Everything that is in darkness ALWAYS looks to LIGHT.

Isaiah 53:4,5
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed.

One year ago today, I visited my mother in the hospital in Florida, as she was getting ready to have a feeding tube put in. When I arrived at the hospital she was coming back from MRI and told me that she had just seen my recently departed father. My mother told me he looked good and she said that he said life is much better where he is. Then she said to me “Darlene I’m leaving you.“ Though my mothers vitals were still good, she told me that Jesus came to her to give her the news, and that he will be back for her. She was excited. Then she told me to pick up my phone because my brother Tony was trying to call me. I told her that I had my phone in my hand and the phone was not ringing. She kept insisting that I need to pick up my phone because my brother was trying to call me. My niece was in the room with me at the time, and just at that moment she got a phone call. It was her dad, my brother. He asked her, “is aunt Darlene with you I have been trying to call her but nobody answers.”
Apparently I was in a room where I had no connection. About 15 minutes later she told me to pick up the phone again my other brother Michael was calling I looked at the phone again and said nobody is calling me and just then my brother Michael’s phone number appeared on my caller ID.

My mother was seeing in the spirit what had not yet been manifested to anyone else. She saw my father, she saw Jesus on the bed with her, she saw my brothers in another state, trying to call me. She was excited to go see Jesus and her husband. She was not afraid nor did she lament her inability to eat any longer.

I am reminded this morning, about how we can trust the word of God. When He says that we are healed in the present tense yet we do not yet see it, we do not have to keep asking. We can agree and thank Him for what has already been done and what already is.

Grab hold of that.