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Morning Devotional...

Psalm 37


All kinds of people came to the morning worship at the tabernacle  (and later the temple).  Some were poor and some rich, some were oppressed by others, and some were the oppressors, some were working-class people, and some were aristocracy.  It was a good time for worship leaders to warn the aristocracy and to encourage the poor - to remind them all of their covenant relationship with God and of how it should work itself out in the practicalities of daily life and human relationships.

This psalm is that kind of reminder.  It's a song of encouragement and advice for the poor and downtrodden who trust in the Lord, and it's a song of warning to any who would oppress them.  Hopefully, singing a song like this would prepare all these people to deal with the day that was just then before them. The psalmist begins by advising the godly not to become upset about those who don't care about the Lord, because, just as green leaves soon becomes brown and die, so these wicked will soon come to their end. Next, the faithful are encouraged to, "Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness."  In other words they  should thankfully receive what their covenant God gives them, while leaving their problems with Him.  The point is that if they're delighting themselves in God, then even their desires will be good in His sight - and for that reason those desires will be realized.  Simply put, GOD will take care of them and all their affairs – so that they won't have to!  Justice WILL happen for them, and everyone will know it - it'll be as obvious as the light of the  noonday sun!  All they have to do is to be patient, wait for the Lord to take care of things, and not focus on how the ungodly seems to be prospering.  In fact, he says, "don't fret, for it only causes harm!"  

The encouragement goes like this: "evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth!" The key is "waiting." Waiting is just being aware that there's an eternal plan, a plan that's been made in the unseen heaven, a plan in which God is laughing at the evildoer - whose weapons against the poor will finally in fact be the means of their own destruction!  So the people sing, "the sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken."  

What it's telling us all is that those who wait on the Lord need to remember that, "a little that a righteous man has is better than the riches of many wicked"  -because God is in control and will, in due course, care for them, and "their inheritance shall be forever." The wicked, on the other hand, "shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord, like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish - into smoke. They'll simply vanish.

The daily lives of the godly and of the wicked present a great contrast: "the wicked borrows and doesn't repay, but the righteous shows mercy and gives." And the results?  "Those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, but those cursed by Him shall be cut off!"  The Lord never forgets the godly.  He's always there, remaining close at hand. (Remember the promise, "I will never leave thee nor forsake the!")  It's always true that, "though the godly fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand."  

The psalmist gives the worshippers even more incentive to wait on the Lord as he says, "I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread.  He is ever merciful, and lends, and his descendants are blessed!"  Such "righteous" need only remember to "depart from evil, and do good . . . for the Lord loves justice, and does not forsake His saints; they are preserved forever  . . . the righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell in it forever." Of course the wicked don't believe it, but the righteous lifestyle is really the wisest way to live.

Finally, the people sing the conclusion to these thoughts when they say,  "Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land."  Though the wicked are sometimes "in great power . . . spreading themselves like a native green tree," yet they're coming to their end because such self-made prosperity can't last under God's administration.   The conclusion is that "the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord (not from themselves). The Lord shall help and deliver them . . . because they trust in Him." We too need this admonition.  You and I need to be reminded that there's an unseen Hand in this world, an unseen but almighty Hand, the Hand of One Who laughs at the foolishness of the wicked, but a Hand Whose love upholds forever the one who trusts in Him.  What we see with earthly eyes is not all there is.  May God give us patient trust today.  



Al Moak

Here's a hymn that reflects these thoughts.  Just click to hear the music.

Ohhh, thanks so much, Alan.  I've been so enjoying these Psalm devotionals.

This is the first one of these i have read and must say that you are so right. We do need to be reminded and encouraged just as you have done here. Thanks for the Devotion.

Don

John has just left to be home tomorrow probably.  He got his miles on the weekend and during the week just tops the miles up.  THe way the pays are figured up is 35 (I think) cents a mile with a 2500 mile minimum.  That comes up to about 875 per week pay.  He gets paid on the 15th and 30th.  So with the economy being what it is he needs to get the miles when he can.  He is flexible, but it sure takes its tole on our church life.  I am grateful that he has a job and not in a position like many we know, no job and on the verge of loosing everything.

We have a sunny day today.  Pay are you heading north today?  Roads were good yesterday.  John came up from the south Saturday and yesterday.

I read a Proverb to the girls every school day.  It is interesting how even though they appear to not be listening, when the same proverb is read as last month they interject comments indicating their understanding. 

Well have a good day everyone

Al ~ When I clicked your Click Here, it didn't work for me.  I had to use the Forum directory.  But I think I fixed it. 

Not much going on here today but I forgot to shut my garage door yesterday afternoon and it was up all night until I was getting ready to feed the furgirls this morning and noticed it was still up!  That happens quite frequently lately!.....

I am defragging my laptop.  I don't think I have ever done that.  It started last night.  I left the laptop open but it must have went to sleep because I had to push the power button this morning but the defrag window was there and started defragging again.  I like to 'see' the progress or at least the % of how much is done.  Vista isn't showing that. 

I have a few phone calls to make and tonight is Council Meeting at church.

Hi everyone.  It is now 52 degrees here in Georgia with some showers predicted for later today and this evening but it is suppose to be nice tomorrow but colder and only up to 47 degrees.

We had a nice visit with Stacey.  We took her to an Italian place where she wanted to go for lunch.  Fortunately we didn't need to do any errands for her and she had done her laundry the day before. 

Today I have a luncheon with several men that get together each week that have a common interest.  We really enjoy these times together. 

The housekeeper is here today so the house will soon be nice and clean again.  It really doesn't get very dirty in the two week span but it is always nice when it it all cleaned at once. 

Al, thanks for the devotional for this week. 

Jane, glad to know you are home safely from your trip South.  Did you have to use your chains?

Etta Sue, that was quite an adventure you had getting home in the snow.  Glad you didn't have any problems with your car other than getting stuck in your driveway.  That is a good place to get stuck if it has to happen.

RuthAnn, be careful with those boxes.  You don't need any new ailments. 

Glad to see all the posts.  Marilyn, what happened at your church service yesterday. 

Have to share a little story from our church service yesterday.  We installed our new Associate Pastor and had a combined service.  Our Contemporary band and singers did special music during Communion and it became extremely loud at one point.  I looked back and noticed Pat get a pack of tissues out of her purse and thought she was going to stuff a tissue into each ear.  I asked her about this after the service and she said that she was really annoyed by the loud music but the tissues were to sop up the grape juice as she had accidentally tipped the Communion cup and some had spilled out.  I have to admit the music was annoying and not conducive to a quiet and meditative period while the Communion was served.  Enough complaints for today. 

That's too bad, Larry, about the music during Communion.  I feel that Communion is the most important service in our church when we remember what our Lord did on that cross of Calvary and so many churches are using this time to play this music.

I often remember the most wonderful "Breaking of Bread" service in the church I used to attend when everyone silently prayed while the elements were being passed around.

Not many posts today. 

My church has communion every week.  When I used to attend two services, I had two communions.  The traditional service was complete silence while passing out the elements.  That was great because your mind was completely on remembering what Christ did for you on the cross.  The contemporary service had music even though it was low and soft.  Then one Sunday in the traditional service, they had a lady sing at that time.  I couldn't get my mind on why we take communion.  Others commented about that as well. 

Now, in my tiny church, we have background music on a CD.  It is so subtle that I don't pay any attention to it...in fact, you can still hear the floor squeak when the ushers walk on it!  Communion is MY time when I attend Sunday Service. 

Communion at church seems that I am really closer to God.  It is my time to tell him how much I love Him for what He has done for me. 

My parents taught me to review my life carefully before participating in communion. What a special time it is to draw near to God.

I got home yesterday afternoon, after a quick but productive trip to California, and have been trying to get things taken care of and back into the (humdrum) routine of living in this quiet little spot on the south coast of Oregon.  I do love my quiet life!

I came home with a different car -- a '99 Toyota Corolla that was Tom's (my husband) and that he can't drive any more.  We did the "family transfer" of title and registered it in Oregon, so no need to have the smog test, etc.  

No, Larry, I did not have to use the chains on my Neon going over the passes and, once I had a different car, I traded them for a different size and didn't have to use those coming back home either!  Since I did not use the chains I can return them and get a refund of my $75 in April.

I am still trying to catch up with all the email and messages that seemed to pile up while I was gone -- I was only gone 5 days. 

I'll be back and (possibly) stay around for a while to chat with all y'all, but I need to see to some other stuff at the moment so .............

See yuh later.

P.S. I agree that communion is a sacred time, and should be treated as such.  A time for reflection and introspection.  A time to remember the greatest gift of God's love.

Nice to hear you have new wheels, Jane.  So happy for you.

I was going to travel north today but slept late and then got involved in laundry, etc. so I'm going to drive up tomorrow.  Hoping to get away very early so that I can do the whole drive in daylight.  I want to take Geordie to the vet if possible to see if he can remove a wee tumor on his lower eyelid that is scratching his eyeball and it really bothers me.

Thanks for the devotional, Al.  I found it very comforting. 

We have had about all the weather that this person can smile about...   Still snow on the ground in this little part of the valley, wet and rain and so chilly!  A few mornings ago, around 5:30 A.M., I was reading in bed and Misty (cat) was sleeping beside me...when the bed shook.  Since neither of us had moved, it was a little strange.  No noise, just the bed shook.  Misty didn't seem too alarmed, simply curious, then went back to sleep.  I waited for the 'BIG'  quake they are alway warning about.  Fortunately, am still waiting.  There was a mild quake, 4.6 in the Puget Sound, so we were not having a strange sort of dream.  As quakes go, it wasn't much.

That was some game and I was a little miffed at the ending.  Was rather sad that we can't get the SuperBowl ads as they are blocked in Canada.  One HD channel that the kids have, did carry the ads, so went up and watched some of them there.  I have digital but not HD.  All the other HD channels were blocked...so someone goofed on that 

Nice that you had a safe trip, Jane.  Enjoy the car.

Pleasant Day/Evening and God Bless.

Liz

Hello, friends.  I had to be at work at 5:30 this morning!  Inhumane... , and it was a really hard day, too.  I have not been trained for that position at the Care Home, and had three people all giving me stuff to do, at the same time.    I was frustrated to the point that as soon as I left there, I went to Park View (my usual work place) to give my two weeks notice, but neither of the "bosses" were there.  So I need to do that tomorrow.  It is just getting to be too hard on me, and $7.25 per hour is NOT worth wrecking my health for!  The cooks at the school get $13.00 per hour!  My grandson told me "Grams!!  I haven't worked for that price since I was fourteen years old!"  Anyway................

The only good thing today was seeing Mom and Beth, and I was working in the dining room as "hostess" so I got to help Beth some with her food.

I need to be thinking about whose portrait(s) I will be painting the week of the 16th.  I'm thinking I might do Abby again, in her first "on pointe" performance in ballet.  Diane loaned me a good picture of her.

Etta Sue, that was quite an experience you had, driving in the snow.  We are still having summery weather, with nary a flake in sight, and the ground so dry they have put a burn ban in place around Wichita.  Things just don't seem to even out, weather-wise, do they?

We got good news today from the doctor concerning Darrel's biopsies!!  Praise God!

When I got home this afternoon, I sat down in my recliner and was sound asleep in two minutes flat.  Boy, I was bushed.

See you later!

I came back to say hello to Pat and Liz!  Hello, Pat and Liz!    And Liz, I would not enjoy having it cold and damp for so long, either, as that kind of weather makes me ache.  But we are getting quite concerned about the trees and other vegetation around here, because of this prolonged drought and unseasonably warm weather.  Wonder if ol'  Puxtahawney Phil knows what he's doing?  We can't have six MORE weeks of winter, when we haven't had any winter yet! 

Hi everyone.  I am awaiting for the time to leave for coffee this morning and then have a meeting to attend later this morning.  After that the rest of the day is free. It is chilly here this morning at 36 degrees but it is not raining as they had indicated it might be last night.  It is to get up to 42 degrees today.

Janet, good for you in giving your notice.  It sure sounds like they are taking advantage of you and if the job isn't a necessity then it isn't worth the pain and tiredness that goes with it.  Sure glad to hear that Darrel got good news.  Sometimes the worrying turns out to be the worst part of situations like this. 

Liz, I remember when I lived in Alaska and one day I was sitting at my desk working and all of a sudden the chair rolled right back into the bookcase behind me and everything moved back and forth.  Fortunately there wasn't much damage.  We lived in a duplex in Anchorage and the landlords lived in the other unit and she was, and probably remains, terrified of the earthquakes as had gone through the big quake in the mid-60s that did so much damage in Anchorage. 

Jane, sounds like you had a very successful trip and sure glad you didn't have to use the chains and will be able to get your money back. 

Pat, you are probably on the road headed north as I write.  So hope when you read this you had a good trip back with Geordie. 

It looks like you all pretty well agree with me regarding the music during Communion. 

Al:  Thank you for devotions.  Much appreciated.  I hope that your legs are feeling better. 

Etta Sue:  I like communion so much as well - we usually have soft background music and sing familiar songs more muted. 

Larry:  I am so glad to read that you had a fun day with Stacey and no work involved.  May there be more.

We are in Tucson and I don't know if you have seen the news about a porn film being displayed right at a crucial moment in the SuperBowl game.  Here we are, five adults and at first we thought bad timing for an ad.  Then - gross - it just stunned us then made us so angry when we thought of children being glued to the game.  I hope all of them go to jail.  We are furious and hope they find the stupid couple as well - I have to wonder what in the world possesses the minds of these people & especially those who pay to watch.  Enough said. 

Don had another all day teleconference here and he sure does want to get off of that state duty some day.  Yesterday was six hours and the other day, eight hours.  He consults for the state of Colorado and it is volunteer work.

I dropped my sunglasses at Sam's Club but realized it in the car, went back in and someone had just picked them up.  It disturbs me that it is so easy for me to lose things though.  

On the bright side, we have enjoyed the walks and the wonderful views.  Plus, all of the vegetation is so interesting and the birds are so colorful.  It sure is dry.  Thursday, we will finally get out of here early to drive to a place that has a ton of Sand Cranes and it is a fact that they move at 11 A.M. on the dot into huge swarms.  Should be exciting - waiting for the birds to move.  Bringing  and camera, binoculars.   

I surely agree that communion should be a quiet time of reflection.  Soft, familiar music would be fine, but please, no loud music!

Carol, I would love to be there with you to see the cranes moving!  Wow!  I have also noticed I lose or misplace things much more easily now.    Not fun.

We had a bad experience last evening.  Our little dauchund, Sarah, kept coming into the bedroom and getting on the bed.  We would make her get down, and soon, she would be back.  Later, when I went to bed, we discovered Sarah had wormed her way under the covers and either vomited or had daarrhea, right in the middle of our bed!!  Right on our silk-filled comforter from Thailand, which is NOT washable.  We sponged it off and I will be taking it to the cleaners today.  All the bedding had to be stripped and the bed re-made.  UGH.  I was ready to banish her from the house for good!

Larry and Liz, we experienced a small earthquake while in Costa Rica years ago.  I surely wouldn't enjoy being in a big one!

Now that I have REALLY decided to give my notice of "retirement" from work, I am getting more excited about other things I want to do and enjoy doing.  It is just a little under six weeks until we leave on our next adventure trip!

Boy, the powers that be are determined to try to spend our way out of the hole and into prosperity.  Just exactly how does that work?          And, yeah, put the tax cheats into the highest echelons of government, that should really help!  (Okay, off my soapbox.)

I have lots to do this morning, then am working again in the afternoon.  Darrel has already left, has trouble calls in three different towns today.

God bless you all!

Poor Janet and poor Sarah.  If her getting on your bed wasn't her usual routine, she was probably trying to tell you something.........like, "mama, I don't feel so good." lol    I sure hope they can remove everything from your comforter.

I agree about Communion.  I would not like loud music blaring while preparing my heart to receive.  Soft music, reverent and worshipful, is all I've heard during this time, in several churches I've attended through the years.

Early last week Indiana was behind 9.1 inches of snowfall for the season.  Not now.  We are suppose to get 4 inches of white stuff on top of the 12.4 we already have.  Oh, some of it melted but the bigger part of the surface was still covered with lots of snow.  The snow plow has already been on my road twice today!  Traffic is moving so it must not be real bad out. 

Ivalou and I have a funeral visitation this afternoon after 4pm.  If we can get out of our drives, we will make it.  We will check around 3pm and see what it is out there then.  Ivalou said it didn't start snowing until around 8am and I got up at 8:30 and could see nothing but white everywhere I looked.  Beautiful, really! 

Church council was interesting.  I have never known or thought much about the business part of church.  We certainly need more members to cover out expenses.  The second Sunday of the month we are to give for the Building Expansion and this month on the 15th we are having a brunch after Sunday School and we are to bring a little extra $$ to help pay for the fuel bill that was $800 in January!!    It is amazing how since I have been tithing, the money seems to be there!  Thank you, God!

That's it for today!

Larry you asked about the Sunday service at my church, I will start by telling you that we have a man  who is helping work on the remodel of  the church, he  creates sculptures out of Styrofoam.

The text for the sermon was 1 Cor. 12:12-13 At the end of the sermon as Pastor said "Some are the feet", this man place beautifully sculptured legs and feet on the platform. The different body parts were added as  the pastor named the parts, The finished  sculpture was about 9-10 feet tall blue and wearing  an armor vest and hood. The Pastor has asked him to make the sculpture a strong person and boy did it have muscles.

Today I am taking my car to have the oil changed, lubed and new wipers put on. It has been 11 months since the last one. The oil is still pretty clean and even with all my trips to Oregon I have only put almost just over 5,000 miles on the odometer.

Welcome back Jane good to hear that you got a better car, What did you do with the Neon.

I am packing a little bit every day. I will take up a load in the car  next week.

Etta Sue I totally understand about the tithing principal.I always have enough to pay my bills.

Quote from: Marilyn on February 03, 2009, 11:28:23 AM

Welcome back Jane good to hear that you got a better car, What did you do with the Neon.

It's parked in my daughter's yard, in Citrus Heights, on 3 ½ tires! (I had a blowout just south of Orland going down there last week.  It has that half tire on the right front now.)  Joy and John are going to try to sell it for me. 

QuoteIt's parked in my daughter's yard, in Citrus Heights, on 3 ½ tires! (I had a blowout just south of Orland going down there last week.  It has that half tire on the right front now.Embarrassed)  Joy and John are going to try to sell it for me

Jane did you have to be towed to Joy's house. Or did they come to get you?

Quote from: Marilyn on February 03, 2009, 12:04:07 PM

QuoteIt's parked in my daughter's yard, in Citrus Heights, on 3 ½ tires! (I had a blowout just south of Orland going down there last week.  It has that half tire on the right front now.Embarrassed)  Joy and John are going to try to sell it for me

Jane did you have to be towed to Joy's house. Or did they come to get you?

I drove there .... and more!     Almost immediately after I pulled off I-5 with the blowout a trucker stopped and he called AAA for me, told them my exact location, and who to send from Orland to assist.  They gave me priority because I was on the interstate, and the tire was fixed changed and I was on my way again in less than an hour!     Just as the AAA guy pulled up, another trucker stopped to render assistance.     Sometimes it helps to be a helpless old lady stranded on the side of the highway.  And God bless those truckers. 

I have never had a cell phone ... but Joy has now given me an old one of hers and I have it in the car now    Guess I can do my own calling if the need arises again.   

Had no internet all day today and when Kassie came home I asked her to see if she could fix it.  I had the phone line in the wrong port!  Sometimes I feel so dumb.

This has been another cold day.  NE winds.

I have been kept busy putting wood in the fire.  IN the process I have altered a dress, mended a coat, and I am making a pair if slacks for  a lady.  The girls are home and Kass had an appointment with her counsellor.  That has been my day.

Have a good evening everyone
God Bless

Jane:  Good idea to have that cell phone in the car - just to call for assistance.  Of course, in our driving it happens that we are not always in a good area to get a signal.  

Janet:  Have a celebration when you finally quit that job!  How is Beth doing and your mom?  Bet you are looking forward to the next trip.

Just had a phone call from home and about 3 neighbors have died in the last three weeks.  Out of 101 homes in the little group, that is a high number.

Hi Judy B!!!! busy gal.

I sure am grateful tonight:

A warm apartment on a bitterly cold night.
The opportunity to access internet to be with y'all.
A godly brother who passed another birthday today.
A doctor who altered some medications after he heard a bad coughing spell I had - with this one, I nearly passed out. So, he finally understood the problems I've been having.

And finally, a certain knowledge that Jesus is my savior.

Y'all have a wonderful evening.

Ruth Ann

  Ruth Ann, what a good post!!

And carol.......LET'S PARTY!!  I gave my two week's notice today!!  I feel such relief already, I can't explain it.

Beth is doing better, the home just called me, though, to say she had scratched her right cheek and gouged out a piece of tissue from it.    Ouch!  I didn't think she could even do that--so maybe it is a good sign of movement.  They said it bled quite a bit, but they have put antibiotic ointment on it now.

I was blessed by a dear sister in the Lord tonight.  She was at Park View teaching the ladies to make beads from paper, and I went in there to see how it was going, after finishing my kitchen work.  She said I looked like I was tired (I was) and would I like her to massage my shoulders?  ABSOLUTELY!!    Boy, that did make me feel better, and now I think I can go to sleep...zzzzzzzzzzz

Well, I got stuck yesterday afternoon....right at my mailbox.  The snow was light and fluffy so I thought, I can get out.  I did get out of my drive and drove into Ivalou's drive.  I backed out and thought, I will get the mail.  When I did, I literally fell in a hole where the mail man got stuck yesterday.  I couldn't get the car out.  I went to the house and got my shovel and still couldn't get out because it was solid ice under the snow.  Finally a nice man stopped and he got my car out.  Not driving to the mailbox until this melts. 

We were suppose to go to a visitation at the funeral home but didn't.  So today we are going to the funeral at 11.  Then at 2 this afternoon, I am taking my camera back to the funeral home.  My classmate in Mexico's son is there and his other son is going to use my camera to take pictures and I will send them to Rex since his health wouldn't let him come home for the funeral. 

That's it on my neck of the woods!  Bright and sunny today but cold.....

I surely do agree with all of you on the softer, more contemplative music during communion.  After all, it's not a time for rowdy celebration - it's time for some all-important transactions with our Savior.  In that ritual, we see that He is offering to us His Blood (forgiveness for all our sins).  Also in it, He is offering to us His Body (His humanity in which He lived in perfect righteousness).  During the ritual, therefore, we're saying to Him, "I receive Your forgiveness through Your shed Blood, and I receive Your righteousness through Your broken body.  Oh Lord, I need You.  Without You I have no forgiveness and no righteousness!

A transaction like that one needs quietness and focus, and all of us doing it together  is so indicative of our oneness - in HIM.  What a time for worship!

Etta Sue, just send that white stuff to us here in SW Kansas.  It won't last long around here!  Glad you got the car out, with help.  Getting stuck is no fun.

I have a lunch to attend with ladies from my church, then to the library to get enlargements of the photo of Abby I want to paint as a portrait.  Much easier day today, hallelujah!

Funny how the topic of communion came up.  We had communion on Sunday.  Some complained about the loud music.  It seems that nearly everywhere it's out with old style music and in with the new, loud music.

We have a ritual t.b. used during the service.  There is a short or long version.  Our pastor uses the short version.  too bad.  I like the part in the long version which says in part, "I deserve only your righteous indignation"  And I really feel that way. 

For years before becoming a christian, I look communion because I didn't want to be the only one that didn't take it.  And I didn't want others to know where I really was with the Lord.

It wasn't until I bacame a christian I realized that I was committing a big sin by taking communion in the manner I did. 

I know I know..."Which sin is the greatest?"

Communion means so much more to me now than it ever did.... as I reflect on what He did for me and what He could have done.