150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 150

Good Morning Friends!

Well here we are!  At the very last day of our 150 Days in the Psalms!  It is hard to believe--I really didn't think I would be able to post this regularly, but I am thankful that even in spite of a bout with the flu, I am still blessed to be here at the finish line!  What a blessing going through the Psalms slowly has been for me!  I would love to hear if any of you have a plan for what you are going to do next for your own personal quiet time.  I am still considering what I will choose to do next, and welcome ideas!

Today's Psalm--Psalm 150--was a short one again, but still packed with guidance for us.  I especially loved the last verse, so that is the one I wrote in my Bible notebook:

"Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.  Praise the LORD!" Psalm 150:6

I also colored a page to add in to my Bible notebook.  I am not much of an artist myself, so have only added in art pages when I find a Scripture coloring page that I can copy, but I am adding in as many art pages as I can find, as they really bring me happiness as I am paging through my notebook!  Art is a side of me that definitely needs to be developed more, so I am thankful for artists that share their work with others!

My Study Bible had a beautiful note on this verse, that really spoke to my heart so I wanted to also share it with you here:

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If we would but think of God as often as we have evidence of His care for us we should keep Him ever in our thoughts and should delight to talk of Him and to praise Him.  We talk of temporal things because we have an interest in them.  We talk of our friends because we love them; our joys and our sorrows are bound up with them.  Yet we have infinitely greater reason to love God than to love our earthly friends; it should be the most natural thing in the world to make Him first in all our thoughts, to talk of His goodness and tell of His power.  The rich gifts He has bestowed upon us were not intended to absorb our thoughts and love so much that we should have nothing to give to God; they are constantly to remind us of Him and to bind us in bonds of love and gratitude to our heavenly Benefactor.  We dwell too near the lowlands of earth.  Let us raise our eyes to the open door of the sanctuary above, where the light of the glory of God shines in the face of Christ, who "is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him" (Hebrews 7:25).

Steps to Christ, by E. G. White, p. 102

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Let everything that has breath praise the LORD--my very breath came from Him.  Isn't it only right that it should be returned to Him, in the form of praises and thanksgivings?  For without Him, I truly am nothing except dust.

"Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being."  Genesis 2:7

What praise do YOU have for your Creator God today?

Thank you SO much for joining me on this trip through the Psalms!  It has been so much more fun and more of a blessing sharing with all of you and hearing you share things back with me!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 149

Good Morning Everyone!

Today is Psalm 149 in our reading--almost finished with the Psalms!

I chose verse 4 to record in my notebook--partly because of the verse itself, and partly because of the note my Study Bible had to go along with this verse.  It reminded me of a situation in my past where the Lord really had to work on my heart!  But first, the verse:

"For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation." Psalm 149:4

Once upon a time, a long long time ago, my family was living in a different state, and my husband was working for a different school.  We had our son, who has a disability, and he was receiving a certain therapy which was helping him greatly.  My husband's employer was going to be making some changes to our health insurance, and since we were concerned that the special needed therapy might stop with the new insurance company, we went and talked with my husband's boss about this concern.  The individual assured us that our son would continue to receive the therapy he was already receiving (even if the insurance company would not pay for it he assured us that the school would), and even went so far as to put this in writing in a letter for us.  Well, you can guess what happened--the insurance company changed, the new insurance company did not want to pay for the therapy, and all of a sudden our son was not receiving what he so badly needed.  And worst of all--this individual would not honor the promise he had put in writing and given to us!

Needless to say, my "Mamma Bear" side of me was furious!  You know how it is--you can take something away from a mom, but don't take it away from her child! (And a disabled child at that!) And yet--there was nothing that I could do.  Nothing except nurture bitterness and hatred for this individual--which I was pretty sure was not what God would be wanting me to do!  And yet I felt like this person was SO WRONG in their behavior, and of course, it is always worse when they are a Christian, because you expect more from them! (Oh how often we ourselves fail!  What example are WE giving to other people, who expect more from us?)

I cannot pretend--it was HARD.  Fortunately, I had a wonderful friend who wisely counseled me to give it up.  Let it go--let God handle it, whether our son got this therapy or not, our son belonged to God and if HE wanted him to have the therapy He would open a way.  It was still hard, but with God's help, I was able to let go of the anger inside of me that I had for this individual.  And you know what happened?  God opened up a completely different avenue, and in the end our son continued to receive this needed therapy, even though a promise had been broken.  Yes, a thousand ways our God has to meet our needs, of which we know nothing-- I am convinced!

And the note in my Study Bible this morning?  This is the note that reminded me of this story from my past:

"Far better would it be for us to suffer under false accusation than to inflict upon ourselves the torture of retaliation upon our enemies.  The spirit of hatred and revenge originated with Satan, and can bring only evil to him who cherishes it.  Lowliness of heart, that meekness which is the fruit of abiding in Christ, is the true secret of blessing.  'He will beautify the meek with salvation' (Psalm 149:4)."

Mount of Blessing, by E. G. White, p. 17

Are YOU battling an enemy this morning?  Give your battle to Him.  Rest in His mighty arms, and trust that He will bring about the outcome that is best.

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 148

Good Morning Friends!

Today's Psalm is Psalm 148, and it is subtitled in my Bible as "Praise to the LORD from Creation."

As I read through it, it lists different things that should be praising God--the heavens, His angels, all His hosts, the sun and moon, the stars, the heavens and the waters above the heavens.  Continuing down, it says the earth should praise Him, the sea creatures, fire and hail, snow and clouds, winds, mountains and hills, trees, beasts and all cattle, creeping things and flying fowl.  Finally, it moves on to kings of the earth and all peoples, princes, judges, young men and maidens, old men and children--yes this Psalm pretty much covers every single thing that there is, and says all of this should be praising the Lord!

I recorded in my notebook verse 13:

"Let them praise the name of the LORD, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven."  Psalm 148:13

This Psalm today reminds me of another story in the Bible--when Jesus was riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, and people were spreading their cloaks on the road and praising Him. Just read a little bit of the story:

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When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
     "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!"
     "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!"
"I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."

Luke 19:37-40

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If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out!  Do YOU want to be replaced by a rock????  I know I do not!  I do not want a stone to have to cry out and praise my Savior because I am too stubborn or prideful to give praise where praise is due!

And there is only ONE place where praise is due--our beautiful and compassionate God and Savior!

Will YOU praise Him today?  Or are you going to let a rock replace you?

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Day 147

Good Morning Friends!

Have you had a chance to read Psalm 147 today?  If not, be sure to take a few minutes to do so--you will not be disappointed!

This Psalm in my Bible has the subtitle of "Praise to God for His Word and Providence."  The entire Psalm talks of God's mighty power--isn't it easy to forget?  I mean, we sometimes kinda relegate God to just whatever we humans could do.  Which is understandable, since He became human--but we need to not forget that at the same time He is completely God as well.  We have no reason to feel helpless, because our Help in ALL circumstances is just waiting for us to want His help!

I liked a lot of the verses, but chose to record just verse 3 in my notebook:

"He heals the brokenhearted, And binds up their wounds."  Psalm 147:3

Have you ever felt brokenhearted?  If you live on this earth I'm pretty sure you have.  And wounds--who among us is NOT wounded?  Not one, I would say.  But this promise says that we can be healed--and our God is the one who can and WILL do it, if we let Him!

My Bible also had this study note for this chapter, which I found very encouraging so I wanted to share it with you here:

"Jesus is watching over you, trembling child of God.  Are you tempted?  He will deliver.  Are you weak?  He will strengthen.  Are you ignorant?  He will enlighten.  Are you wounded?  He will heal. . . The way will be opened for you to disentangle yourself from embarrassment and difficulty.  The weaker and more helpless you know yourself to be, the stronger will you become in His strength.  The heavier your burdens, the more blessed the rest in casting them upon the Burden Bearer."

Desire of Ages, by E. G. White, p. 329

THAT is what I need to remember--that I have a Burden Bearer!  Why do I insist on trying pathetically to carry everything myself when He is much more capable and will do a fantastic job of fixing my mess and is standing by just begging me to let Him help?

Hand your burdens over to Him today--He is delighted to carry them for you!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 146

Good Morning Everyone!

And a Happy Day After Christmas to you!  Today we are reading Psalm 146--it is a beautiful Psalm, and in my Bible it has the subtitle of "The Happiness of Those Whose Help is the LORD."  I like happy things--cannot stand movies that end sad with people dying, etc.  So this title is immediately a favorite to me!  In fact, I think that is why I love the Bible so much--because I have read the end, and we really DO live happily ever after with our Creator! But I digress. . .

I loved several of the verses in Psalm 146, but chose verse 3 as the one I recorded in my bible notebook:

"Do not put your trust in princes, Nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help."  Psalm 146:3

Even if we HAVE a kind person who WANTS to help us--they are still limited.  Why do we not turn to our God who is UNlimited?  (This does not mean I think we should not help each other the best we can--we definitely should!)

There is a study note in my Bible to go along with this verse, which I thought was really good:

"We are not to trust in princes, or to set men in the place of God.  We are to remember that human beings are fallible and erring, and that He who has all power is our strong tower of defense.  In every emergency we are to feel that the battle is His.  His resources are limitless, and apparent impossibilities will make the victory all the greater."

Prophets and Kings, by E. G. White, p. 202

Did you catch that?  In some of our emergencies---no, in EVERY emergency, we are to feel that the battle is His.  Why oh why do I struggle on trying to do things in my own power?  I HAVE no power!  Just need to remember this and to turn to my true source!

And we need to remember that it is our God that we follow, not man.  Even with a wonderful God-fearing person, such as a big preacher or evangelist, they can still fall and move away from God and the true teachings.  That is why in EVERY teaching, we must test it with what the Bible says.

". . . test everything; hold fast what is good."  1 Thessalonians 5:21

With our hand in His, we have our strong tower.  We are limited, but His resources are limitless!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 145

Good Morning Friends!

And Merry Christmas!  Today we are reading Psalm 145--and even though I did not plan specifically  to read this Psalm on Christmas Day, I have felt this morning like it is a very appropriate Psalm for today!

And--because it IS Christmas today--I allowed myself to write more than just one or two verses in my Bible study notebook!  So bear with me--but none of them are very long!

The first verses that really caught my attention in this Psalm was verses 8 & 9:

"The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy.  The LORD is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works."  Psalm 145:8,9

Great in mercy!  He certainly is!  How greater in mercy could He possibly be, especially when we think about the whole Christmas story!  Reading on, I found this gem:

"The LORD upholds all who fall, and raises up all who are bowed down."  Psalm 145:14

Do YOU ever feel like you have fallen down?  Like life has knocked you flat, and you just don't have the power in you to get up again?  Then this verse is for YOU to claim!  I know I have felt this way before--I suspect ALL of us have, at one time or another!  But He is right there beside us, and HE will lift us up, put His arm around our shoulder, and walk WITH us each step of the way.  And yes--I suspect He does more than His fair share of flat out carrying us--but I don't think He really minds!

I also found this lovely verse:

"You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing."  Psalm 145:16

I truly believe this verse, on many levels.  No, perhaps we will not always here on this earth receive whatever it is that our hearts are desiring--but is our God not trustworthy to trust Him with those things?  And sometimes, what we desire IS given to us here on earth--but not at the time that we would want it.  Sometimes we have to wait a very long time--I had a desire of my heart that was so personal that I couldn't even share it with anyone else.  My heart carried that desire for over ten years--but God knew, and in His timing, He granted me that desire.  I didn't know it was going to turn out that way, but I had finally had to simply trust Him that He would do whatever the best thing was.
"The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth."  Psalm 145:18

This is the last verse from Psalm 145 that I wrote down this morning.  It touches me so close to my heart.  We need never feel that we are alone!  Even when we were lost in our world of sin, God did not forget us!  Not only did He remember, but He loved us SO MUCH that He sent His only Son. . .

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."  John 3:16

And THIS is why the LORD is near.  We were loved SO very much, that God became man in order to save us from our sins!

Such great love!  This--THIS is the very best present of all!  God with us!

Merry Merry Christmas!  May you spend this day with the God who loves you so much that He was willing to give Himself to die in your place!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 144

Good Morning Everyone!

Today we are reading in Psalm 144.  There were several verses that I thought about recording--some days I really have a hard time choosing just one or two!  I finally settled on one that talks about what I have devoted most of my adult life to--that of raising my children:

"That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; That our daughters may be as pillars, sculptured in palace style."  Psalm 144:12

This--THIS is what I want.  I want my son to be raised to bring glory and honor to his Creator.  I want my daughter to be raised to be not a princess in earthly fashion (or a Disney Princess!), but a princess of the One True King.  My study Bible had this note in it on this verse:

"In the children committed to her care, every mother has a sacred charge from God.  'Take this son, this daughter,' He says:  'train it for Me; give it a character polished after the similitude of a palace, that it may shine in the courts of the Lord forever."
Ministry of Healing by E. G. White, p. 376

What an awesome and heavy task--that of raising and teaching a human!  One that we could never do without His continual help and guidance!  But then, further down in Psalm 144, we find this gem:

"Happy are the people who are in such a state; Happy are the people whose God is the LORD!"  Psalm 144:15

The only way for true happiness--following God!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 143

Good Morning Friends!

Today is Psalm 143!  Have you read it yet this morning?  If not, be sure that you do, because there are several beautiful gems in here that you are not going to want to miss!

In my Bible, this Psalm has the subtitle of "An Earnest Appeal for Guidance and Deliverance," and it certainly is!  It is more than an appeal, though--it is also a beautiful pledge of what David wants to do in following his God.  I really loved verse 8--this is also what I want in my heart, so this is the verse that I wrote down in my Bible Notebook:

"Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, for in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to You."  Psalm 143:8

This is what "I" want too!  I want to HEAR God in the morning! I want to TRUST in Him!  I want to KNOW the way I should walk!  I want to LIFT my soul up to Him!  I want to follow God the same way my Labrador Retriever dog follows me around the house--every step that I take!  I never walk to another room, without her appearing right after me.  She for whatever reason, either is gathering security from being near me, or feels the need to guard me, or something!  I do not understand all that goes on in her little doggie thinking, but I do know her happiest place is when she parks herself right at my feet.  Perhaps we can take a lesson from a faithful dog!

I looked up the term "lovingkindness," as it is a bit of an old fashioned word.  I found an interesting tidbit about the coining of this word that I thought I would share with you here.  At least if Wikipedia is correct, then this is how this word was invented!

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The term loving-kindness (or "lovingkidness") was coined by Myles Coverdale in his Coverdale Bible of 1535, as an English translation of the Hebrew word chesed (which appears in the Latin Vulgate as "misericordia"); in that text it is spelled "louinge kyndnesse."

Wikipedia.org
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I also looked up several definitions:

A specific kind of love characterized by acts of kindness; Tender kindness motivated by a feeling of affection.

God's loving-kindness is all around us, every morning.  I pray that He will help us to hear and to see it today!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 142

Good Morning Friends!

Such beautiful thoughts in today's Psalm!  We are reading Psalm 142 today, and immediately it points us to the only direction we should ever look:

"I cry out to the LORD with my voice; With my voice to the LORD I make my supplication.  I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare before Him my trouble."  Psalm 142:1,2

And a little later on:

"I cried out to You, O LORD; I said 'You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living.' " Psalm 142:5

God is definitely the right place for me to cry out to--for me to share everything that is going on--both the good as well as the bad.  He is the only One with the power to fix things, and He loves me too much to ignore my pleas.  He is indeed my refuge, and if He is my portion I have EVERYTHING.

Are you crying out to Him today?  He has invited you to!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 141

Good Morning Friends!

We are reading Psalm 141 this morning, and it is certainly filled with important instruction for us to follow!  I recorded verse 3 in my Bible notebook:

"Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips."  Psalm 141:3

Do you think very much about the words that come out of your mouth?  Most of us do not.  It is so EASY for us to talk, and often we find ourselves blabbing on without really thinking about what we are saying.  And once we start talking in a certain direction, well, it just seems to come and come and come.  My daughter has a tendency to be very analytical, which CAN often times turn easily into complaining about things that are not "perfect."  (Life is hard for perfectionists, because we do NOT live in a perfect world any more!)  I will try and help her realize what she is doing, and I often refer to it as a "waterfall of complaints" because once she starts complaining about something it just seems to go on and on and on.  Are we not all guilty of this?  Or of something similar?

My study Bible had a note to go along with verse 3, which spoke very pointedly on this subject, and I thought I would share it with all of you here as well:

"Every day of life is freighted with responsibilities which we must bear.  Every day, our words and acts are making impressions upon those with whom we associate.  How great the need that we set a watch upon our lips and guard carefully our steps!  One reckless movement, one imprudent step, ad the surging waves of strong temptation may sweep a soul into the downward path.  We cannot gather up the thoughts we have planted in human minds.  If they have been evil, we may have set in motion a train of circumstances, a tide of evil, which we are powerless to stay.
"On the other hand, if by our example we aid others in the development of good principles, we give hem power to do good.  In their turn they exert the same beneficial influence over others.  Thus hundreds and thousands are helped by our unconscious influence.  The true follower of Christ strengthens the good purposes of all with whom he comes in contact.  Before an unbelieving, sin-loving world he reveals the power of God's grace and the perfection of His character."

Prophets and Kings, by E. G. White, p. 348

What an awesome responsibility, this gift of speech is!

Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 140

Good Morning Friends!

Today we start the countdown to the end of the Psalms!  Only nine more chapters!  I am going to miss this daily time.  A break will be good, but I will be needing to think about what I want to do next.  If any of you who have been reading the Psalms along with me have any ideas of what you are going to study next, please share!

For Psalm 140, I choose to write down verses 12 and 13:
"I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and justice for the poor.  Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name; The upright shall dwell in Your presence."  Psalm 140:12,13

These verses make me think--are we depending on our God and following His direction?  Sometimes He does ask people to DO something.  But other times, He asks us to instead trust Him to work things out.

"The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."  Exodus 14:14

Perhaps it is harder for we as humans to depend on Him to take care of our problems for us.  But He will not forget us!

"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?  Though she may forget, I will not forget you!  See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me."  Isaiah 49:15,16

He will not forget you.

He cannot.

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 139

Good Morning Everyone!

Here we are at Psalm 139!  It is hard to believe!  This Psalm is one that I actually already wrote about in my Bible notebook, back in the summer time before I had even thought about going through the entire book of Psalms on a daily basis.  In my Bible notebook I will write about any verse or chapter that catches my attention, or that I decide I want to write or blog about.  Then I simply place it in my notebook--which is a small three ring binder--in Biblical order.  So it doesn't matter if I am reading all over the Bible, my notes are always placed in my notebook in Biblical order.  Anyway, so I came up to Psalm 139 and saw I had already written about this Psalm in my notebook, but I have not shared about it here on the blog so I thought I would simply share the same verses I already picked out for this chapter.  I wrote out several verses, verses 7-10.

"Where can I go from Your Spirit?  Or where can I flee from Your presence?  If I ascend into heaven, You are there.  If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.  If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me."  Psalm 139:7-10

I chose these verses, because they tell me that God will always be with me, no matter where I am.  He will not force me to choose Him--but a whisper of a prayer asking for Him, and He is immediately there.  Oh how great His love fore me is!

Are YOU running away from God today?  He is your only hope--run TOWARDS Him!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 137 & 138

Good Morning Everyone!

I hope you are enjoying your weekend and spending time with those most important to you!  I took a little time off yesterday, and did not get on my computer to post anything--but we can review both Psalm 137 and Psalm 138 today.  I hope you are continuing to read through the Psalms--we are almost finished!

In Psalm 137, I really appreciated one thought provoking section:

"How shall we sing the LORD's song in a foreign land?  If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill!  If I do not remember you, let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth--If I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy."  Psalm 137:4-6

I can't help but wonder--do we long for our God the same way the Psalmist here longed for Zion when he was in a foreign land?  Do we rush through our day, ignoring Him and never stopping to talk with Him when we had the opportunity?

From Psalm 138 I recorded:

"Though the LORD is on high, yet He regards the lowly; But the proud He knows from afar."  Psalm 138:6

In my study Bible, there was this great note that went along with this verse:

"Not only the wise, the great, the beneficent, will gain a passport to the heavenly courts; not only the busy worker, full off zeal and restless activity.  No; the poor in spirit, who crave the presence of an abiding Christ, the humble in heart, whose highest ambition is to do God's will--these will gain an abundant entrance.  They will be among that number who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."

The Desire of Ages, by E. G. White, p. 301, 302

Isn't that comforting?  It is not our being busy that "earns" us heaven--no, it is not something that can be earned at all.  And we may not be the most wise person on earth.  But do we long for God?  Do we crave His presence?  Is our desire to please Him?

Something to think about today for sure--what are we accomplishing by our being busy?  It's time to pray about it, and to make sure we are doing what He has asked us to do.

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 136

Good Morning Everyone!

We are reading today in Psalm 136.  I loooove this Psalm!  I think I just really enjoy the poetry feel of it, as it keeps repeating the same phrase over and over.  And more than the repeating, I love WHAT it is repeating--that our God's mercy endures forever!

I loved every single one of today's verses, but choose to write down the first verse in my Bible notebook:

"Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!  For His mercy endures forever."  Psalm 136:1

After reading through the Psalm, there were two main words that stood out to me--those of "mercy" and "endure."

Just for fun, I looked up each one in the dictionary.

Mercy:  compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.
Synonyms:  leniency, compassion, grace, charity, forgiveness, forbearance, soft-heartedness, tenderheartedness, kindness, sympathy, tolerance, generosity

Endure:  to continue in the same state; to remain firm under suffering or misfortune without yielding
Synonyms:  lasting, long-lasting, abiding, durable, continuing, persisting, eternal, perennial, permanent, unending, everlasting, constant, stable, steady, steadfast, fixed, firm, unwavering, unfaltering, unchanging

I love the picture of our God that this Psalm and defining these words gives--what a wonderful God we serve!  Our Creator is the most powerful of all--and yet He is also the One who shows the most mercy.  Praise God and give thanks to Him, for His mercy endures forever!

The more I get to know Him, the more I love Him!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 135

Good Morning Friends!

Today we are reading in Psalm 135.  I really enjoyed this Psalm, because it was talking about how mighty our God is!  There were more parts that I really liked than I wrote down in my notebook.  For instance, I love where starting in  verse 6 when it says that

 "Whatever the LORD pleases He does, in heaven and earth, in the seas and in all deep places.  He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain; He brings the wind out of His treasuries."

I think I just like that these verse remind me of how powerful God is--that just like the disciples found when they saw Jesus calm the storm when they were all out in the boat, "even the wind and the waves obey Him."

With a God like that, why would we worship anything else?  I wrote in my notebook verses 15-18:

"The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.  They have mouths, but they do not speak; Eyes they have, but they do not see; they have ears, but they do not hear; Nor is there any breath in their mouths.  Those who make them are like them; so is everyone who trusts in them."  Psalm 135:15-18

We may not be bowing down to an image, but are we bowing down to other idols?  Are we bowing down to money, for instance?  Money is certainly a very important tool--important because of the good it can accomplish in helping provide the needs of people.  But it is not something for us to worship and give our lives to the accumulation of.  And what about other things?  Are we worshiping our reputation?  Where we feel that we have to appear 100% perfect?  THAT is never going to be the truth--only God is perfect, so what about admitting that to yourself and asking Him for help in the things that really do need changing?

The above verses about the idols who have mouths and eyes and ears but those things do not work reminded me of a different Bible verse that states quite the opposite about our God.  This is a verse that I love to claim and hold on to, and maybe it will also become a favorite of yours!

"Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear."  Isaiah 59:1

Isn't that a great promise?  Whatever it is--God is able.  He is not too weak to save, He is not too weak to help.  He is not too far away to reach a loved one of ours. . .

So hold on and cling--but cling to the One who really CAN hear and help you!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 134

Good Morning Everyone!

We have another super short Psalm this morning--Psalm 134 is only three verses long!  I wrote down the first verse in my Bible notebook, but you can read the entire Psalm in my picture here!

"Behold, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, Who by night stand in the house of the LORD!"  Psalm 134:1

Does this verse sound familiar?  It did to me, because I remember singing it as a child! Music is a super powerful way to put things into your long term memory!  A little searching on YouTube, and I found the version I remember singing! :)  Follow the link below and you will find yourself singing this verse the whole day through!

Come Bless the Lord

Isn't that a sweet song?  And it is SO good for us to remember too!  How often we get all caught up in ourselves, thinking that the world is all about me me me!  Well what about Him?  Our Creator?  The One who made our entire universe as well as us, and the One who gave His life to die so that we would not have to die a forever death?  So that we would have hope, and a future?

And so--instead of grumbling today if things do not go exactly as I would like them to, I am going to try and remember to sing blessings to the Lord!  And that should shrink my problems down to their proper size!

Won't you join me?

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 133

Good Morning Everyone!

We are reading in Psalm 133 this morning, and a very good reminder it is too!  Right from the start, it reminds us of what it is that God wants us to do:

"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!"  Psalm 133:1

The rest of this short Psalm is simply talking about the blessings that will be ours, if we obey and live in unity.  My Study Bible has this note going along with this verse:

"It is the will of God that union and brotherly love should exist among His people. . . While we are not to sacrifice one principle of truth, it should be our constant aim to reach this state of unity.  This is the evidence of our discipleship.  Said Jesus, 'By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.' "  (John 13:35)

Patriarchs and Prophets by E. G. White p. 520

So--while not sacrificing any truth, we are to do our best to live in unity.  I can't help but think--sometimes it is easier to live in unity with the stranger you meet at the store, or even the co-worker you work with--than it is to live in unity with those closest to you!  Somehow, your spouse or children or other close relatives just see to get on our nerves much more than strangers do. . . I remember a dear pastor we had while living in Texas.  He used to look at us all from the pulpit and say "You all seem really normal until I get to know you!"  Isn't that the truth!  It is those closest to us whom we should be treating the very best--and instead we lose our temper and become exasperated with them the most.  Should they not receive our love and patience the very most?  And do we not want them to extend to US love and patience, for surely we also have many many faults?

And so today--extend more patience.  Love more.  Remember that we are here to lift each other up--not tear each other down!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 132

Good Morning Everyone!

Today we are reading in Psalm 132.  It is a precious Psalm, really.  Just to think about how much David loved God, and what his heart wanted to be able to do in order to show that love. . .

I wrote down verses 4 and 5 in my Bible notebook, and they go like this:

"I will allow no sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, til I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob."  Psalm 132:4,5

David did not want to sleep until he had planned a house for the Lord--a place for God to dwell and for people to come and worship Him.  I cannot help but think--how often do I rush through my day, putting off meeting with God?  Is it my highest priority to meet with Him first thing?  Or do I start going through my to-do list, pushing off the time to meet with Him until later and later?  Do we value our time with God as much as we value eating breakfast--or taking a hot shower--or getting a drink of water?

Water is pretty important--and the minute you are told you cannot have any that is when you are even more and more thirsty!  We are experiencing this right now, as my husband woke me this morning telling me that we had no water.  Upon checking things further, we learned that the entire town has no water--big water break somewhere. I am praying for their success in getting the water problem fixed soon--not only for myself, but we also have quite a few nursing homes and retirement centers in our area, and I hate to think of the older folks being without water like we are. . . But it does make me think--do I thirst after God the same way?

Spend time today drinking at the fountain of life--the one that washes all your sins away.  There is nothing more important that you can do!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 131

Good Frosty Morning Everyone!

I don't know about where you live, but where I live we are getting the coldest temperatures we have had since the winter started, and today there is a nice layer of frost on top of car windshields!

In our reading plan, we are on Psalm 131 today.  A very very short Psalm--the entire thing is only three verses long! So yes, I controlled myself and narrowed it down to just one that I recorded in my notebook:

"Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother; Like a weaned child is my soul within me."  Psalm 131:2

And can you see in my picture the subtitle this chapter is given in my Bible?  It says "Simple Trust in the Lord."  Do you catch the same word that I do?  SIMPLE.  Not complicated, but simple.  We simply need to trust in our God, lie a baby trusts in his mother because she has always been there for him, meeting whatever needs he has.  Does God leave us?  Isn't HE always with us, meeting our needs?  Cannot we always run to Him with whatever problems we have?  In fact, does He not invite us and TELL us to bring our problems to Him, rather than try unsuccessfully to handle them on our own?

This verse 2 was cross referenced in my Bible to Matthew 18:3, so I was curious and looked that verse up to see what it said:

"And he said:  'Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.' " Matthew 18:3

And it goes on in the next verse as well:

"Therefore whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."  Matthew 18:4

I think the subtitle really does say it all.  Simple trust in the Lord.  That is what we need each and every day.  Morning and night.  Problems or when everything is going well.  In good times and in bad, simply trust in the Lord.  It is the only way to happiness.  And the only way that our problems will truly be solved--because He is able to conquer any size problem--even death.

So today--practice bringing each problem to Him.  I know He is waiting to hear from you!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 130

Good Morning!  And Happy Sabbath to Everyone!

Today we are onto reading Psalm 130.  Hard to believe hot fast this reading plan is moving along--even though it is a slow reading plan with just one chapter a day.  It still marches right along!

I LOVE this Psalm!  My Bible gives it a subtitle of "Waiting for the Redemption of the LORD."  Do you ever feel like you are waiting for the Lord?  Does it seem like He is slow in answering?  I think we all wonder that sometimes!  And just have to remind ourselves to trust His timing. . .

This is  a short  chapter, with only eight verses--but I could only narrow it down a little bit, and still recorded three of the verses into my Bible notebook!

"Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD."  Psalm 130:1

Out of the depths--from right in the middle of our problems we can call to Him.  We do not have to wait until our lives are all wrapped up neat and clean before we come to talk with Him.  He can handle the reality--the messy--the real.  But praise God He does not leave us in our pig pens, but lifts us up and cleans our lives!

"I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope."  Psalm 130:5

In His word I do hope--How can we hope in His Word if we are not reading His word to see what it says?  To see what He has promised?  To hide His promises in our hearts?  Bible memory is something that is not easy for me.  I have done some chapters successfully before--I actually found it easier to memorize a chapter than to memorize single verses!  Have not done any memory work for a while now though, and that is something I want to get back to doing. . .

"O Israel, hope in the LORD.  For with the LORD there is mercy, And with Him is abundant redemption."  Psalm 130:7

Mercy and abundant redemption--not stingy redemption, not just for one or two, but for all who come to Him.

All.  That includes me!  That includes you!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 129

Good Morning Everyone!

We are in Psalm 129 this morning.  It has in my Study Bible the subtitle of "Song of Victory over Zion's Enemies.  I really liked verse 4, so I recorded that one in my notebook:

"The LORD is righteous; He has cut in pieces the cords of the wicked."  Psalm 129:4

We do not normally go around using terms such as "cut in pieces the cords of the wicked," so I looked up in a second study Bible to see if they had any notes on this verse.  It did--I was looking in the Andrews University Study Bible on p. 774, and it said that this term meant "breaking the cords, being free from them.  The enemies did not prevail, the psalmist suffers no more affliction, shackles, or bondage."

This started me thinking--how many times in the Bible are there recorded stories where it SEEMS like evil is overcoming God's people?  Or actually, where evil DOES overcome God's people?  Where was God then?  Where was the cutting in pieces the cords of the wicked?

I thought about Joseph thrown into a pit--then in bondage, and later in prison.  Yet God delivered him and in the end even Joseph testified that his brothers meant it for harm, but God meant it for good.  What a huge blessing Joseph being in Egypt was--not only did it literally save the lives of his own starving family, but the lives of the entire nation who benefited from Joseph's plan (that God gave him) to save up the extra food during the years of plenty so they would have it in the years of famine.

And then there was Daniel.  Dragged off to a foreign and heathen country as a youth.  Living a loyal and upright life to end up where?  In the lion's den!  Doesn't sound like God was protecting him and cutting the cords of the wicked!  And yet--God closed the lion's mouths, and the king of that land saw that Daniel's God was the only true God.

But what about when a story doesn't have a "happy ending?"  What about John the Baptist?  He preached, doing what God called him to do, and how does it end?  With his head on a platter!  Yuck!  And poor John!  Betrayed by his God!  Or was he?  Did not death both remove him from the hands of the wicked, as well as provide a powerful witness to those around him?  Is he not promised "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And so we will be with the Lord forever."?  (1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17)

Maybe, just maybe, when we look at a situation and lament that it did NOT turn out as it should have, maybe the story isn't done yet?  Maybe we need to hang on until the end of the book--the end of the story here on earth--and we will see what God has worked out?

Something I am thinking about this morning. . .

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 128

Good Morning Everyone!

We are reading in Psalm 128 today!  It starts right out with a beautiful promise!

"Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, who walks in His ways.  When you eat the labor of your hands, you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you."  Psalm 128:1,2

How many of you want to be happy?  Right here is the secret!  And while it sounds simple enough, sadly there are many who never discover this secret.  Haven't you heard of some very rich person--a movie or t.v. star perhaps, who on the outside appeared to have everything possible for their happiness--and then later we sadly hear of them taking their own life.  How sad and tragic!  Obviously they were NOT happy. And yet--from the outside, they appeared to have all they needed to have happiness. . .

I looked up the two words that stood out to me here in these verses--the word "Blessed," and the word "Happy."  Sometimes even with familiar words, I gain new insights from reading the official definition of them!

Blessed:  1) Held in reverence, honored in worship; 2) of or enjoying happiness; specifically enjoying the bliss of heaven

Happy:  1) enjoying or characterized by well-being and contentment; 2) having or marked by an atmosphere of good fellowship

I thought it was especially interesting that one of the meanings of "Blessed" was that of enjoying the bliss of heaven!  And isn't that what God offers us?  Even while we are not in heaven--while we are here on this dark and sin-filled earth, are we not offered to walk each and every day with Him?  To never walk alone?  He has even promised to walk through the dark valleys with us!  And we can be very blessed and very happy--right now, not only later on when we are living in heaven.

Yes--heaven IS our home--but our happiness is being with our Creator, and we can be with Him right now!

Are you blessed and happy today?  If not--stop whatever you are doing and spend time with Him.  He is our only source of happiness!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 127

Good Morning Everyone!

We are reading Psalm 127 today.  It starts out with a verse that is very familiar to me, as I have simply heard it quoted often here and there.  It is a very good reminder not to run ahead of the Lord, so I recorded verse 1 in my notebook.  But I also really really love verse 3, so I recorded that one as well:

"Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it;  Unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain."  Psalm 127:1

"Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward."  Psalm 127:3

Aren't those both good?  We can work very hard trying to do something--but the first step we need to do is to make sure that what we are attempting to do is what God is asking us to do, and not just our own idea of something great!  We NEED His blessing on our work--is there really anything useful and worth while doing if it isn't something that is blessed by the Lord?  I think not!  So we need to first seek Him and His direction--and then after He points us in the way He wants us to go, we can with His help, work with all of our might!

And children--oh, how sad the plight of children is in our world today.  In our country, all too often children are looked at as something in the way, a bother, and something that might keep a women from reaching her "full potential"!  How terrible!  How can anyone look at a career--any career--as better than that of raising a child for God's kingdom?!  Yes--I had a career before I was married and had children, and yes--I loved that career.  But I love even more what God has asked me to do now, at this point in my life, and that is staying home and raising our children for Him.  Yes--I DO realize that not everyone has the privileges that I have in the opportunity to stay home.  But I am talking here about our attitude towards our children, or our attitude towards the children we interact with in our lives--it might be the child at church who is making noise during the sermon.  Do you turn around and glare at them?  Or give them a happy smile?  My study Bible had this note to go along with Psalm 127:3, and it is a good one for all of us whether you are a parent or not:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   Let parents search their own hearts, examine their habits and practices.  Children are the heritage of the Lord, and we are answerable to Him for our management of His property.
   There are fathers and mothers who long to labor in some foreign mission field; there are may who are active in Christian work outside the home, while their own children are strangers to the Saviour and His love.

Christ's Object Lessons, by E. G. White, p. 195

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A good reminder, isn't it?  The mission field we are called to is often simply the mission field which lies nearest--our own families.  Not that God doesn't call some of us overseas--please don't misunderstand me.  Only that we need to also view working for the children in our own lives as equally a mission field.  They belong to Him who created them, and are loaned to us to raise for Him.

And so--today, I am going to pray for extra understanding and patience, and try and remember that I can always call for help from God when I don't know what to do as a parent.  He will never refuse to answer my plea!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 126

Good Morning Everyone!

Today we are reading in Psalm 126--and a very happy and joyful Psalm it is, too!  I recorded verse 3 as well as verse 5 in my Bible notebook:

"The LORD has done great things for us, and we are glad."  Psalm 126:3

"Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy."     Psalm 126:5

In my Bible, it has a subtitle of "A Joyful Return to Zion," so I did a little looking to see if I could tell exactly what is meant by the word "Zion."  According to Wikipedia (assuming they are correct!), Mount Zion is a hill in Jerusalem just outside the walls of the Old City.  The term "Mount Zion" was first used in the Bible for the City of David and later for the Temple Mount, but its meaning has shifted and it is now used as the name of ancient Jerusalem's so-called Western Hill.  In a wider sense, the term is also used for the entire Land of Israel.

Reading through this Psalm this morning, I think there is a double meaning.  I think the "Joyful Return to Zion" means Israel returning to Jerusalem--and I think it also means (at a later time period) God's people returning with Him to His heavenly city.  Can we not also sing the words that "the LORD has done great things for us, and we are glad?"

And do we not have precious promises in the Bible just waiting for us to claim them, that "those who sow in tears shall reap in joy?"  One of my favorites that I cling to is Revelation 21:4:

"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."

So today, remember the great things God has done for you.  Recount them in your mind.  Speak of them to those around you.  And hold on to His promise, that though you may now sow in tears, you SHALL reap in joy!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 125

Good Morning Everyone!

We have a beautiful Psalm today, filled with encouragement as we read Psalm 125.  I was just thinking this morning that I am going to miss reading a Psalm a day when we finish at the end of this month--will have to decide what I am going to do for my quiet time next!  If any of you have ideas for what you are going to do after reading through the Psalms, please do share!  It was from reading another blog that I read about the idea of reading through the Psalms, and I am so glad I did!  What a blessing!

Anyway, we are on Psalm 125 today, and in my Bible it gives the subtitle of "The LORD the Strength of His People."  Such a true statement--for He is our ONLY strength!  I really liked the beginning of this Psalm, so recorded verses 1 and 2 in my notebook:

"Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.  As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people from this time forth and forever."  Psalm 125:1,2

I love this promise ad assurance!  But it is also a reminder to me that sometimes we can interpret God's promises incorrectly.  We would love to look at these verses and say "See?  Nothing bad will ever happen to God's people!"  but that would just not be true.  One only has to look in the gospels to read about things that were done to the disciples of Jesus to read about beatings, imprisonment, etc.  And it would be easy to ask "Wasn't God with them?"

Why do bad things happen to God's people?  Why did one of my friends lose her 19 year old son to cancer, and another lose her 18 year old son to a car wreck?  Where was God?

And the only answer is that He was right there--in the hospital room next to each one of them, walking away from the grave sites next to each of the mothers who left her son in His care and keeping.  For we do still live on a world filled with sin.  We are not in heaven yet--but we are not deserted either. . .

My Study Bible had this note to go along with this chapter, and I think it illustrates this point very well:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Never is the tempest-tried soul more dearly loved by His Saviour than when he is suffering reproach for the truth's sake. . . When for the truth's sake the believer stands at the bar of earthly tribunals, Christ stands by his side.  When he is confined within prison walls, Christ manifests Himself to Him and cheers his heart with His love.  When he suffers death for Christ's sake, the Saviour says to him, They may kill the body, but they cannot hurt the soul.

The Acts of the Apostles, by E. G. White, p. 85

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And so, as Satan hates us and seeks to do us harm--we can know that our Jesus is with us.  In illness or health, good times or bad, through every step of our journey here on earth, we will never be left alone to struggle all by ourselves.

And some day soon, our Jesus will return to us.  He has promised, and the Bible signs are being fulfilled  The earth will be made new, and sin will never more raise it's ugly head.  What a glorious day that will be!

And in the meantime. . . trust in Him.

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 123 & 124

Good Morning Everyone!

I am combining Psalm 123 and Psalm 124 today, as yesterday I simply went to church and relaxed with family--and did not turn on my computer to post a blog post!  But since both Psalms are talking about the same thing, they both go together very nicely. :)

From Psalm 123, I choose to write down the first verse:

"Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens."  Psalm 123:1

And from Psalm 124, I choose to write down--well, first of all, the entire Psalm is only eight verses.  and it was REALLY hard to weed any of it out!  So I want you to be proud of me when I tell you that I managed to narrow it down to "only" five of the eight verses, which I recorded in my notebook! ;)

"If it had not been the LORD who was on our side," Let Israel now say--"If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us, Then they would have swallowed us alive, When their wrath was kindled against us;" . . . Blessed be the LORD, Who has not given us as prey to their teeth. . . Our help is in the name of the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.  Psalm 124:1-3, 6, 8

Both of these verses are pointing us to the only true direction for help--the LORD.  And sometimes I think we easily say that God is on "our side," but I think the more important question is "Are WE on God's side?"  We like to claim Him on ours--but isn't "our side" supposed to be God's side?  I did a little searching for things written about God defending His people, and ran across this little gem which I think gives us much to think about:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold."  The very atmosphere is polluted with sin.  Soon God's people will be tested by fiery trials, and the great proportion of those who now appear to be genuine and true will prove to be base metal.  Instead of being strengthened and confirmed by opposition, threats, and abuse, they will cowardly take the side of the opposers.  The promise is:  "Them that honor Me I will honor."  Shall we be less firmly attached to God's law because the world at large have attempted to make it void?

Testimonies for the Church, by E. G. White, Vol. 5, p. 136

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Because the world may not be honoring God and His law, does not make God not God, and His law not binding upon us, His creation.  Our only help is in Him--our God and King, the Creator and our Redeemer, the Lord who made heaven and earth.  To view other people through His eyes--eyes of love, who loved each one of us so much that He gave His Only Son to die a terrible death on the cross to take our place.  Who loved each one of us so much that our names are now engraved upon the palms of His hands.  And yet--at the same time--not be swayed by the crowd who may not be following and honoring Him.

Meeting with Him each and every day.  Staying close to His side.  Our only help is in Him.

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 122

Good Morning Everyone!

We are reading Psalm 122 today!  As soon as I started reading, my attention was caught by verse 1:

"I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go into the house of the LORD.' "  Psalm 122:1

I couldn't help but ask myself--how glad am "I" when going to the house of the Lord?  Do I view it with excitement?  Is it something special and valued to me?

I did a little searching about this Psalm, and discovered a little history and background.  I thought it was interesting, so wanted to share it with you here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Among the Jews the twelfth year was the dividing line between childhood and youth.  On completing this year a Hebrew boy was called a son of the law, and also a son of God.  He was given special opportunities for religious instruction, and was expected to participate in the sacred feasts and observances.  It was in accordance with this custom that Jesus in His boyhood made the Passover visit to Jerusalem.  Like all devout Israelites, Joseph and Mary went up every year to attend the Passover; and when Jesus had reached the required age, they took Him with them.

There were three annual feasts, the Passover, the Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles, at which all the men of Israel were commanded to appear before the Lord at Jerusalem.  Of these feasts the Passover was the most largely attended.  Many were present from all countries where the Jews were scattered.  From every part of Palestine the worshipers came in great numbers.  The journey from Galilee occupied several days, and the travelers united in large companies for companionship and protection  The women and aged men rode upon oxen or asses over the steep and rocky roads.  The stronger men and the youth journeyed on foot.  The time of the Passover corresponded to the close of March or the beginning of April, and the whole land was bright with flowers, and glad with the song of birds.  All along the way were spots memorable in the history of Israel, and fathers and mothers recounted to their children the wonders that God had wrought for His people in ages past.  They beguiled their journey with song and music, and when at last the towers of Jerusalem came into view, every voice joined in the triumphant strain,--

"Our feet shall stand
Within thy gates, O Jerusalem. . .
Peace be within thy walls,
And prosperity within thy palaces."
Psalm 122:2-7

(Desire of Ages, by E.G.White p. 75)
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Doesn't that help you just imagine Jesus as a boy and youth--then later as a young man--traveling with His parents to Jerusalem, and singing with joy as they approached the city!  What a lesson to us in today's day and age.  How joyful do we come to church each Sabbath?  Do we sing with happiness that we are coming to meet with our God?

I think we could all take a lesson from the Israelites here. . . I know I could!  Worship the Lord with joy and gladness and singing--I know He is waiting for us!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 121

Good Morning Everyone!

Psalm 121 is the Psalm for today--and it starts out right away with a very familiar verse for me.
Are any of you out there Sound of Music fans?  I grew up as a little girl seeing this great film every year at Christmas time, when the T.V. network seemed to show it.  And I always remembered the wise Mother Superior's advice to Maria that Maria should "lift up her eyes to the hills".

Well--here it is!  While I have no idea what that conversation REALLY was in real life between the people who lived it, not actors--for the movie version, this is the verse that was being quoted.  I really love the first three verses, so that is what I wrote down:

"I will lift up my eyes to the hills--From whence comes my help?  My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.  He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber."  Psalm 121:1-3

Things that impress me about these verses are that it is sort of answering the author's own question.  First--there is a statement of what they are going to do:  lift up their eyes
Second--there is a question of where does their help come from:  from the LORD
Third--there is a statement of who the Lord is:  maker of heaven and earth
Fourth--there is assurance of His strength:  He will not allow you to be moved, and He does not sleep

I  know I certainly get tired and sleep!  I slept extra last night to make up for the lost sleep the night before that the tornadoes caused us as the weather radio kept going off!  But God does not sleep.  He does not miss out on protecting us from something because He was taking a little nap--or a vacation!

My Study Bible had a note for this Psalm, that I really liked:

"As men should lift up their eyes to tthe hills of God, and behold the wonderful works of His hands, they could learn precious lessons of divine truth.  Christ's teaching would be repeated to them in the things of nature. . . The things of nature take up the parables of our Lord, and repeat His counsels.  By communion with God in nature, the mind is uplifted, and the heart finds rest."

The Desire of Ages, by E. G. White, p. 291

God's nature speaks to us about Him.  If I were to visit your home--even if you were gone at the store, I would be able to tell certain things you liked simply by observing your house.  How you had arranged things, what colors you used, what style of furnishings, etc.  The same is true of the earth.  God made it, and the things in it tell us about His teachings and the truths He wants us to learn.  Nature is not God--but our God made nature and therefore it tells us of Him.

As you go through today, remember where your help comes from.  He will never leave you nor forsake you!

~Susan