My Refuge

1 Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, for my soul takes refuge in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge until destruction passes by. 2 I will cry to God Most High, to God who accomplishes all things for me. 3 He will send from heaven and save me; He reproaches him who tramples upon me. Selah. God will send forth His lovingkindness and His truth . (Ps 57:1-3) There are lovingkindness and truth in God. He is not a God of hatred. He is not a God of lies. When we live righteously before the Lord, his lovingkindness and truth shall come for us. Our enemies lie await for us because of their jealousy. They come in many forms, physical and spiritual. Their goal is destruction. But God's lovingkindness will guard us and his truth will execute judgment on the wicked. Take refuge in the Lord, O my soul. He is great. His arms are big enough to cover us in the days of calamity. The destruction shall pass. He shall accomplish all things for you, O my soul. ...

By now you probably see a pattern for these blogs - ABIDE is my word for 2020. Since January 1st, abide is the only thing I have NOT done. The older you become the more you feel and fight the pull on your time, energy, and attention. There is an invisible force that hates your focus on God - the source of peace, joy, and strength. There are a couple of distractions in life that will take your mind off of God. A few nuggets of wisdom I've learned: DO NOT FOLLOW THE CROWD. Ever notice how panic tends to happen when there's a big crowd? We have a flock mentality. Everybody feeds off of the emotion and state of mind of one another. When you follow the crowd, it is easy to not be able to hear and abide in the voice of God. DO NOT BE A PENNY PINCHER. In the effort of trying to save a few bucks here and there you will notice that you've wasted time, energy, and mental capacity that is meant to look at the big picture. Do not throw your money away either. Find the most effi...

"Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken." (Psalm 55:22, NASB) If you have lived long enough, you will have experience pain. "For it is not an enemy who reproaches me, then I could bear it; nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me, then I could hide myself from him. But it is you, a man my equal, my companion and my familiar friend; We who had sweet fellowship together walked in the house of God in the throng" (V12-14). The worst source of pain are from those friends or family - the people we open our heart to, confide in, do life with, share deep values, and consider as our own. They know our strengths. Worse, our weaknesses. They use our vulnerability against us in. Friends became foes. Have you ever felt anguish, the terrors of death fall upon you, and fear has overwhelmed your soul? When do you feel so deeply wounded, lonely, scared, and embarrassed that you wish you would beco...