Scripture: Psalm 18.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Psalm 18:1-2 (NLT)

1 I love you, LORD; you are my strength.

2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.

APPLICATION
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

This Psalm reminds me of another one that says in part, “The Lord is my strength, whom then shall I fear”. To my friends who know my Father, I hope that you can identify with me in acknowledging the peace that we have throughout the storms of life, and even through all the attacks of Satan. In the lowest of times, in the depths of trouble when it seems like life is so overwhelming and that the enemy is attacking from all sides, yet I have a peace in knowing that, come what may, I can stand firm in knowing that my Savior lives and that I too will live eternally with Him in glory after I have been called out from this world. To my friends who do not share the confidence of this same peace of which I am referring to, I can only say that there will come a day when God will look you in the eye and ask why you chose to reject the precious gift that He sacrificed just for you. Living your life without the peace of which David spoke about in this Psalm is like walking down a busy street without any barriers or friends to stop you from walking into the flow of the dangerous traffic. God never expected us to live under that kind of stress. Like David, I am so blessed and happy to be able to thank God and say: “I love You Lord, for You are my strength, You are my rock, You are my fortress, You are my Savior, You are my protector, You are my shield, You are my safety, and because of Your love, You save me from all those that attack me. Praise be to Jesus, my Savior, You are my all in all!

PRAYER
(With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Father, You have placed me here on this earth to represent You in every walk of life. The mere fact that I am still here on this earth means that Satan and his cohorts still attack me and try in every way to steer me away from Your ideals. Thank You for reminding me this morning that my strength comes from You and that not only was Your grace sufficient to see me through yesterday, but that today is a gift from You also and that You will never leave me alone. Please help me to place my hand in Yours each and every day, for You truly are my Rock, my Fortress, my Savior, my Protector, my Sheild, my Safety and You will save me form all the darts of Satan. Praise be to God!

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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Scripture: Psalm 15.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Psalm 15:1-5 (NLT)

1 Who may worship in your sanctuary, LORD? Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?

2 Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts.

3 Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends.

4 Those who despise flagrant sinners, and honor the faithful followers of the LORD, and keep their promises even when it hurts.

5 Those who lend money without charging interest, and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent. Such people will stand firm forever.

APPLICATION
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

God calls his people to be morally upright, and, in this psalm, he gives us 10 standards to determine how we are doing:

1. Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right;
   
2. Those who speak the truth from sincere hearts;
   
3. Those who refuse to gossip;
   
4. Those who refuse to harm their neighbors;
   
5. Those who refuse to speak evil of their friends;
   
6. Those who despise flagrant sinners;
   
7. Those who honor the faithful followers of the LORD;
   
8. Those who keep their promises even when it hurts;
   
9. Those who lend money without charging interest;
   
10. Those who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent
    

We live among evil people whose standards and morals are eroding. Our standards for living should not come from our evil society but from God. To live a ‘perfect’ life is to be God. Always striving to be more like Jesus and to live our lives according to His will and desire is our assignment, as illustrated in this Psalm. Remember the verse, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you” (Matt. 6:33). When we seek after pleasing man, that’s who we will please, not God.

PRAYER
(With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Lord Jesus, I thank You this morning for bringing this to my attention, because I feel like way too often I allow other things to enter my life and take priority over the life You have set before me. You have laid out life’s design for me. Please help me to be obedient to that today and every day, so that onlookers will see a replica of Jesus and not the sinful nature of man. It’s You oh Lord that I live for and seek to example each day. Please grant me the peace, power and effectiveness to do just that.

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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