Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad?  I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again- my Savior and my God! Psalm 42: 11, NLT. Holy Father, as we draw close to the end of the study of this psalm, we ask that You will continue to be our teacher and our guide. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. "Oh God my rock," I cry, "Why have You forgotten me? Why must I wander around in grief, oppressed by my enemies?" Their taunts break my bones. They scoff, "Where is this God of yours" (9,...

Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad?  I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again- my Savior and my God! Psalm 42: 11, NLT.  Holy Father, We are so blessed to know that in the midst of our discouragement we can find You; and in finding You, find rest unto our souls.  In Jesus' name we give You thanks.  Amen. Today we continue to listen to the psalmist, who, in more ways than one, seem to be echoing the discouragement, the concerns, and the spiritual chaos, of many of us living in the Twenty-first Century. The...

Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad?  I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again- my Savior and my God! Psalm 42: 11, NLT.  Heavenly Father, Thank You so much for being willing to teach us wonderful things out of Your Word. We know that we will be revived when we come to the end of our study today. In the name of Jesus we humbly pray, and give You thanks. Amen. As we said in our closing comments yesterday, in the days ahead we will watch as the psalmist wrestles with the see-saw effect of encouraged, discouraged,...

Why am I discouraged?  Why is my heart so sad?  I will put my hope in God!  I will praise Him again- my Savior and my God! Psalm 42: 11, NLT.  Gracious God, Here we are again.  We will hope in You, and not be discouraged by all that we see taking place around us.  Please teach us how to keep our eyes on You; for Christ's sake.  Amen Today we want to continue looking at some of the feelings that come to the surface, as we get into the study of this psalm.  Yesterday we heard the psalmist lamenting...

Why am I discouraged?  Why is my heart so sad?  I will put my hope in God!  I will praise Him again- my Savior and my God! Psalm 42: 11, NLT.  Holy Father, we come before You today to renew our hope.  Please speak to our hearts words of encouragement.  In the name of Jesus we pray.  Amen. We are living in a time when discouragement is the order of the day.  So many of us can identify with the psalmist.  On July 10, our devotional was on the first two verses of this psalm.  At that time I inadvertently...

For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:  "I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones..." Isaiah 57: 15, NKJV.  Father, here we are again; waiting to hear a Word of hope from You.  Please speak to our hearts we pray, in the holy name of Jesus Christ our Savior.  Amen. Have you ever stopped and thought about the greatness of God?  Not that our minds can comprehend it, anyway;...

He has made everything beautiful in its time.  Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no man can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3: 11, NKJV. Gracious God, we thank You that even though we exist "in time," You have created us with the desire, and the capacity, to dwell in eternity.  Please continue to teach us now as we study Your Word.  In the name of Jesus we do pray.  Amen. The first sentence in our Scripture for today, came to me while I was at the gym yesterday.  I usually...

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.  For as the earth brings forth its bud, as the garden causes the things that grow in it to spring forth, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. Isaiah 61: 10-12, NKJV. Heavenly Father, it is just wonderful to know that...

Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.  The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord."  So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."  And after eight days the disciples were again inside and Thomas with them.  Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst and said, "Peace to you!"  Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger...

Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.  The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord."  So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."  And after eight days the disciples were again inside and Thomas with them.  Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst and said, "Peace to you!"  Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger...