Day 143  God Is Mindful Of Me

Isaiah 49:16  (Amplified Bible)

Behold, I have indelibly imprinted (tattooed a picture of) you on the palm of each of My hands; [O Zion] your walls are continually before Me.

Now that is good news, wouldn’t you say??  I love the idea that God has a picture of me imprinted permanently on the palm of each of His hands.  Not just one hand, but both hands!!

The King James Version of the Bible uses the word “graven.”  It means:

·         to carve, sculpt, or engrave.

·         to impress deeply

Israel’s  “walls” were broken down.  (Remember, we are spiritual Israel?)  Things were falling down around them.  Ever feel like that--relationships breaking down, body in pain, family falling apart, finances in shambles.

Remember what we talked about yesterday?  We said that this is” the time of God’s favor.”  He has heard you.  He will answer you.

Read Verse 8 again.  It says He will “keep” you and even “make you to be a covenant for the people.”  That means He is going to use you to bring others to Him.  You may say—“that’s a far cry from where I am today.   Nobody is impressed with my present circumstances!!”

God’s promise is what it is—a promise specifically for you. 

2 Corinthians 1:20 NIV

 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.

He says “yes” and we must say the “amen.”  We must get beyond what we see and how we feel and  say, “If you said it, God, then I agree!!”  That’s when you have stepped out in faith—out beyond what you see or feel, but yet firmly fixed on God’s promise from His Word.

GPS  (Directions)

Write down the most pressing situation that you need an answer to.

Find three scriptural promises for that need.

(If you cannot come up with one, two or three, email me at kahorken@premieronline.net and give me a very brief (and to the point) description of your most pressing situation.  I will pray and ask God for specific scriptures just for you.)

Prayer Focus:

Father, please help me to trust that You are speaking specifically to me.  Thank You.  Amen.

Day 142  Would You Do Me A Favor, God?

Isaiah 49:8 NIV

This is what the LORD says:  “In the time of My favor I will answer you,  and in the day of salvation I will help you;

When I used to read the Bible, I would skip over words like, “This is what the Lord says.”  Think of it—God is speaking directly to you.  He is saying that He has a specific word for you.  Here’s that word:

“In the time of My favor I will answer you.”

That sounds a little far off in the distance but listen to this:

Psalm 102:13  NIV
You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
for it is time to show favor to her;  the appointed time has come.

We are spiritual Zion and God wants to show us His favor.  He’s waiting for us to put our eyes on Him.  He wants us to make a faith connection with Him--to take Him at His Word.

Do you need a favor from God??  You can say, “God, will you do me a favor?”  Will you meet my needs?  Will you heal my body?  Will you bring me peace?  Will you restore my joy?  Will you give me wisdom so I know what to do?  Etc.

He is more than willing because He wants to make that connection with us.  He wants us to live in the “far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]—“ place that He has ready for us.

That’s our wonderful God!!

GPS  (Directions)

Let these words from God sink into your heart!!

·         Ephesians 3:20  Amplified Bible

·         Ezekiel 12:28

·         Philippians 4:19

·         Exodus 15:26b

·         Philippians 4:7

·         Isaiah 61: 7

·         James 1:5

Prayer Focus:

Father, thank You that this is the time of Your favor and because it is I am asking You:  Would you do me a favor??  (Ask God for what you need--and yes, for what you desire.  It's His good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  Luke 12:32)

Day 141  God says “Yes;”  I Say “Amen”

Psalm 89:34 NIV

I will not violate my covenant or alter what my lips have uttered.

To God the covenant is a very serious thing.  After all, He gave His Son to die and shed blood in order to seal that covenant with us.  So when God makes a promise, it is a covenant promise.

I heard a great teaching on the following scripture that made me realize my part in the promise.

2 Corinthians 1:20 NIV

 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through Him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.

God makes a promise to us and we are the ones that agree with that by saying, “Amen.”

Here’s an example of a promise:

Psalm 68:19 NIV

 Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.

We can read over those words or we can stop and say, “Father, thank You that You daily bear my burdens.  Whatever is a burden to me today, You are bearing it for me.”

In thanking God for His promise, we are saying, “Amen, God!  I agree with You and I thank You that You are doing that in my life.”

Here’s another:

Philippians 4:19 NIV

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

There’s the promise.  Here is what our response should be:  “Father, thank You that You promise to meet all of my needs according to the riches of Your glory in Christ Jesus.”

We must embrace the promise and receive it as personal to us.  When He says, “I will never leave you for forsake you,” (Hebrews 13: 5b), we must say, “Thank You Father for Your promise never to leave me.  Even though I feel very alone right now, I know that You are with me.”

In are original scripture from today it says, “I will not violate My covenant.”  In other words, whatever I have given you through the cross belongs to you.  If you say “Amen, I receive it,” it is yours!

GPS  (Directions)

·         Look up as many of these scriptures as you have time for and write an “Amen” sentence in your journal.

Hebrews 10:23

Psalms 5:12

Psalms 84:11b

Hebrews 6:18

Isaiah 55:11

Prayer Focus:

If you did the above, you have already prayed!!

Day 139 and 140

Let’s begin by praying the prayer based on Psalms 91.  This is one you may want to pray daily until it becomes etched in your mind—in other words---memorized.  My family needed this when our children were little and we were caught in a tornado with only a tent and a pickup truck.

When we heard the “train” sound, we jilted awake and ran to the cab of our pickup.  The children dug their fingers into our arms as we prayed what we knew of Psalms 91.  We were filling our atmosphere as fast as we could as our pickup was bouncing (and I mean bouncing) around!

We watched boats, campers and trees fly past our window as we screamed out the scripture.  After a awhile (which seemed like an eternity) peace filled the cab of the truck.  The children released their hold on us and we were no longer afraid.  Our pickup was still rocking and reeling but we had peace.  The glory of God had filled our atmosphere.  A few minutes later everything stopped except for a beautiful, quiet rain.

After the rain stopped we packed up our gear and loaded it in the pickup.  By now it was 4:00 am.  We didn’t lose a thing except for one tent peg and I'm sure if we would have looked around, we could have found that!

I wouldn’t recommend waiting for a “storm” before memorizing Psalms 91, but the little we knew did save us.  We thanked God for His grace.

Here it is.  God bless you!

Karol

Psalm 91

 1 I dwell in the secret place of the Most High. I remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand].

    2I say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust!

    3 He has delivered me from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.

    4 He has covered me with His pinions, and under His wings I trust and find refuge; His truth and His faithfulness are a shield and a buckler.

    5.  I am not afraid of the terror of the night, nor of the arrow (the evil plots and slanders of the wicked) that flies by day,

    6Nor of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor of the destruction and sudden death that surprise and lay waste at noonday.

    7A thousand may fall at my side, and ten thousand at my right hand, but it does not come near me.

    8  I am only a spectator [I am inaccessible in the secret place of the Most High] as I witness the reward of the wicked.

    9Because I have made the Lord my refuge, and the Most High my dwelling place,

    10There shall no evil befall me, nor any plague or calamity come near my tent. (home)

    11For God has given His angels [especial] charge over me to accompany and defend and preserve me in all my ways [of obedience and service].

    12They bear me up on their hands, lest I dash my foot against a stone.

    13(Because I am a child of God) I am able to tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the serpent I trample underfoot.

    14I set my love upon God, He has delivered me; He has set me on high, because I know and understand His name [I have a personal knowledge of His mercy, love, and kindness—I trust and rely on God, knowing He will never forsake me, no, never].

    15 I call upon God, and He answers me; He is with me in trouble, He delivers me and honors me.

    16With long life He satisfies me and shows me salvation.

Day 138  The Rest Of The Promise

Psalm 91:7-8 NIV

 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.

That’s a promise from God:  “It will not come near you!”  And if by chance it does, you can peek out from under your Father’s shadow (See Day 137) and say, “SCRAM”—with authority, of course.

If you don’t take the authority that is yours, those ungodly things will stay and harass you.  Just like a parent is the authority in the home, you are the authority over everything that you are in charge of—namely YOU!

Luke 10:19  Amplified Bible

Behold! I have given you authority and power to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and [physical and mental strength and ability] over all the power that the enemy [possesses]; and nothing shall in any way harm you.

Here’s how to take authority:

Psalm 91:9 NIV

If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling,

In saying what God has said, you are filling your atmosphere with faith and causing the angels to come.  Here’s the result:

Psalm 91:10-11 NIV

 ……no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.  For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;

There we have it again—angels!!  They are there to protect you, protect y our home, protect your marriage, protect your children, and everything else that concerns you.

What do the angels do??

Psalm 91:12 NIV

 …..they will lift you up in their hands,  so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

Pretty cool, huh??

GPS (Directions)

Look up the word “harass” in the dictionary.  It will give you a greater understanding of what Psalms 91 is protecting you from.

Prayer Focus:

Taken from Psalms 91: 7-12

Father, thank You that a thousand may fall at my side and ten thousand at my right hand, but it does not come near me.

Thank You, that I only look on to what is happening but harm is inaccessible to me.

I make the Lord my refuge and the Most High God my dwelling place.

No evil shall befall me, and no plague or calamity can come near my house.

Thank You that I You have give Your angels charge over me to accompany and defend and preserve me in all my ways.

Thank You that Your angels bear me up on their hands, lest I dash my foot against a stone.

Day 137   No Fear Here!! 

Psalm 91:5 (NIV)

You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day…..

Why won’t you fear??  It’s because you are tucked up under the wing of your wonderful Father.

At night everything is darker so it can cause fear if you don’t have this promise handy.  Then there is the  “arrow” that comes during the day.  Ever been just going along and all of a sudden “ZING”-- out of nowhere something comes and tries to cause pain and suffering.

The Bible says:  “Surely He took up our pain and bore our sufferings…..”  (Isaiah 53: 4 NIV)  If Jesus already did it for us, we don’t have to do it again.  It’s a done deal!!  God is just waiting for us to stand up and say, “NO, this pain and suffering has been taken care of by the blood of Jesus!”

Psalm 91:6 NIV

….. nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.

Pestilence and plague mean any deadly, epidemic disease which is highly contagious.  So when that comes on the news, you can say, “I have been redeemed from that.  My Father took care of that at the cross.  Then you can go back to sleep under His wing.  

What the devil does is try to get our eyes on what he is getting away with on the earth.  In that way our eyes will not be on the promises from God’s Word.  Here’s one that you’ll like:

John 10:10  Amplified Bible

The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).

Wow!  Is this scripture for real?  Are we really meant to enjoy our life??  I think so!

GPS  (Directions)

Look up these scriptures and let God speak to you:

I Corinthians 2:9  That’s for you!

Matthew 4: 1-11  Give it right back (with the Word!)

Zechariah 9:11   It’s because of your blood covenant that you can refuse any bad things.

Prayer Focus:

Thank Your wonderful Savior for shedding His blood on the cross for your protection from all harm.

Taken from Psalms 91: 5-6

Thank You, Father, that I don’t have to be afraid of anything—not in the night or not in the day!!

I don’t fear bad news because You are a good God and You always bring me through anything that would try to harm me.

I don’t fear deadly diseases and epidemics, because You have given me authority over those.

My eyes are on Your promises from Your Word and not on things around me.

Thank You, Father, that You said I can “enjoy life.”

 

Day 136  God Is My Refuge

Psalm 91:2 (NIV)

 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

We have learned that when we speak the Word of God, the angels hearken to do the Father’s bidding.  I see it like this:  God hears us speak His promises and He turns to the angels and nods His head for them to obey the words that we speak.  I am not sure it’s exactly like that,  but it makes sense to me according to---

Psalm 103:20 (NIV)

Praise the LORD, you His angels, you mighty ones who do His bidding, who obey His word.

So how about if we start with Psalms 91:2 and say, “The Lord is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

In saying that, you are creating an atmosphere around you where His angels come and minister safety to you.  The atmosphere around you is impregnated with faith and faith draws the Father’s attention to your situation. God fills your atmosphere with angels to protect you.

Psalm 91:3 (NIV)

 Surely He will save you from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.

The Message Bible says the “fowler’s snare” are “deadly traps.”  That’s real good to be saved from!!

“Pestilence” is “deadly hazards.”  When we hear  about , we can know that we are protected from them.

Psalm 91:4 (NIV)

He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge;

When we feel afraid, we can know that God Himself covers us.  We are safe in His loving arms like a baby chick who runs to the mother hen’s wings when he sense a storm coming.

Psalm 91:4b (NIV)

….His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

God is faithful to us and His faithfulness is a shield, a defense and a protection for us.

GPS  (Directions)

·         Read these confirming scriptures

Isaiah 25:4

Isaiah 51:16

Matthew 23:37

Genesis 28:15

I Peter 5:7

Prayer Focus:

Post this where you can read it one or more times a day:

Taken from Psalms 91: 1-4

Thank You Father, that I dwell in Your shelter and I rest in Your shadow.

You are my refuge.  You are my fortress.  God, in You I trust.

You said You would surely save me from any hidden traps or deadly hazards. 

Thank You that You cover me and are faithful to protect me.

Day 135  Angels Are Sent To Protect Us

Psalm 91:11 (NIV)

For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;

Psalms 91 is all about the angels protecting those who “abide” in the shadow of the Almighty.  (Vs. 1)

Abide means to live in the presence of God continually.  That’s what you are developing if you started on “Day One” of my blog.  God is showing you how to live out of being in His presence.

 Every journey begins at the beginning so I would encourage you to go to “Day One” and begin abiding in His presence, if you haven’t already done so.

http://youcangetthere.blogspot.com/2010/10/day-1-god-has-good-plan-for-you.html

In His presence are His instructions for life.  He’ll personally show you how to proceed in your life. He will correct you if you are about to do something that would not be good.  He’s on your side and always wants the best for you.  He is your own personal counselor.  Because of the blood of Jesus, you can come close to Him and speak personally with Him.  (Hebrews 4:16)

God has a good plan for your life (Jeremiah 29:11 and Ephesians 2:10) and He reveals His plan as you spend time with Him.

Just like an employee has regular meetings with his or her boss to stay focused on the vision, you can do the same thing in your “meetings with God.”  You can ask “What is Your plan for me (for my family, for my future, etc?)”  and “What is my part in that plan?”  That’s how you begin to abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

The Bible says that when we develop that relationship with God, He sends His angels out to protect us.  In the days ahead I am going to share specifically on more verses from Psalms 91.  I really believe that we need to know that there is protection available to us so that whatever we are going through, we are assured that we will come out victorious on the other side.

GPS  (Directions)

·         Read the following scriptures and let God use them to talk to you:

I Corinthians 2:9-16

Romans 8:28

II Corinthians 2:14

Acts 17: 28

Prayer Focus:

Father, open my eyes that I may see Your protection for me, for my home, for my family, for our finances and all other areas of my life.