Category: Psalmist Heart

Be Still & Heal |God’s Attributes for Calamities

Mark 4:39

Be still and know that I am God. We hear or read this over and over in the Bible. It is not until we are going through an excruciating ordeal that we seek answers; this is human nature. As humans, we tend to seek a higher power to guide us through hard periods in life.
However, most people will wait to speak to God only after the painful and mental ordeal of trying to cope with things on our own.
Do you notice I include myself in this too? That’s because I have learned to seek God consistently and be still enough to hear Him reply. No, I am not crazy, nor do I see dead people….

The voice of God is not audible, although, in recent times, people in the remotest parts of the world have seen and heard Jesus speak to them; this is for another blog post.
What I’m saying is this, God still speaks to His people. He is still The LORD, who is outside of time and space. He is everlasting. No beginning and no end. He is whom all of us have a direct line to, and it’s better than a Bat signal or 911 call when it comes to mental and spiritual health.

Exodus 14:14

You see, my God is a Healer. The best Healer you can have. He is called YHWH-Rapha or the LORD Healer or The LORD who heals. Yet, here’s the most incredible thing I find, the same word for being still and to heal, have the same root word—rapha.
One is Rapha—to heal.
The other is Raphah— to be still.
Both are signs of God’s omnipresence, which means that God is here, there and everywhere, all at once.

Romans 8:26

All this to say:
Whatever awful or despicable things you are going through, God is there for you.
Be still, speak to Him. How? Just start chatting as if you are talking to a loved one. If you are past the talking stage, cry out to Him. He is here for you. The only requisite is to be still. This means that you have to drown out all the noise around you— TV, Internet, Cell phone, friends, etc..

Find a quiet place; this could be your bedroom, closet, bathroom, or a public area where you go to think as long as nothing is disturbing you from being still enough to hear God’s still small voice.
Make talking with God a priority. Tell Him everything that is on your mind. All the bad, all the good, all your dreams and goals. Ask Jesus to forgive you on anything that is keeping you from Him. Any wrongs you have committed, any hangups you have, any fears or insecurities. He is there to listen to you; but here’s the most critical part— He is there to speak and guide you through it all. You just need to be still and know He is there.
When you sit still, two things are happening:

The first thing is that you are connecting to the most powerful Being in this universe. The one who created and maintains all of the universe. Every single atom of life is in His hands. Being still heals you.
Secondly, as you speak and listen to God, He becomes the Healer. Jesus came to heal people from all kinds of problems.
Let Jesus into your life. He is the Way, The Truth and The Life. He is also the only one that can raise you from the dust, dirt, and ashes because He is the Resurrection and the Life.

If you don’t know how to talk to God, or you don’t know God, I invite you to get to personally know Him:

Know God

Steps to Peace With God

How Can I know God

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We Start Off Where We Left Off |Friendships

Romans 12:15

I remember sitting with the neighborhood young men who would come to our house for bible study and hang out during the week to play video games. My wife and I would host them after work so that they would have a place where they could be safe and untempted from this world’s vices.

It was a usual day; the guys were loud and obnoxious as usual. They were having fun beating up the old guy (in my 30s at that time). I received a call from my younger brother’s wife. He had passed away. The young men knew my joyful face, but they also understood my look of concern. They automatically quieted down. No one had to tell them that I was experiencing a tragic moment. They turned off the TV and video game while gathering around me. I told them what had happened, and they all shed tears with me.

As I look back, the incident is still vivid in my mind. Because these young kids were all in their teens. We had gone through some thick and thin times with most of them. Divorced parents, drugs in the family, and so on.

Some of these young men and women were living with their grandparents because the dads were not around, and the moms were not able to handle their teen male rambunctiousness.

Yet, these young men taught me the meaning of true loyalty. They hung out and protected each other. They protected my daughters whenever I asked them to keep an eye on them. These young men were joyful with my family and me.

  • The ministry my family had, was not a ministry but a joyful fellowship
  • Where we taught these young men and women what family should be
  • How to always lean on God, and to continue on in life, no matter the circumstances
  • Most of those young men have moved on.
  • Some have kids now, with their own joys, problems, and experiences.

Then there was the men and women, our friends and brethren in Christ. They, too, have been a big part of our joys and sorrows. We have all been there for each other. Some, we see often, others, not so often. However, here is the incredible part, whenever we get together with these old friends, it’s like we had seen each other yesterday. We start where we left off, no matter the time passed.

Here is the secret to the joyful gatherings even in times of trials. We all have one thing in common. We all have committed our lives to Christ. You see, it is only in faith through our Lord and Savior Jesus the Savior, that we have the strength to be joyfully happy in the good times, and also shed tears with our loved ones and friends during life’s tragic times.

As we get older, there’s a reason why we hurt emotionally but are joyful when one of our friends passes into the next journey. We know that losing a brother or sister in Christ is only a temporary thing. We shall see them again because they have only gone ahead of us. They have finished the race and have completed their journey, reaching their destination. We rejoice in this but feel sorrow for not having them around.

One day we will rejoice and kick back with all of the people that have come through our home, our lives, and once again, we will start where we left off here on earth…

I would invite you to have this joyful assurance of knowing what your next life journey will take you. I invite you and ask that you invite your loved ones and friends on this jpurney too!

Get to know God like I do:

How Can I know God

Steps to Peace With God

Know God

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Are You Still Drinking From Milk?! |Quote the Word Not Commentaries!

When I was a kid, I remember wanting to be like such and such soccer player or dribbling like that basketball player, hitting the game winning run like that famous baseball player… Life was good and I, along with the rest of the neighborhood kids would imagine ourselves in big games with thousands of fans cheering for us while we saved that specific sports universe we were playing in. It was fun and it brought discipline to what we were doing in every sport we played.

As I got older, I didn’t want to be like this athlete or that athlete. I wanted to make my own game. I started realizing that I would watch the best athletes competing in their sport and learn their movements. But when I played, I wasn’t playing exactly like specific people. I was taking what I had seen and watched on TV and making it my own.

  • Sadly, I find that a large number of people who have been Christians a long time, still have the ‘neighborhood kid playing’ mentality.

What is the ‘neighborhood kid playing‘ mentality? It is when a Christian who has been a Christian longer than others in the church, is still quoting pastors he listens to, book commentaries he or she reads, or quotes from social media constantly; and yet, this same person never quotes directly from scripture.

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DISCLAIMER ***** Don’t get me wrong, I still quote all the above but it is not where I end. I usually say, “This pastor wrote this about this, this other pastor wrote this about this subject, here’s what the Word of God says and what I got from it, for application.” **********

  • So it’s not that I don’t ever quote anyone, it’s that I have found out, the Bible is all I need.

The Word of God is and was from the beginning. Jesus is the Word(See John 1) He has spoken His Word into our lives and into His Word, the Bible which makes one wise, disciplines by showing us our true nature and then instructing us to grab on to Christ and not let go(see Hebrews 4:12-13).

How do we become people who can be discipled and disciple others? We must be teachable, learners of the word(See Proverbs 12:1-2; 2 Timothy 3:16-17) ,and be able to pass it on.

Jesus tells us to do one thing. To go into all nations, and make disciples of all nations. We are to be teachable and then go out and teach others(See Matthew 28:19).

  • Now here is where I do become that neighborhood kid playing, when I start imitating Jesus and Jesus alone.
  • May I be able to be Christlike always.
  • May I be able to quote scripture just like Jesus did when being tempted by the enemy(See Matthew chapter 4).
  • May I be able to withstand everything that comes against me like Jesus did, because I was able to quote His Word, which gives me strength(See Philippians 4:13)…

Want to know more about Jesus?

Steps to Peace With God

How Can I know God

Know God

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Heal, LORD,Save(d),Praise You |Healing Marriages Series

Study Bible app .png
—Rafaw— YHWH —Yashaw—Yashaw —Tehillah—

The above five simple words come from Jeremiah 17:14.

Heal Yahweh, save, saved, praise

  • It’s not a magic hocus pocus formula for someone who is in poor health.
  • It’s not a repetitive prayer for us to keep chanting like a mantra.
  • But these five powerful words are words we need to know.
  • We have to remember the state of Jeremiah’s mind and spirit.  The Lord used him to warn Israel of their coming doom.
  • Jeremiah had to proclaim the word of the Lord no matter the consequences. There were false prophets telling people who God would save them.
  • Like today, we have many “pastors” telling people what they want to hear. Yet the Word of God never changes.
  • It hasn’t in over 4,000 years and even if the gates of hell open up wide to let the forces of evil influence mankind, the Word of God will always be. Because it’s light and truth. It gives people life, a renewed vitality that shines so bright, the forces of evil scatter.

— Jeremiah spoke these words when Israel was going to be decimated.

— I want to encourage you today. Whatever calamity you’re going through. Whatever dark and deep valley you’re stuck in, remember, the God who created all things, the One who calls us by our names, He is here! Still reigning and still in control of all things.

So if you are feeling down, or see nowhere to hide, call out to the only One who can help your situation.

—Healer, LORD, save, let me be saved. I will praise You!—

  • You see, Jeremiah saw what God would do to Israel. He saw the future calamity. No wonder he is called the weeping prophet.
  • Had I seen what Jeremiah saw, I would be in a fetal position crying out and with my thumb in my mouth trying to comfort myself.
  • Yet this prophet of God endured the visions and called out for Israel to repent and draw close to their God.
  • The God that had worked miracle after miracle with their ancestors.
  • The One who parted the stormy sea for them to cross to safety.
  • He is still here, and He still does everyday miracles.

—Call out to Him today! Let Him take your calamities and let Him part the deep storm you’re treading in.

Heal LORD, save! You have saved us, and we praise You!

Timeline of Jeremiah

Get to know God:

How Can I know God

Steps to Peace With God

Know God

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I wish Siri Had A Please & Thank You Button |LETTERS TO MY KIDS

 

Humility & Gratitude.png

  • Please and Thank you…Those wonderful almost extinct words that are going away like the cassette recorder, the landline phones, and prudent public education.

Gone are the days that I hear kids asking for something without sounding like dictatorial commands. I see it everywhere. I see it in this millennial generation but they are not the only ones. People my age are beginning to be affected. It’s like one of those zombie movies which starts out by patient zero contracting a deadly form of virus. Then turning patient zero into a walking dead like person moaning and groaning at everything without any form of intelligible words coming out of them.
When I hear a person barking out orders to people in public, it makes me cringe. Especially if they have kids around them. We are becoming the Siri and Alexa Commander Generation.

Siri and Alexa.png

I wish Siri and Alexa had a special button that would make everyone asking them questions say please before their services could answer anything. Then in order for Siri or Alexa to take the person asking to the links or information, they would have to say, “Thank you, Siri,” or “Thanks, Alexa!”
Imagine a world where you go to order food or grab a coffee, and you hear every single person saying those two precious words!

  • When I do hear those tow precious words coming out of someone, I hear angels in heaven rejoicing because another angel has earned their wings….okay, not really but it’s almost like that in my mind.

Believe or not, when I do hear those two words being used by a family, I will go by and thank the parents for doing a wonderful job in teaching their kids those two very small but hugely important words.
You see, without the constant training of kids asking, there is no humility. Without kids thanking, there could be no spirit of gratitude.

Pro 22018-10-15 at 3.14.35 PM.png
So parents, adults, and everyone in between; let’s please get back to having a spirit of humility and of gratitude…Thanks and God bless you all…

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