“Walking Through the Psalms”“You light a lamp for me. The LORD, my God, lights up my darkness.” – Psalm 18:28 (NLT)“My Faithful GPS” A couple of years ago, I was driving from Oklahoma to Ohio. As I headed into Tulsa, my GPS wanted to take me around on a loop that I knew to be longer than just cutting through the middle of town. I smugly shook my head at the GPS and continued on the path that I kne...

“Walking Through the Psalms”“He rescued me from my powerful enemies, from those who hated me and were too strong for me.” – Psalm 18:17 (NLT)“Surrender Is the Beginning of Victory” Recovery teaches you that there are some forces that you are simply powerless against. They are urges that you can’t control. They are habits that you can’t break. They are impulses that you can’t stop. They are addicti...

“Walking Through the Psalms”“He reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters.” – Psalm 18:16 (NLT)“When You’re In Over Your Head” This verse really spoke to me today. For David, it was a declaration of God’s deliverance from his enemies. There were too many to fight. They were too strong to stand up against. David had been on the run for a while and was too tired and too ...

“Walking Through the Psalms”“The ropes of death entangled me; floods of destruction swept over me. The grave wrapped its ropes around me; death laid a trap in my path. But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry to him reached his ears.” – Psalm 18:4-6 (NLT)“Our Lives Are in His Hands” Not long ago, during one of my prayer wa...

“Walking Through the Psalms”“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.” – Psalm 18:2 (NLT)“An Angel Named Irena” In December 2018, Irena Ivic was driving her normal route as a bus driver in Milwaukee. As she drove across an overpass over a freeway, she saw something that startled ...

“Walking Through the Psalms”“I love you, LORD; you are my strength.” – Psalm 18:1 (NLT)“A Prayer to Start Your Day” I love this prayer. It resonates in my heart. It’s a great prayer for us to start EVERY day with. First, just to tell God we love Him. Yes, He KNOWS we love Him. But who of us doesn’t like to hear it? We forget that God is not a God who only likes to GIVE His Love; He also likes to R...

“Walking Through the Psalms”“Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways.” – Psalm 17:7 (NLT)“Passionate and Relentless” I have a friend who posted on Facebook that Valentine’s Day was her favorite holiday. She asked people to share some of their most precious Valentine’s gifts. One woman posted that in 1991, her husband was half a world away in Desert Shield/Desert Storm. There was no place to ...

“Walking Through the Psalms”“I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray.” – Psalm 17:6 (NLT)“On Bended Knee” I love kids. I especially like making kids feel as if they’re important. So when a small child comes up to say something to me, I try to get down on one or both knees to be more eye-to-eye with them. (The getting down is no problem. It’s the ge...

“Walking Through the Psalms”“You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.” – Psalm 16:11 (NLT)“Now Is Enough” Yesterday I wrote about the beauty of dying with the knowledge that we get to be with God forever. That is a rich and hope-giving truth that we hold dear. But I feel I need to say this: If there were no heaven, and thi...

“Walking Through the Psalms”“For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave.” – Psalm 16:10 (NLT)“Death Is Just a Bus Stop” A few years ago, I took part in a funeral for a woman who chose to die. She had been ill for a good while and was not getting better. So rather than prolong what was seemed inevitable, she asked to stop receiving the medicine and nour...

“Walking Through the Psalms”“The godly people in the land are my true heroes! I take pleasure in them!” – Psalm 16:3 (NLT)“The True Heroes” We often think of heroes as people of great ability or strength. But actually, the qualities of heroes are quite different from that. They are people who are sacrificial. They are people who are selfless. They are people who are willing to be unseen and unrewa...

“Walking Through the Psalms”“I said to the Lord, ‘You are my Master! Every good thing I have comes from you.’” – Psalm 16:2 (NLT)“The Giver of All Good Gifts” I want to challenge you today to make our passage your prayer for the day. But before you pray that prayer, take a moment. Think about the things in your life that are truly good—truly valuable things. How many of those things do you believe...

“Walking Through the Psalms”“Keep me safe, O God, for I have come to you for refuge.” – Psalm 16:1 (NLT)“Keep me safe, O God” “Keep me safe, O God.” Do those words of David resonate with you today?Maybe the company you’re working for is going through some transitions or a change of ownership. Or maybe you’ve caught wind of cutbacks or people being laid off. Or perhaps you’ve been dealing with a di...

“Walking Through the Psalms”“Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord? Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?” – Psalm 15:1 (NLT)“Asking the Right Questions” What were your thoughts as you headed into worship today? Were you thinking about who would be there? Were you thinking about where you would sit? Were you thinking about people you wanted to talk to? Were you thinking about the music ...

“Walking Through the Psalms”“Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good!” – Psalm 14:1 (NLT)“Atheists Of the Heart” It always astounds me a bit when I hear about people who don’t believe that God exists. To me, the existence of things, especially of the earth and the people upon it, shows the design and complexity of a...

“Walking Through the Psalms”“But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me.” – Psalm 13:5 (NLT)“But I Trust!” Oh man, this passage stirred my heart today. David spends the entire psalm talking about all the horrible stuff he is facing and going through. Then comes this powerful, faith-proclaiming declaration. “But I trust…” Let’s “go to church” today and claim it a...

“Walking Through the Psalms”“The Lord’s promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace purified seven times over.” – Psalm 12:6 (NLT)“Standing On the Promises Or Wallowing In the Problems?” Are you “standing on the promises” or “wallowing in the problems?” The answer to that question will tell me all I need to know about your stress and anxiety level today. When we’re wallowing in the problem...

“Walking Through the Psalms”“Help, O Lord, for the godly are fast disappearing! The faithful have vanished from the earth! Neighbors lie to each other, speaking with flattering lips and deceitful hearts.” – Psalm 12:1-2 (NLT)“God Wins” When you read the passage for today, did anyone think that David’s thoughts apply to TODAY? Well, they do. I always laugh a bit when people start talking about how ...

“Walking Through the Psalms”“Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them.” – Psalm 10:17 (NLT)“Helpless but Not Hopeless” Helpless. Is there any worse feeling than that? Like staring at a pile of bills that you cannot pay. Or being hooked up to a bunch of machines in a hospital bed, completely at the mercy of those attending to you. Or watching your ...

“Walking Through the Psalms”“The wicked are too proud to seek God. They seem to think that God is dead.” – Psalm 10:4 (NLT)“Pride and Pepper Spray Tears” Some years ago in Florida, the Sheriff’s department was called to a nightclub because a man was being disruptive. He was threatening other patrons and causing quite a spectacle. Deputies arrived, talked with the man, and asked him to come outside...