Monday, January 29, 2024

Delight Yourself In The Lord And He Will Give You The Desires Of Your Heart. Psalm 37:4 - What Does This Verse Really Mean?

Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.  Psalm 37:4 - What does this verse really mean?
Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.  Psalm 37:4 - What Does this verse REALLY mean?

Psalm 37:4 is probably one of the most misquoted verses in Scripture.  "Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart."  It sounds good, doesn't it?  If we take delight in God, He will give us whatever we want?  I love the Lord.  I love studying the Bible.  I love growing in my faith, so if I delight in all these things, I can ask God for whatever my heart desires and He will give it to me?  Well, that would be nice, but that is not how this works.  What does Psalm 37:4 really mean?

Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.  Psalm 37:4 

What does this verse REALLY mean?


What does Psalm 37:4 really mean?  Let's start with what it does not mean.  This beloved verse does not mean that God is going to hand us whatever we want just because we ask for it.  If that were true, we would all be healthy, wealthy, and up to our eyeballs in materialistic bliss.  We would also all be spoiled rotten and probably acting like spoiled rotten children act.  I think we all know what that looks like.  You know something else?  We would still be dissatisfied.  I know there are exceptions to the rule, but most people who have it all - health, wealth, and all the things - still want more.  If we are being honest with ourselves, no matter where we sit financially, we all want more, more of this, more of that.  

The reason we all want more is that material things can never fully satisfy the human heart or cure any human condition.  True satisfaction can only be found in Jesus Christ.  We will never be satisfied doing our own will, but the more we know the Lord, the closer we are to Him, the closer our will lines up with His.  When our will lines up with God's will, then the desires of our hearts are fully met.  

When we delight in the Lord, God's will becomes our will.  God's desires become our desires.  The things that break God's heart will also break ours.  The things that bring God joy will also bring us joy.  

You see how that works?  Now that we understand what Psalm 37:4 really means, we have to ask ourselves if we are truly delighting in the Lord.  If we are, then the desires or our hearts that are in line with God's desires are given to us freely.  If we are not delighting in the Lord, then we have work to do.  We need to search our hearts to identify the areas keeping us from growing in our faith.  We can do that by spending time in the Scriptures, reading and meditating on God's Word, praying, and listening to God as He whispers sweet conviction over areas where we need to grow.

Maybe you are reading this post and you have no idea what we are talking about because you don't know much about this Jesus we speak of.  If this is you, then I invite you to go here to learn more about who Jesus is and how you can begin a relationship with Him today.

May you live abundantly in Him,
Tina
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Delight Yourself in the Lord
Psalm 37:4 - What does this verse REALLY mean?


Saturday, January 27, 2024

The Importance of Family Gatherings

The Importance of Family Gatherings
The Importance of Family Gatherings

Today, my husband and I attended a funeral.  One of the things that stood out to me was the importance of family gatherings.  In many cases, once the family matriarch passes away, family gathering become more scarce.  That's so sad.

We are older now so I've had some time to reflect on the past.  Recently, I have thought about our grandparents and how proud they would be of their grandchildren, great grandchildren, and even great-great grandchildren on both sides of our family.

The Importance of Family Gatherings

I miss it.  All of it.  I always loved our extended family gatherings.  I can still hear all the voices, all the laughter, smell all the smells . . . all the things.  

We have attended several funerals lately.  The older we get, the more funerals we will attend.  That's how life and death works.  We are here for a little while, and then we are gone.

Those of us who know the Lord know we are not really gone.  As Billy Graham once said it, we will have only changed our address.

A little while back, I heard or read a phrase somewhere that stuck with me.

"The days are long but the years are short."

Few sentences have fallen so hard on my heart as this one, except for Bible verses, of course.  The truth in that sentence takes my breath away every time I think of it, and I think of it more and more often.

When we are young, working hard, raising families, and doing all the things young and growing families do, we get tired.  Sometimes, we get bone tired.  Can I get an amen?  When we are in the middle of all the younger days, sometimes it seems like that season of life will last forever.  We love our families, but we need a break, a time to breathe, but those breathing breaks are hard to come by.  Time measured in days seems so long.  Then, one day, here we are.  We wake up to a new day to realize just how many days and years have passed.  The kids are grown.  Maybe they are married with kids of their own or maybe they are single and thriving.  There are no more of the things that used to spend up our time, our long days.  We long for the school plays and programs, ball practices and games, piano recitals, band performances, and in our case, countless church events.  

If you are sitting where I sit today and all of those long days are in the past, then you realize, like me, just how short the years can be.  Now, we find ourselves in the beginning years of goodbyes as our older relatives slip away.

BUT, if you believe, like I do, that goodbye on this earth is only a "see you later" for those of us who know Jesus, then we can take comfort and know that the same God who created us and held us during all the long days of the past also holds our futures, our eternal futures.  

I am grateful for the Truth of the gospel.  In His saving grace, I rest not only in the comfort Jesus offers, but also in the joyful anticipation of eternal life with Him and the loved ones who have gone before us.  

Do you have this same comfort and assurance?  If not, then I hope you will take a few minutes to read this page and I pray that you will read it with a heart ready to receive the eternal life God offers us in His Son, Jesus.

In the meantime, in the space between where we sit now and the day we go home to Heaven, gather often, precious families.  I pray we will take the opportunity to love our families and love them big.  When my time on this earth is done, I hope my family will smile and laugh more than they grieve, knowing that my earthly death is not goodbye, but only a "see you later."  My challenge to them (and to you) is this:

Make sure you will be there in Heaven so that "see you later" is a firm truth to hold to and not just an "I hope so."

Everyone will spend eternity somewhere.  Where will you spend yours?

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The Importance of Family Gatherings
The Importance of Family Gatherings - PIN ME!


Sunday, January 7, 2024

Christian Encouragement From Around the Web

Christian Encouragement from Around the Web
Christian Encouragement from Around the Web

Christian Encouragement from Around the Web

Christmas is over.  Now what do we do with Jesus?

Christmas is over.  Now what do we do with Jesus?  

The Christmas season has come to an end - well, at least on the calendar. It doesn't really have to end though. We can celebrate the joy of the season all year long. Lauren over at LaurenSparks.net asks the question, "Christmas is over. Now what do we do with Jesus?" Head over there now to read her beautifully written post on this subject.

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Does Prayer Change Things?

Does prayer change things?

Have you ever prayed and prayed and prayed for something only to finally give up, believing that God isn't hearing you. Maybe you believe He is hearing you, but not answering you? We might be inclined to think that if God doesn't answer our prayers in the way we think He should that He isn't listening to us. That simply is not the case. Maybe God is answering with a "not now" or maybe He's saying, "No, my child. I have something else in store for you and it's so much better than what you are asking for." Learn more about how prayer changes things in this article, Does prayer change things? by Heather Adams.
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"Theology means "the study of the nature of God," and knowing God's true nature should be every Christian's goal." - Gail Purath at Bible Love Notes.

Gail Purath, the author of the blog Bible Love Notes explains the difference between a good theologian and a bad one.  Believers should always strive to be good theologians and we'll be held accountable if we lead others astray.  Head over to Bible Love Notes now to learn more about how to be a good theologian. 

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We hope these articles from around the web will encourage you in your faith.

May you live abundantly in Him,
Tina
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Christian Encouragement from Around the Web
Christian Encouragement from Around the Web


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