Psalm 141:5

Let the righteous smite me in kindness and reprove me.


In this psalm, David prays for help when facing temptation and in this particular verse, he asks God to give him wisdom in accepting criticism.

Thoughts for the day...
I don't think anyone really enjoys being criticized for anything they do.  I always tell my students that there's a difference between constructive criticism and judgment.  I need to remember that when someone is trying to offer me a way to improve something about myself or my work with constructive criticism.  I can't take it personally; they're just trying to help me.  


[from my study Bible] In this verse, David suggests how to accept criticism: (1) don't refuse it, (2) consider it a kindness, and (3) keep quiet (don't fight back).  Putting these suggestions into practice will help you control how you react to criticism, making it productive rather than destructive, no matter how it was originally intended.


It's easy to want to defend (fight back) your actions or your work and not listen to what others have to say, but in doing so, you're not going to grow spiritually, emotionally, or in your work.  More importantly, if you blow someone off, the next time they have an insight that you could really benefit from, they might just keep it to themselves.


My Prayer
Father, help me to accept criticism with an open mind and a thankful heart.  Help me to not be so quick to fight back, but rather to really listen to what someone's trying to tell me and think on their words before responding.

Psalm 139:14

I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

This is a psalm of David in which he sings about God being all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful, and everywhere present.

Thoughts for the day...

This is a often-quoted verse for people who are feeling down about themselves.  I've reminded myself of this verse a few times when I've been depressed for whatever reason, when I've felt worthless.  It's in those times that I remember that I'm made in God's image, and I'm exactly the way He wants me to be.  God doesn't make junk; He doesn't make mistakes.  I'm who He wants me to be: His child, His perfect creation, the apple of His eye.

My prayer for you reading this today is that you will remember this whenever you are feeling down about yourself for any reason.  No one can be harder on you than you are on yourself, so give yourself a break.  You are the way God wants to you be, and you are perfect in His eyes!

My Prayer

Thank you, Father, for creating me and shaping me to be the man I am today.  When I get down on myself, which will happen from time to time, please help me to remember Your Word and today's reminder that I am who You made me to be, and I am perfect and precious in Your sight.

Psalm 138:8

The Lord will accomplish what concerns me.

This psalm, written by David, is a psalm of thanksgiving for answered prayers.

Thoughts for the day...

There's a quote I read years ago that I love: "Man plans...God laughs."  While I don't think that God is actually laughing at my plans, how many times in my life have I made my own plans and tried to do things on my own, and watched them not come to fruition?  Too many to count.  Does that mean I shouldn't make plans, and I shouldn't have dreams for the future?  Not at all!  But when I'm making those plans, am I including God?  Many times, I haven't included Him, I admit.

I remember our plan to move back to Michigan when we lived in Tennessee for a year.  We missed our families, so we made the decision to move.  I don't remember once praying about our decision and talking to God about our plans.  When we were in Michigan, we were both working, but neither of us was particularly happy where we worked.  We had a church we frequented, but neither of us ever felt really connected.  We had friends at work, but outside of work, we didn't really hang out with anyone other than our families.  God provided for us, but He also let us learn a hard lesson from our decision to leave Him out of our plans: we weren't happy.  We talked about moving back to Tennessee, we prayed about our options this time, and God opened up some pretty huge doors for us down here.  See, God knows what's best for us, and I don't believe He's afraid of reminding us of that now and again.

My Prayer

God, thank you for knowing what's best for me and always providing for me and my family.  Even when I've strayed from You and You've let me learn some hard lessons, I know that You've always been watching over me and blessing me in other ways that I may not have seen or understood at the time.  Thank you for loving me, Father.

Psalm 127:1

Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who built it.


The theme of this psalm is that life without God is senseless, and that everything in life needs to have God as the foundation.


Thoughts for the day...
Church-hopping.  That's what Lisa and I have been doing since we've been married.  We have visited dozens upon dozens of churches, and there's always something that we don't like about it, and we move on to another church.  A couple of times we have found what we think will be our church home, and we've attended a few times, but for some reason or another, it just doesn't work out, and once again, we move on.  After reading today's verse, I felt like God was whopping me on the back of the head to get my attention and telling me, "Cut it out!  Just find someplace to go and worship Me and have fellowship with other Christians.  Be the leader of your family, lead Lisa and Landon, and help your son to know Me!"


God is at the center of our marriage, and He's at the center of our family.  We pray with Landon before meals and before bedtime.  But Lisa and I have talked about not giving him exactly what he needs, and that's a church family.  This fellowship is what God's family is all about, yet in his first year of life, we haven't had a church family.  Raising Landon right is both Lisa's and my job, and I think we're doing really well so far.  But raising him to become a Godly man, that's my job, and I'm failing him.  A family without God can never experience the spiritual bond He brings to relationships, and I need to man up and make sure that my family is fully experiencing God in our lives as one.


My Prayer
Father, please forgive me.  I know that I've failed in many areas of my life, but I refuse to fail on my family.  Father, please help me to stop making excuses for not going to church, thinking of lame reasons why a church doesn't work for us, and all of those things that are setting a bad example for Lisa and Landon.  I'm so sorry I've not lived up to what You expect of me, but I am going to try harder, because I am not being the Godly leader of my family that you've called me to be.  It's not fair to Lisa or Landon, and he cannot grow to be a Godly man without me setting a good example.  Thank You for the wisdom of Your Word to help me see that today, and thank You for the strength that I'll need You to give me.

Psalm 119:165

Those who love Your law have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumble.

This is an incredibly long psalm (176 verses), and it's all about the Word of God, and how following it helps us stay pure and grow in faith.

Thoughts for the day...

I have heard a song a few times on the radio this month (I believe by Amy Grant) talking about the busyness of the Christmas season, and how everything is so crazy, and she sings about how "I need a silent night, a holy night," just to slow down, relax, and remember the meaning of Christmas.  She's searching for peace during this busy, bustling time of the year.  That song, combined with today's verse, makes me think about so many people who are searching for peace of mind in this sometimes crazy world.  That peace can be found by doing what God tells us to do in His Word.

I really think that if people understood the true meaning of Christmas, they would find that elusive peace.  They would understand that it's God's Son, the Word incarnate, that brings them peace.  That peace that passes all understanding came to be with us more than 2,000 years ago and is the reason why we celebrate this time of year.

My Prayer

Thank you, Father, for sending us Your Son 2,000 years ago to bring us peace.  I pray that during this Christmas season, people would slow down, understand the true meaning of this time of year, and seek Jesus to find the peace that they're searching for.

Psalm 105:4

Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face continually.


I love this psalm.  In it, David sings about God's mighty deeds in bringing Israel to the promised land.  I picture David standing at the front of a classroom giving a five-minute history lesson about how the Israelites came to be, starting with Abraham up to them entering the promised land, being sure to list all of the miracles that God provided for them on their journey.


Thoughts for the day...
In today's verse, David reminds me that I should never stop seeking God's face.  As I think on God's Word today, this verse makes me think of Landon.  He can entertain himself for quite some time, and I love watching him as he plays.  The thing is, he knows I'm there, and every once in a while, he'll look up to to see if I'm watching him.  And when he sees me, he gets this big smile on his face, because he's found me, and he's reassured that I'm there, watching him, approving of what he's doing with a big smile of my own.  Sometimes his look to me is a pleading one, like, okay, Dad, I can't do this...I need your help.  I should be living my life in this same way.  I know God's there; He's watching me, always, letting me do my thing.  Just like Landon looks to me for approval, and sometimes help, I must always remember to look to God for His approval and for His help in everything I do, since I have proven time after time (after time) that I cannot do anything of my own strength.


My Prayer
God, thank you for Your Word, and for the daily reminders of how I should live my life.  Help me remember this verse when I get to the point where I think I can do it all on my own, because, Father, I can't...we both know this.  Help me to be childlike in some facets of my life, to be like Landon, seeking Your face, Your approval, and Your help.

Psalm 101:3

I will set no worthless thing before my eyes.

The theme of this psalm is a lesson that to live with integrity, both our efforts and God's help are necessary.

Thoughts for the day...
The short chapter from which this verse came is a powerful one. In this psalm written by David, he shares with us what it takes to lead a blameless life. The first thing he tells us is through today's verse. To lead a blameless life, I need to avoid looking at wickedness. What is wickedness? I believe it's not the actual thing I may be looking at that is wicked, but how I'm looking at it and what my thoughts about it are. Am I looking at something with envy? Am I looking at another woman lustfully? Am I doing anything that God has commanded me not to do? If I am doing this, then I am looking at wickedness. The other steps aside, this is a difficult one for most. But it's what I am commanded to do to lead a blameless life, so I need to work on it.

The second thing he tells us is to avoid evil associates. Am I choosing friends who are godly and truthful? We spend so much time with our friends and other associates, they are bound to have some kind of influence on our lives. Am I spending time with friends and associates who are faithful to God and His word? If I am working toward leading a blameless life, I should.

The final two things David says I need to avoid are slander and pride.

These are things I can do to lead a blameless life, in addition to following God's Word, so I may know how I must live. Are these things easy? My goodness, no! They are hard work! But, like any other good thing in life, the final product is worth the work, don't you think?

My Prayer
Father God, thank you for Your words to me today through your servant, David. Help me to work toward living a blameless life by avoiding looking at wickedness, choosing godly people to associate with, not doing harm with my words, and not being prideful. These are all things that I can do, but not without Your help! With You by my side, helping me to live right, I can do all things. Without You, Father, I can do nothing. Lead me in Your ways, Lord, so that in the years to come, Landon will choose to follow Your ways as well, as he sees You in me. Help me, God, to be a positive influence on my family and friends, that I might be a godly associate to them.

Psalm 82:3

Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless.

Theme of this psalm: A fair judge, God will judge the wicked who have unfairly treated others.

Thoughts for the day...
I'm about to get up on a soapbox, so bear with me. I have read in places, and even have some friends who have said, that "government is too big," and "they have their hands in too many places," and things like that (you've heard the same, I'm sure). They argue against things such as reformed health care, welfare, and other social programs that help those in need, and these are Christians. My argument to them is, if Christians are doing what they're commanded by God to do, then the government wouldn't have to get involved. But we're not, and so they are. People use this verse to defend their stance on abortion, which I agree with, but what about defending those who are already living? (I fully support these programs, even if it does take a little more out of each paycheck, because that's another way that I can do what God commands me in this verse.)

Okay, I'm stepping down, and asking myself the question now: am I doing enough to defend the weak? Am I doing enough to help those less fortunate than I am? The answer is probably no. While I'm fine with losing a couple bucks to support programs that help others, that's a very passive way that I'm choosing to help them. I admit that I need to get out there and do more, not just with monetary gifts, but talking with people, helping them in a physical way.

My Prayer
Father, I'm not doing enough. I've often thought about helping out at a soup kitchen or going into the community and doing something to help Your children in need, but that's all it ends up being--talk. Good intentions accomplish nothing, yet too often, that's all I've got. Forgive me for being passive in the way I offer help to others, and open my eyes to find ways that I can be a better witness to them about You.

Psalm 62:2

God alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken.

This is a very powerful psalm in which David sings about placing all hope in God.

Thoughts for the day...
Through David, God again tells me something I need to hear concerning the last couple of weeks. I was hurt by some things that were said, and for a few days, I felt resentment toward the person who hurt me. According to God's word, trusting Him to be my rock, salvation, and stronghold will change my entire outlook on life. I don't need to be held down by this resentment toward others when they hurt me. Nothing can shake me when I'm resting in God's strength. So, because I was shaken, was I not resting in His strength? I think that I wasn't. I wasn't trusting Him to be the rock I lean on. Reading this tonight allows me to let go of that resentment, some of which I'm still feeling, so I have a ways to go--but I'm getting there.

I love a commentary that I read that explains the theme of this psalm so well, and I'm going to share that here: Knowing that God is in control allows us to wait patiently for Him to rescue us. True relief does not come when the problem is resolved because more problems are on the way! True relief comes from an enduring hope in God's ultimate salvation. Only then will all trials be resolved.

How can I help you?
If you've been hurt recently by someone, are you letting go and giving it to God? Allow Him to be your stronghold; allow Him to be your rock. Don't let resentment get the best of you. Trust God's love and let Him take care of you.

My Prayer
Thank you for letting me know that it's okay to let go of the resentment that I'm feeling, Father. Thank you for being the rock that I can always count on. When I count on you, I can't be shaken, because I can do anything with your help. Thank you, God.

Psalm 51:4, 17

Against You, You only, I have sinned; the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.

This psalm was David's plea for mercy, forgiveness, and cleansing. David knew that God wanted his heart to be right with Him, and after David's sin with Bathsheba (he committed adultery and had her husband killed), he knew that he must humble himself before God and be right with Him.

Thoughts for the day...
These past two weeks, I went through some hardships, most of which were caused by some things that I did and said. I won't go into detail here, but I will say that I most definitely had a broken spirit. I talked to people about these problems, I prayed about them, I cried about them--I was completely broken. What David is telling me through this passage is that my broken spirit is exactly what God wants; He wants me to lift it up to Him so He can heal me, help me learn from my mistakes, and become a better man. I know that a prideful man isn't what God wants me to be; He wants me to be humble before Him. I was most definitely humbled throughout my ordeals, and I made some mistakes that I don't intend to make again. Though others were wronged, and I learned from the mistakes I made, David reminds me that my greatest sin was my sin against God, in being prideful, in not being a man after His own heart. I am content in that my heart attitude is now right, and I have been forgiven.

My Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your forgiveness. Thank You for loving me despite my pride, and for allowing me to be humbled so that I can learn from my mistakes and grow into the man that You have always intended me to be. Thank You for David's words, and for today's reminder that I so desperately needed.

Psalm 46:10

Be still, and know that I am God.

The theme of this psalm is that God is always there to help, providing refuge, security, and peace. God’s power is complete and His ultimate victory is certain. He will not fail to rescue those who love Him.

Thoughts for the day...
This whole psalm is about our trust in God, and not needing to fear anything. It’s in this psalm that we read about the earth shaking and mountains crumbling into the sea. Yet through all of these disasters, God reminds us that He will be with us, and He will protect us (us being those who believe in and love Him). We find assurance in this psalm that regardless of troublesome things that have happened and will continue to happen, the final victory will be God’s.

So if God protects me through those troubling times, why wouldn’t He protect me through my daily tribulations as well? He does, every day, and oftentimes I take this for granted. When I think about God’s holiness, His greatness, and His absolute power, and then about the grace that He’s shown me, I have to stop what I’m doing and thank Him and praise Him for the awesome, loving, and merciful God that He is.

My Prayer
God in heaven, my powerful, merciful Father, thank you for loving me. Thank you for accepting me as Your son and for protecting me. I know that I often take for granted everything You’ve done for me and continue to do for me, and I thank you for this reminder today of Your awesome presence and power. Thank you for showing me Your holiness, and for choosing to forgive me my sins. I love you, Father.

Psalm 42:2

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God

The theme of this psalm is a thirst for God. When you feel lonely or depressed, meditate on God's kindness and love.

Thoughts for the day...
When I'm depressed or even just feeling a little down-hearted, where do I turn? Usually, I talk to Lisa about what's bothering me or I just go play with Landon and everything's good. (Heck, just looking at him and seeing him smile back at me calms my soul.) But too many other times I'll just deal with the feeling, knowing that tomorrow is a new day, and whatever is bothering me (sometimes, I just don't know what it is) will pass. Is this what God has commanded me to do, though? Clearly it's not. When I'm feeling down or depressed, I need to rely on God. I need to talk to Him, intimate to Him what I'm feeling, and remember that He loves me. Is He going to cure my depression at that instant? He could if He wanted to, but more than likely, He won't. Like many problems in life, there aren't always easy answers or quick fixes. But sometimes you just need to get it off your chest. And why shouldn't I talk to my Father in heaven about what's bothering me? He wants me to do this; He wants to remind me that He loves me and that He's there for me. By coming to Him when I'm feeling depressed, He can do what He most wants to do: love me.

My Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for always being there for me. I don't always come to you to talk about my problems, but today I'm reminded that You want me to! I pray that I will seek You first when I'm feeling down, and that I will let Your holiness and Your love comfort me.

Psalm 39:5

Surely every man at his best is a mere breath.

The theme of this psalm from David is that apart from God, life is fleeting and empty. This psalm is an appeal for God's mercy because life is so brief.

Thoughts for the day...
Life is short, and it goes fast. I can't believe I'm 36 years old; that sounds like such a big number to me! Sometimes I sit and ask myself, where did all of that time go? I've accomplished a lot of things in my life, but there are so many more things I want to do before my time on earth is up. I want to raise Landon and my future children, I want to travel, I want to finish my book, I want to travel some more. :-) There are so many things I want to do, and yet life is fleeting, as evidenced by the last 36 years that have just flown by.

Is there more I can do with my life other than what I want, though? What about what God wants me to do with my life? Am I dealing with everything that He wants me to deal with in the time He's given me here? Am I working to become more Christ-like? (I believe I am.) Am I dealing with any areas in my life that are not pleasing to Him? (Not in all areas, no.) Am I telling others about Jesus? (Not as much as I should, no.) There are too many areas in my life where I'm answering "no" and that needs to change. I need to make the most of the time I've been blessed on this earth, and referring to this verse will help me remember that.

My Prayer
Father, in the time You've given me on earth thus far, I've been incredibly blessed. There have been times where I've taken for granted those blessings, and I don't want to do that anymore. Father, life is short, and I don't want to neglect what's truly important in life. Bring me back to this verse often as I live out the rest of my life, remembering the things that are important not only to me, but to You.

Psalm 37:4

Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.

In this psalm from David, he contrasts the wicked person with the righteous.

Thoughts for the day...
As I ponder what this verse means to me, I think about Jesus speaking to His followers, "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!" (Matthew 7:11)

Yesterday I wrote about fearing God, that is, giving Him all of my love, respect, and obedience. When you have a relationship with God, you want to do these things. You want to do what is right, you want to please Him. In this way, He delights in us. It should be easy, in turn, to delight in Him as well. He is our Father, and He loves us more than anything else that He has created--we should delight just being in His presence!

Like any father wants to give good things to his children, God wants to do the same. He knows the desires of our hearts, and He wants to bless us with those things--if they are righteous and not self-serving. I don't think that God is just going to give us anything we want. When we express to God our desires, I believe He looks deep into our hearts and looks at the motive behind our desires. I think someone may read this verse and think, this is what I want, and I do delight in God, so why am I not receiving my desire? I would ask that person why he desires this thing. Are his motives righteous, or are they selfish? That, I believe, is the key to receiving our heart's desires.

My Prayer
Father, thank you for so many blessings You've given me. So often in my life, I've asked You for something, expressed my heart's desire, and You've answered my prayer. Often, too, however, I've expressed my heart's desire out of selfishness, and those prayers have gone unanswered. Looking back, I see that some of my prayers that have gone unanswered have actually been the blessing, because You have something better in store for me. Thank you, God, for knowing what's best for me and for blessing me with that which I really need.

Psalm 34:9

O fear the Lord, you His saints; for to those who fear Him there is no want.

In this psalm, David has escaped from King Achish by pretending to be crazy. His song here tells us that God pays attention to those who call on Him. Whether God offers escape from trouble or help in times of trouble, we can be certain that He always hears and acts on behalf of those who love Him.

Thoughts for the day...
The word "fear," as used throughout the Bible, means love, respect, and obedience. So whenever it says to fear God, it means we should show complete love and respect, and to obey Him with everything we've got. As a believer who understands this meaning, I certainly do fear God. But I've always had a problem with this with regard to speaking to non-believers about God's love for them.

Fear, to the general populace, does not mean love and obedience. Fear means that someone is robbing you; fear means that your family is in danger; fear means that you're about to get beat up on the playground. So when someone who doesn't "speak the language," hears something about fearing God, it doesn't mesh with the loving God I'm trying to tell them about. If He's so loving and kind, why do I need to be scared of him? I think too many Christians misunderstand the meaning of fear, as it's used in the Bible when speaking of God. (The fire and brimstone sermons come to mind.) Rather than teaching people what it means to fear God--to show Him our complete love, devotion, respect, and total obedience to His word--they rely on our present-day understanding of fear to make people afraid of God. Why would anyone want to worship a God whom you're scared of?

God isn't the boogeyman; He isn't a monster under the bed; He isn't a schoolyard bully. He's not someone to be scared of. He loves us, and He's given everything for us. Therefore, why wouldn't we love Him, obey Him, and respect Him above all else? This is the message we, as Christians, should be sending to others when we say to fear God.

My Prayer
Heavenly Father, I do fear you. That is, I love You, I respect You, and I'm trying my best to obey Your commands. I pray that I am strong enough to speak up when people talk about fearing you, and that I share with them what this means. I don't want others, especially non-believers, to be scared of you. I want them to revere You for all that You are, and love You because You first loved them. Thank you for your continued blessings, God, and I continue to ask for Your blessings upon me and my loved ones.

Psalm 25:20

Guard my soul and deliver me; do not let me be ashamed, for I take refuge in you.

Psalm 25 is a psalm of David, in which he prays for defense, guidance, and pardon.

Thoughts for the day...
When I read these words, I think of an old Newboys song, "Not Ashamed." Here's the chorus from that song:

I'm not ashamed to let you know,
I want this light in me to show.
I'm not ashamed to speak the name of Jesus Christ.

It's easy to say that I'm not ashamed to speak the name of Christ; I'm sure it's easy for many of us. But what about how we speak the name of Christ without using words? What I mean is, in my daily existence, am I showing others that I'm not ashamed of Christ through the things that I do? As Christians, are we behaving in a way that would glorify Him, a way that others would clearly know that we are Christ-followers? For me, the answer doesn't require a second thought: no, I don't always live this way. I know there are times that I've been selfish; there are times when I've been impatient and less than understanding with people; there are times when I've listened to, and participated in, gossip. There are other examples, but I'm not big into self-flagellation, so I'm going to stick with those for now. If others see me behaving like this, how am I showing them that I'm living for Christ? I'm not. By giving in to these worldly vices, and not taking a stand and saying, "this is wrong," I'm essentially saying that I'm ashamed of the name of Christ; I'm not doing what He would do in the same situation.

And this type of behavior is what non-believers find incredible--that we proclaim we're Christians, but then live our lives in a manner contrary to that proclamation. They believe us to be hypocrites--and they're right. We can't be ashamed of doing what God has commanded us to do.

My Prayer
Father in heaven, let me not be ashamed of Your word. Let me not be ashamed of Your name and Your commands. I know that I make mistakes--more often than I care to admit. But I know You are forgiving of those mistakes. My fear is that others, non-believers in particular, don't understand this forgiveness, and when they see me behaving in these ways, they're turned off from hearing about You. I'm stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place. I try to live my life for You, but I keep screwing it up, and people are watching. Father, help me continue to walk in Your ways and be a light to the world. Help others understand that while we all may be trying our best, we will stumble, we will fall. Help others to forgive us when we do so, as You do.

Psalm 23:1, 4

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. I fear no evil, for You are with me.

A psalm that David sings to God.

Thoughts for the day...
My focus when I started thinking on this passage was the first part, which is found in verse 1 of the 23rd psalm: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." David was a shepherd, and so he used this analogy for God, because it's something that he readily knew about. I wonder if Jesus had this in mind when he told of the parable of the lost sheep a couple thousand years later, when he refers to himself as the shepherd? I'd love to get people's thoughts. But after learning that I'm going to be a dad in about eight months, I started focusing more on David singing about fearing no evil, because God is with him.

I think back to when we first found out that we were going to have Landon.  After having gone through so much to have a baby, I remember it finally sinking in that, oh my goodness, I was going to be a dad! What a tremendous honor and responsibility! Was I freaked out a little bit? Uh...yeah! But even now that Landon is here, when I start second-guessing myself about what kind of job I'll do as a dad, I will think on David's words and remember that God will be with me, He will comfort me, and I really have nothing to fear because of this.

My Prayer
Thank you for Your continued blessings on our lives, and for assuring me through Your word that regardless of the fears that I have and will continue to have as a dad, now that my role in life is changed, I really have nothing to fear, because You are with me, and You will comfort my soul. Help me be a living Bible to Landon, Father, that he would see You in me.

Psalm 19:1

The heavens are telling of the glory of God.

David sings about the glory of God that he sees in nature and in His word.

Thoughts for the day...
Mike Pierce will always be my first pastor. In addition to his love (or obsession?) of Diet Pepsi, I remember that Ziggy was his favorite comic strip character. I bring this up because this verse makes me think of a Ziggy comic from the newspaper probably fifteen years ago. It's a one-frame strip, and it's a picture of Ziggy on top of a mountain, looking down over the land, a beautiful sunset in his view, and he's clapping, yelling "Go God!" I think of that particular strip often when I take time to stop and admire the beauty of the world God created.

The beauty of this world takes my breath away. I'm blessed to be in a place where God outdid Himself, with the rolling hills, the beautiful starry nights, and the clean air that is Tennessee. But I also think of my trips to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. I think of our yearly vacations to Ontario, staying on the clear shores of Lake Huron. I think of the whole earth that I see when we watch BBC's Earth series. Forget Corot, Turner, and Monet. God is, without a doubt, the best landscape artist of all time.

A couple of weeks ago, I was taking the trash to the curb when I looked up. It was about 11 o'clock in the evening, it had been a cloudless day which had turned into a cloudless night. There was no moon, and where we live, no city lights. Only the stars illuminated the sky, and it was breath-taking. I stopped in the middle of the driveway, forgetting about my chore, and just stared at the sky for probably a minute. I remember thanking God for such a gorgeous sight, and I thank Him every time I lay my eyes on more of His creation that is our landscape.

I do not make this next comment with the intention of starting a debate, but how can you look at the world around you and think that it was all by accident? The earth is God's canvas, and he's used a crazy palette of colors to show us His glory. Maybe it's partly the after-effects of watching Avatar again a couple of weeks ago, but I wish that more people appreciated His artwork.

My Prayer
Thank you, God, for showing Your glory through your creation. The greens of the earth, the blues of the sky and waters--they're all the perfect combination of colors that you created. The earth is alive with things that You simply spoke into being, and I pray that I and others show the respect that Your creation deserves. Thank you for the beautiful nights that You've made me look up at, the soothing colors of nature that You use to help relax me after a hard day. If the world could speak, it would shout Your name and worship You as well, for bringing it into being. I pray that I would bring You glory by respecting Your creation.

Psalm 18:28-29

The Lord my God illumines my darkness; by my God I can leap over a wall.

This is a psalm sung by David, praising God for His help in David's time of need. Even with all his troops and armor, David knows that without God's help, he could not accomplish all that he has. He realizes that the only sure way to be delivered from evil is to call upon God for help and strength.

Thoughts for the day...
Even in the short amount of time I've been doing this, I've come across a lot (and there will be many more, I'm sure) of verses in which someone comes to the realization that he could do nothing apart from God. Things in my life are going pretty well right now. We're getting close to Christmas vacation, the three of us are all healthy, Grace is pretty content and getting along great with Landon, we aren't facing anything huge at the moment--life is good. But when I step back and look at it all, I know that none of this would be, if not for God. He has provided for us and blessed us with so much, and I know that I've taken much of it for granted. Especially in these times of "smooth sailing," it's easy to forget how much He's blessed us. I know that difficult times are a part of life, and I know that one of those times could be just around the corner--maybe even tonight--and this reminder today will help me remember to rely on His strength. I can't do anything without Him. I must not just cry out to Him for help in my times of need; I must worship God every second of every day, and not take for granted anything with which I've been blessed.

My Prayer
God, thank you for this reminder today that it's Your strength on which my life depends, not my own. Apart from you, Father, I'm nothing. Father God, let me not take Your blessings for granted. I pray that the way I live my life honors You, and that others see You in me. Thank you for taking away my darkness, and thank you for Your constant blessings on my life.

Psalm 3:3

But You, O Lord, are a shield about me.

David wrote this psalm when he was fleeing from his son, Absalom, who wanted to kill David. David had his whole army to help him defeat Absalom, but rather than depending on them to bring him through this, he depended on God instead, writing this psalm to show his trust in God.

Thoughts for the day...
Well, I don't foresee any of my children plotting to kill me when I become king, so I don't think I'll exactly be in David's shoes. But, there have been times in my life when I've felt like everyone was against me. In hindsight, I realize that there was no great conspiracy to all gang up on Todd, but I'm sure many of us have felt that way at some time in our lives. You feel like nothing can go right, no matter how hard you try, and no one is there to be on your side. Despite his huge army, I imagine David felt a certain level of alone-ness, especially since it was his son who had turned against him. Here, though, David chose to do what I never did in those times of loneliness--he cried out to God, and he trusted Him.

Right now, I don't feel any loneliness, but there's a lot of living left to do. I'm sure at some point, I will feel this sensation again. I hope that I'll remember these words and cry out to God, as David did, and proclaim that I trust Him, and I trust that He will be on my side, and He will be my shield.

My Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for being on my side. Even when I've disappointed You, even when I've dragged Your name through the mud, You've never left me. Thank you for being the one true constant in my life. I pray that in my times of loneliness, I would remember all that You've done for me, and I will call on Your name to be my shield in those times of concern.

Job 31:1

I have made a covenant with my eyes.

Job has lost everything that is dear to him, and in chapter 31, he tells how he was innocent of sins. He earlier told of his good deeds, and now in this chapter, he begins to tell of the sins that he did not commit, one of which he describes with this verse: adultery.

Thoughts for the day...
A couple of years ago, all of the men in our church went through the study of a book called Every Man's Battle. This is a book about winning the war on sexual temptation. This was one of the most powerful, and most important, book studies I've ever been a part of. One of the things we read about and discussed is exactly what Job says in this verse, and that is to make a covenant with our eyes. What this means with me is, eight ears ago, I made a covenant with Lisa that she would be the only love of my life, the only woman that I will give everything I am, and everything I have, to. She's the only woman to whom I will give my passion for the rest of my life. To give less than everything to her and to our marriage is to break our covenant, the vow I made to her. To even look at another woman lustfully is to break my vow, and this verse is a reminder of that vow.

I find it unbelievably disrespectful when I hear someone say something to effect of, "Just because I can't eat doesn't mean I can't look at the menu." Guys, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you love your wife the way we're commanded to love our wives, like Christ loved the church, such a phrase shouldn't even find its way into your thought processes. All you need is what you've already got. There's a difference between appreciating the beauty of a woman (they are God's creation) and lusting after her. Unfortunately, that line is blurred for some guys, or it just doesn't exist. And to those for whom that line doesn't exist, you're disrespecting the one who you promised before your friends, your family, and before God, that you would be devoted to her only. Let's have a chat.

My Prayer
Father, help me remember the covenant I've made with my eyes, that they are to gaze longingly only upon Lisa. Help me to avoid the pathetic "I'm a guy, I'm wired to look at women" excuse and give all of my focus, all of my attention, and all of my affection to the one who is everything to me. She is who I promised my devotion to, and she is my beloved. *smiles* Thank you for the blessing that is Lisa, God. Because I do not deserve her, she deserves nothing less than everything I have.

Job 13:15

Though He slay me, I will hope in Him.

Job has lost everything. God has allowed Satan to take everything that is dear to Job away from him, because God knows that Job will not turn from Him. Job proves God right when he tells his friends that even though all of these bad things are happening to him, though everything has been taken from him, Job will continue to put his hope in God.

Thoughts for the day...
Could I do it? If God allowed everything to be taken from me--my family, my children, my livelihood--could I still put my trust in Him? I know how angry I was with God when He took my dad. I know how very angry I was with God when we lost our first babies. I cannot imagine how I would be should he take everything from me. I pray that I'll never have to find out, but I have to be honest and say that it would incredibly difficult. Yet that's what this passage tells me I have to do.

God loves me more than any other creation; He's told me this in His word. He wants me to call out to Him, to hold on to Him, to rely on Him. He wants to be my Father. As I sit and think about it, when Dad died six and a half years ago, I was so angry at God. Yet I found when I let go of my anger and asked God to be with me, I felt Him there. It took a few days, but I did begin to put my hope in God again. I don't want to imagine what it would be like to lose Lisa, Landon, our house, my job. And initially I know I would be angry. I would ask God why He allowed this to happen. But this passage and God's word will always come back to me and show me that I can hope in Him, and it'll all be all right.

My Prayer
God, thank you for Your blessings on my life. Thank you for Lisa, for Landon, for my family, for Grace, for our jobs--for all the gifts you have given me! Father, I come to You so easily when things are going well, but I pray that I will have the strength to come to You just as easily when things go badly, too. I pray that when hard times come, I will seek Your face and You will hold me and just be my Father, letting me know that You're there, and that things are going to be okay.

1 Samuel 16:7

The Lord looks at the heart.

God has spoken to Samuel and has told him that he will be anointing the next king of Israel, one who will take Saul's place. Samuel goes to Bethlehem to meet Jesse and his sons, one of whom the Lord tells him will be the next king of Israel. The first son, Eliab, stands before Samuel, and he is a physical specimen, much like Saul. Samuel says to himself that Eliab has got to be the anointed one, because of his appearance. At that point, God tells Samuel not to look at Eliab's appearance or height, because those aren't important. He tells Samuel that He does not see as man sees, because while men look at outward appearance, "the Lord looks at the heart." Later in the passage, small young David is brought before Samuel and is anointed as the next king of Israel.

Thoughts for the day...
These words should scare many of us. How much time out of our day do we spend primping, dressing, doing everything to look good--fifteen minutes? A half hour? An hour or more? My point is, we spend a lot of time making the outside look good. I don't believe there's anything at all wrong with wanting to improve our appearance. But here's the scary part: are we spending at least the same amount of time making our hearts look good? Are we spending at least the same amount of time improving the appearance of our hearts to God? Because that, according to His word, is what is important!

We see God's words are true when He comes to earth in Jesus. Jesus spends much of His time in scripture bashing the Pharisees. The Pharisees put on a good show--they said all the right religious words, they did all the right religious moves, they made sure that people heard them and knew that they were doing right by God. But Jesus slammed them regularly, saying, essentially, that the Pharisees were not, in fact, right by God because while they looked like they were doing everything right, their hearts were unclean (Matthew 32:27).

Why did I say these words are scary? Um...have you honestly looked at your heart lately? Is it something you'd be proud to let people see? We all have skeletons in our closets, sometimes hidden very well from friends and family. But they're not hidden from God. God looks through everything we try to do to please Him, and He sees straight through to our hearts. I need to work on taking deliberate steps to improve the attitude of my heart.

My Prayer
Heavenly Father, when You look into my heart, you see who I really am. You see who I really want to be in You. When I honestly look into my own heart, I don't always like what I see. Father, help me to improve the attitude of my heart, that I wouldn't be embarrassed by what I know You see when You look upon it. Help me to walk in Your word, to grow closer to You, Father, so that when others get close to me and see into my heart, all they see is You.