"My Glory, the Lifter of My Head" - Ps. 3:4

From the Jeruselum Bible this is what it says:  (verses 3 and 4)

But, Yahweh, my encircling shield,
my glory, you help me hold up my head.
Loudly I cry to Yahweh,
and He answers me from His holy mountain.

From the New American Bible it say: (verse 4)

But you, O Lord, are my shield;
my glory, you lift up my head!

The whole of Psalm 3 is such an encouraging psalm.  I look at it as the great spiritual battles we go through all the time.  All these demons and bad thoughts and self-condemnation thoughts, etc., come at us all the time.  They say - in some way or another - "You are no good.  There is no salvation for you.  Nothing can help you!"  BUT ----- "You, O Lord, are my shield" - we just need to recognize God there shielding us from all that comes against us.  He is shielding us.  Nothing can touch us in HIM.  "my glory".  MY GLORY!  I had a hard time grasping this one.  How can my Lord be MY glory?  So, I went to the Webster dictionary.  Some of the meanings of the word are listed there:  Distinguished honor or praise; exalted reputation..  The glory of heaven; bliss.  Extreme well-being, prosperity,  etc. - to be in one's glory.  To rejoice proudly or triumphantly; take pride with in.  Isn't this exciting?  He brings us into glory!  Into a place of honor  and our reputations is exalted!  We can have well-being, prosperity,  and all that we need!  Instead of complaining and feeling bad, we can boast, take pride within our being because we KNOW that our Lord is sheilding us, He is bringing us glory!  And then in verse 4 it says "He is the lifter of my head!"  I don't need to hang my head in shame.  The devil can no longer rob me of my joy, my glory, my pride in what I do!  My Lord is the lifter of my head!!!  We are blessed to know this.

The title of this post is the title of the song I mentioned in my e-mail to Mickey.  She asked me if I could post the words of this song and a teaching on my blog.  So, I studied it a little, and was so blessed by this study.  I pray you will be, too.  Here are the words of the song:

My glory and the lifter of my head, my glory and the lifter of my head!  \
Thous, O lord, art a shield to me, - - my glory and the lifter of my head!

I cried unto the Lord with my voice
I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and He heard me out of His holy hill!

My glory and the lifter of my head,
my glory and the lifter of my head! 
And thou, O Lord, art a shield to me, -  -
my glory and the lifter of my head!


The whole of Psalm 3 is worth reading and pondering.

Another prophecy from my journal

August 14, 2003

"Do not let the sound of war and unrest in many parts of this world keep you from hearing My message.  The television and radio secular news bring only fear and discouragement and hopelessness into your minds and hearts.  Do not let the noise and news around the world distract you and keep you from spending your time in the quiet of your prayer closet.  Do not miss the importance of this time in history.  Do not miss My message.  For I bring you words of encouragement, I bring you tidings of great joy, I bring you hope!

Listen, My children, I have not gone away never to return; but I WILL come - yes, even at a time you least expect, and when many have become engrossed in the problems of the hour.  I say to you - My precious ones - do not become obsessed by the problems of the world; be obsessed with Me and My love for you.  Look up and rejoice!  For surely your deliverance is very near!  Fill your days with My light, and love, and sharing the GOOD news.  Glorify and honor My name.  Praise and delight yourself in the Lord.  Then you will experience a freedom from the pressures and cares of this world.  You will find peace.  You will find rest for your weary soul.  Come to Me.  Let Me shower you with My blessings.  Let Me touch you with My love and heal your soul.  Come into My presence whenever you choose, as often as you choose.  You can enjoy this rest and the opportunity to be apart from time and concerns of this world.  You shall lose nothing and gain everything!  Try it as a therapy for your physical body.  Always it will be a great source of energy and life for your spiritual journey!

COME TO ME---COME AWAY WITH ME---I LOVE YOU---I HAVE NOT GONE AWAY---I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS.  COME TO ME!"

John 6:63  -  "What gives life is God's Spirit; human power is of no use at all. 
                       The words I have spoken to you bring God's life-giving Spirit."

Rev. 7:15b - "He who sits on the throne will protect them with His presence."

A prophecy from the past

As I was going through my things, I came across this journal from 2003.  I record the scriptures and what the Lord speaks through them to me.  This is amazing, and a very encouraging word for us for NOW!

February 6, 2003 (nine years ago!)

Read Psalm 118:1-9, and 15-17.  (this was what I had recorded 9 years ago to read, but today as I read this psalm, I believe we should read the whole psalm for us now):

This was the prophecy I had from it:  (This is a word from God spoken through His Spirit in me.  Please discern what I say here.)

"Quiet your hearts and minds, my people, and hear what I speak to you this hour:

Hard times are coming!  Chaos and panic, suffering and hardships as have never come so near your land in your life times!  But - Be not afraid!  I go before you always.  Come, follow me, and I will give you rest!  I am with you.  Stay alert.  See me at work as you ask!  Study my word.  Search in the scriptures for answers to all questions - to find how and why and where and even when I am working.  I speak to those who have open hearts and minds to hear my words, to do my will.  I respond to those who call upon my name.  I will send my angels to minister, guide, and guard as you ask me to do so.  Listen - Stay close to me.  Listen - stay alert.  You will see me in the events in your life.  You will be guided by ME - you will be guarded by me.  You will be strengthened by Me.  You will be sent out - with all you need to fight the battle that is now being waged for the very souls of all people.  My name and My word, and your prayer, are the weapons that will win the battle!  Stay close to me.  Stay alert!  Know My word!  DO my work as I lead you.  Have no fear - you are in My kingdom and we will not be defeated."

Michelle Hanson

Okay, here is a mystery to me. God's plan was that Jesus would serve as the sacrificial lamb. Part of the plan was that he would be betrayed by the kiss of Judas. So Judas performed a task planned by God to fulfill His redemption of mankind, right? I don't get why Jesus told Judas it would be better that he not have been born at all. I mean, Judas' role in the condemnation and murder of the Christ was preordained by God, himself. Why then would God, in the form of human Jesus, tell Judas it would have been better had he not been born? Seems like Judas was an important key figure in the fruition of God's redemptive plan for mankind. Things that make me go hmm...

Hi - Thank you, Mickey for asking this question. It's great to inquire. Inquisitive minds, like mine, want to know! It starts us all thinking on this, and, hopefully looking up everything we can find about Judas. Looking at our footnotes in our bibles. Asking questions of others as to what they think of Judas. It's exciting to me. I love this. Thanks.

Anyway, that's what I did . . . went on a quest to find answers as best as my little pea-brain can understand. And lo and behold I turn on the TV and there is a program on about the passion and resurrection. And a lot of it was about Judas! The whole point of the program was the prophecies foretold in the old testament about the death and resurrection of Jesus! 500 to 1,000 years BEFORE Jesus even came to be! That was amazing to me.

All of the gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - have this story, the story of Judas' betrayal of Jesus, in them. So much can be gleaned from all of them, and they fit together to form a picture of what happened. I find it most interesting that in John 13:27 it says "at that instant, after Judas had taken the bread, Satan entered him (Judas), . Jesus then said 'what you are going to do, do quickly'. then verse 30: "as soon as Judas had taken the piece of bread he went out." Vs. 31 - When he had gone Jesus said: 'Now has the Son of Man has been glorified . . . .' (Read John Chapter 13 and read what else is there). The passion has begun, since Judas has just gone out to do Satan's work. Jesus speaks of His victory as already being won. See John 16:33 "I have conquered the world.".

Later on, after Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss (you can read of this in the gospels), he was so shamed. He said "I have betrayed innocent blood." and he took his precious 30 pieces of silver and threw them at the court. He couldn't wash away his shame and guilt and went out and hung himself. The place where he hung himself is called the Potter's Field, and is still there and still named that!

I could just go on and on, but I will end now, just saying - read these gospels for yourself. Go to the cross references in your footnotes and put together your understanding of it all. And read Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53. Written hundreds of years before. It's so amazing! God is speaking to us through the scriptures yet today. "alas for that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. Better for that man if he had never been born!" means to me that I would be better off not being born if I turn my back on Jesus! When I follow Jesus I have everything I could ever need, just like Judas had, but if I turn my back on Him, and choose a different one to follow, if I turn to Satan and his evil ways, like Judas did, then I will hate my life, I will be better off to not have been born! Judas was greatly tempted by the worldly pull of what money could do for him! He took a measly 30 pieces of silver in exchange for betraying His Lord! Turning away from Jesus. Big mistake!

Our new furniture

The pictures are of the furniture we received from our kids for Christmas, birthday, mother's day, father's day, valentines day, etc., etc., etc. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!
We are enjoying them so much.

The little white spot on the couch is the sun poking through a hole in the blind. The little dog beside the chair is Linda's pal, Toby. He likes my chair, too.

Again - thanks all of you. Such a sacrifice you have made for us, when I know you could have used this $$$ for your own needs. We are so blessed!

It looks bad, but Psalm 12:5 is a wonderful promise from our God: "I will set him in the safety for which he yearns."

Read Psalm 12. (When I read it, it reminded me of the state of affairs in our country as we speak. Especially in view of what is happening in politics!)

King David looked out at the world and was troubled. He didn't need the internet to paint a bleak picture of society or the New York Times to remind him of crime and suffering. Even without a cable news show to give him all the bad news, he saw the evil.

He looked around and saw that "the godly man ceases." He noticed that "the faithful disappear." In his world, everyone spoke "idly" to his neighbor "with flattering lips and a double heart" (psalm 12:1-2).

This description may sound like the theme of a TV show, but it was life, in 1,000 BC. While we think that all this evil is much worse than anything that came before, David reminds us that all of the ills of the world are not just happening in the 21st century.

But David's words also give us hope. Notice his reaction to the bad news he bore. First, he turned to God and cried, "Help!" (v. 1) Then he implored God for specific needs. The response he got was positive. God promised that He would provide protection and safety for his people (vv 5-7)

When you are discouraged, cry out for God's help. Then just sit back, knowing that God has promised His protection and safety! Three thousand years AFTER David, God is still, and always will be, in control!

We have nothing to fear, because God is in control.

Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ. - - 2 Corinthians 5:20

The word "ambassador" in the dictionary means "An accredited diplomatic agent of the highest rank, appointed as the representative of one government to another. Any personal representative or messenger."

Read 2 Corinthians 5:17-21.

I am an ambassador for Christ - and so are you! We need to show people what and who and why and where Jesus is. We must live as as ambassadors for Christ so people see Him in us! I've been assigned to do this in my family, among my friends, and in my church. It's my calling and my honor. Yours, too.

I believe I'm living in a different world than this secular world we are in. I live in God's/Jesus' government.

Let's face it, being an example (ambassador) is often about being different. But most of us don't want to be different. We want people to like us, and the safest way to do that is to blend in. I can't tell you how many times I've agreed with someone who I know is going against the teachings of Christ, or just kept quiet. I don't like to cause waves. I want everyone to like me. But following Jesus has never been about blending in. Following Him means to be like Him, to respond to life and relate to people as He did. It's a little risky and uncomfortable to be different. But that's what being an "ambassador for Christ" is all about - - bringing the wonderful difference of your King to bear on the territory you've been assigned to. What an honor!

Make a difference by daring to be different.

God's mother, Mary

This Mary - the mother of God - has always been so important in my life. When I was growing up, I often felt alone and unloved. I would go and let Mary, whom I imagined as my Mother, hold me, comfort me. I would even talk to her, and I knew she was there, stroking my hair, and being my "Mother". I prayed to her. She was who I could relate to as someone who would hear me and care about me and I felt comfort from that.

Then one day, I was "baptized in the Holy Spirit" after a Life in the Spirit Seminar. Everything changed. I knew God, the creator of the whole universe, the God who supposedly sat on His throne in the heavenlies and was so untouchable - I knew HE loved me. I felt His love. He became my heavenly Father. And Jesus was alive!!! The Holy Spirit was revealing truths to me - then and He still is. The Bible came alive to me. It really is the word of God. He speaks to me through it. What an amazing life this is! One of the readings I read and still read often is Chapter 2 of the book of John. Verse 5 is important: "His mother instructed those waiting on table, 'Do whatever He tells you.' "

That is what I feel Mary did for me. I know she was with me through out my life, but when the time was ready she led me to Him and said "do whatever HE tells you to do." I believe that is Mary's role. Leading us to Jesus. She gave birth to Him - brought Him into our world. She was with Him to the bitter end of His life. She buried him behind the big stone. She was there when He came out of that grave. She was among those who witnessed Him walking amongst us. She was in the upper room with the other followers of Jesus, praying in the spirit for the Holy Spirit to come down on them as Jesus had promised, and they would receive power from on high.

Mary is a model for my life. And I do try to do whatever He tells me. Jesus is my Lord and Savior! Mary pointed the way.

Isaiah 46: 3-4

In my prayer this morning, I was lead to this scripture! I was amazed and blessed, as usual.
Here is what it said to us:

"Listen to me, House of Jacob
all you who remain of the House of Israel,
you who have been carried since birth,
whom I have carried since the time you were born. (I see this as the Lord speaking to me
directly, and you, too! God wants us to listen to Him. He wants to let us know how
He has always been with us, and has carried us. Reminds me of the poem "Footprints".)

"In your old age I shall be still the same,
when your hair is grey I shall still support you.
I have already done so, I have carried you,
I shall still support and deliver you."

Isn't this wonderful? God is so good, and so awesome.

I can remember going through tough stuff when I was in high school, and I leaned heavily on Mary, the mother of God. (I hadn't met Jesus, her Son, yet). I felt my Lord was there, protecting and leading me as long as I can remember. I didn't realize this at the time, but now as I look back, I know HE IS STILL THE SAME, and HE IS STILL SUPPORTING ME! And He means this for all of us! Doesn't that just give you goose bumps to know the God we serve is so wonderful and cares so much!

I do feel the aging process harrassing me these days. I told Linda the other day that I I'm getting older, but I'm tired of it, so I don't think I'll do it anymore. I get depressed when I hurt so much, and can't do what I used to do, and then I hear these words through the Bible from my Lord and Savior! This lifted me all day, and I read this scripture several times today to remind me of God's love.

Hallelujiah!

QUIET TIME WITH GOD

Psalm 23 is such a beautiful, peaceful psalm with lots of powerful and beautiful thoughts in it. It is a good one to meditate with often.

I find that a daily time of Bible reading and prayer is essential in my walk of faith. Quiet time with God - a time away from the busy-ness of my day - away from the phone, the TV, the computer, yes even time away from Phil - helps me connect with God. "He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters." (Psalm 23:2) The "green pastures" and "still waters" are more than a perfect country scene. They speak of our communion with God whereby He "restores our souls and leads us in His paths" (verse 3).

All of us can make time to meet with God, but do we? Here is a suggestion for a way to begin: Start with a short prayer for guidance, ask The Holy Spirit to lead you, then read the Bible for a few minutes, and close with a short time of prayer that includes adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and prayers for others. It's vital to take time today to connect with the Lord, who is our life.

I like to think of it like this: I have an appointment with my doctor. I would never think of not going with such excuses as "I'm too tired today", "it's too cold or too hot", "I'm sick", "I need to go shopping" . . . . No, I would not do that. I keep my appointment. That's what I need to do with My Lord. And that's the most important appointment I could ever have! Keeping a daily appointment with GOD is a vital part of the Christian life. The more time we spend with God -- reading His Word, conversing with Him in prayer, meditating on thoughts from His Word - - the better we get to know Him and the more our lives begin to reflect His image and His truth. It's so worth the effort and the time.

I like to have a journal at my fingertips so I can jot down thoughts and scriptures, etc., that I receive when I'm praying. Later when I go back and read these journals, I see God at work in my life. I know My Lord is sitting with me. Sometimes I feel His presence, hear His words to me, feel His touch - Other times, I feel like He has forgotten me. But, I know that the rest of my day (or night) will go a lot better, and somehow everything I wanted to get done, does get done.

I also like to listen to music during this time. A very wonderful gift from God for us. Music seems to chase the blues away, seems to chase the devil - and all he thinks he's going to do - away.

I will be doing a time of teachings on prayer - what I have learned through the years - and I will be posting it here. Please share your thoughts, your prayers, your opinions whenever you want to.

God bless you!

Joshua 1:9

"Have I not told you: be strong and stand firm? Be fearless, then, be confident, for go where you will, Yahweh your God is with you."

My prayer with this scripture:

Help me, Lord - I am weak and I am fearful - I have no confidence in what I can say or do! But - in You I can be all that You would have me to be! Thank you for your promise that wherever I go, whatever I do, YOU go with me!

And Isaiah 41:9 1/2 through verse 10 and verse 13: "You are my servant, I have chosen you, not rejected you', do not be afraid, for I am with you; stop being anxious and watchful, for I am your God. I give you strength, I bring you help, I uphold you with my victorious right hand. For I, Yahweh, your God, I am holding you by the right hand; I tell you, 'Do not be afraid, I will help you'.

I thank you, My Lord, for knowing me through and through. You know I get fearful and anxious. I am so blessed to know you. To know you are my God, and you have chosen me - not rejected me! Thank you for giving me strength to face whatever is coming, thenk you for your help. I reach up to you, and put my hand in the hand of GOD ALMIGHTY. How could I be afraid. I know you are helping me. Please, Lord, help our country. Have mercy on your people. God bless Israel and America!

Lonely? Turn to me, says the Lord

I found this pamphlet from "Life Spring", and thought I would post it here. So many of us need to hear God speaking this message to us now.

"Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.

Relieve the troubles of my heart, and bring me out of my distress.

Consider my affliction
and my trouble,
and forgive all my sins."

Psalm 25:16, 18

Even David, a king and a hero, knew loneliness and despair. In this psalm he asks God to help him in his troubles - - to comfort him. Each of us, at certain times, experiences loneliness. We wish that a friend or family member would reach out to us in a personal way. We would like to talk to and be with someone who cares about us.

Even though people aren't always there when we need them most, we can be assured that God is present with us at all times. God comes to us. God knows and hears our troubles. God is our constant companion and friend.

Prayer:

Dear Lord,

I feel very lonely today. No one calls or stops by. I feel like David - - lonely and afflicted. It helps me to know that you are there.

Thank you for being with me at all times, for hearing my troubles, and for forgiving my sins.

Amen


I picked this pamphlet up somewhere along the way - in Billings when I was the Religious Ed Director at St. Pius. The date on it is 7-02-90! copyright 1990 Augsburg Fortress. Couldn't be more perfect for right now, could it?

Praying the scriptures

I will often open my bible, and read what is there. I ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truths and inspirations of those verses I read. A word or a phrase or a paragraph or whatever will sort of "come off the page at me", and I will stop there. I meditate a little (or a lot) and then I can usually use that as my "revelation" of what to pray for at that particular time. The bible is so full of prayers. The Psalms, the letters, Isaiah, have lots of prayers, as do so many other books of the bible. This reading from the book of Ephesians chapter 1, verses 16 and 17:

"I have never failed to remember you (insert name of person you are praying for) in my prayers and to thank God for you. May our Lord Jesus Christ give you a spirit of wisdom and perception of what is revealed to bring you to a full knowledge of him."

1 corinthians 16:verses 13 and 14: (I want to pray this one for myself, but insert whatever name you want here) "Lord, Help me to be awake to all the dangers; to stay firm in faith; to be brave and strong - to have courage and truth. Help me to do everything I do or say in love".

Or the passion of Christ and after the resurrection - Luke - chapter 22 through chapter 24. Meditate on each event there, and pray as you are being prompted by the Holy Spirit to pray. Or Luke Chapter 11 - The Lord's prayer. Wonderful scriptures to pray!

Pray with a daily devotional - one that has scriptures with that day. Read those scriptures, read the devotion for the day, then your prayer can take off from there.

Then, of course, the Psalms. Find one that is speaking to you and meditate on all the words. Pray it! Psalm 5 - titled MORNING PRAYER in my Jerusalem bible - especially verses 1-3, are a great prayer to start your day. Psalm 51 - a psalm of repentance. Just a few verses that pray!

Go on your own "treasure hunt" through the verses of the bible. You will be rich and blessed, and grow close to God.

Prayer and the words of God from scripture, are so powerful! They work well together.

A great teacher!

I watched the best teaching on TBN today! Google in baylessconley.com and click on to one about heart something. Maybe I'll get a better title for you. He's a wonderful teacher. Very inspiring and fun to listen to.

Prayer for Russ

Please go to the Eve's Dropper, look into the post titled Pray for Russ, scroll down to Kay's post and then my last post to see the latest news on Russ. Read that scripture I posted there. Continue praying for him, please. God can work miracles. He can fix Russ's heart.

Thank you for your prayers!

A prayer for Karen

Please pray with me:

Lord Jesus, Karen is your beloved daughter.
Snatch her, Lord, from the grasp of your enemy.
Cover her with your precious blood and flood her with the healing waters of your love.
Let her know that a great and good God is her provider.
Send her some people to love her - send your angels to minister to her.
Give her the grace of repentance. Lord, help her to turn around and go on your path. Help her before she does further damage to herself and to those who love her.
Help her before she sinks more deeply into the path the enemy has laid before her.

You are God. You are Lord.
Thank you, Jesus, that you have the ability
to turn every attack of the enemy to great good.

Do that now, Lord. In Jesus' name I pray.

Amen!

Ecclesiasticus 30:21-27

I prayed this morning for all of us. I prayed against the spirit of depression that is rearing it's ugly head these days and causing all kinds of troubles for some of us. I opened my bible and here is what I read:

"Do not abandon yourself to sorrow,
do not torment yourself with brooding.
Gladness of heart is life to you
Joy is what gives you length of days. (Our prayer group in Billings was called
"The Children of Joy and Gladness" - just
an interesting aside.)
Beguile your cares, console your heart,
Chase sorrow far away;
For sorrow has been the ruin of many,
and is of no use to anybody.

Jealousy and anger shorten your days,
and worry brings premature old age.
A genial heart makes a good trencherman,
One who benefits from his food."


I had to look up the meaning of a couple of these big words:

Beguile means to mislead, deceive, cheat.
Genial means kindly, pleasant, cordial in disposition or manner.
A trencherman is someone who sponges, a hanger-on. Someone who likes to eat, it
says in my dictionary.

So, "beguile your cares" means to mislead, deceive, cheat our cares. They cannot drag
us down.
A genial heart, or someone who is kindly, pleasant, cordial in disposition, makes a
good friend. I wonder if a "Trencherman" is someone who never lets you down,
a person you want to be around - to go out to lunch with! ???

I thought this was a good reading for today. I will follow up with ideas I find to
help bring us our of sorrow and sadness and torment into Joy and Gladness!

Do you have any ideas or ways you have found to bring you our of the doldrums?

Ecclesiasticus 32:1-3 (or Sirach)

As I was praying today for our president, our country and our world - I was drawn to this scripture from my Jeruselum bible. This is a book that is only in the Catholic Bibles. It is a favorite book for me to read, I get so much out of it. I hope you all have a Catholic Bible around just so you can read this book.

Chapter 32:1-3 says this: (I am praying for our president)


"Have they made you president?
Do not let it go to your head, or behave like everyone else in your party.
See that the people are happy, and then sit down yourself.
Having discharged your duties,
Take your place, and enjoy yourself with the others.
THEN you will receive the crown (reward)
for your competence."

Keep in mind this book of the bible is not Ecclesiast-es, but Ecclesiasti-cus, and is also the book of Sirach.


Any thoughts - anyone?

The condition of the world!

The earthquakes and tsunami's as a result of them. It is a scarey time, IF all we do is read and hear the news. Washington state is included in the tsunami warnings. Have you heard anything about that, Hanson's? I have been praying all day today. I'm praying the blood of the precious lamb of God over those I know and love, and all people in the path of this disaster! I pray for God's mercy and grace. I pray all will come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. And that we all know the "Blessed Hope" of knowing God in all HIS glory, in His Son, and through His Holy Spirit.

And now I am hearing of massive flooding, tornadoes, thunder and lightening all over the Eastern and sounthern U.S.


Read Matthew 24 through chapter 25:1-13

What are your thoughts on this?

Pray!