Here’s My Heart Lord

Psalm 139 (NKJV)

God’s Perfect Knowledge of Man

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

1 O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
² You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
³ You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
⁴ For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
⁵ You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.

⁷ Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
⁸ If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
⁹ If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
¹⁰ Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
¹² Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

¹³ For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

¹⁷ How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
¹⁸ If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.

¹⁹ Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God!
Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men.
²⁰ For they speak against You wickedly;
Your enemies take Your name in vain.
²¹ Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
²² I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.

²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
²⁴ And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.

 

Humility In Action

 

As James 4:10 states, “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord and He will exalt you..” The following is a list of twelve suggestions from others on how to humble yourself. As you will see, most of them are basics of our Christian faith.

Twelve Ways to Humble Yourself*

Routinely confess your sin to God. (Luke 18:9-14) All of us sin and fall short of the glory of God. However, too few of us have a routine practice of rigorous self-honesty examination. Weekly, even daily, review of our heart and behavior, coupled with confession to God, is an essential practice of humility.

Acknowledge your sin to others. (James 3:2, James 5:16) Humility before God is not complete unless there is also humility before man. A true test of our willingness to humble ourselves is being willing to share with others the weaknesses we confess to God. Wisdom, however, dictates that we do so with others that we trust.

Take wrong patiently. (1 Peter 3:8-17) This has been a difficult one for me. When something is unjust I want to react and rectify it. However, patiently responding to the unjust accusations and actions of others demonstrates our strength of godly character and provides an opportunity to put on humility.

Actively submit to authority…the good and the bad! (1 Peter 2:18) Our culture does not value submission; rather it promotes individualism. How purposely and actively do you work on submission to those whom God has placed as authorities in your life? Doing so is a good way to humble yourself.

Receive correction and feedback from others graciously. (Proverbs 10:17, 12:1) In the Phoenix area, a local East valley pastor was noted for graciously receiving any negative feedback or correction offered. He would simply say “thank you for caring enough to share that with me, I will pray about it and get back to you.” Look for the kernel of truth in what people offer you, even if it comes from a dubious source. Always pray, “Lord, what are you trying to show me through this?”

Accept a lowly place. (Proverbs 25:6,7) If you find yourself wanting to sit at the head table, wanting others to recognize your contribution or become offended when others are honored or chosen, then pride is present. Purpose to support others being recognized, rather than you. Accept and look for the lowly place; it is the place of humility.

Purposely associate with people of lower state than you. (Luke 7:36-39) Jesus was derided by the Pharisees for socializing with the poor and those of lowly state. Our culture is very status conscious and people naturally want to socialize upward. Resist the temptation of being partial to those with status or wealth.

Choose to serve others. (Philippians 1:1, 2 Corinthians 4:5, Matthew 23:11) When we serve others, we are serving God’s purposes in their lives. Doing so reduces our focus on ourselves and builds the Kingdom of God instead of the Kingdom of self. When serving another costs us nothing, we should question whether or not it is really servanthood.

Be quick to forgive. (Matthew 18: 21-35) Forgiveness is possibly one of the greatest acts of humility we can do. To forgive is to acknowledge a wrong that has been done us and also to further release our right of repayment for the wrong. Forgiveness is denial of self. Forgiveness is not insisting on our way and our justice.

Cultivate a grateful heart. (1 Thessalonians 5:18) The more we develop an attitude of gratitude for the gift of salvation and life He has given us, the more true our perspective of self. A grateful heart is a humble heart.

Purpose to speak well of others. (Ephesians 4:31-32) Saying negative things about others puts them “one down” and us “one up”…a form of pride. Speaking well of others edifies them and builds them up instead of us. Make sure, however, that what you say is not intended as flattery.

Treat pride as a condition that always necessitates embracing the cross. (Luke 9:23) It is our nature to be proud and it is God’s nature in us that brings humility. Committing to a lifestyle of daily dying to self and living through Him is the foundation for true humility.

 

A Prayer for Humility
O Father, give us the humility which realizes its ignorance,
Admits its mistakes, recognizes its need, welcomes advice,
Accepts rebuke. Help us always to praise rather than to criticize,
To sympathize rather than to discourage, to build rather than to destroy,
And to think of people at their best rather than at their worst.
This we ask for thy name’s sake. Amen.
– – – Prayer of William Barclay

 

 

*Tips found in various websites – unsure where they originated

A Prayer of Moses

Psalm 90 (NKJV)

1 Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.

-We never have and never could be in a place where we were not totally dependent upon what the Lord God has made.

2 Before the mountains were brought forth,
Or ever You had formed the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.

–God always was in His greatness. God is above time; He created it for man. God is not dependent upon anyone including ourselves!

3 You turn man to destruction,
And say, “Return, O children of men.”

–We started off as dust and shall return to such. God put us together, but we keep thinking we are more than what God has assembled. Time will tell!

 

4 For a thousand years in Your sight
Are like yesterday when it is past,
And like a watch in the night.

–God is beyond time; but we are bound in time. Our lives are as a brief second to Him.

⁵ You carry them away like a flood;
They are like a sleep.
In the morning they are like grass which grows up:

⁶ In the morning it flourishes and grows up;
In the evening it is cut down and withers.

— Man’s hard work will be all washed away like a flood. No more remembrance. Comes and goes like a flower that blooms for one day.

⁷ For we have been consumed by Your anger,
And by Your wrath we are terrified.

–God’s anger is upon us even as we are part of creation and have been cursed. Death chases the life in our bodies. We are frail and keep afloat only by God’s grace. Without it, we would perish in an instant.

⁸ You have set our iniquities before You,
Our secret sins in the light of Your countenance.

–We might hide our sin before man but not before God. Each sin, every thought or action is all exposed before our Creator and our rebellion judged.

⁹ For all our days have passed away in Your wrath;
We finish our years like a sigh.

–We might still be young in spirit but our real age reflects God’s coming judgment upon our bodies. Our systems start malfunctioning. Movement becomes painful rather than exhilarating.

¹⁰ The days of our lives are seventy years;
And if by reason of strength they are eighty years,
Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow;
For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

–Our days are numbered. Long life is a joke. Life only seems long to the young. Those who are older know life is astonishingly brief.

¹¹ Who knows the power of Your anger?
For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath.

–We forget, ignore and look for distraction from the signs of God’s judgment upon our lives. We are oblivious to what is so obvious.

¹² So teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

–Wisdom comes only when we see the value of our days. We can value our days only when we know they are limited in number.

 

¹³ Return, O Lord!
How long?
And have compassion on Your servants.

–We need relief from God’s judgment. We seek help from Him.

¹⁴ Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy,
That we may rejoice and be glad all our days!

–True life comes from Him. In the midst of destruction, God brings love and favor all of our days.

¹⁵ Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us,
The years in which we have seen evil.

–Only the Lord can make us glad in the midst of this hard and evil world. Let us ask Him for this thankful heart!

¹⁶ Let Your work appear to Your servants,
And Your glory to their children.

–Since our lives are so short, we want to pass our blessing of knowing God and His work on to our children.

¹⁷ And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,
And establish the work of our hands for us;
Yes, establish the work of our hands.

–A fulfilling life starts with the Lord’s favor. He alone can make what we do valuable. In a sense, our work is nothing to Him, but He can establish it through His strength.

Striving for Humility

As I look even more expectantly for My Savior’s return, I want to make my focus on becoming ever more humble before God.

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“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.” – 1 Peter 5:6-7

God cares for us. He is mighty. He calls us to humble ourselves under Him. Not because He is a controlling God that wants you to bow down to Him because you are nothing, but rather because He wants to exalt us and care for us. As we humble ourselves, that is when we truly worship Him. We’re trusting Him with what’s going on in our lives and believing He is the provider instead of ourselves.

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus doesn’t seem to be talking about a life that is full of anxiousness and weariness as we follow Him. He makes a point to state the exact opposite on how we can find rest in Him. He is speaking to those that labor and are heavy laden.

Don’t let culture tell you that putting everything on your shoulders is wisdom. Trust Jesus when He tells you that His burden is light.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God,which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:4-7

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” – Philippians 4:8

Most of the time when we don’t humble ourselves, we are really saying we don’t trust God. There are times as a follower of Christ when we forget God’s character or doubt Him. We’re told in Scripture to think on the things of God. To meditate on anything worthy of praise.

These things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, or excellent are all praiseworthy because God is all these things. You’ll never find an area of the Bible that contradicts God’s character at the end of the day and that should encourage us in those moments of doubt.

Jesus is our ultimate example of humility. Out of obedience to His Father, He humbled Himself all the way to the point of death on the cross. The Bible says because of this that God exalted Him just like how it says He will exalt us 1 Peter 5:6-7

“And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” – Philippians 2:8-11

If Jesus practiced humility Himself, then why would we think we don’t need to? Why would we consider this weakness? Even He was dependent on His Father and this was a good thing, in fact, the best thing. It was a God glorifying thing in every way. We couldn’t even have a relationship with God if it wasn’t for what Jesus did for us in the first place (John 14:6). We had to humble ourselves to trust that Jesus is King and to ask Him to be our Lord and Savior. This is no different today whether you’ve been a believer for a week or 50 years.

We still need Him in everything we do. We still need the Holy Spirit to guide us and give us wisdom in all matters. We still need help to practice things that are honorable, pure, lovely, commendable, or anything praiseworthy. We are still not capable of doing anything on our own and will never be. As soon as we begin to live in a way where we are no longer dependent on God to do everything for us, we are forgetting our first love and proclaiming what Christ did for us was not enough.

partial excerpt from https://www.beforethecross.com/biblical-teachings/humble-yourself-before-the-lord/

 

Nothing Happened When the Star of Bethlehem Appeared… A Parody!

Had to share!!!… Pastor Steve is hilarious in his spot on message.

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Verbiage used below is taken directly from Pastor Steve’s Video description….

This is a Parody about NOTHING HAPPENED after Biblical end time signs. Mockers have waited till the 24th September to make snarky remarks we all anticipated: “NOTHING HAPPENED”. Pastor Steve has been waiting to mock the mockers!

Watch this parody of “Nothing Happened”. It illustrates how smart people continually misunderstand signs since Bible times. This is a DRAMATIZATION. If your funny bone is not working, this is not for you.

Pastor Steve Cioccolanti agrees “nothing has happened,” except for the worst natural disaster in US history, and the first hydrogen bomb testing by rogue regime North Korea, and Iran testing more advanced missiles that will likely be used in the Ezekiel 38 war.

Nothing has taken away from the glorious sign of Revelation 12. It cannot be the sign of the “end of the world” because it is only chapter 12, and there are 22 chapters in the Book of Revelation! Mockers imagine “the end of the world” but Pastor Steve never talked about the world ending on that date. Rather the Bible teaches us to watch and pray as we observe birth pangs preluding the Tribulation and Jesus’ Return. Will you join the MOCKERS or the WATCHERS?

“Nothing Happened” on Sep 23  (26 Minutes)

Overcomer

Overcomer – Mandisa

Staring at a stop sign
Watching people drive by
T mac on the radio
Got so much on your mind
Nothing’s really going right
Looking for a ray of hope

Whatever it is you may be going through
I know he’s not gonna let it get the best of you

Chorus  You’re an overcomer
Stay in the fight ’til the final round
You’re not going under
‘Cause God is holding you right now
You might be down for a moment
Feeling like it’s hopeless
That’s when he reminds you
That you’re an overcomer
You’re an overcomer

Everybody’s been down
Hit the bottom, hit the ground
Ooh, You’re not alone
Just take a breath, don’t forget
Hang on to his promises
He wants you to know

Chorus

The same Man, the Great I Am
The One who overcame death
Is living inside of you
So just hold tight, fix your eyes
On the one who holds your life
There’s nothing he can’t do
He’s telling you

Chorus

 

 

Not Shaken

Disappointed… of course… deterred from believing He is coming soon.  Not a chance.  My Lord is not slow in keeping His promises 2 Peter 3:9.  He is also not a God of confusion 1 Corinthians 14:33.

So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Matthew 24:33-34

 

Have Faith

Hebrews 11:5-7 (NKJV)

5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

Fear Not

Blessed Hope

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; Titus 2:13

For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. Romans 8:22-23

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. Philippians 3:20-21