Surrounded By A Shield

Psalm 5 (NKJV)

Give ear to my words, O LORD,
Consider my meditation.
Give heed to the voice of my cry,
My King and my God,
For to You I will pray.
My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD;
In the morning I will direct it to You,
And I will look up.

For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness,
Nor shall evil dwell with You.
The boastful shall not stand in Your sight;
You hate all workers of iniquity.
You shall destroy those who speak falsehood;
The LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy;
In fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple.
Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness because of my enemies;
Make Your way straight before my face.

For there is no faithfulness in their mouth;
Their inward part is destruction;
Their throat is an open tomb;
They flatter with their tongue.
Pronounce them guilty, O God!
Let them fall by their own counsels;
Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions,
For they have rebelled against You.

But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You;
Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them;
Let those also who love Your name
Be joyful in You.
For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous;
With favor You will surround him as with a shield.

Peace And Quiet

“Thou hast created us for Thyself, and our heart is not quiet until it rests in Thee.”–Saint Augustine

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”–Helen Keller

“Better is a dry morsel with quietness, than a house full of feasting with strife.” Proverbs 17:1 (NKJV)

“Never for the sake of peace and quiet deny your convictions.”–Dag Hammarskjold

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’”–Mary Anne Rademacher

The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”–Zephaniah 3:17

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, it empties today of its strength.”–Corrie Ten Boom

“He calms the storm, so that its waves are still. Then they are glad because they are quiet; so He guides them to their desired haven. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!” Psalm 107:29-31 (NKJV)

“The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places, though hail comes down on the forest, and the city is brought low in humiliation.” Isaiah 32:17-19 (NKJV)

Copyright © 2012 by Susan E. Johnson
All rights reserved

Coals Of Fire

I found this passage to be very applicable for me last week. I hope that you will find it resonates in your heart and mind as well.

Romans 12 (NKJV)

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Grace And Providence

Grace And Providence

Almighty King! whose wond’rous hand
Supports the weight of sea and land;
Whose grace is such a boundless store,
No heart shall break that sighs for more;

Thy Providence supplies my food,
And ’tis thy blessing makes it good;
My soul is nourish’d by thy word,
Let soul and body praise the LORD.

My streams of outward comfort came
From him, who built this earthly frame;
Whate’er I want his bounty gives,
By whom my soul for ever lives.

Either his hand preserves from pain,
Or, if I feel it, heals again;
From Satan’s malice shields my breast,
Or overrules it for the best.

Forgive the song that falls so low
Beneath the gratitude I owe!
It means thy praise, however poor,
An angel’s song can do no more.

By William Cowper

Copyright © 2012 by Susan E. Johnson
All rights reserved

Though I Walk In The Midst Of Trouble

Psalm 138 (NKJV)

I will praise You with my whole heart;
Before the gods I will sing praises to You.
I will worship toward Your holy temple,
And praise Your name
For Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.
In the day when I cried out, You answered me,
And made me bold with strength in my soul.

All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O LORD,
When they hear the words of Your mouth.
Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the LORD,
For great is the glory of the LORD.
Though the LORD is on high,
Yet He regards the lowly;
But the proud He knows from afar.

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch out Your hand
Against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
The LORD will perfect that which concerns me;
Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

Just Like Her Mother

And God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth;” and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind; and God saw that it was good. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind; and God saw that it was good. And God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind;” and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind; and God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:11, 12, 21, 24, 25 (NKJV)

Many women live in mortal dread that they will become just like their mothers. My daughter has said to me on a number of occasions: “Mom, I am becoming just like you!” To which I reply: “Oh honey, I am so sorry!” I am, of course, teasing her, but Hannah becoming just like me does give me pause.

This past weekend my husband, daughter, and I made a last-minute trip to see my father who just made the decision to accept hospice care. The cascading health challenges he has been facing will come to the expected end one of these days. He is at peace with the decision and is saying his “good-byes” to family and friends. God graced him with two good days while we were there.

During one of the conversations with my dad, we talked about the importance of leaving a legacy. His legacy of faith, hard work, honesty, integrity, faithfulness, loyalty, and steadfastness is well represented in his children and grandchildren. He has left something of eternal value in those who carry on his name. His character and value system is “producing after its own kind.”

So, while I am fine with being ”just like my mother” (this is easily recognizable for those who knew her before she passed away in 1987) . . .

I am also content to be ”just like my father.”

My daughter, Hannah, carries part of her grandparents and parents, not only in her physical DNA, but also in her moral and spiritual DNA. The heritage that she has been given is already beginning to bear fruit in her life.

Therefore, each of us must be willing to ask ourselves this question:

What kind of “fruit” is being reproduced by the seeds I have planted in my children and grandchildren (or in those around me, if I have none of either)?

This question should give us pause.

So should the answer.

Related Article: “A Tribute” (written by my daughter, Hannah, for her grandfather)

Copyright © 2012 by Susan E. Johnson
All rights reserved

Bits Of William C. Burns

William Chalmers Burns (1815-1868) was the first Scottish missionary sent to China by the Presbyterian Church. He spent years studying the Chinese language and worked with Hudson Taylor to evangelized the Chinese people. The paragraphs below pretty much sum it up.

“Many who do come into the secret place, and who are God’s children, enter it and leave it just as they entered, without ever so much as realizing the presence of God. And there are some believers who, even when they do obtain a blessing, and get a little quickening of soul, leave the secret place without seeking more. They go to their chamber, and there get into the secret place, but then, as soon as they have gotten near to Him, they think they have been peculiarly blessed, leave their chamber, and go back into the world…

Oh, how is it that the Lord’s own people have so little perseverance? How is it that when they do enter into their place of prayer to be alone, they are so easily persuaded to be turned away empty; instead of wrestling with God to pour out His Spirit, they retire from the secret place without the answer, and submit to it as being God’s will.”

Original Content: Copyright © 2012 by Susan E. Johnson
All rights reserved

Bits Of Thomas Watson

Thomas Watson (1620-1686) was a puritan author and preacher who held strong Presbyterian views. Eventually labeled as a non-conformist, he preached until his health failed, dying suddenly while in secret prayer. Below are a few thoughts to ruminate over today as you consider your relationship to Jesus Christ on this Good Friday. Without His sacrifice on our behalf, there would be no remission of sins and reconciliation to the Father.  

“God intermixeth mercy with affliction: he steeps his sword of justice in the oil of mercy; there was no night so dark, but Israel had a pillar of fire in it; there is no condition so dismal, but we may see a pillar of fire to give light. If the body be in pain, conscience is in peace, –there is mercy: affliction is for the prevention of sin, –there is mercy. In the ark there was a rod and a pot of manna, the emblem of a Christian’s condition, mercy interlined with judgment.”

“People are usually better in adversity, than prosperity. A prosperous condition is not always so safe. True, it is more pleasing to the flesh – but it is not always best. In a prosperous state, there is more burden. Many look at the shining and glittering of prosperity – but not at the burdens of prosperity.”

“If you have felt the power and authority of the word upon your conscience; if you can say as David, “Thy word hath quickened me.” Christian, bless God that he has not only given thee his word to be a rule of holiness, but his grace to be a principle of holiness.”

“Faith holds the promise in one hand, and Christ in the other.”

“Meditation doth discriminate and characterise a man; by this he may take a measure of his heart, whether it be good or bad; let me allude to that; ‘For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.’ Proverbs 23:7. As the meditation is, such is the man. Meditation is the touchstone of a Christian; it shows what metal he is made of. It is a spiritual index; the index shows what is in the book, so meditation shows what is in the heart.”

“What fools are they who, for a drop of pleasure, drink a sea of wrath.”

“Every pardon a sinner hath is written in Christ’s blood.”

“To serve God, to love God, to enjoy God, is the sweetest freedom in the world.”

“The glory of God is a silver thread which must run through all of our actions.”

“He that chooses God, devotes himself to God as the vessels of the sanctuary were consecrated and set apart from common to holy uses, so he that has chosen God to be his God, has dedicated himself to God, and will no more be devoted to profane uses.”

“A true saint is a divine landscape or picture, where all the rare beauties of Christ are lively portrayed and drawn forth. He hath the same spirit, the same judgment, the same will with Christ.”

“Water is useful to the ship and helps it to sail better to the haven, but let the water get into the ship, if it is not pumped out, it drowns the ship. So riches are useful and convenient for our passage. We sail more comfortably with them through the troubles of this world; but if the water gets into the ship, if love of riches gets into the heart, then we are drowned by them.”

“God will fill the hungry because He Himself has stirred up the hunger. As in the case of prayer, when God prepares the heart to pray, He prepares His ear to hear (Ps. 10:17). So in the case of spiritual hunger, when God prepares the heart to hunger, He will prepare His hand to fill.”

“Prayer delights God’s ear; it melts His heart; and opens His hand. God cannot deny a praying soul.”

“Soon the battle will be over. It will not be long now before the day will come when Satan will no longer trouble us. There will be no more domination, temptation, accusation, or confrontation. Our warfare will be over and our commander, Jesus Christ, will call us away from the battlefield to receive the victor’s crown.”

“When sin is your burden, Christ will be your delight.”

Original Content: Copyright © 2012 by Susan E. Johnson
All rights reserved

You Will Light My Lamp

Psalm 18 (NKJV)

I will love You, O LORD, my strength.
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.

The pangs of death surrounded me,
And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid.
The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called upon the LORD,
And cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.

Then the earth shook and trembled;
The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken,
Because He was angry.
Smoke went up from His nostrils,
And devouring fire from His mouth;
Coals were kindled by it.
He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With darkness under His feet.
And He rode upon a cherub, and flew;
He flew upon the wings of the wind.
He made darkness His secret place;
His canopy around Him was dark waters
And thick clouds of the skies.
From the brightness before Him, His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.

The LORD thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered His voice,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe,
Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them.
Then the channels of the sea were seen,
The foundations of the world were uncovered
At Your rebuke, O LORD,
At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

He sent from above, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
He delivered me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me,
For they were too strong for me.
They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the LORD was my support.
He also brought me out into a broad place;
He delivered me because He delighted in me.

The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands
He has recompensed me.
For I have kept the ways of the LORD,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.
For all His judgments were before me,
And I did not put away His statutes from me.
I was also blameless before Him,
And I kept myself from my iniquity.
Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful;
With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;
With the pure You will show Yourself pure;
And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.
For You will save the humble people,
But will bring down haughty looks.

For You will light my lamp;
The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
For by You I can run against a troop,
By my God I can leap over a wall.
As for God, His way is perfect;
The word of the LORD is proven;
He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

For who is God, except the LORD?
And who is a rock, except our God?
It is God who arms me with strength,
And makes my way perfect.
He makes my feet like the feet of deer,
And sets me on my high places.
He teaches my hands to make war,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your right hand has held me up,
Your gentleness has made me great.
You enlarged my path under me,
So my feet did not slip.

I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them;
Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed.
I have wounded them,
So that they could not rise;
They have fallen under my feet.
For You have armed me with strength for the battle;
You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.
You have also given me the necks of my enemies,
So that I destroyed those who hated me.
They cried out, but there was none to save;
Even to the LORD, but He did not answer them.
Then I beat them as fine as the dust before the wind;
I cast them out like dirt in the streets.

You have delivered me from the strivings of the people;
You have made me the head of the nations;
A people I have not known shall serve me.
As soon as they hear of me they obey me;
The foreigners submit to me.
The foreigners fade away,
And come frightened from their hideouts.

The LORD lives!
Blessed be my Rock!
Let the God of my salvation be exalted.
It is God who avenges me,
And subdues the peoples under me;
He delivers me from my enemies.
You also lift me up above those who rise against me;
You have delivered me from the violent man.
Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles,
And sing praises to Your name.

Great deliverance He gives to His king,
And shows mercy to His anointed,
To David and his descendants forevermore.

His Faithfulness, Mercy, And Love

“Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments.” Deuteronomy 7:9 (NKJV)

I have just returned from spending a weekend with my daughter and attending her last dance concert at Belhaven University. She graduates in three and half short weeks. The time has gone far more quickly than I ever could have imagined. During the flight to Jackson, MS I came across a song that Hannah had loaded on to my I-Pod quite some time ago which I had never listened to. It is a contemporary version of an old favorite, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” I was overwhelmed as I listened to this song, remembering how much God has upheld our family during these past four years. I know our family is not alone. Many have come through similar financial circumstances, loss of family members, and other catastrophic events. And God’s faithfulness, mercy, and love never failed us–not once. I hope that you too will take time to do what I did this past weekend:

Take time to remember all the many ways in which God has kept you with His faithfulness, mercy, and love.

Take time to remember the great sacrifice that was offered for you on the cross at Calvary.

Take time to remember that it is the blood of Jesus Christ that makes you whole again.

Take time to remember that we have been called to be His. We have been bought with a price. We are not our own.

He is worthy of our praise.

He is worthy of our worship.

He is altogether worthy. . .

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

“Great is Thy faithfulness,” O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

“Great is Thy faithfulness!”
“Great is Thy  faithfulness!”
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I  have needed Thy hand hath provided—
“Great is Thy  faithfulness,” Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and  stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To  Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thy own dear presence  to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for  tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Original Content: Copyright © 2012 by Susan E. Johnson
All rights reserved