Help and Shield (Psalm 115)

- All glory and praises belong to God alone. Soli Deo Gloria! Our goal should be to glorify and honor Him/His Name in everything we do and say. God's love and faithfulness are unfathomable!
- God's authority, sovereignty, and power are summed up in verse 3, "Our God is in Heaven; He does whatever pleases Him."
- Idols are foolish and so are those who make them and those who trust in them. Those who bow down to and believe in tangible objects are as foolish and empty as the idols themselves (since idols are things made by human hands, how can humans expect the idols to have any power to help them?)
- God is alive (unlike lifeless idols). He sees, hears, understands us and cares for us. The Lord remembers us!
- God is Help and Shield to those who fear Him and trust in Him.
- Our God will bless us and we will bless His Name/extol the Lord forevermore.

Friday's Fave Five #86

It's time for another Friday's Fave Five (hosted by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story).

My Fave Five this week:
1. Excited about my new (new to me) Life Application Study Bible I bought at Goodwill and my new highlighters (6 vibrant colors on sale)!. I enjoy using highlighters when I read my Bible. You can tell which Bibles have been through my hands...worn, torn, and colorful. God's Word is truly a delight to me! I'm so thankful for God's Word (and highlighters, too :))!

2. Our family had a blast at Mt. Hood Ski Bowl Adventure Park on Monday. Scenic Sky Chairs. 1/2 Mile Alpine Slide (numerous times). Human Hamster Ball (Zorb Ball). 9 Hole Mini Golf. Summer Tube Hill. Bungee Trampoline. The weather was perfectly beautiful, too .

3. Fresh green beans given to us by one of our neighbors. I stir-fried them with garlic, maple syrup, and garlic butter. So yummy!

4. Free ebooks (free at the time of this posting): In Christ Alone: Living the Gospel Centered Life by Sinclair Ferguson and Sweat, Blood, & Tears: What God Uses to Make a Man by Xan Hood.

5. Have I told you how much I love DVD Swap :)? This week we've mailed out 8 DVDs. We'll be receiving 9 credits (one lady gave me 2 credits for the DVD that she sent to me but she wanted it back :)). We've saved lots of money by swapping the DVDs we no longer want for the DVDs we want.

Seek God (Psalm 53)

- Psalm 53 echoes Psalm 14, later partly quoted in Romans 3:10-12.
- It talks about the universal sinfulness of humans (all have sinned) and the foolishness of atheism (you can watch a new documentary, "Evolution vs. God", online for free at http://www.evolutionvsgod.com/ ).
- Fools refer to people who are morally deficient/people who reject God, the only One Who can save them.
- People may say there is no God in order to have an excuse to continue in sin and to avoid the responsibility/the accountability for their sin.
- To be truly wise and understanding is to seek God in every situation (look to Him continually for help and guidance).
- Without God, people live in constant fear and anxiety ("overwhelmed with dread when there was nothing to dread").
- On the contrary, those who trust God rejoice and are glad.
- God restores His people. Even now He is still in the business of restoration.

Love That Is Better Than Life (Psalm 63)

- This is a psalm that David wrote when he was in the wilderness (desert) of En Gedi, in flight from Saul.
- David earnestly sought God and his soul was thirsty for God.
- David's confidence was in God because he had experienced God's presence and had seen God's power and glory.
- To David, God's unfailing love is better than life itself. Therefore, he continued to praise God and sing praises to Him even in the midst of great distress.
- His soul was fully satisfied/filled/nourished by God.
- David turned his sleepless night into a worshipful time with God. He lied awake thinking of God and meditated on Who God is and what God has done.
- David remembered and acknowledged that God had helped him and protected him. He chose to cling to God and rest in God's loving & mighty hand which had kept him safe and secure.
- David trusted God to deal with his enemies. He himself chose to rejoice triumphantly in God because he knew God was on his side and he was on God's side, the winning team .
- To ponder: When in distress, what's our default mode of reaction/response? Panic or pray ? Do we seek God and His wisdom? Do we thirst for Him and His righteousness? Is our soul fully satisfied by God alone? Or we still try to fill our emptiness with possessions, entertainment, food, recognition, etc.? Where are our hope, rest, and confidence? In God or in people or in things? Do we truly believe that God's love is better than life and then live accordingly? Whom or what do we cling to? What do we do during sleepless nights? Dwelling on worries/anxieties? Instead, we should pray and give God all our concerns/burdens. Thoughts of God will calm our soul and lead us into true rest. Do we trust God to deal with our troubles and our enemies?