Psalm 107

Good Morning! A good morning it is! 
I was blessed to share my morning devotion with my little sister (who isn't so little anymore) she is turning 16 at the end of October. I have to admit how proud I am of her, and so so SO thankful to Jesus for saving her and for growing her into such a precious child of God. 


We read Psalm 107, which goes hand in hand with Psalm 106! Again displaying God's faithfulness when we as people are so so unfaithful. The verses in particular that stood out to me are 30 and 31. 

"Then Phinehas stood up intervened.

And the plague was stopped.

And that was accounted to him for righteousness

to all generations forevermore."

It reminds me of Lot who asked God to not destroy Sodom & Gomorrah if He could find even 10 righteous. He could not, and in His love removed just Lot's family, but in His righteousness destroyed the land. But this man, Phinehas 'stood up' and intervened on behalf of those who were sinning. And as God accounted it to him for righteousness, He also accounted it to all generations forevermore. 

Verses 34-39 talk about all the people did against God to satisfy their own flesh. It goes on to say in verse 43:

"Many times He delivered them; 

But they rebelled in their counsel, 

And were brought low for their iniquity."

When we are in sin, we are brought low. When we choose what we want over what God wants, we may have joy for a season, but we are in rebellion. Sadly, I lived so many wasted years of my life in rebellion. I cause pain to those I loved, I caused God's heart to break, for my own selfishness. But God. I love to say this! He is righteous, merciful and full of grace. He brought me back! I praise Him for this daily! These next few verse say, But God. 

"Nevertheless He regarded their affliction,

when He heard their cry;

And for their sake He remembered His covenant,

and relented according to the multitude of His mercies.

He also made them to be pitied

by those who carried them away captive.

Save us, O Lord our God,

and gather us from among the Gentiles,

to give thanks to Your holy name,

to triumph in Your praise.

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel

from everlasting to everlasting!

And let all the people say, 'Amen'!

Praise the Lord!"

What GRACE! I am thankful today for the forgiveness I have received from Jesus and because of His death on the cross, for me. I did not deserve it, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us"! 

Praise the Lord today according to the multitude of His mercies. May His name be on my lips. So, blessed to be gathering in His goodness today. I encourage you to do the same, and share it with someone, with anyone.

If you want to read Psalm 106 and Psalm 107 for yourself, click on the words above and it will take you to a place where you can read them in the NKJV. Thanks!

In Christ, Gather In,

Jess

He Waters My Soul

This will be a short post, but I just wanted to share one of my favorite joys of creation:

Fall is my FAVORITE season! I love that the Lord made His creation to worship Him, and boy, do these colors sing His name!

A perfect song to worship Sweet Jesus on a cool fall day:

Worship Him!

In Christ, Gather In,

Jess

Paying it Forward

I meant to post this last night, because yesterday was a good day! Work was busy, but not too busy and everyone was going about their usual hustle and bustle. No big deal!

The thing that surprised me the most: over 5 customers in our day blessed someone else by paying for their coffee!

Complete strangers taking care of complete strangers. And it wasn't like someone paid for someone's and then that person paid for another, they were just random! Giving someone a little pep in their step. I am always, and it may sound silly, moved to tears when people I don't even know, take a minute out of their crazy day, a few extra bucks out of their pocket, and think about someone else. I know, I'm a complete sap. I just feel that you don't see it that often.

I pray I would always LOVE the way that Jesus has loved me. That He would give me eyes to see people the way He sees them. That I would go out of my way to bless someone else, take the time to listen to someone's heartache, be patient instead of getting frustrated, give LOTS of grace and tender care to even strangers. Even eye contact and a smile is more than most give these days!

I desire to see this more, and I pray we would all be like Jesus everyday and give all of ourselves for others.

In Christ, Gather In,

Jess

My Prayer for Today

Today has been such a gloomy day, but in the midst there are so many things to be thankful for, because God is faithful.

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed yesterday and fell back asleep there last night. To say the least, this morning I was feeling a little beaten up. I love to sleep, but lately I feel the Lord calling me to wake up early, no matter the time I go to bed, to spend time in His word and to start my day with His perspective. I'm struggling, but this morning as I was on my way to work, the Lord prompted me to pray for holiness, in everything I do. To pray simply, "everything I am for Your kingdom come, Lord". Which tomorrow means, everything I am to get up and start my day the way He is calling me to, in His word. This is my TRUEST desire. That my life would be a testament of Him, in all things. That when I wake up cranky, He would give me all I need to rise up out of the ashes and live in His beauty. I am thankful for the Holy Spirit to guide me to a place I could never get to alone. I am thankful that He calls us to not be about ourselves, but His business and to be about blessing His people, His creation, and to be about praising Him even when our flesh strives to pull us back to the pit.

Even when the days around us are not "good", they are always good in Christ.

Many blessings to all of you today who struggle. I know the Lord will give me, and you what we need to press on through our daily struggles and show us how to glorify His Holy name.

In Christ, Gather in,

Jess

Psalm 105

Reading Psalm 105 this morning. [If you click the link you can look it up in NKJ version & read it for yourself]

I'm blogging from my mobile today, so I can't add a ton right now, but wanted to share God's faithfulness in this beautiful Psalm.

He kept His promise to Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob, to Israel, through famine, trials, travels & even good times. It compells me to remember God is always faithful in His promise, and in HIS timing!

Need to get back to work! More in depth on this Psalm later today, maybe on my lunch break! But please check out Psalm 105 for yourself, gather in and praise the Lord for His faithfulness!

Thanks for reading,
Jess

Beginnings

I'm just starting out, but my heart is burdened to share. I'm overwhelmed by the goodness of God and all He is doing in my life and the lives of people around me. I pray He uses this to bless all who read.

I am reading through Psalms. As often as I can I start my day with them, and am inspired by other women, such as these few: Sara, Gina, and Mandie, to write and share as the Holy Spirit leads me. I'm not sure how often I will post, but I hope you will join me as Jesus continues to speak to me by His word and change my life. I hope that with me, you will 'gather in' all of God's promises to you and be filled with His goodness.