Sunday, August 25, 2013

Sunday Faith Post

Psalm 37  New International Version (NIV)

Do not fret because of those who are evil
    or be envious of those who do wrong;
for like the grass they will soon wither,
    like green plants they will soon die away.
Trust in the Lord and do good;
    dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
    your vindication like the noonday sun.
Be still before the Lord
    and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
    when they carry out their wicked schemes.
 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
    do not fret—it leads only to evil.
For those who are evil will be destroyed,
    but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.
 10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
    though you look for them, they will not be found.
But the meek will inherit the land
    and enjoy peace and prosperity.
 12 The wicked plot against the righteous
    and gnash their teeth at them;
13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
    for he knows their day is coming.
 14 The wicked draw the sword
    and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
    to slay those whose ways are upright.
15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
    and their bows will be broken.
16 Better the little that the righteous have
    than the wealth of many wicked;
17 for the power of the wicked will be broken,
    but the Lord upholds the righteous.
18 The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care,
    and their inheritance will endure forever.
19 In times of disaster they will not wither;
    in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.
20 But the wicked will perish:
    Though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,
    they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.
21 The wicked borrow and do not repay,
    but the righteous give generously;
22 those the Lord blesses will inherit the land,
    but those he curses will be destroyed.
23 The Lord makes firm the steps
    of the one who delights in him;
24 though he may stumble, he will not fall,
    for the Lord upholds him with his hand.
25 I was young and now I am old,
    yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
    or their children begging bread.
26 They are always generous and lend freely;
    their children will be a blessing.[b]
27 Turn from evil and do good;
    then you will dwell in the land forever.
28 For the Lord loves the just
    and will not forsake his faithful ones.
Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed[c];
    the offspring of the wicked will perish.
29 The righteous will inherit the land
    and dwell in it forever.
30 The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,
    and their tongues speak what is just.
31 The law of their God is in their hearts;
    their feet do not slip.
32 The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
    intent on putting them to death;
33 but the Lord will not leave them in the power of the wicked
    or let them be condemned when brought to trial.
34 Hope in the Lord
    and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
    when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it.
35 I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
    flourishing like a luxuriant native tree,
36 but he soon passed away and was no more;
    though I looked for him, he could not be found.
37 Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
    a future awaits those who seek peace.[d]
38 But all sinners will be destroyed;
    there will be no future[e] for the wicked.
39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;
    he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them and delivers them;
    he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
    because they take refuge in him.

10 comments:

sue hanes said...


Z - Have a good Sunday.

Ed Bonderenka said...

"40 The Lord helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him."
I'm waiting.
Waiting, waiting, waiting.

FreeThinke said...

God never promised His followers freedom from abuse, pain, injustice and grief. He only promises SALVATION for those who take their punishment gladly, meekly and graciously for HIS sake.

In the final analysis what happens to us -- however horrible and outrageous -- does not matter. All that DOES matter is the way we choose to ACCEPT our fate -- however disagreeable it may seem.

His Kingdom is NOT of THIS world. It helps greatly to remember that in striving for inner peace and the hope of Heaven.

Z said...

Sue, thanks, you, too.

Ed, "waiting"......but He will!

FT...Thanks for the input.
He only promises salvation to those who believe in Him and, sadly, that doesn't always make life easier, you're right(and he never promises it will, in fact he assures us it won't be easy)) and that's why I felt it important to post this wonderful, reassuring Psalm.

Ed Bonderenka said...

FT is right. Sign on to Jesus, and you're living on borrowed time.
At least you're "LIVING", not just "living".

Z said...

Ed, I've never felt like that, if I understand what you mean by "Borrowed time"...I feel like I've lived a far more blessed time.....

Ed Bonderenka said...

When you commit to Jesus, He has the right to ask it all from you.
That's why missionaries to Muslim countries go (I know some).
I get to sit back here, work, enjoy America (for now) and finance the Gospel.
I get Peace and Joy.
They get to risk it all.
And their converts often sign their own death warrants by confessing Christ.
So, by "borrowed time", I mean that our life might be required of us any moment.
I hesitated signing on (and I know others in the same boat) for fear of being called as a missionary to Africa, or some other such place.
I'm surprised anyone signs on having counted the cost.
But having counted the cost, one must weigh the reward.

Z said...

Ed, I see what you mean.
I never called it that, or thought of it with that phrase, but you make a good point.

And yes, have you heard that many Muslims are DREAMING of Jesus? It's like the scripture that tells us SOMEHOW those who need to hear WILL HEAR, no matter how it's prohibited in their lives.
And MANY Muslims are apparently coming to Christ.
And a HUGE amount of Chinese, too. HUGE.

But, we can't know about it (except through missionaries) because they'd be incarcerated and/or killed if they come forward!!

Ed Bonderenka said...

Z: I watched this DVD via netflix:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=asqACncyYGA
That's the trailer.
Powerful.
Subtitles.
The story of the young indonesian woman was phenomenal.
Amazon has it for $13.

Ed Bonderenka said...

This is it on youtube:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I5IJWUQvFI
Enjoy!