A Psalm a Day...

Have been faithfully doing my daily psalm reading... It is amazing how God's word reiterates itself... I mean, I read my psalm first before going to the little devotional booklet that Pastor Debra prepared for us... Without fail for the past 10 days, I find that the verse that I highlight in my bible, the verse that speaks to me most, is the verse that Pastor Debra seems to highlight in the booklet... It's like God saying... "Focus on this verse... focus!" Haha... The words have been speaking to me daily and it is amazing... Seriously, starting the day with a verse to meditate upon encourages you throughout the day... Amazing...

Through the past 10 days, the Lord has been rather specific... Although there are times I fail to understand the verses, the majority of the time I have been blessed...
1 Jan we started with Psalm 1 and so aptly is this Psalm written... Verse 2 says But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night... It is as if the Lord is saying, meditate on the verse that I give to you daily and you will find delight... Looking back... In these past 10 days, I have indeed found delight in the word of the Lord...
On the second day of the new year, the Lord reminded me to walk the Sabbath year with this verse... Psalm 2:11 Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling... I think, having been in the ministry for awhile, I have forgotten from time to time to do so... Such a reminder... And the ending of the Psalm is such a promise... Blessed are all who take refuge in him... My 2007, though a year of victories, did not really end without worries... I think as I stepped into 2008, I did bring those baggages to this new year... Was actually feeling overwhelm on that day by the situations around me... But God reminded me that I will be blessed when I take refuge in him...
As the days went by, the Lord reminded me of the things He had promised... When reading Psalm 3:3-4 I was reminded that God will protect me, and return to me what I had lost, that He WILL answer my cries... Those words reassured me that my prayers have not gone unheard by the Lord... Psalm 4:3 reiterated the words on 3 Jan... Psalm 5:12 promised me that He will surround me with His favour... I believe when I have God's favour, I will also find favour with the men and women of peace on earth... Psalm 6:9 reminded me again that He accepts my prayers and He hears... I guess, up till the week's end, I was still wondering if God has heard my prayers and cries... Psalm 7:17 reminded me to give thanks to the Lord in all circumstances... Even if the circumstances are not in my favour... Psalm 8:4 reminded me that I am a Friend of God and He is thinking of me... =) I know that the Lord will not forsake me because of what is said in Psalm 9:10... Although the Psalm today did not have a specific verse that jumped out at me, I focused on the last 2 verses... Psalm 10:17-18... I guess, I need to meditate on the verses that tells me that the Lord hears my cries because I tend to forget... After 10 days of meditating and reminders that He hears me, I cannot say that I haven't been told... Haha...

Also at Leaders' Meeting last night, Pastor Julie's words really spoke to my heart... In this year of Sabbath, I need to take time to remember... I need to remember God's faithfulness... I need to remember that all of have is God's... I need to remember to give God the glory... I had forgotten at times to credit God... I had forgotten at times that what I have is God's... But those things that I had forgotten are history... God has given me a clean slate every morning and all I have to do daily is to remember... =)
The second point was to hear and obey... As much as I have been reminded that God hears my cries, I also need to hear God... If I do not hear God, no matter how much He hears me, nothing can or will be done... In 2007, I confess that I have not been fully obedient to the Lord... I know that partial obedience is sin, because it is not obedience, it is disobedience... I had not shown God I love Him... But this year, I will make an effort to love... I will make an effort to be obedient to His voice...
Pastor Julie also mentioned that the third thing is to Fear the Lord... For the fear of God is the path of intimacy... To fear God is to see the demands of God and obey them... I had fear the demands more than God and fled from it too many a times... This year, I want to make good my promises to God and face up to those demands... I know that I might fail, but I also know that as long as I put my heart to it... I can do it... =)

At the end of the day, it is not how much that I have done or not done that the Lord loves me... But because I am who I am that He loves me... Because He loves me despite all my flaws, I will work towards pleasing Him through obedience... =)