Monday Morning Scripture (Wk43/2021) – Ecclesiastes 3:1-10 (AMP)

A Time for Everything

1 There is a season (a time appointed) for everything and a time for every delight and event or purpose under heaven—

2 A time to be born and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.

3 A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up.

4 A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance.

5 A time to throw away stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing.

6 A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away.

7 A time to [a]tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to keep silent and a time to speak.

8 A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace.

9 What profit is there for the worker from that in which he labors?

10 I have seen the task which God has given to the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-10 (AMP)

Sunday Morning Scripture (WK42/2021) – Psalm 51

A Contrite Sinner’s Prayer for Pardon.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David; when Nathan the prophet came to him after he had sinned with Bathsheba

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;

According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness and guilt and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I am conscious of my transgressions and I acknowledge them; My sin is always before me.

4 Against You, You only, have I sinned and done that which is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified when You speak [Your sentence] and faultless in Your judgment.

5 I was brought forth in [a state of] wickedness; in sin my mother conceived me [and from my beginning I, too, was sinful].

6 Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,

And in the hidden part [of my heart] You will make me know wisdom.

7 Purify me with [a]hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

8 Make me hear joy and gladness and be satisfied; let the bones which You have broken rejoice.

9 Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right and steadfast spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit.

13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted and return to You.

14 Rescue me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation; then my tongue will sing joyfully of Your righteousness and Your justice.

15 O Lord, open my lips, that my mouth may declare Your praise.

16 For You do not delight in sacrifice, or else I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering.

17 My [only] sacrifice [acceptable] to God is a broken spirit;

A broken and contrite heart [broken with sorrow for sin, thoroughly penitent], such, O God, You will not despise.

18 By Your favor do good to Zion; may You rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

19 Then will You delight in the sacrifices of righteousness, in burnt offering and whole burnt offering; then young bulls will be offered on Your altar.

Psalm 51 (AMP)

Wednesday Morning Scripture (Wk41/2021) – Matthew 10:24-39 (AMP)

The Meaning of Discipleship

24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor is a bond-servant above his master.

25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the bond-servant like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul (Satan), how much more [will they speak evil of] the members of his household.

26 “So do not be afraid of them, for nothing is hidden that will not be revealed [at the judgment], or kept secret that will not be made known [at the judgment].

27 What I say to you in the dark (privately), tell in the light (publicly); and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim from the housetops [to many people].

28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but rather be afraid of Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

29 Are not two little sparrows sold for a copper coin? And yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.

30 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered [for the Father is sovereign and has complete knowledge].

31 So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.

32 “Therefore, the one who confesses and acknowledges Me before men [as Lord and Savior, affirming a state of oneness with Me], that one I will also confess and acknowledge before My Father who is in heaven.

33 But the one who denies and rejects Me before men, that one I will also deny and reject before My Father who is in heaven.

34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace on the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword [of division between belief and unbelief].

35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;

36 and a man’s enemies will be the members of his [own] household [when one believes and another does not].

37 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

38 And he who does not take his cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me] is not worthy of Me.

39 Whoever finds his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], and whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake will find it [that is, life with Me for all eternity].

Matthew 10:24-39 (AMP)

Thinking Out LOUD – No Hiding Place

I awoke early this morning and felt in a state of anxiety and fearful of the future. I have been feeling like that for the past few days and felt as though I need to shut myself off from the world. I’d had a few conversations by phone and welcomed them, but afterwards there was just a deafening silence. I wanted to lock myself away, turn off the phone, draw the blinds and stay there forever. Then I heard His voice: There is no hiding place. I knew of a Psalm where it is written, so I looked it up and found the below, which really spoke to my heart and spirit.

You are my hiding place; You, Lord, protect me from trouble; You surround me with songs and shouts of deliverance. Selah.

Psalm 32:7 (AMP)

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

I will counsel you [who are willing to learn] with My eye upon you.

Psalm 32:8 (AMP)

You are my hiding place and my shield; I wait for Your word

Psalm 119:114 (AMP)

Before looking these up I was thinking that I needed some mental time away, from this home, from life, from my headspace and even (YHWH forgive me) from Most High God, BUT HalleluYah He spoke to me and made me realise that there is no hiding place, He is protecting me; He is counselling me; He is surrounding me; and He is shielding me. There is no thing that surprises Him about me, because He knows it all. He has seen me at my best and also at my worst and yet; He still loves me and these promises are true. No matter when they were written they apply to me and they apply to you. He knows the outcome of all things passed and those of the future, so WE need to put OUR trust in Him. Never think you are alone. He. Is. Here. No matter what you are going through, whether it be physical, mental or spiritual; He is here, will always be and there is no place or situation that you cannot be found.

No temptation [regardless of its source] has overtaken or enticed you that is not common to human experience [nor is any temptation unusual or beyond human resistance]; but God is faithful [to His word—He is compassionate and trustworthy], and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability [to resist], but along with the temptation He [has in the past and is now and] will [always] provide the way out as well, so that you will be able to endure it [without yielding, and will overcome temptation with joy].

1 Corinthians 10:13 (AMP)

When scripture speaks of temptation (above) it may not necessarily only be something that is obvious but it can also be a feeling/thought that you can’t go on, that it’s not worth it or it can’t be done. By ‘it’ I mean, your walk and doing the right thing, what is expected or required, or even wanting to put the effort in. God is faithful to His Word. We need to fight the good fight, make it to the finish-line, knowing that we are not alone and Most High God is right there with us.

Remain uplifted my fellow-Ambassadors; continue to be present in mind and spirit and continue to be blessed x