Your Spiritual Wardrobe

Paper doll and outfits of Mercea by Grandma Vicky

Do you remember Put Your Clothes On! ? In that post, I talked about the importance of dressing in your Ephesians 6 armour on a daily basis. But my 4 year old is teaching me that people can be very particular about their clothes; and for sure they want a variety to choose from.

Mercea is a true girls' girl. She knows what she wants to wear and she picks her own clothes out (this started at age 2) and puts them on. God knows us, especially us girls, and He has provided us a wardrobe full of outfits that we can wear in the Spirit realm. So I thought I would open up our spiritual closet for us so on a daily basis you can look in and see which clothes you want to wear on a particular day:

Outfit 1: Isaiah 61:3
A garment of praise, instead of a spirit of despair.

Outfit 2: Isaiah 61:10
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Outfit 3: I Peter 5:5
Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

Outfit 4: Colossians 3:12
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

Outfit 5: Galatians 3:26
Cloth(ed) yourselves with Christ.

Outfit 6: Luke 24:49
Cloth(ed) with power from on high.

Outfit 7: Isaiah 52:1
Clothe yourself with strength. Put on your garments of splendor.

Outfit 8: Psalm 30:11
You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.

Outfit 9: Ephesians 6:14-17
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Outfit 10: Ephesians 4:22-25
Put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor.

Outfit 11: Colossians 3:14
And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

We all face different events everyday and God knows it. He has provided everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). My challenge to you is to print out the list of these 11 outfits and hang the list on your closet door. For the next week, when you get dressed choose which "Spiritual outfit" that you will get dressed in as you dress in your physical clothes. Let us see what a difference it can make when we intentionally dress in the clothes provided by Our Father.

PS You can copy and right click on the list of outfits. Then transfer it into a word document and print it out. Or, if you're technically challenged you can e-mail me at forhisgloryalone@ymail.com and I can e-mail the list to you.

13 Thoughts for 2013: Part 9 Awaken to what God is doing

Romans 13:12-13 
The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can’t afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don’t loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!

"Be up and awake to what God is doing!"

After a week like this week in the news media (Boston Marathon, Kermit Gosnell), it is easy to be discouraged thinking that the evilness of man is somehow winning in this world.  That is what I initially think when I look at the news, but then I stop and I'm once again reminded that God moves in the smalls of this world and in His infinite wisdom He remains patient and confident that His ways will continue to turn this world right-side up.

Psalm 11 asks: "When the foundations are being destroyed, what are the righteous supposed to do?" (Psalm 11:3 NIV).  This Psalm used to frustrate me because I felt like it left a direct question unanswered in a direct way.  However, when I look at it again I see that it calls us to fix our eyes on Him and what He is up to:

Psalm 11 (MSG)

I’ve already run for dear life

    straight to the arms of God.

So why would I run away now

    when you say,

“Run to the mountains; the evil

    bows are bent, the wicked arrows

Aimed to shoot under cover of darkness

    at every heart open to God.

The bottom’s dropped out of the country;

    good people don’t have a chance”?

4-6 But God hasn’t moved to the mountains;

    his holy address hasn’t changed.

He’s in charge, as always, his eyes

    taking everything in, his eyelids

Unblinking, examining Adam’s unruly brood

    inside and out, not missing a thing.

He tests the good and the bad alike;

    if anyone cheats, God’s outraged.

Fail the test and you’re out,

    out in a hail of firestones,

Drinking from a canteen

    filled with hot desert wind.

7 God’s business is putting things right;

    he loves getting the lines straight,

Setting us straight. Once we’re standing tall,

    we can look him straight in the eye.

This Psalm solidifies that God is firmly established on His throne and He is well aware of what is happening in the world.  The question when we see the evil in the world is not what is God doing about it but rather the question is do we believe that God knows what He is doing when He asks us to love, to pray for our enemies,and to do good even when evil is what we get in return?  Does His way really work?

If we answer yes to those questions, it leaves us with one more question - How do we walk this out? The answer circles us back to the end of the first verses Romans 13:14: "Dress yourself in Christ!"  Scripture after scripture tell us how to dress in Christ (if you would like a list of 11 of them click on my post called Spiritual Wardrobe).  These small choices we make everyday are those investments that yield great returns in the spiritual realm.

I will leave you with a final thought from Henri Nouwen from Mornings with Henri J.M. Nouwen:

The mystery of life is that the Lord of life cannot be known except in and through the act of living.  Without the concrete and specific involvements of daily life we cannot come to know the loving presence of him who holds us in the palm of his hand.  Our limited acts of love reveal to us his unlimited love.  Our small gestures of care reveal his boundless care.  Our fearful and hesitant words reveal his fearless and guiding Word.  It is indeed through our broken, vulnerable, mortal ways of being that the healing power of the eternal God becomes visible to us.  Therefore, we are called each day to present to our Lord the whole of our lives - our joys as well as our sorrows, our successes as well as failures, our hopes as well as fears.

In Christ,


This is part 9 in a 13 part series: 13 Inspirational Thoughts for 2013.

Symposium of Psalm 103

This morning, my daily prayer time included Psalm 103.  This is a Psalm near and dear to my heart and as a result I've written on it several times.  I went back through my previous writings on it and I decided to combine them together for today's post.

As you read, you will notice that this Psalm starts out with bless the Lord, O my soul.  In the beginning, it appears that the Psalmist is going through a hard time, a moment of confusion and despair and therefore he is telling his soul to praise the Lord and not forget all His benefits. He then goes on to list many of the benefits of the Lord.  You will see his mood change and accelerate so that by the end the Psalmist is excitedly telling everyone to praise God, from the heavenly hosts, to the angels, to his very own soul. His mood changes from a place of discouragement to the place of declaring, believing and understanding what is true: THAT HIS LOVE IS GREAT, so GREAT we can't help but praise the Lord, O my soul.

Psalm 103 (AMP)

1BLESS (AFFECTIONATELY, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul; and all that is [deepest] within me, bless His holy name!

All that is "deepest" within me: In the past, there have been  places, thoughts and ideas in my heart that I've wanted to hide from the Lord. This Psalm has encouraged me to "bless" Him from every place. During my quiet prayers I'm learning to praise Him with all areas.

2Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul, and forget not [one of] all His benefits--

3Who forgives [every one of] all your iniquities, Who heals [each one of] all your diseases,


4Who redeems your life from the pit and corruption,

Who beautifies, dignifies, and crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercy;

I once wrote a post called Spiritual Wardrobe, which lists some of the clothes God offers to dress us with. I didn't include this one. I absolutely love the imagery in it - beautifies, dignifies and crowns - to have His loving-kindness and tender mercy on top of your head flowing down!!!

Life in the dumps by Wigstruck

Day 137 by Velo Steve

 5Who satisfies your mouth [your necessity and desire at your personal age and situation] with good so that your youth, renewed, is like the eagle's [strong, overcoming, soaring]!

Who redeems your life from the pit... so that your youth, is renewed, like an eagle: I was driving past a dump the other day. It was a windy day and above the dump were hundreds of seagulls "soaring" around the dump. I began thinking in my mind about the differences between a seagull and eagle and I began to wonder how we as Christians actually tend to live.

Seagulls are scavengers. They like to live above the trash and look at it all the time. They don't want to miss out on any of the junk. Like eagles they can "soar" on the wind but they choose to stay close to the earth and all the trash.

Eagles on the other hand build their nests high on the cliffs. When they soar on the wind they soar high above the earth. They have been given keen eyesight and when they need to eat they see the tiny item that they need to attack and they can dive down, grab and attack it with the strength of their legs.

I think God is very intentional when He chooses analogies for our lives. He chose an eagle on purpose and I think it is important for us to compare our lives to see if we are operating in the fullness of what He purchased for us.

Do you act like a seagull or an eagle? Both birds soar on the wind (the wind in the Bible is often compared to the Holy Spirit). But where do you let the Holy Spirit take you? Do you only allow Him to raise you high enough to see your trash and the trash of those around it? Or are you like an eagle? Do you allow the Holy Spirit to take you to the heights, where the things of this world become strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace (line from "Fix Your Eyes on Jesus")? Do you soar in the glory of the Holy Spirit and in the strength that He has placed in you? There are times when we do become aware of the things of this earth, our prey and we return to the earth with great precision and insight because He has pointed out something for us to attack and take. We attack with strength; it dies and then we return to the heights.

6The Lord executes righteousness and justice [not for me only, but] for all who are oppressed.

I'd encourage you to pause here and reflect on that one powerful statement.  This is the heart of the Father - this is what He is doing.

7He made known His ways [of righteousness and justice] to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.

8The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy and loving-kindness.

9He will not always chide or be contending, neither will He keep His anger forever or hold a grudge.

If you ask the average person walking along the street what is the God of Christianity like, do you think their answer would include: merciful, gracious, slow to anger, PLENTEOUS in mercy and loving-kindness?  If not why?

10He has not dealt with us after our sins nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

11For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great are His mercy and loving-kindness toward those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him.

12As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

Did you know scientists today have not found the ends of the universe yet?  So guess how far He's removed your sins... Do you live your life in light of that knowledge?

13As a father loves and pities his children, so the Lord loves and pities those who fear Him [with reverence, worship, and awe].

14For He knows our frame, He [earnestly] remembers and imprints [on His heart] that we are dust.

I again love the imagery in these verses: as a Father loves His children so the Lord loves us... We are imprinted on His heart.  What better or safer place is there to be than that?

15As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes.

16For the wind passes over it and it is gone, and its place shall know it no more.

17But the mercy and loving-kindness of the Lord are from everlasting to everlasting upon those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him, and His righteousness is to children's children--

As many of us know all to well, this life we live is so brief, but what a beautiful and precious reminder of the weight of who God is for all eternity. For me personally, it is a precious reminder that His love will never fade away and that He has promised to carry the message and benefit of His love to my children and my grandchildren.  The contrast between our frailty and His strength is astounding, so where should we rest in our momentary troubles of our life or in the everlasting mercy and loving-kindness of our Lord?

18To such as keep His covenant [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying it] and to those who [earnestly] remember His commandments to do them [imprinting them on their hearts].

We've been invited to imprint Him on our hearts, just like He's imprinted us.

19The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all.

20Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, you His angels, you mighty ones who do His commandments, hearkening to the voice of His word.

21Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, all you His hosts, you His ministers who do His pleasure.

I love this - you who do His pleasure. As children of God, we have the opportunity to carry on the message contained in the Psalm of His love, mercy and grace to those around us!

22Bless the Lord, all His works in all places of His dominion; bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul!

Oh! I just love this Psalm. My thoughts only scratch the surface of this Psalm - I'd encourage you to consider meditating on it for a season. your soul will be blessed.  By the time I'm done reading it, I always want to start this Psalm over again because it wraps up the immensity of our salvation into one prayer!

In Christ,

5 more days for a chance to win a $25 Target gift card!  

Psalm 103

As I've talked to young moms over the years, they've often shared the common concern that they have a hard time squeezing in quiet times.  Being in this season myself, I understand the struggle.  I've learned, however, that I am a much happier Mom and wife when I do find the time to sit before the Lord.

One of the residuals I've carried from reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer's works is the value of the Psalms.  Bonhoeffer encouraged believers to read one Psalm a day as a prayer.  In Visible Fellowship, took it one step further and encouraged believers to stop and pause three times a day in prayer and reflection.  While I haven't squeezed in three times a day, I have begun to occasionally pause in the afternoon to read/pray a Psalm.  It has been a wonderful mid-afternoon reminder and refresher to my day.  I've been revolving around only one Psalm for the last month.  It is so rich and full that it has provided a wonderful diving board into prayer and meditation.  Below is Psalm 103 in the Amplified version.  I will share some of my thoughts throughout.

1BLESS (AFFECTIONATELY, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul; and all that is [deepest] within me, bless His holy name!

I love the Amplified's explanation of the word bless, to be honest throughout the years I've had no idea how to "bless the Lord" so the words in the parentheses have helped guide me into blessing Him.

All that is "deepest" within me.  There are places, thoughts, ideas in my heart that I've wanted to hide from the Lord.  This Psalm has encouraged me to "bless" Him from every place.  During my quiet prayers I'm learning to praise Him with all areas.

2Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul, and forget not [one of] all His benefits-

I love the idea "to forget not one of all His benefits."  Again, in my daily prayers through this Psalm it has been fun to pause and reflect on a singular benefit of loving the Lord.  There are so many, thus another reason why I've been able to sit so long in this Psalm.

3Who forgives [every one of] all your iniquities, Who heals [each one of] all your diseases,

This particular line is a wonderful reminder of the truth of the gospel and the beauty of what Jesus' death and resurrection purchased for us.

4Who redeems your life from the pit and corruption, Who beautifies, dignifies, and crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercy;

I once wrote a post called Spiritual Wardrobe, which lists some of the clothes God offers to dress us with.  I didn't include this one.  I absolutely love the imagery in it - beautifies, dignifies and crowns - to have His loving-kindness and tender mercy on top of your head flowing down!!!

5Who satisfies your mouth [your necessity and desire at your personal age and situation] with good so that your youth, renewed, is like the eagle's [strong, overcoming, soaring]!

I again love the Amp here, because it shows the personalization of our great God; that He satisfies us right where we are at, so that we can be strengthened and renewed!

6The Lord executes righteousness and justice [not for me only, but] for all who are oppressed.

This is a beautiful reminder again of the beauty, power and strength of our God!  He is a champion for those who are oppressed.

7He made known His ways [of righteousness and justice] to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.

The Bible says God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  What a beautiful reminder that God did show His ways to Moses and He continues to make Himself and His ways known to us.

8The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy and loving-kindness.

9He will not always chide or be contending, neither will He keep His anger forever or hold a grudge.

10He has not dealt with us after our sins nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

This is a Psalm, so at the time of the writing David was being prophetic.  We have the great blessing of being full recipients of the truths David was prophesying about.  We are now in the place where God's anger is no longer against us and we get to live lives of freedom because our sin is not being held against us!  Also, do you see that God is pleanteous in His mercy and loving-kindness.  He is not going to run out!

11For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great are His mercy and loving-kindness toward those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him.

12As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

What a beautiful reminder for us today!  If you have fears about the depths of God's love for you, or the power of Jesus' death had to pay for your sins, you only have to sit and visualize the truths found here!  Your sins have been removed!

13As a father loves and pities his children, so the Lord loves and pities those who fear Him [with reverence, worship, and awe].

14For He knows our frame, He [earnestly] remembers and imprints [on His heart] that we are dust.

I love the imagery that the frailty of our lives is imprinted on His heart.

15As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes.

16For the wind passes over it and it is gone, and its place shall know it no more.

17But the mercy and loving-kindness of the Lord are from everlasting to everlasting upon those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him, and His righteousness is to children's children--

18To such as keep His covenant [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying it] and to those who [earnestly] remember His commandments to do them [imprinting them on their hearts].

As many of us know all to well, this life we live is so brief, but what a beautiful and precious reminder of the weight of who God is for all eternity.  For me personally, it is a precious reminder that His love will never fade away and that He has promised to carry the message and benefit of His love to my children and my grandchildren.

19The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all.

20Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, you His angels, you mighty ones who do His commandments, hearkening to the voice of His word.

The end brings us back to the beginning.  If you didn't have a reason to bless the Lord at the start, you have numerous reasons to now!

21Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, all you His hosts, you His ministers who do His pleasure.

I love this - you who do His pleasure.  As children of God, we have the opportunity to carry on the message contained in the Psalm of His love, mercy and grace to those around us!

22Bless the Lord, all His works in all places of His dominion; bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul!

Amen!

Oh! I've got goosebumps.  I just love this Psalm. By the time I'm done reading it,  I always want to start this Psalm over again.  For me, it wraps up the beauty of our salvation into one prayer!  It has been a great way for me to stay immersed in His Truth throughout my day!

So here it is one more time, without my interruptions:

1BLESS (AFFECTIONATELY, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul; and all that is [deepest] within me, bless His holy name!

2Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul, and forget not [one of] all His benefits--

3Who forgives [every one of] all your iniquities, Who heals [each one of] all your diseases,

4Who redeems your life from the pit and corruption, Who beautifies, dignifies, and crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercy;

5Who satisfies your mouth [your necessity and desire at your personal age and situation] with good so that your youth, renewed, is like the eagle's [strong, overcoming, soaring]!

6The Lord executes righteousness and justice [not for me only, but] for all who are oppressed.

7He made known His ways [of righteousness and justice] to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.

8The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy and loving-kindness.

9He will not always chide or be contending, neither will He keep His anger forever or hold a grudge.

10He has not dealt with us after our sins nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

11For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great are His mercy and loving-kindness toward those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him.

12As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

13As a father loves and pities his children, so the Lord loves and pities those who fear Him [with reverence, worship, and awe].

14For He knows our frame, He [earnestly] remembers and imprints [on His heart] that we are dust.

15As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes.

16For the wind passes over it and it is gone, and its place shall know it no more.

17But the mercy and loving-kindness of the Lord are from everlasting to everlasting upon those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him, and His righteousness is to children's children--

18To such as keep His covenant [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying it] and to those who [earnestly] remember His commandments to do them [imprinting them on their hearts].

19The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all.

20Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, you His angels, you mighty ones who do His commandments, hearkening to the voice of His word.

21Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, all you His hosts, you His ministers who do His pleasure.

22Bless the Lord, all His works in all places of His dominion; bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul!

In Christ,

Symposium of Psalm 103

My morning prayer this morning included Psalm 103.  This Psalm is all-encompassing of the Gospel message; for me it is centering and life-giving.  I've written on it several times and since it blessed me this morning, I am including my post that combines my reflections on this particular Psalm:


As you read, you will notice that this Psalm starts out with bless the Lord, O my soul.  In the beginning, it appears that the Psalmist is going through a hard time, a moment of confusion and despair and therefore he is telling his soul to praise the Lord and not forget all His benefits. He then goes on to list many of the benefits of the Lord.  You will see his mood change and accelerate so that by the end the Psalmist is excitedly telling everyone to praise God, from the heavenly hosts, to the angels, to his very own soul. His mood changes from a place of discouragement to the place of declaring, believing and understanding what is true: THAT HIS LOVE IS GREAT, so GREAT we can't help but praise the Lord, O my soul.

Psalm 103 (AMP)

1BLESS (AFFECTIONATELY, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul; and all that is [deepest] within me, bless His holy name!

All that is "deepest" within me: In the past, there have been  places, thoughts and ideas in my heart that I've wanted to hide from the Lord. This Psalm has encouraged me to "bless" Him from every place. During my quiet prayers I'm learning to praise Him with all areas.

2Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul, and forget not [one of] all His benefits-

3Who forgives [every one of] all your iniquities, Who heals [each one of] all your diseases,
4Who redeems your life from the pit and corruption,
Who beautifies, dignifies, and crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercy;

I once wrote a post called Spiritual Wardrobe, which lists some of the clothes God offers to dress us with. I didn't include this one. I absolutely love the imagery in it - beautifies, dignifies and crowns - to have His loving-kindness and tender mercy on top of your head flowing down!!!

Life in the dumps by Wigstruck

Day 137 by Velo Steve

 5Who satisfies your mouth [your necessity and desire at your personal age and situation] with good so that your youth, renewed, is like the eagle's [strong, overcoming, soaring]!

Who redeems your life from the pit... so that your youth, is renewed, like an eagle: I was driving past a dump the other day. It was a windy day and above the dump were hundreds of seagulls "soaring" around the dump. I began thinking in my mind about the differences between a seagull and eagle and I began to wonder how we as Christians actually tend to live.

Seagulls are scavengers. They like to live above the trash and look at it all the time. They don't want to miss out on any of the junk. Like eagles they can "soar" on the wind but they choose to stay close to the earth and all the trash.

Eagles, on the other hand, build their nests high on the cliffs. When they soar on the wind they soar high above the earth. They have been given keen eyesight and when they need to eat they see the tiny item that they need to attack and they can dive down, grab and attack it with the strength of their legs.

I think God is very intentional when He chooses analogies for our lives. He chose an eagle on purpose and I think it is important for us to compare our lives to see if we are operating in the fullness of what He purchased for us.

Do you act like a seagull or an eagle? Both birds soar on the wind (the wind in the Bible is often compared to the Holy Spirit). But where do you let the Holy Spirit take you? Do you only allow Him to raise you high enough to see your trash and the trash of those around it? Or are you like an eagle? Do you allow the Holy Spirit to take you to the heights, where the things of this world become strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace (line from "Fix Your Eyes on Jesus")? Do you soar in the glory of the Holy Spirit and in the strength that He has placed in you? There are times when we do become aware of the things of this earth, our prey and we return to the earth with great precision and insight because He has pointed out something for us to attack and take. We attack with strength; it dies and then we return to the heights.

6The Lord executes righteousness and justice [not for me only, but] for all who are oppressed.

I'd encourage you to pause here and reflect on that one powerful statement.  This is the heart of the Father - this is what He is doing.

7He made known His ways [of righteousness and justice] to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.

8The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy and loving-kindness.

9He will not always chide or be contending, neither will He keep His anger forever or hold a grudge.

If you ask the average person walking along the street what is the God of Christianity like, do you think their answer would include: merciful, gracious, slow to anger, PLENTEOUS in mercy and loving-kindness?  If not why?

10He has not dealt with us after our sins nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

11For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great are His mercy and loving-kindness toward those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him.

12As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

Did you know scientists today have still not found the ends of the universe?  So guess how far He's removed your sins... Do you live your life in light of that knowledge?

13As a father loves and pities his children, so the Lord loves and pities those who fear Him [with reverence, worship, and awe].

14For He knows our frame, He [earnestly] remembers and imprints [on His heart] that we are dust.

I again love the imagery in these verses: as a Father loves His children so the Lord loves us... We are imprinted on His heart.  What better or safer place is there to be than that?

15As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes.

16For the wind passes over it and it is gone, and its place shall know it no more.

17But the mercy and loving-kindness of the Lord are from everlasting to everlasting upon those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him, and His righteousness is to children's children--

As many of us know all too well, this life we live is so brief, but what a beautiful and precious reminder of the weight of who God is for all eternity. For me personally, it is a precious reminder that His love will never fade away and that He has promised to carry the message and benefit of His love to my children and my grandchildren.  The contrast between our frailty and His strength is astounding, so where should we rest - in our momentary troubles of life or in the everlasting mercy and loving-kindness of our Lord?

18To such as keep His covenant [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying it] and to those who [earnestly] remember His commandments to do them [imprinting them on their hearts].

We've been invited to imprint Him on our hearts, just like He's imprinted us.

19The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all.

20Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, you His angels, you mighty ones who do His commandments, hearkening to the voice of His word.

21Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, all you His hosts, you His ministers who do His pleasure.

I love this - you who do His pleasure. As children of God, we have the opportunity to carry on the message contained in the Psalm of His love, mercy and grace to those around us!

22Bless the Lord, all His works in all places of His dominion; bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul!

Oh! I just love this Psalm. My thoughts only scratch the surface of this Psalm - I'd encourage you to consider meditating on it for a season. Your soul will be blessed.  By the time I'm done reading it, I always want to start this Psalm over again because it wraps up the immensity of our salvation into one prayer!

In Christ,