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Psalm 23 – YOu’re Never Alone/ Video

Psalm 23 Never Alone w/ Melissa McKinnies

 The Lord is my shepherd; 

I have all that I need.

2 He lets me rest in green meadows; 

he leads me beside peaceful streams. 

3 He renews my strength. 

He guides me along right paths, 

bringing honor to his name. 

4 Even when I walk 

through the darkest valley, 

I will not be afraid, 

for you are close beside me. 

Your rod and your staff 

protect and comfort me. 

5 You prepare a feast for me 

in the presence of my enemies. 

You honor me by anointing my head with oil. 

My cup overflows with blessings. 

6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me 

all the days of my life, 

and I will live in the house of the Lord 

forever. 

 Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ps 23:1–6). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

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Silent Killer!

1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,

Whose sin is covered.

2 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity,

And in whose spirit there is no deceit.

3 When I kept silent, my bones grew old

Through my groaning all the day long.

4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;

My vitality was turned into the drought of summer.

Selah

 The New King James Version. (1982). (Ps 32:1–4). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Psalm 32 was written by David after the Bathsheba and Uriah “ordeal.” There is much truth in the text above that we can certainly learn. Not only did David write this, but the Apostle Paul quoted it in Romans 4:7. There has to be some great truth wrapped up in this.

Certainly, it is a beautiful thing to have our transgressions forgiven and that our sins are covered.

There is a difference between a sin and a transgression. Sin means to miss the mark. Try as you might to live life correctly; you just missed the mark. On the other hand, a transgression is willfully and knowingly committing an act of rebellion. David here is admitting that he was both a sinner and a transgressor.

It took David nine months to have this conversation with God. For nine long months, David wasn’t ready to deal with the sin or the transgression he committed with Bathsheba and Uriah.

It wasn’t until the prophet Nathan arrived to tell the parable of the rich man and the poor man that David was forced to deal with the situation. David was incensed by the man in the parable, not realizing that he was the man. That’s how we frequently deal with others; we judge ourselves by our intentions and others by actions.

It’s the next line of the verses that caught my eye. David says, “when I kept silent, my bones grew old.” He knew all along that he had committed a sin and had transgression in his life. For nine months, though, he wasn’t acknowledging it, talking about, or confessing it to God. That silence about his sin caused him to, in his words, grow old. The silence or the cover-up of his sins was destroying him. Instead of turning to God and being free, it was killing him from the inside out. The silence was killing him.

It was when he confessed to God that there was freedom, liberty, and forgiveness. May you learn this lesson from David and not from your own experience. Be quick to repent. The faster you get your sin and transgressions to God, the freer you will be.

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What is Prayer?

The Purpose of Prayer – What Is It?

Recently, it was found that the phrase “how to pray” has been searched 20,000 times on YouTube. However, not one of the first five results are by a church or pastor. Sadly, people are not searching for answers in church. They’re searching on YouTube. Yet, it seems people are searching, they are hungry, and they want answers.

The word prayer is found 673 times in the Bible. The Greek word means, “to wish, offer a request, comprising a vow.” Webster Dictionary says, “To make a request with earnestness or zeal, as for something desired; to make entreaty or supplication. The Bible says, we have not because we ask not (James 4:2).

Simply put, prayer is communicating with God. It is literally having a conversation with Him. But, how do we do that? It’s very simple. All you have to do is talk to Him. Ask God for His help.

Psalm 142 says we can tell God everything. There is nothing He doesn’t already know, so why not talk to Him about it? You may say, ‘if God knows everything, then why should I also have to tell Him?’ I would tell you, because He wants to hear from you.

“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” 1 John 5:14 (NKJV)

“I pour out my complaints before him and tell him all my troubles.” Psalm 142:2 (NLT, emphasis is mine)

Psalm 107:28-30 (NLT) reminds us of the power which is in prayer:

            “LORD, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves. What a blessing was that stillness as he brought them safely into the harbor!” So, He also guides people to their desired haven.

We can rest assured that, when we pray, when we talk to God, He does hear us and He answers us. He even proves it in His Word again, and again.

“I prayed to the LORD, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears… In my desperation I prayed, and the LORD listened; he saved me from all my troubles.” Psalm 34:4, 6 (NLT)

There is power in prayer!

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Dream a Little Dream

In our world we are distinct in differentiating a good dream versus a bad dream. We even use two different words to describe them. For a good one we use the word, dream. However, for a bad one we use the word, nightmare. 

However, my question is, have you ever had a good dream strike fear into you? Maybe fear is a stronger word than necessary. What about concern? Have you ever had a dream so great, so amazing, that you wanted to ensure you wouldn’t do anything to void the dream? Therefore, you had concerns about your ability to bring the dream into reality. 

You’re not alone. Let’s take a look at man who also struggled with his own concerns about bringing his dream into reality; Joseph.

Joseph was in a season of life that was going to be quite amazing. He’s getting ready to be married. We all know that this season, although astounding, can be quite challenging, stressful, and complicated. In addition, some very unexpected things began to happen to Joseph through Mary. All of these happenings added more, and more complications to this season of Joseph’s life. 

What we see as salvation and hope, Jesus was a great crisis for Joseph. He had many decisions to make and his main decision would be, what to do with Mary? Her pregnancy was grounds for her death. Had Joseph decided to enact the law, not only would Mary have been killed, but the destiny which was within her would have been as well. 

It was during this time, God used dreams to speak to Joseph. In fact, God would use four dreams to speak to, and guide, Joseph through this season. Joseph’s dreams were given to him to keep Heaven’s dreams on course. Our dreams and destinies are likewise to keep the purpose of Heaven on course. The purpose of Heaven remains the same today as it was at the time of Joseph and Mary: the revelation of Jesus Christ. Then, it was for the birth of Jesus. Now, it’s for us to be born into Jesus Christ, and for others as well. 

Most of the time, when we are introduced to Jesus it is in a season of crisis, stress, and complications. How we handle the situation is of great importance. It matters to us, and to many, that you handle your crisis in a way that the destiny of Heaven happens. 

In the dreams Joseph had, three things were revealed. 

  1. The truth of the pregnancy was revealed. 
  2. The name of the baby was revealed. 
  3. The tasks Joseph was to accomplish were revealed. 

By using the dreams, the Lord was giving Joseph the necessary information to make the right decisions. 

The first dream brought clarity to the entire situation. When revelation is given to us, it brings clarity to any situation. The second dream gave Joseph, direction, safety, and deliverance. The third dream gave Joseph the necessary direction to return home. The fourth dream, established for Joseph the necessary tools in how to handle the dream after it was fulfilled. 

When God desires to bring things about in our lives, He gives us a dream. God won’t just leave it to chance. No. God will give you clarity, direction, safety, and He will establish for you the way to handle the fulfillment of the dream. 

May God speak to you as He did to Joseph! May you dream a little dream! 

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Fresh Vision

A woman went to her eye doctor complaining about the brand-new glasses her husband had just purchased the week prior. When the doctor asked what the issue was with the new glasses, she replied, “These glasses just don’t work.” When the doctor asked why, the woman said, “They don’t work because my husband still doesn’t see things my way!” 

From time to time, we probably all feel the same way as that woman. I would think that God may often feel that way about us, too. We aren’t seeing things in the measure, or the manner, in which He sees them. That is biblical. His ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are greater than ours.  

When it comes to spiritual matters, much works in the opposite direction of the natural. For instance, in the natural we will say, “I’ll believe it when I see it!” Though, the Bible teaches us that in order for us to see it, we must first believe it. If you are waiting to see it before you will believe it, then you will never believe it. You must believe first that what you believe will be seen. You must learn to see with the eyes of faith. Paul wrote to the Corinth church and told them, “We walk by faith and not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NKJV)

The New Living Translation says it like this: “ For we live by believing and not by seeing.” (2 Corinthians 5:7 NLT) 

We live by believing. 

Earlier, Paul would write to the same church, out of chapter four: 

 “That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NLT)

We have looked through our natural eyes for so long, it becomes difficult for us to see clearly in the spiritual. We only believe what we see naturally. May you receive fresh vision, so you can see what God is wanting to do. Fix your eyes on things that cannot be seen! Begin to believe that, then you will see it in your life.