The younger we are when we begin to develop habits and patterns for life, the better.  (Proverbs 22:6)  It is better that we obtain a heart of wisdom when we are young.  (But, it's never too late!)  The Living Bible reads, "Every young man who listens to me and obeys my instructions will be given good sense."  (Proverbs 1:1-2)  The writer of Proverbs said that the Proverbs would give knowledge and purpose to young people.  (Proverbs 4:1)  One good piece of advice from Proverbs 1:10 is this.  "My child, if sinners entice you, turn your back on them!"  We can see from 1 Kings 11:2-3 that Solomon rejected the wisdom of God and married women that God had forbidden him to marry. The result was exactly as God had predicted. They led his heart away from His Lord and he began to worship their gods.  How sad, that the wisest man who had ever lived would fall into this trap.  He was so blessed of God.  God had even appeared to him twice.  Yet, the forbidden fruit of the pagan women were enough to cause him to turn away from following God completely as his father, David had done.  (1 Kings 11:6).  In his old age, he sinned.  In fact, the Bible says, he "did what was evil in the Lord's sight."  Whether we are young, old, or in between this morning, we can learn a lesson from this story.  We all want our end to be better than our beginning.  (Job 42:12)  Right?  If we are true believers, our lives should be a growth process from faith to faith and glory to glory.  (Romans 1:17)  The King James Version reads:  "For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith:  as it is written, The just shall live by faith."  We should be being changed for the better as we age, by the Spirit of the Lord.  (2 Corinthians 3:18)  The King James Version reads:  "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."   God even says that we will be blessed if our strength comes from Him and our hearts are following His ways.  (Psalm 84:5 - See KJV)  We will go from strength to strength! (Psalm 84:7 - See KJV)  No doubt we will all have times of heartache in this life but God said that when we pass through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs.......  (Psalm 84:6)  Those things that challenge us will make us stronger if we remain in faith and trust God for the outcome.

No matter how old we are this morning, a good check would be to make certain we are not worshipping other gods as Solomon did.  His choices were the women that God had forbidden him to marry.  We have many choices today, especially in our country.  We can worship the god of work.  Do we spend more time and energy and thought on our work than on anything else, including God?  We can also worship our spouse or family.  They are a true blessing from God.  (Proverbs 18:22, Psalm 127:3).  But, when placed before God, they become gods in our lives.  We have loved the blessing more than the One who has blessed us with them.  The only One who is worthy of our worship.  There are all kinds of little gods that we can worship - money, cars, clothes, shoes (ladies usually have this passion), our homes, vacations, boats, sports, - yes, even church work.  If we put most of our time and energy into any of these things (or any other thing that I did not mention), we will be denying the true God the time and relationship He so desires of us.  We will begin to worship the gifts rather than the giver.

Solomon bombed out in his old age. He was so blessed.  It almost seems impossible that would happen.  But, we should take note of it and learn from his mistakes.  God has promised to be with us in our old age if we continue to follow Him.  Continual following means we have to develop some habits and choices along the way and stick to them.  Abraham and Sarah were great examples of going from faith to faith.  They could not have children in their youth but God had promised Abraham that he would have a son.  (Genesis 17:17)  Yes, they struggled with this promise when it did not manifest itself.  You see, Abraham was one hundred years old and Sarah was ninety!  That's old age! They made a mistake along the way but they hung in there and Sarah did have that child.  I'd say that God gave her strength.  If you're a mother, I'm sure you would say the same.  Her life was a pattern of going from strength to strength just as the Bible says we can do. Abraham?  Well, when he was old, his faith was strong.  He had gone from faith to faith just as the Word says we can do.  He didn't worry about the fact that he and Sarah were both too old to receive what God had promised.  (Romans 4:19)  Caleb was another example of someone who did not get discouraged and quit just because he was getting old.  He was eighty-five years old when God gave him his piece of the promised land.  He was just as strong then as he was in his earlier days.  (Joshua 14:10-11)  He truly went from strength to strength.  He must have never stopped and sat down to count out his years and think himself weak, frail and finished.  His eyes were obviously on God all those years.  He must have done some time waiting on the Lord, just as we should be doing this morning and every day of our lives.  There is a promise to this.  If we wait on Him, He will renew our strength.  (Isaiah 40:31)  He will renew our youth.  (Psalm 103:5)  Even in our old age, we can soar like an eagle!  He did it for Ruth.  She had suffered greatly but God stepped in and renewed her youth by giving her a loving daughter-in-law and a grandson she thought she would never have.  (Ruth 4:15)  Those of us who choose to praise God and do what we can do for Him, will bring forth fruit in our old age.  We will be like green trees, full of sap and strong. (Psalm 92:14)   Notice, I didn't say we would turn into a sap!  As we grow older, God has promised to carry us.  (Isaiah 46:3-4)  Because of that, we can still do mighty things.  There is a woman of eighty some years old that heads the prison ministry in our church.  She doesn't look her age and she is responsible for getting thousands of souls saved as she visits the jails and prisons constantly letting those who have made mistakes know that Jesus cares for them.  That He came to set the prisoner free.  Not just from the steel prison bars but from their own private prisons that caused them to lash out at society.  Are you encouraged yet?  I am.   By the way, you can find this lady almost every Sunday morning jumping, dancing and praising with the best of the young people!  Let's pray the prayer that the Psalmist prayed. Let's pray that in our old age God will continue to be with us helping us to declare His might and power to future generations! (Psalm 71:18)  We will get older.  All of us will.  Our choice is to become bitter or better.  What's your choice this morning?  I want to be better but I'm finding it's taking a lot of focus on the Lord and development of good spiritual, emotional and physical habits - many of which I should have started years ago.  Young people, start now.  If you are aging already, it's not too late to start.  God will honor your willing heart! 

Is it a little bit hot in your corner of the world this morning?  Are you kind of uncomfortable about something?  It may be that the Lord is testing your heart.  He has to test mine quite often.  Fire tests the purity of silver and gold but God tests our heart.  As I looked into the depth of the meaning of the Hebrew word for, "heart," I discovered that it is a word that means the center of us.  It includes the feelings, the will and even the intellect.  What are you feeling this morning?  (Psalm 38:6 The Message paraphrases this verse:  "Now I am flat on my face feeling sorry for myself morning to night.")  Is your will in line with His?  (Hebrews 10:36)  What are you concentrating on or studying this morning?  (Psalm 19:14)   Right now, we're on the right track because we're thinking about His Word and that will lead us to find His will.  (Romans 12:2)  But the feelings need to follow, especially if you're in a situation that is beyond what you seem able to handle.  I said, "seem to be able," because we know with our intellect and our spirit that we are able.  (Philippians 4:13)  The enemy would like to get control of our feelings though and deceive us into thinking we can't go on.  Now, if everything is rosy for you this morning, let's rejoice together.  But, you might want to keep reading because, sooner or later, you will go through something that is troubling. It's good to be prepared ahead of time.  It's good to settle in our hearts exactly what we will choose to think about when the enemy comes in like a flood.  We need to remember God's standard which He will lift up if our hearts are fixed on Him.  (See KVJ Isaiah, Chapter 59, Verse 19)   The enemy can do nothing to us.  (Isaiah 26:3)   It is God who will have His way in us.  It is God who will be watching that refining fire using it for His own purposes and only allowing it to get as hot as He knows is good for our purification. (Psalm 51:7)   

That word, "test," means to investigate and try. The original word has to do with metals.  (Malachi 3:3)  You may have heard that story about the silver refiner.  He watches the silver in the fire.  He watches and watches as the silver is purified, the dross being burnt out of it.  Only when he can see his reflection in it does he know it has passed the test and is ready to be used.  Are you still in the fire?  I know I am.  When Jesus can see His reflection in us, we will be really ready for use.  While in the process, we are still being used and being watched by the One who said we will never be tried (or tested) beyond our ability to endure. (Job 23:10)  We are also being watched by an unbelieving world.  Will they see us begin to shine like Jesus?

There is another wonderful analogy about metal that helps to understand just how valuable we are after we have come through the fire and been formed.  When this story was written, a bar of steel was worth five dollars.  If it was made into horseshoes, it was worth ten dollars.  It's value increased to three hundred and fifty dollars if it was made into needles.  Penknife blades brought even more gain - thirty-two thousand dollars.  Or, if it was made into springs for watches, it was worth two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.  The more drilling and manipulating the steel went through, the more it was pounded with a hammer and then polished, the more its value increased.  Are you being tested and tried this morning.  Perhaps even suffering more than you thought you could endure?  The end of this story concludes that, the ones who seem to have to suffer the most are the likely candidates for yielding the most.  ( From Streams in the Desert)  If I were to be honest with you, and I will be, I am sometimes tempted to think God has tricked me.  What He says is good for me doesn't feel so good.  But I do want to come forth sparkling and reflecting His image.  Don't you?  That requires trust and faith.  The things of this earth and our feelings are not good indicators of God's love for us.  The best indicator is that He is still working on us.  (Hebrews 12:6)  We know we are still His children when He has not stopped testing us or disciplining us.  It's kind of scary but we need to be like the Psalmist and say, "Search me, Oh God.  Try me."  (Psalm 26:2)  Our God, who answers the prayers of His children will answer that one too.  He will show us some of the stuff that needs to be burnt out and He will help us by doing the burning.  In all of that process, uncomfortable though it may get at times, He, like the refiner of the silver, never takes His loving eyes off of us. (Psalm 34:15)  We truly are His workmanship and He doesn't stop working on us until we're ready for Heaven.  (Psalm 139:14)  Rejoice today, even if the testing is uncomfortable.  (Romans 5:3)  It means He is making your heart pure, preparing you for your eternal Home and for great use here for His Kingdom! 

Such a small word can make such a big difference!  Solomon, the man of wisdom, built a temple to honor the Lord.  A place for Him to dwell.  We are living temples of the Holy Spirit.  (1 Corinthians 6:19)  Solomon dedicated the temple he built for the Lord to the Lord.  We, too, should be working on the temple.  Our temple is made up of three parts, body, soul and spirit.  We know how to care for and build the bodily part.  We need to eat responsibly, drink plenty of fluid, get enough rest and exercise.  There's a challenge in itself.  We also know how to build up the spirit.  We need to spend time in prayer alone with God, read His Word and meditate on it, and stay in fellowship with the saints, and walk in obedience and love.  That part is hard sometimes too but it's pretty clearly defined.  The soul is a bit different to control and build.  It contains our mind, will and emotions.  How is your soul this morning?  Do you need to do some building, repair or maintenance there?  I know I do!  It's an everyday affair.  (Romans 12:2)  We must constantly let God renew our minds.  Ideally, and if we are in balance, our body, soul and spirit will agree and we will be whole and balanced.  A beautiful temple, glorifying to God. 

We also need to dedicate this temple to God just as Solomon dedicated the temple he built.  As 1 Corinthians 6:19 says, we do not belong to ourselves.  We are God's property.  God will do what He will with His property but much of it depends upon one little word.  "if."  That's our part.  As Solomon prayed the prayer of dedication over  the temple he built, there were a lot of "if's."  The first one is in 1 Kings 8:25.  Solomon reminded God of His promise to David.  He said, "If your descendants guard their behavior as you have done, they will always reign over Israel." (Italics mine)  Many of God's promises do come with an "if."  He promises, if we do what He asks of us.  Another one is in 1 Kings 8:31.  It has to do with offense.  If someone had offended another, Solomon asked that God would hear the prayer prayed in front of the alter at the temple.  Has someone wronged you?  Have you given that offense to God instead of telling it all over town.  Solomon was wise.  He knew that God would punish the guilty party and acquit the innocent one.  (1 Kings 8:32)  We might have been and probably will at some time be wronged by someone else.  But, we don't have to accept and own that offense.  If we are wise, like Solomon, we will take it to God and let Him decide the outcome.  If correction is needed, He is certainly able to take care of the one who has done wrong.  (Leviticus 19:18, If we hold on to the offense and harbor unforgiveness, then we too will be unforgiven. (Matthew 6:14,  Matthew 18:21-36)   What a difference "if" makes!

We need to look for the "if's" this morning.  Especially if we are having some problems in life.  That's not to say that all problems are because of something we have done.  There is certainly no condemnation in us if we are in Christ Jesus.  But, we first need to make sure that's where we are.  There are lots of other "if's" in scripture.  Do you want to see our land healed?  America is surely in need of healing today.  The scripture says, "If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)  Quite a bit is contained in that "if."  Humility, prayer, seeking the face of God and repentance.  We do have a part to play.  God said to Israel, "Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee:  O Israel, if thou wouldest hearken unto me!  (ASV - Psalm 81:8)  He's saying the same thing to us today, I'm sure.  He will speak to us if we will listen.  Jesus had some "if's" too.  He said, "You are truly my disciples if you keep obeying my teachings.  (John 8:31)  That is a big, "if."  We are only truly His disciples if we keep obeying His teachings.  How many true disciples are there today?  James used an "if" also.  He said, "...I can't see your faith if you don't have good deeds,....."  Do you know anyone who says they have faith but don't show it by their good deeds?  If so, they have ignored the "if."  Perhaps they don't have as much faith as they would like to have you believe.  There are lots of other "if's," both written and inferred, in scripture.  How many can you find this morning?  How many do we really, really stop to think about?  It might be good to check out the scriptural "if's."  Usually God is saying He will do something if we will also do something.  He always gives us more than He is asking from us but we won't receive the promise if we don't do the "if." 

Are you trusting the Lord this morning?  Psalm 125:2  says that, if you are, you will be like Mount Zion.  You won't be able to be moved.  Nothing will be able to shake you.  You will live forever with Jesus whether here on this earth or in Heaven.  You will have peace.  Mount Zion is the locality of Jerusalem (meaning city of peace).  If you are trusting Jesus this morning, His peace will be yours.  In the natural, it may look like things are falling apart but, if we're really trusting, then we believe His promise that He has given us peace.  Not like the world tries to give us with things and earthly pleasures, but real peace.  (John 14:27)  Are there things in your life this morning that would cause fear and alarm.  Receive His peace and know that He is concerned with every detail of your life.  (Luke 12:7)  This peace that comes from our Savior is beyond our understanding but we do have to receive it and embrace it.  (Philippians 4:7)  There are some practical steps to receiving this special peace.  (Philippians 4:6)  Don't worry.  Pray about everything.  Tell God what you need.  Thank Him for all that He's done.  Try it.  Go through all four steps and just see if His word is not true that His peace will pour over you.  No fair cheating though.  Go from step one to four, purposefully and thoroughly taking your time with each one!

Jerusalem, that city of peace, is surrounded and protected by mountains.  It is a wonderful picture for us of how we are surrounded and protected by our Lord and Savior.  That was the Psalmists prayer.  That the Lord would surround him with His tender mercies. (Psalm 119:77)  The reason he could pray like this is because God's law was his delight.  He was trusting in the Lord.  If we are trusting in the Lord this morning, we can pray that very same prayer and the Lord will answer.  Our hope is in the Lord alone and we need ask Him to surround us with His love, protecting us from those things which will rise up against us.  (Psalm 33:22)  Then we need to trust that the victory is ours.  As we wait for it to manifest, He is our hiding place.  He will surround us with songs of victory.  (Psalm 32:7)  Begin singing a song of victory with Him this morning.  Remember Paul and Silas.  They sang songs of victory while they were in a stinky, dark jail cell at midnight. (Acts 16:25)  Then suddenly.................... (Acts 16:26)  An earthquake shook the place and their chains fell off and the doors flew open.  They were free!!  Do you need a "suddenly" in your life this morning?  In order to have one, you may have to go through some trusting and some victorious singing.  But, you do have His promise.  The Lord will surround you and protect you now and forever!

His protection is your promise.  Dwell in that promise this morning.  Reflect on the many ways He has protected you in the past.  Watch for the new ways He will protect you as He surrounds you with His presence.  Take refuge in that protection and rejoice.  He wants to fill you with more and more joy.  (Psalm 5:11)   We live in a generation that seems to be veering farther and farther from truth.  Because of that some may be oppressed this morning.  If not physically, there are lying spirits that would like to keep us from trusting the Lord.  Like the Psalmist, we too must lean in by faith letting the Lord know we do believe that He will help us and preserve us from the lies that want to break up our lives.  (Psalm 12:7)  Our trust must be in the fact that He will rescue us if we love Him.  He will protect us if we trust Him.  (Psalm 91:14)  Because He surrounds and protects us, we can press on.  We can go on.  We must not be weary in well doing.  We have His promise that we will reap if we don't lose heart.  (Galatians 6:9)  Tonight we can close our eyes in sweet sleep knowing we are surrounded and protected.  (Psalm 4:8)  He will not be sleeping but will be an ever watching loving Father, continually surrounding and protecting us.  (Psalm 121:3)   If things are going very well for you this morning, praise Him and reflect on His goodness.  If things are not going as well as you would choose, remember God has a plan for your life.  He is molding us to be like Jesus.  That's what we really desire, right?  (Romans 8:28-29)  Whatever our situation this morning, we can enjoy the warmth and protection of His surrounding wings.  Psalm 63:7  Those wings of protection also come with healing in them.  So, if that's your need, reach out and receive it.  (Malachi 4:2)  Today, whatever your situation, begin by knowing that you are protected and surrounded by your Heavenly Father.  Thank Him for it.  Walk in it.  When you lay your head on the pillow tonight, even if you haven't seen your victory with your natural eyes, thank Him for it then too, knowing that He is not sleeping.  You can sleep and take your rest.  He is still working on your case, all the while watching over you with His everlasting and ever-loving eyes and protecting you with His strong arms of love.  A love that knows no end.  (Psalm 106:1) 

There are some days that it seems attacks are relentless.  Oh, I hope this is not one of those days for you.  But, if it's not, and you're walking in Jesus's direction, you will have those days once in a while.  I remember that Jesus said,  "God blesses you when you are mocked and persecuted and lied about because you are my followers." (Matthew 5:11)  It's interesting to note that He said, "when," and not, "if."  We will have troubles in this world because we don't serve its gods.  (John 16:33)  Jesus, merciful as He is, has told us to be of good cheer in spite of the troubles.  He has overcome the world.  Yes, we do serve a God that is wholly merciful.  The Psalmist recognized that when he cried out, "Have mercy on us, Lord."  If we serve God, we will come up against resistance.  The closer we walk with Him and the more we are in line with His will, the greater the resistance will be from the enemy.  As we go from from one level of faith to another, we will be faced with a new level of resistance.  As Joyce Meyer and others have said, "new level, new devil."  It is not that Satan is new.  He just has different levels of minions serving him and we are attacked by the ones he thinks will be the best at knocking us from level of closeness we have come to the Lord.  When that attack comes, we are to submit ourselves to God and resist the devil.  (James 4:7)  The Psalmist said, "...for we have had our fill of contempt."

Is that how you feel this morning?  Have you had your fill of contempt?  We do not fight against flesh and blood.  The enemy may use people to get to us in some way but we are not fighting those people.  We are fighting the principalities and powers that have managed to use those people.  (Ephesians 6:12)  The devil is contemptuous.  That means he utterly disrespects and despises us and the Christ in us.  Not only us, but any work of the Holy Spirit in this world.  Have you, like the Psalmist, had your fill of contempt this morning?  Are you ready to resist the devil so he will have to flee from you?  Are you ready to take back what he has eaten out of your life and the lives of those you love?  It will take your full submission to God, the wearing of all the armor He has provided,  (Ephesians 6:11) and your resistance to the devil.  As we begin to get our fill of the contempt of the enemy, the battle will rage - hot and furious.  Then, we must remember that the battle is not ours, but the Lord's.  (1 Samuel 17:47)  We need to also remember that it is not by our own might or our own power but by the Spirit of the Lord that we have the victory.  (Zechariah 4:6)  

It is only by God's mercy that we are not devoured by the one who comes against us to kill, steal, and destroy.  This enemy of ours is out looking for someone to devour.  (1 Peter 5:8)   Someone who is not wearing the armor of God. Someone who is wandering alone, without the aid or protection of other believers.  The Psalmist recognized that he needed this mercy that God provides.  We do too.  Psalm 9:13 may be someone's heart's cry this morning.  You may be suffering because someone seems to hate you.  You may seem at the point of death, either physically, emotionally, or spiritually because of something you have suffered.  It is God who is always merciful.  His mercies are new every morning. (Lamentations 3:23)  That is, His kindness and favor are new every morning.  So, if today, you are facing a challenge, just hang on.  His mercy is enough to sustain you through the day and it will be new again tomorrow.  His kindness and favor are all around you.  Look for those things and don't focus on the negative.  Do everything you know to do according to God's Word.  Then after having done all that, stand.  (Ephesians 6:13)  While you're standing, cry out like the Psalmist, "Have mercy on us Lord!"  Let Psalm 31:22 encourage you.  The Psalmist cried out for mercy and he says that God heard and answered.  He will do the same for you and for me.  That's good reason to praise the Lord right this minute. He is the source of all mercy and He will comfort us in our trials.  (2 Corinthians 1:3)   Are you in a battle this morning and in need of mercy?  Go, in the Name of Jesus, boldly to the throne of God.  There you will find the mercy that the Psalmist cried out for. Just receive it!   (Hebrews 4:16)  Whatever the need, help is right there.     

Where are you and I looking for help this morning?  Even though God will use different tools, technology, and people, we need to remember where our real help comes from.  The Psalmist says, "I look up to the mountains - does my help come from there?"  When we are without Jesus, many times we will look everywhere and anywhere for help when we come to the end of our rope.  There are times, even when we know Jesus, that we tend to forget that He is the first One we should look to for help, no matter what the situation is.  I just got a call this morning from someone whose grand-daughter was missing.  She had gone out last night and not returned home this morning.  This distraught grandmother was calling everyone she knew to call, every number on the phone caller ID, trying to find out if anyone knew where her grand-daughter might be.  It's good to use all of the intelligence and wisdom the Lord has given us when we get into a sticky situation.  But, our real help is from the Lord.  Many have the mistaken idea that the saying, "The Lord helps those who help themselves," is a verse from scripture but that is far from the truth. The truth is, our help comes from the Lord.  (Psalm 121:2)  He made the heavens and the earth and He made each of us.  He is omnipotent and omniscient.  There isn't a problem too great or too small for Him.  With Him, nothing is impossible and all things are possible. (Luke 1:37, Mark 10:27)   

Does this morning find you with some problems?  Health, finances, relationships, marriage, children, aging parents, etc., etc.?  Have you at times felt that you could go it alone?  Are you one of those people who feel that they can do it all by themselves?  Well, the answer to all of that is that Jesus is our answer.  We are fearfully and wonderfully made by the Lord to function beautifully - with His help.  (Psalm 139:14)   We can do all things.  But sometimes  we forget to tack on the rest of the verse - through Christ who strengthens us.  (Philippians 4:13)  When we forget to add, "through Christ," we set ourselves up for failure.  He is the one who holds all things together.  (Colossians 1:15-18)  He needs to be first in everything in our lives.  It is only in Him that we can even move and that we have our being.  (Acts 17:28)  When we try to become self-made, we get our "self" into trouble. If we really want to be somebody and have something that no man can take from us, we are required to humble our "self" before God.  Then, in His perfect time, He will lift us up.  In the meantime we are in preparation for what He has planned for us, if we are trusting Him.  (James 4:10)  Do you need some help this morning.  With anything?  Who doesn't?

Is life a bit uncertain in your little corner of the world?  Are there slippery places or rocky places where your footing isn't as good as you wish it to be?  God is your help. The Psalmist said He will not let you stumble or fall.  (Psalm 121:3)  You can go to sleep in peace, even if things aren't looking so good when your head hits the pillow because God never sleeps.  He is working on your behalf 24/7.   He never gets tired of watching over us and taking care of us.  (Psalm 121:4)   The Lord, Himself, watches over you! (Psalm 121:5)  The Psalmist was excited about this.  There is an exclamation mark at the end of that phrase.  We should be excited too.  The Creator of this world, the One who knows everything and is everywhere, is watching over you!  At the same time and with the same care, He's watching over me!  Our Abba, Father (Romans 8:15 - the King James Version reads, "Abba! Father!") cares deeply and watches over each of His children showing no favoritism at all.  (Acts 10:34)  He is like a big bubble or umbrella over you and me protecting us from all those things that would harm or distress us.  (Psalm 121:5-6)  In Psalm 121:5, the King James Version says, "The Lord is thy keeper...."  The word, "keeper," means to hedge about (as with thorns).  God has you and me hedged about with His protection. When the Word speaks of God being our shade, it's Hebrew root meaning is the idea of "hovering over."  Now the picture is getting even better.  We are not only hedged about with protection, God is also hovering over us.  I hope you can feel Him there with you this morning literally enfolding and encasing you with His love and protection.   He will keep us from all evil and preserve our lives.  (Psalm 121:7)  The same word used in Psalm 121:5, when God promises to be our keeper is the word used to translate "preserve" in Psalm 121:7.  This is the second time in just a few verses that God has promised to hedge us about.  The help you and I need is all around us and hovering above us.  We don't need to look to the mountains for help or anywhere else other than the Lord.  He has us fully covered - for life!  He uses that very same word again in Psalm 121:8 when the Psalmist says, "He will watch over you as you come and go, now and forever."  We are basically hedged about by God as we come and go now and eternally!  What help do you need this morning?  Just reach out to Jesus.  As the old song says, "He's reaching out to you."  You are encased in His loving protection this morning, every morning and for all eternity!  Whatever it is we need, now and forever, our help comes from the Lord!

John 21:19 (New Living Translation)
^{19 (NLT)} Jesus said this to let him know what kind of death he would die to glorify God. Then Jesus told him, "Follow me."

Have you heard the call of Jesus?  Has He called to you as He did to Peter and so many others, "Follow Me?"  Peter first heard the call when he was going about his daily activities.  (Matthew 4:19 - the King James Version reads, "Follow me.")  Maybe that's the way it was with you too.  For Peter, it meant leaving his business and spending the next three years or so walking and talking with Jesus.  He was taught by Him and he watched as Jesus went about doing good with signs and wonders following everywhere He went.  Even after all of that Peter did not know the real heart of Jesus.  In the garden of Gethsemane, he proceeded to slice off the ear of Malchus, a servant of one of the high priests.  (John 18:10)   Peter still could not fathom that the agenda of Jesus could be so much different than his agenda.  It wasn't that Peter was malicious.  He was sincere and zealous.  He wanted to protect Jesus.  He perhaps still had it in His mind that Jesus would not suffer death, but usher in the Kingdom right then and there.  Peter had to be put in his place another time too because he got ahead of Jesus and began to try to correct Him.  (Matthew 16:22)  Now Peter was very discrete about this correction.  At least he took Jesus aside and did not do it in public.  Good thing!  That is, good thing for Peter.  Peter was, of course, wrong.  Who can correct the living God?  I think Peter loved the Lord.  When Jesus began to tell about His own death, Peter went into the protection mode.  He did not think it should be so that Jesus should die the death that He was describing.  Sincere, though Peter was, he was sincerely wrong.  After taking Jesus aside for correction, Peter ended up being the one corrected.  He had let the devil speak through Him and Jesus said, "Get away from me, Satan!"  (Matthew 16:23)  We know that Peter became a pillar of strength later on but, along the way, he had to learn to think like Jesus.  We do too.  He had followed Him physically for His years of ministry but Peter still had to learn to follow with all of his heart. To surrender completely to His will even when it looked strange or even wrong in the natural.  I think we have all found that walking by faith is not always the easiest thing to do. 

Peter's thinking was still being renewed.  He was not thinking from God's perspective yet.  He was still thinking in human terms.  How is our thinking this morning?  Could it be that we rebuke Jesus just like Peter did when we do not accept what He allows into our lives because it may contain some suffering?  No matter what we may be going through or even go through in the future, Jesus is teaching us something.  We are not microwave Christians.  We are in a process.  There are miracles. Many times Jesus will eliminate certain suffering in our lives through a miracle.  He is certainly able and willing to come to our aid when we need it.  But, sometimes we think we need it when we only really want it.  Jesus knows just what we need to make us more like Him.  Because of His great love for us, He will give us what we need and not always necessarily what we want.  The more we become like Him, the more our wants will line up with what He knows we need!  Peter was not there yet, even after Jesus had risen again and appeared to His disciples.

Peter had a very weak moment at a very crucial time in the life of Jesus and Jesus predicted it would happen.  (John 13:38)  He denied that he ever knew Jesus.  It is wonderful to be excited and zealous for Jesus.  It is right to shout and praise Him.  Peter was like that.  But, there has to more than that.  What is required is a heart that thinks as He thinks.  A heart willing to go through whatever it takes to see His will done.  A heart yielded to following Him and doing exactly what He has called us, as individuals, to do even if it calls for suffering.  When push came to shove, Peter did exactly what Jesus predicted.  He didn't have to be tortured to do it.  All it required was for a servant girl to ask him if he was one of Jesus's disciples.  (John 18:17)  His automatic reply was, "I am not."  Twice more he was asked. (John 18:25-26)  Twice more he denied Jesus.  Then he suddenly remembered Jesus's prediction.  (Mark 14:72)  If I was Jesus, I wouldn't want anything more to do with somebody like that.  But, praise the Lord, Jesus is merciful.  He not only restored Peter but he has restored me too!  He will restore you also, no matter what you have done.  When Jesus had risen from the dead, he appeared to the disciples by the Sea of Galilee.  (John 21:1)  After serving them breakfast on the shore, He asked Peter three times if he loved Him.  (John 21:15-17)  Each time Peter answered in the positive and each time he was instructed to feed and care for Jesus's sheep.  He had denied Jesus three times and now three times, Jesus gave him the opportunity to say that he loved Him.  Three times Jesus gave him the instruction regarding His sheep.  If you have failed Him in any way, He wants to speak to you this morning.  He is offering you the opportunity to reaffirm your love for Him.  He wants you to follow Him too.  Jesus then proceeded to give Peter a glimpse of the death he would suffer later.  It was not a pretty picture.  It most likely closely mirrored Jesus's own death.  Peter still wasn't quite in tune with Jesus.  He looked around and, seeing John following them, He asked, "What about him, Lord?"  (John 21:21)  If we are brutally honest, aren't we a lot like Peter?  If we see someone else doing what we want to do, don't we question Jesus, if not blatantly, kind of under our breath in a moment of doubt?  If we suffer and see another brother or sister floating along seemingly without difficulty in life, are we not apt to question, "Why me?"  That's probably because, like Peter, we're still in the process.  We're not quite there yet.  Well, Jesus's answer to Peter regarding His will for John was, in essence, "That's My business, you mind your own business."  (John 21:22)  Peter was told only one thing.  "Follow Me."  That's what Jesus is calling you and me to do today too.  He says to you, "Follow Me."  He says to me,  "Follow Me."  I cannot decide what you are to do while following Him and you can't decide what I am to do while following Him.  If I have to carry the water bucket and you get to go before Him with a banner, so be it.  Or vice-versa.  We are both privileged to be His followers.  We are both the same in His eyes and we are both equally important.  He has a unique and perfect plan for each of our lives that will glorify Him.  If I try to walk in your shoes, I will most likely fall because they won't fit me.  The same with you and my shoes.  What has He called you to do as you follow Him?  Whatever it is, do that thing with all your heart and trust in His grace knowing that when you complete it you will hear, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."  (Matthew 25:21)  Could there be a greater reward?  Are you ready this morning?  Let's follow Him!  When it's all said and done, we'll celebrate together with the Master.

We live in a terribly confusing world.  But, even in the time that the Psalmist penned His words of prayer and praise, there was a need for understanding.  The word, "discerning" in Psalm 119:169 is translated, "understanding" in the King James Version.  Its literal meaning is, "to separate mentally (or distinguish)".  It includes such things as, understand, understanding, consider, prudent, perceive, regard, discern and instruct.  So, when the Psalmist begs the Lord to listen to his cry for discernment, he is asking for a wide variety of ways to distinguish and understand the attributes of life.  Interestingly, one commentary notes that Psalm 119:169 records the cry for the truth (which comes from discernment and understanding) before Psalm 119:170 records the request for deliverance.  It is a logical sequence.  If we have not discerned right from wrong and good from evil, we will have no idea that we need deliverance.  But we all do.   Psalm 119:34  records the Psalmist as saying "Give me understanding."  The implication here is that only if he has understanding, can he obey God's law and put it into practice.  Today we use the word, "discernment" quite a bit.  The definition of, "discernment," in the dictionary is, "The quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure."  In today's topsy-turvy world, God's Word is certainly becoming obscure as secular humanism tries to take the lead.  

Like the Psalmist, we need to cry out in a loud voice to the Lord.  We need to ask for a mind to discern things according to His Word.  That's exactly why you and I have chosen this morning to look into the scriptures and wait for God's revelation to us.  We need understanding.  We need discernment.   There are many places in scripture that refer to that need.  Several different original language words are used to convey "understanding",  all with different slants on understanding and discernment.  The dictionary describes "understanding," as, "to grasp the meaning of; to grasp the reasonableness of; to have thorough or technical acquaintance with or expertness in the practice of; and to be thoroughly familiar with the character and propensities of."  All of this is, including the above definition of "discernment" are included in what the Psalmist was asking for.  This morning, we need to ask for the same thing.  There is so much that goes on in life that we cannot figure out, humanly speaking.  Things that seemingly have no logical explanation.  But, God has everything in His control.  Only when we begin to get understanding of His Word and His ways will we be able to have the peace and confidence He promises.  That's what the Psalmist was asking for - understanding according to His Word.  The King James Version says,  "Give me understanding according to thy Word," in Psalm 119:169.  Any other understanding is not understanding or discernment at all.  It is deception.

Psalm 119:100 indicates that age is not a determining factor in understanding and discernment.  The Psalmist here says that he has more understanding than his elders because He has kept God's commandments.  In this case it refers to wisdom.  So they all go together - understanding, discernment  and wisdom.  Psalm 119:104 tells me that I can learn what to stay away from.  I can learn the things that God hates by understanding His commandments or, as the King James Version puts it, "His precepts."  When things get confusing in life and everybody else might have something or be doing something, I can be discerning and understanding.  I can know if it is good or not good.  I won't have to judge by the standards of others.  My standard will be according to God's standards.  That's what it means to be discerning and understanding.  No wonder the Psalmist literally shouted out to God, "Listen to my prayer."  He knew that he knew that He really needed this thing called, discernment.  Proverbs 1:5 says that a man of understanding (the same word used in Psalm 119:169) will acquire wise counsel or advice.  What better counsel could we have than the counsel from the Wonderful Counselor?  (Isaiah 9:6)  The Word that lived among us in the flesh?  (John 1:14)  Aren't you glad that we have taken time this morning to encourage ourselves in the fact that we can find understanding and discernment within God's Word?  It may seem a small thing to take the time to check into His Word.  But, this time is very significant.  When we begin our day like this, we will have the tools to live in an upside down world and discern what is right side up in God's eyes.  Proverbs tells us that wisdom calls out for us to listen.  Wisdom wants to give us understanding so that we won't be naive in the eyes of God. (Proverbs 8:1-6)  Not only that, 1 Corinthians 1:30 lets us know that Jesus is Wisdom.  He is calling out to us this morning.  He wants us to listen.  Let's be like the Psalmist and shout back, "Oh Jesus, give me a discerning mind.  Make me like yourself!"  It's not a one way conversation.  Wisdom calls and we must call back.  Are you ready for the great exchange?  If not, just "Get ready, get ready, get ready!" as T.D. Jakes is so famous for saying.  God is ready to pour His wisdom in us through His Son.  His desire is to give us a discerning mind.