Dear friends,

Last week, through a careless oversight, I posted the meditations intended for the week of March 21-27.  The ones for the week of February 21-27 will be posted during the March week.  The error was uncovered when two individuals wrote to me to tell me how the Holy Spirit had spoken to them through the meditations of the day.  Very interesting to watch Him at work.

Thank you for your support and prayers.

john

Psalm 60:4-8

You have set up a banner for those who fear you, that they may flee to it from the bow. Selah That your beloved ones may be delivered, give salvation by your right hand and answer us! God has spoken in his holiness: "With exultation I will divide up Shechem and portion out the Vale of Succoth. Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet; Judah is my scepter. Moab is my washbasin; upon Edom I cast my shoe; over Philistia I shout in triumph."

Lord, awaken Your church, renew and restore them to their calling to be salt and light to the world. Do whatever it takes to once again restore us to our first love, to that burning heart within us to declare the greatness of Your mercy and grace; to that passion for You that will drive us to live according to Your word as a testimony to the transforming power of that grace and mercy. Lord, restore Your church.

Psalm 119:82

My eyes long for your promise; I ask, "When will you comfort me?"

This must have been the cry of the disciples on the grief filled Passover Sabbath? You promised, where is it? What does it all mean? Where is the comfort? You promised that Your yoke would be easy and Your burden light? This is not it!

Today's readings in the Psalms:

Morning: Psalm 26

Mid-day: 119:25-32

Evening: Psalm 101

Voices Together is available as an annual daily devotional and Volume 1, Psalms 1 through 75 can be purchased at the Fellowship Of Ailbe bookstore. Volume 2, Psalms 76 through 150 will be available for sale shortly.

Psalm 60:1-3

To the choirmaster: according to Shushan Eduth. A Miktam of David; for instruction; when he strove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and when Joab on his return struck down twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt. O God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses; you have been angry; oh, restore us. You have made the land to quake; you have torn it open; repair its breaches, for it totters. You have made your people see hard things; you have given us wine to drink that made us stagger.

The complacency, the smug self-sufficiency, the elitism of the American church; a wall between them and the lost and hurting. Yes, they open their arms to the successful and powerful, to the rich and famous, but to the broken and weak, to the poor and unknown -- blindness, a wall of separation. We have forgotten those You served and called us to serve. Where is Your church? Where is it for M? K? T? An endless list of broken, abused and hurting who only can perpetuate the broken, abused and hurting!

Today's readings in the Psalms:

Morning: Psalm 25

Mid-day: 119:17-24

Evening: Psalm 100

Voices Together is available as an annual daily devotional and Volume 1, Psalms 1 through 75 can be purchased at the Fellowship Of Ailbe bookstore. Volume 2, Psalms 76 through 150 will be available for sale shortly.

Psalm 59:14-17

Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city. They wander about for food and growl if they do not get their fill. But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.

You are the Sufficient and Necessary One, the One who Provides, the One who is Strength, the One who is Wisdom, the One who is Might, the One who is Power, the One who is Love, the One who is Light, the One who is Mercy, the One who is Justice, the One who is Righteousness, the One who is Grace, the One who is Goodness, the One who is from Everlasting to Everlasting, the One who is the LORD God Almighty. Thank You and praise You for Your love and mercy to me.

Today's readings in the Psalms:

Morning: Psalm 24

Mid-day: 119:9-16

Evening: Psalm 99

Voices Together is available as an annual daily devotional and Volume 1, Psalms 1 through 75 can be purchased at the Fellowship Of Ailbe bookstore. Volume 2, Psalms 76 through 150 will be available for sale shortly.

Psalm 59:11-13

Kill them not, lest my people forget; make them totter by your power and bring them down, O Lord, our shield! For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips, let them be trapped in their pride. For the cursing and lies that they utter, consume them in wrath; consume them till they are no more, that they may know that God rules over Jacob to the ends of the earth. Selah

It is not for my honor that I plead for relief, but for Your glory. How marvelous it is be to be used as a demonstration of Your might and power over the afflictions of man. Let Your power and grace be seen by all; let none be able to say, "I didn't hear, I didn't know of the love of God."

Today's readings in the Psalms:

Morning: Psalm 23

Mid-day: 119:1-8

Evening: Psalm 98

Voices Together is available as an annual daily devotional and Volume 1, Psalms 1 through 75 can be purchased at the Fellowship Of Ailbe bookstore. Volume 2, Psalms 76 through 150 will be available for sale shortly.

Psalm 59:4b-10

Awake, come to meet me, and see! You, LORD God of hosts, are God of Israel. Rouse yourself to punish all the nations; spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city. There they are, bellowing with their mouths with swords in their lips-- for "Who," they think, "will hear us?" But you, O LORD, laugh at them; you hold all the nations in derision. O my Strength, I will watch for you, for you, O God, are my fortress. My God in his steadfast love will meet me; God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.

Lord, these disaffections that are afflicting me are emotions that the Evil One has found to impede my witness and testimony for they tarnish the reflection of Your glory to be seen in my life. Remind me, remind me, remind me -- You are my Strength, You are my fortress, You will raise me up in triumph over these foes. You are Lord of all.

Today's readings in the Psalms:

Morning: Psalm 22

Mid-day: 119:169-176

Evening: Psalm 97

Voices Together is available as an annual daily devotional and Volume 1, Psalms 1 through 75 can be purchased at the Fellowship Of Ailbe bookstore. Volume 2, Psalms 76 through 150 will be available for sale shortly.

Psalm 59:1-4a

To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David, when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him. Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise up against me; deliver me from those who work evil, and save me from bloodthirsty men. For behold, they lie in wait for my life; fierce men stir up strife against me. For no transgression or sin of mine, O LORD, for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.

I am not sure, Lord, that it is through no sin of mine that I am experiencing this lassitude and tiredness of soul. It most likely is a result of my pride and unwillingness to accept that I am not personally responsible for the actions of another. But I am concerned that my testimony and teaching in this case were from you and not from me. Was I faithful to Your Word, Lord, have I shown Your love to someone who desperately needs to know it? Help me, Lord.

Today's readings in the Psalms:

Morning: Psalm 21

Mid-day: 119:1161-168

Evening: Psalm 96

Voices Together is available as an annual daily devotional and Volume 1, Psalms 1 through 75 can be purchased at the Fellowship Of Ailbe bookstore. Volume 2, Psalms 76 through 150 will be available for sale shortly.

Psalm 58:9-11

Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns, whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away! The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked. Mankind will say, "Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth."

Praise You, my Lord and Master, for the great power and mercy that You display as You lift those You have called out of the morass of sin. Thank You that You have called me and quickened my heart; thank You for the lives that I see each day that You are transforming in the prison -- lives that speak of Your great mercy and love for the children of men.

Today's readings in the Psalms:

Morning: Psalm 20

Mid-day: 119:153-160

Evening: Psalm 95

Voices Together is available as an annual daily devotional and Volume 1, Psalms 1 through 75 can be purchased at the Fellowship Of Ailbe bookstore. Volume 2, Psalms 76 through 150 will be available for sale shortly.

Psalm 119:117

Hold me up, that I may be safe and have regard for your statutes continually!

There is safety within Your Law. As I order my life in accordance to Your Word, I am in a secure place. Life works! And You have enabled me to live in a state of grace, to live within Your Law and in obedience to Your Word. Praise You, most gracious Lord and Master.

Psalm 66:1-4

Shout for joy to God, all the earth; sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise! Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you. All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name." Selah

Lord, this morning I am grateful and awed by the miracle of fire as it reveals Your love for Your creation. The utility of the storage of energy from the sun stored in the logs that are burning in my stove and warming my home. The complex interworkings of light, water, chemicals, and warmth to create a way of storing energy in a convenient and transportable form so that it can be released when I need it. Why do I never think to praise and thank You as I put a match to the fire that was laid the night before? Why do I never think to praise You for the match and the paper that ignites my morning fire? Or for the beautifully engineered stove that contains the fire and smoke as it releases the heat? Or for the comfortable chair that I am sitting in as I write this? Or the computer with which I am using to write? Or????

All the work of Your hands and the result of Your spoken word, "Let there be ..." and there was!

Hebrews 12:3-11

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Lord, I need clarity in this matter of a difficult relationship. My brother was correct this morning in asking me how You are using this trial to refine me, and my answer was trite and a restatement of platitudes. Lead me into an understanding, a vision of Your purpose in this, show me the next step and give me the willingness to submit to Your leading.

Psalm 65:9-13

You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it. You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.

Your grace pours as a cornucopia over all the lands as it brings beauty and bounty for all to enjoy. Why is it that we complain of the rains yet do not see Your gentle hand in nourishing life and cleansing dirt and dust from Your handiwork? How can we not hear the joy of the hills and valleys as they sing of the wonders of Your creation yet be so sensitive to the slightest irritation in our lives? Why do we not treasure the perfection of the tomatoes we received from our garden this year, but focus on the blight that reduced the crop? Your creatures are quick to complain and slow to appreciate. Forgive Your people, Lord, forgive me.