Psalm 119:101

I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word.

Again, Lord, there is that recognition that I am responsible for obeying. You call me to obedience, You have sent Your Holy Spirit to lead me into all truth and to remind me of all You have taught, but it is my choice to hold my feet back from every evil way. You have not removed my free will.

Psalm 147:1

Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.

Yes, it is pleasant to sing your praises, Lord. To pray your praises, to speak your praises to another, to praise you in writing, all are good. But to sing your praises is best of all. Lord, grant me this boon, that I would learn to sing your praises throughout my day, from my rising up to my lying down, I would sing your praises.

Psalm 147:2-3

The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

You bring your people together, gather them out of the broken and the outcasts. The Chucks and the Keiths, the Johns and the Bettys. the Jims and the Bobbys, and pull us into your loving embrace. You heal our brokenness, you put salve on and bind up our wounded spirits. You restore us to you.

Psalm 147:4-5

He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.

You, who set the stars in their places, you determine their times and places, you only can count them for they are beyond my numberings. It is beyond me to understand your awesomeness, your vastness, how can I, a worm, live except through your grace and love.

Psalm 147:6

The LORD lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground.

You bring humility to me, you cause a humble spirit to live within me and by that you lift me up into your presence. "A humble spirit, you will not despise." It is through you that those spirits of pride and lust, anger and deceit, greed and avarice are brought low and cast out from me.

Psalm 147:7-9

Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre! He covers the heavens with clouds; he prepares rain for the earth; he makes grass grow on the hills. He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry.

Everything is under your hand, Lord, nothing moves or happens at any level without your doing.

Praise you Lord, thank you for family and friends, for the many years that You have given Betty and I together, for all the ways that we see Your hand working in creation and in the lives of the men in our ministry.

Psalm 147:10-11

His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.

How can I bring you, the Awesome One, pleasure? How can I fear you and hope in your love unless your Holy Spirit is at work within me? Grant me this plea, Lord. Remove all doubt, all disobedience and replace those voids with the fear of the Lord, God Almighty.

Psalm 119:105

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. Romans 1:20

Your word, clearly displayed, totally visible to all, but only acted upon by those who seek You. The light is there but I must open my eyes. The lamp is available for the using, but I must reach out my hand and take it up. Free will means that I have free choice and the responsibility for choosing and acting. Obedience is paramount from the beginning of my relationship with You.

Psalm 147:12-13

Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! For he strengthens the bars of your gates; he blesses your children within you.

Bless my children, Lord.

Tony, Heidi, Sandy and Marieke: that they would enjoy being together today, that they would realize that you are in control of their lives and that they owe all to you.

Kim, Jeff and Alexis: Lord, to learn to depend upon your goodness and your provision. Give them a sense of your purpose in their lives and show them that You are calling them into a ministry as You called us.

David, Lynne, Libby Sam and Jack: that David will turn to you and Lynne will return. That those precious children will find you and that you will keep them safe from the evils of this world. That those siren songs of sex, drugs and self-choice will not bring them down to the pits, but they will draw near to you.

Psalm 147:14-16

He makes peace in your borders; he fills you with the finest of the wheat. He sends out his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly. He gives snow like wool; he scatters hoarfrost like ashes.

Thank You for the peaceful and satisfying life that Betty and I enjoy, thank You for all the provisions for food and health and housing and transportation and warmth. Thank You for the ministries that You have provided for us and for the provisions needed to support those ministries.

Psalm 147:17-20

He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs; who can stand before his cold? He sends out his word, and melts them; he makes his wind blow and the waters flow. He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and rules to Israel. He has not dealt thus with any other nation; they do not know his rules. Praise the LORD!

Your word is known to all; it is evident to all who name the Name of Jesus, You have called a people unto Yourself, bring revival among those people to seek Your face and to be obedient to You. Praise Your Holy Name.

Psalm 148:1-2

Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts!

Lord, the heavenly throngs are praising You singing "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD God Almighty". The song of praise thunders throughout the heavenlies. What an awesome and awe inspiring sight that must be. Lightening and thunder, music and singing, brilliant colors, angels dancing before You.

Someday soon, You will let me see this spectacle as You see it, let me see it through new eyes that can comprehend, You will remove my handicap-my inability to visualize the numinous.