If we walk the path of the godly....

Dear Friends:

I hope everyone is well and had a good weekend.

Today's message is short but I hope you find strength in these scriptures.

The scriptures are a little long but the part I want to focus on is Psalm 37: 23-26:

²³ The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
He delights in every detail of their lives.
²⁴ Though they stumble, they will never fall,
for the Lord holds them by the hand.

²⁵ Once I was young, and now I am old.
Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned
or their children begging for bread.
²⁶ The godly always give generous loans to others,
and their children are a blessing.

Though they stumble, they will never fall.

Though we stumble, we will never fall.

Though we stumble, we will never fall.

Though we lose our homes, we will never fall.

Though the bank accounts are empty, we will never fall.

Though our marriages are shaky, we will never fall.

Though we have disease, we will never fall.

Though our children are failing, we will never fall.

Brothers and sisters, if we walk the path of the godly, we will never fall because the Lord is holding our hands. Stay faithful. Stay prayerful. Give God the praise and KNOW that we will NEVER fall.

I love you. God bless you and have a great week.

K.

Passage Psalm 37 (NLT) :

Psalm 37

^[a]A psalm of David.

¹ Don’t worry about the wicked
or envy those who do wrong.
² For like grass, they soon fade away.
Like spring flowers, they soon wither.

³ Trust in the Lord and do good.
Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
⁴ Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.

⁵ Commit everything you do to the Lord.
Trust him, and he will help you.
⁶ He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,
and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.

⁷ Be still in the presence of the Lord,
and wait patiently for him to act.
Don’t worry about evil people who prosper
or fret about their wicked schemes.

⁸ Stop being angry!
Turn from your rage!
Do not lose your temper—
it only leads to harm.
⁹ For the wicked will be destroyed,
but those who trust in the Lord will possess the land.

¹⁰ Soon the wicked will disappear.
Though you look for them, they will be gone.
¹¹ The lowly will possess the land
and will live in peace and prosperity.

¹² The wicked plot against the godly;
they snarl at them in defiance.
¹³ But the Lord just laughs,
for he sees their day of judgment coming.

¹⁴ The wicked draw their swords
and string their bows
to kill the poor and the oppressed,
to slaughter those who do right.
¹⁵ But their swords will stab their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.

¹⁶ It is better to be godly and have little
than to be evil and rich.
¹⁷ For the strength of the wicked will be shattered,
but the Lord takes care of the godly.

¹⁸ Day by day the Lord takes care of the innocent,
and they will receive an inheritance that lasts forever.
¹⁹ They will not be disgraced in hard times;
even in famine they will have more than enough.

²⁰ But the wicked will die.
The Lord’s enemies are like flowers in a field—
they will disappear like smoke.

²¹ The wicked borrow and never repay,
but the godly are generous givers.
²² Those the Lord blesses will possess the land,
but those he curses will die.

²³ The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
He delights in every detail of their lives.
²⁴ Though they stumble, they will never fall,
for the Lord holds them by the hand.

²⁵ Once I was young, and now I am old.
Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned
or their children begging for bread.
²⁶ The godly always give generous loans to others,
and their children are a blessing.

²⁷ Turn from evil and do good,
and you will live in the land forever.
²⁸ For the Lord loves justice,
and he will never abandon the godly.

He will keep them safe forever,
but the children of the wicked will die.
²⁹ The godly will possess the land
and will live there forever.

³⁰ The godly offer good counsel;
they teach right from wrong.
³¹ They have made God’s law their own,
so they will never slip from his path.

³² The wicked wait in ambush for the godly,
looking for an excuse to kill them.
³³ But the Lord will not let the wicked succeed
or let the godly be condemned when they are put on trial.

³⁴ Put your hope in the Lord.
Travel steadily along his path.
He will honor you by giving you the land.
You will see the wicked destroyed.

³⁵ I have seen wicked and ruthless people
flourishing like a tree in its native soil.
³⁶ But when I looked again, they were gone!
Though I searched for them, I could not find them!

³⁷ Look at those who are honest and good,
for a wonderful future awaits those who love peace.
³⁸ But the rebellious will be destroyed;
they have no future.

³⁹ The Lord rescues the godly;
he is their fortress in times of trouble.
⁴⁰ The Lord helps them,
rescuing them from the wicked.
He saves them,
and they find shelter in him.

Ask for guidance

Dear Friends-

Have you ever had a plan that you were following and someone came along and planted a seed to make you question your plan? Which one was inspired by God- the plan or the person who made you question your plan?

I'm in that situation- and I'm sure some of you are there too.

I don't have a solution for you but God does. Read the following passages, pray and reflect on what's right for you. Over time, God's purpose (and the right plan) will become crystal clear.

Stay blessed (and don't change anything until you know for sure!)

K.

Proverbs 4

A Father’s Wise Advice

¹ My children,^[a] listen when your father corrects you.
Pay attention and learn good judgment,
² for I am giving you good guidance.
Don’t turn away from my instructions.
³ For I, too, was once my father’s son,
tenderly loved as my mother’s only child.

⁴ My father taught me,
“Take my words to heart.
Follow my commands, and you will live.
⁵ Get wisdom; develop good judgment.
Don’t forget my words or turn away from them.
⁶ Don’t turn your back on wisdom, for she will protect you.
Love her, and she will guard you.
⁷ Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do!
And whatever else you do, develop good judgment.
⁸ If you prize wisdom, she will make you great.
Embrace her, and she will honor you.
⁹ She will place a lovely wreath on your head;
she will present you with a beautiful crown.”

¹⁰ My child,^[b] listen to me and do as I say,
and you will have a long, good life.
¹¹ I will teach you wisdom’s ways
and lead you in straight paths.
¹² When you walk, you won’t be held back;
when you run, you won’t stumble.
¹³ Take hold of my instructions; don’t let them go.
Guard them, for they are the key to life.

¹⁴ Don’t do as the wicked do,
and don’t follow the path of evildoers.
¹⁵ Don’t even think about it; don’t go that way.
Turn away and keep moving.
¹⁶ For evil people can’t sleep until they’ve done their evil deed for the day.
They can’t rest until they’ve caused someone to stumble.
¹⁷ They eat the food of wickedness
and drink the wine of violence!

¹⁸ The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn,
which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.
¹⁹ But the way of the wicked is like total darkness.
They have no idea what they are stumbling over.

²⁰ My child, pay attention to what I say.
Listen carefully to my words.
²¹ Don’t lose sight of them.
Let them penetrate deep into your heart,
²² for they bring life to those who find them,
and healing to their whole body.

²³ Guard your heart above all else,
for it determines the course of your life.

²⁴ Avoid all perverse talk;
stay away from corrupt speech.

²⁵ Look straight ahead,
and fix your eyes on what lies before you.
²⁶ Mark out a straight path for your feet;
stay on the safe path.
²⁷ Don’t get sidetracked;
keep your feet from following evil.

Let's recommit...

Dear Friends-

I am so sorry about the delay in messages. I have been struggling to balance my new schedule with my responsibilities to you and I hope that I have your forgiveness. Unfortunately, I have allowed busyness and exhaustion to prevent me from doing what God challenged me to do but today, I have a short message to share.

Sometimes, we fall down but God's grace allows us to get back up again. No matter how difficult, how busy, how upset or how tired we are, God requires our commitment to His purpose. He won't compete for our attention to His work; the work will remain undone until we start again.

This message is not written to be judgmental because we all struggle at times. I write this message of support to remind us that we can't forget the Lord. If we commit to fulfilling the requirements of this world (like going to work and paying taxes), we must be equally committed to fulfilling God's requirements.

Give him a little time in prayer and worship. Set aside time for quiet reflection- or better yet, find a way to serve His people.

For all that we invest in the things of this world, let's make sure we invest in the One who created it.

My love to you all.

Stay blessed!

K.

Matthew 6:19-24 (NLT)

Teaching about Money and Possessions

¹⁹ “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

²² “Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. ²³ But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!

²⁴ “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Luke 20:20-25 (NLT)

²⁰ Watching for their opportunity, the leaders sent spies pretending to be honest men. They tried to get Jesus to say something that could be reported to the Roman governor so he would arrest Jesus. ²¹ “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you speak and teach what is right and are not influenced by what others think. You teach the way of God truthfully. ²²Now tell us—is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

²³ He saw through their trickery and said, ²⁴ “Show me a Roman coin.^[b] Whose picture and title are stamped on it?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

²⁵ “Well then,” he said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”