My Heart Is Steadfast, O God, My Heart Is Steadfast

       “My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing, I will sing praises, even with my soul. Awake, harp and lyre; I will awaken the dawn! I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the peoples, and I will sing praises to You among the nations. For your loving-kindness is great above the heavens, and your truth reaches to the skies. Be exalted O God, above the heavens, and Your glory above all the earth. That your beloved may be delivered, save with Your right hand, and answer me!” Psalm 108:1-6

          I read this today in my morning devotions. I could barely get past the first verse, I was so excited and drawn in by its contents. Because there is so much treasure in these verses we are going to take them one at a time.

            First verse: “My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing, I will sing praises, even with my soul.” What does steadfast mean? It literally means fixed.

            Commentary on H3559 not from the Strong’s   

1) to be firm, be stable, be established

1a) (Niphal)

1a1) to be set up, be established, be fixed

1a1a) to be firmly established

1a1b) to be established, be stable, be secure, be enduring

1a1c) to be fixed, be securely determined

1a2) to be directed aright, be fixed aright, be steadfast

1a3) to prepare, be ready

1a4) to be prepared, be arranged, be settled

Literally from the Strong’s…

H3559

ëÌåÌï

kûn

koon

A primitive root; properly to be erect (that is, stand perpendicular);. hence (causatively) to set up, in a great variety of applications, whether literal (establish, fix, prepare, apply), or figurative (appoint, render sure, proper or prosperous): - certain (-ty), confirm, direct, faithfulness, fashion, fasten, firm, be fitted, be fixed, frame, be meet, ordain, order, perfect, (make) preparation, prepare (self), provide, make provision, (be, make) ready, right, set (aright, fast, forth), be stable, (e-) stablish, stand, tarry, X very deed.

*(Both of these definition explanations came from e-sword)

This word is used for a number of things in the Psalms but in the context of this verse I believe the definitions I have underlined or made bold would be appropriate. Therefore, it would read,

“My heart is steadfast (is fixed, is set, is firm, is securely determined), O God; I will sing, I will sing praises, even with my soul.”

David was not living in the land of luxury when he penned this. It was not as if he was living the easy life. Everything was NOT going according to his plans and his circumstances surely could have stolen his joy in the LORD. Yet, he says, “My heart is fixed/steadfast”. What is his heart fixed upon? Singing praises to the LORD Most High. Not with his lips alone, but with HIS VERY SOUL! God does not delight in a worshipper who just goes along with the motions. God wants a worshipper who breaks the floodgates and just lets the worship and praise pour out of his or her very soul! He wants a worshipper to be real, not artificial or plastic masked. We can worship out of our pain and agony and out of our joy and relief. We need to be real worshippers. We do this by worshipping with our souls. It is a powerful thing to sing in worship with your soul. Yet, it should not be an occasional occurrence. David says his heart is fixed. This is not just a one-time deal. This is his life!!! He has determined in his own mind that he will worship and he will not hold back from God. He has resolved that no matter what happens in his life, nothing will keep him from worshiping His Maker.

Verse Two: “Awake, harp and lyre; I will awaken the dawn!”

Awake- It literally means to wake up, to rouse, the opening of the eyes.

The King James version of this verse says, “Awake psaltery and harp; I myself will awake early.”

The meaning I get from this verse is that not only will he praise the LORD at all times, he will even awaken early, with the dawn, and begin to praise Him. Nothing can keep him from praising. Let the whole earth know it! He is so excited about what God is going to do for Him that he will literally awaken the dawn with his singing and music. I wish I woke up with that kind attitude. Not only did he rise early, but he rose with a song in his heart and praise on his lips. How is this possible? His heart was fixed Ladies, his heart was fixed!

Verse Three: “I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the peoples, and I will sing praises to You among the nations.”  

Again he wants the whole world to know and understand that our God is just and faithful and worthy of unceasing praise! Let the whole world catch this passion.

Verse Four: “For Your loving-kindness is great above the heavens, and Your glory above all the earth.”

Why can we praise so energetically? Because we serve a great God! How great is our God that He would send His only Son to die for our sins? How great is our God that He would call us beautiful, even when we are broken and shattered? How great is our God that He offers us redemption in the blood of the Lamb, instead of this broken sinful world? How great is our God that He sees all and knows all and is intimate with every heart, yet be closer to us than even our very souls? How great, how great is our God?

Verse Five: “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and Your glory be above all the earth.”

Is this not the cry of every true worshipper’s heart?

O God, we ask that You alone would be exalted in our lives. You alone would be our God. You alone would be our Strength, and our Guide. May we bow before you in humble servitude and may we glorify You, and You alone, in all we do. May each word that we speak, bring praise to You. May each thought that we think be unto You. May our hearts be pure before You and may You alone inhabit the throne of our lives. Be exalted above the entire earth, O LORD. Let Your glory rise! Let every person on this earth know Your presence. May they all acknowledge that You alone are God, the Maker and Creator of this earth and of their very souls. May we, in turn, worship you with a passion and a fervency with the souls and hearts that You have given. Let words of praise be upon our lips at all times. We look to You alone, O God! Show Your power! Break forth on your enemies, O God! Be exalted……….be exalted, in us and in the world, LORD. Be exalted in us!

Verse Six: “That Your beloved may be delivered, save with Your right hand, and answer me!”

Here, we see David being real, being human. We can do the same! The most powerful worship come out of a heart that is open and holds nothing back. This is my prayer from the depths of my heart:

Father we are crying out to You. In worship God, with our very souls.  O Father, we all have something from which we need to be delivered, whether physical or Spiritual. LORD we know that You alone have the power to break these chains and loose these bonds. We look to You LORD for we know that You are mighty and we know that You are powerful. We know that You are faithful. Father, we cry out to You now and we ask for an answer. Not our answer, but an answer from You. We wait expectantly for the work that You are going to do in our lives. We thank You for the work You are already doing. LORD, we know that if we never receive an answer from You it is not because You do not hear us; but because it is necessary for us to walk by faith and not sight. Help us to wait on You LORD and help us to give everything, entirely, into Your hands. We know LORD that whatever You choose to do is the best thing. We worship You, O God, in this time of waiting and we know that as we worship You we will come closer to Your heart. Help us to be real before You, O God. Draw us into intimate worship with You. Help the lessons we’ve learned in these verse to stay before us always. Help us to fix our hearts and minds on worshipping You despite circumstance. Draw us into You, O God. Let our hearts be steadfast, our hearts will be steadfast! Praise You LORD!

WOW! Did anyone else feel the Spirit there? I was totally convicted while writing this. What you have just read was an outpouring of vision from the Father to me, for my life. May you also catch the vision and may we become a generation who will never cease to praise the LORD. Early in the morning, late at night, all throughout the day, may we be found with praise on our lips and worship flowing freely from our souls to His Throne.

Have a blessed day in Him!

Because of His Grace,

Maiden Princess

“My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing, I will sing praises, even with my soul. Awake, harp and lyre; I will awaken the dawn! I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the peoples, and I will sing praises to You among the nations. For your loving-kindness is great above the heavens, and your truth reaches to the skies. Be exalted O God, above the heavens, and Your glory above all the earth. That your beloved may be delivered, save with Your right hand, and answer me!” Psalm 108:1-6

Today what am I thanful for? Today, I am thankful for cousins and smiles and giggles and laughter. I am thakfulf for children's innocence and their ability to love despite circumstances. I am thankful for cameras and photographs, the grocery stores instead of growing all of our food. I am thankful for washing machines and leftovers for dinner. I am thankful for cousins who love me and the mindset that they are blessings. I am thankful for snowflakes and rain. I am thankful for sunshine and clouds. I am thankful for the good and bad, because through it all it brings me closer to my Savior. I am thankful for life and the fulness of it because of Yeshua Messiah's (Jesus Christ's) sacrifice for me. For these things and more, I am thankful!

This week's Scripture verse- "O LORD, (YHVH) you are my God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things; your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth." Isaiah 25:1

Looking For His Blessings,

Maiden Princess

P.S. Going off to read a bedtime story to my cousin! It will be so much fun (and so much work!) being a Mom and I'm gonna love it!
 

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Yeshua (Jesus) the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2

No explanation or expounding needed. This verse speaks for itself! Let us encourage each other in this race we run! 

Actually, as a side note, I was thinking about the fact that is said “run” in this verse. It occurred to me that so many times I think of myself as walking this path, not running this race. Running is more active, we are running towards Him. He is the prize set before us, and yet we walk towards it? Somehow that seems to speak of a luke-warm attitude to me. I want to run this race, not walk. I want to run and not grow tried, I want to run with endurance and encourage other people to run their race. I want to run into His open arms. If He is the prize, why aren’t we running? So, just some thoughts I’ve been mulling over.

Running Towards Him,

Maiden Princess

Thanksgiving Thursdays

I am starting a new weekly tradition.  Yesterday, I realized how close Thanksgiving was to being upon us. Three weeks from today to be exact. So, to keep me in the right frame of mind all year through I will post one thing I'm thankful for each Thursday and a Scripture on thanksgiving or rejoicing.

I would love it if you would like to join me by either commenting and telling one thing you are thankful for that day or starting Thanksgiving Thrusdays on your own blog. Either way we want to cultivate a thankful heart all year round. May we make it a lifestyle and not just a holiday!

Without further ado: Today I am thankful for: The harvest of fall, God's provioions for us in and through all things!

"I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanskgiving." Psalm 69:30

So what are you thankful for today?  Let me know!

Because of Grace,
Maiden Princess

“I” Syndrome!

        Somehow I think a vaccine might be able to fix this little problem, only, the problem with the vaccine is that no one wants anything to do with it. I know I have been infected by this syndrome and still can be if not careful.  It’s easily picked up and spread. It’s dangerous!  Funny how we already have the antidote but people do not want to be cured!  This is serious, possibly even fatal, yet we do nothing about it.

            Symptoms of “I” syndrome: Thinking about yourself all the time

                                                        Having a higher opinion of yourself than you ought

                                                        Wanting everyone to do for you all the time

                                                        Consumed with your life and your busy schedule

            Antidote: “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus), who although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Philippians 2:3-8

Strange, that we as Believers, who are free from the bonds of sin, should be bound by such a syndrome. We, who are “new creations” are struggling with pride and selfishness. Isn’t the whole idea of becoming a child of the LORD to be a servant?  “I have been crucified with Messiah (Christ); and it is no longer I who live, but Messiah (Christ) lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” Galatians 2:20 It’s no longer about “I” or “Me”, it’s about Him.  The life, which I now live (although in the flesh, which means I will struggle) I live unto Him.  Never, EVER, should it be about me. It should ALWAYS be about Him!  Can people see Him through you and me?  Or is “I” too much in the way to let Him shine? Just something to think about since the “I” Syndrome seems to be ever more prevalent among many and even, yes, I hate to say it, Believers.  I am not saying that I am perfect in this area. In fact, I have been really struggling in it the past few days, but because I am His child I cannot allow this Disease to continue in my life, destroying my testimony for Him.  I will not allow myself to get in the way of His Light.  He wants to shine through each and every one of us, the question is, will we let Him, or will we be too busy trying to make ourselves shine in the spotlight of life?  When you shine for Him, you do it in all stations of life and in all seasons.  You don’t need to be superficial, pretty, or perfect; just being a servant is all this required.

Follow His example, it’s simple and without flaw, yet it will be one of the hardest things you’ll ever do. Why? The LORD calls us to greatness, yet becoming like Him is hard.  It is the hard things in life, the challenges, the growth in the midst of the pain, and the satisfaction of overcoming that make life meaningful.  In these challenges we dig deeper, grow stronger (because of His strength), and run harder than ever before. 

“And He was saying to them, ‘Whoever wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” Luke 9:23

All For His Glory,

Maiden Princess

Just Some Thoughts

            “The LORD sat as King at the flood; yes the LORD sits as King forever. The LORD will give strength to His people; the LORD will bless His people with peace.” Psalm 29:10-11

            I was reading my Bible looking for a Scripture verse to text to my friends and although I didn’t send this one, I thought it was very interesting. Just think, the LORD was the King when the flood came and went, He was the King when Abraham laid Isaac on the altar, He was the King when Mary became pregnant and bore the child of the Holy Spirit, He was, and is, and always will be the King of this earth.  What a lovely thought!  He is never off His Throne.  He is the perfect King and He rules this earth and if I let Him, He’ll rule my life!  Just think, one day, He will bring perfect peace to the whole world.  No more striving, strife, or killing.  Peace, we shall all worship Him in harmony and peace!  Thank you LORD!  And until that day He will strengthen our hearts as we live in this flawed and sinful world with the perfect King!

Pressing On Towards The Goal,

Maiden Princess

Make The Days Count

        “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12

            The past few weeks have been so busy and so crazy that I haven’t had time to post a lot lately. It’s been one of those weeks where at the end of every day you ask yourself, “Where did the day go?”.

Indeed, a good question, where did those days go?  Were they filled with my agenda, my schedule, my busy lifestyle? Or instead were they filled with what the LORD had planned for me each day? When the day is done, it doesn’t matter how much you got done, but it matters what eternal significance that day had.  

Now, you can be busy with many things and yet still let them have eternal significance.  Did you know that? It is a strange concept but a lovely one. We can still do the things we “have” to do on our schedule and yet make sure God gets the glory. While we are washing the dishes we pray for the people on our prayer list, while we are canning tomato juice we are thankful for the opportunity no matter how many challenges arise, when we are talking to a down friend we encourage them in God’s Word, when we are changing a baby’s diaper we praise God for the life He gives. Everything we typically do in a normal day can have eternal significance.

Yet, I still caution you to make sure that before you start your list of to-dos for today and everyday this week, you check with the Master planner first. We all want to be in His will and we don’t want to get too busy to help out a friend in need or just make priceless memories with our kids, or enjoy the day we have.

WE ONLY HAVE TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Would you want your last day on earth to be filled to maximum capacity, leaving no time for anything special? Would you want to end your last day on earth in a frazzle?  Would you want to end your last day on earth knowing that you accomplished God’s plan for you that day, whether it was crazy or not, or would you rather go to bed thinking up your list of to-dos for tomorrow? Don’t get so busy that you miss today!  We must make our days count for eternal significance. We must learn to use everyday ordinary events and make them extraordinary for God! There is no where that we cannot spread the love and message of Christ, occasionally it may even be outside of your home!

Smile, two people love you! The LORD and me! Enjoy your day and make it count!

Loving Him,

Maiden Princess

Included here is the quote of the week: "Life is the art of drawing without an eraser." John Christian

A Spirit Filled Life, Do You Have One?

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.  Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.” Galatians 5:22-26

            I never really looked at this verse in context before. I was really surprised at the verse after the normal “fruit of the Spirit verse” which says, “Now those who belong to Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Galatians 5:24) It is only by crucifying the desires of my flesh that I can produce the fruit of the Spirit.  If we live and walk in the Spirit we CANNOT walk in our flesh!  How often do I find myself, a self-proclaimed new-creation, walking in my flesh, and my sinful nature?  Too often.  My friends, this out not to be!  If we belong to the LORD we have put to death the lust of our flesh, no longer can we walk in our desires, our wants, our dreams.  Everything must be surrendered at the feet of an all-powerful Master! WE MUST DIE!  Painful I know, but it says in Luke 9:23, “And He was saying to them, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.’”  HE MUST take up his cross DAILY!  It is no longer an option, when you become a child of the LORD you sign away all rights to “yourself” and all rights become His.  It is for Him alone we live, it is for Him alone we breathe, we exist to bring Him glory!  When we die to ourselves, only then can we, by God’s grace, begin to produce the fruits of the Spirit.  When we live Spirit-filled lives, it shows, the fruit will be there. So there you go, there are my thoughts, what are yours?

“For you were called to freedom brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. “ Galatians 5:13

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16

(Are we then walking in the Spirit if we are obeying our wants, and demanding “our” rights? Just think about it.)

Being Renewed Daily,

Maiden Princess

Five Weeks of James

Hello, I’m so sorry for my absence here on my blog as of late.  My family has been very busy harvesting from our garden and just generally keeping up with life and being a family.  My Mom and I have already canned 55 quarts of green beans this year and with the 25 left over from last year we have reached our desired quota.  The cucumbers are giving us sufficient fresh crunch, while the Zucchini is almost big enough to use. The peas have been picked and frozen and the lettuce has been producing for some time now, making fresh salads a delight.  We have been seeing my brother every Sunday, as he comes home to have his schoolwork graded, and our family times have been going well. We all still miss him of course, but he does not seem willing or ready to leave his self-indulgent style of living yet.  May the LORD not tarry in bringing him to his knees before Him. Of course, my summer has also been filled with all the usual friend outings and Bible studies.  We have actually hosted some of our Home Fellowship’s gatherings at our house.  With the normal cleaning and grocery shopping and visiting Great-Grandma, our weeks fill up rather quickly.  So I have not had time to sit down and write my usual long posts.  To remedy this I have decided to do a five week study on the book of James.  I did one for Purim on Esther and it seemed to go over well and I am going to do James, just because I like that book and there are many beneficial qualities to learn from him.  So, if you want you can join me in my 5 week reading of James, a chapter a week, and blog about your findings on your blog as well or you can just read what I find in the chapters here.  Either way I know we will all be enriched by what the Holy Word has to say to us to encourage us in following and desiring the LORD with our whole hearts.  I will be posting my findings on each chapter of James I read each Thursday, unless something comes up. Please join me on what I know to be a great time of learning and growth!

Desiring The Mind of Christ,

Maiden Princess

Touchdown!!!

By Maiden Princess

“When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more, but he righteous has an everlasting foundation.” Proverbs 9:25

            Have you ever seen the video or pictures of a whirlwind? When it touches land it nearly destroys everything in its path.  It is a miracle for something to survive.  Maybe you’ve had some days, months, or years like that lately.  It feels like no matter what you do it only gets worse.  Even though God may take off your house there will always be a foundation.  A foundation is a building point, a clean slate, a new place to begin.  In the foundation is the strength of the building.  If you feel like God has torn off your whole building remember your value and your worth, the definition of who you are as a person, and how life should be in general, come from God....if He is your foundation then maybe it shouldn’t matter quite so much that there is only that left.  Take this time to grow closer on the foundation of God...not pull away from Him.  Take heart, although it seems like this whirlwind shall never pass, as long as God is your foundation you can withstand any storm.

“Everyone therefore that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise man, who built his house upon the rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon the rock.” Matthew 7:24-25