"He only is my rock and salvation." Psalm 62:2

"In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God." Psalms 62:7

"The Lord is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation." Psalm 118:14

"As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him." 2 Samuel 22:31

"if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” Romans 10:9-11

God is my salvation. What other way is there to put it? He not only redeems me from eternity in Hell, but also from a life separated from Him. I am saved from ever being alone. I believe what the Word says- that His word is perfect and proven- and since His word is perfect and proven, I believe that He sent his Son to die on a cross for my sins, so that the eternal separation between God and mankind could be breached and overcome.

A verse I love is read in Mark, at Jesus's death. "The veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom. So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, 'Truly this man was the Son of God!" (Mark 15:38-39). The veil it is referring to is the veil in the temple of God that separated the main area from the Holy of Holies, in which only a consecrated priest was allowed to enter, and only on special occasions. Anyone else who entered that sacred space would instantly die, so great is God's holiness and so deep is the unworthiness of man- man's sinful nature is too great to bear the holiness of God. That the veil tore the moment Jesus breathed His last is a beautiful visual that Jesus's death, at that very moment, tore that separation between God and the people He loved- that He had made a way for His people to approach Him and be in arelationship with Him that had never been possible, and still would not be possible without that sacrifice. So great is His love for us that He MADE A WAY for us to draw near to Him, at great cost to Himself! No longer do people have to sacrifice or consecrate their first-born to Him to atone for sins- He has sacrificed for us so that we no longer have to sacrifice anything but our hearts to Him.

Even more lovely is that that relationship is eternal. Once we accept Jesus's death on the cross, the sacrifice that ripped apart that separation between us and God, we eternally have a relationship with Him. While "eternal" is so hard for me to fathom, it is easier to understand- and desire- an eternity WITH Him than without!

Having children of my own, I can only imagine what it must feel like to lose a child- and to know that God made the devastating choice to lose one child to save millions more makes tears come to my eyes. I know that I am not strong enough to make such a sacrifice- my children are my life. How much must He love me to desire a relationship with me for eternity, enough to give up a child because it is the only way! And He loves you that much too. There is nothing you can do to earn that love, no good deeds or kind words or commitment or purposeful life to KEEP that love- only the recognition of His great sacrifice, and the humility that comes from truly repenting of the fact that it needed to be made in the first place. Simply asking for His forgiveness and fully accepting His sacrifice of His son's perfect life for you ensures your salvation- and your eternal relationship with the maker of the universe. Nothing more- that's what He has done for you.
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"For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations." Psalm 100:5

"The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in mercy." Psalm 103:8

"The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression." Numbers 14:18

Merciful is from the Hebrew word "rachuwm" meaning "full of compassion". Merriam-Webster defines compassionate as "sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it."

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the exodus of the Israelites. If I can be honest, the story both makes me smile and makes me feel a little ashamed! Over and over and over the Lord provides for the Israelites- bringing them out of Egypt, guiding them through the wilderness, raining manna from heaven, giving them water- and every time, as soon as their immediate needs are met, they forget all about God and begin worshipping other idols- or start being ungrateful and complaining about something else! It makes me shake my head and think, "Those Israelites were SO ungrateful and so clueless!" Then I remember how often I act the same way. As soon as one trial or "valley experience" is over, I go right back to life as usual, the ME way.

You would think that God, with all of the other things going on in this world, would give up on me and my struggles that I can't seem to overcome. That He would throw His mighty hands up in disgust and say, "If you don't like the way I do things, do it yourself!" That He would roll His all-seeing eyes the next time I petitioned Him. TNot so!

Our God is a merciful and loving God who sees us for what we are- flawed, imperfect sinners who can't manage to get it right- and loves us anyways. He gives us the grace we don't deserve and listens to our petitions and hurts over and over again. Even though so many churches like to share the Angry God sermons more than the Loving God sermons, God is faithful- and merciful- to forgive us our sins as soon as we sincerely repent, and "as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:12)- He remembers them no more! Who else is merciful enough to completely forget that we have done something wrong? Who else is loving enough to allow us to come to them, time and time again, when we have ignored them, hurt them, or been ungrateful? Who else loves us so much that they would give their only Son to reconcile to themselves people who continue to ignore or make light of the amazing sacrifice? Only our God. It gives me a peace in my heart to know that I am so loved by someone- and especially by the Creator of the Universe! "Amazing love, how can it be?"

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"God is a refuge for us." Psalm 62:8

"In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God." Psalm 62:7

"The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you and will say 'Destroy!'" Deuteronomy 33:27

The image of God as a refuge is used over and over again in the Bible. Strong's defines "refuge" as "hope, place of refuge, shelter, trust". Miriam-Webster defines "refuge" as "1 : shelter or protection from danger or distress. 2 : a place that provides shelter or protection." Both of these definitions basically mean that God is a place you can turn with your fears and trials, for protection and comfort. Whether it is everyday stress that builds up, or huge trials that come out of nowhere, our Heavenly Father is a place we can turn to help us carry the burdens that are often thrust upon us.

I am so comforted by this aspect of God's personality. I know that He already KNOWS everything I am feeling, or worried about, or that is hurting me- and God, the creaor of the universe, allows me to lay it at His feet so that He can help me bear it. What a thought! God has a tender place in His heart for women, and He knows all of the stresses we carry in OUR tender hearts- fatigue, money stress, raising our children, our marriages, and all that "mommy guilt" we all carry around- and His promise is that we can bring ALL of this to Him (daily!) to have His help- and joy and peace- in all that we do.

My prayer is that I- and all of my readers- will be able to bring their troubles to Him on a daily basis- to " Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:6-7)- and to make us, daily, ever more beautiful daughters of God. Praise God that we HAVE a refuge in Him!
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"My soul wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God." Psalm 62:5-7

"For the Lord your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you." Deut. 20:4

This week's Faithful Friday post is especially poignant and meaningful for me. The last few days have been really awful, to say the least, and I find myself in a period of upheaval and transition that certainly exceeds what I was expecting.

So often, when I have been hurt by people or situations, I immediately feel the need to defend myself- that is human nature, I suppose. I want everyone to have the facts, to know my heart, and just to understand me. Unfortunately, I find most often in these situations that people  are completely unwilling to be convinced that they are wrong, and that your defense of yourself falls on deaf ears. That is also human nature- no one likes to be told that they are wrong or that their actions were not the best. It is frustrating and hurtful, and I find myself going back and forth between anger and sadness.

Then I remember that, though I feel the need to defend myself, there is Someone who knows me even better than I know myself. God loves me more, understands me more, and wants better for me that I can even comprehend. I need to try to keep my actions blameless and my witness untainted, even if I am struggling or being hurt, because God IS my defense. He knows my heart and my character, and will work things out for me in the best way. If I am in the wrong, He will lovingly show me. If someone else is, He can reveal it to them. Though I don't necessarily want to "let go", I can prayerfully let Him take care of the situation- even if it is just in my own heart. It is hard to not know the end result, but easier when I have a God that I can trust with that end result.

Not only will He defend me, though, but I need to have God as the defense for my own actions instead of myself. Am I doing this because of me or because of God? Am I showing love or retaliation? I do feel like I have grown so much in this area in the last few years, but I always need a motive check. If my actions are blameless before Him, they will only be revealed to be blameless before others.
 
So, if you are reading this... I would love if you would lift me up in prayer for just a moment. I am grateful for you guys!  :) Have a wonderful day!
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"Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, that the Lord Himself is God in heaven above and on earth beneath; there is no other." Deuteronomy 4:39

"The Lord Himself is God; there is none other besides Him." Deuteronomy 4:35

"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me." Deuteronomy 5:6-7

In context, Moses is speaking to the Israelites after their 40-year journey in the wilderness. They are ready to enter the land that God had promised them- but first, Moses takes the time to review their covenant with God and to remind them why obedience is so important. If you have read the OT, you know that the Israelites were very good at forgetting that God is sovereign- at every opportunity they conveniently "forgot" and worshipped other gods or idols, only to return to the God who loved them after trying or terrible circumstances. Sitting on the edge of the promise fulfilled, Moses reminds them of God's goodness, faithfulness, and- most importantly- holiness.

God has pledged Himself to the people who put their trust in Him. This is not to be taken lightly. These verses help me to remember that, even if I am not actively serving another "god", anything I place in my life that takes precedence over my relationship with Him is an idol that I am worshipping- and that is a form of betrayal to the God who loves me. I have to constantly re-evaluate my life to see if I am glorifying God with my speech and actions, and keeping Him as the God in my life above all else. Do I always get it right? Not hardly! But just as God constantly reminded the Israelites, He is faithful to remind us if we are faithful to listen.
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As I was trying to figure out what I can do to incorporate more of my faith into my blogging, this series came to me. In my personal Bible study I am working on "God is..."- every time I see that phrase (or I am, or He is...) I write the verse down. It helps me to recognize the attributes of God- what the Bible says He is, not what man says or believes He is. I think that sometimes we tend to think of God in our own terms, and that is such a flawed and limited way to perceive Him. I feel like it can often hinder our relationship with God when we aren't getting an accurate picture of who He is. I thought that I would share what I am learning with you all in this new series- Faithful Fridays! Please note: I am NOT a Bible scholar. I am NOT looking for debates. I am interested in learning, though, and welcome comments or views. I will delete any comments that are unkind, that attack others, or seem to be picking a fight-  I am not trying to spark a debate. I am merely sharing what is on my heart. :) I hope you enjoy the series!
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