My Cry for Help

25 Saturday May 2024

Posted by davidkitz in Psalm 39, Psalms

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cry for help, discipline, hope in God, praise the LORD, Prayer, Psalms, weeping

I will praise the LORD!

Prairie rose — photo by David Kitz

Reading: Psalm 39:7-13

“But now, Lord, what do I look for?
    My hope is in you.
Save me from all my transgressions;
    do not make me the scorn of fools.
I was silent; I would not open my mouth,
    for you are the one who has done this.
Remove your scourge from me;
    I am overcome by the blow of your hand.
When you rebuke and discipline anyone for their sin,
    you consume their wealth like a moth—
    surely everyone is but a breath.
“Hear my prayer, LORD,
    listen to my cry for help;
    do not be deaf to my weeping.
I dwell with you as a foreigner,
    a stranger, as all my ancestors were.
Look away from me, that I may enjoy life again
    before I depart and am no more.” *

Para la publicación de Salmos 365 de hoy en español haga clic aquí.

* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

Please pray for peace to return to Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.

Shine Like the Dawn

14 Sunday Apr 2024

Posted by davidkitz in Psalm 37

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anger, commitment, hope in God, hope in the Lord, praise the LORD, Prayer, Psalms, the LORD, trust in God, vindication

I will praise the LORD!

Sunrise in Grey Nuns Park — photo by David Kitz

Reading: Psalm 37:5-9

Commit your way to the LORD;
    trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
    your vindication like the noonday sun.
Be still before the LORD
    and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
    when they carry out their wicked schemes.
Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
    do not fret—it leads only to evil.
For those who are evil will be destroyed,
    but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land. *

Para la publicación de Salmos 365 de hoy en español haga clic aquí.

* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

Please pray for peace to return to Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine!

To purchase or for a closer look click here.

Great Strength Cannot Save

03 Sunday Mar 2024

Posted by davidkitz in Psalm 33, Psalms

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army, hope in God, praise the LORD, Prayer, Psalms, rejoice, sheild, strength, the LORD, warrior

I will praise the LORD!

The bridge spanning the Rhine with the Cologne Cathedral in the distance — photo by David Kitz

Reading: Psalm 33:16-22

No king is saved by the size of his army;
    no warrior escapes by his great strength.
A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
    despite all its great strength it cannot save.
But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
    on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
to deliver them from death
    and keep them alive in famine.
We wait in hope for the LORD;
    he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
    for we trust in his holy name.
May your unfailing love be with us, LORD,
    even as we put our hope in you. *

* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

Please pray for peace to return to Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine!

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Lent is here. Easter is approaching.
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Hope is Foundational to Revival

16 Tuesday Jan 2024

Posted by davidkitz in Devotions

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Tags

Almighty, churches, Holy Spirit, hope, hope in God, joy, life, love, peace of God, poem, poetry, revival, Savior, survival, trust in God

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13, NIV). *

I have always been fascinated by stories of extreme survival.

In the early 1900s a cargo freighter carrying coal caught fire while rounding Cape Horn on the southern tip of South America. After battling the onboard fire for many days, the eighteen-member crew was forced to abandon ship in frigid waters. Most were able to make it to shore on an uninhabited, inhospitable rocky island. As the weeks passed, one by one they succumbed to starvation and the frigid conditions. EFFECTS winter

Finally, only three remained, the cook, who was the deceased captain’s wife, and two crew members. After long months they were finally rescued by a passing ship. Why did these three survive? The two men said it was entirely due to the cook. She refused to give up. She always maintained hope—hope that they would be rescued. Hope saved their lives.

We have all seen it. The elderly and the sick wither away and die when hope is abandoned. Churches wither when hope wanes. They die when hope is abandoned. But the opposite is also true. Hope revives the frail, it energizes the weak, and renews our faith in an Almighty Savior.

As we begin this year fill your heart with hope. Let it overflow. Hope by the power of the Holy Spirit turns survival into revival.

* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

Please pray for peace to return to Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine!

To purchase or for a closer look click here.

Relieve the Troubles of My Heart

23 Saturday Dec 2023

Posted by davidkitz in Psalm 25, Psalms

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distress, God's protection, hope in God, shame, troubles

I will praise the LORD!

Reading: Psalm 25:16-22

Turn to me and be gracious to me,
    for I am lonely and afflicted.
Relieve the troubles of my heart
    and free me from my anguish.
Look on my affliction and my distress
    and take away all my sins.
See how numerous are my enemies
    and how fiercely they hate me!
Guard my life and rescue me;
    do not let me be put to shame,
    for I take refuge in you.
May integrity and uprightness protect me,
    because my hope, LORD, is in you.
    Deliver Israel, O God,
from all their troubles! *

* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

Please pray for peace to return to Israel and Ukraine!

To purchase or for a closer look click here.

I Trust in You

10 Sunday Dec 2023

Posted by davidkitz in Psalm 25, Psalms

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guidance for life, hope in God, praise the LORD, sins of my youth, trust in God

I will praise the LORD!

Reading: Psalm 25:1-7

Of David.

In you, LORD my God,
I put my trust.
I trust in you;
do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
No one who hopes in you
will ever be put to shame,
but shame will come on those
who are treacherous without cause.
Show me your ways, LORD,
teach me your paths.
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
Remember, LORD, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.
Do not remember the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you, LORD, are good. *

* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

Please pray for peace to return to Israel and Ukraine!

To purchase or for a closer look click here.

In the Dark Times

06 Friday Oct 2023

Posted by davidkitz in Psalm 88

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dark times, hope, hope in God, Prayer

Today’s quote and prayer from
“Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer”
by David Kitz.

Reading: Psalm 88:9-18

LORD God,
when I am down,
I cry to you for help.
You are my hope when all hope is gone.
Come to me in the dark times of my life.
At such times,
I need you the most.
Amen.

* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

Please pray for peace to return to Ukraine!

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Life Is All about Hope

07 Friday Apr 2023

Posted by davidkitz in Psalm 33, Psalms

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

calamity, David and Goliath, hope, hope in God, survival

Reading: Psalm 33:16-22
No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.
A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.
But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.
We wait in hope for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
May your unfailing love be with us, LORD,
even as we put our hope in you (NIV). *

Bonnechere River — photo by Liz Kranz

Reflection
This final portion of Psalm 33 is all about hope. Life is all about hope. From the first breath we take until our last gasp, life is all about hope. Life has no meaning or purpose if we lose hope.

The essential question we must ask is where do you place your hope? All too often we place our hope in the things of this world, our resources, our ingenuity, and the strength of our flesh. But the psalmist reminds us: No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save.

Repeatedly throughout history the little guy has won. David defeated Goliath. The Viet Cong ousted the US Army. The Afghan rebels outlasted the armies of the USSR and the USA. Victory does not always go to the mighty. So, the lament goes up, “How the mighty have fallen! The weapons of war have perished!” (2 Samuel 1:27).

Where is your hope? Where have you put your trust? The psalmist reminds us to put our hope in the LORD. Leaders come and go; nations rise and fall. Human abilities wane. “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever” (Isaiah 40:8).

Our hope and our trust must be in God and in His unfailing word.

When calamity strikes, those who maintain hope survive; those who give up hope perish. In stories of extreme survival over and over again this truth is borne out. Hope sustains the human heart when food and water run out. When we put our trust in the LORD, we tap into a limitless supply of hope–reserrection hope. Therefore: We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.

Response: This is our prayer. May your unfailing love be with us, LORD, even as we put our hope in you. In the name of Jesus—our source of hope—who defeated death, we pray. Amen.

Your Turn: What are some sources of false hope? Why have you put your hope in God?

Your prayers for the people of Ukraine are making a difference.

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild, and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to daily meet with the Lord. Start your day with a new devotional series. To purchase or for a closer look click here.