The Beginning of Wisdom

34 I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.
3 O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
5 They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
11 Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?
13 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.
14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. Psalm 34:1-7, 11-14 (KJV)

The Morning Exhortation

The cares of this world forge heavy chains and weigh heavily on the soul. Oh, to be free! Unlimited love, peace, and joy are possible when we are free and unchained. If we try to do this with self-effort, we only strengthen that which binds us. Self-effort, self-reliance, self-confidence and all the other hyphenated self-sins are chains that limited us to our own natural strength. God has a plan for our future more glorious than anything we have imagined for ourselves in the past. The more we rely on self to make things happen, the more our trust in God is diminished to the same degree. “Have faith in God” is the truth that sets us free. The measure we rely on God determines the measure we are strengthen by God. Our all is limited, God’s all is infinite. It is either our all or God’s all. Just as it is not possible to go north and south at the same time, we must choose rightly. To give all to get all is to break free from the unbelief that keeps us chained running back and forth. Believe and be free. “In God We Trust” is the right direction, now stay on course. (Isaiah 50:10-11; Jeremiah 45:5; Matthew 16:25; Jeremiah 29:11-13; Luke 17:32; Matthew 6:24; 1 John 2:16; Mark 4:18-19; John 6:27; Proverbs 3:5-8; James 1:5; Luke 9:62; Mark 11:22-24; Psalm 32:9; Proverbs 3:13-18; Hebrews 12:1; Romans 12:2; Philippians 2:13; Isaiah 35:3-5, 41:10; Psalm 46:5; John 8:31-36; Luke 4:18-21; 2 Corinthians 13:14)

Stay On Target

5 Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.
6 The Lord lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.
7 Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:
8 Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.
9 He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.
10 He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.
11 The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.
12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion. Psalm 147:5-12 (KJV)

The Morning Exhortation

Dare to believe you have faith and brace yourself for the blessings that will follow. Faith is a military-like laser pointer able to guide the grace of God on target. Fight the good fight of faith with this God given target designator built on belief in the Word of Truth. Faith lights up “what is now” so that God can get it out of the way, and bring in “what is not.” It is so easy a child can do it. Just keep faith on target and wait for God to do what only God can do. The problem with us grown-ups is that we have to get our adult scientific reasoning out of the way. We have to get our own best laid plans out of the way. We have to stop relying on other things and giving glory to “lumps of figs” rather than to God. Call on the Lord, keep faith locked on target, and grace will follow. It must be so because God has said it is so. Stay on target and wait for the Lord. (Matthew 7:7-8; Mark 9:15-28; Matthew 17:20-21; 2 Kings 20:1-7; Isaiah 10:15; 2 Chronicles 16:12; Galatians 4:9; Isaiah 42:8; Romans 4:16-17; 1 Corinthians 3:7; Psalm 29:1-2; 1 Timothy 6:12; Hebrews 10:36; Galatians 6:9; 2 Timothy 4:7-8; Hebrews 13:5; Psalm 27:14; Revelation 22:21)

The Lord Shall Keep You

121 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore. Psalm 121 (KJV)

The Morning Exhortation

The desire for fitness leads to seeking the light of better nutrition and exercise. The desire for abundant life leads to seeking the light held out in the Word of God. Where the Lord reigns in the heart, there is light. When we come to it, we desire even more of God. Darkness is easily seen as a hell on earth swallowing up all who refuse to believe the Word of God. Do you believe the Gospels? Believing first creates the desire for God in our heart, and then overflows as the desire of God though us toward the world. Take no backward step. God desires to bless you.(John 1:1-4; John 3:16-20; John 10:7-11; Matthew 7:21-23; Matthew 19:25; Matthew 16:24-25; Mark 12:30-34; 1 John 2:7-11; Matthew 7:24-29; Luke 6:46; Matthew 6:19-23; Matthew 7:13-14; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; Romans 5:5; Philippians 3:16; Proverbs 16:3; Psalm 40:8; Jeremiah 29:11-13; 2 Corinthians 13:14)

Be Confident of the Goodness of the Lord

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
3 Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.
4 One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.
5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
6 And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord.
7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
8 When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.
13 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
14 Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord. Psalm 27:1-8, 13-14 (KJV)

The Morning Exhortation

What do you need from God? The prayer of faith is the act that brings the fact. We are given a “lively hope” in the Gospels, and faith is the evidence of it. Just as the wind cannot be seen directly, but we can see the evidence of it as it moves the leaves as it pass through the trees. Now faith is a substance like the wind. By faith we see that all the material world was created by the Word of God. The very same Word of God that has said “all things are possible to the one who believes.” The world desperately needs us to live by faith. Give unto God the glory due His name and stop depending on other things. (James 5:13-18; Luke 4:1-4; Romans 1:17; John 3:8; Hebrews 11:1-12; Luke 8:22-25; Isaiah 40:25-31; Hebrews 10:36; Mark 9:23; Mark 11:22-24; 1 Peter 1:3-5; Romans 8:18-19; Jude 1:5-25)

God Is Our Fortress

1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.
4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. Psalm 46:1-5 (KJV)

The Morning Exhortation

We are only as strong as our faith. Faith is the inward working of divine power activated by the Word of God. Fully intend to be conformed to the Word, as you read through it, pray on it, work it in and work it out, and then pass it on as the new life becomes greater than the old. Ask for the needed grace of God for the mixing of faith with the knowledge of the Word. Everything not of faith is sin, and all the world is perishing because of sin. Faith is the victory that overcomes the world. Faith is not something we have from ourselves, it is a gift from God. God has a measure beyond measure that only faith can obtain. Let us arise! Washed by the Word and covered by the grace of God with the armor of the Spirit from the inside-out. Born to be more than conquers. (Ephesians 5:25-33; Hebrews 4:1-7; Philippians 2:12; Romans 13:11-14; Colossians 3:1-17; James 1:2-8; Romans 4:16-24; Hebrews 11:11; 1 John 5:4; 2 Peter 1:2-11; Colossians 3:3; 1 Corinthians 10:31; John 6:35; 1 Corinthians 11:23-30; Romans 14:23; Ephesians 6:10-18; Luke 24:45-49; Romans 8:15-37; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; Ephesians 6:23-24)

My Joy is in God

5 My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.
7 In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.
8 Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah. Psalm 62:5-8 (KJV)

The Morning Exhortation

To be in the world, but not of the world, is to be spiritually minded. Having the thoughts conformed to the mind of Christ, and the affections set on the things above, is to walk in the Spirit. Not by fits and spurts, but all the time. The longer we go throughout the day without thinking about God, the weaker our spiritual battery becomes. Look for moments throughout the day to plug into the Word to snatch a little recharge from the Spirit. There are certainly times when business requires our total focus, but when business is done let the mind return to the Lord. Some thoughts are like evil birds of prey. We may not be able to stop the birds from flying over our head, but we can certainly deny them a place to land and chase them away. The ability to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ is a hallmark of the spiritually mature worthy of all aspiration. (1 John 4:19; Zephaniah 3:17; Colossians 3:2; Romans 12:2-3; 1 Timothy 4:16; Ephesians 4:27-30; 1 Peter 5:8; Ephesians 6:11-18; 1 Corinthians 2:12-16; John 17:14-19; 1 Timothy 6:3-5; Romans 8:5-6; 2 Corinthians 10:3-6; John 7:24; James 4:3; Galatians 5:16-26; Mark 11:22-26; 1 Peter 3:7; Ephesians 5:15-20; Philippians 4:8-9, 23)

Spiritual Food

1 I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O Lord, will I sing.
2 I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.
3 I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.
4 A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person.
5 Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer.
6 Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me.
7 He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.
8 I will early destroy all the wicked of the land; that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the Lord. Psalm 101 (KJV)

The Morning Exhortation

Meet the conditions, reap the promises. A baby cannot grow without love and milk. God has proved His love for us by sending Jesus to pay for our sins, and He has given us His word so that we can grow up in our salvation. Love must be two ways. The Cross is evidence of God’s love toward us, and our love toward God is manifested in our desire for godliness. As milk is food for the baby, so the Word is food for the spirit. The divine plan is to cause each of us all to grow up into the fullness of Christ, the place of the unswerving faith of Jesus. I am convinced that there is a way of life where all things are possible, and it can only be reached by those who dare to believe. (Galatians 6:7; Hosea 10:12; 1 John 3:7-12; 1 Timothy 6:3-12; Hebrews 12:1-3; Mark 9:23-241 Peter 2:2-3; John 6:27-35; Isaiah 55:11; Hebrews 4:12; Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 21:25, 13:58; Romans 10:17; Mark 11:22-24: John 11:40; Matthew 13:18-23; John 3:1-9; Mark 9:23; Galatians 2:20; Mark 4:26-29; James 5:7; John 15:1; Ephesians 3:14-21)

Bring Me to Your Holy Mountain

3 O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.
4 Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God.
5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God. Psalm 43:3-5 (KJV)

The Morning Exhortation

Pursue the best things and resist the temptation to chase after vanities. If we pursue the best things, what we are now doesn’t matter as much as what we will become. If we fall into the habit of spending hours scrolling down the social media rabbit hole, we lose the opportunity to pursue what is better. Or maybe like me, its sitting in front of an Ultra-HD big screen watching and eating that is your greatest vain indulgence. The definition of worldliness in our day and age is that which distracts the head, heart, and hands from pursuing God’s best. Ruthlessly eliminate vanities! Vain time wasters only slow the becoming of who we are meant to be. Ask yourself what is best in this moment, and then choose to do it. (Ecclesiastes 1:1-2; Mark 8:36; Ecclesiastes 7:2-4; 1 Corinthians 9:24-27; 1 John 2:15-17; Colossians 3:2; James 1:22-25; Proverbs 16:3; Galatians 6:7; Psalm 1; Ecclesiastes 12:14; Proverbs 23:31-35; 1 Corinthians 12:31, 13:9-13; 1 Peter 4:1-7; Psalm 138:8; Philippians 2:13; 1 Peter 5:6-11)

The Lord Reigns Forever

146 Praise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul.
2 While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.
3 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God:
6 Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:
7 Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth the prisoners:
8 The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: the Lord loveth the righteous:
9 The Lord preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.
10 The Lord shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the Lord. Psalm 146 (KJV)

The Morning Exhortation

There is no limitation in God. Faith must be based on this knowledge, and this knowledge comes only by the Word of God. The Word is God, and faith in God is the substance, the solid spiritual rock that belief must built upon. Everything else is shifting sand. Prayer must leave the earthly confines of self and penetrate the heavens to receive this grace. Lord, help us! (Genesis 1:1-4; John 1:1-5; Romans 8:6-8; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; James 1:21; 1 Peter 2:2; Romans 10:17, 1:17; Proverbs 20:27; Psalm 18:28-30; Romans 5:2-5; Matthew 16:24-6, 11:28-30; John 14:15-23; Matthew 7:24-27; 1 Corinthians 10:1-7; Philippians 3:8-11; Hebrews 11:1-6, 4:16, 10:23; 1 Chronicles 29:11-13; Mark 9:24; Ephesians 3:14-21)

Bless His Holy Name

103 Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
19 The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.
20 Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
21 Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
22 Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the Lord, O my soul. Psalm 103:1-5, 19-23 (KJV)

The Morning Exhortation

The weak amen ends a prayer with a small “let it be so” petition. Make your Amen strong. A mighty mountain moving Amen is the exclamation point punctuating the prayer of faith. Practice the thought “it is so because God has spoken” until the corresponding feelings arises. When the prayer is according to the Word of God, this assurance will come. A strong Amen is firm: It is so because God has spoken. First be convinced: All things are possible to the one who believes, because all things are possible for God. I can do all things through Christ, because Christ can do all things through me. Let your Amen grow stronger and stronger. (Acts 26:8; Luke 1:37-38; Psalm 62:5; Numbers 6:24-26; John 11:41; 1 John 5:14-15; John 15:7-11; Luke 17:5-10; John 6:28-29; Psalm 40:8; Mark 11:22-26; 2 Peter 1:19; Hebrews 6:19; Psalm 37:6; Revelation 22:5, 16-21)