"How awesome is the Lord most High, the great King over all the earth!" --Psalm 47:2 NIV
"The Lord Most High is awesome beyond words, but this didn't keep Bible writers from trying to describe Him."1
It is interesting that as I try to write about God, I do just that, try. I find that the words I use are the same. The words are trying to describe an awesome, awe inspiring, terrific, tremendous God. Yet, even those words seem small compared to who God truly is.
Even the choicest vocabulary words with all of there deep meanings do not compare to who God is.
1-Life Application Bible. (1984). Study Notes. (1991) Tyndale House Publishers Inc. Wheaton, Ill.
© 2012MLMichaels
Showing posts with label Psalm. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Psalm. Show all posts
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
You Will Answer Me
" In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me." -- Psalm 86:7
Walking through my neighborhood, I looked to the sky and saw ominous clouds ahead of me. To the right were dark clouds and to the left were dark clouds. Every where I looked were dark clouds except when I looked up. Above me, when I looked straight up was a beautiful blue sky and sunshine. There were troubling skies all around me, but when I looked up the sky was in perfect peace.
Sometimes when trouble seems to be all about us and there seems to be no light ahead there may be nothing else that we can do but look up.
God will answer our prayers, according to His timing and according to His will. It may not be today or tomorrow, but He will answer us.
© 2012 ML Michaels
Walking through my neighborhood, I looked to the sky and saw ominous clouds ahead of me. To the right were dark clouds and to the left were dark clouds. Every where I looked were dark clouds except when I looked up. Above me, when I looked straight up was a beautiful blue sky and sunshine. There were troubling skies all around me, but when I looked up the sky was in perfect peace.
Sometimes when trouble seems to be all about us and there seems to be no light ahead there may be nothing else that we can do but look up.
God will answer our prayers, according to His timing and according to His will. It may not be today or tomorrow, but He will answer us.
© 2012 ML Michaels
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Show Me Your Ways
"Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths." --Psalm 25:5
Asking God to show His ways is the beginning of learning how to be a great writer. I have been guilty of paying more attention to the world and forgetting to keep my eyes on the Lord.
There isn't a movie or book that I have seen recently that couldn't have been written by a Christian writer. The story lines are very worldly in scope, yet what makes them worldly is there is a worldly moral lesson. Every movie has a moral ending, it just depends if the moral is Christian or secular.
Writing doesn't have to be all about a pure Utopian world. We don't live in that kind of world. Christians encounter horrible circumstances, and as writers we can create circumstances for our characters to live through. It is how the character(s) learn who they are from a Christian point of view that makes the Christian book pointedly Christian.
©2010 MLMichaels/2012 MLMichaels
Asking God to show His ways is the beginning of learning how to be a great writer. I have been guilty of paying more attention to the world and forgetting to keep my eyes on the Lord.
There isn't a movie or book that I have seen recently that couldn't have been written by a Christian writer. The story lines are very worldly in scope, yet what makes them worldly is there is a worldly moral lesson. Every movie has a moral ending, it just depends if the moral is Christian or secular.
Writing doesn't have to be all about a pure Utopian world. We don't live in that kind of world. Christians encounter horrible circumstances, and as writers we can create circumstances for our characters to live through. It is how the character(s) learn who they are from a Christian point of view that makes the Christian book pointedly Christian.
©2010 MLMichaels/2012 MLMichaels
Friday, January 13, 2012
Limitless Praise
I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell you all your wonder. Psalm 9:1 NIV
Eventually a heart full of praise must burst with celebration.
A praising heart is a grateful hear, thankful for its salvation.
Ever knowing emblems of crying up to the sky,
Seeking only what in faith has given us eternal life.
Gently we go turning, but facing we must again;
To the God and Savior waiting to engross and begin.
Day by every passing day, the images reoccurring;
To once anew we find the quill in our hand enduring.
Oh Praise, Of Praise, Of Praise we sing;
from life's dexterity.
Till we return slumbering this eve;
dreaming in writer's glee.
©2010 MLMichaels/2012 ML Michaels
Eventually a heart full of praise must burst with celebration.
A praising heart is a grateful hear, thankful for its salvation.
Ever knowing emblems of crying up to the sky,
Seeking only what in faith has given us eternal life.
Gently we go turning, but facing we must again;
To the God and Savior waiting to engross and begin.
Day by every passing day, the images reoccurring;
To once anew we find the quill in our hand enduring.
Oh Praise, Of Praise, Of Praise we sing;
from life's dexterity.
Till we return slumbering this eve;
dreaming in writer's glee.
©2010 MLMichaels/2012 ML Michaels
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Write to Exalt Christ
"Write to exalt Christ. That I may publish with the voice of Thanksgiving and tell of They wondrous works." Psalm 26:7
What are your goals for this year? Have you spent time in prayer uncovering the desires of God's heart for your writing this year?
I encourage you this year, either to begin the journey or to continue walking on the writing path.
A friend of mine who has spent several years plugging along in the writing industry told me that they have found that there is no secret to writing and publishing. Writing takes time and good writing, well, takes even more time. But I don't want to sound under-whelming here.
Finishing your novel may have been your goal for last year. You may have found yourself saddened because you didn't reach your goal. Or that you never began at all.
Let this new year allow you to put a fresh perspective on your writing by just beginning, again.
©2011 MLMichaels/2012 MLMichaels
What are your goals for this year? Have you spent time in prayer uncovering the desires of God's heart for your writing this year?
I encourage you this year, either to begin the journey or to continue walking on the writing path.
A friend of mine who has spent several years plugging along in the writing industry told me that they have found that there is no secret to writing and publishing. Writing takes time and good writing, well, takes even more time. But I don't want to sound under-whelming here.
Finishing your novel may have been your goal for last year. You may have found yourself saddened because you didn't reach your goal. Or that you never began at all.
Let this new year allow you to put a fresh perspective on your writing by just beginning, again.
©2011 MLMichaels/2012 MLMichaels
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
The Word of the Lord is Flawless
"As for God, His way is perfect; the Word of the Lord is flawless."-- Psalm 18:30
Writing is a daunting task. There are many words to consider when creating a story, poem, or song. Each word is a creative measure of who you are as a writer. The words you use reflect inner peace, outer anxiety, or a dimension of both. You own individuality makes the words you use and the stories you create a part of the Christian life story that continues on day by day.
When we look to write for the Lord, let everything that you write be to the best of your ability, even flawless. Not that you or your writing should be perfect, but that you writing is a reflection of the One who is flawless working in you.
©2011 MLMichaels/2012 MLMichaels
Writing is a daunting task. There are many words to consider when creating a story, poem, or song. Each word is a creative measure of who you are as a writer. The words you use reflect inner peace, outer anxiety, or a dimension of both. You own individuality makes the words you use and the stories you create a part of the Christian life story that continues on day by day.
When we look to write for the Lord, let everything that you write be to the best of your ability, even flawless. Not that you or your writing should be perfect, but that you writing is a reflection of the One who is flawless working in you.
©2011 MLMichaels/2012 MLMichaels
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Dwell in the House of the Lord
"One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life." -- Psalm 27:4 NIV
How simple is this request from David? I want to dwell in your house Lord. I want to be with you. This seemingly simple request is tremendous. I want you Jesus. I want you!
Crying out to the Lord with a desire that will certainly be given to him because it is what Jesus put in David's heart.
Writing Prompt:
What desires have been put on your heart by God? Write those desires down during your devotion time. Create a poem, song, or devotion around those desires. Lift up the name of the Lord because of the things He has put on your heart.
©2011 MLMichaels/ 2012 MLMichaels
How simple is this request from David? I want to dwell in your house Lord. I want to be with you. This seemingly simple request is tremendous. I want you Jesus. I want you!
Crying out to the Lord with a desire that will certainly be given to him because it is what Jesus put in David's heart.
Writing Prompt:
What desires have been put on your heart by God? Write those desires down during your devotion time. Create a poem, song, or devotion around those desires. Lift up the name of the Lord because of the things He has put on your heart.
©2011 MLMichaels/ 2012 MLMichaels
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Finding Rest in God
Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him. -Psalm 62:5
One of my favorite things to do is rest on the weekend. After a long week of going and coming, trying and doing, I just want to put my feet up. But what happens when we can't enjoy our time because our mind is still racing and our soul is still pacing through thoughts and to do lists. What do we do when we haven't slowed down in years and life is so overwhelming because of the enormous weight of everything that bogs us down?
The Lord gives us instructions for this... to find rest in God alone. Surrendering our hectic life for peace and rest may mean we have to cut away some useless things from our lives.
Allow the Lord this day to speak to your heart to provide rest for your soul.
© 2012 MLMichaels
One of my favorite things to do is rest on the weekend. After a long week of going and coming, trying and doing, I just want to put my feet up. But what happens when we can't enjoy our time because our mind is still racing and our soul is still pacing through thoughts and to do lists. What do we do when we haven't slowed down in years and life is so overwhelming because of the enormous weight of everything that bogs us down?
The Lord gives us instructions for this... to find rest in God alone. Surrendering our hectic life for peace and rest may mean we have to cut away some useless things from our lives.
Allow the Lord this day to speak to your heart to provide rest for your soul.
© 2012 MLMichaels
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Give Ear To My Words
"Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my sighing. " Psalm 5:1 NIV
A writer is given an extraordinary talent, especially those who write about Jesus Christ. More is required of Christian writers, because as we write we appear to be limited to only a few kinds of stories and ways of writing. But this couldn't be further from the truth. Working within our relationship with Jesus Christ and closed to worldly ways and thoughts, we are given a plethora of ways to praise Jesus Christ through words.
Take a look through the bible and see the kinds of stories the Lord wrote about in the bible. The worldly community uses the same kind of stories, but they forget one extraordinary thing. They forget to infuse their writing with the name or likeness of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Another area Christian writer could tackle is the perfection angle. We Christian writers often write as if perfection is all that there is in the world. We create perfect scenarios and characters that are unidentifiable to the daily life of the reader. Some of the characters are not challenged by the horrors of a sin filled world. As we grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ we will learn that perfection is far from our daily lives. And perfection will be far from our characters lives too.
© 2012 ML Michaels
A writer is given an extraordinary talent, especially those who write about Jesus Christ. More is required of Christian writers, because as we write we appear to be limited to only a few kinds of stories and ways of writing. But this couldn't be further from the truth. Working within our relationship with Jesus Christ and closed to worldly ways and thoughts, we are given a plethora of ways to praise Jesus Christ through words.
Take a look through the bible and see the kinds of stories the Lord wrote about in the bible. The worldly community uses the same kind of stories, but they forget one extraordinary thing. They forget to infuse their writing with the name or likeness of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Another area Christian writer could tackle is the perfection angle. We Christian writers often write as if perfection is all that there is in the world. We create perfect scenarios and characters that are unidentifiable to the daily life of the reader. Some of the characters are not challenged by the horrors of a sin filled world. As we grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ we will learn that perfection is far from our daily lives. And perfection will be far from our characters lives too.
© 2012 ML Michaels
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Give Thanks
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. -- Psalm 136:1
God is good to us even when we think He isn't working. Many have been struggling since the economy crashed in 2008. Every year "things" have been getting worse and worse.
We know that God brought the Israelites out of bondage; He will do the same for us.
We know that God took the Israelites through the desert; He will do the same for us.
We know that God brought the Israelites to the promised land; He will do the same for us.
Knowing that God had, has, and will have a purpose for our lives is comforting even if the reasoning isn't apparent right now.
© 2012 ML Michaels
God is good to us even when we think He isn't working. Many have been struggling since the economy crashed in 2008. Every year "things" have been getting worse and worse.
We know that God brought the Israelites out of bondage; He will do the same for us.
We know that God took the Israelites through the desert; He will do the same for us.
We know that God brought the Israelites to the promised land; He will do the same for us.
Knowing that God had, has, and will have a purpose for our lives is comforting even if the reasoning isn't apparent right now.
© 2012 ML Michaels
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