#help – herbcotton.org

Where Do You Look for Help and Hope?

Text:

Psalm 41:10-13 (ESV)

10 But you, O LORD, be gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them!

11 By this I know that you delight in me: my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.

12 But you have upheld me because of my integrity, and set me in your presence forever.

13 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.

Observation:

I love reading the Psalms because they give encouragement to my heart, and the strength I need to live one day at a time.

In the first portion of this Psalm David looked within (verses 1-3), and in the second portion he looked around (verses 7-9).

However, in our focal passage for today (verses 10-13), the Psalmist looked up. When we look up we have hope, and we get the help we need.

Psalm 121:1-2 (ESV)

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?

2 My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

The Lord is a good shepherd, and He provides for the needs of His people. The Lord provides for all of our needs.

Psalm 23:1 (HCSB)

1 The LORD is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack.

My heart is singing praises to God for His work in the hearts, and lives of His people.

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace.”

Prayer:

Father, hallowed be Your name. Father, my faith is anchored in You. Father, with changed, and grateful hearts, we look up to You, and receive the help, and hope that we need.

Philippians 4:19-20 (HCSB)

19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

20 Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

—

Isaiah 55:11 (KJV)
¹¹ So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

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How to Live In A Fallen World

Text:

1 Peter 5:6-7 (HCSB)

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time,

7 casting all your care on Him, because He cares about you.

Observation:

Are your circumstances, and the cares that you have weighing you down, and causing you to have anxiety in your mind and soul?

Do you have trials and temptations in your life that are wearing you down? Are the trouble within you, and the circumstances surrounding you robbing you of your peace and security?

Are there things, and people that are robbing you of your peace and joy? There is song that is ringing in my heart, and it provides the answer to all of our cares and circumstances.

“There is a place of full release,

near to the heart of God,

a place where all is joy and peace,

near to the heart of God”,

Author: Cleland Boyd McAfee, Near to the Heart of God

The place that I go, and the person who I turn to when troubles vex my mind and soul is to my God; the Father of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

When doubts, discouragement, disappointment, and the devil knocks on my door, I go to God. I open my Bible, and begin to pray. Do you realize that you have in your hands TNT (The New Testament), and that TNT is dynamite?

When troubles come knocking at the door of your heart, use dynamite to knock the devil, and his devices out of your life.

You don’t have to live under the circumstances in the world. You can rise up, look up, speak up to God, and watch the Lord as He fight the battle against all of your foes and cares.

Don’t forfeit your peace or your joy. Cast all your cares on the one who is able to help you, strengthen you, and keep you.

Prayer:

Father, hallowed be your name. Father, help us to remember to always take all of our cares to You in prayer. Why try to fight the battle in our strength when we can hold in our hands TNT to destroy the enemy of our minds, body, and soul. Jesus used prayer and the Word, and so should we. In the mighty name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

—

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Who Will Deliver Us From Our Problems

Text:

Malachi 4:4-6 (HCSB)

4 “Remember the instruction of Moses My servant, the statutes and ordinances I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.

5 Look, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome Day of the LORD comes.

6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to ?their? children and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.”

Observation:

If there ever was a time we needed leadership in this world, we surely need it now.

To whom are you looking for deliverance? May I recommend you to look to Jesus, the Messiah of God.

John 1:1-4 (HCSB)

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 He was with God in the beginning.

3 All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created.

4 Life was in Him, and that life was the light of men.

John 1:14 (HCSB)

14 The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

If not Jesus, then to whom shall we look? Pause for a moment, and think about that.

There are two leap off the page, and into my heart moments that I experienced when I read our text today.

The first is “look” in verse five, and the second is this verse.

Malachi 4:6 (HCSB)

6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to ?their? children and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.”

Oh, how all of God’s people need to look to the Word of God, and to look to God in constant and fervent prayer.

Psalm 119:16 (HCSB)

16 I will delight in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.

James 5:17 (HCSB)

17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours; yet he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the land.

The most effective way to change hearts and minds is to give instruction in the Word of God, and for God’s people to pray the Word.

Hebrews 4:12 (HCSB)

12 For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the ideas and thoughts of the heart.

Psalm 138:3 (HCSB)

3 On the day I called, You answered me; You increased strength within me.

Prayer:

Father, I adore you, and give you the highest praise my soul can muster. Praise God!

Father, I ask that you would birth in your people a hunger and thirst for the Word of God, and prayer. In the mighty name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

—

Hear the Daily Devotional by Herb Cotton; click here:

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What Voices Are You Listening To?

Text:

Isaiah 55:6-7 (KJV)

6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Observation:

When you face the difficult days of your life where do you turn for help? Do you have a source that you completely trust?

There is one to whom we can look and find hope and help. It is the Lord who is our maker, deliverer, and our keeper. God is a promise-keeping God.

2 Chronicles 15:2 (HCSB)

2 So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Asa and all Judah and Benjamin, hear me. The LORD is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you abandon Him, He will abandon you.

James 4:8 (HCSB)

8 Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, double-minded people!

Life in this world is hard. However, God is good, and the desire of His heart is to give you life.

When you come to the end of yourself, you will find the arms of the Son of God open wide to receive you. Why not look to the Lord today, and find in Him life that is everlasting.

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace.”

Prayer:

Father, I am so grateful for Your wonderful love, and amazing grace. Father, I am so thankful that You are the God of hope and change; that nothing is too difficult for You.

Romans 15:13 (HCSB)

13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe ?in Him? so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Father, we conclude our prayer today with the prayer of David; a man with a heart like Yours with the plea that You would make our hearts like David’s heart. In the might name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

Psalm 32:6 (HCSB)

6 Therefore let everyone who is faithful pray to You at a time that You may be found. When great floodwaters come, they will not reach him.

—

Hear the Daily Devotional by Herb Cotton; click here:

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Who Is Your Source of Hope and Help?

Text:

Philippians 1:12-13 (HCSB)

12 Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has actually resulted in the advance of the gospel,

13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is in ?the cause of? Christ.

Observation:

Today’s passage reminds me of the mountain of circumstances that we face in our lives on a daily basis. The thing about circumstances is that for the most part we don’t have control over them. Yet, they are the things we worry and fret about most of the time.

The Apostle Paul when he wrote this letter was in prison as a result of doing what God had called him to do.

However, Paul did not allow his circumstances to get him down. He continued to do what God had called him to do. Then he said this amazing thing, “What has happened to me has actually resulted in the advance of the gospel”.

This morning I read this scripture before getting out of bed, and it spoke into my heart about how to deal with circumstances, which are out of our control.

Isaiah 41:10 (HCSB)

10 Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand.

Where do you turn when you face circumstances that are beyond your ability to control? Do you resort to fear, or do you rely upon your faith in God who can do anything but fail?

Psalm 46:10-11 (KJV)

10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

Prayer:

Father God, I exalt Your name above every name own earth, and in heaven. Father, thank You for being a God who is present with Your people, and for the promise that You will never leave us or forsake us.

Father, I want to be where Jesus is, and I praise and thank You that I know that my redeemer lives, and that He lives in me.

Father, I am encouraged and embolden to know that in whatever circumstances I have to face that You are present, and that You will provide me with hope and help to overcome the hard times and hard places of living in a fallen world. In the mighty name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

—

Read the Daily Devotional by Herb Cotton; click here:

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The Source of Hope and Help for God’s People

Text:

Psalm 119:49-56 (ESV)

49 Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope.

50 This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.

51 The insolent utterly deride me, but I do not turn away from your law.

52 When I think of your rules from of old, I take comfort, O LORD.

53 Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked, who forsake your law.

54 Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my sojourning.

55 I remember your name in the night, O LORD, and keep your law.

56 This blessing has fallen to me, that I have kept your precepts.

Observation:

The word that leaped off the page and into my heart when I read today’s focal passage was suffering.

When you take your focus off of yourself, and fix your eyes upon others, you see the pain and the suffering that they are going through. However, sometimes that suffering is buried behind a wall that has been put up to shield them from the fiery darts of insensitive people.

The psalmist offers hope for all who are dealing with pain and suffering. The people of God are never without hope.

In our pain we should not abandon our praise of God, and our gratefulness to Him for His deliverance, and His present help that is just a prayer away. Think about and meditate upon these verses.

Psalm 119:50 (ESV)

50 This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.

Psalm 119:54-55 (ESV)

54 Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my sojourning.

55 I remember your name in the night, O LORD, and keep your law.

Remembering to praise God in our pain and suffering will lift our spirits, and bring hope and healing into our life. It was when the Psalmist changed his focus from his problems, and looked to the Lord that he found hope and help.

Why not take the upward look today in the midst of your circumstances that are masquerading as mission impossible? Our problems are God’s raw material for a miracle.

Psalm 121:1-2 (ESV)

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?

2 My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

Prayer:

Father, hallowed be Your name. Father, I pray that in the midst of our pain and suffering that we will remember that we can always look up, and give praise and thanksgiving to Your precious name.

Father, I am so grateful that Your ears are always attentive to the cries of Your people. Father, give us grateful and thankful hearts. In the mighty name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

—

Read the Daily Devotional by Herb Cotton; click here:

http://herbcotton.blogspot.com/

Hear the Daily Devotional by Herb Cotton; click here:

https://soundcloud.com/praying-for-you-ministry