Author Archives: lrbartel

Jul 17 2019
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Devos

Here’s one voice urging you to cry out to the Lord in your time of trouble!

Crying out to the Lord in troubleFriends of mine are facing incredible difficulties today… pain, disease, danger, financial challenges, family issues, marriage struggles, employment problems, difficulties with children… the list could go on! You may be one of those who are facing problems like that! You came to mind during my time of “coffee with the Lord” this morning as I read these words from Psalm 119:145-149…

“With my whole heart I cry; answer me O Lord! … I call to You; save me! … I rise before dawn and dry for help; I hope in Your words! … Hear my voice according to your steadfast love!”

Those words from the Psalm express what we need to do (and continue to do) in times of trouble… We need to cry out to the Lord! We need to appeal to His “steadfast love” (the Hebrew word is “hesed” – God’s covenant keeping love; His faithful, enduring, reliable love!)

The writer of Lamentations in the Bible expressed it well! In the midst of a terrifying, incredibly difficult time, when Jerusalem had been ravaged and destroyed – when destruction, pain and suffering were everywhere – he declared, “This I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love (the “hesed”) of the Lord never ceases! His mercies never come to an end! They are new every morning! Great is Your faithfulness! ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, therefore I will hope in Him!” (Lamentations 3:21-24)

So regardless of what you are facing today, may I be a voice urging you to cry out to the Lord in your trouble and put your trust in His steadfast love!

Jul 12 2019
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Devos

Needed… Light in a Dark, Dark World!

Psalm 119[105 Light and Lamp
This morning during my time of “coffee with the Lord” I read a verse of Scripture that is probably one of the very first I learned! I recall being taught it in a Child Evangelism Fellowship Bible study in the 1st or 2nd grade and have never forgotten it… Here it is…
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path!” (Psalm 119:105)
Now there are varying levels of darkness and needs of light.
I recall recently needing to read the tiny wording on a service sticker in a semi-dark room… I needed some additional light (the light I had was not adequate). (It’s a little like the light we get from God’s word that Christians need on a daily basis to deal with the uncertainties of life as we seek to walk with the Lord.)
I also know personally what it is like to be on a trail in the mountains overgrown with brush very late in the evening, stumbling along and in need of some kind of light to help me get back to our base camp. (Somewhat like the guidance from God’s word that Christians need to walk in righteous and holiness – in a way that pleases God – in a very dark culture filled with temptations and moral risks.)
I’ve also had people describe to me the total darkness they experienced deep underground in a cavern when the lights went out. They described a darkness you could almost feel and that was terrifying until the lights came back on. (This analogy has its counterpart spiritually in the Bible when it declares of Jesus, “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it… The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.” (John 1:4-5, 9-10) And Jesus declared of himself, “I am the light of the world! Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life!” (John 8:12)
Let me tell you, in a world filled with spiritual and moral darkness we critically need God’s word to guide us and give light to our way! There are so many places to stumble and fall! We desperately need “the light of the world” and “the light of life” – Jesus Christ, the living Word! I’m so glad that early in my life I learned the important lesson of Psalm 119:105… “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path!” It has always provided the light I needed in a dark, dark world!
Jul 10 2019
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Devos

“You Can Take It to the Bank!”

Cashing a check“You can take it to the bank!”

It is a figure of speech indicating something is reliable, firm – something you can depend upon!  It’s as sure and dependable as a signed check from a person with the resources to cover it!

That figure of speech came to mind this morning when I read these words in the Bible…

“Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens!  Your faithfulness endures to all generations!” (From Psalm 119:89-90)

If God has promised it, He will fulfill it!  If He has said it, you can know it is sure!  He has the power, the resources, and the character to see to it that it is done!  He is “faithful” and able!

“Take it to the bank!”

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