Kindness and Truth

Do not let kindness and truth leave you;

Bind them around your neck,

Write them on the tablet of your heart.

Proverbs 3:3

When I read this verse the other day, I stopped to ponder its meaning. We need to let kindness and truth invade our lives. They should be in everything we say and do. They should be what characterize us. And we are to do everything possible to not let them leave us. “Bind them around your neck”. This made me think of putting a necklace on. Kindness and truth should adorn and grace our lives like a beautiful necklace. This verse also says to “write kindness and truth on the tablet of your heart”. A couple of images came to mind when I read this. When I went to Israel, I had the opportunity to see the Dead Sea Scrolls and a tablet of stone with writing on it that proves Pontius Pilot lived. That stone and the scrolls have survived for centuries. They were meant to be permanent when they were written. Kindness and truth should be ingrained in us permanently as well. If a stone and scrolls with important writing can last centuries, kindness and truth should be able to last our lifetime. So write kindness and truth permanently on your heart and adorn your life with their beauty, and they will never leave you.

Psalm 122 Revisited

Psalm 122
I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, that is built
As a city that is compact together;
To which the tribes go up, even the tribes of the Lord—
An ordinance for Israel—
To give thanks to the name of the Lord.
For there thrones were set for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.
“May peace be within your walls,
And prosperity within your palaces.”
For the sake of my brothers and my friends,
I will now say, “May peace be within you.”
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your good.


I posted this Psalm several weeks ago before I left on an exciting adventure that God had brought to me. I had the privilege of spending 11 days touring the land of the Bible, Israel. It was an amazing and incredible experience that has changed the way I read the Bible. I decided to come back to this Psalm, that so beautifully talks about Jerusalem. I cannot describe the joy of standing within the gates of this city that is indeed “compact”. I do give thanks to the name of the LORD for the opportunity He gave me, and I urge you to join me in praying for the peace of Jerusalem, both physically and spiritually. It is a city that is filled with people who need the salvation that only Jesus Christ can offer.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Saturday Psalm ~ 10-30-2010

Psalm 122
I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, that is built
As a city that is compact together;
To which the tribes go up, even the tribes of the Lord—
An ordinance for Israel—
To give thanks to the name of the Lord.
For there thrones were set for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.
“May peace be within your walls,
And prosperity within your palaces.”
For the sake of my brothers and my friends,
I will now say, “May peace be within you.”
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your good.

Saturday Psalm ~ 10-2-2010

Who is the King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
The Lord mighty in battle.
Psalm 24:8

God is … the King of glory, strong and mighty.

Saturday Psalm ~ 9-25-2010

The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
Psalm 23:1

God is … my shepherd.

Trusting God

Carolyn Mahaney was asked: “If you could parent your daughters all over again what would you do differently?” Her answer was:

“I wish I had trusted God more. For every fearful peek into the future, I wish I had looked to Christ instead. For each imaginary trouble conjured up, I wish I had recalled the specific, unfailing faithfulness of God. In place of dismay and dread, I wish I had exhibited hope and joy.”

While I am not faced with raising children at present, I was encouraged by this quote. Each of us, no matter what our season of life, has times when we look at the future and wonder what it holds. We often have fears and what if’s. It’s good to be reminded to trust God. And,

For every fearful peek into the future, look to Christ instead.
For each imaginary trouble, recall the specific, unfailing faithfulness of God.
And replace dismay and dread with hope and joy.
Trust God.