VERSE: Psalm 51:12–restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. TRUTH: We can lose our joy, or at least lose the ability to experience it daily. Sin and unrepentance cloud our ability to clearly experience all that God has for us. Repentance restores this joy. Are we lacking joy? We need to repent so that we are restored to the joy that God has given us. RESPONSE: Lord, forgive me. I need to be restored to You so I can fully experience Your joy. Without You, there is no joy.

VERSE: Psalm 50:12b–for the world is Mine, and all it contains. TRUTH: Sometimes we think we are supposed to give things to God, In truth, He already owns it. We are to simply acknowledge His ownership and allow Him to do whatever He chooses with it. Do we get angry with God about how He chooses to use His things? Once we truly understand His ownership, we recognize He has every right to do with things as He pleases. RESPONSE: Lord, I pray You will use Your possessions however You see fit. Help me to be willing to give and share as You direct.

VERSE: Psalm 49:7–No man can by any means redeem his brother or give to God a ransom for him. TRUTH: We can try and persuade, demonstrate, beg, and plead, but we cannot force someone else into a relationship with God. Each person is responsible to God for their relationships with Jesus Christ. We can (and should) pray for them, but we cannot do it for them. RESPONSE: Lord, please continue to work in the lives of the others I know. I pray You will show them their need of You since only You can save them.

VERSE: Psalm 48:14–For such is God, our God forever and ever; He will guide us until death. TRUTH: This psalm describes many attributes of God and with all of them, He is intent on guiding us. He directs us even when we cannot see Him and even when we think we don’t want Him to. He directs us all the way up until He leads us home with Him. Do we look for and follow His leading every day? RESPONSE: Lord, lead me and guide me today to bring me closer to You. I will follow.

VERSE: Psalm 47:2–God reigns over the nations, God sits on His holy throne. TRUTH: Sometimes, in the midst of all the chaos around us, we forget that God has never left His throne. God is always in control and He is always on the throne. Do we focus too much on our circumstances or do we stay focused on the truth that God is over all? RESPONSE: Lord, help me not to be distracted today by my circumstances. Instead, I choose to trust that You are over all, because You are!

VERSE: Psalm 46:1–God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. TRUTH: God is so many things to us: our strength, our refuge, our help. No matter what we are facing, God is present with us in the midst of it. Do we trust in His guiding presence, even when we can’t feel Him? RESPONSE: Lord, You are present with me in the midst of everything I go through. Lord, help me trust in this presence even when I can’t feel it.

** Today is the last day of the Twitter contest. Be sure to get entered for you chance to win today’s prize, a magazine subscription to Just Between Us Christian Women’s Magazine. For info on how to win, check out http://blog.kristiburchfiel.com/2011/07/22/twitter-contest—amazing-prizes-are-great-resources-for-women.aspx  **VERSE: Psalm 45:17–I will cause Your name to be remembered in all generations; therefore the peoples will give You thanks forever and ever. TRUTH: As we look forward to the time when Christ will be set in His position over everything, we see how God has prepared all to remember and give thanks for Jesus Christ. Are we praising and thanking God now for the position He already holds,…

VERSE: Psalm 44:1–O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us the work that You did in their days, in the days of old. TRUTH: We are responsible for sharing the story of how God works in our lives with our children and others. This doesn’t mean just a telling them of God’s greatness, but explaining how we know of God’s greatness because of the difficulties God helped us overcome. If we can’t share our shortcomings with our children, they will never fully understand the power and grace of God we tell them about. RESPONSE: Lord, help me to be real with my children so they will truly…

VERSE: Psalm 43:5–Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God. TRUTH: Whenever we face problems and difficulties, our hope is found in God. We can praise Him even through the hard times. Are we focusing on God through the difficulties? RESPONSE: Lord, no matter ho I feel, You are my hope and I will praise You today.

*** Having finished 1 Corinthians, we are switching back to the Psalms. We’re ready for Book 2, which consists of Chapters 42 through 72. ***VERSE: Psalm 42:1–As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my souls pants for You, O Lord. TRUTH: Do we long for and seek after God like He is the only thing that matters? Do we cling to Him as though we are desperate and desolate without Him? God knows how much we need Him in our everyday life. Do we know that and act upon it? RESPONSE: Lord, without You I am nothing. I cling to You desperately. I need You and desire You…