Even before my oldest daughter was born, I was thinking about her. So was my wife. After she was born, we spent a lot of time thinking about her, praying for her and caring for her. That’s a lot of thoughts!
If I could add up all those thoughts, I don’t think I could come close to the number represented by the grains of sand in the image on the left.
The Psalmist give us an idea of the vastness of God’s precious thoughts toward us. Before we were even born he was thinking of us. From the day we were born, and every day and night – his thoughts are on his children.
Dear Lord, help me to understand even a small part of your thoughts and care for me, especially in the work of Jesus – his life, his cross, his death and his resurrection!
I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 139 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes NASB iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.
Below is an extra treat! The Sons of Korah have put Psalm 139 to music. Listen to a sample below and purchase your own copy at the iTunes store by clicking on the button.
| Psalm 139 – Rain Album |  |
Here’s a review for the Daily Psalms iPhone applications in The iPhone App Review.
Have you ever been blamed for something you didn’t do? I think all of us have at some time or another. Actually, movie plots are filled with these types of stories. The protagonist is cast out of society unjustly and has to fight against the odds to prove their innocence.
The Psalms are filled with passages that echo the theme of justice for the poor and relief for the afflicted. The Psalmist suggests thanksgiving from the righteous.
What the movies typically show is the person fighting their way back under their own strength. Believers can trust in God’s strength for relief and justice.
In 1 Thes 5:18 Paul gives us some remarkable advice. “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” If we want to know God’s will, it is to give Him thanks for our circumstances.
Dear Lord, help me to give you thanks in all circumstances, when I’m poor and afflicted, when I’m going about my daily tasks, for everything, at all times. Amen.
I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 140 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes NASB iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.
Will RogersIn this quote from April 23, 1933 Rogers indicates people are worried about inflation. Recently the Fed expressed its concern about inflation. With the current economy, and all the brilliant economic minds saying different things, I’m not sure what to think.
I think I’m actually both confused and worried according to Rogers. I’m worried that the current administration doesn’t appear to know what they are doing. They promise hope, but change seems to be going in the wrong direction. I’m confused about why they don’t appear to care.
Image Information: The image of Rogers is from his 1921 silent film Guile of Women. Rogers plays a Swede named Yal who travels with a friend to America to seek his fortune. After misfortunes in love and business, his girlfriend finally arrives from Sweden.
I hope you have enjoyed this quote from Will Rogers and the accompanying image taken from the Will Rogers iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that might enjoy a bit of wisdom from Will Rogers.
Will RogersAfter reading this Will Rogers quote, I suddenly realized why there has been so much confusion and controversy over where all of the “shovel-ready” jobs have gone. With the extension of unemployment benefits, nobody wants a shovel-ready job when they are offered a putter-ready vacation.
Actually that’s only half the problem. Our Vice President puts it this way: “Just becaust the Recovery Act was a monumental failure, does not mean that it is not working.” The solution, according to the administration is that not enough stimulus has been injected into the economy. More is needed!?
While the administration has been “stimulating the economy” the president has systematically crippled a number of sectors of the economy such as: tourism (Las Vegas and Gulf Coast), oil drilling and production, insurance, private aircraft, commercial air travel, and others. Nobody knows where they will strike next.
In summary, the government reduces the incentive for people to work with extended unemployment benefits, while at the same time destroying jobs. All I can say is I wanted a shovel-ready job, but all I got was this lousy putter.
I don’t get paid for writing this blog, but the government will pay me for not working! Well, I’ve got to go now, tee time is at 2pm.
The image was taken directly from movie stills at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum archive. I apologize for the quality of the image, but this is exactly what the 1920s photo looked like when I scanned it. In the hundreds of images contained in this iPhone application, I wanted to share as many different Will Rogers photos as possible from as wide a variety of times and situations – movies, cowboy, vaudeville, with famous people, and family scenes.
Will Rogers is a man worth remembering, and quoting. His wit, humor and insight into life will amaze and astonish you. His life will inspire you. Watch for new blog posts from my Will Rogers quotes collection.
I hope you have enjoyed this quote from Will Rogers and the accompanying image taken from the Will Rogers iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that might enjoy a bit of wisdom from Will Rogers.
The Psalmist must have found great comfort in God’s house. He delighted being there among others who were offering their praises up to the Lord.
The passion of the Psalmist for God’s house and presence is truly amazing. His flesh cries out for the living God! He desires a place near the alter. He wants to be among those who are praising God, who enjoy God’s blessing.
Such passion for God shames me, but it also inspires me. I am ashamed because I don’t desire God’s house and people as I should. I am inspired because I want to do better, I need to do better.
Dear Lord, Please give me a renewed passion for your church and your people. Let the gathering of the congregation be my desire and my joy. Amen.
I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 84 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes NIV iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.
Below is an extra treat! The Sons of Korah have put Psalm 84 to music. Listen to a sample below and purchase your own copy at the iTunes store by clicking on the button.
| Psalm 84 – Rain Album | |
“Before the first of the stars began to shine!” We were on God’s mind in eternity past, when the covenant was formed, and Jesus expressed his love for each of us (his elect) as he became party to it. Can we even begin to comprehend ages so vast, or love so deep?
Words and images are simply inadequate in describing concepts such as everlasting and eternity. Spurgeon’s imagery, however is beautifully stated and wonderful to ponder. The background image is from a NASA photograph of deep space, to give further perspective to the long ages of eternity.
But how can I know if I am one of God’s elect? Because of God’s love for his people, he will surely communicate his love and salvation to us. There are several ways He communicates. God has provided his Word to us, the Bible, to communicate the gospel message to us personally. Pastors and christian friends share God’s word with us, and finally God’s Holy Spirit actively works in our lives. We are not alone!
If you are unsure of God’s grace and salvation in your life, pray for His help, and look for His answer. Complete assurance of salvation may not come all at once, but it will grow over time.
Dear Lord, Grant me a deeper understanding of your eternal love. Speak to me through your Word, christian friends and by your Holy Spirit, that I may know your salvation and be counted among your elect. Amen.
I hope you have been blessed by this quote and the accompanying image taken from the Spurgeon Daily Quotes iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.
It’s a struggle, isn’t it – loving righteousness? As the hymn says, I am “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love.” Yet the Psalmist indicates there is great reward.
When I am caught in sin, my tendency is to draw away from God and from his chastening. Have you noticed it with your kids. When the little ones are corrected, they push away when you try to hug them. The correction was for their good, and you do it because you love them, but their instinct is to push away.
In Romans 7 Paul talks about this war within us, the war between our desire to obey the law, and the law of sin and death in our members. Who will deliver us from this struggle? Paul gives us the answer in Ro 7:25: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
I think my sea otter friend in the picture is reminding me of a passage in “The Valley of Vision” that always helps me put things in perspective. It says: “My trials have been fewer than my sins, and when I have kissed the rod it has fallen from thy hands.”
Dear Lord, help me to love righteousness, and when I am chastened let me kiss the rod of correction – don’t let me pull away – let me fall into your arms of love. Amen.
I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 45 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes ESV iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.
A user made the following request in an App Store review:
I love the quoted but I wish u could fwd them to start off someone else day as well
WISH GRANTED!
The 1.1 version of each of the applications contains the ability to forward the quote by email. Several of the applications have been released by Apple to the App Store, and the rest are waiting for review. Keep and eye out for your upgrade notification, and enjoy the share feature.
Will RogersAccording to this Will Rogers quote, things sure haven’t changed in Hollywood since 1931, have they? I don’t even have to mention names – all you have to do is look at the tabloid covers at the grocery store to find out about Hollywood marriages.
The tabloids feature all the dirt on breakups, and all the gossip on matchups. Then there are rumors on things that might happen and who was seen with who last week.
One thing that is different from 1931 is Botox. Actually, today they can keep you looking young! The women seem to stay looking young longer than the men, however.
Interestingly, Will Rogers marriage was one of the rare Hollywood marriages that did last. For all his travels, movies and Hollywood friends, Will Rogers was faithful to his beloved wife Betty, with never a hint of scandal.
Image Information: Will Rogers was a strong proponent of commercial aviation. He was friends with many famous aviators including Charles Lindbergh, seen in the picture above.
Will Rogers is a man worth remembering, and quoting. His wit, humor and insight into life will amaze and astonish you. His life will inspire you. Watch for new blog posts from my Will Rogers quotes collection.
I hope you have enjoyed this quote from Will Rogers and the accompanying image taken from the Will Rogers iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that might enjoy a bit of wisdom from Will Rogers.
When I visited Pompeii years ago I was struck by the suddenness and completeness of the destruction of the city by the Vesuvius volcano. People were found frozen in position. Artifacts were preserved by the covering ash.
Some volcanoes move more slowly, as in Hawaii. The hot lava spews from vents as in the picture and moves slowly down the mountain to the sea.
Intense heat, pressure, explosive power and widespread destruction describe some of the physical effects of a powerful volcano. I imagine these effects in a spiritual sense when I think of fiery trials.
The severity of the trial can become so intense that we may fear for our very lives. We can’t imagine any escape from the pain, or can we? The fiery furnace in Daniel 3 is a great illustration of God’s power to override even the forces of nature to protect his children.
Spurgeon reminds us in this quote that God’s presence is both our comfort and safety. “Fear not, for I am with you” is God’s promise to us.
I hope you have been blessed by this quote and the accompanying image taken from the Spurgeon Daily Quotes iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.
A refuge is a place of safety and shelter. It is a place that offers protection from any dangers that may affect us from outside. It is a place where we can find rest.
An example of refuge for many of us, would be the arms of our parents when we were young. They were arms that would comfort us when upset, and protect us when threatened. It is the instinct of a parent to protect a child from harm by wrapping their arms around the child, in times of trouble.
To a young child, the arms of the parent are strong. To the child, a father’s arms are the strongest in the whole world. The same arms that can lift heavy weights and wield hammer and tong, can gently lay a sleeping child to rest.
In this picture, there is power to destroy in the waves and rocks. No ship would dare to venture there. On our TV sets, we can witness first-hand the power of nature in natural disasters. We can see and feel the fear from events such as earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, tsunamis, and great storms.
Yet even in the midst of such violent natural disasters, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” If God cares about us in the midst of big events, perhaps He even cares about all the little things that happen to us.
Dear Lord, Wrap me in your arms, not only during the times of turmoil, but also during the little trials that come during each day. Be my refuge during them all. Amen.
I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 46 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes ESV iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.
Why would God not delight in sacrifice and offerings? After all, He had set up the sacrificial system to provide His people with a means of dealing with their sins.
The Psalmist makes it clear that our delight should be to do God’s will, and that it should be written on our hearts. Going through the motions of obedience is not enough, it must be from sincere motives and delight in God’s law.
You’ve probably heard the story about the child that was disciplined by his parents, and told to go sit in the corner. His response was: “I may be sitting down on the outside, but I’m standing on the inside.” I can remember a few of those occasions, can you?
Jesus always seemed to deal with people in a way that touched them right at the heart of their motives and needs. We can think of the “Rich Young Ruler,” “The Prodigal Son,” and many other parables and miracles. Jesus’ dealings with people in the Bible were so intimate that no miracle or healing is ever duplicated exactly.
So it is that Jesus touches me, right at the heart of my motivations, so that I may know how much he loves me. As he teaches me to delight in His will, I can only respond with my obedience.
Dear Lord, In your mercy, help me to delight more and more in your will. As I read the Scriptures, let your law become written on my heart. Jesus, please work in my heart, that I may understand your great salvation. Amen.
I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 40 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes ESV iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.
When I was working on my masters degree at the University of Illinois I built instrumentation for their Aeronomy program. We made rocket payloads that would gather data from the upper atmosphere which would allow us to look at the nature of energetic particles that stream down the earth’s magnetic fields.
I love science and I remember the thrill of looking at data from a rocket launch. Before my eyes was a glimpse of a tiny piece of God’s creation in motion. Scientists would puzzle over the interpretation of the data and debate its meaning.
In Spurgeon’s wonderful way, he describes God’s control and care of the heavenly bodies. Men of science spend a lifetime trying to explain how the sun operates. Each new scientific discovery brings more questions, yet God cares for it all, and places each planet in its place.
Not only does God care for the planets and their vast scale of operation, he also cares for each of us individually. The God who “feeds the burning furnace of the sun” has power enough to supply us with the daily strength we need!
I hope you have been blessed by this quote and the accompanying image taken from the Spurgeon Daily Quotes iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.
Will RogersIn 1932 Will Rogers predicted that it would take taxpayers 50 years to pay for all the massive appropriations of his day. How could he have been so wrong? It’s 75 years later now and we are still paying for massive social programs put into place during the Roosevelt years. Not only that, but …
Will RogersHow is it that in 1929 Will Rogers could see through all the fancy rhetoric to the reality of what they called “disarmament” in those days, and today we are doing the same thing, but with different names? We call it SALT and START, but it’s all the same. I guess it gives the …
Timeless Bible Wisdom from the Psalms for your iPhone -Click buttons below to buy at Apple iTunes Store- You can also gift one to an iPhone friend! Brought to you by Systems of Merritt, Inc. Get your daily dose of Bible encouragement and inspiration. Share Psalm Daily Quotes and images with your friends. . Psalm Daily …
When I am ill, or under some sort of affliction, it’s not really a time that I would normally think of as a faith-building experience. My instinct is to focus on myself and complain to anyone who will listen. In Judges 14 we find the story of Samson that Spurgeon mentions in the quote. One …
Will RogersBoy, were some people surprised to find out what the current administration had planned for the country. After two years, and poll numbers falling off the charts, people have started catching on. After the election, poll number were high and everybody was looking for hope and change. Hope left a long time ago, and …
Gentle Reader, I have a special treat for you today. Below is an article from the Will Rogers Memorial Museum website about Will Rogers and his passion for Christmas. Here is the original link for the article: Will Rogers Christmas. Enjoy! Will Never Outgrew Passion for Christmas CLAREMORE — Will Rogers never outgrew the child’s passion …
The saying: “Mister can you spare a dime?” typified the poverty and despair during the depression years. My Grandmother told me that young, out of work, men would travel from place to place looking for jobs. Many times they would come to her back door to ask for a bite to eat. Those were difficult …
Timeless Spurgeon Bible Wisdom for your iPhone -Click button to buy at Apple iTunes Store- You can also gift one to an iPhone friend! Brought to you by Systems of Merritt, Inc. Get your daily dose of Bible encouragement and inspiration. Share Spurgeon quotes and images with your friends. . Spurgeon Daily Quotes iPhone App More …
As I have been reading the Psalms, I have noticed that the Psalmist regularly encourages us to remember, remember, remember. Remember what the Lord has done for us. Remember God’s many blessings in our lives. Remember answered prayers. Remember his salvation. Remember his deliverance. Remember his mercy. Remember, remember, remember! In this quote, Spurgeon also …
![[Congressional] Investigations are held just for photographers. BEVERLY HILLS, Cal., April 4, 1934](https://systemsofmerritt.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/wr49-200x300.jpg)
At all these fancy investigations, the action seems to be in the photographers’ pit. The noise from shutters clicking is almost deafening. Thousands of pictures are taken of every move made by whoever is testifying. The perfect shot is one that captures an absurd grimace or a finger brushing by the nose. This requires the most …
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