Lord, I cannot comprehend the depth and agony of Your separation from the Father. There is nothing in my life that gives me any clue to understanding this. I can accept it, I can believe it, I can act upon the truth of it but I cannot understand it. And while You love me, it was obedience to Your Father's will that brought You here. Cost was not a consideration.

And so for me, lesson 1 is that I must be obedient to the Father's will and to Yours. Cost is not a consideration. I must dedicate my all to You.

When I think on my ways -- I need to examine the direction in which I am going in the light of Your testimonies. Am I walking according to the Word of the Lord? Am I honoring You with all my heart, soul, mind and strength? Am I loving my neighbor? Your testimonies will tell me. Your Holy Spirit will convict me and lead me onto that Way which is according to Your Word.

You are the Lord of Glory, the Mighty One, the Lord of Heaven and earth, You are from everlasting to everlasting, without beginning and without end, without equal, LORD God Almighty.

Your word provides a clear delineation between those who love You and those who hate You. It is a clearly marked path of obedience to Your Word, with either side being lives of misery and suffering but the path is one of light and love. Lord, I lift up each one known to me who is not on that path, praying that the eyes of their heart will be opened to the beauty of Your Word.

Lord, You are delivering me from my enemies. From lust, greed, pride, self-will, stubbornness, sloth, and others. One at a time, slowly putting me through tests and trials to mature my faith and to make me into an example of Your transforming power. Praise You, my Lord and my Master.

You, O Lord, You are answering my prayers to draw nearer and nearer to you. You do not withhold my pleas to know You and to become one with You. You not only are answering my heart's desire, You are the one who placed that desire within my heart. Praise You and thank You, my Lord and my Master.

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. (4) For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. (5) We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

I am armed, equipped and trained as one of Your soldiers. I am sent to do your calling. I have Your battle plan before me. I have Your saints at my side. I cannot be defeated so long as I seek You and Your righteousness before all other goals and considerations. I trust in Your name, the LORD God Almighty. Praise You, my Lord and my Master.

Lord, the joy is from being in Your presence, that sense of completion that comes from know You. A pervasive sense of wellbeing, that You are in control, that I have nothing to fear, and that Your love pours over me. This is joy, pure joy, unalloyed joy, ever present joy, joy without end, Your peace that passes all understanding. Praise You and lift up Your name among the congregation.

Word is to hope as comfort is to affliction and as promise is to life. Each pairing is composed of a gift from You that results in a blessing to me. Your word provides the hope of glory both realized now and to come; Your comfort brings release from affliction in the here and now and in the yet to come; and Your promise is for life everlasting in Your presence.

Lord, my problem is not that You are not present for me in times of distress and troubles, but it is that I am so wrapped up in resolving whatever it is that is troubling me, that I do not turn to You, wait for You, rely on You. I need to accept that You are ever present, always, always, always at my side and a cover over me. What a precious promise in John 14:2, that if it were not so, You would not have told me that it was. Your promises are yes and amen!

Lord, guide me into acceptable words and condition of my heart. Help me to meditate upon You so that my heart will be transformed into a place where You are welcome and where Your Holy Spirit finds joy and love; a place where You are the Primacy; a place where "my Lord and my Master" is a complete and fulfilled acknowledgment of Your dominion.

How can I discern my errors? Only as they are revealed by Your word; there is no other tertium quid to serve as a reliable and complete guide to my errors. The law, which once served to reveal to me the need for a savior, now serves to lead me in being obedient to that Savior and to living in a way that brings glory and honor to His name.

The Word of the Lord is:

Praise You, Lord, for You have provided the ne plus ultra of gifts to Your people, through them I am:

Praise You, my Lord.

Another day is breaking, a cold, crisp winter day, and I can watch the interplay of light and color as Your creation is revealed again. A demonstration of I John 1:5 that You are light and in You is no darkness at all. I see trees and shrubs waiting to be reborn, I see snow covering the land and hiding the imperfections from sight foreshadowing Your redemption and salvation. I see form and function speaking of Your wisdom in the design of the Creation. All declares Your glory and shouts praise to the work of Your hand.

Sing it, O my soul, sing it! He has delivered me from my enemies, He has raised me above those sought my harm, He has given me power and wisdom beyond measure to resist the wiles of the Evil One, He is the LORD, God Almighty.

Lord, that this Lord's Day will be a day of meditating on Your commandments; a day of devoted meditation searching for understanding of Your Word and Your Law, seeking guidance for my life.

If all things have been put under Your feet, Lord -- and they have been -- then I am secure from my foes, so long as I look to You, high and lifted up even as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness. I am empowered to vanquish all my enemies, for I fight against the wiles of the Evil One in the power and with the wisdom that You provide. You are the Rock of my Salvation.

Lord, it is Your equipping, Your transforming. For as it is written in Hebrews 13:20-21 "Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen."

Yes, LORD, You have rewarded me according to the cleanness of my hands in Your sight. And the filter is the Cross and the Blood of Jesus Christ that have cleansed me from all sin. Through You mercy, I am blameless and shameless for Christ bore the blame and the shame for me. And then, He sent Your Holy Spirit to lead me into all truth and to remind me of all that He taught while He was here on earth. I am a new man in Christ Jesus. Praise You, LORD God Almighty.