Fret not | Psalm 37

Hey there BCU Family!

Typically, you have the option of listening to our podcast, reading the notes or both. For this post, because of the informal format, please tune into the podcast recording and refer to the written post for the highlights. We pray the post blesses and encourages you. If so, please thumbs up AND leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy the post!

Podcast highlights

  • Focusing on others causes us to worry, get anxious, and to fret.
  • The word “fret” has several meanings including to be agitated, to be disturbed or to gnaw.
  • While we may initially be disturbed about our situation, consistent fretting has no place in the life of a believer.
  • The Word of God has “built-in” verses to ease the hearts of those who fret.

KJV Scripture references–Psalm 37

1 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.

2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

4 Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.

10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.

11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

12 The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.

13 The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.

14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.

15 Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.

16 A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.

17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the Lord upholdeth the righteous.

18 The Lord knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.

19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

20 But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.

21 The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.

22 For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.

23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.

24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.

25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

26 He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.

27 Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.

28 For the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.

29 The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.

30 The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.

31 The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.

32 The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.

33 The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.

34 Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.

35 I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.

36 Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.

37 Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.

38 But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.

39 But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: he is their strength in the time of trouble.

40 And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.

BCU Fam, as a “recovering fretter”, I completely understand how it feels when you are waiting for God to move on your behalf for the healing, job, spouse, blessing, miracle, situation to clear up or whatever you are trusting God for. As we mature in Christ, it is imperative that we remember God really is in control and that His will, timing and gifts are always perfect. Trust me, (well, trust God) whatever He has for you will be so much better than you imagined, you’ll be so thankful that you waited and did things God’s way. Let’s pray about it!

Father in the name of Jesus, we thank You that rather than fretting needlessly, we can come to you with our anxious thoughts, worries, cares and concerns, and leave them with You. We will no longer be consumed with who is doing what, and seemingly getting by, rather, we will rest and wait patiently in You, Lord. We will rest knowing that our steps are ordered and that we are the righteous, so we will not be forsaken, and we are Your seed, so we will not be begging bread. We bless Your name because You preserve and deliver your saints because we trust in You. Thank You for Your continual care of us, Jesus, and we will continue to give Your name the praise and glory, in Jesus name we pray, Amen!

As a reminder, if you have not subscribed to BlenCouragesU.com, please do so! It’s free and a good place to get the encouragement, inspiration and information based the Word of God! Additionally, you can also see what we are up to on Facebook, X,and Instagram. Also, if you so inclined, join us Thursday nights––we are LIVE on YouTube 8:05EST/7:05CST. You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, Pandora, and Spotify!

Thank you SO much for stopping by. God bless, keep and make His face to shine upon you as you #StayOnTheWall!

Love,

BCU

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That Royal City | Heaven

Hey there BCU Fam!

Because of the informal format, please tune into the podcast recording (click here or on the BCU avatar below) and refer to the written post for the highlights. We pray the post blesses and encourages you. If so, please thumbs up AND leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy the post!

Podcast highlights:

  • I was honored with an invitation to speak at a Women’s Day Service, with the theme of “Royalty”.
  • The women of God spoke on topics such as Royal Attire and Royal Attitudes.
  • I was tasked to speak on The Royal City, “Heaven”.
  • As usual, the Lord really came through for me, BCUFam. Please take a listen!

KJV Scripture references

Revelation 21:1-5

1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

Romans 12:1-2

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

John 1:1

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

I Peter 2:9

 9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;

John 14:1-3

1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

I Corinthians 15:42-44

42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:

43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:

44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

Revelation 21:19-27

19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;

20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.

25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.

26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.

27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Acts 2:38

Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

BCUFam——–God gets the glory for meeting ALL the wonderful speakers at the service that night. The best part of the service was the altar call——-souls were healed, marriages restored, the people refreshed, and one lady received the gift of the Holy Ghost and on her way to the Royal City!!! Hallelujah!!!! That’s what this kingdom life is all about! Amen? Amen!

As a reminder, if you have not subscribed to BlenCouragesU.com, please do so! It’s free and a good place to get the encouragement, inspiration and information based the Word of God! Additionally, you can also see what we are up to on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Also, if you so inclined, join us Thursday nights––we are LIVE on YouTube 8:05EST/7:05CST. You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on Stitcher Radio , Google Play, and Apple Podcasts.

Thank you SO much for stopping by. God bless, keep and make His face to shine upon you as you #StayOnTheWall!

Love,

BCU

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Cut-off Culture | Michele L. Perry

Hey there BCU Fam!

Because of the informal format, please tune into the podcast recording (click here or on the BCU avatar below) and refer to the written post for the highlights. We pray the post blesses and encourages you. If so, please thumbs up AND leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy the post!

Podcast highlights:

  • “Cut-off culture” is a relatively new phrase, but not a new phenomenon.
  • Basically, when someone offends you, cut-off culture says stop dealing with the person immediately and permanently.
  • This mindset is contrary to the Word of God and should be avoided as a way to handle all offenses.
  • A friend of mine, Michele L. Perry, spoke about this attitude in a post about a conversation she had with her late father.

Scripture references:

Matthew 5:43-48

43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?

48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Proverbs 3:5-6

5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Ephesians 4:31-32

31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

BCUFam, we thank the Lord for Michele and sharing her story so that we can stay away from participating in this cut-off culture that is so prevalent right now. The Lord knew that we would be offended by people, so He gave us the blueprint as to how to handle it—we go to the person and talk to them about it (see Matthew 18:15). By doing things God’s way, we will get perfect [however God works it out] results. Amen? Amen! Let’s pray!

Father, in the name of Jesus, as we come before You today, we thank You for coming by with a Word to encourage us to examine ourselves. We thank You for helping us to see any lack of forgiveness, or patterns of cancelling people, in any relationships that we have, and helping us to choose to walk out Ephesians 4:32, where we are commanded to be kind, forgiving and tender-hearted toward one another.

Bless us to remember that You have forgiven us, so we want to continue forgive others. Thank You for the victory in this area, so we are without spot, wrinkle or blemish, and You are glorified in our lives, in Jesus name, we pray, Amen.

As a reminder, if you have not subscribed to BlenCouragesU.com, please do so! It’s free and a good place to get the encouragement, inspiration and information based the Word of God! Additionally, you can also see what we are up to on Facebook, X, and Instagram.

Also, if you so inclined, join us for our Thursday Night Bible Study––we are LIVE on YouTube 8:05EST/7:05CST. You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on whatever platform BCU is available on. Some of those platforms are Amazon Music, AnchorFm, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Spotify,  Stitcher Radio , and many more of your favorite podcast platforms!

Thank you SO much for stopping by! May God bless, keep and make His face to shine upon you as you #StayOnTheWall!

Love,

BCU

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But God…

Hey there BCU Fam!

Because of the informal format, please tune into the podcast recording (click here or on the BCU avatar below) and refer to the written post for the highlights. We pray the post blesses and encourages you. If so, please thumbs up AND leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy the post!

Podcast highlights:

  • A while back, a close acquaintance reached out to me about a family needing some godly counsel.
  • The family gets along well most of time, but when they do not, things escalate in an enormous way.
  • The last family incident led to a heated verbal skirmish, and no matter how we counseled, things got WORSE!
  • As my heart began to sink in defeat, the Lord reminded me that He was in control.

Scripture references:

Matthew 11:28-30

28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Proverbs 3:5-6

5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Matthew 19:26

26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Philippians 4:6-8

6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things

Isaiah 26:3

3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.

BCUFam, the Lord wants us to know He heard our cry and that we do not have to keep worrying and putting worse case scenarios together in our minds. With His help, we want to let God be God and allow Him to take care of the situation, rather than us trying to control the outcome (which we cannot do anyway——-it’s futile!) So let’s take our “but God” to Jesus and cast all our cares on Him because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). Amen? Amen! Let’s pray!

Father, in the name of Jesus, as we come before You, as always, we thank You for the Word, and for letting us know we can turn whatever we are concerned about over to You. We are asking You to calm our minds and spirits down, Jesus. Help us to hear Your comforting voice, and relax knowing You are able to do exceedingly, abundantly above ALL we can ask or think according to the power that works in us (Ephesians 3:20)——and we thank You for that. Thank You that we don’t need to be anxious or full of care about anything, but in everything, with prayer, thanksgiving and supplication we make our requests known unto You and Your peace, that passes all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6). So we thank You that we can walk around care-free and confident, knowing You will take care of everything.

We commit the family in the podcast to You, Jesus——thank You for moving in a super-natural way on their behalf. We ask that You remember any and everyone else that has a situation, care, concern, worry, or request before You, Jesus, and we thank You for working it out according to Your excellent greatness. Thank You in advance for the victory, good report and testimony You will provide. And in the meantime and in between time, we thank You for covering and keeping us as we continue to serve You. And when the enemy comes in with the ifs, ands, buts or suppose, we know we can refer to and rely on Your Word to sustain our minds in perfect peace, as we keep out minds stayed on You because we trust You! Thank You for helping our thoughts to glorify You at all times, in Jesus name we pray, Amen!

As a reminder, if you have not subscribed to BlenCouragesU.com, please do so! It’s free and a good place to get the encouragement, inspiration and information based the Word of God! Additionally, you can also see what we are up to on Facebook, X, and Instagram.

Also, if you so inclined, join us for our Thursday Night Bible Study––we are LIVE on YouTube 8:05EST/7:05CST. You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on whatever platform BCU is available on. Some of those platforms are Amazon Music, AnchorFm, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Spotify,  Stitcher Radio , and many more of your favorite podcast platforms!

Thank you SO much for stopping by! May God bless, keep and make His face to shine upon you as you #StayOnTheWall!

Love,

BCU

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Walking in the Spirit…

Hey there BCU Fam!

For this post, because of the informal format, please tune into the podcast recording (click here or on the BCU avatar below) and refer to the written post for the highlights. We pray the post blesses and encourages you. If so, please thumbs up AND leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy the post!

Podcast highlights:

  • Recently, I posted about an incident about my experience in a local car shop.
  • During the situation, I was infuriated and really wanted to confront this individual about their thoughtless, rude behavior.
  • The Lord let me know that speaking at that time would have resulted in me moving in the flesh versus The Spirit.
  • As I was ruminating over what happened days later, the Lord let me know what would have happened, had I ignored His warning.

Scripture references:

James 1:19-20

19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

Proverbs 3:5-6

5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Matthew 5:7

7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Galatians 5:19-25

19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Romans 12:19

19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

BCUFam, Ecclesiastes 3:7 tells us there us a time and season to everything in our lives—-—specifically a time to keep silence and a time to speak. Interestingly enough, “keep silent” is listed first. Even when we are right, we have to check with the Lord to see if we should speak. In this case the answer was “no”, and here is why.

Matthew 24:12 reminds us that in the last days, because iniquity shall abound, the love of many would wax cold. Cold love is a selfish, self-gratifying, I-do-what-I feel-like spirit that does not think through the consequences and after effects of their decision making. The least little incident is an invitation to get immediate retribution by any means necessary.

The Lord CLEARLY let me know my fleshly response would have been a trigger for something sinister to happen and that reaction would have negatively effected everyone in the shop that day, as well as their families. As much as I wanted to be avenged, I certainly would not have wanted to be responsible for anyone getting hurt or killed, over such an important, yet minor offense.

And on top of it, what if things had quickly escalated where I did not have time to repent, and I lost my life? I likely would have missed Heaven——-all over a place in line. We have to ask ourselves if what we are thinking, saying, or doing will help or hinder us from seeing Jesus in peace. When we think about it that way, let’s opt to walk in the Spirit with the help of the Lord. Amen? Amen! Let’s pray!

Eternal God and Savior we come before you in the Name of Jesus, thanking You for the reminder to walk in the Spirit rather than the flesh. Walking the way You instruct us to in Galatians 5 may not always be popular or feel good, but we bring our thoughts, flesh and actions under subjection to you, Jesus, so we are not pleasing people or ourselves, but You and You alone.

Bless us to remember that you are recording our thoughts, deeds, actions and our interactions——and we will one day have to give an account for all that we have done in this life. We desire that our account be in the positive so that You can welcome us into the Kingdom of Heaven and not miss out because we want to do things our way. Thank You for this timely reminder as You continue to keep and strengthen us, as we give Your name the praise, glory and honor that belongs to You, in Jesus Name we pray, Amen!

As a reminder, if you have not subscribed to BlenCouragesU.com, please do so! It’s free and a good place to get the encouragement, inspiration and information based the Word of God! Additionally, you can also see what we are up to on Facebook, X, and Instagram.

Also, if you so inclined, join us for our Thursday Night Bible Study––we are LIVE on YouTube 8:05EST/7:05CST. You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on whatever platform BCU is available on. Some of those platforms are Amazon Music, AnchorFm, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Spotify,  Stitcher Radio , and many more of your favorite podcast platforms!

Thank you SO much for stopping by! May God bless, keep and make His face to shine upon you as you #StayOnTheWall!

Love,

BCU

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